The X-Files - First Time Watching

Darkness Falls was a great one in the first season.

 

Young at Heart

Not sure who follows these reviews but sorry it's been a while. With the holidays and me getting sick, it's been a while since I've seen an episode, but I finally got to see another one tonight.

This one was just ok. Nice to get more Mulder backstory, but the guy who played Barnett wasn't a really good actor. I've seen some insane characters this season (Like Brad Dourif's character from Beyond the Sea) but this insane character was kind of cartoonish.

I wish I can comment more on various things this show has set up, like Barnett's research or the cult from Gender Bender who just vanished, but because I haven't seen the series before and this is my first time watching, the only thing I can say is we'll see where it goes.

 

I believe Gillian Anderson is still quite busy and getting critical acclaim in recent productions. Both her and Duchovny have expressed interest in doing another X-Files feature given the right story and likely the involvement of Chris Carter.

 

She can change her accent at will. It's weird.

 

The stand alone episodes are arguably better than that of any other sci-fi show, some hold a candle to big-budget films. Season one is great, seasons three to four are sublime. Season five is on par with season one. Season 6 is so-so...7, 8 and 9 are pretty untouchable for me as the quality of the stand-alone episodes deteriorated into standard fare. You owe it to yourself to watch the first four seasons in totem.

 

EBE

I've been told that this is one of The X-Files "mythological" episodes, which after watching I take it to mean the exploration of "The Truth is Out There". It's taking me a while to get through season 1, but remembering the first two episodes, kinda, what an episode this was. Nice continuation of the Government covering up the conspriacy arc, and we get a whole lot more Deep Throat in this one, especially his background on how he was responsible for exterminating an EBE back in Vietnam. I love that he isn't just a contact, but he has an unique agenda, which will make his character that much more interesting to end the season. It's really hard to believe this is the same guy who played the annoying Sam Clemens in TNG's Time Arrow. Jerry Hardin is great in this role, and I loved the conspiracy this episode had.

 

At some point when watching X Files, either as a new person watching it fresh, or as an old fan of the series, you may wish to watch Quartermass and the Pit. It's a British science fiction film which might have influenced Chris Carter, perhaps unconsciously, for many of the themes of the X Files appear in that film.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quatermass_and_the_Pit_%28film%29

It was serialized in the late fifties, and made into a film in the late sixties.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq--KN6ZSeE[/yt]

I can't paste the youtube link for the fifties version as it might break copyright. The copyright might have expired though.

 

It's certainly still under copyright, but it's also widely available online for some reason.

Oh, and it's a terrific movie, superior to the first two from the '50s.

 

During the run of the X Files, it had a hardcore group of fans, who did things like try to find clues to the mytharc found in the DVD upon which commentary was produced. I can't recall the exact circumstances, but the mytharc was a mystery and the Internet was abuzz with where Carter was going. He then gave a clue within some form of media...I believe it was in CD form. It might have been an early DVD.

As pieces of that mytharc came together, and with lots of interested in science fiction films from not only America, but from diverse places, people looked at the common themes, and unquestionably some things happened on Quatermass that also happened on the X Files.
...
Looking back at the episodes and in stills, one is struck by the incredible beauty of Gillian Anderson. She never seemed to find her niche in Hollywood, but did find later success in England. She's been featured on numerous productions, and among them The Petal and The Rose as well as the recent serial killer drama The Fall.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyFrBC1rAcg[/yt]


EDIT:
Here's a forum post which discusses the hidden track of commentary by Chris Carter.
http://forums.televisionwithoutpity...-and-barenaked-scully-fight-the-future/page-4

 

I actually added The Fall into my queue. Not sure when I will watch it, but it looks interesting, and it has Gillian Anderson. As for the movie you also mentioned, I might seek that out too but I'm just enjoying X-Files and I'm at the end of season 1 at the moment.

I think I've decided to discontinue reviewing every episode. For one, these episodes aired so long ago that people have probably forgotten about them but really I feel as if I'm just talking to myself in this thread. I'll talk about episodes that Really get me excited but I can say now the last three (Miracle Men, Shapes, and Darkness Falls) really haven't, at least not like EBE or Beyond the Sea. I might just highlight some episodes and talk about the season as a whole when I'm done with it. Suffice it to say, I've really been enjoying season 1 (Watching this along with Season 5 of TNG on Blu Ray) and look forward to what Season 2 has in store.

 

That's too bad. The X Files will probably be remembered as being one of the most influencial series ever to be on television.

The mix of the paranormal, UFOs, conspiracy theory, government operatives, unrequited love, created an atmosphere in which there was something for practically everyone.

The show sure ended strangely. They were afraid to cut it off neatly and it went two full seasons too long...and practically as a whole different show too.

Catch some of the Lone Gunmen shows if you can. They're worth watching. One was eerie since it dealt with 911 before 911 happened and made conspiracy theory very spooky.
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GCsTf-fKVo[/yt]


Also worth watching was the Millenium series which had a crossover episode.

 

I'm not going to discontinue watching the show, just reviewing every episode here. I'm loving this series so far.

 

Good. "Miracle Man" and "Shapes" are pretty unremarkable, although I like "Darkness Falls." Given the Vancouver area, I'm surprised they never set another episode in a logging community (unless they did and I can't remember it!). The episode has teeth, especially for a standalone -- it's about as close to death as our heroes get in a monster of the week episode ("Field Trip" is the only other standalone episode I can think of that comes close).

 

Because they filmed in Vancouver, that created some issues for the Southwestern episodes. I recall them painting rocks to get the color correct and not pleasing some environmentalists as a result.

 

I too liked Darkness falls, but it was the scenery that I really liked. If they do Remaster X-Files like I've been hearing, this episode might be one of the highlights just for the scenery and sunrises alone.

 

There used to be websites that broke down the episodes into categories like mytharc ones and monster of the week ones. There's a really crazy one about a science fiction writer Jose Chung From Outer Space, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

I actually liked Je Souhaite which is about a djinn, but unlike the Quran, but of the Aladdin variety. There's a great one about cancer being a lifeform (Leonard Betts).

EDIT: You might like Dark Skies too, a very quirky conspiracy show that featured Jeri Ryan.

 

"You have something I need!"

One of the most haunting and jaw dropping moments in the show, and so understated too!

 

That's Paul McCrane. He's the talented if ill-liked surgeon from ER. Who can forget the horrifying helicopter scene from that show? He plays a largely forgotten role in the first RoboCop film.

 

Actually, I started to watch the X-Files again now. I had planned to do it anyway, but this thread tipped the scales. Since discussing every single episode takes a lot of time and effort, you're probably right to foucus on specific ones in the future. Not all the episodes are outstanding. However, I'm surprised how good even the mediocore episodes are. I'm just finishing season 3 now and there were hardly episodes which made me think: "*yawn* Boring". As a matter of fact, I had forgotten how dark, scary and yukky some of the episodes are. "Darkness falls" is actually one of them. I was really surprised that Mulder and Scully ended up in a cocoon. From a viewers perspective you somehow count on the rescue team showing up in time.

 

If you think the X Files is "dark" then you should watch Millenium. It's hard to understand the concern that people had as the Millenium approached but that's happened over and over again in history.

Certain shows like the X Files were not only important cultural phenomena, but of artistic merit, and makes nods to numerous films. As such, a film fan can easily enjoy watching the show purely from that perspective.

One of the saddest aspects of the X Files was the depiction of Muldur's porn/sexual addiction which then became a reality, then oddly becomes even stranger as it's a feature of his next show Californication.