Thursday, July 12, 2007

Hissing to be clever


Lots of good stuff sprouting from that ouroboros post. Some questions remain unanswered: #1, 3, and 7, to be exact!

Does anyone know anything about an X-Files episode entitled "The Ouroboros"? (I wasn't an avid viewer, alas.)

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BONUS ROUND: Name the Scottish fantasist who is the author of a book with ouroboros in the title!

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MORE ON THE OUROBOROS: I forgot about this until I searched "Gaddis + Ouroboros."

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5 Comments:

Blogger Hannah said...

Scully has a tattoo of it. Video here, possibly NSFW.

And Mulder makes the following analysis of the symbol in a crossover episode with Millennium: "Definitely a mystical symbol. The alchemists favored it. They believe that it represented all of existence."

1:35 AM  
Blogger Ed said...

This is great, thanks! Who's the creepy guy talking?

7:31 AM  
Blogger Hannah said...

A man with a tattoo voiced by Jodie Foster! Scully sleeps with him while Mulder is at Graceland.

Of note, maybe, if you're me: for Superbowl-related reasons, this episode ("Never Again") swapped airing dates with an episode originally intended to air after it. What happened as a result of that switch is there seems to be a much darker motivation for Scully's behavior: she had just found out she had had cancer, but presumably had not told anyone about it. "All of existence," indeed.

That said of course, The X-Files is not known for its continuity! As beautiful Wikipedia points out, "During the episode, Agent Dana Scully goes to a tattoo parlor at the behest of her new acquaintance Ed Jersey. While there she selects a tattoo called an Ouroboros--a depiction of a serpent coiled into a circle devouring its own tail. This emblem is the logo for the television series Millennium and the fictional group after which the program is named. The episode was written by Glen Morgan & James Wong, who were also frequent contributors to Millennium, as well as executive producers of the program during its second season. A slight discontinuity occurs in the connection, however. In the later episode 'Millennium,' both Mulder and Scully are shown the symbol by A.D. Skinner, who then asks them both if they recognize it. Mulder explains its name and significance, but Scully seems to be unfamiliar with it, despite the fact that she had one emblazoned on her backside." (I don't think it's technically her "backside," but so be it.)

9:21 AM  
Blogger Hannah said...

Oh, and might Little Shop of Horrors/Producers/Hairspray count?

11:13 AM  
Blogger Parkus Grammaticus said...

Oh yes! I was so confused by the ad for the new HAIRSPRAY movie...

11:30 AM  

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