The X-Files : Season X (Spoilers!)

[Greg Cox]

Can't resist pointing out that today is the official pub date for THE X-FILES: THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE, a new X-FILES short-story anthology. (And, yes, my first-ever X-FILES story is among the contents.)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/16...rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

 

[Warped9]

It had its moments, but for me this was the weakest of the lot. I don't mind a humour oriented story, but it didn't gel with the serious subject matter.

Einstein and Miller were pale imitations with no real nuance of their own.

 

[JD]

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. While the case was a bit more mundane than usual, it was kind of interesting to see them tackle a big issue like Islamic extremism. Miller and Einstein were fun, but I always get a kick out of these kinds of stories.
Mulder's Magic Mushroom trip was hilarious, although I was disappointed that that was our Lone Gunmen appearance.
Next week's looks like it will be a huge episode, I can't wait! I'm glad they look like they're closing the season (series?) out with a big epic finale.

 

[Forbin]

I didn't even notice the Gunmen.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I didn't even notice the Gunmen.

I almost didn't either, but than I saw Frohike and retroactively noticed Langly, but Byers escaped me. I was to lazy to rewind.

 

[Beagleman]

I didn't even notice the Gunmen.

Me neither, when Mulder said the Lone Gunmen where there I thought "They were?". Kind of a waste, I thought they would retcon-resurrect them for real...

 

[jbny67]

One thing I'm not sure of. Did Skinner pull the plug on what Mulder was doing in this episode or the re-opened X-Files altogether? I had the feeling at the end that Mulder was, once again, no longer F.B.I..

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

One thing I'm not sure of. Did Skinner pull the plug on what Mulder was doing in this episode or the re-opened X-Files altogether? I had the feeling at the end that Mulder was, once again, no longer F.B.I..

No, he was just at home.

 

[Guy Gardener]

It's fricking Claire from 6 feet under! She should be able to do whatever she wants.

 

[JD]

I forgot to mention before that I wouldn't be totally against Einstein and/or Miller sticking around. I still can't help but wonder if they were brought in as possible replacements if David Duchovny and/or Gillian Anderson decided not to come back if they do more. I could see them taking over, with Duchovny and Anderson just taking a supporting senior agent/mentor type role. Kind of like what they're doing in the main Star Wars saga, with the new heroes and the original trilogy heroes.

 

[Guy Gardener]

That transition would hurt.

 

[Awesome Possum]

The X-Files has tried shifting to new agents, it didn't work out then either.

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

I think that worked better than 100% carbon copies down to the very appearance of the characters would.

 

[Awesome Possum]

I think that worked better than 100% carbon copies down to the very appearance of the characters would.

All they really did was change it so there was a female believer and a male skeptic, but both were a little more extreme in those beliefs.

But the new ones are just Baby Mulder and Sarcastic Scully.

 

[bigdaddy]

Why do I have a bad feeling that the whole point of this episode was "If you believe it, you make it come true"? Mulder wasn't stoned, but thought he was so it "worked" I guess. So next week the internet wacko comes out and says everyone is getting sick, which makes people think they are getting sick, but they aren't. Like the House on a plane episode of House MD.

 

[Ometiklan]

I have liked most of this season:
My Struggle (p1): 5/10 - see below.
Founder's Mutation: 7/10 - average monster-of-the week stuff with some tie-in to conspiracy stuff and good character stuff regarding William.
Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster: 9/10 - funny, entertaining, if not quite as good as the best original series stuff (Clive, Jose Chung, Bad Blood).
Home Again: 8/10 - decent monster (thought less scary that it should have been) and good stuff with the Scullys.
Babylon: 8/10 - fun with Mulder and the shrooms, good message about failures to communicate, to understand others' point of view, and the power of words.

I didn't like the way My Struggle made Mulder flip flop on everything he believed in with little evidence (like Redux without the cool alien body and Kritschgau), and didn't like the underuse/undercommenting about a functional ARV that Mulder got to touch, and the dialog/acting were stilted. It felt like Mulder and Scully were talking past each other a lot and not in a "the characters are approaching this from different points of view and just can't get on the same page sort of way" but instead in a "this dialog is supposed to be powerful but fails" way. The transcript of the dialog comes off better, but that doesn't help the episode much.

Here's to hoping My Struggle part 2 cleans and fixes some stuff up and sends us off on a good note. I am interested to see the fates of Miller and Einstein in that I can see them being killed off in the season finale. They are too-on-the-nose copies of Mulder and Scully for them to be seriously considered for series replacements (maybe in a comic book or something, but not on TV).

 

[Sto-Vo-Kory]

Why do I have a bad feeling that the whole point of this episode was "If you believe it, you make it come true"? Mulder wasn't stoned, but thought he was so it "worked" I guess. So next week the internet wacko comes out and says everyone is getting sick, which makes people think they are getting sick, but they aren't. Like the House on a plane episode of House MD.

Mulder was on magic mushrooms. After Einstein tells Skinner those pills were just placebos, she wheels Mulder out into the hospital's hallway and he says the placebo thing was just her "covering her ass" so she didn't have to admit to giving a fellow agent illegal substances.

If it actually were placebos, I doubt she would've bothered to fly him all the way down to Texas or rushed the nurse out of the suspect's room after Mulder had the pills on his tongue. Also, Mulder comes off looking like a middle school boy that doesn't know the difference between oregano and pot if he actually had just ingested niacin supplements for his trip.

I bought her placebo explanation, too, on my first viewing and didn't catch her fabrication of the niacin pill story until my second time through.

 

[Dream]

I was bored to tears while watching this episode. It felt too much like a backdoor pilot for those two new agents. Don't do it, FOX!

I'm going to rewatch the first X-Files movie tonight to wash the bad taste of this episode out of my mouth.

 

[Mr Light]

I'm delighted to have the X-Files back and I want more, but these episodes have been pretty disappointing. "My Struggle" was okay and the Darin Morgan episode was an absolute classic, but the other three were extremely average. I just can't believe they had 16 years to come up with great ideas, they're only doing six, and this was the best they could come up with. A tulpa again, and Muslim suicide bombers?

As for "Babylon", it just felt extremely tonally inappropriate to cut Mulder tripping on 'shrooms and the comedic Mulder/Scully clones with 9/11 Part Two. I feel like X-Files is not the place to be doing Muslim suicide bombers. Hell, I barely feel it should be in 24.

That said, I did love Mulder tripping on 'shrooms and the young replacements. Very amusing stuff. Just really needed a lighter A plot to go with it. I too almost missed the Lone Gunmen appearing and only caught two of them at the end.

Also, I kept waiting for there to be some larger story to the terrorists. There was the mysterious government agents who didn't want the kid talking, who refused to be photographed, then there was the nurse who was trying to kill when no one was looking and started spouting off some right wing insanity... what was the point of all that? Misdirection? What were those agents about then? And the nurse was just a loner coo-coo?

 

[Shanndee]

Why, oh why, didn't I pay attention to my reaction to the last episode and give
up then? Why? I hated this one. Honest, intense hatred.

I am usually a completist and will see a season through to the end, but I'm out...well and truly finished with the X-Files as a going concern. I'm glad I still have the DVDs to watch if I ever feel nostalgic for it, but other than that I'll call it a night.

I hope the rest of you have a better experience than I did. Enjoy!