From STARBURST #223, MARCH 1997
          
          THE X-FILES: TUNGUSKA
          
          FOX
          David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, Nicholas Lea
          
               This release in the now usual feature-length package,
          comprises of Season Four's first intergral two-parter: "Tunguska"
          and "Terma," which occur as episodes eight and nine in the season. 
          
          
               Like the two-parters within the series which have come
          before, this too is an epic, fast-paced story, as action-oriented as
          "731"/"Nisei," and linking directly to "Piper Maru"/"Apocrypha." 
          For "Tunguska" sees the return and development of the oil-like
          alien life form, last seen pouring out of maverick agent Krycek as
          he was sealed in an underground bunker.  Nicholas Lea fans can
          rejoice, however, as this two-parter also sees Krycek's return --
          with a kind of vague 'in one bound he was free' type of explanation
          for his survival from certain death.
          
               Of course, no-one is pleased to see the duplicitous Krycek
          and he is beaten up by just about everybody in these episodes.  His
          eventual fate this time is so gruelling it's best left unstated, suffice
          it to say if THE X-FILES ever wants to do a FUGITIVE pastiche
          they'll have no trouble finding a suitable antagonist...
          
               The plot is bound in the usual and ever tightening
          conspiracy spiral.  What Chris Carter seems to be doing gradually
          is drawing together most of the alien conspiracy strands into one
          unified theory.  It's taking time, but it's there.
          
               So with "Tunguska" we find that the liquid alien entity on
          the loose in "Piper Maru" probably originated from a Martian
          meteor which crashed to Earth in Russia earlier this century (the
          asteroid crash element is supposedly based on a true incident).  The
          Americans (that's the Cigarette Smoking Man, John Neville's Well
          Manicured Man and the gang, of course) are trying to get their
          hands on a core sample because they know what it contains and the
          deadly effect it has -- dubbed "black cancer."
          
               However, Mulder intercepts a sample from a Russian
          diplomat after a tip-off, causing a political crisis which puts Scully
          and Skinner in front of a Congressional hearing.  Scully covers for
          Mulder -- who has traced the rock to its earthly source in Russia --
          and is put in prison for her "contemptible" behavior.  Mulder
          meanwhile is captured in Russia and suffers some fairly unpleasant
          teratment -- the repercussions of which are sure to carry through to
          future episodes.
          
               Like many X-FILES two-parters, the resolution is strangely
          unsatisfactory compared to the first half, but as we get further
          tantalizing evidence of the alien-related conspiracy revealed (such
          as the smallpox vaccination files found in "Paper Clip" and the
          resulting genetic markers which Scully discovered in
          "Herrenvolk"), there is no denying how intriguing and exciting
          THE X-FILES still is.  STARBURST rating: 8.  (Review by Ian
          Calcutt.)
          
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