Being a HUGE fan of the series (after I got into watching it, which was unfortunately only two years ago) I am really concerned about where the series seems to be heading. Mulder gone, and John doesn’t seem to be a fit replacement. I mean, are we going to have to go through the same conspiracies again with a new agent?
I think the series is headed for a premature end, much to my dismay (I am as in love with Dana Scully [sub]not gillian Anderson, just her character[/sub] as one can be with a TV character) but there are some things I’d like input on.
First, should I go for it and get the seasons which are being released on DVD? I only got into the series about 1.5 years ago, maybe 2, so there is a ton of story I’ve missed and I wonder if you all think it is worth it.
Secondly, is Scully having Mulder’s baby through artificial insemination?
I would definately get the earlier shows, because IMO, that’s when the series was good. For me, after third season it really started to get silly, and the fourth was unbearable. I stopped watching after that.
On the other hand, if you are like me, watching those earlier shows, while letting you see gems like “Eve”, “Conduit”, and all the ones written by Darin Morgan, you’ll also get to see the genesis of the long, drawn-out conspiracy arc, which was always frustarting, eventually maddening, and ultimately insultingly inane. It’s pretty much the reason I quit watching.
HOWEVER, I realize I am in the minority here - as I was fuming about what I perceived as the idiocy of the conspiracy arc, the majority of fans were praising the show as better than ever. So your mileage may definitely vary. But either way, there’s something in those old seasons for you. The chemistry between Mulder and Scully was fantastic at the beginning, back when they were both interested in being on the show.
I too find the entire conspiracy/aliens/black oil/smoking man stuff very overblown, not to mention completely incoherent. There is a definite sense that they are making it up as they go along, which I think the writers have even admitted.
For earlier episodes, make sure you get “Home.” The only episode I ever watched peeking through a hole between my fingers! I couldn’t sleep that night either. Just a flat out great episode.
All the best episodes IMO were unrelated to the ongoing “conspiracy”. Same with “Millennium”. As soon as the secret society manipulating mankind idea got involved, it took a steep, rapid plunge downhill.
If you catch the “viewer’s choice” marathons of X-Files episodes, you’ll notice that very few of the popular favorites had anything to do with the conspiracy, so I guess I’m not alone…
Some of my favorites (I am terrible with names) - the Peter Boyle episode, the Jose Chung(?)/Charles Nelson Reilly episode, the Lily Tomlin & Ed Asner episode, and the Mad Scientist Conducting Unspeakable Experiments on the Townfolk episode. The one with the cockroaches and Bambi the Entemologist was good as well.
“Home” scared the crap out of me too. Not for the squeamish.
What’s so incoherrant? Here’s the deal best as I can tell.
We were designed by aliens. They created not only us, but also the religions of the world (and there texts). There is a group of aliens that exists in kind of a stasis (the black oil) which may or may not be the same aliens who designed us. The black oil enters the body, and then can eat from the inside out and use the food (us) to form into it’s own body (kinda of a vicious grey). The black oil on earth is only part of this group of aliens . There are more, lots more, and they are planning on colonizing our planet very soon. (What with all the food and all). Not only do they want to use us for food, they want to create human-alien hybrids to use as slave laborors. To this effect they have made alliances with certain humans in power (the syndicate) to help with the genetic work. the syndicate accepted the work, but in secret tried to find a way to stop the invasion. If they are unable to find a way the plan is to sell out the rest of humanity in exchange for amnesty once the colonization begins in full force. They ran into some problems though.
Now there is one particular group of aliens called “Rebel Aliens” that have all orifices of the body sealed so the black oil can’t get in. These guys destroyed the syndicate and are always causing trouble for the black oil aliens. It is not yet clear whether they are helping us intentionally, or if that is just a side-effect of theor battle with the bad aliens. Kind of an “Enemy of my enemy is my friend” type of situation.
The evil aliens have infiltrated all of the major branches of government in all of the major countries. They have several tools that they use including:
Bounty hunters: Which all seem to be clones used to do the large portion of the dirty work.
Alien imposters: These bad-asses take on the appearence of a specific person who has been abducted. they retain the memories of the person and are able to blend into their life. This almost happened to Mulder. These guys are almost indestructable. They also have things sticking out of the back of their neck.
Scully’s baby is a toughie that hasn’t been resolved. It would seem that it is a case of Divine intervention. God knocked her up (he loves doing that), and put the nice stars in the sky when it was being born. It’s not quite clear why the alien imposters didn’t kill her baby. Maybe they fear the wrath of God, which would make it pretty much the only thing they fear. It would seem that earth may have a protected status in the eyes of God and this may be giving the aliens pause.
Any Questions?
And FTR: I like Dogget. The “psychic chic” has got to go. I have no problem with Mulder leaving. The show is the X-files, not the Mulder show. He’ll be back in the movies anyhow. All in all a ton of fun. I think another two years, and then a movie every 3 after that will do nicely. I definately want to see mulder fuck up a bunch of aliens.
DJ, nice piece there. That has also been my general take on it (I mean, I’ve seen quite a few episode before I started watching it religiously). I am still ambivalent about the fucking Syndicate though. I thought they bit it in the episode where they were double crossed, and yet they are still tooling around chasing after the psychic kid.
No, it isn’t the Mulder Files but I admit the mulder-scully continuum, as cheesey as it was, still pulled the old heartstrings. In the millennium crossover, the new years eve show where all hell was gonna break loose and everyone dies, he leans over and kisses her and says, “Well, the world didn’t end.” I haven’t felt that giddy since elementary school when I kissed my first girl. I will miss that connection.
I just think that John offers the all-too-tempting chance for writers to rehash old storylines. Same X-Files political intrigue, new set of dopes to pull it off on.
So it sounds like a solid move to get the series. I didn’t really doubt it, but I wanted to have some xfiles gab anyway so I figured I’d ask when I had the opportunity. But damn, $120 each season. Time to batten down the budget again!