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 The X-Files is coming back! It will be a limited run "event series" and production is set to begin this summer. The premiere will air on January 24th, 2016, after the NFC championship game on FOX. Just like the old days...  What we know so far It will be 6 episodes, with creator Chris Carter at the helm and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson signed on to reprise their roles as Mulder and Scully. As mentioned by Chris Carter in this Daily Beast article, the scripts haven't even been written yet, but he does imply that there will be a mix of mythology related episodes and standalone MOTW episodes. However, we don't know for sure yet. During a Late Show appearance, Duchovny mentions that Mitch Pileggi and William B. Davis will be back to reprise their roles as Walter Skinner and the Cigarette Smoking Man. No word yet on how the hell CSM managed to survive getting blown to bits. There has been speculation about Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, and James Wong returning with Chris Carter to the writer's room. They are also trying hard to bring back Frank Spotnitz. Mark Snow is rumored to return as composer, and it is also rumored that Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish may return as Doggett and Reyes, if their schedules allow. None of this is confirmed yet, however.  The Intro Welcome! It has been a while since we've had an X-Files thread, so I figured it was about time we had a new one. This thread is for general discussion of everything "The X-Files". This isn't a "Let's Watch" thread, Ensign_Ricky had that covered, and he did a fantastic job at it. I am nowhere near as talented, nor do I have the time to write an episode-by-episode synopsis and review with cool pictures and graphics. Unfortunately, people lost interest in that thread and it is doomed to an eternity in archives hell, but here is the link. It's a great thread, and a great read, so I would suggest checking it out. This is not a newbie thread either, so post all of the spoilers your heart desires. I'll try to make the OP as spoiler-free as I can, but there are some minor spoilers here so be warned if you are an X-Files newbie. After that, it's all spoilers, so avoid reading this thread like the plague, and report back when you're done. I know there are a couple people in the binge thread taking the plunge, so I would be curious to read your opinions. The Premise  The X-Files is centered around two FBI agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, and their quest for the truth about a deep-seeded government conspiracy to cover up the existence of extraterrestrial life on Earth. All episodes that involve this conspiracy are referred to as mytharc episodes. Mulder and Scully investigate other paranormal phenomenon, including monsters, spirits, telekinesis, vampires, and much more. These episodes are referred to as monster of the week episodes, and as great as the mytharc was in first few seasons, MotW episodes were this show's bread and butter. The Players  "One more anal-probing gyro-pyro levitating ecoplasm alien anti-matter story and I'm going to take out my gun and shoot somebody." Fox Mulder is an Oxford educated psychologist and criminal profiler who graduated with honors from the Quantico FBI Training Academy. Although known by his peers as "Spooky" Mulder for his inclination to believe in paranormal activity and espouse his views, he was the FBI's golden boy, working in the behavioral science unit and violent crimes unit. While working with the violent crimes unit, he came across the x-files, cabinets full of unexplained cases related to the paranormal relegated to a small, dark room in the basement of the FBI headquarters. Fueled by the mystery behind his sister's disappearance as a child and belief that aliens abducted her, he reopened the x-files, much to the chagrin of the FBI and other government agencies.  "Yes, it looks like a fat little white Nazi storm trooper, but that only proves my point!" Dana Scully is a scientist. She earned a B.S. in physics from the University of Maryland, and an M.D. from Stanford. For this reason, she was recruited by the FBI, and eventually assigned to the X-Files to debunk Mulder's work with hard science. She is brilliant and strong-willed, and she is a perfect compliment to agent Mulder. Scully grew up in a Catholic household, and as she becomes more entrenched in the alien conspiracy, she is constantly struggling to reconcile her faith, her belief in scientific facts, and the truth.  "This is where you pucker up and kiss my rear end." Walter Skinner is a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, and he kicks rear end. Skinner is Mulder and Scully's direct superior officer during a majority of the series. His motivations and alliances are often ambiguous and complicated, but for the most part, he is an ally to Mulder and Scully.  "What I don't want to see is the Buffalo Bills winning the Superbowl. As long as I'm alive, that doesn't happen." The Cigarette Smoking Man is an enigma. We don't know much about him in the first couple seasons, but we come to learn that he is a leader, of sorts, of The Syndicate. The Syndicate is a shadow government that has a major hand in all world events, and controls and covers up the alien conspiracy.  "You know, with that long, blond hair, you'll be the first one in here that gets traded for cigarettes." Ahh, the lovable trio of nerds who are the Lone Gunmen. My favorite tertiary characters ever. Consisting of Melvin Frohike, John Fitzgerald Byers, and Richard Langly, they are a trio of truth-seeking conspiracy theorists who publish the magazine "The Lone Gunmen." Their unlikely friendship and partnership was forged at a tech convention in 1989. Langly and Frohike were competing stolen cable television salesmen, and Byers was a public affairs officer for the FCC at the time. They proved to be an invaluable asset to many of Mulder and Scully's investigations, and often provided comedic relief. They even had their own spin-off, co-created by the great Vince Gilligan.  Agents John Doggett and Monica Reyes take over the X-Files in the last two seasons. By season 8, the mytharc gets convoluted, and frankly not very good, but Doggett and Reyes had their moments in some really good MotW episodes. Links and Resources The X-Files Wiki- A definitive resource for the X-Files. The last Let's Watch thread- A great episode guide for the first three seasons. 2013 X-Files Comic Con Panel- David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson together again  Will there be a new X-Files movie? Probably not. The last movie, I Want To Believe, didn't do very well at the box office, and it was a decent MotW episode at best. There has been some interest expressed by Chris Carter, Duchovny, and Anderson, but it's nothing but false hope at this point. It doesn't seem likely we'll ever see Mulder and Scully together again, but who knows, anything is possible. When will the X-Files Blu-ray set come out? I live in the 21st century and I demand everything in HD! There have been rumors and whispers about a possible HD conversion and Blu-ray release of the series. Notably, Vince Gilligan has expressed interest in it in a couple Breaking Bad insider podcasts. Well, as bull3964 first reported in this thread, it appears that there is an effort by FOX to remaster The X-Files into HD, and some of the episodes are being aired in syndication in Germany. Here are some of the screenshot comparisons, and they look great: bull3964 posted:A bunch more comparisons. The last two are incredible. tldr: No idea, but it's promising. I want to believe. As of April 23rd 2015, Netflix has released the first 13 episodes of the first season in HD! No official word on when the rest of the series will be released in HD, but this is a very exciting development. Kumail Nanjiani's Podcast http://www.feralaudio.com/show/x-files-files/ Looking for a good companion podcast to your X-Files binge? Look no further than "The X-Files Files". Although I really want to, I have not been able to listen to it yet, but it comes highly recommended by active posters in this thread. Just check out this testimonial: apophenium posted:The podcast is so good holy poo poo. When I found out there weren't going to be episodes of it these last few weeks of 2014 I had a brief existential crisis. It's making going through the series for the first time a lot more enjoyable. It is hosted by Kumail Nanjiani, the dude from Silicon Valley, and he discusses each episode with guests such as Darin Morgan (writer, seasons 2-5), Glen Morgan (writer, seasons 1-7), Mark Snow (composer), Dean Haglund (Langly) and big name fans of the show such as Dan Harmon and Paul Scheer. He is currently working his way through season 3. Exploder fucked around with this message at 02:44 on May 13, 2015 |
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Jan 8, 2014 03:31
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OldMemes posted:Probably the best show of the 90s, aside from the Simpsons. It's been copied, homaged and referenced, but never bettered. I don't think there's ever been a show quite like it since. It's been a while since I watched the movie, but I don't think the alien invasion was mentioned at all. It wasn't a bad movie, like I said, it was a decent MotW story at best, but to completely ignore the fact that society itself would crumble and aliens would take over the world in a mere 4 years was a huge oversight. There is a lot of potential in a possible movie, or even mini-series dedicated to wrapping up the mythology. Even a post-invasion story, if unoriginal given the myriad post-apocalyptic stuff on TV today, would be pretty cool. But I just get the feeling that Chris Carter doesn't want to do it, and all of the other original writers are doing big things. I haven't read the comics, but I took a quick glance at the Wikipedia article, and the Lone Gunmen are still alive, so that's pretty neat. The Simpsons and The X-Files were an integral part of my childhood and teens. It didn't get better than Sunday nights on FOX in the 90's. They are the two best shows from the 90's, in my opinion, and two of the most influential. I have to wonder if shows like Lost and Fringe would have ever existed without The X-Files, and if people like Vince Gilligan, Howard Gordon, John Shiban and Alex Gansa would go on to have great careers. Hell, Michelle MacLaren got her start in Hollywood directing the excellent season 9 episode "John Doe", and look at what she has become.
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Jan 8, 2014 06:35
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joepinetree posted:Seasons 1-7 have quite a few inconsistencies, but they are mostly the kind of stuff that would bug you if you really cared about the details. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter for the story if the black oil IS the alien, if it creates aliens, or if it helps create hybrids. By the end of season 7, the mythology is pretty much wrapped up, most loose ends are tied, etc. But then all new fox dramas bombed, and they decided to get another season. Duchovny left and the "mythology" becomes pretty much nonsense. Same thing at the end of season 8: fox dramas bombed, they decided to extend the series again. I think you're right on about the black oil. Like you said, if you care about every little detail, it is going to hurt your enjoyment of the show. Personally, I can let some of the inconsistencies go, and just enjoy it for what it is. It isn't until season 7 that the mythology is so inconsistent and convoluted to me that I just stop watching the mytharc episodes altogether when I do a re-watch. I look at Biogenesis as the point where the mythology starts going off the rails. It's a shame because it was so good in the first few seasons, but it stands as an example of what not to do with a sci-fi television show. And I think television is better today because of it.
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Jan 11, 2014 05:29
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bull3964 posted:Arise thread on great news! This is fantastic. The DVD's of the first few seasons haven't aged well, boxed in 4:3 and grainy, and Netflix isn't that much better. Those screenshots look a hell of a lot better, but some of them still look a bit grainy. I'm not privy on the re-mastering process, but I remember hearing, I think from Vince Gilligan on a BB podcast, that it would be a complicated and very time-consuming process to convert the entire series into HD, so I wonder why we are just hearing about this now. Is there anything more to it than simply opening the frame and cropping?
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Jan 22, 2014 06:52
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Okay, I was a bit skeptical at first, but those screenshots look amazing in 1080i. I would buy a Blu-ray set in a heartbeat. Take my money, FOX!
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Jan 23, 2014 04:57
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take the red pill posted:What I adored about the show were the atmosphere, style and brooding tone. The "X-Files" often wallowed in dark scenes and always seemed far more cinematic than anything else on TV. Watching it as a kid I might not have been sophisticated enough to be put off by the alien mythology plot and how it was always ongoing and not satisfyingly dealt with from season to season, but upon the second the viewing of notable episodes it occurred to me that that the alien stuff was always a mcguffin, a tool to generate other plots and give the characters motivation. At least the show wasn't as insistent upon its Alien Mythology as "Lost" was about its so called "mysteries." The X Files often offered significant and long lasting respite from its alien conspiracy stuff...most of the episodes are stand alone and are concerned with other mysteries, and most of the conspiracy eps are still kickass anyway in the way they evoke a certain mood and evoke an atmosphere of paranoia and anti-government suspicion. This pretty much sums up how I feel about the show and the mytharc. I can overlook the inconsistencies in the story in favor of enjoying the atmosphere and the characters, like I stated previously in the thread. take the red pill posted:Anyway, who among you saw "Home" in its original airing? Imagine being a 5th grader and watching that live. I was 9 years old at the time, and I remember it vividly. I had watched a few episodes here and there with my mother because she loved the show, but that was one of the first episodes that really stuck with me. I think even at that point, I was a bit desensitized to horror and violence, because my mom was cool and let me watch The Shining, The Exorcist, and stuff like that. But the Peacock family haunted my dreams for weeks.
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Jan 23, 2014 06:32
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joepinetree posted:My favorite serious non-mytharc episodes are Home, Drive, Pusher, Milagro and Hungry. And my favorite "funny" non-mytharc episodes are Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, Jose Chung's From Outer Space, Small Potatoes, Bad Blood, and Je Souhaite. Just thought I'd post this in case other people are looking for more stuff to get started (and in looking up the name of the episodes, I just noticed that Vince Gilligan wrote most of them). Yeah, I'd say that's a drat good list if you are just starting out and want to get a good idea of what the show is about, although I would suggest not watching the "funny" episodes to start with. I think they would be enjoyed more if you are doing a full watch-through, and have a better understanding of the characters. Clyde Bruckman might be my favorite episode of the series. If I were to make a list of my favorite MotW episodes, I would include all of those, and add Beyond the Sea, Irresistible, and Squeeze/Tooms. In the "funny" category I would add X Cops and War of the Coprophages. Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man is one of my favorites too, but that would be considered part of the mytharc. I could go on and on.
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Jan 23, 2014 08:58
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Stare-Out posted:I bought two/three parter episodes on VHS back in the early 90's as they were sold as "movies" of sorts. They had 10 or so in total, made from different arcs like Tooms/Squeeze, the numbered train car/Japanese alien autopsy video arc, Emily, Duane Barry and the Max stuff etc. I even have the novelization of "Squeeze" and the Tooms/Squeeze VHS movie gave me nightmares for weeks. I still have the tapes somewhere too. That's awesome. I would record every episode I could on VHS, and I think I still have some of those somewhere in storage. Those, along with my Simpsons tapes were some of my prized possessions. The 90's, man.
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Jan 24, 2014 05:24
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UnknownMercenary posted:I'd add "Triangle", "Monday" and "The Rain King" to that list as well, but it looks pretty complete to me from what I've watched. I've been working my way through the whole series for the last few months. I already know the show ends with a lot of loose ends since I saw the finale when it aired, but watching almost everything else for the first time has still been a pretty great experience. I just finished season 7 and the show definitely starts to decline in quality. I know people bag on "all things" and "First Person Shooter" but I think "Fight Club" takes the cake for worst X-Files episode (until something in the last two seasons changes my opinion). As far as favorites go I'm surprised nobody mentioned "The Pine Bluff Variant," where Mulder goes undercover with a domestic terrorist group. I was just about to mention The Pine Bluff Variant. From top to bottom it is one of the most thrilling episodes. Darkness Falls, from season 1, is one of my personal favorites that hasn't been mentioned yet. That was the one where they investigated the disappearance of an entire logging crew in Washington state, who, come to find out, were killed by a swarm of nocturnal insects that previously laid dormant in a tree for 60 years. Cut off from the outside world with no transportation and low fuel, Mulder and Scully were forced to stay awake and alive in the light with the owner of the logging company, a forest ranger played by Jason Beghe (Richard Bates from Californication, and star of Chicago P.D.), and an environmentalist played by Titus Welliver (the Man in Black from LOST, and guest star in pretty much everything since the early 90's.) I didn't even remember this episode existed until I did a re-watch a couple years ago, and it was a nice surprise.
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Jan 25, 2014 07:39
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escape artist posted:What are some of the best MotW from Season 5, 6, and 7? Honestly, I don't remember where I stopped watching. At one point I was only watching mytharc episodes, and holy poo poo that was a bad idea. But I've seen almost everything from Seasons 1-4. What's the one where they're on a spaceship (or a submarine??) and for some reason there's rapid-aging? That was the most boring episode by far, I think. That was Død Kalm, from season 2 I think, and I actually kind of like that episode. But as far as seasons 5-7 go, there were a lot of great MotW episodes. Just going down the list, I would recommend Unusual Suspects, Detour, Kitsunegari (Pusher 2), The Pine Bluff Variant, Folie a Deux, Drive, Triangle, Dreamland, How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, Monday, Arcadia, The Unnatural, Three of a Kind, Field Trip, Hungry, The Goldberg Variation, X-Cops, and Je Souhaite. edit: Bad Blood was in season 5 as well. Looking at the list again, they're all worth watching to me except Chinga, All Souls, Alpha, Signs and Wonders, All Things, and Fight Club. All of those are regarded as some of the worst episodes of the series, and I avoid them when doing a rewatch. Exploder fucked around with this message at 10:44 on Jan 25, 2014 |
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Jan 25, 2014 10:39
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If you're going to watch one episode from the last two seasons, watch John Doe. It's very solid writing, acting, and directing, and I would put it up there with some of the best episodes from the first seven season. Other than the previously mentioned Via Negativa and Roadrunners, I would recommend Redrum, Invocation, Release, and Sunshine Days.
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Jan 26, 2014 07:54
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kingturnip posted:I felt a bit bad for letting the Season 3 rewatch thread die, even though I didn't start it in the first place (and other people could have done a recap). Yeah, as I said in the OP, you guys did a fantastic job at writing up those reviews. It's too bad that thread died. I was thinking about just picking a random episode every now and then and writing something up for it in the same style, but that would be awesome if you picked it up where it left off. I don't have a whole lot of time nor energy either, but if you decide to do it, I could do a share of the episodes. Gyshall posted:My gently caress, I just watched the Cockroach episode last night. I've noticed a change in the writing for this show around season 3, where it seems like the characters are coming into their own a little bit more. I thought the bits with Mulder calling Scully at home and Scully debunking Mulder's theories without batting an eye were pretty great. That would be one of Darin Morgan's episodes. We learn a lot about Mulder and Scully in the more comedic episodes, and Morgan's writing in War of the Coprophages, Jose Chung, and Clyde Bruckman was masterful. He also wrote Humbug, another great comedic episode.
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Jan 28, 2014 04:53
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Vintersorg posted:This arc of the former FBI agent taking hostages is INTENSE! Holy poo poo. I did a loving little fist pump when Skinner was like - WE NEED TO REOPEN THE XFILES! - just before that scene I was thinking, gently caress YOU Skinner - loving over Mulder cause you're scared. But wow, what a way to end that 2nd episode in the arc. I can only imagine what people thought back when it first aired. Such a good episode! Off the top of my head, Duane Barry/Ascension is probably my favorite arc from the mythology. "Duane Barry" is a nailbiter from beginning to end, and you actually feel like there are going to be real consequences for Mulder and Scully (and there are) in a show where the main characters, for the most part, have infinite plot armor. The dialogue was great, and the acting was impeccable, specifically from Duchovny and Steve Railsback. joepinetree posted:The episodes are mostly fine by themselves. Even season 8 mytharc episodes are decent, even if they don't make much sense. But skip the season 9 ones, maybe even the finale. That is when baby mulder the Christ/antiChrist becomes central. Trust no 1 and the ones about william are fairly weak, and the finale is really a clip show with a mulder/scully kiss thrown in for the "shippers." Some of the mytharc episodes from season 8 were decent on their own, but on the whole they just don't make a lot of sense. If someone is watching the entire show for the first time, I would watch them if you're really into the show, but otherwise just watch the MotW episodes. As Nothus Infelix said, a lot of parts of the mythology get explained in season 6, and although the Biogenesis arc is a pretty cool concept, it doesn't really go anywhere from there. Doggett's arc actually gets a decent resolution in season 9's "Release", and it's actually a pretty good episode, but other than that, yeah, skip it.
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Jan 29, 2014 19:35
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escape artist posted:Which episode(s) were that? Sounds vaguely familiar. Season 2, episodes 5 and 6, 'Duane Barry' and 'Ascension'
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Jan 30, 2014 01:00
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WMain00 posted:I'm doing a rewatch of this on netflix at the moment. When it first aired I was a kid, but I absolutely loved it. Some (hell most) of the motw were really scary for me at the time, but the bees and black oil were really poo poo scary. The bees in particular were like "how can we make am insect people are generally fearful of even worse? I know!" And they did just that. I had an allergic reaction to a bee sting when I was 9, so you can imagine the horror I went through watching this show as a child. I still get the heebie jeebies when I watch those episodes and the movie, and I still run and cower like a little girl when I see a bee. It's hard for me to compare Fringe to the X-Files. Fringe was more polished and despite some inconsistencies, it was more consistent, but I don't think the chemistry between Mulder and Scully, and the atmosphere of the X-Files can ever be replicated. I'll be interested to see how well Fringe holds up in 10 years.
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Feb 2, 2014 22:04
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QuickbreathFinisher posted:I just started rewatching and remembered how great "Ice" is. Ice was one of those episodes that, upon my first re-watch a few years ago, I could have sworn was a full-length movie as a child. You really become immersed in it. Along with Squeeze/Tooms, Beyond the Sea, and the early mytharc episodes, it set the bar high in the first season for what this show could accomplish. Octy posted:Oh no! John Neville aka The Well-Manicured Man is dead. I was really liking his character so far. The structure of the Syndicate always interested me in the early episodes because while it's clear that CSM is powerful and influential in Washington, he's still just one of several who all appear to be more or less equal in rank. I wonder where exactly Deep Throat and X fitted in. I think Deep Throat was on the same level as CSM, and X was a rank below them. As far as I can tell, the totem pole went something like this: Conrad Strughold The Well-Manicured Man CSM, the Elders, Deep Throat, Bill Mulder, Victor Klemper X, Krycek Scott Ostlehoff, Luis Cardinal, generic goons
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Feb 5, 2014 04:01
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Octy posted:We could have got worse episodes in Season 6, though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unmade_episodes_of_The_X-Files#Season_6 Haha, I'm curious about the Tilt-a-whirl one. I like the way Vince Gilligan's mind works. He is one of the few, if the only person in Hollywood who could make a story about a hostage situation on a Tilt-a-whirl interesting. He is probably the only person in Hollywood who would even think of such a thing. Octy posted:Pendrell turns up a lot in Season 3. If I recall correctly he dies. Yeah, he dies towards the end of season 4, in Max/Tempus Fugit IIRC. Pendrell had his moments, but there was room for only one nerd with an undying crush on Scully on this show, and that was Frohike.
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Feb 6, 2014 07:45
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Octy posted:Season 6 has been pretty bland so far. I miss the green rolling hills and snow capped mountains of Canada. It's too weird seeing Mulder in short sleeves all the time. I also feel that the writing just isn't as good, which is stupid because it's the same writers. 'Drive' is decent and the 'Dreamland' episodes were fairly good, but it's been hit and miss and I don't feel any urge to just watch five episodes in a row like I did before. I think season 6 starts out very strong with Drive, Dreamland, and Triangle. I'm partial towards How the Ghosts Stole Christmas, but I think that episode is hit or miss with most people. After that, the season slows down a bit, but you still have Monday, Arcadia, The Unnatural, and Field Trip to look forward to. Looking at it, season 6 is really one of the best seasons in terms of MotW episodes. escape artist posted:It was so slow and boring that I felt like I was trapped on the ship too. Speaking of which, what a waste of a cool ambiance, that episode was. I remember really liking Dod Kalm when I first watched it as a kid, but now when I re-watch it, it's just "meh." In comparison to a great bottle episode such as "Ice", it is pretty bland.
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Feb 21, 2014 06:49
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Octy posted:Hey, that is Scott Wilson in 'Orison'. I don't remember how this episode ends, but I hope it's better than the sequel to 'Pusher'. I'm currently watching Deadwood, and I can't help but point out how many of these actors guest starred on the X-Files. Off the top of my head, there's Brad Dourif (Doc Cochran) who played Luther Boggs in 'Beyond the Sea', William Sanderson (E.B. Farnum) who played the guy from 'Blood', Jim Beaver (Whitney Ellsworth) who played the coroner in 'Field Trip', and Titus Welliver (Silas Adams) who played Doug Spinney in 'Darkness Falls'. Between The X-Files and Seinfeld, I think half the actors in Hollywood guest starred on those two shows.
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Mar 1, 2014 10:15
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Thanks for the recap, kingturnip. Good stuff, as usual. I didn't even recognize that episode at first, as I think I skipped it during my last re-watch, until you mentioned Rappo. It's a decent episode, like you said. I think there were a lot of middle-of-the-road episodes I skipped during my last go at it. Also, this:kingturnip posted:Mulder pops in for a visit with Rappo and tries his favourite "I know what you're doing, just admit it" mode of questioning, which has never worked. Ever. So true. Cristatus posted:Don't forget John Hawkes (Sol Star) in "Milagro." He was a great choice for the part -- another actor might have made the role cheesy, but he managed to make Padgett feel sincere. He also had a nice quiet, creepy vibe going. I never realized that was John Hawkes. I'm going to have to watch that episode again.
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Mar 3, 2014 05:10
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Octy posted:The one good thing about Mulder being abducted is Doggett. My mum and I have built up a long list of fictional characters we'd like to have on our side in a tough situation and Doggett is pretty high on that list. God drat, that sounds nerdy, but I always liked his character. Just the everyday, ordinary man's kind of scepticism to Scully's new belief in all that paranormal stuff. I think Doggett gets a bad rap because a good majority of the last two seasons was so bad, but he did have some good moments. I actually enjoyed his missing son arc and the resolution to it, and I love 'John Doe'. With what the writers and Robert Patrick had to work with, I think they actually did a good job with Doggett. Reyes, on the other hand, was a terrible character with no redeeming qualities. She was the Poochie of the X-Files.
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Mar 6, 2014 22:37
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I have never heard or seen anybody make an intelligent argument that season 8 is the strongest of the series, but you managed to do so. Although I, and pretty much everybody in this thread would disagree, you do make some good points, specifically about Doggett. It's been a few years since I did a full re-watch past season 7, but you've made me think about watching season 8 again with that perspective in mind. But man, by the end of season 7 I am just bored to death by the mytharc. edit: Badlaa might be the worst episode of the series. It's funny, because I remember being creeped out by it as an adolescent boy, but now when I watch it, all I see is the little dude from season 2 of Eastbound and Down. "I can cut off your titties." Exploder fucked around with this message at 08:10 on Mar 8, 2014 |
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Mar 8, 2014 08:06
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Yeah, honestly, if your post wasn't well written and if you didn't elaborate on your point, I would have thought you were screwing with us. It just goes to show how futile the effort is of determining what is the best/worst season of any series, because it really is subjective. This is why I don't begrudge anybody for their tastes in entertainment, whether it's television, music, movies, etc., because I know there is stuff I like that people hate. I would agree that season 3 is the strongest of the series. Despite a couple bad episodes (Tesos Dos Bichos and Hell Money), it is consistently good to great, and I believe the mytharc was at its best during season 3.
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Mar 9, 2014 07:47
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'Dreamland' hasn't gotten enough love in this thread. Fletcher (in Mulder's body): "There is no Saddam Hussein. This guy's name is John Gillnitz. We found him doing dinner theatre in Tulsa. He did a mean King and I, plays good ethnics." Langly: "Are you trying to say Saddam Hussein is a government plant?" Fletcher: "I'm saying I invented the guy. We set him up in 79. He rattles his saber whenever we need a good distraction. Ah, if you boys only knew how many of your stories I dreamed up while on the pot." I love when the X-Files does revisionist history.
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Mar 13, 2014 03:55
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BrandonGK posted:My main problem with I Want to Believe was the fact that Mulder and Scully felt like guest stars in their own movie. I think Amanda Peet got more screen time than Gillian Anderson did. It felt like Mulder and Scully were shoehorned into the story. They were just... there. Out of all the paranormal crap that happens in the X-Files universe, they are brought out of FBI retirement to assist in a murder investigation involving a psychic priest? Even if they didn't want to write a movie involving the alien conspiracy, they could have at least written a story with a cool new monster. The movie wasn't terrible, and the whole head transplantation thing was kind of cool, but it was a huge letdown and it just didn't feel like The X-Files. MisterBibs posted:Looking at the bloopers for Fight The Future, I wonder how Tea Leoni thought about this 'accident'. I think Tea Leoni had bigger things to worry about when it came to their marriage.
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Apr 3, 2014 05:49
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Race Realists posted:I never got what the hell was with the finger print with the red spot on it Yeah, I looked this up once. It's a Kirlian photograph. I'm not an expert, but as I remember, it's basically a photographic technique where you use high voltage to capture the image of an object's coronal discharge when subjected to the high voltage. Some kooks use it in paranormal research for whatever reason, the same kooks who use infrared cameras and tuning forks to find ghosts. They make for some really neat pictures, though. edit: Here is a link to the Wiki on it Exploder fucked around with this message at 06:24 on Apr 6, 2014 |
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Apr 6, 2014 06:21
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An Old Boot posted:This post was made a while back, but one thing I found cute/interesting is that the establishing shots of the facility they're holed up in are literally shots of Outpost 31 from the film. Not sure how they got their hands on it, but I thought it was a cool nod. That is pretty cool, I didn't know that. I'll have to watch that episode again and look for that. The only thing I ever noticed in those exterior shots is the generic "wind whistling" sound effect that was used in almost every TV show and movie in the 80's and 90's. I think it's still used today. On Spender, I don't think anybody can help but feel sorry for the guy at the end of the series. Sure, he was kind of a dick when we were first introduced to him, but he had a really rough go of things.
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Jun 5, 2014 08:02
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alpha_destroy posted:Gah, my wife and I just watched that episode. The episode is like a fractal the sense that the episode is every awesome thing about the show and everything that makes me want to pull my hair out. It is the whole show on a smaller scale. I think at one point I realized, good god, Scully gets abducted and kidnapped a lot. But I never really thought about it in those terms. I just look at an episode like Small Potatoes as a light-hearted, comedic episode and I don't think about it very much. I mean, you are right in your observation, but like you said, Scully saves the day plenty of times, and I think overall, she is portrayed as a strong, capable, and intelligent agent.
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Jun 20, 2014 08:31
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Jack Gladney posted:This podcast is really amazing. He gets some very thoughtful guests who are also incredibly funny. And he was recently contacted by Autumn Tysko, a very early internet reviewer who posted really smart reviews that I can remember being one of the first things I read regularly on the internet. She got bored with the show around 1999 and disappeared, and for years afterward people would post about what happened to her or where she went ( she was internet famous from the early days of the show, but just did reviews). It was kind of a thrill to hear from her. I remember reading her reviews too... man, that was a long time ago. And I like the guy from Silicon Valley. I'm going to have to check this out now. I had it bookmarked and never got around to listening to it. Webbeh posted:As far as I'm aware, the only thing we know is that they exist and they're being shown on television in Germany. I believe they're somewhere in Season 2. Yeah, there hasn't been any news or developments since January when I started this thread. It has to be released on blu-ray at some point, it just has to. If Twin Peaks got a blu-ray release, you would surely think they would do the same justice for the X-Files.
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Jul 4, 2014 07:17
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joepinetree posted:It is a little weird to discuss Scully as always the victim when in most of the big mytharc episodes Mulder is the one needing rescue. Agreed. Although there are numerous examples of white knight Mulder rescuing the damsel in distress Scully, quite often, it is the other way around. I think I've made this point in the thread before, but a strong female lead was a rarity in television until the X-Files, and I think that Scully paved the way for a long line of strong female characters in television in the past two decades.
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Nov 12, 2014 02:39
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Cristatus posted:The Ghosts Who Stole Christmas is my favorite light-hearted ep that never seems to get any love. It's funny and a little creepy, plus there's some good commentary on the Mulder-Scully dynamic. It's very underrated indeed. I love the dialogue between Maurice and Mulder. "Because you're a lonely man. A lonely man chasing paramasturbatory illusions that you believe will give your life meaning and significance and which your pathetic social maladjustment makes impossible for you to find elsewhere. You probably consider yourself passionate, serious, misunderstood. Am I right?" Mulder: "Paramasturbatory?" I'm not a big Christmas guy, but I've made it kind of a tradition to watch my favorite Christmas themed TV episodes around this time of the year. "The Ghosts Who Stole Christmas" is one of them, along with the Simpsons pilot, A Very Sunny Christmas, Seinfeld's "The Strike" and South Park's "Woodland Critter Christmas" and "Mr. Hankey".
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Nov 26, 2014 08:28
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Old Boot posted:In other news: I've been loving around with the X-Files: Resist or Serve game. It's hilarious, at points (zombie game!!! also there's a dude who looks like a wizard in there somewhere that made me laugh too hard to fight him properly), and plays like an RE title (fixed camera angles) but it's voice acted by the original cast, and the plot is basically a lost episode. Don't know if anyone else on the thread has played it, but it's worth checking out. If you're allergic to tedious combat, it comes with handy-dandy cheats to make your life easier. I can't imagine that Resist or Serve held up very well over 10 years. I remember the graphics being laughable, even by 2004 standards. It's not a terrible game by all measures, but most of its value lies in its fan service. IIRC, all of the original cast voice their characters, and the story was actually pretty good for a licensed video game, ripe with meaningful references and easter eggs. If I get bored one of these days, perhaps I'll fire up the PS2 and check it out again. I think I still have a copy of the original point-and-click game for PC too, but I'm not as inclined to boot that one back up for obvious reasons. I still have yet to check out the podcast, as I have been very busy lately, but I'll add it to the OP. I've really wanted to listen to it, but I just haven't had the chance yet.
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Dec 30, 2014 04:34
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Gobbeldygook posted:Agreed, Beyond the Sea stands head and shoulders above the rest of Season 1. Fittingly, I watched it for the first time on Christmas day. The only other episode to really jump out at me from the first season was Tooms. Ha, I think I just watched it on Christmas day too, but it might have been the day after (that week was kind of a blur for me). Beyond the Sea is one of those episodes that if I see it's airing on Chiller, or BBC America, I just have to drop everything and watch it because it's that good. Honestly, the mythology really isn't that great, especially compared to today's great serialized dramas. And I say that as a huge X-Files fanboy. I'm assuming you just got done watching Nisei and 731? It is kind of the same thing over and over again, but there are a few standout episodes here and there, like Paper Clip in season 3 for example. The real value in this show is the MotW episodes, so as long as your are enjoying those, keep watching.
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Jan 8, 2015 09:25
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Octy posted:Isn't there something in the media about a revival of the show or a new movie about every other year? I'll get excited when it's something more concrete, not just 'conversations' about doing it. Not anything this substantial, and nothing that was ever been confirmed by FOX or Carter's camp. It looks like they are actually making some progress this time. This is pretty exciting news, but I wouldn't get my hopes up TOO high.
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Jan 18, 2015 01:53
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pahuyuth posted:Agreed, a short season would be fantastic. Didn't Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan work on some of the better X-Files episodes? Thinking about what he could do with the franchise today after his success with BB gets my mind whirling. And now that Amazon has declined to pick up Chris Carter's latest project The After, maybe now is a good time for him to get on the ball. Oh boy, Vince Gilligan getting involved in the X-Files reboot would be like a nerdy wet dream for me. I can only imagine the possibilities. That is who you want in the writer's room when developing the mytharc. He did express interest in re-mastering the X-Files, at the very least, on the Breaking Bad insider podcast. And he speaks fondly of his time working on the show. I just don't know, I get the impression that he has moved on from the X-Files. He has kind of built a decent career for himself doing his own thing, and unless Better Call Saul is a huge flop (which I'm hoping it isn't), I don't really see it happening.
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Jan 22, 2015 06:54
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kingturnip posted:I read a couple of articles and the impression I got was that he just felt incredibly frustrated at the whole process of getting his scripts made. I guess that makes sense, and if that's the case, it's a drat shame because Jack Gladney is absolutely right. According to IMDB, he recently wrote a couple episodes for something called "Intruders". Anybody watch this show? Here's the description: "A TV series centered around a secret society devoted to chasing immortality by seeking refuge in the bodies of others." Sounds like it could be interesting, but I had never even heard of it until now. And Robert Forster is in a couple episodes! I might need to check this out.
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Feb 12, 2015 06:36
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I really like The Goldberg Variation from season 7, but there seems to be a lot of dissension with that episode. It's more of a fun, lighthearted episode with a little bit of dark humor thrown in for good measure. Some people love it, some people hate it.Basket of Kittens posted:Field Trip has always been my favorite episode, I remember seeing it as a rerun one late night less than a decade ago and loving the slow but steady reveal, the alternate reality with the wake. I wish it was in more "Best of" lists Field Trip has been mentioned a few times as being one of the more underrated episodes. I don't think you'll get much disagreement there. And the only geographic gripe I ever had with the X-Files was with this lovely map they had of Northern California in "Sein Und Zeit". It bothered me as a kid, because I live in Sacramento, but I just looked at it now and it's not as bad as I remember, but still pretty bad. The foothills are way too close to Sac, and it has "highway 74" where highway 49 should be. Immersion broken.
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Feb 18, 2015 14:37
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Hmm...quote:You must have the basic arc worked out in your head already. Perhaps he is implying there will be mythology and MOTW episodes? I think this would be the best way to approach it. Either way, I'm very very excited for this.
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Mar 26, 2015 00:02
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strangeneighbor posted:So now confirmed to be returning to the writers room are: This is all fantastic news (minus Annabeth Gish potentially reprising her role), do you have a link? In that Daily Beast article, Carter implies there will be a mix of mythology and MOTW episodes, but I can't find anything confirmed about the Morgans and Wong signing on as writers, or shooting in Vancouver. Mark Snow is pretty much a lock as composer, anybody else would be sacrilege
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Mar 26, 2015 08:06
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UnknownMercenary posted:Yeah, I've been keeping up with it and it's been alright. I don't know how much involvement Chris Carter had besides putting his name on it, but it's not entirely awful as an official fan-fiction continuation from the show. I actually wonder if they'll use any of the material from the comics, since those already went out of the way to re-establish Mulder and Scully at the FBI and another alien conspiracy. I think I read somewhere that the Lone Gunmen are still alive and kicking, according to the comics. Is this true? If so, and the comics are considered canon, then they have to bring those goofy bastards back. If they can bring CSM back, who got blown to goddamn bits, then surely they can bring back TLG. I'm okay with ridiculous retcons if it means making the most entertaining product possible. They can always use the standard comic book explanation and say it's a different "universe" or something.
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Mar 28, 2015 06:28
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