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Dreamland
Fox Muld- we mean, Morris Fletcher's mind in Fox Mulder's body and Dana Scully, with business as usual. note
Written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz
Directed by Kim Manners
Directed by Kim Manners
"I'm Mulder. I'm really Mulder. I switched bodies, places, identities with this man, Morris Fletcher, the man that you think is Mulder, but he's not."
— Morris Fletcher (with Fox Mulder's mind)
Driving to Area 51 in the middle of the night to meet with an informant, Scully and Mulder are stopped on the highway by a caravan of soldiers and a mysterious man in black (Michael McKean). In the middle of this encounter, a mysterious craft passes overhead and then crashes, sending a wave of energy across all the bystanders. Seconds later, Mulder realizes that he and the man in black have switched bodies. Hilarity Ensues.
Tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Mulder as "Morris" calls Morris' daughter by the son's name. They're called Chris (girl) and Terry (boy). Chris is visibly upset and runs back upstairs crying. Then Terry is also annoyed, but in his case it's because he wants to be called by his full name, Terrence.
- Alcubierre Drive: is explained that both the alien and the US experimental ships travel faster-than-light by warping (one character even alludes to Star Trek) time and space using anti-gravity technology, which is also what can cause effects like time lost and, if something goes wrong, it can have bizarre effects like people and animals fuse into solid objects and the body swap.
- Et Tu, Brute?: When Mulder realizes he's been set up by Scully he's particularly hurt.
- Flirtatious Smack on the Ass: Morris as "Mulder" does this to Scully at the office, to her horror.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: A side effect of being caught in the alien craft's crash radius. Agent Mulder and an Area 51 security officer get mind-switched. Additionally, one of the pilots switches bodies with an old woman several miles away.
- Gender-Blender Name: Poor Mulder-as-Morris when he hears "his" wife call the kids, a boy and a girl, Chris and Terry.
- Idiot Ball: Scully. Fake-Mulder behaves very oddly by Mulder's standards on returning to work, driving Scully up the wall to the point she suggests there's something seriously wrong with him. When Real-Mulder finally manages to talk to her, explain, and relay a load of details about her only he could know, and despite pretty much the exact same thing happening a season and a half earlier ("Small Potatoes"), what does Scully do? Disbelieve him and calls the authorities on him.Mulder: Look, your full name is Dana Katherine Scully. Your badge number is... hell, I don't know your badge number. Your mother's name is Margaret, your brother's name is Bill. He's in the Navy and he hates me. Lately you've been having for lunch, I dunno, this six ounce cup of yogurt, plain yogurt into which you stir some bee pollen because you're on some kind of bee pollen kick, even though I tell you you're a scientist and you really should know better.
Scully: That information could've been gathered by anybody.
Mulder: (Gives her a look) ...even that yogurt thing? That's so you. That's so Scully. The fact that you haven't changed is still somewhat comforting. - Limited Wardrobe: Morris, a Man in Black.Mulder: Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Johnny Cash...
- The Men in Black: Fletcher Morris is one of these. Mulder has to masquerade as him after the mind-switch.
- Mirror Routine: Micheal McKean and David Duchovny do this when Mulder examines his new body in the mirror.
- The Mirror Shows Your True Self: Inverted. This episode's convention is that the body-swapped Fletcher and Mulder appear to the audience as the character, not their body. Mirrors and cameras reveal how everyone in the show sees them. Mulder dances in front of the mirror when he examines his new body.
- Not Himself: Both Mulder and Morris after the mind-switch. Morris in Mulder's body kisses up to A.D. Kersh, sleeps with Kersh's secretary, plays golf on his computer, attempts to seduce Scully, and buys a water bed.
- So Near, Yet So Far: Mulder has access to Area 51 but he cannot do anything with it or else he'll blow his cover.
- Shout-Out: Mulder's Johnny Cash reference.
- Tele-Frag: Besides the "Freaky Friday" Flip, this is the other side effect of being caught in the alien craft's crash radius.
- To Be Continued: Two-parter episode.
- Villains Blend in Better: Averted; both Mulder and Morris have moments where they blend in very well and moments where they don't. At first Mulder is confused by what's happened, but Morris hardly bats an eye as he gets in the car with Scully. Mulder manages to stumble his way through Area 51 and Morris's home life, but nobody really calls him on his strange behavior. Morris, on the other hand, seems to have no trouble fitting in at the FBI, but Scully immediately and repeatedly notices his strange behavior, to the point that she considers getting him evaluated by a psychiatrist.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Almost completely subverted. Before she finally cottons on to something being seriously wrong, Morris!Mulder calls Scully "Dana" more times than Real!Mulder has in the entire show up to this point.
