The Professional Series #3 - Dana Scully: X-Files
Character Overview
‘Mulder… None of that really happened out there tonight. That was all in our heads, right?’
As one half of the famed Mully-Sculder partnership, Special Agent Dana Scully MD (Gillian Anderson) is initially assigned by FBI Section Chief Scott Blevins to report on Mulder and his work on the ‘X-Files’. It is hoped that Scully’s analytical approach to work and logical scientific mind will temper Mulder’s unwavering belief in the paranormal. Reporting to FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, Mulder and Scully become a formidable team based on mutual professional respect, complementary skill sets and compatible personality traits.
Educational Background
‘So much of the work that we do cannot be measured in standard terms.’
Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in Physics. Following the completion of her undergraduate qualification, Scully qualified as a medical doctor and completed a residency in forensic pathology. Recruited for the FBI straight from medical school, prior to her work on the X-Files she was teaching at the FBI Academy in Quantico.
Characterisation
‘Mulder, there’s something out there.’
With her red hair, blue-green eyes and fit physique, Scully is obviously a striking woman. Thankfully though her appearance is not the focus of her character, in fact more often than not her attractiveness is downplayed. Scully has an impressive intellect and similar to Mulder she displays a very focussed and motivated career mindset. Equally at home in the field investigating evidence as she is in the lab performing autopsies, Scully’s fascination with all things science is what truly captivates.
The loyal friendship that develops between Scully and Mulder adds another dimension to her character, as do the sometimes complex relationships she maintains with different family members. While she is logical and practical, Scully is not cold and unaffected by her interactions and dealings with others. She is caring, compassionate and always willing to fight for a cause and for the people she believes in.
Through her work on the X-Files Scully must come to terms with many things that fail to fit comfortably within the commonly accepted realms of the scientific world. With constant pressure on what she previously understood to be scientific certainties, Scully also struggles at times to reconcile X-Files events with her Catholic faith.
Character Development
‘I’ve seen things that I cannot deny.’
When she first joins the X-Files, Scully is highly sceptical of anything paranormal and has difficulty accepting any unscientific explanations. However given her later personal experiences and all the strange things she witnesses and comes to know through her work, Scully herself becomes more of a believer. While she is more open to alternative explanations, her opinions are still primarily drawn from science.
Aside from having to cope with several periods of career uncertainty where the X-Files Division is closed down, Scully’s involvement with the X-Files impacts significantly on her personal life. She is abducted, experimented on, has to cope with the death of immediate family members, discovers that she has a malignant, inoperable tumour and struggles to come to terms with the news that she is infertile. However just when all hope seems to be lost, Scully is cured of her tumour, though it is unclear exactly what causes the intervention. While overcoming cancer was a significant challenge for Scully’s health, she is also infected with a deadly virus after being stung by carrier bees. Lucky for her though, Mulder comes to the rescue and administers a much needed vaccine.
Despite her previous infertility diagnosis and in the midst of pursuing a more intimate relationship with Mulder, against all odds Scully falls pregnant and subsequently gives birth to a healthy boy named William. Given his interesting parentage and unique powers, William is in constant danger from highly dangerous and extremely powerful external parties.
We have seen Scully experience the highest of highs both professionally and personally, and also seen her suffer through her lowest, most desolate of times. While she doubts herself and her beliefs at times, Scully is a fighter and she will always endure. Over the years we have known her, we are given plenty of insight into the strengths and capabilities of Scully’s character. More importantly though, we are constantly reminded of Scully’s humanity through her struggles within herself and against a world which seems to be pitted against her happiness. While we may not have faced the same circumstances, we have all felt like that at times.
Relationships
‘I don’t have any recollection of this. I was surprised to wake up the next morning to find Mulder asleep in my room.’
While they may differ in their approaches to work, Mulder and Scully are both committed to the pursuit for truth. Sharing a high work ethic and motivation to solve mysterious circumstances, Mulder and Scully quickly form a close professional bond. While they are drawn together for work, there can be no denying the presence of a strong spark of sexual chemistry whenever the two are together.
Even when apart, Mulder and Scully have an unbroken bond which provides each of them with professional expertise and personal support. While their relationship continues to grow stronger and they become more deeply involved in each other’s lives over the years, a great deal of ambiguity surrounds the development of their relationship into a romantic and physical union. Whatever the specifics of the circumstances may be, Mulder takes on the role of father to William, and the relationship between Scully and Mulder moves from one that was primarily a professional partnership, into that of a complete life partnership.
Current status
‘Call my doctor. You have to call my doctor. Call Doctor Scully.’
With William in constant danger, Mulder goes into hiding in the hopes that with him gone, Scully and William will be safe. Scully looks for normalcy and returns to her teaching position at Quantico, leaving the X-Files Division in the hands of new agents. Unfortunately for Scully, peace will not be found so easily. She finds out that she and William are once again under constant surveillance by significantly dangerous parties who eventually succeed in kidnapping William. While he is later found safe and sound, Scully realises that she cannot provide William with the safety he needs, and so she makes the difficult decision to give him up for adoption.
Mulder resurfaces and is faced with imprisonment and a likely death sentence. With Scully’s assistance the two escape to New Mexico to avoid the authorities and hopefully finally expose the truth about the government conspiracy to cover up the threat of alien colonisation. The immediate future for Mulder and Scully remains uncertain.
Believability
Gillian Anderson is perfectly cast as Scully, the calm intellectual presence that is always willing to try to explain the seemingly unexplainable in logical terms. Balanced against the instinctive and passionate approach of her partner Mulder, they display a natural chemistry that is impossible to resist. Completely believable as both a medical doctor and an FBI Agent, Anderson’s portrayal of Scully is genuine and refreshingly strong.
Stereotype rating
Low - The role of Scully is a nice gender reversal to the male-female personality partnerships which are normally shown on screen. While Scully is very much a woman, she is the objective logical professional played off against Mulder’s ‘gut instinct’ approach to solving cases.
Heart or Hate
Heart (while she is sometimes a little irritating, surely Scully deserves to be more loved than loathed?)
Agree or disagree? Let me know your thoughts.
Tracey is the author of Quiet Paws
Posted in Television, The Professional Series | 2 Comments »
Character Overview
With her black hair, green eyes, variety of piercings and tattoos, and goth inspired wardrobe, on the surface it may seem easy to dismiss Abby as someone more interested in image than solving crime mysteries. However like the case evidence she is employed to analyse, there is much more to Abby than what meets the eye. Aside from being an astute professional with control-freak tendencies in the lab, Abby displays a sweet and thoughtful disposition. It is clear that she cares both about her forensic work and the people that she works with.
Like the woman herself, Abby’s romantic relationships follow no fixed path or pattern. She has become involved with everyone from a gemmologist to a NASA engineer, and seems to stay on good terms with most of her ex-boyfriends. While currently single, she did have a relationship with Special Agent Timothy McGee, which ended after McGee pressured Abby on the status of their relationship. She is much more of an ‘enjoy the moment and see what happens’ kind of girl. Abby and McGee remain firm friends.
Fred and Gunn become romantically involved, however Gunn faces some sideline competition from Wesley Wyndam-Pryce who can’t bring himself to tell Fred how he really feels. Fred and Gunn date for about a year until Gunn prevents Fred from taking revenge against the person responsible for sending her to Pylea. Their relationship never recovers its romantic edge.
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