The Truth Is In Here: The X-Files Review Thread
- Thread starter C_Miller
- Start date
I keep waiting for the Blu-ray release to watch this one again, and it keeps not happening year after year. Maybe I should just watch the DVDs. 
Yeah, as cost effective as it would be to watch it on Netflix, I'm buying the DVDs. They're relatively cheap as far as DVDs go and after watching the first couple episodes, this is certainly a series that I know I want to own.
The Căluşari
(***1/2)
Synopsis: With Scully's help, Mulder investigates a strange death that he believes may be an example of poltergeist activity possessing a young boy.
Review: Kids freak me out. I stated that in my review of Eve and I say that again. I do like a good exorcism episode, but there were some distinct problems with it. The first is starting out by killing a toddler. There is nothing that's more unsettling than killing kids, which really kind of made the whole episode uncomfortable. And other, I feel like a lot of important dialog was in Romanian with no subtitles or translation. Which kind of made parts of the episode unclear. But again, I like a good exorcism story. Also, I believe this is the biggest example of Scully seeing something supernatural. I can't remember another time where she was exposed to something supernatural that she wasn't able to explain away with science. It will be interesting to see if she opens up a bit more, but seeing that this was a Monster-of-the-Week episode, it's unlikely that we will see this again.
The Căluşari
(***1/2)
Synopsis: With Scully's help, Mulder investigates a strange death that he believes may be an example of poltergeist activity possessing a young boy.
Review: Kids freak me out. I stated that in my review of Eve and I say that again. I do like a good exorcism episode, but there were some distinct problems with it. The first is starting out by killing a toddler. There is nothing that's more unsettling than killing kids, which really kind of made the whole episode uncomfortable. And other, I feel like a lot of important dialog was in Romanian with no subtitles or translation. Which kind of made parts of the episode unclear. But again, I like a good exorcism story. Also, I believe this is the biggest example of Scully seeing something supernatural. I can't remember another time where she was exposed to something supernatural that she wasn't able to explain away with science. It will be interesting to see if she opens up a bit more, but seeing that this was a Monster-of-the-Week episode, it's unlikely that we will see this again.
F. Emasculata
(****)
After several men in a prison die of a mysterious illness, Scully tries to discover the cause while Mulder attempts to find two escapees who could potentially spread the disease.
Soft Light
(***)
An ex-student of Scully's asks the agents to help her with her first investigation concerning a number of disappearances with very few clues. Mulder ponders the idea of spontaneous human combustion but rethinks it when they find a man who is afraid of his own shadow. The man is Dr. Banton, a scientist researching dark matter.
Our Town
(***1/2)
Dudley, Arkansas, is the site of the latest investigation for Mulder and Scully, who are sent to find a missing poultry inspector. The case takes a twist when another poultry worker is shot after she goes insane, giving Mulder a hunch that the townsfolk really are what they eat.
Three relatively basic Monster of the Week episode although they all kind od dealt with conspiracies that made them feel "bigger" than what they actually were. Smoking Man appearing in F. Emasculata and Deep Throat the sequel showing up in Soft Light added to that as well. Other than that, they were pretty basic, but that's not to say they were bad, but just stories I've come to expect from the show. Actually F. Emasculata is an episode I see my self revisiting quite a bit. My roommate watched it with me and he thought that it was part of something much bigger, even thinking that the disease was the arc I mentioned when I told him about the show. I mean, I could see that, especially how our friend the Smoking Man seemed to be at the heart of it. Also, it was really strange seeing Adrian Monk as a crazy scientist. Not really what I'm used to.
Sorry for the short reviews on those. I watched them in pretty quick succession.
(****)
After several men in a prison die of a mysterious illness, Scully tries to discover the cause while Mulder attempts to find two escapees who could potentially spread the disease.
Soft Light
(***)
An ex-student of Scully's asks the agents to help her with her first investigation concerning a number of disappearances with very few clues. Mulder ponders the idea of spontaneous human combustion but rethinks it when they find a man who is afraid of his own shadow. The man is Dr. Banton, a scientist researching dark matter.
Our Town
(***1/2)
Dudley, Arkansas, is the site of the latest investigation for Mulder and Scully, who are sent to find a missing poultry inspector. The case takes a twist when another poultry worker is shot after she goes insane, giving Mulder a hunch that the townsfolk really are what they eat.
Three relatively basic Monster of the Week episode although they all kind od dealt with conspiracies that made them feel "bigger" than what they actually were. Smoking Man appearing in F. Emasculata and Deep Throat the sequel showing up in Soft Light added to that as well. Other than that, they were pretty basic, but that's not to say they were bad, but just stories I've come to expect from the show. Actually F. Emasculata is an episode I see my self revisiting quite a bit. My roommate watched it with me and he thought that it was part of something much bigger, even thinking that the disease was the arc I mentioned when I told him about the show. I mean, I could see that, especially how our friend the Smoking Man seemed to be at the heart of it. Also, it was really strange seeing Adrian Monk as a crazy scientist. Not really what I'm used to.
Sorry for the short reviews on those. I watched them in pretty quick succession.
Anasazi
(***1/2)
I've concluded that The X-Files does a lot of important stuff in a rather deadpan manner. Like the death of Mulder's father seemed rather small in the whole scheme of the episode. Actually this whole episode felt rather small, especially compared to the last set of mythology episodes and the last season finale, The Erlenmeyer Flask (Although I most certainly did gasp when I found out that Smoking Man and Mulder's Dad were friends). This whole episode just didn't feel complete and it felt like something was off, so to speak. While every other mythology episode felt jam packed with stuff, this one just didn't. I mean, I can't fault it for wanting to set up the next season, but I was hoping for more of a story in itself.
As for Krycek killing Mulder's father, I actually didn't realize it until Mulder said it at his apartment complex. Just proof that the whole Krycek angle was misused. If Krycek had been introduced in Little Green Men and then allowed to develop as a 3rd member of The X-Files for the season, it would have made the betrayal so much worse. Now it's kind of just ho hum.
Also, Mulder getting backed into a corner by his friends (Skinner and Scully) about the whole situation seemed off to me. It seemed rather sudden. I was okay with the reasons, but it just made the rest of the episode feel off to me. Again, it sounds like I hated this episode, but I really didn't. I must say, the cliffhanger had me yelling at the TV. But luckily, I have season 3 already...
The Blessing Way
(***1/2)
For once, I was actually more interested in Scully's storyline than Mulder's. For much in the same reason as Shapes, I was someone offended by the monolithic writing of Native Americans and their spirit walks. It seems to be a staple of most 90s shows (TNG, Voyager, JAG, Buffy, and probably many others). It doesn't matter where the tribe is from, they are portrayed in much the same way. Anywho, it was nice for Scully to kind of take up the role of Conspiracy Breaker for at least an episode. While she still is seemingly a skeptic, her loyalty to Mulder seemingly is more important to her.
We are introduced to Smoking Man's friends for the firs time. Now, I must confess, I have gone on The X-Files wiki, just to keep some of these peoples names straight. We have Well Manicured Man, who came to Scully at Bill Mulder's funeral and seems to be at least somewhat in charge and the First Elder who seems to be WMM's #2. Does this make Smoking Man a schlub? A middle manager so to speak? If so, there's a great irony in that, yet also shows how powerful this group is. The man who seems to be manipulating everything is nothing more than a middle manager in the whole scheme of things.
Overall, this does not feel like a season premiere. I think this arc would have been a lot more effective in the middle of the season, maybe placing Colony here.
Paper Clip
(****1/2)
There we go! This is what I was expecting out of both the previous episodes. I must admit, I was thinking that they would disrupt the status quo for longer like the last season, but it was welcome to see Scully and Mulder together again so soon. This could have easily gotten a five, but I feel like it went way too fast. This felt like it could have been an epic of cinematic proportions with Scully having a close encounter, Mulder getting his first visual confirmation of alien life since he was a teenager, finding files on every alien abduction ever, finding out Fox was Mr. Mulder's favorite son, Skinner making a deal with "The Devil" so to speak. There were too many elements and we were paced at breakneck speed.
I must say that I was worried about Skinner for a second. I'm really eating up this whole "trust no one" thing, but he came through for me in the end. Putting his own ass on the line to protect Mulder and Scully. He is certainly someone I'd want on my side, even though he really doesn't have any power. The scene where he told off the Smoking Man is quite possibly my favorite moment of the series thus far. And when I do a season three recap, I think that one will stick out as my favorite from the season.
Anyways, great, great episode and now we have an idea of what was going on and why they don't want the truth to get out. Again, I'm worried about the future of the mythology episodes. We have seven more seasons to go and I feel like they're peeling back the layers too quickly. By the end of season four will we have any more mysteries? I'm sure we will, but it seems like so many of my questions have been answered or maybe it's that I'm so used to filling the gaps in my head that I have created answers in my head. Who knows? But I look forward to finding out.
I know I jumped into the first two episodes of season three, but I could let those loose ends hang up. I'll be back tomorrow with my recap of season two. Thanks all for sticking around!
(***1/2)
I've concluded that The X-Files does a lot of important stuff in a rather deadpan manner. Like the death of Mulder's father seemed rather small in the whole scheme of the episode. Actually this whole episode felt rather small, especially compared to the last set of mythology episodes and the last season finale, The Erlenmeyer Flask (Although I most certainly did gasp when I found out that Smoking Man and Mulder's Dad were friends). This whole episode just didn't feel complete and it felt like something was off, so to speak. While every other mythology episode felt jam packed with stuff, this one just didn't. I mean, I can't fault it for wanting to set up the next season, but I was hoping for more of a story in itself.
As for Krycek killing Mulder's father, I actually didn't realize it until Mulder said it at his apartment complex. Just proof that the whole Krycek angle was misused. If Krycek had been introduced in Little Green Men and then allowed to develop as a 3rd member of The X-Files for the season, it would have made the betrayal so much worse. Now it's kind of just ho hum.
Also, Mulder getting backed into a corner by his friends (Skinner and Scully) about the whole situation seemed off to me. It seemed rather sudden. I was okay with the reasons, but it just made the rest of the episode feel off to me. Again, it sounds like I hated this episode, but I really didn't. I must say, the cliffhanger had me yelling at the TV. But luckily, I have season 3 already...
The Blessing Way
(***1/2)
For once, I was actually more interested in Scully's storyline than Mulder's. For much in the same reason as Shapes, I was someone offended by the monolithic writing of Native Americans and their spirit walks. It seems to be a staple of most 90s shows (TNG, Voyager, JAG, Buffy, and probably many others). It doesn't matter where the tribe is from, they are portrayed in much the same way. Anywho, it was nice for Scully to kind of take up the role of Conspiracy Breaker for at least an episode. While she still is seemingly a skeptic, her loyalty to Mulder seemingly is more important to her.
We are introduced to Smoking Man's friends for the firs time. Now, I must confess, I have gone on The X-Files wiki, just to keep some of these peoples names straight. We have Well Manicured Man, who came to Scully at Bill Mulder's funeral and seems to be at least somewhat in charge and the First Elder who seems to be WMM's #2. Does this make Smoking Man a schlub? A middle manager so to speak? If so, there's a great irony in that, yet also shows how powerful this group is. The man who seems to be manipulating everything is nothing more than a middle manager in the whole scheme of things.
Overall, this does not feel like a season premiere. I think this arc would have been a lot more effective in the middle of the season, maybe placing Colony here.
Paper Clip
(****1/2)
There we go! This is what I was expecting out of both the previous episodes. I must admit, I was thinking that they would disrupt the status quo for longer like the last season, but it was welcome to see Scully and Mulder together again so soon. This could have easily gotten a five, but I feel like it went way too fast. This felt like it could have been an epic of cinematic proportions with Scully having a close encounter, Mulder getting his first visual confirmation of alien life since he was a teenager, finding files on every alien abduction ever, finding out Fox was Mr. Mulder's favorite son, Skinner making a deal with "The Devil" so to speak. There were too many elements and we were paced at breakneck speed.
I must say that I was worried about Skinner for a second. I'm really eating up this whole "trust no one" thing, but he came through for me in the end. Putting his own ass on the line to protect Mulder and Scully. He is certainly someone I'd want on my side, even though he really doesn't have any power. The scene where he told off the Smoking Man is quite possibly my favorite moment of the series thus far. And when I do a season three recap, I think that one will stick out as my favorite from the season.
Anyways, great, great episode and now we have an idea of what was going on and why they don't want the truth to get out. Again, I'm worried about the future of the mythology episodes. We have seven more seasons to go and I feel like they're peeling back the layers too quickly. By the end of season four will we have any more mysteries? I'm sure we will, but it seems like so many of my questions have been answered or maybe it's that I'm so used to filling the gaps in my head that I have created answers in my head. Who knows? But I look forward to finding out.
I know I jumped into the first two episodes of season three, but I could let those loose ends hang up. I'll be back tomorrow with my recap of season two. Thanks all for sticking around!
Definitely. I actually just put the order in for Seasons 4 and 5 and the movie. So, now it's safe to say I'm in this for the long haul.
Season 2 Recap
So much happened this season. Our heroes were broken up. Scully was abducted. Scully was returned. We found out that Samantha Mulder was cloned and that there's an Alien Bounty Hunter that can change its shape. Walter Skinner became as close to a main character as you can get without actually being a main character. Alex Krycek came back to kill Mulder's father. We found out Mulder's Father is working with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Really the show seems to have opened up with the Conspiracy and now that I've finished the first few episodes of season 3, I can say that we know what the conspiracy is.
As someone started before, the production value seems to have increased since season 1. The Special Effects just look better and it seems like they're being used more frequently. We also saw our first alien in Duane Barry, something I don't think Season 1 would have allowed us to see.
Favorite Arc Episode: One Breath. This is just a really moving episode and I can't think of a better way to show the evolution of Mulder and Scully's relationship. I love these two together and it was great seeing them back together after this episode.
Favorite Stand Alone: Humbug. Like I said, this was just a delightful episode that taught a really good lesson. There is no such thing as normal. The Side Show performers called Mulder normal, yet we who have gotten to know him know that there's nothing further from the truth. The monster actually took a backseat to that part of the episode.
Least Favorite Episode: Excelsis Dei. This episode was simply boring. No tension, no acton. Just "there."
Favorite Monster: Probably a tie between The Host's monster and Donnie Pfaster. Both were extremely creepy and came from extremely good episodes. I think the both actually beat Tooms, personally.
Least Favorite Monster: The Witches in Die Hand Die Verletzt. This just made me really uncomfortable.
Favorite Moment: Probably Skinner giving the beat down to Mr. X. I personally really like Skinner. I look forward to seeing more of him.
Season 2 Recap
So much happened this season. Our heroes were broken up. Scully was abducted. Scully was returned. We found out that Samantha Mulder was cloned and that there's an Alien Bounty Hunter that can change its shape. Walter Skinner became as close to a main character as you can get without actually being a main character. Alex Krycek came back to kill Mulder's father. We found out Mulder's Father is working with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Really the show seems to have opened up with the Conspiracy and now that I've finished the first few episodes of season 3, I can say that we know what the conspiracy is.
As someone started before, the production value seems to have increased since season 1. The Special Effects just look better and it seems like they're being used more frequently. We also saw our first alien in Duane Barry, something I don't think Season 1 would have allowed us to see.
Favorite Arc Episode: One Breath. This is just a really moving episode and I can't think of a better way to show the evolution of Mulder and Scully's relationship. I love these two together and it was great seeing them back together after this episode.
Favorite Stand Alone: Humbug. Like I said, this was just a delightful episode that taught a really good lesson. There is no such thing as normal. The Side Show performers called Mulder normal, yet we who have gotten to know him know that there's nothing further from the truth. The monster actually took a backseat to that part of the episode.
Least Favorite Episode: Excelsis Dei. This episode was simply boring. No tension, no acton. Just "there."
Favorite Monster: Probably a tie between The Host's monster and Donnie Pfaster. Both were extremely creepy and came from extremely good episodes. I think the both actually beat Tooms, personally.
Least Favorite Monster: The Witches in Die Hand Die Verletzt. This just made me really uncomfortable.
Favorite Moment: Probably Skinner giving the beat down to Mr. X. I personally really like Skinner. I look forward to seeing more of him.
Mitch Pileggi soon is elevated to "Also Starring" status, and late in the series run he'll be elevated to being credited in the main titles. He's a terrific character, and justly gets a few episodes devoted to him in the series (you've already seen "Avatar," but there is also "Zero Sum" and "S.R. 819," and perhaps more that I just cannot remember).
I actually haven't gotten to Avatar. That appears to be at the end of the season I'm currently on.
D.O.P.
(***1/2)
Synopsis: Mulder is skeptical over a coroner’s report regarding the fifth person to be struck by lightning in a small Oklahoma town. Their investigation into the latest death seems to point to the only person to have survived a lightning strike, an emotionally-charged youth.
Episodes that feature small Midwestern/southern towns are probably my favorite type of stand alone. When I was growing up, The X-Files was insanely popular and it was always stuff like this that I thought of when I thought of the show, even though I had never seen an episode before. Probably because those things are the types of settings all UFO shows kind of took to.
Otherwise, this was a pretty average episode. I don’t think they addressed the kid’s pretty clear mental illness, nor did the explaniation of how he came to be satisfy me really. But it was pretty well acted and what not. Jack Black didn’t take me out of the story, like I thought he would being relatively famous now. Decent episode, but nothing special.
Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose
(****1/2)
Synopsis: Skeptical of a famous psychic’s predictions regarding the murder of several prognosticators, Mulder instead finds someone who he believes truly can predict the future. Catching the killer could prove difficult, though, particularly if the murderer can also see into his future.
Review: What can I say about this episode that hasn’t already been said by so many people. David Duchovny lists this as his favorite episode of the third season and it’s pretty clear as to why. It was another one of those humor episodes, but it felt a lot darker than Humbug was and it was also a lot more believable. Peter Boyle was downright fantastic as Clyde and by the end of the episode I really sympathized with him, which is always the sign of good story telling; if you can get me to care about a character in less than 45 minutes. Although, a lot of that can be chalked up to Peter Boyle.
It actually was a mindf*** of an episode. Boyle’s character had probably known exactly how he and everyone around him was going to die for like 40 or 50 years, yet he couldn’t do anything about it. I don’t think they did enough with that in the script, but Boyle’s performance showed bits and pieces of that.
Again, truly great episode and one I will probably remember at the end of the series.
D.O.P.
(***1/2)
Synopsis: Mulder is skeptical over a coroner’s report regarding the fifth person to be struck by lightning in a small Oklahoma town. Their investigation into the latest death seems to point to the only person to have survived a lightning strike, an emotionally-charged youth.
Episodes that feature small Midwestern/southern towns are probably my favorite type of stand alone. When I was growing up, The X-Files was insanely popular and it was always stuff like this that I thought of when I thought of the show, even though I had never seen an episode before. Probably because those things are the types of settings all UFO shows kind of took to.
Otherwise, this was a pretty average episode. I don’t think they addressed the kid’s pretty clear mental illness, nor did the explaniation of how he came to be satisfy me really. But it was pretty well acted and what not. Jack Black didn’t take me out of the story, like I thought he would being relatively famous now. Decent episode, but nothing special.
Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose
(****1/2)
Synopsis: Skeptical of a famous psychic’s predictions regarding the murder of several prognosticators, Mulder instead finds someone who he believes truly can predict the future. Catching the killer could prove difficult, though, particularly if the murderer can also see into his future.
Review: What can I say about this episode that hasn’t already been said by so many people. David Duchovny lists this as his favorite episode of the third season and it’s pretty clear as to why. It was another one of those humor episodes, but it felt a lot darker than Humbug was and it was also a lot more believable. Peter Boyle was downright fantastic as Clyde and by the end of the episode I really sympathized with him, which is always the sign of good story telling; if you can get me to care about a character in less than 45 minutes. Although, a lot of that can be chalked up to Peter Boyle.
It actually was a mindf*** of an episode. Boyle’s character had probably known exactly how he and everyone around him was going to die for like 40 or 50 years, yet he couldn’t do anything about it. I don’t think they did enough with that in the script, but Boyle’s performance showed bits and pieces of that.
Again, truly great episode and one I will probably remember at the end of the series.
Wow, as you know I currently rewatch the show as well.
I'm a little ahead of you and into the seventh season now.
ALthough I can't officially call it rewatching it anymore, since I saw today an episode I had never seen.
How surprised was I that it was a sequel episode featuring one of your favorite villains.
It wasn't as good as his original appearance but the ending....
made one of our beloved heroes go to a very oh-so-dark place.
Only grind I have is next episode everything is back to normal and no apparent consequences whatsoever.
Well, I guess seeing it through would have been too dark for the show at that point.
I'm a little ahead of you and into the seventh season now.
ALthough I can't officially call it rewatching it anymore, since I saw today an episode I had never seen.
How surprised was I that it was a sequel episode featuring one of your favorite villains.
It wasn't as good as his original appearance but the ending....
made one of our beloved heroes go to a very oh-so-dark place.
Only grind I have is next episode everything is back to normal and no apparent consequences whatsoever.
Well, I guess seeing it through would have been too dark for the show at that point.
The List
(*1/2)
2Shy
(**)
The Walk
(*)
Oubliette
(***)
This was a pretty meh section of episodes. The List and The Walk were just plain boring. I couldn't bring myself to care all that much about storyline in 2shy, although I did like the idea of the blind girl more or less solving the crime. I also feel like they stopped giving explanations of potential reasons for more scientific oddities and I always liked that. As improbable as everything is it's kind of cool when they try to bring it back to some type of science. This season got off to a very good start, but there was definitely a dip here.
(*1/2)
2Shy
(**)
The Walk
(*)
Oubliette
(***)
This was a pretty meh section of episodes. The List and The Walk were just plain boring. I couldn't bring myself to care all that much about storyline in 2shy, although I did like the idea of the blind girl more or less solving the crime. I also feel like they stopped giving explanations of potential reasons for more scientific oddities and I always liked that. As improbable as everything is it's kind of cool when they try to bring it back to some type of science. This season got off to a very good start, but there was definitely a dip here.
I'm back! Thank you for baring with me and they should be coming more frequently now.
Neisei
(****)
731
(****1/2)
Ah yes, that’s the intrigue I’ve come to know and love from an alien episode. Again, they’re doing a decent job with uncovering very little, yet still feeling fulfilling. I’m not really liking the two part format for the mythology episodes of late. Episodes like E.B.E. and the Erlenmeyer Flask felt huge and actually felt longer because they were so jam packed with stuff. I feel like this episode didn’t really need to be done in two.
This episode did give off the feeling of tension, which is something I’ve come to enjoy from these mythology episodes. Mulder so very much wants to find the truth, yet all of these forces are working against him. You can always sense his frustration and I’m feeling that frustration with him. We’ve been at this for three years and have almost nothing to show for it. It seems like every time we have evidence it is destroyed before we actually figure out what it is.
I’m also really intrigued with what happened to Scully. I was under the impression that she was abducted by aliens, not the Japanese. Or was she abducted by aliens and then taken by these people for tests? At this point, I feel like it could go either way. I love that she was swept up in the lie though. That way, it’s really less laughable for her to be a skeptic now.
And a leper colony? Likely story. If you want my professional opinion, they actually are alien/human hybrids. I highly doubt that’s a very controversial opinion. I must say, they do seem like good people. It’s unfortunate that they were killed, it would have been nice having one or two hang around. I’m sure the Lone Gunmen would have gotten a kick out of them. The government comes off as extremely loathsome in this one. Usually they just seem to be pawns of the Cigarette Smoking Man and his lackeys, but here it seems to truly be the government.
Well, I suppose we’ll find out more later… until then the truth is still out there somewhere.
Neisei
(****)
731
(****1/2)
Ah yes, that’s the intrigue I’ve come to know and love from an alien episode. Again, they’re doing a decent job with uncovering very little, yet still feeling fulfilling. I’m not really liking the two part format for the mythology episodes of late. Episodes like E.B.E. and the Erlenmeyer Flask felt huge and actually felt longer because they were so jam packed with stuff. I feel like this episode didn’t really need to be done in two.
This episode did give off the feeling of tension, which is something I’ve come to enjoy from these mythology episodes. Mulder so very much wants to find the truth, yet all of these forces are working against him. You can always sense his frustration and I’m feeling that frustration with him. We’ve been at this for three years and have almost nothing to show for it. It seems like every time we have evidence it is destroyed before we actually figure out what it is.
I’m also really intrigued with what happened to Scully. I was under the impression that she was abducted by aliens, not the Japanese. Or was she abducted by aliens and then taken by these people for tests? At this point, I feel like it could go either way. I love that she was swept up in the lie though. That way, it’s really less laughable for her to be a skeptic now.
And a leper colony? Likely story. If you want my professional opinion, they actually are alien/human hybrids. I highly doubt that’s a very controversial opinion. I must say, they do seem like good people. It’s unfortunate that they were killed, it would have been nice having one or two hang around. I’m sure the Lone Gunmen would have gotten a kick out of them. The government comes off as extremely loathsome in this one. Usually they just seem to be pawns of the Cigarette Smoking Man and his lackeys, but here it seems to truly be the government.
Well, I suppose we’ll find out more later… until then the truth is still out there somewhere.
Revelations
(***1/2)
I actually kind of liked this one, but not really for the main plot. I don't think X-Files does religious fundamentalists all that well. I mean, you could really make an interest conspiracy arc around religion, but I feel like the do it just because it's expected.
However, I did like Scully being religious although I'm a bit surprised this hasn't come up in three years (I remember the cross being explained in a non-religious sense). And what's better, I like that Mulder seems to be an atheist. I like the inversion of the show's archetypes. Mulder being the believer doesn't believe in God, while Scully the skeptic is religious without any proof. Love that kind of stuff and the final scene was beautifully acted by Gillian.
(***1/2)
I actually kind of liked this one, but not really for the main plot. I don't think X-Files does religious fundamentalists all that well. I mean, you could really make an interest conspiracy arc around religion, but I feel like the do it just because it's expected.
However, I did like Scully being religious although I'm a bit surprised this hasn't come up in three years (I remember the cross being explained in a non-religious sense). And what's better, I like that Mulder seems to be an atheist. I like the inversion of the show's archetypes. Mulder being the believer doesn't believe in God, while Scully the skeptic is religious without any proof. Love that kind of stuff and the final scene was beautifully acted by Gillian.
Okay, so I was having some major computer problems (I.E. my cord broke), so I've been out of commission for a while and while I was out of commission, I finished season 3. So rather than try to go back and remember what I thought of all of them, I thought I'd go through and give a brief write up on my thoughts as a whole.
Overall, it was an okay season. There was a lot to like and while there wasn't a whole lot to not like, there was a lot of bland stuff in there. Maybe I was expecting too much, because some people mentioned Season 2 and 3 as being consistently good. And Season 2 lived up to that hype. In fact, I think I can safely call it one of my favorite TV seasons ever of any show. Three, on the other hand didn't feel consistant. Sure there were great episodes, like the three Darin Morgan episodes and of course the arc episodes, but there are a lot of episodes that were just vanilla, like The List, 2Shy, Obilette (Didn't help that they were right in a row), and Hell Money. Actually to tell you the truth, I was kind of bored through Piper Maru and Apocrypha.
Also, I feel like we're learning too much, too soon about the aliens. That's not really a comment on season 3, but the show in general. We got 100% pure, undisputable proof of the existence of alien life in the beginning of this season (or really the middle of Season 2). And throughout this season, it feels like the mystery is slowing fading away. I miss the aliens and Smoking Man always being one step ahead. While I wasn't a fan of the episode, one of the moments that epitomizes the show was in Gender Bender when Mulder and Scully ran out into the field and saw a crop circle and just looked up into the sky. I feel like this show doesn't have those kind of moments, mostly because I know so much about what's going on. If I were running the show, I would have made the existence of aliens revealed at the end of this season, maybe even at the beginning of 4.
Well, I'll continue this if anyone's still interested in reading. Season 4 and 5 just came in the mail today. Probably end up getting the movie soon. Well, I hope all of you are doing well and I'll see you soon!
Overall, it was an okay season. There was a lot to like and while there wasn't a whole lot to not like, there was a lot of bland stuff in there. Maybe I was expecting too much, because some people mentioned Season 2 and 3 as being consistently good. And Season 2 lived up to that hype. In fact, I think I can safely call it one of my favorite TV seasons ever of any show. Three, on the other hand didn't feel consistant. Sure there were great episodes, like the three Darin Morgan episodes and of course the arc episodes, but there are a lot of episodes that were just vanilla, like The List, 2Shy, Obilette (Didn't help that they were right in a row), and Hell Money. Actually to tell you the truth, I was kind of bored through Piper Maru and Apocrypha.
Also, I feel like we're learning too much, too soon about the aliens. That's not really a comment on season 3, but the show in general. We got 100% pure, undisputable proof of the existence of alien life in the beginning of this season (or really the middle of Season 2). And throughout this season, it feels like the mystery is slowing fading away. I miss the aliens and Smoking Man always being one step ahead. While I wasn't a fan of the episode, one of the moments that epitomizes the show was in Gender Bender when Mulder and Scully ran out into the field and saw a crop circle and just looked up into the sky. I feel like this show doesn't have those kind of moments, mostly because I know so much about what's going on. If I were running the show, I would have made the existence of aliens revealed at the end of this season, maybe even at the beginning of 4.
Well, I'll continue this if anyone's still interested in reading. Season 4 and 5 just came in the mail today. Probably end up getting the movie soon. Well, I hope all of you are doing well and I'll see you soon!
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