Gist "Hot Topics" (Stephen King, Dilbert)

7/27/2019 Gist "Hot Topics" (Stephen King, Dilbert)

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The King HasNo Clothesx 's Sunday night's episode ofThe X-Files, "Chinga," was another in along line of scripts written by the best-selling horror novelist Stephen King. Orat least it was sort of, kind of , partlywritten by King: Evidently it was so badthat even King, to his credit, admittedthat series creator Chris Carter "cameback to me and said, 'This isn't what wewanted,"'and that he did one or morerewrites beforb Carter took over and

re-wrote the script himself. King andCarter shared the final onscreen credit,but whoever contributed what, the factremains that much office chitchatMonday morning was about what aterrible episode of The X-Files this was.No matter what Carter was able tosalvage (or not), King's basic storyremains: A little girl has some kind ofbond with her doll, and psychically doesthings to people she doesn't like (suchas make their eyes bleed), or has themperform self-mutilating, even suicidal,acts upon themselves. The vacationingScully and the phoning-in Mulder (DavidDuchovny) sometimes actuncharacteristically (such as withScully's sudden acute interest in theoccult and her wanting to buy an "l Wantto Believe" poster like Mulder's, orMulder suddenly getting sheepish aboutScully knowing he catches a fewminutes of porn tapes in his officesometimes). And that fillip at the end,


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TV producers know that a big-namewriter will get curious people to tune in-whether the script is good or not. ChrisCarter at least has more integrity thanmost, and tried to bring the script up tohis high standards. But then RodSedihg, who worked with the great RayBradbury on some Twilight Zone scriptsthat proved unworkable, chose to killthem rather than foist something third-rate on his viewers. Stephen King'sscripts for both TV and film have oftenseemed both slapdash and a slap in ourfaces. Let's ask ourselves: ls StephenKing really any good and deserving orour patronage? Or does the emperorhave no clothes, and we should just allwake up and spend our limite{reading. otime with other writers instead? -FrankLovece

Office PoliticsThe premiere of Ditbert,theanimated series based on ScottAdams' surreal yet perceptive comicstrip about office life, did its sourcematerial proud. Making a faithfulandfunny transition to TV, it set itself up asa genially caustic comedy-of-mannersthat nonetheless made rousing use of

animation's freedom over live action.Adams' insights about arrogant pettyauthority, muddled and arbitrarydecision-making, unspoken rituals,

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\A/hat point were the writers and/orproducers trying to make? Thatmarketing departments de factodestroy companies? That a firm like thefictional Nirvana can be respected,hugely profitable and top-tier when it'speopled by ignorant asses who make .Ally McBeal look like Clarence Darrow?Moreover, the episode werit out of itsway to specify that Nirvana's debaclemade Dilbert a famous and thus highlydesirable "industry n"r""-yet Dilbertstill returns to the old company andpeople whom he loathes!He would, of @urse, have had t*youdon't change the seting fiom that of thecomic stip, any rnore than youU hanethe TV version of "Peanuts" changelocale to the inner city. This just pointsout how horribly misguided the entireepisode was. And this was episodenumber two, when the producers andUPN theoretically want to make acontinued good first impression.\A/hat do you think of the show so far?-Frank Lovece

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Gist "Hot Topics" (Stephen King, Dilbert)