As I indicated in my preview of this episode, Fringe is back and in fine form! It’s as if last season was all setting up this new focus and direction for the team, and I couldn’t be more excited. All through The X-Files, it felt like Scully and Mulder were always chasing the answers, always two steps behind.

The first season of Fringe felt much the same way. But now, now there’s a whole other world out there filled with possibilities, and secrets, and answers, and William Bell. Fringe has as many mysteries as ever, but I suddenly feel better knowing that the gang is going to be running toward them, rather than just cleaning up after them. Read the rest of this entry »

“I’ve been informed that our failure to deliver any usable results is unacceptable.” — Special Agent Broyles

This really has grown into a wonderful little show. If this is The X-Files for the new millennium, then I’m all for it. I hope it can find the audience it deserves, and go on for many years slowly revealing The Pattern, one maddening detail at a time.

There were even a couple of nods to the former FOX staple, including one that alludes to this series possibly existing in the same world as that one. Or maybe just that the Fringe reality had its own X-division. Read the rest of this entry »

(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 3, Episodes 5-8)

Well, this week we look at how The X-Files deals with bad men. Some of them have supernatural abilities. Some of them don’t. But they all have one thing in common: They’re men who are bastards.

And they’re men who do terrible things to other people. It got to where I was looking for a woman to do something bad, just so I wouldn’t start hating my gender. Scully, double park! Hey lady, shoplift that package. But alas, the women wouldn’t have it. They were too busy being victims. Which really isn’t much better, is it? Read the rest of this entry »

(Season 3, Episodes 1-4)

Parts two and three of the death of Fox Mulder, tons of revelations about the underlying conspiracy substructure and appearances by three familiar faces in guest roles. What a fun way to start the third season.

3.1 – “The Blessing Way (Part 2 of 3)” [MythArc] – SEASON PREMIERE!
(Original Air Date: September 22, 1995) It looks like this was their first look at what a feature length X-Files film could be like. And it worked, so long as they were sticking with the major conspiracy storylines; something I hear the latest movie didn’t do.

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(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 2, Episodes 18-21)

Not a mention of The X-Files “MythArc” throughout these four episodes. No sightings of the Cigarette Smoking Man, nor Skinner. The closest we got was animal abductions, which may or may not have been extraterrestrial.

But it didn’t matter. These were some good yarns. As an anthology horror series, The X-Files had the potential to be one of the best. From animal abductees, rapid aging, circus freaks and a bizarre demonic twin possession, the tension just kept right on moving. I’d been getting worried that The X-Files was starting to get boring before this, but that’s certainly not the case anymore. Read the rest of this entry »