The X-Files

Really poor episode those week. Could have been quite interesting too as it looked at modern terrorism, but somehow managed to just do an hour of racial stereotypes I could have got by reading the Daily Mail, a silly dream sequence and some pointless new characters, all ultimately making zero sense and all getting tied up rather neatly thanks to Mulder having a bad trip on a placebo...

The last episode apparently picks up where the first one left off. Not overly excited by that, needs to be pretty damn good to rescue the series I think as bar episodes 2 and 3, it's been mostly disappointing so far. None of the questions of the past answered, storylines are very confused and messed up, not enough mythology, it's just been generally disappointing.

Yeah, just watched the 5th episode, possible the worst x-files episode I've ever seen. If this show is going to continue, the best thing that could happen to it is Chris Carter leaving, or at least stop writing episodes. Absolutely shocking stuff.

I'm part way through the second series in my binge watch. My God there are some awful episodes in there. It's certainly not as good as I remember but it's keeping me busy.

Cheese & Biscuits said:

I'm part way through the second series in my binge watch. My God there are some awful episodes in there. It's certainly not as good as I remember but it's keeping me busy.

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I'm halfway through series 5 which is when it really went downhill fast,doubt i'll watch series 6.

I think the mythology episodes definitely nosedive once you pass the middle of season 6. I think the MOTW episodes are still decent though.

Btw, what are the chances that agents Miller and Einstein replace Mulder and Scully if they continue making the show?

It felt like they were getting at that...as they showed with Doggett and Reyes though, it's about the characters and ratings would plummet without Mulder and Scully.

Eski Boi said:

Episode 3 is bloody hilarious!

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Scully in the phone shop, I could hardly contain myself

Watched episode 3 last night,what the fuck was that nonsense about? The worst episode in all 10 series.

Just watched the finale. They best make another season of this ffs. That cliffhanger is ridiculous!

Utter bastards! They finally give us a bit of explanation and a good episode then bloody end it there!

Still think with only 6 episodes they should have made them all mythology eps. The potential was there with the 2 episodes here, and it would have felt a hell of a lot less rushed.

Great episode

Kinda reminded me of Utopia that was on Channel 4

^^^

They surely did not need more mythology. Every time they addressed anything like it (the book-end eps, the William stuff, Scully's mam) it ground to a turgid, stodgy halt. It wasn't so much that it was rushed as it was dull, incoherent, and caught between the three stools (faecal pun intended) of trying to do something new, trying to reconcile that new stuff with where the original series left-off, and trying to give it all facelift for a post-Snowdon, NSA-ish zeitgeist. That all three aspects were ill-addressed wasn't a particular surprise given thatthe show lost control of big-arc biz about 2/3rds of the way through the original run (as you suggest - it's not a good sign when your grand finale consists of the world's longest, baddest 'Agatha Christie gathers everyone in the drawing room to recap the salient facts' scene), and committing more time to the exercise would only have resulted in more crap to sit thru.

Episode three was pretty good (if a bit fan-servicey) and there were enough decent bits elsewhere to prove that the characters, the chemistry between the leads and the general tone and universe of the thing can still be fertile ground if the scripts are up to snuff, but if we're going to get some more (and presumably we will) I think they'd be much better served by finding some pretext for pushing the mythology to the margins and just doing some more Monster of the Week stuff.

Watched the final episode last night and here's what I think:

1) Obviously there's going to be more X files. You wouldn't write an "ending" like that if you weren't going to make more of the show.

2) Another matter is whether it's going to star Duchovny and Andersson. There was no reason to write agents Miller and Einstein into the show, they were not needed for the sidekicks they were. Therefore I'm inclined to think that Mulder and Scully will either leave completely or then make occasional appearances while Miller and Einstein are the main characters in the future. Which obviously would be really bad news for the show, but when you put Duchovny's lukewarm comments about making more X files together with the introduction of agents Miller and Einstein, it's difficult not to arrive at this conclusion.

3) I thought the final episode was good. Much better than I expected based on My Struggle 1. It went some way in making up for the first episode, because it tied things together from that episode. There was actually logic and reason in the story now that was seemingly missing from My Struggle 1. I also mostly liked the story, the plot.


About the mythology thing in general, I think the show needs it. If it was nothing but random episodes, it would be worse. There needs to be some story (mythology) going forward from time to time. However, what I don't like about the current main story is how in your face it is. We finished with an alien spaceship hanging above some, I dunno, probably thousands of spectators. Shouldn't the alien secret be out to the world now? I liked the mythology better in the original series when it was more suggestive and unclear and always in the shadows.

Chris Carter has come out and said although nothing is certain yet, the viewing figures and what he's heard from Fox so far is that it will be back. He also said Anderson and Duchovny would be back, whilst Miller and Einstein were unlikely as they're not signed up on a series long deal and he suspected they'd be snapped up for something else pretty quickly.

He also said it may be a while before any season 11, as both Anderson and Duchovny have busy schedules.

Art Morte said:

About the mythology thing in general, I think the show needs it. If it was nothing but random episodes, it would be worse. There needs to be some story (mythology) going forward from time to time. However, what I don't like about the current main story is how in your face it is. We finished with an alien spaceship hanging above some, I dunno, probably thousands of spectators. Shouldn't the alien secret be out to the world now? I liked the mythology better in the original series when it was more suggestive and unclear and always in the shadows.

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Agree with that. The balance was always pretty good in the main series, with that overreaching storyline going on in the background, with the MOTW in between. I always thought it was good too, how information regarding the mythology would pop up occasionally in MOTW episodes too, it was always there.

As for life without Mulder and Scully, it cant happen. I seem to be in the minority of people who think season 9 was okay. It wasnt as good as the series at it's best, but watching it through again before the new series started, and without that initial 'where the fuck is Mulder' attitude I had first time around, there are some really good episodes. I think it actually benefitted from them knowing from the start that Duchovny wouldnt be in it, so they could devise a proper storyline around it. Season 8 in comparison was pretty awful, like Mulder was gone and they hadnt quite figured out what to do about that just yet.

Rammy said:

Chris Carter has come out and said although nothing is certain yet, the viewing figures and what he's heard from Fox so far is that it will be back. He also said Anderson and Duchovny would be back, whilst Miller and Einstein were unlikely as they're not signed up on a series long deal and he suspected they'd be snapped up for something else pretty quickly.

He also said it may be a while before any season 11, as both Anderson and Duchovny have busy schedules.

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Oh, okay, I did not know that. If Carter wasn't sure is there going to be another season, it was actually stupid to write that sort of an ending to this season. Imagine if My Struggle 2 ended up being the last ever X files episode? It would be ridiculous, comical.

Good if they're not going to do the show without Mulder and Scully, but also, if there's going to be, say, two year gaps between short seasons, it's probably better to call it off.