The Lone Gunmen (TV series)

Series overview

Whereas The X-Files deals mainly with paranormal events and conspiracies to cover up extraterrestrial contact, The Lone Gunmen draws on secret activity of other kinds, such as government-sponsored terrorism, the development of a surveillance society, corporate crime, and escaped Nazis. The show has a light mood and elements of slapstick comedy. The trio are alternately aided and hindered by a mysterious thief named Yves Adele Harlow.

In the premiere episode, which aired March 4, 2001, members of the U.S. government conspire to hijack an airliner, fly it into the World Trade Center, and blame the act on terrorists to gain support for a new profit-making war. The episode aired six months prior to the September 11 attacks.

Cast and characters

John Fitzgerald Byers

Portrayed by Bruce Harwood. Byers was born in Sterling, Virginia on November 22, 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and was named after the fallen president – his parents were originally planning to name him Bertram after his father. Byers idolized his namesake, but he always had suspicions about the real cause of his death. Byers worked as a public affairs officer for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Baltimore until May 1989. Byers appears to have some working knowledge of medicine, genetics, and chemistry.

Melvin Frohike

Portrayed by Tom Braidwood. Frohike was born circa 1953 in Pontiac, Michigan. Prior to joining the Lone Gunmen, he was an acclaimed tango dancer in Miami. On giving up the tango, he toured the country with hippies before founding Frohike Electronics Corp., specializing in cable intrusion hardware.

Richard "Ringo" Langly

Portrayed by Dean Haglund. Langly was born circa 1968/69 in Saltville, Nebraska. He showed an aptitude for computers from an early age, which was frowned upon by his parents. Langly is The Lone Gunmen's expert in computers, hacking and programming. He is possibly the most paranoid of the Gunmen, taping all incoming phone calls, including those from Fox Mulder.

Yves Adele Harlow

Portrayed by Zuleikha Robinson. Harlow is a femme fatale thief who sometimes works with the Lone Gunmen trio (although sometimes she is their rival). The alias Yves Adele Harlow is an anagram for Lee Harvey Oswald. It was later revealed in The X-Files episode "Jump the Shark" that Yves' real name is Lois Runtz.

Jimmy Bond

Portrayed by Stephen Snedden. Though Bond shares the bravery and physicality of his namesake, he initially appears to be rich but not very bright, and is fascinated with the Lone Gunmen, who often consider him a nuisance. His saving grace is his boundless optimism, coupled with an idealistic view that the jaded Gunmen wish they still held.

Filming

The series was filmed in Vancouver, Canada and in New York, United States.

Episodes

Episodes are approximately 43 minutes in length.

Nielsen ratings

Although the debut episode garnered 13.23 million viewers, its ratings began to steadily drop.

Home video release

Fox Home Entertainment officially released the series (along with the episode of The X-Files titled "Jump the Shark" which finishes the cliffhanger that ended The Lone Gunmen as an additional episode) on a three-disc Region 1 DVD set in the United States on March 29, 2005. In the UK, it was released on January 31, 2006.

Reviews

The Lone Gunmen received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Julie Salamon of The New York Times gave it a favorable review, stating it is "well done: shrewdly filmed, edited and written". Los Angeles Times writer Howard Rosenberg gave the series a moderately positive review, saying a "bit of it is pretty funny". Aaron Beierle, writing for DVD Talk, awarded the show 4 stars out of 5. Beierle considered the stories "enjoyable, intelligent and well-written" and described the characters as "terrifically memorable". Eric Profancik, writing for DVD Verdict, stated the material is "pretty good" and described the plots as "strong and unusual stories".

Awards

The pilot episode earned a CSC Award by the Canadian Society of Cinematographers for Best Cinematography - TV Drama.