(Season 3, Episodes 13-16)

The energy and excitement in the middle of season three is definitely there. We’re kind of treading water as far as the bigger story goes, but I think The X-Files has found its groove as a monster-of-the-week show. Right now, those episodes are almost more enjoyable than the “MythArc” installments.

I do enjoy getting deeper into the mystery, but that material is so dense and heavy that it’s almost a relief when it’s just some random demon possession, or planetary alignment wackiness. Read the rest of this entry »

(Season 2, Episodes 22-25)

Another season comes to an end, and with it comes a much more satisfying progression of The X-Files as a whole. I was getting bored at parts earlier in this season, but they ratcheted up both the quality of the stand-alone episodes, as well as the personal implications of Mulder’s work.

I still think the government would have just “disappeared” Mulder by now. Call Scully up and say, “Mulder quit. Yeah, he’s gone to the Bahamas … What? … No, I mean Iceland. No phones up there … He sends his regards.” Thank god that’s over.

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(Season 1, Episodes 9-11)

There aren’t enough kid villains in the world. Thank god there’s The X-Files. Plus, I never knew anyone took that “face of mars” image and made it into a creepy mask on an old man’s face. All in all, these were pretty solid spook-em-up installments. I felt for Mulder trying to defend himself in an obviously crooked system. I’ve been there, man, try getting customer service on the line about your phone bill!

9 – “Space”
(Original Air Date: November 12, 1993) I recognized Ed Lauter right away, despite the horrible toupee they had on him in that flashback sequence. His is one of those faces we see everywhere in guest roles that’s always memorable. And he always plays those intense roles, this time losing his mind as Col. Belt, head of a NASA space mission going horribly awry.

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(Season 1, Episodes 1-4)

The X-Files is one of those shows that managed to transcend its genre to become a bona fide hit. It was one of Fox’s biggest sensations early on and became a supernatural phenomenon the likes of which hadn’t been matched, except perhaps for Buffy several years later. And somehow I missed it. And similar to my problem with jumping onto Buffy the Vampire Slayer after it had already started, this one premiered my first year in college and I generally had other things going on on Friday nights, so I missed it’s debut.

Then when I started hearing all these great things about it, I balked because I’d already missed too much of the “mytharc.” About one third of The X-Files episodes tied into this arc. It was the major driving thrust of Mulder’s obsession and the focus of the show. The rest of the episodes would be considered filler, though they also had some elements that were important from time to time. Still, the mytharc concept was so important that they released The X-Files Mythology, a 4-volume set of DVDs with just the “mytharc” episodes. But I’m not going to cop out on this one and go that route. It’s all or nothing, baby!

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