Television The X-Files 30th Anniversary complete rewatch thread

[ChickenBrother]

Other than "Home," the other episode that disturbed me for a long time was "Hell Money." Illegal immigrants in San Francisco's chinatown compete in an underground lottery to try to win money to care for sick family members. But if they pick the wrong tile they lose a body part and if they pick a heart or other vital organ, too bad so sad.

Spoiler

Turns out there's no money to be won. The whole lottery is rigged and run by some asshole who brokers black market organ sales. Then when this is revealed, no one will testify against him because they're illegal immigrants and aren't going to rock the boat. At least the lottery was giving them "hope." Then the SFPD detective working to take down the ring gets cremated alive just like the lottery participants who tried to leave. The end, that's it.

Super dark and brutal.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Other than "Home," the other episode that disturbed me for a long time was "Hell Money." Illegal immigrants in San Francisco's chinatown compete in an underground lottery to try to win money to care for sick family members. But if they pick the wrong tile they lose a body part and if they pick a heart or other vital organ, too bad so sad.

Spoiler

Turns out there's no money to be won. The whole lottery is rigged and run by some asshole who brokers black market organ sales. Then when this is revealed, no one will testify against him because they're illegal immigrants and aren't going to rock the boat. At least the lottery was giving them "hope." Then the SFPD detective working to take down the ring gets cremated alive just like the lottery participants who tried to leave. The end, that's it.

Super dark and brutal.

Yeah, excellent episode, extremely nihilistic and miserable. So many amazing episodes.

 

[RedFoxOne]

I shouldve prefaced my post by saying I didn’t watch the X-files during its original run, really. It was before my time, at least what would be considered its prime. I, like a lot of others, watched it during the streaming era, a fact that colors my view of things.

if you had to wait a week in order to see a new episode, the plot holes and redundant crap would be obscured a bit. Like, you wouldn’t find some of the thrown together plot points to be pointless, and might buy into where they took the overarching main story, no matter how cringe it got at times (I like David, think he’s a decent actor all things considered, but he wasn’t believable during some of the sister episodes). So, I don’t completely dismiss the main story, but within the context of rewatching, it has to be pointed out how weak the X-files can get.

You more or less nailed it. The nature of the original run allowed much more breathing room for the mythology episodes to percolate. It could be close to weeks if not months before a myth-arc episode was released and then it wasn't always connected to the previous episode. It took years for the show to go from Cancer Man and Deep Throat to the larger Syndicate and Black Oil/Colonization mythos. So it did not seem as convoluted as it came across as a distressed mythos with missing pieces. In that case, the audience was basically Fox Mulder, privy to only small details of a larger picture we would never see. So that's where the original's seductive and engrossing nature came from.

"Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to the X Files" brings this entire issue to light. Chris Carter and the other writers did not have everything mapped out because they weren't exactly ready for the spark of fan interest and debate. They would often make story choices based off fan interest and internal debate. What becomes apparent is the incessant need from Chris Carter and later showrunner Frank Spotnitz to neatly tie everything together during the show's end run, rather than leaving the show open ended and unresolved. Which I believe was the wrong decision.

 

[owen_taggart]

S01E02 Deep Throat

Deep Throat: Mr. Mulder, why are those like yourself who believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial life on this earth not dissuaded by all the evidence to the contrary?
Mulder: Because, all the evidence to the contrary is not entirely dissuasive.
Deep Throat: Precisely!
Mulder: They're here, aren't they?
Deep Throat: Mr. Mulder, *they*'ve been here for a long, long time.

 

[moreorless87]

You more or less nailed it. The nature of the original run allowed much more breathing room for the mythology episodes to percolate. It could be close to weeks if not months before a myth-arc episode was released and then it wasn't always connected to the previous episode. It took years for the show to go from Cancer Man and Deep Throat to the larger Syndicate and Black Oil/Colonization mythos. So it did not seem as convoluted as it came across as a distressed mythos with missing pieces. In that case, the audience was basically Fox Mulder, privy to only small details of a larger picture we would never see. So that's where the original's seductive and engrossing nature came from.

"Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to the X Files" brings this entire issue to light. Chris Carter and the other writers did not have everything mapped out because they weren't exactly ready for the spark of fan interest and debate. They would often make story choices based off fan interest and internal debate. What becomes apparent is the incessant need from Chris Carter and later showrunner Frank Spotnitz to neatly tie everything together during the show's end run, rather than leaving the show open ended and unresolved. Which I believe was the wrong decision.

Again I tend to think that dispite the X-files being hyped as the start of episodic genre TV(Babylon 5 probably a better example IMHO) the "Conspiracy" stuff really I think ended up being more about style and character than plot which could probably have been covered by 3-4 episodes.

Really I think the lead characters were much more important to the show than the conspiracy arc was and I think you can see in Season 7 they seem more focused on that, you have episodes like All Things and Hollywood AD written by the lead actors which seem like an intended send off for the characters. It probably should have ended in season 7 with the two of them openly hooking up, it was semi implied they did before.

 

[RedFoxOne]

Again I tend to think that dispite the X-files being hyped as the start of episodic genre TV(Babylon 5 probably a better example IMHO) the "Conspiracy" stuff really I think ended up being more about style and character than plot which could probably have been covered by 3-4 episodes.

Really I think the lead characters were much more important to the show than the conspiracy arc was and I think you can see in Season 7 they seem more focused on that, you have episodes like All Things and Hollywood AD written by the lead actors which seem like an intended send off for the characters. It probably should have ended in season 7 with the two of them openly hooking up, it was semi implied they did before.

I think, in the end, that's why The X-Files is so revered. Or at least, the reason I revere it as one of the greatest television shows ever made. It redefined what serial television could aspire to be and stylized a fringe matter into something cinematic and captivating, to the point it infiltrated pop culture. It took government mistrust, Forteana, urban legends, conspiracies, spiritual and scientific matters and blended it all into riveting television. I agree, the thread that keeps everything together are Duchovny and Anderson. They're fully developed characters portrayed by charismatic actors in the best possible manner.

As for the conspiracy mythos - I am in the minority. It's what I remember most fondly about that show. It helped inform my interests as a young boy so its something I hold close to me. I appreciate the monumental effort by the writers to navigate the show's complexities. Under lesser writers, the show could have fallen apart by Season 2. To me, The X-Files works best when Mulder and Scully are archetypes thrust into a fable of fantastical events. Mulder works best when he is the tragic hero figure, much like the literary figure, Elric. On a quest that he has been destined by fate to partake in, but cannot every fully complete. And Scully is situated as his dutiful companion. "Memento Mori" is the perfect example of great television within the framework of the mythos. Mulder endlessly searches for a cure for Scully's cancer, and yet, its Skinner who saves her, damning himself by siding with the Cigarette Smoking Man.

It's one of the main reasons I don't revisit much of the show past Fight The Future/Season 6. In my eyes, what made that show so beloved was the sense of wonder and awe the mythos provided. It's what I will remember the show for. I'm glad others are finding joy in re-watching it.

 

[The_Renaissance]

I think, in the end, that's why The X-Files is so revered. Or at least, the reason I revere it as one of the greatest television shows ever made. It redefined what serial television could aspire to be and stylized a fringe matter into something cinematic and captivating, to the point it infiltrated pop culture. It took government mistrust, Forteana, urban legends, conspiracies, spiritual and scientific matters and blended it all into riveting television. I agree, the thread that keeps everything together are Duchovny and Anderson. They're fully developed characters portrayed by charismatic actors in the best possible manner.

As for the conspiracy mythos - I am in the minority. It's what I remember most fondly about that show. It helped inform my interests as a young boy so its something I hold close to me. I appreciate the monumental effort by the writers to navigate the show's complexities. Under lesser writers, the show could have fallen apart by Season 2. To me, The X-Files works best when Mulder and Scully are archetypes thrust into a fable of fantastical events. Mulder works best when he is the tragic hero figure, much like the literary figure, Elric. On a quest that he has been destined by fate to partake in, but cannot every fully complete. And Scully is situated as his dutiful companion. "Memento Mori" is the perfect example of great television within the framework of the mythos. Mulder endlessly searches for a cure for Scully's cancer, and yet, its Skinner who saves her, damning himself by siding with the Cigarette Smoking Man.

It's one of the main reasons I don't revisit much of the show past Fight The Future/Season 6. In my eyes, what made that show so beloved was the sense of wonder and awe the mythos provided. It's what I will remember the show for. I'm glad others are finding joy in re-watching it.

The main story arc isn't my cup of tea, pure standalone monster of the week type episodes are my bag but the entire thing is awesome.

 

[moreorless87]

I think, in the end, that's why The X-Files is so revered. Or at least, the reason I revere it as one of the greatest television shows ever made. It redefined what serial television could aspire to be and stylized a fringe matter into something cinematic and captivating, to the point it infiltrated pop culture. It took government mistrust, Forteana, urban legends, conspiracies, spiritual and scientific matters and blended it all into riveting television. I agree, the thread that keeps everything together are Duchovny and Anderson. They're fully developed characters portrayed by charismatic actors in the best possible manner.

As for the conspiracy mythos - I am in the minority. It's what I remember most fondly about that show. It helped inform my interests as a young boy so its something I hold close to me. I appreciate the monumental effort by the writers to navigate the show's complexities. Under lesser writers, the show could have fallen apart by Season 2. To me, The X-Files works best when Mulder and Scully are archetypes thrust into a fable of fantastical events. Mulder works best when he is the tragic hero figure, much like the literary figure, Elric. On a quest that he has been destined by fate to partake in, but cannot every fully complete. And Scully is situated as his dutiful companion. "Memento Mori" is the perfect example of great television within the framework of the mythos. Mulder endlessly searches for a cure for Scully's cancer, and yet, its Skinner who saves her, damning himself by siding with the Cigarette Smoking Man.

It's one of the main reasons I don't revisit much of the show past Fight The Future/Season 6. In my eyes, what made that show so beloved was the sense of wonder and awe the mythos provided. It's what I will remember the show for. I'm glad others are finding joy in re-watching it.

I think the Two Fathers/One Son does provide a pretty good cap for the mythos, after that it felt like it was struggling on rather.

The X-files serial nature though I would argue is not really the same as most serial genre shows which have followed it, it does not tend to go with transformative drama were characters shift significantly across the series. I feel that can often end up feeling rather cheap and melodramatic plus I think it often tends up making the characters less interesting as the show progress were as I think the X-files leads become more interesting as the show progresses, they do not loose their archetypal nature which helps drive the storys but rather add on more personality and depth.

A modern series would likely have gone with something like Mulder giving up on his quest for a season or the Cig man becoming a good guy, etc Things that would have had a shock value but would not have made the series better. Instead we get more depth as to why Mulder and Scully are the way they are and on what their doing comes to mean for them.

 

[Jack Reacheround]

You more or less nailed it. The nature of the original run allowed much more breathing room for the mythology episodes to percolate. It could be close to weeks if not months before a myth-arc episode was released and then it wasn't always connected to the previous episode. It took years for the show to go from Cancer Man and Deep Throat to the larger Syndicate and Black Oil/Colonization mythos. So it did not seem as convoluted as it came across as a distressed mythos with missing pieces. In that case, the audience was basically Fox Mulder, privy to only small details of a larger picture we would never see. So that's where the original's seductive and engrossing nature came from.

"Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to the X Files" brings this entire issue to light. Chris Carter and the other writers did not have everything mapped out because they weren't exactly ready for the spark of fan interest and debate. They would often make story choices based off fan interest and internal debate. What becomes apparent is the incessant need from Chris Carter and later showrunner Frank Spotnitz to neatly tie everything together during the show's end run, rather than leaving the show open ended and unresolved. Which I believe was the wrong decision.

Yeah, it really did feel that way when the show was on once a week, and you couldn’t really remember every detail of the main story arch. But when you binge stream it, the main story does feel pretty weak. Still, I love the show. My wife and I have watched it two or three times in the past few years.

 

[owen_taggart]

S01E03 Squeeze

Mulder: Is there any way I can get it off my fingers quickly without betraying my cool exterior?

 

[The_Renaissance]

So for Xmas I finally bought seasons 10 and 11, thought I might as well seen as though I own all the other 9 as boxsets. Remember not liking either much when they aired. Binged season 10 / comeback mini season last night. Vague thoughts...

1 - My Struggle - was a decent reintroduction to everything. Managed to refresh the memory, get the ball rolling again etc - not bad.

2 - Founder's Mutation - this was actually a tidy episode, mainly centred around the main mythology thread but also a standalone episode in itself, enjoyable.

3 - Mulder & Scully Meet the Weremonster - absolute drivel. I know, they often threw a jokey episode in there but even by those standards, this was shite and felt like a wasted episode in a mini-series. They could've done another MOTW type episode that wasn't comedy.

4 - Home Again - MOTW episode but man, this was basically just a complete rehash of the episode 'Arcadia' where someone conjured up a tulpa out of garbage?! Like, it was the same episode just set in Philly and the homeless camps rather than the suburbs! Not terrible but fucks sake!

5 - Babylon - nonsensical to be honest, felt very thin on the ground in being an 'X-File' really.

6 - My Struggle 2 - standard really, standard season closer.


It wasn't as bad as I remember, really. Think my huge levels of anticipation added to the disappointment at the time.

 

[Bullitt68]

I'm rewatching it right now. Nice timing. Last night, I watched the classic Rashomon-esque vampire episode Bad Blood. In the spirit of The Twilight Zone, if you go episode-by-episode, there are some really strong individual stories. They also did a great job at genuinely disturbing you, both psychologically and physically. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been as physically repulsed as I am when I watch "The Host" (that fluke is quite possibly the most hideously disturbing fictional creation in the history of film and television, I almost can't look at the fucking thing) or "Travelers" (poor Garret Dillahunt with the weird organ-sucking spider thing living in his stomach and that comes out of his mouth, fucking sickening), which is extremely impressive for a '90s TV show to be able to boast.

Also, people have talked about the Bryan Cranston episode for the Vince Gilligan connection, but let's not forget possibly the GOAT episode and possibly the GOAT guest star/character: Peter Boyle as the psychic Clyde Bruckman in "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose." That's the only time where it felt like an "outside" actor/character took over the show. That episode is 100% the Peter Boyle show, and he crushes that character so hard while the episode manages to be at turns funny, scary, sad, uplifting, and profound. He also might have the best line in the entire series, and it's only two words:

In a life full of death, he loves Scully so much because she allows him to see only life, and the way that his eyes light up at her question because he finally gets to think about and say something that doesn't involve death...that's poetry.

 

[ong bak]

Me and the Mrs have been watching this over the last few months and are currently at S3 E10. I was too young but vaguely remember some of the show. I always had a disturbing memory of someone that was deformed and had no legs and they would move about on a wooden buggy type thing. Is this the inbred family episode that was being discussed earlier in this thread?

 

[Bullitt68]

Me and the Mrs have been watching this over the last few months and are currently at S3 E10. I was too young but vaguely remember some of the show. I always had a disturbing memory of someone that was deformed and had no legs and they would move about on a wooden buggy type thing. Is this the inbred family episode that was being discussed earlier in this thread?

Deformity is a recurring theme. The Mom in the inbred episode is kept under the bed and she doesn't do much moving. There's also an armless and legless soldier who uses astral projection for revenge. But the "buggy type thing" has me thinking that you mean the creepy homeless guy in the late (Mulder-less) episode "Badlaa."

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I'm rewatching it right now. Nice timing. Last night, I watched the classic Rashomon-esque vampire episode Bad Blood. In the spirit of The Twilight Zone, if you go episode-by-episode, there are some really strong individual stories. They also did a great job at genuinely disturbing you, both psychologically and physically. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been as physically repulsed as I am when I watch "The Host" (that fluke is quite possibly the most hideously disturbing fictional creation in the history of film and television, I almost can't look at the fucking thing) or "Travelers" (poor Garret Dillahunt with the weird organ-sucking spider thing living in his stomach and that comes out of his mouth, fucking sickening), which is extremely impressive for a '90s TV show to be able to boast.

Also, people have talked about the Bryan Cranston episode for the Vince Gilligan connection, but let's not forget possibly the GOAT episode and possibly the GOAT guest star/character: Peter Boyle as the psychic Clyde Bruckman in "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose." That's the only time where it felt like an "outside" actor/character took over the show. That episode is 100% the Peter Boyle show, and he crushes that character so hard while the episode manages to be at turns funny, scary, sad, uplifting, and profound. He also might have the best line in the entire series, and it's only two words:

In a life full of death, he loves Scully so much because she allows him to see only life, and the way that his eyes light up at her question because he finally gets to think about and say something that doesn't involve death...that's poetry.

I don’t even like the Brian Cranston episode Drive all that much. I’m not sure why people love that one.
But yeah, Clyde Bruckman and Host are two of my absolute favorites. Same with Badlaa. A lot of the Robert Patrick episodes were great. It felt like the writers were really hitting their stride just before Duchovny left the show. Many of the episodes just before his departure were great. And they continued to get even better once Robert Patrick was on the show.

 

[ong bak]

Deformity is a recurring theme. The Mom in the inbred episode is kept under the bed and she doesn't do much moving. There's also an armless and legless soldier who uses astral projection for revenge. But the "buggy type thing" has me thinking that you mean the creepy homeless guy in the late (Mulder-less) episode "Badlaa."

The astral projection solider was a few episodes back. I think it is your third suggestion with the picture, this is alot closer to what I have a vague creepy memory of.

 

[Bullitt68]

I don’t even like the Brian Cranston episode Drive all that much. I’m not sure why people love that one.
But yeah, Clyde Bruckman and Host are two of my absolute favorites. Same with Badlaa. A lot of the Robert Patrick episodes were great. It felt like the writers were really hitting their stride just before Duchovny left the show. Many of the episodes just before his departure were great. And they continued to get even better once Robert Patrick was on the show.

I came to the show very late - my first ever viewing was only in 2018 - so I wasn't crushed at Duchovny's exit. Plus, I love Robert Patrick in everything. By the time that I got to those Duchovny-less episodes, while I was assuming that the show would take a bit of a dip, I was committed to seeing every episode, and I was pleasantly surprised that, as you say, those later episode are damn good. The shadowy organizations and the convoluted human-versus-aliens plots sometimes got a bit lost in the weeds, but the writing was always a strength on that show from beginning to end.

 

[Ima5starman]

One of my favorite shows but the monster of the week episodes hold up a lot better and tend to be more entertaining than the conspiracy arc episodes. I need to get around to watching Millenium in it’s entirety as well.

 

[fica]

When fox was fbi agent it was fun show when other guy took over not that exiting episodes i mean

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I have now moved into the Doggett era. Patience is such a great episode. I love how Scully now becomes the new Mulder, trying to convince the new skeptic Doggett that the things they investigate are real.
And it’s great that they wasted no time in writing an episode in which he actually experiences something paranormal, unlike Scully who didn’t really directly observe anything paranormal until the 7th season.