The Truth Is In Here: The X-Files Review Thread

[Aeon]

Millennium takes place during seasons 4-6 of The X-Files. After it was canceled, there was a minor crossover of the main character (Frank Black, played by Lance Henrikson) onto The X-Files early in its seventh season.

As far as the show, it's wildly inconsistent. Each season had a different showrunner, and differ dramatically in tone and violence. In my opinion, the first season is a flawed but brilliant one, the second season is a juvenille disaster, and the third season...well, I liked it more than the second, but must confess I never finished it. Other fans will tell you the exact opposite of that, though, so it's best you decide on your own terms.

I'm one of those other fans! I loved the second season of Millennium! The expansion of the mythology and the feeling that something truly dark is coming this way... it was epic! Then the third season came and in my opinion Chris Carter pretty much ruined the whole show. And I'm not even going to touch the awful crossover with The X-Files.

For me the story of Frank Black ended at the end of the second season.

 

[Jack Bauer]

But the X-Files is a fictional show on Law & Order: SVU.

X-Files was a fictional show on Millennium and then they did a X-Files/Millennium crossover episode.

 

[C_Miller]

Colony
(****1/2)

End Game
(****1/2)

Well, as much as I like the Monster-of-the-Week episodes, the show just feels different when we have a mytharc episode. All of the monster episodes seem self contained as if they all exist in a different universe. However when the mytharc comes, the show just feels huge, like there is so much more going on than just what we are presented. Take Deep Throat the Sequel for example. When he is reluctant to help Mulder and outright refuses to help Scully, we are given the impression that it’s for a reason, not just to create dramatic tension. Speaking of which, I’m starting to warm up to him. He really does seem to care about Mulder, but more so than that, he cares about the Truth. While he’s not as endearing as Deep Throat was, he seems to still be on the same side. Albeit, learning from Deep Throat’s mistakes. They also create the feeling that anything can happen. I know our heroes ultimately survive nine seasons and two movies, so I know they won’t die, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m constantly tense when Mulder and Scully end up in some kind of danger in one of these episodes.

These two episodes let us delve into Mulder’s family a little bit more, meaning for the first time we get to meet them. They are apparently divorced without ever using the words divorced. In fact, I don’t think Mulder’s father and mother share a single scene together. Mr. Mulder seems to have an affinity for shadows and cigarettes, which I’m sure doesn’t mean anything. Haha. I actually thought he might have something to do with the whole Samantha thing, until he came to Mulder’s apartment and berated him. That was actually a wonderful piece of acting from Duchovny. I’m so used to his deadpan delivery that this scene took me quite off guard, which I’m sure it was supposed to. I also saw the whole Samantha not being who she said she was the second we saw her. A) we were dealing with shape shifting aliens and B) there’s no way they would tie up Fox Mulder’s character arc in the middle of the second season.

Timelord, I have to say that I still think Skinner’s loyalties are very obvious. I mean, clearly, he’s tied up by his position in the FBI and I’m sure Smoking Man and his cronies are a big part of that, but at the same time he clearly does what ever he can to help Mulder with out jeopardizing his life or his career. I am definitely in favor of him and I always like it when he helps out our heroes, like in this episode where he started to give Deep Throat the Sequel a beat down.

I did have a problem. The aliens are too powerful. In fact, I am having trouble working out a way for our heroes to end up winning without it feeling like a dues ex machina. I mean, I’m sure it can be done, but it will take a very skilled writer.

 

[The Habs Fan]

C_Miller: after you're done The X-Files, you should watch Millennium. It's an awesome show. When I was going through The X-Files for the first time a year ago, I watched Millennium at the same time as X-Files seasons 4-6. However, it's a very loose spinoff, so you could just wait until you're done the X-Files. Though a certain season 7 episode may be confusing.

Millennium takes place during seasons 4-6 of The X-Files. After it was canceled, there was a minor crossover of the main character (Frank Black, played by Lance Henrikson) onto The X-Files early in its seventh season.

As far as the show, it's wildly inconsistent. Each season had a different showrunner, and differ dramatically in tone and violence. In my opinion, the first season is a flawed but brilliant one, the second season is a juvenille disaster, and the third season...well, I liked it more than the second, but must confess I never finished it. Other fans will tell you the exact opposite of that, though, so it's best you decide on your own terms.

I'm one of those other fans! I loved the second season of Millennium! The expansion of the mythology and the feeling that something truly dark is coming this way... it was epic! Then the third season came and in my opinion Chris Carter pretty much ruined the whole show. And I'm not even going to touch the awful crossover with The X-Files.

For me the story of Frank Black ended at the end of the second season.

Season 2 is also my favourite season of Millennium. The season 2 finale is probably my favourite finale of all time.

Even though the premiere of season 3 kind of retcons the previous finale, there's no way the show could continue otherwise. I like season 3 as kind of a mix of the styles of seasons 1 and 2, and the series finale is very good.

 

[RoJoHen]

I did have a problem. The aliens are too powerful. In fact, I am having trouble working out a way for our heroes to end up winning without it feeling like a dues ex machina. I mean, I’m sure it can be done, but it will take a very skilled writer.

Probably depends on what you mean by "winning."

 

[C_Miller]

I did have a problem. The aliens are too powerful. In fact, I am having trouble working out a way for our heroes to end up winning without it feeling like a dues ex machina. I mean, I’m sure it can be done, but it will take a very skilled writer.

Probably depends on what you mean by "winning."

Well, I suppose I haven't seen it all unfold yet, so I guess the extra terrestrials could be benign but from the evidence I have so far, I can't see it. I can't imagine a senario where they just decide to give up what ever plot they have been working on. This Bounty Hunter guys seems like the enemy and what's worse, he seems to be an unbeatable enemy.

I think you've seen Buffy (I recall you from the Buffy threads), but I chalk up this guy to be kind of like the super vampires from season 7. He's going to take forever to kill, but once he's done, there's an entire race of people like him to defeat after that. Unfortunately for Buffy, they took the lazy road and just forgot how unbeatable they were and treated them like normal vamps in the finale.

 

[RoJoHen]

You're operating from the assumption that the goal is to defeat the aliens, and while there is definitely some of that going on, there's still a ton that you haven't seen.

What season are you in? Is this 2 or 3? There is so much left to happen!

 

[C_Miller]

You're operating from the assumption that the goal is to defeat the aliens, and while there is definitely some of that going on, there's still a ton that you haven't seen.

What season are you in? Is this 2 or 3? There is so much left to happen!

Two. You're completely right. And from the looks of it, there seems to be somewhat of a Civil War between the aliens right now. Between the Doctors and the Bounty Hunters. The unfortunate thing is that if it does come to blows, that will most likely take our heroes out of the action, as neither of them are action heroes. Both of them are on the brain side of the brawn vs. brain archetype.

Again this is all just speculation. You should have heard some of my theories when I was watching Lost.

 

[RoJoHen]

Hey, speculation is what makes these shows fun! I have no idea what I must have thought back when I saw the show for the first time.

 

[C_Miller]

Fearful Symmetry
(****)

I actually really liked this one. I've never really had pets, I'm about to go grill myself a piece of chicken. I'm not what you would call your traditional animal lover, but I do have a soft spot for animals. This was a well told story with a lot of weird over tones and under tones. I mean, it's pretty clear that the animals were being abducted by aliens. Were they the aliens we've come to know over the course of the series of something else? And will this have implications in the overall arc? I don't know. I'm sure we'll find out.

Dod Kalm
(***1/2)

Okay, I'm REALLY liking this whole Twilight Zone feel that they're giving the show now. The last few non-arc episodes could easily have been Twilight Zone episodes save for them being linked through Mulder and Scully. Unfortunately, this is just one out of a growing list of episodes in the style of Ice (Firewalker and Darkness Falls). But otherwise, a good episode. I'm a sucker for naval ships and what not, so that certain helps the cause of this one.

 

[RoJoHen]

You know, the biggest problem I've always had with the X-Files is that the episode titles aren't shown in the opening sequence. So people reference episodes by their title, and I have absolutely no idea what episode they're talking about.

 

[Harvey]

Battlestar Galactica didn't have on-screen episode titles, either. Neither did most of Farscape (or at least, the first two years). I guess it doesn't bother me that much, but I can understand the source of confusion.

At least the episodes don't have multiple titles!

 

[RoJoHen]

Battlestar Galactica didn't have on-screen episode titles, either. Neither did most of Farscape (or at least, the first two years). I guess it doesn't bother me that much, but I can understand the source of confusion.

At least the episodes don't have multiple titles!

True, but X-Files was on at a time before I went to internet message boards to review episodes as they happened. With newer shows like BSG, I knew the episode titles weeks in advance.

The X-Files aired in the 90s. I didn't even have a computer in my house until its 5th season!

 

[C_Miller]

I started by giving brief descriptions of the episode, I could do that again.

 

[RoJoHen]

You don't have to, but it would help me enjoy your reviews more.

I mean, you talk about an episode taking place on a boat, and I think, "Which boat? The boat with all the dead crewmen who have been killed by radiation? The boat that travels through time? The boat where Scully and Smoking Man have a hot makeout session?"

 

[C_Miller]

You don't have to, but it would help me enjoy your reviews more.

I mean, you talk about an episode taking place on a boat, and I think, "Which boat? The boat with all the dead crewmen who have been killed by radiation? The boat that travels through time? The boat where Scully and Smoking Man have a hot makeout session?"

You almost made me double take... I'll take that as a lesson...

It was the one where they were aging rapidly.

 

[RoJoHen]

Oh, okay! I remember that one.

There are a lot of episodes on boats.

 

[C_Miller]

Humbug
(****1/2)

Synopsis: A bizarre murder in Florida brings Mulder and Scully to a town populated by circus freaks and sideshow performers of all shapes and sizes, bringing into question the very definition of "normal."

Review: I really can't say anything other than this was a simply delightful episode. I was told that I would know the comedy episodes when I saw them and I think we can safely say this was one of them. I must say I was a bit worried when I heard about The X-Files doing comedy. They set up such a dark world, that I was worried that a comedy would take me kind of out of the series. There was no such problem. In fact, the ironic comedy and the question of what normal actually is was surprisingly deep for the show. Never has the show been that philosophical before. I loved how Mulder was viewed as mundane and normal by the Side Show artists, but in our world, he is viewed as an outsider. Really well done. If the comedy episode are like this, I look forward to them.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Awesome episode. Funny as hell. Mulder'S expression when he sees the enigma coming out of the river and eating that raw fish was priceless.
And a little hint: You usually have to expect the funny whenever Darin Morgan has writing credit on the episode. This was his solo premier on the show.
Before that his most notable contribution was playing Flukeman though in The Host.

 

[C_Miller]

Yeah, I've always found a lot of humor in the show. Mulder is deadly funny, but it's quite understated. So I was worried that the show would lose its subtlety, but this episode was almost more subtle than it had been in the past and the story was simply strange in a way that only an X-Files episode could be.