I'm watching the X-Files from start to finish!

[What's his face]

I am the only person in the entire world who hadn't seen this show before.

It was recommended to me a few weeks ago. I downloaded the first season and blew through it in 2 weeks. Now I'm halfway through the second season.

I have to say, so far I'm liking the episodes regarding the green-blooded aliens that abduct people and can take human form. I'm assuming this is a recurring arc throughout the series. What can I expect in future seasons? When do I watch the two movies?

Anyways, back to it! Wish me luck!

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Shhhhh...nobody tell him that it's a jumbled mess by the end.

Watch I WANT TO BELIEVE never...because it's meaningless. Okay, it's not bad. It's the last thing to watch, of course. Maybe the last thing ever made...until a reimagining.

 

[nevermore]

Watch Fight the Future after S5.

Watch I Want to Believe after S8.

Do not watch S9.

 

[What's his face]

So Season 9 is bad? Can I understand the mythology without watching it?

 

[clint g]

Im glad someone brought this up I've actually been working on the same project since last August. When it was airing I sort of jumped from episode to episode. I think I've seen everything but in order to make sure I'm going through it all in order Right now I'm almost done with season 6

 

[Servo]

So Season 9 is bad? Can I understand the mythology without watching it?

If you're going to invest time in watching the first 8 seasons, you might as well watch the 9th and decide for yourself. Hardly seems any point in skipping the final season, just because some people on the internet said so.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Hey I did that once! Good luck getting through those last two seasons.

 

[RoJoHen]

Season 9 isn't particularly awesome, but it's far from bad. And if you've made it through 8 seasons, you might as well see how the whole thing ends!

The second movie "I Want to Believe" is good, but it's different. It takes place 6 years after Season 9, so Mulder and Scully are in a different place in their lives. I think it works wonderfully as a character piece, but the story itself is fairly mediocre.

Still, enjoy the ride! I'm actually re-watching it myself right now. I'm in the middle of Season 3. Skinner killed a prostitute. It's all very dramatic.

 

[Harvey]

Indeed, you'll miss out on a couple of things established in "William" and "The Truth" if you skip the final season and go straight to the second film (even though the film is mostly standalone).

There's also a spin-off called The Lone Gunmen that was produced concurrently with season 8 of The X-Files. It's comedic tone is wildly divergent from the darker mood of season 8, so if you do watch it, wait until after you've finished season 8 to do so. Three characters from The X-Files end up crossing over (besides the three leads), though fans are pretty split on whether they like it or not. Season nine makes a few references to this short-lived spin-off, and a late episode ("Jump the Shark") includes the entire cast of The Lone Gunmen and acts as a finale to the spin-off.

There's also Millennium, which is terrific, and (sometimes) is shown to share a universe with The X-Files. It lasted three seasons and was produced alongside seasons 4-6. The lead character, Frank Black, crosses over onto The X-Files during season seven.

 

[What's his face]

So Season 9 is bad? Can I understand the mythology without watching it?

If you're going to invest time in watching the first 8 seasons, you might as well watch the 9th and decide for yourself. Hardly seems any point in skipping the final season, just because some people on the internet said so.

But if the internet said it, it must be true!

I fully intend to watch all 9 seasons and the two movies. I made it through 7 seasons of Voyager and 4 seasons of Enterprise, I can make it through one or two meh seasons of the X-Files!

 

[RoJoHen]

Do you happen to be a fan of SG-1? The last two seasons of the X-Files are a lot like the last two seasons of SG-1. New main characters, different story focus, but still enjoyable if you think of them more like a spin-off.

 

[What's his face]

I must be a martian or weird, as I have never seen SG-1.

 

[RoJoHen]

Who let you on this board?

 

[Servo]

Check his credentials.

 

[What's his face]

Attach the Stone of Shame!

The X-Files is good so far. The only thing is, I find myself craving more of the "mytharc" episodes and I find it harder to get into the monster-of-the-week episodes. Maybe it's just the LOST fan in me...

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, that's my biggest issue with it, too. I didn't realize how few and far between the mythology episodes were until now. That said, there are a ton of really awesome non-arc episodes throughout the course of the series.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I am rewatching X-Files at the moment. I am at the beginning of the second season, There were a few episodes in the first season I had either not seen or had forgotten.

 

[What's his face]

I am rewatching X-Files at the moment. I am at the beginning of the second season, There were a few episodes in the first season I had either not seen or had forgotten.

So you're just a few episodes behind me!
I'm currently on "Dod Kalm".

 

[RoJoHen]

One thing I'm really enjoying about watching this is seeing all the random guest stars that, at the time, were probably nobodies.

 

[Brandonv]

The X-Files is one of my favorite shows. I recently collected the series on DVD and watched the whole series in about five months time. I had seen most the episodes during the original run on TV, but had forgotten a huge chunk of the mythology. Watching everything back-to-back made it a lot easier to keep track of all the plot threads and characters.

I wouldn't let anyone scare you away from watching season 9 or I Want To Believe. My personal experience watching the series is that it started to feel a little stale in season 7, got exciting again in season 8, then started to feel stale again in season 9. I wouldn't call any of the seasons unwatchable though.

And I would definitely give I Want To Believe a chance. Some people like it, some don't. I think it gave a better send off to the characters of Mulder and Scully than the series finale did, even though the movie had nothing to do with the mythology.