TV: The X Files

[BootsToAsses]

I don't think I ever finished watching the whole show back during its original run, so I might start from the beginning.

Which episodes/season are generally considered the best?

[harmless]

For me it's seasons 1-5. But it's pretty great TV the entire way through, although most of season 9 feels unnecessary other than the need to finish the mythology. I'm not that keen on Doggett and Reyes, and the change in the intro credits around that time is horrible. I think the show lost something when it moved its filming location from Vancouver, Canada to L.A.

[BootsToAsses]

They mythology was always more interesting to me, never really care for' monster of the week' stuff on any show.

I don't even remember when I stopped watching. Maybe season 4?

[harmless]

I was pretty much the opposite; the mythology stopped being that interesting to me around season 4, and from then on, some of the best episodes were the monster-of-the-week episodes, and the comedy ones. There are some fine satirical episodes later on. But hey, I don't really have any huge criticisms of The X-Files at all. The entire run was pretty much the best TV you could ever choose to watch.

[harmless]

The X-Files was pretty much tied with Pearl Jam as my favourite thing, growing up.

[BootsToAsses]

Pearl Jam and X Files.....couldn't be more opposite!

I'm quite interested in the satirical episodes I've read about. At one point when I was younger this was my favourite show! I think I saw the end of season 2 about a million times.

[harmless]

Yeah, it'll always be my favourite show ever.

Opposites? Are a band and a TV show ever going to be similar?

[bada]

Any news on a blu ray release? I already have the first 7 seasons on DVD but this is one series I would probably buy again for a better picture. I remember reading that even though the first few seasons were broadcast in 4:3 they were actually filmed in 16:9. No idea if that is true but would be cool.

[vegman]

I'll always have a thing for Scully.

[malice]

I recently bought the entire series (super cheap) and both movies.

I plan on spending an extended amount of time over the holidays watching them

[Harry Lime]

This is the greatest thread ever.

Seasons 1-3 is my favorite chunk of television. Harmless is right when saying its quality dropped off once they moved the production to LA.

Recently, David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson were at a X-Files 20th Anniversary gathering, and they admitted during a Q&A session that the show's writers were making the mythology up at the show went along. No wonder why it was such a mess.

The X-Files was pretty much tied with Pearl Jam as my favourite thing, growing up.

Harmless, you have no idea how much you & I are alike. With pop culture anyway.

[harmless]

I'll always have a thing for Scully.

I had a pretty huge crush on them both.

[harmless]

This is the greatest thread ever.

Seasons 1-3 is my favorite chunk of television. Harmless is right when saying its quality dropped off once they moved the production to LA.

Recently, David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson were at a X-Files 20th Anniversary gathering, and they admitted during a Q&A session that the show's writers were making the mythology up at the show went along. No wonder why it was such a mess.

The X-Files was pretty much tied with Pearl Jam as my favourite thing, growing up.

Harmless, you have no idea how much you & I are alike. With pop culture anyway.

[epilogue]

I adore seasons 1-5. Some really brilliant television through and through. Season 6 is weird, but I really love that it took some risks and went way outside the box. Some of my favorite episodes are from S6, though I think pound for pound, it suffers compared to the five previous seasons.

Season 7 should have been the last season. It's rough going, but it ends strong. Season 8 and 9 are mostly forgettable outside of wrapping up the mythology. I wish they had just planned on a 6/7 season run.

[digster]

This is, with a bullet, my favorite show ever. I think what this show had a wider canvas that almost any other, which probably aided in it's longevity and enhanced it's popularity. On any given week, it could be the scariest, funniest, smartest, or dumbest show on television. It's something that, for all it's strengths, serialization doesn't really allow. I couldn't imagine most of the great shows today, amazing as they may be, able to support the scope of a show that could go from Bad Blood (the vampire ep) to One Breath.

[digster]

I don't think I ever finished watching the whole show back during its original run, so I might start from the beginning.

Which episodes/season are generally considered the best?

I'm with you, start from the beginning. Maybe try Squeeze, Ice, and E.B.E.. They're all pretty classic episodes, but they're very early on in the run so nothing would get ruined for you, and if you like them you'll see the show transform throughout.

[epilogue]

LOST replaced it as my favorite show ever. And then Mad Men replaced LOST. But The X-Files still has a special place in my heart and probably has the best replay value of those three, in that, I never don't want to watch The X-Files. I'm always in the mood for it. Largely, for the reasons digster outlined, I think.

[BurtReynolds]

X-Files ruined for me the idea of an ongoing series about complex conspiracies without a definite end. Its why I never watched Lost. Its also why I'm starting to have my doubts about Game of Thrones.

If I know the show won't end until the ratings tank, then fuck it.

[epilogue]

Well, LOST has some wheel spinning, for sure, because of that issue. But the good news about that show is that the creators always envisioned and end. They wanted an end date ASAP and fought to wrap up the show. They wanted an announced five year run from the beginning. ABC negotiated into a six year deal, with seasons five and six being truncated.

Point is, the creators ended the show on their terms (for the most part). And they had a clear end in sight. If that's the only reason you didn't give that show a go, put your mind at ease and go watch it!

[digster]

I actually think the X-Files conspiracy arc (at least through the sixth season, the conclusion of the initial arc) hung together more than people give it credit for. Not flawlessly, but I think a lot of it does fit together.