For myself my biggest interest is character and that really tends tog et pushed more in mytharc episodes, but some monster of the week episodes as well especially early on. Of course I say that now, lets see what you feel after a bit.
The Truth Is In Here: The X-Files Review Thread
- Thread starter C_Miller
- Start date
For myself my biggest interest is character and that really tends tog et pushed more in mytharc episodes, but some monster of the week episodes as well especially early on. Of course I say that now, lets see what you feel after a bit.
Yeah, I'm not too concerned about effects, seeing as I'm kind of working my way through Babylon 5 right now and frankly, the effects there are horrendous. I do like how The X-Files producers don't try to hide that they use the same wooded area for every episode and how Oregon, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Idaho, and Iowa all look strangely like Vancouver. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to go to that city without thinking I'm going to be abducted. I must say, you are getting me quite excited for season 2.
Let me tell you - by season 3 of X-Files (and DEFINITELY by season 4) you could tell that the show had some real attention and ratings, as it clearly had a much higher per episode budget. The episodes in season 4 really seem to have much higher production values, where they are not afraid to build large outdoor sets.
But let's face it - back in the early 1990s, X-Files didn't have much to compete against in terms of sfx for a non-spaceship show... probably DS9 was the only other series that I felt managed to really create a world realism like X-Files did.
Thankfully I will start season 5 tomorrow... I hate being stuck on a cliffhanger, even when I already know the resolution. 
Eve
(***1/2)
Fire
(***)
Gender Bender
(*1/2)
Lazarus
(***)
Young at Heart
(***)
This batch of episodes was fairly enjoyable, except for Gender Bender which is saved by the last frame, which I believe places it in the arc. Eve was extremely creepy and had a weirdness that is signature to The X-Files. The little girls who played Tina and Cindy really sold the episode. Fire was decent, but I'm not quite sure why it's considered a fan favorite. I don't think I'll remember this one very much after 202 episodes. Gender Bender was forgettable and I'm really not sure where they were going with it. Lazarus was good and I liked that it provided a little bit of insight into Scully's character and I liked that it was a relatively "realistic episode." Young at Heart was another relatively realistic episode. I'm liking these pretty standard detective/FBI stories with the supernatural spin that the past few episodes have had. Fallen Angel really seems to have made an impact on these episodes. Some of the earlier episodes were good, but the show now has a different tone and I think it's better for it.
You may have noticed that I left out one... but I felt that it was better suited for its own review:
Beyond the Sea
(*****)
The first episode to earn a five out of five rating. Simply a perfect episode in every sense of the word. I loved the insight into Scully's character including the history with her father. Brad Dourif is one of my favorite actors who can kick up any show into the Nth Degree. I wonder how much it cost to get him. They were a new, relatively unestablished show and Dourif was in several successful movies at almost star billing. He had to have been expensive, but the show is better for him in it.
One of my favorite parts is that you never really know if Dourif is actually psychic or not even at the end. This episode could have been an episode of any show, but it's benefited by the relationship between Scully and Mulder and their disposition to believe or disbelieve. I loved how angry Scully got at Dourif when she thought he set up Mulder to get killed. Their relationship is going beyond good chemistry and you can tell that they really do care about each other now.
If there is at least one episode per season like this, I really am looking forward to this series.
(***1/2)
Fire
(***)
Gender Bender
(*1/2)
Lazarus
(***)
Young at Heart
(***)
This batch of episodes was fairly enjoyable, except for Gender Bender which is saved by the last frame, which I believe places it in the arc. Eve was extremely creepy and had a weirdness that is signature to The X-Files. The little girls who played Tina and Cindy really sold the episode. Fire was decent, but I'm not quite sure why it's considered a fan favorite. I don't think I'll remember this one very much after 202 episodes. Gender Bender was forgettable and I'm really not sure where they were going with it. Lazarus was good and I liked that it provided a little bit of insight into Scully's character and I liked that it was a relatively "realistic episode." Young at Heart was another relatively realistic episode. I'm liking these pretty standard detective/FBI stories with the supernatural spin that the past few episodes have had. Fallen Angel really seems to have made an impact on these episodes. Some of the earlier episodes were good, but the show now has a different tone and I think it's better for it.
You may have noticed that I left out one... but I felt that it was better suited for its own review:
Beyond the Sea
(*****)
The first episode to earn a five out of five rating. Simply a perfect episode in every sense of the word. I loved the insight into Scully's character including the history with her father. Brad Dourif is one of my favorite actors who can kick up any show into the Nth Degree. I wonder how much it cost to get him. They were a new, relatively unestablished show and Dourif was in several successful movies at almost star billing. He had to have been expensive, but the show is better for him in it.
One of my favorite parts is that you never really know if Dourif is actually psychic or not even at the end. This episode could have been an episode of any show, but it's benefited by the relationship between Scully and Mulder and their disposition to believe or disbelieve. I loved how angry Scully got at Dourif when she thought he set up Mulder to get killed. Their relationship is going beyond good chemistry and you can tell that they really do care about each other now.
If there is at least one episode per season like this, I really am looking forward to this series.
I’m sick… so I’m probably going to marathon it to the end. Thanks everyone for reading along the way. Being almost done with the first season, this makes me feel extremely accomplished and gives me hope that I’m going to be able to commit to this.
E.B.E.
(****)
Aliens, UFOs and Government Conspiracy, Oh my. I’m pretty new to the series, so I don’t want to make any sweeping generalizations, but I feel strongly that it is episodes like this that truly make this series what it is. It’s always nice to see Deep Throat. And now we have insight into him and his past… but is it all a lie? The whole idea of this series is to trust no one, so I’m not sure if we can actually trust him. I’d like to think we can, as he has never done anything to lead Mulder astray before this episode. As he said, “never stop swimming.” If he were really working for the higher ups, would he really be helping Mulder as much as he has? Probably not.
I loved the first appearance of The Lone Gunman. I know they come back in the Fight the Future movie, so I imagine they become reoccurring characters to at least some degree. They reminded me a lot of Max from Fallen Angel. Were we supposed to think that? And was Max somehow involved with these people?
Again, like Fallen Angel, this episode’s tone was huge. It felt very cinematic and the stakes feel higher than a simple television show that is over and done once the credits role. Unfortunately for episodes like this, it will most likely be followed by a Monster of the Week episode, which I feel like will be an unwelcome step down.
Miracle Man
(*1/2)
This was a pretty meh episode. Religious fundies is a story type that must be handled extremely carefully and this one simply wasn’t done well and to follow a mythology episode? Let’s just say that didn’t help this episode any. Not really sure what I can say other than what I have already said. I just wasn’t compelled by any of the elements. Wouldn’t call it awful, but it certainly isn’t one that I would seek out to re-watch later. Actually, this is possibly the first one that I would skip when doing a re-watch later.
Shapes
(*)
Did every Sci-Fi or Mystery show in the 90s do a Native American episode and did every Sci-Fi or Mystery Show feature the same generic tribe that is just a walking Native American cliché? Let me tell you, this almost got a zero. Extremely boring and borderline insulting. I wish Werewolves had gotten a better showing. Maybe in the future.
E.B.E.
(****)
Aliens, UFOs and Government Conspiracy, Oh my. I’m pretty new to the series, so I don’t want to make any sweeping generalizations, but I feel strongly that it is episodes like this that truly make this series what it is. It’s always nice to see Deep Throat. And now we have insight into him and his past… but is it all a lie? The whole idea of this series is to trust no one, so I’m not sure if we can actually trust him. I’d like to think we can, as he has never done anything to lead Mulder astray before this episode. As he said, “never stop swimming.” If he were really working for the higher ups, would he really be helping Mulder as much as he has? Probably not.
I loved the first appearance of The Lone Gunman. I know they come back in the Fight the Future movie, so I imagine they become reoccurring characters to at least some degree. They reminded me a lot of Max from Fallen Angel. Were we supposed to think that? And was Max somehow involved with these people?
Again, like Fallen Angel, this episode’s tone was huge. It felt very cinematic and the stakes feel higher than a simple television show that is over and done once the credits role. Unfortunately for episodes like this, it will most likely be followed by a Monster of the Week episode, which I feel like will be an unwelcome step down.
Miracle Man
(*1/2)
This was a pretty meh episode. Religious fundies is a story type that must be handled extremely carefully and this one simply wasn’t done well and to follow a mythology episode? Let’s just say that didn’t help this episode any. Not really sure what I can say other than what I have already said. I just wasn’t compelled by any of the elements. Wouldn’t call it awful, but it certainly isn’t one that I would seek out to re-watch later. Actually, this is possibly the first one that I would skip when doing a re-watch later.
Shapes
(*)
Did every Sci-Fi or Mystery show in the 90s do a Native American episode and did every Sci-Fi or Mystery Show feature the same generic tribe that is just a walking Native American cliché? Let me tell you, this almost got a zero. Extremely boring and borderline insulting. I wish Werewolves had gotten a better showing. Maybe in the future.
I am surprised you know fans that like FIre, most I know, most reviews, ect really dislike that episode, I know its a poor episode in my book.
In fact most to of the episodes above are either poor or just average, with of course the exception of EVE, which is good and some great performances by the young cast and the older character, and of course the classic Beyond the Sea and EBE. Which are in my opinion the only 4.5 or 5 star episodes the X-Files had up to this point. And interesting enough when I really, really got hooked by the X-Files another Scully episode in season two and you will of course know which one, I had watched most of the shows casually, but not religiously. The one episode I kept missing was EBE and I never saw that until they released the first DVD set, and was going damn I missed a great one.
In fact most to of the episodes above are either poor or just average, with of course the exception of EVE, which is good and some great performances by the young cast and the older character, and of course the classic Beyond the Sea and EBE. Which are in my opinion the only 4.5 or 5 star episodes the X-Files had up to this point. And interesting enough when I really, really got hooked by the X-Files another Scully episode in season two and you will of course know which one, I had watched most of the shows casually, but not religiously. The one episode I kept missing was EBE and I never saw that until they released the first DVD set, and was going damn I missed a great one.
Can't say enough great things about Beyond the Sea (it is an excellent episode) and as much as I judge the X-Fiels as a fairly uneven show for the bulk of its run, an episode like this makes me forgive a couple crappy episodes. And the great thing about it, as near perfect an episode as this is, season two has episodes that top it.
I certainly look forward to that. See, even in bad episodes, the tone is extremely good. There's not another show that I've encountered that feels like this show and I think that goes a long way for me.
Darkness Falls
(**)
And here we have The X-Files goes preachy. Nah, it actually wasn’t that bad. It actually was the one episode that reminded me the most of the episodes prior to Fallen Angel than any episode since. It actually reminded me of Ice specifically, but nowhere near as good. It had the basic “our heroes are isolated with a bunch of colorful personalities with no way to get out” kind of story going for it, but no one in the support cast is as fleshed out or as interesting as those in Ice. I did like how it seemed like Mulder and Scully were in immediate danger, which is something I can’t recall them being in too often. Even in E.B.E., they were decidedly not in danger. Mulder even commented that they wanted him confused rather than dead.
Tooms
(***)
Tooms is still creepy as hell, but I’m not sure we really “needed” this episode. I was fulfilled by the first Tooms appearance and I’m not sure this really added anything to the character of Tooms. That being said, I won’t let that detract from this episode, which for a Monster of the Week episode (which since Beyond the Sea, they have been lacking). Mulder has been in some pretty deep shit lately and even though he didn’t do anything and is seemingly absolved. But I have a feeling this is all hinting towards something bigger.
I did like the scene between Mulder and Scully in the car on the stake out, where Mulder joked that he even made his parents call him Mulder in response to Scully calling him Fox. This playful banter is becoming more common and it’s very welcome.
Born Again
(***1/2)
And here we have somewhat of a homecoming for me. I’m from Rochester, New York which is just an hour from Buffalo, New York. I will actually be spending New Years there tomorrow. Anyways, what we get is another Monster of the Week episode, which is pretty standard, but there was something about this that I rather enjoyed this one. The creepy kid certainly helped the story along, but at the heart is a hardboiled mystery story, but then you add a telekinetic reincarnate, you have a classic X-Files episode. I also liked Mulder’s voice over. Almost made it seem like a noir story, which I love.
Roland
(*1/2)
Hello, Zeljko Ivanek! You may know him from perhaps every single TV show ever made. He’s a favorite of writer/producer Tom Fontana appearing on shows such as Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street, and St. Elsewhere. Genre fans may know him from guest appearances in Heroes and Lost. And he even played Robert Kennedy in the Made for TV movie about. Needless to say, he gets around and he actually does play someone who’s mentally handicapped very well. That’s about all this episode has going for it. It’s rather boring. They did way too much with psychic powers this season, but I think that will end with the final episode… I’m sure it will be a mythology one… see you all in an hour!
Darkness Falls
(**)
And here we have The X-Files goes preachy. Nah, it actually wasn’t that bad. It actually was the one episode that reminded me the most of the episodes prior to Fallen Angel than any episode since. It actually reminded me of Ice specifically, but nowhere near as good. It had the basic “our heroes are isolated with a bunch of colorful personalities with no way to get out” kind of story going for it, but no one in the support cast is as fleshed out or as interesting as those in Ice. I did like how it seemed like Mulder and Scully were in immediate danger, which is something I can’t recall them being in too often. Even in E.B.E., they were decidedly not in danger. Mulder even commented that they wanted him confused rather than dead.
Tooms
(***)
Tooms is still creepy as hell, but I’m not sure we really “needed” this episode. I was fulfilled by the first Tooms appearance and I’m not sure this really added anything to the character of Tooms. That being said, I won’t let that detract from this episode, which for a Monster of the Week episode (which since Beyond the Sea, they have been lacking). Mulder has been in some pretty deep shit lately and even though he didn’t do anything and is seemingly absolved. But I have a feeling this is all hinting towards something bigger.
I did like the scene between Mulder and Scully in the car on the stake out, where Mulder joked that he even made his parents call him Mulder in response to Scully calling him Fox. This playful banter is becoming more common and it’s very welcome.
Born Again
(***1/2)
And here we have somewhat of a homecoming for me. I’m from Rochester, New York which is just an hour from Buffalo, New York. I will actually be spending New Years there tomorrow. Anyways, what we get is another Monster of the Week episode, which is pretty standard, but there was something about this that I rather enjoyed this one. The creepy kid certainly helped the story along, but at the heart is a hardboiled mystery story, but then you add a telekinetic reincarnate, you have a classic X-Files episode. I also liked Mulder’s voice over. Almost made it seem like a noir story, which I love.
Roland
(*1/2)
Hello, Zeljko Ivanek! You may know him from perhaps every single TV show ever made. He’s a favorite of writer/producer Tom Fontana appearing on shows such as Oz, Homicide: Life on the Street, and St. Elsewhere. Genre fans may know him from guest appearances in Heroes and Lost. And he even played Robert Kennedy in the Made for TV movie about. Needless to say, he gets around and he actually does play someone who’s mentally handicapped very well. That’s about all this episode has going for it. It’s rather boring. They did way too much with psychic powers this season, but I think that will end with the final episode… I’m sure it will be a mythology one… see you all in an hour!
Heh, its true about the actor , but I think I feel the reverse between Roland and Born Again (which bored me beyond belief).
And Tooms is fine, except when you remember the first episode which was so much stronger. Darkness Falls is nice in atmosphere, but its hard to treat little tiny lights as serious threats.
And Tooms is fine, except when you remember the first episode which was so much stronger. Darkness Falls is nice in atmosphere, but its hard to treat little tiny lights as serious threats.
The Erlenmeyer Flask
(****)
“Trust… No One.”
Yep. I get that. Goodbye Deep Throat, we hardly knew you… in fact we really didn’t know you at all. I have so many more questions, but I have a feeling that they will be answered in good time. I will miss him randomly popping up and telling Mulder what to do and where to go. That added a lot to the series, IMO and without him, it would just be Mulder taking random shots in the dark. His death was also extremely real. I had a feeling it was coming, once Scully met him on the bridge and he was forcing her to not be present. But still I was extremely shocked when it happened. That’s good writing and direction right there.
Also it’s nice to see Mulder get validated for once by someone other than Mulder. We’ve seen some crazy stuff over the course of this season, but it seems like either it’s only Mulder or it’s simple enough for Scully to dismiss it. This time she sees an Alien Fetus. I’m not sure how she’s going to dismiss this one? It’s going to start to get laughable like some people mentioned above.
In the end, like Deep Throat said, Mulder has never been closer to the truth and we really feel that here, but unfortunately The X-Files were taken down, there’s someone at the top who is getting scared and I have a feeling it’s The Smoking Man. I know that he is “in charge” of the “bad guys,” but I’m wondering if people knew that or not before this episode back in 1994. Can anyone answer that?
Looking back at the season as a whole, I would say that I liked it. The Monster of the Week episodes can be boring and pointless, especially when compared to the Mythology Episodes such as “Pilot” “Deep Throat” “Fallen Angel” “E.B.E.” and “The Erlenmeyer Flask.” These episodes are the show’s bread and butter and it’s a bit unfortunate that they don’t take up more of the show. But where these episodes don’t exist, exists a killer tone and style with the chemistry of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. That’s what really sets this show above the rest. If it were not for the tone set by Chris Carter and the chemistry of the two leads, it would not be as special as it is.
Now. I will probably take a day or so off (Sci-Fi Channel is having a Twilight Zone marathon tomorrow and Saturday), but I will be back soon with my reviews for Season 2, which people keep telling me is one of the highlights of the show. I’m really looking forward to it.
(****)
“Trust… No One.”
Yep. I get that. Goodbye Deep Throat, we hardly knew you… in fact we really didn’t know you at all. I have so many more questions, but I have a feeling that they will be answered in good time. I will miss him randomly popping up and telling Mulder what to do and where to go. That added a lot to the series, IMO and without him, it would just be Mulder taking random shots in the dark. His death was also extremely real. I had a feeling it was coming, once Scully met him on the bridge and he was forcing her to not be present. But still I was extremely shocked when it happened. That’s good writing and direction right there.
Also it’s nice to see Mulder get validated for once by someone other than Mulder. We’ve seen some crazy stuff over the course of this season, but it seems like either it’s only Mulder or it’s simple enough for Scully to dismiss it. This time she sees an Alien Fetus. I’m not sure how she’s going to dismiss this one? It’s going to start to get laughable like some people mentioned above.
In the end, like Deep Throat said, Mulder has never been closer to the truth and we really feel that here, but unfortunately The X-Files were taken down, there’s someone at the top who is getting scared and I have a feeling it’s The Smoking Man. I know that he is “in charge” of the “bad guys,” but I’m wondering if people knew that or not before this episode back in 1994. Can anyone answer that?
Looking back at the season as a whole, I would say that I liked it. The Monster of the Week episodes can be boring and pointless, especially when compared to the Mythology Episodes such as “Pilot” “Deep Throat” “Fallen Angel” “E.B.E.” and “The Erlenmeyer Flask.” These episodes are the show’s bread and butter and it’s a bit unfortunate that they don’t take up more of the show. But where these episodes don’t exist, exists a killer tone and style with the chemistry of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. That’s what really sets this show above the rest. If it were not for the tone set by Chris Carter and the chemistry of the two leads, it would not be as special as it is.
Now. I will probably take a day or so off (Sci-Fi Channel is having a Twilight Zone marathon tomorrow and Saturday), but I will be back soon with my reviews for Season 2, which people keep telling me is one of the highlights of the show. I’m really looking forward to it.
Seen Little Green Men, yet? 
Yes!
Little Green Men
(****)
So they are keeping Mulder and Scully apart and The X-Files closed. That's a bold move for just the second season. That would be like the survivors getting home in the first season finale of Lost and it sticking. Or The second season of Deep Space Nine taking place entirely off Deep Space Nine. They did a decent job of getting the two back together in a way that didn't feel like it was betraying the That being said, this was a fantastic episode.
The show just feels different now, like it's all hit the fan and we're seeing Mulder and Scully in grave danger again. For some reason Season 1 felt relatively safe in terms of our heroes finding danger, but if this is any indication, they're in for one hell of a ride.
Little Green Men
(****)
So they are keeping Mulder and Scully apart and The X-Files closed. That's a bold move for just the second season. That would be like the survivors getting home in the first season finale of Lost and it sticking. Or The second season of Deep Space Nine taking place entirely off Deep Space Nine. They did a decent job of getting the two back together in a way that didn't feel like it was betraying the That being said, this was a fantastic episode.
The show just feels different now, like it's all hit the fan and we're seeing Mulder and Scully in grave danger again. For some reason Season 1 felt relatively safe in terms of our heroes finding danger, but if this is any indication, they're in for one hell of a ride.
The next one is a fan favorite for the originality of the monster. I bet you won't expect THAT! Hehe.
The Host
(****)
I liked this one. I was a little worried about how they were going to do Monster-of-the-Week episodes when they were apart. However, they managed this very well and yes, the reveal was extremely cool and extremely unsettling. I like the role of the FBI Deputy Secretary guy. He seems to be rather pro-Mulder, but is frustratingly tied to protocol and to the Cigarette Smoking Man (although it appears that he retains a little bit of say over him). Not much else to say about this one other than this was a great episode. I will say that I can already tell hints of increased production budget. This episode looked a lot better than anything in Season 1 and Puerto Rico in Little Green Men looked a lot less like Vancouver than it probably actually was.
Walter Skinner is Assistant Director of the FBI und Mulder's supervisor. I don't think it's a big spoiler if I tell you that he will continue to show up. His loyalties won't be so obvious as Mulder's or the Smoking Man's though.
Yeah, I figured as much. I think that's a good thing though. This show kind of has been dealing in absolutes up until this point, it'll be nice to have a character that's legitimately on the fence. Tied between Mulder's success rate and the people pulling the strings like Smoking Man.
Blood
(***)
I found this episode to be rather bland and a step down from the previous two (or three counting season 1). Nothing extremely Sci-Fi about it. Pesticides do in fact do some crazy things to people and subliminal messaging does exist and works to a certain extent. Not really an “X-File,” which I suppose works since The X-Files don’t exist anymore. That being said, the show is called The X-Files, so I’d hope that this isn’t the norm. It was nice seeing The Lone Gunmen, but their appearance felt semi-pointless their appearance in E.B.E. It also reminded me a bit of Ghost in the Machine, which is never a favorable comparison.
Sleepless
(***1/2)
Well, now that Gillian Anderson has become a guest star in her own show, we have her replaced by someone that goes by the name of Alex Krycek. Now, I’m cool with the concept. The whole idea of making someone be more efficient by not sleeping is a really cool idea. I’m wondering if there’s more significance to this because this isn’t the first time we’ve done a Super Soldier episode and it’s clearly a Government Conspiracy episode. We meet Mulder’s new informant, who is a lot less endearing than Deep Throat and Krycek is a mole, so yeah, this is a big episode without doing big themes. But I’m not sure I really understood some of the nuances. It was well acted (Always nice seeing Tony Todd) and it’s nice seeing Mulder take on some more cut and dry cases. I don’t know, something wasn’t clicking with me...
Blood
(***)
I found this episode to be rather bland and a step down from the previous two (or three counting season 1). Nothing extremely Sci-Fi about it. Pesticides do in fact do some crazy things to people and subliminal messaging does exist and works to a certain extent. Not really an “X-File,” which I suppose works since The X-Files don’t exist anymore. That being said, the show is called The X-Files, so I’d hope that this isn’t the norm. It was nice seeing The Lone Gunmen, but their appearance felt semi-pointless their appearance in E.B.E. It also reminded me a bit of Ghost in the Machine, which is never a favorable comparison.
Sleepless
(***1/2)
Well, now that Gillian Anderson has become a guest star in her own show, we have her replaced by someone that goes by the name of Alex Krycek. Now, I’m cool with the concept. The whole idea of making someone be more efficient by not sleeping is a really cool idea. I’m wondering if there’s more significance to this because this isn’t the first time we’ve done a Super Soldier episode and it’s clearly a Government Conspiracy episode. We meet Mulder’s new informant, who is a lot less endearing than Deep Throat and Krycek is a mole, so yeah, this is a big episode without doing big themes. But I’m not sure I really understood some of the nuances. It was well acted (Always nice seeing Tony Todd) and it’s nice seeing Mulder take on some more cut and dry cases. I don’t know, something wasn’t clicking with me...
The reason Scully took a step back at that point is the actresse's pregnancy. if you look for it you will undoubtlely notice they only film her from breast up or put her in very wide coats or film her in shadow...
I predict next episode will be another favourite of yours.
I predict next episode will be another favourite of yours.
Similar threads
