History Recap / TheXFilesS03E20JoseChungsFromOuterSpace

** The appearance of Lord Kinbote is an homage to Ray Harryhausen and his stop-motion model animation and effects work.

** The opening shot in the ColdOpen is framed like the opening shot of ''Film/StarWars'', which reveals the underside of a passing space ship, only this episode reveals afterward that we are looking at the underside of a cherry picker.

* {{Absurdism}}: One of the best examples of this philosophy in recent TV, this episode actually has a serious message under all the comedy: it's about the conflict between the innate human desire to make connections with other and the fact that we are ultimately isolated by the subjective nature of our own perceptions.

* {{Absurdism}}: One of the best examples of this philosophy in recent TV, this episode actually has a serious message under all the comedy: It's about the conflict between the innate human desire to make connections with other and the fact that we are ultimately isolated by the subjective nature of our own perceptions.

** It even begins with an alien abduction being interrupted by... An alien abduction.
* AlienAutopsy: According to Scully's [[RashomonStyle interpretation of events]], an autopsy which she performed on an alien and allowed to be video taped became commercially released as ''Dead Alien: Truth Or Humbug''. Embarrassed by it, Scully complains that the video ignores several of her findings, chief among them being that the dead alien was revealed to be a ManInARubberSuit.

* JurisdictionFriction: The local police, the FBI, the CIA, TheMenInBlack, and the Military.

* RunningGag: "...You're/I'm a dead man!"
** Also "I know this sounds / this is going to sound crazy."

* UnreliableNarrator: Several of them, some of which are having their unreliable narration re-told second hand by another UnreliableNarrator (either Chung or Scully)

** Chung is largely based on Truman Capote, with his research trip to Klass County and boasting about creating a "new literary genre" of "non-fiction science fiction" being pretty obvious parallels to the making of ''Literature/InColdBlood''. He's also (like his actor Charles Nelson Reilly) very obviously gay, though this is never directly commented upon.

-> '''Lt. Schaefer:''' Have you ever flown a flying saucer? Afterwards, sex seems trite.

->'''MIB 1:''' No other object has been misidentified as a flying saucer more often than the planet Venus.\\

->'''Blaine:''' One of them was disguised as a woman, but wasn't pulling it off. Like, her hair was red, but it was a little too red, y'know? And the other one, the tall, lanky one, his face was so blank and expressionless. He didn't even seem human. I think he was a mandroid.

->'''Scully:''' Well, of course, he didn't actually say "bleeped". He said--\\

* AffectionateParody

* ConspiracyTheorist: A lot of them.

* DistinguishedGentlemansPipe: Chung.

* JurisdictionFriction: The local police force, the FBI, the CIA, TheMenInBlack, and the Military. Wow!

* SelfParody: The episode takes near-constant jabs at the show's characters, narrative structure and MythArc (as well as Fox's AlienAutopsy video, [[BitingTheHandHumor for good measure]]) and ends with Mulder watching the hoaxed Bigfoot video.

* UnusualEuphemism: Bleep used as various parts of speech, a-hole and many others.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Roky starts a cult based on his encounter, Blaine takes his job as a power company lineman, Chrissy devotes herself to philanthropy and rejects Harold, Scully reads Chung's book, and Mulder [[BreadMilkEggsSquick masturbates to videos of Bigfoot]].

->'''Blaine:''' One of them was disguised as a woman, but wasn't pulling it off. Like, her hair was red, but it was a little too red, y'know? And the other one, the tall, lanky one, his face was [[DullSurprise so blank and expressionless]]. He didn't even seem human. I think he was a mandroid.

* CurseCutShort:
** Detective Manners.
** Jose Chung interrupts Scully when she seems to want to say what Detective Manners ''really'' said.

* StylisticSuck: The "third alien", Lord Kinbote, looks like a stop-motion monster from a 50s B-movie. And he talks in YeOldeButcheredEnglish

--> '''Lt. Schaefer:''' Have you ever flown a flying saucer? Afterwards, sex seems trite.

* FictionAsCoverUp

* GasLeakCoverup
-->'''MIB 1:''' No other object has been misidentified as a flying saucer more often than the planet Venus.\\
'''MIB 2:''' Even the former leader of your United States of America, [[FullNameBasis James Earl Carter, Jr.]], thought he saw a UFO once, but it's been proven he only saw the planet Venus.\\

* LargeHam: You only saw '''the planet Venus'''.
* MeaningfulEcho: Certain phrases get repeated often, adding to the overlapping effect of unreliable narration to what really is happening in Klass County.

-->'''Scully:''' Well, of course, he didn't actually say "bleeped". He said--\\

* RashomonStyle

* SelfParody: The episode takes near-constant jabs at the show's characters, narrative structure and MythArc (as well as Fox's AlienAutopsy video, [[BitingTheHandHumor for good measure]]) and ends with [[RefugeInAudacity Mulder in bed masturbating to the hoaxed Bigfoot video]].
-->'''Blaine:''' One of them was disguised as a woman, but wasn't pulling it off. Like, her hair was red, but it was a little too red, y'know? And the other one, the tall, lanky one, his face was [[DullSurprise so blank and expressionless]]. He didn't even seem human. I think he was a mandroid.

* VomitDiscretionShot

* ADateWithRosiePalms: Mulder has one of this, when watching Bigfoot found footage.

* {{Absurdism}}: One of the best examples of this philosophy in recent TV, this episode actually has a serious message under all the comedy: it's about the conflict between the innate human desire to make connections with other and the fact that we are ultimately isolated by the subjective nature of our own perceptions.

* ContinuityNod: Stupendous Yappi, a PhonyPsychic we met in "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose", appears in a video of the alien autopsy which Scully performed.

** They keep appearing throughout the episode.
** Mulder himself is referred to as a man-in-black-government-authority-figure type, with a blank expression and emotionless face.

->''"He's stealing my memories."

->'''Blaine:''' ''[talking about Scully and Mulder]'' One of them was disguised as a woman, but wasn't pulling it off. Like, her hair was red, but it was a little too red, y'know? And the other one, the tall, lanky one, his face was so blank and expressionless. He didn't even seem human. I think he was a mandroid.

'''MIB 2:''' Even the former leader of your United States of America, James Earl Carter, Jr., thought he saw a UFO once, but it's been proven he only saw the planet Venus.\\

-->'''Blaine''' (talking about Scully and Mulder): ''One of them was disguised as a woman, but wasn't pulling it off. Like, her hair was red, but it was a little too red, y'know? And the other one, the tall, lanky one, his face was so blank and expressionless. He didn't even seem human. I think he was a mandroid.''

-->'''MIB 1''': No other object has been misidentified as a flying saucer more often than the planet Venus.
-->'''MIB 2''': Even the former leader of your United States of America, James Earl Carter, Jr., thought he saw a UFO once, but it's been proven he only saw the planet Venus.
-->'''MIB 1''': If you tell anyone that you saw anything other than the planet Venus, you're a dead man!

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Chung is largely based on Truman Capote, with his research trip to Klass County and boasting about creating a "new literary genre" of "non-fiction science fiction" being pretty obvious parallels to the making of ''Literature/InColdBlood''. He's also (like his actor Charles Nelson Reilly) very obviously gay, though this is never directly commented upon.

-->'''BlaineL''' One of them was disguised as a woman, but wasn't pulling it off. Like, her hair was red, but it was a little too red, y'know? And the other one, the tall, lanky one, his face was [[DullSurprise so blank and expressionless]]. He didn't even seem human. I think he was a mandroid.

* ADateWithRosiePalms [[spoiler:Mulder]] has one of this, when watching [[spoiler:Bigfoot found footage.]]

* AlienAutopsy: [[spoiler:It's not an alien being autopsied.]]
* AnalProbe

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: Roky starts a cult based on his encounter, Blaine takes his job as a power company lineman, Chrissy devotes herself to philanthropy and rejects Harold, Scully reads Chung's book, and Mulder [[spoiler: [[BreadMilkEggsSquick masturbates to videos of Bigfoot]]]].

* YouLookFamiliar: Detective "Bleeping" Manners was Sheriff John Oakes in "Die Hand die verletzt". He would later appear in two more episodes.
** Alex Diakun (as Dr. Fingers) had been in two episodes before this one (both also written by Darin Morgan).

* CelebrityParadox: ZigZagged. ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}'''s Creator/AlexTrebek and wrestler/future governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura appeared in the roles of TheMenInBlack. The man in black played by Ventura was described as "creepy," while the one played by Trebek just "looked like Alex Trebek," which made those reporting them seem all the more crazy.

* RoomFullOfCrazy: The Conspiracy Theorist who believes in aliens and who wants to be abducted in "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" has a corner in his room which is a nice foil to Mulder's office. He even has a similar poster but the message reads "I believe".

* CelebrityParadox: ZigZagged. Jeopardy!'s Alex Trebek and wrestler/future governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura appeared in the roles of TheMenInBlack. The man in black played by Ventura was described as "creepy," while the one played by Trebek just "looked like Alex Trebek," which made those reporting them seem all the more crazy.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Chung is largely based on Truman Capote, with his research trip to Klass County and boasting about creating a "new literary genre" of "non-fiction science fiction" being pretty obvious parallels to the making of ''InColdBlood''. He's also (like his actor Charles Nelson Reilly) very obviously gay, though this is never directly commented upon.