Rewatching "The X Files"

[Alberon]

I think I fell out with this series when I realised the big arc episodes didn't make sense and were never intended to, just endlessly hint at bigger and contradicting conspiracies.

These days the only episodes with any value left are the ones with comedy. The teaser where they chase down a vampire only to realise he's got plastic joke shop teeth for instance.

[thecuriousorange]

I like the one where he "halucinates" about line dancing, then discovers he didn't actually take any drugs.



Do do do doo doo dooooooo.

[JamesTC]

I think I fell out with this series when I realised the big arc episodes didn't make sense and were never intended to, just endlessly hint at bigger and contradicting conspiracies.

These days the only episodes with any value left are the ones with comedy. The teaser where they chase down a vampire only to realise he's got plastic joke shop teeth for instance.

The latest season is the perfect example of this. The opening episode, My Struggle III, is the biggest piece of shit Chris Carter has ever made. Three episodes later we get The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat which is the funniest and (in my opinion) the best episode they produced.

Just rewatched The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat. It is just so good. From the Twilight Zone pastiche to the Alan Partidge-esque Mulder head on a child's body to the inserting a character into old footage.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I mentioned it in the last thread but I dug out First Person Shooter after reading it was William Gibson's second episode (and really liking Killswitch) and it's the biggest load of bollocks I've ever seen.

[Malcy]

Cheers. I remember enjoying those but it's been a long time. I did a bit of googling - it's on Disney+ but they don't do a free month. Yes I'm a cheap cunt. I'm thinking...

Possibly still on Prime? That's where I did my last rewatch.

[purlieu]

Haha yes, it's a real lowpoint, but definitely on the amusingly bad episode.
'Humbug', 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose', 'Jose Chung's From Outer Space', 'Small Potatoes', 'War of the Coprophages', 'Bad Blood', 'Dreamland', 'Hollywood A.D.', 'Fight Club'... what other comedy episodes were there?

I always enjoyed the occasional monster in the woods type episode. 'Darkness Falls' and 'Quagmire' are two of my favourites. I like 'Agua Mala' a lot, too. Always more atmospheric than the psychic powers stories.

[up_the_hampipe]

I mentioned it in the last thread but I dug out First Person Shooter after reading it was William Gibson's second episode (and really liking Killswitch) and it's the biggest load of bollocks I've ever seen.

Terrible episode. The worst probably has to be "Teso Dos Bichos" where the Monster Of The Week is... house cats. An episode so bad that the crew made "Teso Dos Bichos Survivor" t-shirts.

[Mr Trumpet]

Haha yes, it's a real lowpoint, but definitely on the amusingly bad episode.
'Humbug', 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose', 'Jose Chung's From Outer Space', 'Small Potatoes', 'War of the Coprophages', 'Bad Blood', 'Dreamland', 'Hollywood A.D.', 'Fight Club'... what other comedy episodes were there?

I always enjoyed the occasional monster in the woods type episode. 'Darkness Falls' and 'Quagmire' are two of my favourites. I like 'Agua Mala' a lot, too. Always more atmospheric than the psychic powers stories.

The Postmodern Prometheus is another one (the one that ends with all the characters going to a Cher concert).

[JamesTC]

Possibly still on Prime? That's where I did my last rewatch.

I went to rewatch The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat earlier today and it is only on Disney+ now. Amazon Prime just asked me to buy the episode.

[Mobbd]

Love The X Files and re-watch every few years. Can never get through Season 9 though, so bizarrely there are episodes of my favourite show that I've never seen and probably never will.

Wanna have your minds blown? There's an animated series coming soon. An adult comedy along the lines of Star Trek: Lower Decks. Not entirely delighted by this news but the way they're going for an Archer aesthetic rather than Family Guy appeals. The idea that the new characters handle the cases too trivial for Mulder and Scully to pick up is a bit weird; Mulder and Scully were always the "Lower Decks" of the FBI (their being "the FBI's most unwanted" was already kinda the point.)

[Mister Six]

Isn't there a gag in one of the comedy episodes where Scully opens one of Mulder's cupboards and absolutely tons of grot mags fall out? I'm thinking it was a body-swap episode, but now I'm wondering if there even was one of those.

[oy vey]

Yeah there is something about this series that fucks with your memory. Spooky stuff.

[JamesTC]

Love The X Files and re-watch every few years. Can never get through Season 9 though, so bizarrely there are episodes of my favourite show that I've never seen and probably never will.

Audrey Pauley is a stand out episode. Release is good too. Also Jump the Shark is worth a watch as a backdoor finale to The Lone Gunmen.

Honestly, I have a soft spot for Season 9. Between the T-1000 and Reyes (who I proper fancy), I think they are a good enough substitute for Mulder.

Yeah there is something about this series that fucks with your memory. Spooky stuff.

The Mengele Effect in action.

[mothman]

Isn't there a gag in one of the comedy episodes where Scully opens one of Mulder's cupboards and absolutely tons of grot mags fall out? I'm thinking it was a body-swap episode, but now I'm wondering if there even was one of those.

I think it might be in "Dreamland" and it's actually the Man In Black, played by Michael McKean, who's swapped bodies with Mulder, and discovers his porn stash when he goes to his apartment.

Even more brilliantly, he then cleans out the bedroom and turns it into a bedroom (Mulder normally just sleeps on the couch) including installing a water bed, which then leaks in "Monday" - causing Scully to ask when he got a water bed in each time loop, a question Mulder pointedly ignores...

The two revival series did have two brilliant comedy episodes - in fact they were the only ones that were any good at all: the one with Rhys Darby, and the one with the automated restaurant.

[up_the_hampipe]

Upon re-watching, I found Reyes to be a terrible character. Doggett, however, didn't get the appreciation he deserved. Robert Patrick was game to appear in the revival, but they wouldn't even mention him.

[Malcy]

Wanna have your minds blown? There's an animated series coming soon.

I'm sure I made a thread about that on here but forgot all about it. Feels like ages ago it was announced. Is it definitely still happening?

Edit - back in 2020 it was announced - https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=82399.0

[idunnosomename]

did they ever solve the spooky mystery of the tiny man falling onto a giant hand with one very warm finger

[Mobbd]

Audrey Pauley is a stand out episode. Release is good too. Also Jump the Shark is worth a watch as a backdoor finale to The Lone Gunmen.

Cheers Jamesy. I don't think I've seen Release and it looks decent so I'll give it a bash. Aubrey Pauley is a stinker though; might even have been the one where I bailed.

I absolutely loved Robert Patrick as JD. A seriously welcome addition to the show; perfect casting and great character design. I wish the show had just carried on with him and a new partner, post-Mulder and Scully. As much as I love those guys I never understood the idea that the show couldn't just carry on with new characters like they do with Criminal Minds or something. No need even to pause for a "Next Generation." Just carry on. As good as they were, it wasn't really about Mulder and Scully, was it? It was about *MONSTERS!*

Honestly, I have a soft spot for Season 9. Between the T-1000 and Reyes (who I proper fancy), I think they are a good enough substitute for Mulder.

Upon re-watching, I found Reyes to be a terrible character. Doggett, however, didn't get the appreciation he deserved. Robert Patrick was game to appear in the revival, but they wouldn't even mention him.

I was okay with Reyes and she certainly looked like she belonged in the world. Good casting. They didn't really take her anywhere interesting enough for me though and I still sometimes mix up her antics with those of Diana Fowley (Mimi Rogers).

I liked Agent Harrison. Anyone remember her? She was assigned to work with Dogget in one episode and was almost like an X-Files fan having super-familiarised herself with Mulder's case notes. I could have stood to see more of her. I even liked the new kids in the relaunch show: Angents Einstein and Thingy (one of them was played by Claire from Six Feet Under).

Genuinely no idea why they couldn't just do more with a refreshed cast and crew. Loads of Monsters please and maybe some Conspiracy but keeping it light and topical and only tangentially connected to the old one. Maybe the super-rich want to escape our knackered planet using Roswell technology or something like that; and don't fucking bang on about it forever.

I'm sure I made a thread about that on here but forgot all about it. Feels like ages ago it was announced. Is it definitely still happening?

Edit - back in 2020 it was announced - https://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=82399.0

Ah, nice work Malcy. I only recently learned about it and it's a good question as to whether it's happening or not. If I find anything out, I'll post to that thread.

[Mobbd]

Ah, nice work Malcy. I only recently learned about it and it's a good question as to whether it's happening or not. If I find anything out, I'll post to that thread.

Actually, no, I won't do that. Most of the thread is about Seasons 10 and 11 (and the shitness of Paradise PD).

I checked for news on the animated show and there are very few recent references to it and those are just "last year it was announced..."-type single paragraphs. Maybe it is dead? Hope so.

Then again, Disney owns The X Files now and they won't leave something with so much public affection (or even just title recognition) unexploited for long. The recent Muppets outings on D+ have been SHIT despite being, one would think, next to impossible to fuck up.

[purlieu]

As good as they were, it wasn't really about Mulder and Scully, was it? It was about *MONSTERS!*

I dunno, I think their chemistry was definitely a part of the show's appeal. Duchovny and Anderson investigating in misty forested landscapes just had a certain something that Patrick and Gish wandering around LA really lacked. Not helped by a lot of shit stories in the original last couple of seasons, to be fair (haven't seen any of the new ones... maybe one day). Mulder's connection with his sister's disappearance and it all being a lifelong obsession of his also added some depth.

I agree that there's definitely potential for a longer, ongoing version of the show with a revolving cast though, if the right people were involved.

[Mister Six]

Yeah, the chemistry between Mulder and Scully (even if Duchovny and Anderson loathed each other) was a huge part of the success of the show. There's a reason why The X-Files went on so long and was revived when so many other "people investigate spooky things" shows fell by the wayside.

[Malcy]

Actually, no, I won't do that. Most of the thread is about Seasons 10 and 11 (and the shitness of Paradise PD).

I checked for news on the animated show and there are very few recent references to it and those are just "last year it was announced..."-type single paragraphs. Maybe it is dead? Hope so.

Then again, Disney owns The X Files now and they won't leave something with so much public affection (or even just title recognition) unexploited for long. The recent Muppets outings on D+ have been SHIT despite being, one would think, next to impossible to fuck up.

I don't think I've heard anything about it since then so reckon that's why i forgot about it. Usually these things get regular updates, but nothing.

[Rev+]

A revolving or refreshing cast thing could definitely have worked, but would need to have been set up far earlier.  After a few series it's the Mulder and Scully show, and the last couple are weaker for not having that pairing.  Robert Patrick was great, mind, and if I remember rightly there's a heartbreaking scene when Mulder returns and Scully rushes to his hospital bed, with Patrick looking through a glass panel clearly thinking 'great, that's me kicked to the fucking kerb then'.

I started a re-watch of this on Prime last year, before the grasping bastards yanked it and wanted £2 an episode.  It was as uneven as I remember and a hell of a lot slower than I remembered, and as mentioned clearly straining with the 20-odd episodes per run that was standard at the time.  Mainly though, I think part of the shine has come off it because it's nowhere near as singular as it was when it started.  It catered for a sci-fi/horror/occasional comedy crowd that was served by the odd late night repeat of the Friday the 13th series and not much else.

[mjwilson]

As good as they were, it wasn't really about Mulder and Scully, was it?

Almost impossible to imagine being wronger than this.

[Famous Mortimer]

Just watched the episode about the killer fungus found at the bottom of a volcano crater, guest starring Bradley Whitford (and the extremely dense receptionist from "Becker", the only time I've seen her in anything else). Pretty decent stuff, if a little like the ripoff of "The Thing" from season 1.

What's curious is that Mulder has extremely strong proof in this episode of a whole new life-form, but perhaps because it's not aliens or a government cover-up, he doesn't give a shit and just lets the mystery drop.

[purlieu]

There's a bit of a blasé attitude to anything not mythology-based in later seasons, so many episodes where a paranormal thing is encountered rather than investigated, and those stories always felt a bit underwhelming as a result.

[Mister Six]

Has anyone got any curated episode guides? Knowing that the mythology episodes end up being a load of bollocks, I'll probably skip all of them (well, maybe I'll watch a few from the earlier seasons that I can still recall fondly, if faintly), but I wouldn't mind avoiding all the crap monster of the week yarns, too. No point sitting through the likes of the chupacabra episode or that one with the ghost that's killing prison inmates if I don't have to.

[Mr Trumpet]

I'll give this to Chris Carter: he knows how to name a character. Eugene Tooms, Cecil Lively, Marita Covarrubias. Just A+ stuff.

[madhair60]

Has anyone got any curated episode guides? Knowing that the mythology episodes end up being a load of bollocks, I'll probably skip all of them (well, maybe I'll watch a few from the earlier seasons that I can still recall fondly, if faintly), but I wouldn't mind avoiding all the crap monster of the week yarns, too. No point sitting through the likes of the chupacabra episode or that one with the ghost that's killing prison inmates if I don't have to.

I wrote one years ago I could link you, lol. It has all the "important" eps bolded and all the shit ones in red, with some notes for context.

[chutnut]

I rewatched it all almost exactly a year ago (the first time since it was on tv) and bloody loved it tbh.
I'd thought when they were first on I stopped watching around the start of season 4, but was surprised to still be recognising episodes at the end of season 5.
Few thoughts on it:

- I was expecting for all the best episodes to be out of the way in the first 3 series, so was also surprised that I probably enjoyed series 4-6 the most out of all of them.

- Don't remember the image quality in series 1 being so all over the place (maybe just badly remastered?). there were quite a few times where it would cut to a different shot that looked like it was filmed for a completely different show

- I actually enjoyed the arc episodes a lot more than I did before (I used to skip most of them when I first watched it), but obviously learnt pretty early on not to expect much continuity between them. Luckily I was pretty high when watching so that wasn't too much of a problem as by the time the I got to the next one I'd forgotten most of the previous one lol.

- the 'funny' episodes are still the best

- even the not 'funny' ones are still pretty funny a lot of the time, especially a few series in when Scully is obviously getting tired of Mulder's wisecracking

- Mulder and Scully have probably the most enjoyable onscreen relationship of any program I can think of off the top of my head, some of the best scenes are just them chatting

Obviously there are some absolutely terrible episodes but honestly it all adds to the charm imo, if there weren't any bad episodes then this image wouldn't exist and that would be a shame


After I finished watching it gave Millennium a go as well, as I only ever saw a few of them at the time. To be honest I found it pretty dull and gave up at the beginning of the 2nd series, although I do kind of wish id kept at it cause it sounds like it gets better around then.
The thing that did it for me was when

Spoiler alert

his wife left him because he ended up killing her kidnapper in a scuffle while rescuing her

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