X-Files (TV series) - New six episodes

[shootemindehead]

I never really watched 'The X Files' when it was on tele. I'd see the odd episode here and there and meant to sit and watch the whole thing, but couldn't be arsed for one reason or another. Anyhow, about ten years ago I was made redundant from a job (ironically the one I'm back working for now ) and I started watching the show from scratch. I got to about series 6 and then just burned out, because nearly every week was the same thing: Mulder: There's a weird yoke happening in this town here. Scully: That's not weird, there has to be a rational explanation for it Mulder. Mulder: Every week you say the same thing Scully. ...some time later... Scully: OK...that's weird, you're right Mulder... (under her breath)...until next week's reset ya prick. Anyhow, I started watching them again at series 7 and I nearly turned off in disgust. There are so many bad episodes in that series that I was nearly going to write a strongly worded letter to Chris Carter . I kept going, however, even through the virtual reality and Kathy Griffin episodes (Jesus Wept) and I'm now on the much maligned series 8 (and 9). So far, series has pissed over 7 in every way possible. I think Doggett is a waaay better character than Mulder and Scully is better for it too, as she's now the one saying "There's a weird yoke happening in this town here". I hope that series 9 holds up and proves the fanbois wrong like series 8 has so far. But, I won't hold my breath. One thing's for sure though, the one off weekly episode is a dead format for dramatic TV and 20 odd episodes of something can be too much. If the new series is to survive, it'll need to catch up with the 21st century. I think a short contained story played out over a few weeks (al la 'True Detective') would be perfect for the new series. ...and I'll have what Gillian is having, because she looks better now than she did in the 90's.

[bassman]

Yeah, as I think MZ mentioned before, the show really lost its spark after Season Six. There are some good episodes in seven and the following seasons, but they really stumble. In my opinion, the finale of season seven is the real end of the series. At the time, Carter and fox hadn't agreed on an eighth season, so that final episode was written as the Series Finale and it works well. Of course the show was later renewed and then puttered to a slow death. I've read interviews where Carter says he initially wanted to end the series after five seasons, but Fox insisted on continuing with or without him, so he basically had to stick it out rather than hand it over to someone else. As has bcome more popular with shows in recent years, its often best to have an end in sight rather than continue on until everyone loses interest. While there are no immediate plans to continue this revival after these six new episodes, Carter has said that if the ratings are strong, he would be open to doing limited episode runs every so often rather than full-on 20+ episode seasons. That seems like the perfect way to move forward, IMO.

[MinionZombie]

I do agree that more limited runs of episodes are better - 24 episodes a season is really too much for viewers, and for the writers. I'm a huge X-Files fan, so I don't see it from shootem's perspective of it feeling repetitive ... I just love the show so much. Seasons 7 through 9 were definitely not as good as 1 through 6, but they still had tons of excellent episodes - and I for one am a big fan of Doggett and Reyes. They don't beat Mulder and Scully, but they're right up there with them. I think a Doggett and Reyes spin-off would have been really cool - the key D/R episodes from seasons 8 and 9 are excellent, and at times really very moving. Those characters seemed to get a lot of flack at the time, but I think that was unfair - I was always a fan of them - although I did want Mulder to be more present in Season 9 (he was only in the finale) ... but he was actually in quite a lot of season 8. However, because of the sheer volume of episodes year after year no wonder Duchovny was a bit burned out. Shorter seasons are definitely better for everyone involved. The Walking Dead works very well in two doses of eight, for example, and True Detective works well in eight episode chunks. 13 episodes or thereabouts is quite a good number. You get a more focused story with far less (or any) filler, so everyone's a winner. It's also less intimidating for viewers coming to a show late in the game. I was late to Game of Thrones and caught up on the first four seasons over Xmas (40 episodes) ... but imagine if it had been 24 episodes per season (no realistic chance of that, of course, but for sake of argument indulge me) that would have been 96 sodding episodes. That said, a few years ago (2008 IIRC) I got all the box sets of The X-Files and barged all nine seasons in nine weeks. It was a magical time. I say again, I adore that show.

[krakenslayer]

I hope that series 9 holds up and proves the fanbois wrong like series 8 has so far. But, I won't hold my breath. Yeah, Series 8 is IMO actually decent and a marked improvement on Series 7. It took a lot of flack for losing Mulder, but Doggett is good, and Mulder ends up coming back about halfway through. It has a good mix of MOTW and mytharc episodes, although the mythology stuff is just starting to get tired. I think a lot of the hate for eight is actually hatred spilling over from nine, which really does deserve it, and eight just gets tarred with the same brush because of the similar cast and production style. Really looking forward to this new one though!

[shootemindehead]

I'm about 5 episodes into 9 and so far it's been good. It's major problem has been what to do with Scully though, and Reyes seems to be a bit of a duff character. Doggett is great however and the episode with him in Mexico was enjoyable, even though nothing much was happening. It's clear they were trying hard to transition Scully out of the game and replace the main characters fully with Doggett and Reyes, as she pops up only every so often to do an autopsy or something, which I suppose would have cheesed off fans of the show. In any case I'll finish off the show and watch the last film again, which I've seen before but can't remember a single thing from it (not a good sign).

[Neil]

So, reviews seemed mixed about the new series - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35399303

[shootemindehead]

Yeh, can't see this going on for too long. A lot of the "positive" reviews are like "well it doesn't completely suck".

[MinionZombie]

F*ck the reviews - sometimes they come up with a particular angle and then that's just what they go with (especially if something has been very popular in the past and/or has a lot of excitement from established fans attached to it). The established story being pushed about True Detective Season 2 was that it was a disaster and nobody was watching it - yet the viewing figures were just as strong as season one, if not more so, and frequently I've seen praise from the actual fans of the show who are utterly baffled at the scolding given to it by the reviewing establishment. It's all about contrarian click bait (e.g. Huff Post's hack job take down of The Force Awakens, that was so brutally fisked by someone who had actually considered their words, rather than simply looking to harvest clicks through a stupid headline). I've watched the first two episodes and I'm thoroughly on board with it all, I enjoyed it very much - feels just like The X-Files should, and it's great to have Mulder and Scully back together again, with Chris Carter (and some other long-term X-Files names from behind the camera), and back in Vancouver to boot. Will it be up to the extremely high standard of the show at it's peak? Doubtful, but it's never going to be like that - there's so many more things attached to that status than what they did to make the episodes. There's years of fan love, there's formative years memories, there's nostalgia, etc etc etc. So, I for one, as a long-time X-Files fan from the get-go, am very happy with the new material.

[Legion2213]

Big fan of the original, very much enjoying the new mini-series (last one next week) It just rocks to see Mulder & Scully back on the case...hoping for a bit more after this.

[MinionZombie]

Big fan of the original, very much enjoying the new mini-series (last one next week) It just rocks to see Mulder & Scully back on the case...hoping for a bit more after this. Likewise! I've really enjoyed these episodes - especially the third episode (the more humorous ones were always my personal favourites from the series). I've been a huge fan of The X-Files since the get-go back in the 90s, so this event series has been a real joy. I think it's done quite well, and I've heard rumours that more episodes is a likely prospect (I dearly hope that happens!!!) Arguably the 'monster of the week' aspect of episode 4 was a bit weak and needed a little more work towards the end, but the fourth episode was really Scully's as her personal story was very strong and well performed.

[bassman]

I really, really enjoyed the final episode of this limited run. Although it was actually portrayed on a small scale, it felt like a massive global event unlike any we've seen throughout the show's run. I do have a spoilery question for those that have seen the final episode:   I don't have any sort of television service, I just use Netflix and the various internet programs to view whatever movies or shows. That being said, this final episode ended with Scully looking up at the UFO as it shined its light down on them before she could give Mulder and Miller the vaccine. I found it strange considering that this was a limited run of episodes and it's unclear if/when the show will return. Was this actually the broadcast ending or did I somehow get an incomplete copy?

[MinionZombie]

Nope, that's how the episode ends - cliffhanger city. I've heard that Chris Carter et al are currently hashing out the details for an 11th season right now - getting schedules lined up etc - as their intention is to do more episodes. Season 10 seems to have been received quite well.

[bassman]

Nope, that's how the episode ends - cliffhanger city. I've heard that Chris Carter et al are currently hashing out the details for an 11th season right now - getting schedules lined up etc - as their intention is to do more episodes. Season 10 seems to have been received quite well. Fantastic! As I said, I just found it strange to end with such a HUGE cliffhanger being that everyone involved was saying they were unsure if they'd ever return for more episodes. Surely when they saw that the show returned with big numbers, they knew they'd return for another season, or perhaps another limited run, and ended it leaving the audience wondering what's next. In all, this revival mini series was a fantastic success in my eyes. I loved the "mythology" episodes and the "monster of the week" episode with the werewolf-lizard-man was easily one of the funniest episodes of the entire series. I was always a fan of these more light hearted episodes and that one showed that they clearly hadn't lost that ability too have fun with the show's premise. Bring on season eleven and the season ten blu ray!

[MinionZombie]

I was always a fan of these more light hearted episodes and that one showed that they clearly hadn't lost that ability too have fun with the show's premise. Bring on season eleven and the season ten blu ray! Agreed on all counts. My all-time favourite episodes a frequently the humorous ones. I love the whole show, but my most favourite ones tend to be the ones that are a bit askew and have fun with the formula, like you say. A lot of attention, justifiably, gets paid to the anthology episodes as that's the backbone of the whole thing, but I just get so much joy out of those funnier episodes. Perhaps they had the idea in their back pocket of 'hey, if this works out, let's be keep it in mind that we'll do more' - so that, as it seems to be turning out, in the event of it being a success they can hop on board and crack on with more. Kind of a 'wait and see, but probably yes' situation.

[bassman]

It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise when you consider the HUGE cliffhanger we were left with, but Fox has officially announced production on a new season of ten episodes. That's only four more episodes than the last round, but it seems like it's a good compromise for everyone involved that doesn't want to be tied down to 20-ish episode seasons like the original run. Production begins this summer, so it'll probably premiere next year, or maybe the end of this year.