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"Terms of Endearment" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files'', and originally aired on the Fox network on January 3, 1999. Written by David Amann and directed by Rob Bowman, "Terms of Endearment" is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. It earned a Nielsen rating of 10.5 and was watched by 18.7 million people on its initial broadcast. The performance given by guest actor Bruce Campbell attracted positive comments, but the plot was criticized. The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In the installment, an unborn child is apparently abducted from its mother's womb by a demon after the prospective parents discover that their child has birth defects. After Agent Spender dismisses the assignment as irrelevant to the X-Files, Mulder and Scully steal the case and investigate the creature. While looking into the report, the duo discover that Wayne Weinsider (Campbell) is a child-abducting demon. "Terms of Endearment", an inversion of the 1968 film ''Rosemary's Baby'', was the first episode written by ''The X-Files'' executive story editor David Amann, a staff member who later became a regular contributor to the series. Campbell, already well known as a cult film actor in several Sam Raimi horror movies, was cast as Wayne Weinsider. Many of the episode's special effects were created without elaborate computer-generated effects. Critics have complimented the episode's unique representation of its antagonist, who has been classified as a sympathetic villain. ==Plot== In Roanoke, Virginia, Wayne Weinsider (Bruce Campbell) and his pregnant wife Laura (Lisa Jane Persky) learn via an ultrasound scan that their unborn child has bizarre physical abnormalities, such as horn-like protrusions. Weinsider appears to be especially distraught after hearing the news. That night, Laura has a terrifying dream in which a demon-like figure snatches the baby from her womb. When she wakes up, the couple discover that Laura has seemingly miscarried. Laura's brother, local deputy sheriff Arky Stevens, reports her story to the X-Files section at the FBI. Agent Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) discards the report, but Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) salvages the case and travels to Virginia, along with Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to interview the Weinsiders. The police, who suspect an illegal abortion, find the remains of the baby in the garden furnace. Wayne quickly confesses to destroying the evidence. He asserts that his wife had aborted the child while in a trance-like state and attempts to convince her of this. Laura takes the blame for the abortion and goes to jail. While visiting Laura in her cell, Wayne attempts to steal her soul, but the EMT is able to save her life, much to Wayne's surprise. Meanwhile Wayne has another wife, Betsy Monroe, who is also pregnant. Mulder, determining that Wayne is a Czech immigrant by the name of Ivan Veles, reaches the conclusion that Wayne is a demon who is trying to have a normal baby, and suspects that he terminates pregnancies when the fetus exhibits demon-like traits. Betsy has a dream similar to Laura's, but recognizes the dream-demon as her husband. Nevertheless, she loses her baby and tracks down Mulder and Scully. The two seek out Weinsider and catch him digging in Betsy's backyard. After a short conversation, the sheriff arrives at the house and shoots Weinsider. He is taken to hospital and placed in a bed next to Laura. A mist passes from Weinsider's body into Laura's, at which point Weinsider dies and Laura recovers. Mulder and Scully discover remains of normal human babies in Betsy's yard where Weinsider was digging. When seeing the evidence, Mulder deduces that Betsy is another demon who is unable to have a baby demon unless another demon impregnates her. Unlike Weinsider, she has been terminating pregnancies that resulted in non-demonic fetuses: the very type Weinsider has been so desperate to father. As a demon, she could recognize her husband as a demon in her dream and stop him extracting her baby. However, it becomes apparent that she never lost her baby; it was merely a trick to frame her demon husband. At the end of the narrative, Betsy Monroe drives away with her new demon baby. Her eyes flash with a red gleam before returning to normal.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Terms of Endearment (The X-Files)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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