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WhyteRyce posted:But since mankind is the source of both of those problems why not just kill off/convert with black oil the whole human race?! Oh god I'm thinking too much about this show again It's probably best you didn't.
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Jan 5, 2018 07:16
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business hammocks posted:Carter didn’t even know what would happen in this episode while they filmed the last one. His whole career is painting himself into corners and then spinning ways of getting out. I guess everyone forgot that Scully has already been impregnated with magic alien science children in a twist that reveals it was the government instead of aliens and that smoking man has already been dramatically revealed to unexpectedly be a main character’s father. It’s like the show has Alzheimer’s. Carter has two moves, and two moves only: "You thought the conspiracy was X? Turns out the conspiracy was Y, ha" "Break up Mulder and Scully, and start the "will they or won't they?" again"
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Jan 5, 2018 17:53
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This show was so great when it was good, what happened? I understand that Carter is a hack, that much is evident, but then how/why was it ever as good as it was? There's plenty of excellent videos and articles discussing, say, the hows and whys of what happened to the Simpsons, and for something like Game of Thrones or Battlestar Galactica there's also readily apparent explanations for why the shows took the nosedives they did when they did. But what the heck happened to the X-Files? Part of it certainly seems to be the fact the Syndicate plotline was thoroughly wrapped up in season 6 but then trotted out once more as a zombie, but the issues seem more fundamental and far-reaching than that. Like the problems with the latter seasons, and especially last season, go deeper and farther than simply 'the mytharc has nowhere to go'
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Jan 5, 2018 18:01
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RoboChrist 9000 posted:This show was so great when it was good, what happened? I understand that Carter is a hack, that much is evident, but then how/why was it ever as good as it was? There's plenty of excellent videos and articles discussing, say, the hows and whys of what happened to the Simpsons, and for something like Game of Thrones or Battlestar Galactica there's also readily apparent explanations for why the shows took the nosedives they did when they did. But what the heck happened to the X-Files? Part of it certainly seems to be the fact the Syndicate plotline was thoroughly wrapped up in season 6 but then trotted out once more as a zombie, but the issues seem more fundamental and far-reaching than that. Like the problems with the latter seasons, and especially last season, go deeper and farther than simply 'the mytharc has nowhere to go' I'm rewatching the series from episode 1 and am currently 3 episodes away from finishing season 7. Season 7 still has some good stuff, but the cracks are definitely starting to show. The biggest issues I've seen are: 1)The mytharc ends after season 6, but they keep going back to it in season 7. The Cigarette Smoking Man goes from a weird enforcer of the cabal to some kind of evil mastermind that's just kind of hanging around at the fringes and screwing around with Scully and Mulder. 2) The monster of the week stuff starts retreading old ground and getting more complex and convoluted as a result. "Chimera" was an enjoyable episode in season 7, but it felt a lot like a mishmash of 3 or 4 other episodes. 3) The tone of the show is going a lot more comedic. Which is fine, some of the best episodes are equal parts sci-fi and comedy. But almost every episode is getting goofier and losing that horror edge. Season 8 and 9 have these problems, plus you lose the Mulder and Scully dynamic that keeps even weak episodes entertaining.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:15
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I was really excited about the new season but the first episode was so bad. Chris Carter needs to stop writing and let the other folks shine. Also all the camera work was weird and felt more like 24.
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Jan 5, 2018 18:40
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RoboChrist 9000 posted:This show was so great when it was good, what happened? I understand that Carter is a hack, that much is evident, but then how/why was it ever as good as it was? There's plenty of excellent videos and articles discussing, say, the hows and whys of what happened to the Simpsons, and for something like Game of Thrones or Battlestar Galactica there's also readily apparent explanations for why the shows took the nosedives they did when they did. But what the heck happened to the X-Files? Part of it certainly seems to be the fact the Syndicate plotline was thoroughly wrapped up in season 6 but then trotted out once more as a zombie, but the issues seem more fundamental and far-reaching than that. Like the problems with the latter seasons, and especially last season, go deeper and farther than simply 'the mytharc has nowhere to go' I think a lot of it came down to the talent drain post-Season 4, by which I mean a lot of the really talented creatives on the show were gone by the time that season was over. The thing is, in the beginning, Carter didn't really know what he was doing as he had no experience running a show, so he was happy to let other people take the lead in deciding the direction and tone of the series, notably the Morgan Brothers, James Wong and Howard Gordon. I think also he also just lucked out getting a really solid crew behind him, both writers and directors. Certainly his work outside the show(or lack of) has demonstrated you can't recapture lightning twice. By the time Season 5 rolled around, with most of the Season 1-4 writers having left to work on other projects(apart from Vince Gilligan, who stuck around right to the end), the creative direction was now largely determined by Carter, Frank Spotnitz and John Shiban. Between them they wrote pretty much all the main mythology episodes from S5 onward, e.g. the ones that "mattered" in the context of the larger story arc. So I think the main arc just lost some of the more openly collaborative approach it had early on, and it basically just became these three guys, neither of whom were ever the strongest writers to put it politely. It seems other writers who came on board during this time had a pretty lovely experience, often finding their scripts re-written to the point they were unrecognisable. There were factors involved of course, such as Duchnovy getting bored and wanting out, and the production moving to L.A. which fundamentally changed the whole look and feel of the show, and not necessarily in a good way. The X-Files was never going to be the same when it was filmed under constant sunshine and clear blue skies.
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Jan 5, 2018 19:48
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I was into this version of X-Files. For a couple of reasons, 1: hey! 2. Hey!! 3. HEY!!!
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Jan 5, 2018 19:51
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Besides the writers leaving, like Maelstache mentioned, the other thing was that the show was supposed to end and become a movie series after season 7. Every little bit of the mytharc had been wrapped up by then. But then every Fox drama bombed, including all the Carter related series (harsh realm, lone gunmen, etc), and their only other moderately successful drama, Party of Five, was ending. There's an old interview with either Spotnitz or Duchovny about the season 7 ending and it was about how they filmed two different endings, and didn't know which was going to be shown because they didn't know if Fox was bringing them back 2 weeks before the season finale. So essentially season 8 had never been planned. And then all fox series bombed again and they brought it back once more for season 9. As for why they accepted it, instead of forcing Fox's hand, Gilligan once said in an interview that forcing an end to a series is easier said than done, that close to 200 people work on that series, and ending it essentially means putting 200 people you like and work with out of a job.
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Jan 5, 2018 20:46
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sticklefifer posted:I mean, it's no First Person Shooter. I preferred first person shooter and fight club to this episode.
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Jan 5, 2018 21:30
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A Fancy Hat posted:I'm rewatching the series from episode 1 and am currently 3 episodes away from finishing season 7. Season 7 still has some good stuff, but the cracks are definitely starting to show. The biggest issues I've seen are: Season 8 is actually better than a lot of 7, I thought. It's only 9 that really gets bad
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Jan 5, 2018 21:33
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Just watched ‘The Post-Modern Prometheus’ 
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Jan 5, 2018 23:18
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It’s good that the rape monster was loved by all.
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Jan 5, 2018 23:29
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mastershakeman posted:Season 8 is actually better than a lot of 7, I thought. It's only 9 that really gets bad My recollection is that the mytharc in 8 was actually more interesting than 7 because the super soldier stuff at least felt like they were building towards something, rather than the puttering around nonsense of 7 after they wrapped up the original Syndicate storyline in 6. I do not remember enjoying any MOTW in season 8 but 7 has some great ones like Je Souhaite, Brand X and Hollywood AD.
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Jan 5, 2018 23:35
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mastershakeman posted:Season 8 is actually better than a lot of 7, I thought. It's only 9 that really gets bad Yeah I liked Robert Patrick's character, stepping into the WTF skeptic role so Scully could be the "believer", plus he was more credible as an actual FBI agent. Anyway, random lol from this episode at Spender, after all he's been through and done, just to end up living in an apartment building and having to haul his own garbage down to the basement like a schnook. Laterite fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Jan 5, 2018 |
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Jan 5, 2018 23:45
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UnknownMercenary posted:My recollection is that the mytharc in 8 was actually more interesting than 7 because the super soldier stuff at least felt like they were building towards something, rather than the puttering around nonsense of 7 after they wrapped up the original Syndicate storyline in 6. I do not remember enjoying any MOTW in season 8 but 7 has some great ones like Je Souhaite, Brand X and Hollywood AD. Via Negativa was pretty good.
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Jan 5, 2018 23:46
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Did I miss the explanation for how Spender unmelted his face or was it more “gently caress it who cares” hand waving.
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Jan 6, 2018 00:04
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Pops Mgee posted:Did I miss the explanation for how Spender unmelted his face or was it more “gently caress it who cares” hand waving. Given the big rear end scar he had on one side I'm guessing it was a face transplant. Or alien science.
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Jan 6, 2018 00:08
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The X-Files: “gently caress It Who Cares” Hand Waving
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Jan 6, 2018 00:35
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Pops Mgee posted:Did I miss the explanation for how Spender unmelted his face or was it more “gently caress it who cares” hand waving. i fixed it, im a character this season but that was my only purpose and the role has no screentime. i wont be mentioned or credited either
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Jan 6, 2018 02:43
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Laterite posted:The X-Files: “gently caress It Who Cares” Hand Waving
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Jan 6, 2018 02:58
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I guess I'm in the extreme minority of liking this episode but I went in with no expectations and I fully expect this is the last hurrah so I'm just along for the ride. Yes it had issues, but gently caress it, just throw the cards up in the air and see what lands. I think the plot holds up well and I like where Mulder and Scully are in their relationship/lives and that works for me. There have always been two sets of alien factions and likewise two human factions working alongside them. I like Cancerman being the father because it explains why Scully and William haven't been killed up to this point. I never liked Mulder and Scully getting together (a separate lengthy post) so let's roll with this narrative.
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Jan 6, 2018 03:20
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Well, that was very underwhelming.J33uk posted:Given the big rear end scar he had on one side I'm guessing it was a face transplant. Or alien science. Chris Carter on Reddit posted:The Cigarette Smoking Man has access to science that saved his life and removed much of his scarring. Similarly, Jeffrey Spender has, in my imagination, undergone reconstructive surgery and may have had access to his own secret science.
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Jan 6, 2018 09:20
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That crafty CSM and his secret science that can save you from being blown the gently caress up by a direct missile strike.
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Jan 6, 2018 09:49
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Alien science.
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Jan 6, 2018 11:53
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Tiggum posted:Alien science. Finally we can get an answer for how Krycek grew his arm back after those Russians cut it off in Season 4.
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Jan 6, 2018 12:22
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Gravitee posted:I guess I'm in the extreme minority of liking this episode but I went in with no expectations and I fully expect this is the last hurrah so I'm just along for the ride. Yes it had issues, but gently caress it, just throw the cards up in the air and see what lands. I think the plot holds up well and I like where Mulder and Scully are in their relationship/lives and that works for me. There have always been two sets of alien factions and likewise two human factions working alongside them. I like Cancerman being the father because it explains why Scully and William haven't been killed up to this point. I never liked Mulder and Scully getting together (a separate lengthy post) so let's roll with this narrative. I didn't even realize the new season was starting this week until the night it was on, so was really stoked about it and enjoyed the episode. I even enjoyed CSM's expository monologues. Without that wordy backstory we just have a bunch of people who don't like each other running around in circles. Always fascinated by the (alien induced?) internet phenomenon in which "fans" of a show post online about how much they don't like the show they are fans of.
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Jan 6, 2018 13:08
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How fast were the cars supposed to be going in that chase? It was kinda hard to tell. Even putting the actual story aside, this was so bad. As mentioned, the pacing is just ridiculous. In two minutes Scully's in a coma; expert brain doctor and code breaker Skinner determines her brain's sending a two word Morse code that means she wants them to find William; a random normal doctor diagnoses it as someone sending a psychic vision to her; Scully wakes up 30 seconds later anyway and tells them all she had a vision and to FIND HIM; Mulder doesn't believe her for whatever reason but then does?; Spender; Car Chase; CSM somehow both saying nothing and giving too blunt exposition at the same time; Mulder's awful voiceover. At least I can now say I was glad to see an 'it was all a dream' cop-out for once. Still looking forward to the standalones though!
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Jan 6, 2018 13:09
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Binary Logic posted:I didn't even realize the new season was starting this week until the night it was on, so was really stoked about it and enjoyed the episode. I even enjoyed CSM's expository monologues. Without that wordy backstory we just have a bunch of people who don't like each other running around in circles. If it’s like last season we’ll never know in advance what episodes are great and which ones will be terrible.
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Jan 6, 2018 14:49
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business hammocks posted:If it’s like last season we’ll never know in advance what episodes are great and which ones will be terrible. If it’s written by Carter I feel pretty safe betting it will be bad.
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Jan 6, 2018 15:07
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Although word is there's a good Carter episode this year.
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Jan 6, 2018 15:33
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Junkenstein posted:Although word is there's a good Carter episode this year. I want to believe.
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Jan 6, 2018 16:37
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The episode had very little plot and revealed very little new information, so why does it feel like they just barely got it all crammed into the 42 minute run time? Between voiceover and on-screen dialogue and constant phone calls, it felt like there was hardly any time without someone talking; the longest stretch without talking I can think of was the strangely slow-feeling car chase. The shooting and editing bothered me too. The cuts were too fast (a sin picked up from modern action TV, I assume) and in general things felt like they were shot too tight. The weirdest part was the scene where Mulder finds the other Syndicate guy and the camera keeps doing a tiny zoom on a character as they're talking. mycomancy posted:I want to believe.
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Jan 6, 2018 16:54
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Pham Nuwen posted:The shooting and editing bothered me too. The cuts were too fast (a sin picked up from modern action TV, I assume) and in general things felt like they were shot too tight. The weirdest part was the scene where Mulder finds the other Syndicate guy and the camera keeps doing a tiny zoom on a character as they're talking. It was like Battlestar Galactica's space battles but for a conversation where two people aren't moving, very weird choice. Also me and Chris Carter apparently think alike with regards to Spender's face which is deeply concerning for me as a person. I think I'll monologue all my internal conflicts outloud in a very slow way to try and understand it.
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Jan 6, 2018 17:28
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Binary Logic posted:Always fascinated by the (alien induced?) internet phenomenon in which "fans" of a show post online about how much they don't like the show they are fans of. This is disingenuous as hell and, conversely, a good name/post combo. I don't know if anyone's mentioned this, but people are allowed to be genuinely disappointed by the direction a narrative takes, even hardcore fans that have been with it for ages. It's like hardcore Lynch fans getting up the asses of the people who really liked Twin Peaks, but maybe not Lynch's films, and thus are not exactly thrilled with the revival, even if the reasoning for being disappointed in that case are quite a bit different, re: tonal whiplash. They expected Twin Peaks, a continuation of a story, and got David Lynch: Untethered, instead. And, you know? That's a valid complaint. Same with people not really digging on Chris Carter: Untethered. The usual arguments for 'well, you just want the old thing you liked so much back, but that's worn out and tired, and you're afraid of change' don't really hold water when it's literally more of the same, just writ way larger, and in a more manic fashion. It was not uncommon for fans, sans condescending airquotes, to feel like the series was spinning its wheels, and no one is particularly anxious to see it happen again. Even if the series had some bullshit moments, the moments of progress were relieving/rewarding in their own way, but - as per usual - that progress typically got ripped up, and ultimately thrown away to give the series the shot in the arm it "needed" to keep going. That the premiere St. Elsewhere'd the season finale is endemic of this; of all the things that were generally aggravating about the overall mytharc, when the only way Carter seemed to know how to move forward with the narrative was to throw it all into reverse at mach speeds. Goon hyperbole (which has been funny and cathartic to read, fwiw) or no, these are valid criticisms. As with a beloved pet that intermittently shits on your rug while looking you dead in the eyes, you can like a thing - or even really like a thing - and still be frustrated/pissed off with it, hth. edit: wording edit 2: ghost post still throwing me off Old Boot fucked around with this message at 18:18 on Jan 6, 2018 |
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Jan 6, 2018 17:55
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UnknownMercenary posted:My recollection is that the mytharc in 8 was actually more interesting than 7 because the super soldier stuff at least felt like they were building towards something, rather than the puttering around nonsense of 7 after they wrapped up the original Syndicate storyline in 6. I do not remember enjoying any MOTW in season 8 but 7 has some great ones like Je Souhaite, Brand X and Hollywood AD. Which season were they foreshadowing a new Syndicate led by Alex Krycek and Marita Covarrubius and (other than pushing CSM down some stairs in his wheelchair) it never really went anywhere? Was that seven or eight?
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Jan 6, 2018 23:59
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Wheat Loaf posted:Which season were they foreshadowing a new Syndicate led by Alex Krycek and Marita Covarrubius and (other than pushing CSM down some stairs in his wheelchair) it never really went anywhere? Was that seven or eight? Seven. Not necessarily any writer's fault there -- plot lines being introduced and then suddenly dropped is classic Network interference, and certainly well within Fox's wheelhouse during that period. Particularly for scifi. Trying to "fix" a show by dropping all inconvenient plotlines and pushing for a "newer, fresher" approach? Classic.
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Jan 7, 2018 00:29
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At least Reyes is still looking pretty good after all these years.
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Jan 7, 2018 03:12
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inignot posted:That was utter dogshit. Yep. And I loved every second of it. It used 40min of my time to inject 120min of exposition directly into my veins in that vintage, convoluted Carter style. It hit me today that Chris Carter and Hideo Kojima should form a master team of retcons and twists upon retcons and twists. Season 10 was so so, I didn't mind it as much as most. I accepted Carter has no loving clue what he's doing a very long time ago, and it had a couple good standalones. I've been hearing good things about season 11's MotW stuff and it potentially?? handling some of the myth stuff semi-decently later, too, so I'm looking forward to the rest of this event or w/e Fox is calling it.
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Jan 7, 2018 08:51
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They should have gotten me to write the new season
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Jan 7, 2018 08:58
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If I wrote it, csm would win and kill everyone and light a fat blunt and laugh and pass it off to an alien who’d also laugh and that’s how the series would end.
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Jan 7, 2018 09:00
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