X-Files

[D_Davis]

Is there a thread for the TV series?

I couldn't find one.

Anyhow, my wife and I started watching season 1 yesterday. We are about 1/2 through it. I had forgotten about a bunch of the episodes. All I've really watched since the show has been off the air are the conspiracy episodes.

I did just find out that one of my favorite episodes, Space (the one about the astronaut haunted by the face on Mars), is widely considered to be among the very worst. I love it. It is so haunting, and it is simply a wonderful little SF story. Really good stuff.

[Kurosawa Fan]

My wife and I both love it. She recently watched the entire series. I've seen every episode through season 7, but couldn't bring myself to go beyond that, even while my wife was watching. It's truly a great show. Even though the effects look corny at times, the stories transcend the budget limits and make the series creepy as all hell.

[MadMan]

What I love most about this show is Cancer Man, who just might be one of the most complex villains ever in TV history. He's evil yet unshaken in his belief that what he's doing is right, a bastard but also willing to aid Mulder and Scully for his own mysterious ends. [

Show Spoiler

The fact that he ends up becoming Mulder's dad only makes things more juicy and interesting later on. And of course the fact that he knows what happened to Mulder's sister as well only makes him more important to the show, along with his ties to the overall large reaching conspiracy involving the aliens. I also wouldn't be surprised if he's not dead. Sure they showed him getting blown up, but he also survived getting shot and being thrown down the stairs.

]

Hopefully the movie works well, as they wisely brought Mulder and Scully back together full time. The reason why the fan fiction written Seasons 7 and 8 failed was because the new agents had zero chemistry with the two original man characters. The X-Files was great because Mulder and Scully worked extremely well together-they clicked in every single episode. Oh that and the fact that the stand alone episodes were freaky as hell, and that the conspiracy arc was entertaining and enjoyable until things got too weird and really silly. I think that happened around Season 5 or 6 if I recall. I'm not 100% sure about that. I do plan to eventually see every single episode of the show though.

[D_Davis]

I just back from the store with seasons 2 and 3

This store down the street from me has them on sale for $25 each. This is almost $15 cheaper than Amazon.

I'll probably end up buying them all this week.

The narratives are what make this show. The dialog isn't very good, the acting is often poor - especially from the side characters - but the stories are great. I also like how Fox's and Scully's characters are written; the writers handle their arcs with skill and subtlety.

There are definitely some clunker episodes in the first season, but over all it is pretty awesome. It's been fun checking these out again.

I watched seasons 3-6 religiously. Every Sunday night after band practice we would all get together and watch the X-Files. It was way cool. I didn't watch much after this though.

[Dukefrukem]

I watched seasons 3-6 religiously. Every Sunday night after band practice we would all get together and watch the X-Files. It was way cool. I didn't watch much after this though.

Same here. After they wrote Mulder off I lost interest.

Best cliff hanger episode ever was the last episode of season 2, where the bodies are found in the buried train car and Mulder appears to die in a firebomb...

Season 2 is my all time favorite... Esp after Krycek is introduced...

[D_Davis]

Best cliff hanger episode ever was the last episode of season 2, where the bodies are found in the buried train car and Mulder appears to die in a firebomb...

Oh yeah. That was amazing.

[Morris Schæffer]

What I love most about this show is Cancer Man, who just might be one of the most complex villains ever in TV history.

I never really saw him as a complex character. More like lurking in the shadows and emerging briefly from them whenever the show needed an infusion of sinister. Still, I don't recall all the episodes in which Cancer man appeared.

EDIT: And his mastery of the German language in "Triangle" was pretty darn brutal.

[Teh Sausage]

I love it, but it was always very inconsistent. I don't think they ever made a flawless season, though the second and third years come close. I'm not sure what my favourite episode is, but I know that the best set of episodes is the opening 6-8 of Season 2, when they introduced Krychek and had the Duane Barry arc. It's the main reason why S2 is one of my top three seasons - even though after they got Scully back, it went back to being an inconsistent MOTW show with only a few classics scattered here and there. Oh yeah, and the final episode of that year was stunning.

[Bosco B Thug]

I did just find out that one of my favorite episodes, Space (the one about the astronaut haunted by the face on Mars), is widely considered to be among the very worst. I love it. It is so haunting, and it is simply a wonderful little SF story. Really good stuff.

Yeah, I remember Space fondly. Some of the least recognized episodes are also some of the most tantalizing and intriguing for me. I love The Jersey Devil, to stick to Season 1, while Ice I've always found a bit overrated because it's just so derivative. Season 1 is so cute, fresh-faced, and adorably cop-showy.

I started re-watching the series a little over a year ago. Last episode I watched was Season 3, Episode 21 "Avatar" back in May. I'm getting there... (I only plan to watch up to Season 6).

[D_Davis]

Yeah, Ice is far too derivative for me to take seriously at all. They might as well have gone all the way and jokingly called it "Thing Too", or something.

[Dead & Messed Up]

I thought it was funny how a friend vaguely remembered two "really good" episodes. He said one was a goofy look at the conspiracies, and I said, "Oh, that one's 'Jose Chung's From Outer Space.'" And then before he could describe the second one, I said, "The other one you're thinking of is the one with the psychic who foresaw his own death in field of roses."

He looked at me weird, and then he said that was right. Then he recalled one which nearly scarred him. "Oh, that's 'Home.' Standards and practices kept it off the air for about five or six years after its first airing. Cause of the incest."

I'm a nurd.

[D_Davis]

Just watched Shapes, the episode with the Native American lycanthropy. It was awesome.

[chrisnu]

I thought it was funny how a friend vaguely remembered two "really good" episodes. He said one was a goofy look at the conspiracies, and I said, "Oh, that one's 'Jose Chung's From Outer Space.'" And then before he could describe the second one, I said, "The other one you're thinking of is the one with the psychic who foresaw his own death in field of roses."

He looked at me weird, and then he said that was right. Then he recalled one which nearly scarred him. "Oh, that's 'Home.' Standards and practices kept it off the air for about five or six years after its first airing. Cause of the incest."

I'm a nurd.

Those three, "Small Potatoes", and "Bad Blood" are the episodes I hear about the most from more casual fans. Not that they're bad, I just think they have a broader appeal than most of the show.

I'll agree with the opinion that Seasons 2-3 were the strongest seasons of the show, with Season 3 being my favorite. I think that other than Season 6, 3 had the strongest stand-alone episodes. "War of the Coprophages", "Grotesque", "Pusher", "Wetwired"... loved those episodes. I love "Quagmire", which is mostly a silly genre piece, but the Mulder/Scully interaction is choice.

I really liked Season 7, not so much for the stories, but how Mulder and Scully's relationship was developed. I suppose it may be far too playful for people who like their X-Files serious , but I enjoyed watching their relationship become more casual. "Je Souhaite" is golden! Then the good times had to end. :sad:

[Acapelli]

space and shapes are two of my least favorite season 1 episodes

[D_Davis]

space and shapes are two of my least favorite season 1 episodes

Seems to be the consensus. I loved both of them.

I didn't watch Season 1 when it aired, so a lot of these are new to me. Only saw some of them on reruns.

[Bosco B Thug]

Just watched Shapes, the episode with the Native American lycanthropy. It was awesome.

"Shapes" had some beautiful cinematography and the monster is cool, but the episode didn't go anywhere or say anything.

I was totally expecting

[

Show Spoiler

the sister of the dead Native American man and the son of the rancher guy to end up being secret lovers, and the reveal being that she passed on the lycanthropy like some STD!

]

I don't know if that would've been utterly stupid or not, but it would've opened up windows for thematic considerations involving the irrational fears of ethnic/cultural intermingling. Mmhmmm, I'd have liked that.

I'll agree with the opinion that Seasons 2-3 were the strongest seasons of the show, with Season 3 being my favorite. I think that other than Season 6, 3 had the strongest stand-alone episodes. "War of the Coprophages", "Grotesque", "Pusher", "Wetwired"... loved those episodes. I love "Quagmire", which is mostly a silly genre piece, but the Mulder/Scully interaction is choice.

I'll also throw in The Walk, D.P.O., Syzygy, and 2Shy as favorite MOTWs of Season 3. Great season.

War of the Coprophages is, though, I'd say rather firmly, my favorite episode ever (so far).

I hate Revelations, though. I prefered Scully without the delusions of biblical grandeur.

[Raiders]

Syzygy

A favorite of mine though by all accounts, somewhat underrated. Mulder drinking/making out with a detective and going broke over an astrologist is some of the best moments in the series for me.

[D_Davis]

I hate Revelations, though. I prefered Scully without the delusions of biblical grandeur.

I don't remember this episode, but I like Scully's religious journey in general. I thought it was interesting that Scully strove to reconcile her faith in light of her scientific pursuits. They didn't just make her an old Catholic for cheap origin reasons. While Moulder was striving to find an outward truth, Scully's arc had her searching for inner truth. This was always my favorite aspect of the show, and I thought the writers treated her crises of faith with an amount of respect not often shown in pop-culture.

[D_Davis]

"Shapes" had some beautiful cinematography and the monster is cool, but the episode didn't go anywhere or say anything.

I was totally expecting

[

Show Spoiler

the sister of the dead Native American man and the son of the rancher guy to end up being secret lovers, and the reveal being that she passed on the lycanthropy like some STD!

]

I thought this exact same thing.

I think it is one of the better werewolf things - movie, or television. It's just simple little horror story.

[Bosco B Thug]

A favorite of mine though by all accounts, somewhat underrated. Mulder drinking/making out with a detective and going broke over an astrologist is some of the best moments in the series for me.

Oh yeah, Mulder drinking was truly pivotal character building. Also Scully achieving her desired control freak potential.

I don't remember this episode, but I like Scully's religious journey in general. I thought it was interesting that Scully strove to reconcile her faith in light of her scientific pursuits. They didn't just make her an old Catholic for cheap origin reasons. While Moulder was striving to find an outward truth, Scully's arc had her searching for inner truth. This was always my favorite aspect of the show, and I thought the writers treated her crises of faith with an amount of respect not often shown in pop-culture.

It's acknowledged in very interesting ways in the movie.

My main problem with Revelations was actually something that bugs me about a lot of X-Files episodes - the episode brings up some serious social consideration (such as the abusiveness religion can take on) and then goes: "Oops, it's just ghosts/werewolves/mutants/wizards!" which effectively diffuses all commentary.

Show's still awesome for trying, though, most of the time.

[Morris Schæffer]

Saw D.P.O last night. Episode 2 of season three. Co-starring Giovanni Ribisi and Jack Black. Pretty damn middling.

[Bosco B Thug]

Saw D.P.O last night. Episode 2 of season three. Co-starring Giovanni Ribisi and Jack Black. Pretty damn middling.

Aw, I really like D.P.O.. Story wasn't mind-blowing, true, but it was intelligently and solidly developed, and I remember it was the first episode to really make me sit up and notice how 'X-Files' goes above and beyond applying cinematic flair to its TV directing. I love the final shot's visual gag.

[D_Davis]

Almost done with season 2 - it's fantastic.

I love the Dwayne Barry episodes and that the mythos episodes take center stage in this season.

The main characters get developed quite well here, and I love the moment when Skinner realizes he is being duped and reopens the X-Files. He and Mulder have some cool moments during the early episodes.

[Dead & Messed Up]

Aw, I really like D.P.O.. Story wasn't mind-blowing, true, but it was intelligently and solidly developed, and I remember it was the first episode to really make me sit up and notice how 'X-Files' goes above and beyond applying cinematic flair to its TV directing. I love the final shot's visual gag.

What's the visual gag?

I thoroughly enjoy that episode. It was one of the first episodes I saw, and a recent re-viewing maintained a lot of the fun. Ribisi's perf is funny as hell, especially his repetitive, plaintive whine for "Missus Kiveat," and there's something cathartic about seeing Jack Black

[

Show Spoiler

struck by lightning.

]

[Saya]

I was watching the season three cockroach episode The War of the Coprophages last night and was reminded how hilarious The X-Files could be. It's totally awesome.