So quick question. How much of the original series deals with Aliens Vs Supernatural stuff.
Like how much is focused on the ET stuff. Looking through episode descriptions on Netflix it looks like there's quite a bit of the extra-ordinary
I only really remember a little bit from the original series, I only saw a dozen or so full episodes and little snips from others, and never rewatched it, but this looks pretty cool.
I'll have to get a copy and go through the series.
hotsauceman1 wrote: Alot of it is Monster of the week, with a few Mythos.
Some are genetic monstrosities,
Some Are Mundane but weird
Some are Aliens
Some are supernatural
Okay kewl. I'm far more interested in the Supernatural aspect of show like this. Less so with Aliens and stuff like that
The core storyline to the series which glues everything together is David Duchovnys character trying to find out what happened to his sister, which heavily uses government conspiracy, alien abduction and alien colonization of Earth as its central themes. Since this mini series is about wrapping up that story, I'd guess it's the central theme of the mini series.
Prior experience has shown me this is not a good idea, though.
.
I remember one of the movies being good.,.. though I can't tell you which one..... or why for that matter. It's just in my head that one of them was good
hotsauceman1 wrote: Alot of it is Monster of the week, with a few Mythos.
Some are genetic monstrosities,
Some Are Mundane but weird
Some are Aliens
Some are supernatural
Okay kewl. I'm far more interested in the Supernatural aspect of show like this. Less so with Aliens and stuff like that
How do you feel about Christian mythology? I think there are two separate "Southern Boy is Second Coming" episodes at least. Also, two vampire episodes that contradict each other.
I loved the early seasons, but now I just can't go back.
There are a half dozen episodes dealing with Judeo-Christian apocrypha.
They have tons of episodes that contradict other episodes (many of the religious ones, the vampire ones, others besides), but I think that's part of the charm.
It gives a sense of hugeness, that there's room for all this mystery that defies explanation, that somehow does coexist even though all logic and reason and understanding of the inherent rules say it shouldn't.
(Then again, I'm a Highlander fan, so I have an abnormally high tolerance for self-contradictory canon...)
I remember one episode, which was a Christmas special I think, in which they get stuck in a haunted house and all kinds of stuff happens but at the end it is implied that it was all a dream or hallucination.
The first series of X Files was broadcast in 1993.
Gillian Anderson lives in the UK now and has done several things on TV here, including two series of a serial killer police thriller.
-Loki- wrote: The core storyline to the series which glues everything together is David Duchovnys character trying to find out what happened to his sister, which heavily uses government conspiracy, alien abduction and alien colonization of Earth as its central themes. Since this mini series is about wrapping up that story, I'd guess it's the central theme of the mini series.
I hoped for the exact same thing when Fox did the 24: Live Another Day mini series, and promised us that it would give us a true ending & closure for Jack Bauer...
...and instead we got:
Spoiler:
1. Jack flying off in a helicopter, heading strait for a Russian gulag
2. The '24: Solitary' DVD short, with Tony showing true remorse for his crimes and then breaking out of prison, in a likely set-up towards helping Jack
3. Now Fox canning it all and going for a total series re-boot with a younger cast and no Kiefer.
I won't be surprised at all if Fox had two endings filmed - exactly like they did with LAD, and if the ratings prove good enough, they'll garbage the closed ending and instead leave it hanging with the possibility to milk the cow again at a later date.
I want to be excited, but for the last few days I've been on kind of an internal rant about prime time television dramas and my response to this is "because yet another tv series about people fighting a vast global conspiracy is totally what we need right now."
That must really be getting to me to not be excited about X-Files (probably doesn't help that the movie they released a few years back was so atrocious).
Oh man, I'm watching through the x-files in order, this is like a trip down memory lane, it's like seeing the world as it was when I was but a wee lad in early elementary school. CRT's everywhere, brick mobile phones, *terrible* CGI, flat-tops, celebrities now long since forgotten, and a pre-9/11 worldview, a very interesting trip so far.
Hmmm didnt they tie up the sister angle around season 7
Spoiler:
(she was murdered?)
I hope they dont retcon it and try and go on "the hunt" again.
I'd also like to see more of a monster of the week angle than mythology episodes. The mythology ones for the most part were always the weak link imo.
Ratius wrote: Hmmm didnt they tie up the sister angle around season 7
Spoiler:
(she was murdered?)
I hope they dont retcon it and try and go on "the hunt" again.
Concerning the sister
Spoiler:
She was not murdered, but she did "step into the starlight" when the walk-ins (saved souls of children about to be suffer a violent death) offered her their help. It was after years of brutal experiments done on her by the Smoking Man, she had just escaped the military base where she had been held, and she was about to be captured again when the walk-ins manifested. Mulder figures it out during an investigation of a killer/pedophile where he meets a medium who can sense the walk-ins because his son is one of them.
The episode ends with Mulder meeting her and other walk-ins in the starlight. Easily one of the strongest scenes in the whole serie, I have to fight the tears every time (I make a point to rewatch all the episodes at least once a year). Duchovny isn't a strong actor, but he is definitely capable of giving out very powerful scenes.
Spoiler:
So, she's dead, but didn't really die (she just became "starlight", according to the medium). So there could be supernatural shenanigans to bring her back. But more likely, if they bring back the sister angle, they are going to do it through the drones, the mute clones of Mulder's sisters that the Syndicate and the Grays created to tend the genetically modified crops that contains the Alien virus.
Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:And Cigarette Smoking Man is back? I thought he died?
Makes it about the 3rd time he comes back to life, now.
I was starting to get the sense that they might be pulling a modified "J. J. Abrams Star Trek" thing here - there's a conspiracy on top of the conspiracy so, to borrow a phrase, (almost) everything we've told to date has been a lie?
She was not murdered, but she did "step into the starlight" when the walk-ins (saved souls of children about to be suffer a violent death) offered her their help. It was after years of brutal experiments done on her by the Smoking Man, she had just escaped the military base where she had been held, and she was about to be captured again when the walk-ins manifested. Mulder figures it out during an investigation of a killer/pedophile where he meets a medium who can sense the walk-ins because his son is one of them.
Ah righto, I must go back and rewatch the later series again so. I was getting confused with the killer/peadophile thing.
I see its only a short rerun which makes it likely it'll be all mythology episodes rather than motw. Bummer :(
What did you guys think?
It was definitely "more of the same" for me but it was a fairly pacey two parter which was nice - they didnt get too bogged down in past events or ramblings.
Just not sure how much they can achieve with a 6 ep run.
I'm hoping it's not going to be a "jam as many cameos in here as possible" situation, but so far it's ok. Quite graphic so far, I thought. Wife squealed a couple of times
Really enjoyed this weeks episode. Had a few laugh out louds to it. A complete (and blatant) homage to season 3s style of writing and vibe. Then I noticed it was written by Darin Morgan and it all made sense
If you enjoyed the style but havent seen many of the earlier X files I'd recommend from S3:
"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space"
"Quagmire"
"War of the Coprophages"
"Syzygy"
After the x-files movie. I really don't see life continuing as normal for Fox Mulder. Is the show about him exposing the people responsible for assisting the aliens with their invasion plans?
Strange episode this week. Much to much going on.
Could easily been two seperate episodes or a 2 parter. Wasted the trashman idea big time for me.
Scullys arc was rushed too. "I need to work Mulder, NOW!". Meh.
Ouze wrote: Yes, the "monster of the week" episodes were always the best. When they try to build a larger mythology is where the show really fell apart, IMO.
This so much.
More than that, what I liked about the X-Files was "I want to believe." The show at first was never really about what is true, but what do I want to be true? Then it just started losing sight of that completely in later seasons. It's spiraled into poorly written conspiracy mediocrity. I just watched the first episode of the new season, and it was like watching everything I hated about X-Files rolled into a big turd ball with absolutely nothing that loved about it anywhere to be seen.
So I guess my question is is it worth watching more or given that I loathed the first of the new episodes, would I just be wasting my time?
Just watched it there. Thought the tone was so off overall.
Swung from outright humour (Mulders trip) to really dark themes (terrorism, suicide bombings etc) that didnt gel in the slightest.
Didnt enjoy it at all :(
Wonder if the two new agents will continue the torch in a spin off though?
With 1 epsiode to go its been 50-50 for me overall.
More than that, what I liked about the X-Files was "I want to believe." The show at first was never really about what is true, but what do I want to be true? Then it just started losing sight of that completely in later seasons. It's spiraled into poorly written conspiracy mediocrity. I just watched the first episode of the new season, and it was like watching everything I hated about X-Files rolled into a big turd ball with absolutely nothing that loved about it anywhere to be seen.
So I guess my question is is it worth watching more or given that I loathed the first of the new episodes, would I just be wasting my time?
The third one was one of the best episodes ever, IMO. The 4th one was fairly good - not a standout, but the repartee was amusing. Mostly the problems with ep4 were poor writing and lazy characterizations.
Much like George Lucas, the show would be a lot better off if the creator of the show stepped away from it a bit. Chris Carter should no longer be writing episodes, IMO.
I liked this episode. Do you think they will pass the torch to Agent Einstein and Agent Miller? I would me ok with that.
I hope so. I don't want the show to become the Geriatric-Files.
But I'd much prefer a definitive ending to the alien mythology arc thats been the main focus of the franchise. I've been looking forward to the 'imminent' alien invasion thats been teased since the end of the last Season (9) back in 2002 and the 1998 film, and I'll feel cheated if they post pone it or cop out yet again. The X-Files franchise has spent 23 years building up to this apparent 'alien invasion' and I expect a payoff.
Once they finally do wrap up the mythology arc and give some closure to Mulder and Scully, they could maybe do a spinoff series that focuses on the new agents and monsters of the week (or aliens of the week) episodes, without the over arching mythology.
For days now I've been reading the title entirely different and wondering why it was still not locked. I now realise the title says "Promo" as in "promotion."
Deadshot wrote: For days now I've been reading the title entirely different and wondering why it was still not locked. I now realise the title says "Promo" as in "promotion."
They got one of those wink wink, and the girl looks a lot like scully from seasons 5 & 6. The story is pretty good too.
Here in the UK the second episode was broadcast on Monday.
I don't think I liked it as much as the early X Files which I am watching with my wife on DVD. The conspiracy seemed a bit unlikely; a shadowy group within the US government forming an alliance to use alien technology to enslave the Earth and go and live in space. Why? They are already in charge as it is.
Kilkrazy wrote: Here in the UK the second episode was broadcast on Monday.
I don't think I liked it as much as the early X Files which I am watching with my wife on DVD. The conspiracy seemed a bit unlikely; a shadowy group within the US government forming an alliance to use alien technology to enslave the Earth and go and live in space. Why? They are already in charge as it is.
The second episode was better.
Don't watch the rest of the series. It quickly spirals even further downhill.
The last episode of the X-Files (s10e6) was exactly the kind of incoherent garbage that made me stop watching it in Season 8, and 100% why I couldn't get excited about the X-Files reboot when it got announced.
This season overall was complete and utter gak. I was hoping for a proper ending that wrapped up the shown and gave us closure, instead all we got was yet another cliff hanger that simply serves as a teaser for the next season (if they even decide to make one) or a feature film. The show is long past its prime and jumped the shark years ago, just let it die gracefully and give it the ending and closure it deserves rather than let it linger on indefinitely on life support until the network, producers or whoever decide to pull the plug and cancel it due to falling ratings or critical reception.
By the end of the episode I was asking "Is that it?"
My wife couldn't remember seeing any similar 'comedy' episodes in the 1990s but there were several. They work especially well IMO because the rest of the series is so serious.
Kilkrazy wrote: My wife couldn't remember seeing any similar 'comedy' episodes in the 1990s but there were several. They work especially well IMO because the rest of the series is so serious.
Some of the better episodes, imo, were "Clyde Bruckman's Last Repose", "Bad Blood" and "Small Potatoes".
Last episode watched. Overall I enjoyed it, the ending was waaaay too open but it was tighter than ep4 and 5. Enjoyed cancerman/mulders interaction.
The plot was probably a bit too "epic scale" for x files, worldwide plagues and whatnot.
Overall I give the season 5/10. Some stinkers, some ok, some good.
Shadow Captain Edithae wrote: The finale was basically a teaser for the next season or feature film, which really annoys me because theres no guarantee that we'll actually get one.
Well, just hope and pray that X-files won't get completely gakked on like what's happening with 24...
Mind you, after having gone through that pile of BS that 'Live Another Day' left us with, I was 110% never going to be surprised when Fox inevitably made the exact same clusterfeth out of this re-boot!
Shadow Captain Edithae wrote: The finale was basically a teaser for the next season or feature film, which really annoys me because theres no guarantee that we'll actually get one.
Well, just hope and pray that X-files won't get completely gakked on like what's happening with 24...
Mind you, after having gone through that pile of BS that 'Live Another Day' left us with, I was 110% never going to be surprised when Fox inevitably made the exact same clusterfeth out of this re-boot!
This wasn't a reboot, it was a sequel, a direct continuation of the older series and films. From what I understand, the next incarnation of 24 is also going to be a sequel, but with no returning characters like Jack Baur. A reboot is something like Battlestar Galactica, a complete start-from-scratch remake of the classic show. (I actually loved BSG).
My fear is that instead of actually giving the show a proper ending to Mulder and Scully's arc, resisting the Alien 'Invasion' and colonization and the Government conspirators... (which has apparently been retconned into "The Aliens are friendly after all! It was the evil Government all along!")...declining ratings and critical reception will prompt Fox to remake the show entirely from scratch with new younger actors playing Mulder and Scully. They'll have spent 20 years building up to an alien invasion, only to cancel it and reboot the show.
(And yes, I know that younger agents almost exactly like Mulder and Scully have been introduced, but they're separate characters and therefore technically not a remake. I mean Mulder and Scully being literally recast in a remake of Season 1).
Another reboot that irks me is Stargate. They've decided to start from scratch and reboot the entire franchise with a new continuity, jettisoning 15 years of established
Stargate Universe had a poor critical reception, but I liked it and I wanted a conclusion to the cliffhanger of Season 2. The Destiny and its crew are currently stuck in a limbo (with the crew in cryostasis) as the ship spends 3 years transiting between galaxies at sub light speeds. That cliffhanger has not been resolved. Hell, I'd settle for a series of comics or novels, I just want a conclusion. At least Stargate Atlantis was continued with a series of novels.
Spoiler:
Syfy announced on December 16, 2010 that it would not be picking Stargate Universe up for a third season and that the Spring 2011 season would be the last to air on its channel. To this day, there has been no word from MGM Television on this decision.
After the cancellation of Universe, "Gaters" (Stargate fans) reacted angrily towards Syfy, despite Brad Wright's comments suggesting a "post-season 2" resolution to the series. The response was largely umbrage directed at the network that "seemed to display precious little appreciation for its own supposed product, science fiction". Many fans blamed the move from the franchise's usual time-slot, Friday to Tuesday. On May 12, 2011, Syfy released a letter to "Gaters", explaining its reasons for the series' cancellation.
Universe fans later started a petition and a Facebook campaign, aimed at a revival for the series. In May 2014, Warner Brothers and MGM announced a reboot trilogy. Roland Emmerich, who directed and co-wrote the original film with Dean Devlin, will direct and Devlin will produce. The announcement was a surprise towards "Gaters", receiving a mixed reaction between the Stargate fanbase. As of July 2015, the cliffhanger to Gauntlet remains unresolved.
I liked this episode. Do you think they will pass the torch to Agent Einstein and Agent Miller? I would me ok with that.
I hope not. I didn't like either actor/actress.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Shadow Captain Edithae wrote: The finale was basically a teaser for the next season or feature film, which really annoys me because theres no guarantee that we'll actually get one.
I have no stake in the game, as I never watched the originals. But having watched these new 6, it would be funny as gak if they left it there!
However, FOX is saying that want to continue the season. So, there is that!
Gordon Shumway wrote: I'm working my way through the original series right now. At what point do I quit?
When Muldur and Scully are replaced by different lead characters probably. Season 8 or 9 I think. Though YMMV. I personally liked all seasons even after Dogget and Reyes replaced Muldur and Scully.
@Shadow Captain Edithae: Re-boot was likely the wrong way to put it, but this new "season" of X-files was exactly the same over-hyped BS that we'd already suffered through with 24: LaD; Fox promised long-time fans a new 'mini season' that would end things off and tie up the story with a proper ending.
Instead, we got nothing of the sort, just bad cliff-hanger endings so that the studio could leave things open ended and potentially continue things down the road. (if ever)
With 24 it's even more of a kick in the teeth, as not only do we now have Jack's fate completely up in the air, but the blue-ray also gave us the additional 'episode short' "Solitary":
Warning huge spoilers!!
Spoiler:
Tony Almeida is brought back into play, with a story setting up his almost certain escape from prison, which would either set him up to be a new antagonist or else an anti-hero/redemption story line in which he'd be a part of helping to get Jack out of the Russian gulag he's currently languishing in.
Guaranteed, when this new X-files season hits dvd/blue-ray, Fox will put some similar BS into the extras, then about face 6-18 months down to road and turn everything into some new bastardised load of horse gak like they're doing to ruin 24.
Makes me wonder if you would prefer to milk a living horse?
New Xfiles is good enough for another series.
I had just if shed a complete trawl through s1-9 when the new season was announced and found this better than the final Doggert/Reyes seasons even if Andersons face is now somewhat stuck in a slightly surprised Botox look. I'm pleased the bbc allow her to look more natural (and attractive) in the series she does here.
E1 was a stinker though, far too much exposition followed by the unnecessary need to undermine Mulders beliefs just to shoehorn him back into the FBI.
Ive enjoyed all the following episodes (to e4 on tv at the mo) that I've seen.
chromedog wrote: About the only episode I enjoyed was the werelizard-thing one.
The rest were just ...
I wanted to believe, really - but it was just more of the old same-old, same-old.
I'd really much rather have seen the Lone Gunmen return.
Funnily enough, I think their deaths were retconned in a comic series and the canon now says that they faked their deaths. So they probably will return if the X-Files gets another season.
I watch like zero tv but I watched this and enjoyed it. I even looked forwad to mondays because of the show.
What I like is that it has progressed into the new age of conspiracy since the internet has become a constant presence in peoples lives. Old X-Files had all the conspiracy theories that were serious for the time but now just seem quaint. This new season reflects the new styles of conspiracy theories and mostly just plain uses them. Nothing about this season has been hard for me to follow because I lurk in conspiracy forums for the yuks and so I know a lot of the things people are talking about in real life.
None of it entirely coherent and so any story about modern conspiracy is going to have that taint too. Which is kind of part of the fun to me. I hope they make more so I can look forward to mondays again and make use of the TV.
Its good to have a monster of the week series back IMO. I like it.
I hope it stays on the air.
To be honest, I felt the conspiracy is dialed back because well, they already know about it
hotsauceman1 wrote: Its good to have a monster of the week series back IMO. I like it.
I hope it stays on the air.
To be honest, I felt the conspiracy is dialed back because well, they already know about it
They should be concluding the alien conspiracy arc, instead of letting it fester.
They should end the Alien Conspiracy arc with a big finale or feature film, kill off Muldur and Scully (or at least give them satisfying payoffs), and bring in new new blood characters to replace them in a reinvented and reinvigorated X-Files show that focuses purely on Monsters of the Week, since that has always been the show's greatest strength. Hell, Muldur and Scully can show up as occasional special guests, and theres no reason why Aliens can't be the monsters of the week.
I was pretty underwhelmed by this new series, really. The only really good moments were the comic bits, and the rest was really flat. Duchovny was part of the problem, he was funny and charming as always, but if anything his dramatic range seems to have gone from limited to zero in his time away from the show.
There were other problems with the execution, most of the events were unloaded in big blobs of dialogue. TV has moved on a lot since the original show, while the X-Files have gone backwards in its storytelling. And Joel McHale was just a weird bit of casting, why take a guy known for acerbic wit, put him in an Alex Jones style role ripe for satire, and then make the role humourless, basically Basil Exposition thing? Very strange.
More than anything though, I think this new series struggled with the same issues that dragged down the show in its last few series of the original run. The X-Files always felt the need to expand on and build this vast global conspiracy – every season ender had to increase the scope and threat of the one big conspiracy. But the core of the show was always very small, it was a quirky mystery show with a mismatched pair of investigators. Its absolute strength was always the relationship between Mulder and Scully, and that’s a relationship that works best when the stakes are low and the tone was light. The further it moved from that the more bad episodes we got.
When the new episodes kept to small mysteries it was okay, but it was bookended by two big conspiracy episodes that were completely dreadful. And it’s those two crappy episodes that will be remembered, in the end.
And Joel McHale was just a weird bit of casting, why take a guy known for acerbic wit, put him in an Alex Jones style role ripe for satire, and then make the role humourless, basically Basil Exposition thing? Very strange.
Then what were they satirising? Making the Alex Jones character right about everything only really satirizes the X-Files (if our imagined universe was real, look which crazy donkey-caves would actually be the heroes!)
notprop wrote: So I just watched E5 and the Mulder tripping a scene and can't believe that no one mentioned the Lone Gunmen being in it!
Mind blown!
I really think S10 has hit its straps in its second half, roll on the season finale.
I initially hated the Mully and Sculder characters, though I suppose it was supposed to be funny. It was kind of working by the end. The redhead seemed a bit more interesting than the other guy, probably because she had more airtime.
The trip scene was brilliant. I recognised the Lone Gunmen but not Skinner in the scene. I question whether you could be led into such hallucinations by a placebo, however Mulder did come up with the vital clue somehow, which of course is the central mystery of that episode.
I have come to the conclusion that overarching plot arcs are ruining modern TV.
Yes, I agree. The difference is that something like War And Peace is a mammoth, overarching plot arc within which many individual stories are explored.
Modern TV too often consists of many individual stories, with a overarching plot arc epoxied on top, resulting in stress distortion of the whole series.
I have to say, Game of Thrones IS like that and why im not watching it anymore. It just became too disjointed with to much going back from one character to another to another, and I wasnt interested in it that much.
You dont need multiple seasons to tell a story, you dont even need a season.
Final episode (I think) was on the TV last night in the UK. What a rotten mess!
Mulder spent most of the programme on some kind of silent road trip. Scully and this new Agent Einstein spent the programme mooning around a hospital wondering if everyone had alien DNA or not and if this made them ill from or immune to the sudden unexplained outbreak of lots of differet infectious diseases. New Agent Miller (?) found out Mulder is in Scranton or something. So what? The cigarette smoking man did something or said something or something or something or something..
I couldn't tell what the hell was supposed to be going on, or what it was supposed to mean. It was probably the worst episode ever.
Yeah that was disappointing. So disjointed after a decent run of episodes (3-5). All the same gakky disposition as there was in episode 1. It all just sort of happened without ever seeming to go anywhere.
I guess they are setting Einstein and Miller up as new leads clearly forgetting that's pretty much what killed off the XFiles last time. Einsteins face is far too shiney for tv, her character made it hard to watch too. Miller is just a non-entity.
After my high hopes of the last two weeks has been dashed against the rocks. I'm not too bothered if it comes back againif that is the direction they are going.
