Episode 150, and the writers proved they can still be fresh and original. From the opening montage to the unresolved ending, X Cops was a hugely enjoyable parody, but one which kept its tongue far enough out of its cheek to avoid becoming a purely fun episode.

I've never seen Cops, but I have seen many of the fly-on-the-wall documentaries we've been inundated with in the last few years, and this episode mimicked them perfectly. Although the viewer was skillfully shown exactly what the director intended them to see, the camerawork had a wonderfully casual feel about it, and all the actors displayed the slightly nervy naturalness fly-on-the-wall subjects always seem to possess. And the dialogue, although delivered in such a way as to sound utterly unscripted, was just the sort of thing people say on those programmes. It was all very clever, but never seemed to be too aware of its own ingenuity.

It was entertaining to see Mulder use the camera as a platform on which to air his views about the paranormal, and to see Scully cringe as he did so. I loved the way she professionally and calmly asked Mulder for "a word" and then stood just on the edge of the shot, and tried to hide behind the ambulance door, or turned away, or put her hand over the camera. Unlike Mulder, I realised immediately that yes, she doesn't want him to look stupid, but she's equally (or maybe more) worried about herself looking like an idiot. I have to admit to being surprised that Skinner didn't mind them being filmed, but I suppose the press coverage of him having refused would have looked even worse. Once again it was left to Scully to try and stop Mulder looking foolish, and I liked the way she delivered her "I told you so" lines (not "I told you so" in a smug way, but seeming to have proved her rational explanation right and his werewolf theory wrong) and then immediately added "it was an understandable conclusion that I'm sure anybody would have made." And judging from his face, Mulder knew she was just covering him, which I liked - although it wasn't really very hard for him to figure that one out.

Although Scully hid in embarrassment while she looked like the maverick agent's sidekick, when she got into the autopsy bay she started playing to the camera as much as Mulder had been doing. I liked that - not only did it make me laugh, but it seemed believable. She's a good scientist, she's in her element looking for hard evidence and solid explanations, so this was a chance for her to look like a skilled investigator on national television. I loved the way she looked straight into the camera after saying confidently "Let's see if we can put that story to rest, shall we?" and then again as she stated, with a forced smile that looked ready for a tooth to gleam, "Because the FBI has nothing to hide."

I've already said I liked the camerawork, but I think there were two things they did that I really liked. The filming of the inside of the car as the windows smashed and it tipped over were original, artistic and yet didn't feel at all staged. And the shot through the car window of Chantara's body showed just enough for the viewer to realise her neck had been broken "like a chicken," just as she had feared. I know it's an easy comparison to draw, but I found some shots reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project, although I didn't consciously make the connection until the end as Wetzel, Mulder and Scully were seen walking through the abandoned house.

There were also a lot of small things I liked in X Cops. The deep voice right at the beginning intoning that "viewer discretion is advised" made me smile and, along with the Bad Boys music, set the tone for the episode. For some reason, probably because it's the sort of incidental thing we don't usually get to see, I enjoyed seeing Scully put on her bullet proof vest. I did say these were little things J . I don't know what it is about me, the moon and silhouettes, but the helicopter in front of the full moon looked fantastic. Scully's "I hate you guys" and closing of the door after finding the cameramen hiding in the closet were great. I really liked the way Scully gently touched Ricky's vest and blood began to flow out through the slash marks, and Wetzel's comments after that were just right: "That's when you've go to cowboy up and give 150%, catch the bad guys." "Cowboy up" is just the kind of stupid cliché people use on these programmes.

I don't know why, but I feel like I should mention Steve and Edie. They amused me for a while, but Edie's wailing annoyed me fairly soon. So there, I mentioned them J .

For all the complimentary things I can say about the fly-on-the-wall gimmick, it did feel a little like the plot took a backseat to the novelty value. It was an adequate plot, and I realise they couldn't really put in anything terribly important in the grander X Files scheme of things, but it was a little thin. I did like the ambiguous ending though - was the monster dead or had it just disappeared until the next full moon? But why would people be more scared on a full moon than any other night? Some kind of primitive fear going back to our cave-dwelling ancestors? That was the best theory I could come up with, but it's seriously flawed - surely cavepeople would have been more afraid at New Moon, when the moon isn't visible in the sky. I may be missing something obvious which would explain it, but I don't know what it might be.

Last comment - for some reason I found the credits, which listed Sheriffs 1-9, quite amusing.

Scully: Mulder, have you noticed that we're on television?

Mulder: I don't think it's live television, Scully, she just said #!*@

Scully: But it's a camera and it's recording. It's recording everything that you are saying, do you understand that? I just want to make sure that you're clear on that.

Scully: Mulder, this could ruin your career.

Mulder: What career?

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