I agree that it's more about how much realism a person wants in her version of the story, though I do disagree with the insistance that Scully can't be a parent and fight the good fight. Wendelah's clearly right that there are only so many hours in a day, and I think that if Scully is working as a full time ME then it's going to be very nearly impossible for her to fit anything else into her life but that and parenting. But I see no reason for her to be working full time, and we have every reason to believe that there are much more important (globally effecting) issues at hand.
I agree that only a truly remarkable person could have a hope of being "a great parent, a great FBI agent, a great partner...effective, loyal, brave and capable -" while fighting to potentially save humanity from global disaster. But I don't believe it's impossible. It's improbably - deeply, deeply unlikely. But I never watched this show to see normal, regular, or average. Which is really what you're saying too, I guess. I'm just quibbling with the difference between "can't be done" and "probably can't be done", because if I was asking Scully to do something that was truly impossible then I would...well, I wouldn't do that. I do like a basic degree of realism in my texts, even if I prefer idealism over all.
Actually, I'm not sure that Mulder has entirely chosen his priorities...
Yeah, this is an interesting distinction, and one that I don't think the show ever really cleared up for us either. Many fans (particularly Scullyists) resent S9 Mulder for choosing to leave, because the show never really did anything to convince us of the necessity that he leave. It never told us what he was doing out there. I've always been of the mind that whatever he was doing (or at least trying to accomplish) was something that had to be done, and therefore he was doing the right thing by leaving, despite what it cost him (them).
Anyway, ITM puts us right back in that same S9 boat, with everybody kind of floundering.
Re: Realism MSR
I agree that only a truly remarkable person could have a hope of being "a great parent, a great FBI agent, a great partner...effective, loyal, brave and capable -" while fighting to potentially save humanity from global disaster. But I don't believe it's impossible. It's improbably - deeply, deeply unlikely. But I never watched this show to see normal, regular, or average. Which is really what you're saying too, I guess. I'm just quibbling with the difference between "can't be done" and "probably can't be done", because if I was asking Scully to do something that was truly impossible then I would...well, I wouldn't do that. I do like a basic degree of realism in my texts, even if I prefer idealism over all.
Actually, I'm not sure that Mulder has entirely chosen his priorities...
Yeah, this is an interesting distinction, and one that I don't think the show ever really cleared up for us either. Many fans (particularly Scullyists) resent S9 Mulder for choosing to leave, because the show never really did anything to convince us of the necessity that he leave. It never told us what he was doing out there. I've always been of the mind that whatever he was doing (or at least trying to accomplish) was something that had to be done, and therefore he was doing the right thing by leaving, despite what it cost him (them).
Anyway, ITM puts us right back in that same S9 boat, with everybody kind of floundering.