The X-Files - First Time Watching

^That would be season 2 (and is also the reason for a certain major plot development that I will not mention yet).

 

I was a huge fan as a teenager. I loved that show. I enjoyed more the earlier seasons because I liked the "villain of the week" plots more than the "one long story-arc" ones. I still enjoy watching the occasional episode. Now, I also enjoy the actors of the later seasons which striked me as odd back then.

The one thing that is absolutely awful about the X-files was the second movie.

 

I still think the second movie was okay. Of all the tales you could tell with the characters after more than half a decade, though, it certainly wasn't ideal.

 

Is X-Files a show that might show it's age in some episodes? I've actually be impressed in some of the effects so far, and appreciate that the show really hasn't utilized special effects as much for a scifi show. Actually I think the only episode where I've really seen some FX was "Squeeze" and I thought it looked rather creepy. I guess I ask because it was the same time TNG was on and people have called TNG dated (I don't agree with that but oh well).

 

It shows it's age through the day to day things, the cellphones, very little internet, the cars, etc.

 

The X Files wouldn't have worked ten years ago. It would have been over instantly as soon as Mulder got the evidence he needed on his camera-phone.

It would work today, as everyone would accuse him of photoshopping the images and demand actual proof instead of just images.

 

I think you underestimate how long Photoshop has been around... I started using it in 1995, and it was already onto PS4 by then. It was ubiquitous in the publishing industry long before camera phones were commonplace.

 

It's ubiquity I'm thinking of. The first cameraphones were around during Season 9 of the X-Files, probably even before, but not everyone had them. Same with Photoshop, it's only in the last six or seven years that the idea of photo manipulation for the masses has truly become accepted, and more importantly, the average Joe really started using it.

EDIT: It's a question of how long the word 'shopped has been in common use as a verb for manipulated images.

 

I remember having X-Files parties back in the day: not queuing it up on Netflix, but actually sitting down with friends to watch scheduled broadcasts of episodes. Ahhh, it was a simpler time...

It is a genuinely great show and worth sticking with. It's also one of the first shows to attempt -- something that isn't apparent in the early seasons -- a major overarching story arc. Some of the episodes in that arc are classics, but I might be wary of getting too invested in the arc itself, because, well:

Spoiler: About the arc...

It ultimately fizzles out. X-Files was episodic television trying to pretend to be more, but was ultimately still written the same way that old episodic shows were, making it nearly impossible for the writing team to really plan out and sustain a story arc in coherent fashion. The "series finale" supposedly wrapping up the arc was one of the biggest letdowns I can remember in all of television -- although on the upside this equipped me to spot early that the "story arcs" of Lost and BSG were similarly going nowhere.

 

It's one of my favorite shows. I really love anything to do with Mulder and Scully. I did a review thread for most of the show here during my rewatch a few years ago. There were several episodes I hadn't seen at the time. Seasons 1-6 are phenomenal, and there are some really great episodes in every season after that. There are duds like every show, but the good far outweighs the bad.

 

Without any unresolved interest these days in the Mulder/Scully issues to make me resent the arrival of the later FBI agents (as I did at the time), I now find that many of later Robert Patrick episodes were actually really good.

 

Shadows

Much better than the previous episode, but not as good as the first four. Really liked the music used in this one, and Howard Graves was creepy. I was hoping for a resolution a little more "supernatural" than what we got given everything that came before, but it was just ok. Did like the ending scene with Lauren settling into her new job and the coffee shaking.

 

I suppose it always depends a bit on your taste.

Two of my favourite episodes are from season 3 and season 6, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Post Modern Prometheus". The first one is really serious while the second one is one of the brighter episodes. For me it was always one of the advantages of the X-Files that the showrunner tried out different things.

*Off to find a provider where I can stream the X-Files*

 

Mark Snow is an absolute genius. I especially love his moments that are nothing but some pretty little piano riffs. And every once in a while you realize you just heard a 2-3 minute orchestral composition that's as good as any full film score you've ever heard.

 

Oh, and... watch for the comedic episodes. Some of them are pure gold.
Oooohhh, Doctor Bambi!!

 

Ghost in the Machine

X-Files does 2001: A Space Oddessy, specifically Hal. I liked it for the most part. Always liked shows about AI, even though being a Star Trek fan, that's a cliche that's on the same levels as Time Travel. I really did like seeing Deep Throat again though.

Ice

Probably my favorite episode of the season so far. Again, going back to Star Trek, I was reminded of DS9's The Ship, but this one was a whole lot more tense and the music, again, really set the mood well. Also, 8 episodes in and this episode put the partnership of Mulder and Scully to the test and I'd say it brought them closer together. In the early stages of the season, you could already see the chemistry these two characters were starting to form, and I really am excited to see that friendship develop as the series goes on. Also loved the themes tackled here, such as Paranoia, Claustrophobia, and Trust. Also, that was a hell of a teaser, with the two guys killing themselves.

 

"Ice" is a great one. Definitely one of the early gems of the series.

 

We are not who we are!

(or something like that)

 

Spaced

Maybe a fun thing I can do with this series is point out all the Star Trek actors that are in this show, because this episode had two of them, Susanna Thompson and the guy who played the Cadet's father in TNG's "The First Duty" (Who I believe has just passed away).

As for the episode itself, I enjoyed it. Some of the effects were really bad (It almost felt like this episode was filmed on a lower budget than some of the other ones I've seen) but I appreciate the space program and this episode dealt with it in a good but "x-files" way.

Fallen Angel

I keep saying stuff like "X episode is my favorite episode of the season" and it really is amazing that in the first season and first ten episodes, there have been a lot of enjoy. Fallen Angel was one of those episodes, with a great character in Max and more development on the mysterious Deep Throat (Who or whoever they call Jerry Hardin's character). The last ten minutes was some of the most exciting 10 minutes I've seen of X-Files yet, specifically when we see Max being abducted and then the end scene with McGrath and Deep Throat. Also, Mulder's testimony really does get the ball rolling on this series to come. "A Highly classified lie", indeed.

 

Eve

Oh man was this episode deliciously creepy. The two twin Girls were creepy, the older Eve was creepy, and once again the music made this episode even more creepy. I always fear an episode where child actors are present (Star Trek did not do this very well at all) but this episode worked so well and after the heavy episode before, this one was back to Mystery of the week that really really worked. You gotta love an episode that deals with genetic enhancements, cloning, and criminally insane patients at a mental ward.