Case 07, File 05: Rush

AKA: Today's Tom Sawyer Gets High On You

The X-Files is not a show that usually felt the need to borrow from contemporary popular shows (okay, Twin Peaks, but that's the one exception). As popular as it was, The X-Files was and is a kind of weird show, with a weird tone and its own style. Adding in elements from popular other genres wouldn't suit it well, and The X-Files' style would suit those other shows even less. So despite the popularity of high school set shows in the 90s, even supernatural high school shows, The X-Files usually steered clear. Usually.

Case 07, File 04: Millennium

AKA: Yo, Excuse Me, Willennium

Despite being, rather self evidently, a big fan of The X-Files, I'd never really engaged with Chris Carter's other works. Maybe it was that I didn't really perceive him as the main force behind what I loved about The X-Files, maybe it was just sloth, but I just never watched most of the other stuff he worked on. This is a long form way of me saying, I've never watched Millennium and have no idea of its plot leading up to here.

Case 07, File 03: Hungry

AKA: The Adventures Of Sharkboy

By Season Seven, a show like The X-Files will have its formula down to a science, one which the audience can practically set their watch to. That's not necessarily a bad thing, the fun of a show like The X-Files is seeing what interesting or engaging stories they can tell within that framework. Still, it's occasionally nice to see them turn the entire premise, and normal way of telling an episode's story, on its head.

Case 07, File 02: The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati

AKA: Is That The Title? Cause It's Long

In addition to being a moment that's usually kind of transitory, the seventh season is when you have to start wondering what your endgame is, especially if you're a plot heavy show. What plot threads are still dangling, what character arcs and motivations would you like to resolve. How is your plot going to finally wind down, if it is going to wind down any time soon. What do your characters actually want? These are the sort of questions the series has to look into as it hits Season Seven.

Case 07, File 01: The Sixth Extinction

AKA: The Mulder School For Gifted Youngers

The seventh season of a show is almost always a transitory period. Many well known shows (Parks and Rec, 30 Rock) called it quits at the end of their seventh season. Other shows that continued on had major shifts happen at the end of their seventh seasons; Larry David left Seinfeld at the end of their seventh season, Steve Carell left The Office at the same time in their show. And hanging over The X-Files Season 7, like the Sword of Damocles is the fact of David Duchovny's exit at the end of the season.

Case 06, File 22: Biogenesis

AKA: No TV And No Beer Make Mulder Go Crazy

There inevitably comes a point in a plot heavy series where, no matter how much you try to trim the cast or simplify the concept, the weight of all the stuff that comes before it will overwhelm it and two things will happen: First is that the ongoing plot will become completely incoherent to newcomers and the second is that, in order to keep the ongoing plot going without resolving it (because resolving it would end the series) you have to begin to pull more and more outlandish stuff to keep it running. And I'm not going to say we've reached that point here. I probably will later in the review though, you should keep reading.

Case 06, File 21: Field Trip

AKA: I'm In The Goo!

"It was all just a dream" is a hard plot twist to pull off, and frankly most of the time, I think you shouldn't even try. Most of the time it tends to feel cheap, like an easy rug pull or just a way to keep its story from mattering in the long run, and even when you can pull it off, they tend to leave a bad taste in your mouth. Dream plots tend to work when them being dreams is an integral part of the plot, and when it's a way to explore a character's personality.

Case 06, File 20: Three of a Kind

AKA: No, There Are No Threesomes In This Episode

As a series continues on, the temptation to do sequel episodes to well known and well liked episodes becomes greater and greater. Coming up with new unique ideas for a show, especially a show with such a high bar for weirdness, gets more and more difficult every season and you never know what will or will not please the fans. But a follow up to an old episode, that's easy to come up with, and if it includes some fan favorite characters who don't usually get a lot of screentime, well you can sure that will keep the fans happy, if nothing else.

Case 06, File 19: The Unnatural

AKA: There's No Rule That Says An Alien Can't Play Baseball

The question of whether The X-Files should tackle big issues, not just questions of loneliness or depression but big issues like racism or sexism, is one I go back and forth on. On the one hand, I like my shows having depth and the series is often at its best when its trying to be more complex. On the other, The X-Files is a sci-fi horror show about two model gorgeous FBI agents fighting monsters and aliens, it's ability to write about complex issues can be limited. So whenever it looks like it's about to dip its toe in those waters, I get excited, yet...nervous.

Case 06, File 18: Milagro

AKA: Wait, The Same Plot As The Will Ferrell Movie?

Tone, in The X-Files is a delicate thing, and honestly I'm hard pressed to explain why it works as often as it does. The show, overall, takes itself pretty seriously but it's also working with some kind of inherently silly concepts. And yet the show can be glib, make fun of itself, even be an outright comedy, without necessarily making the darkness feel cheap or easily breached. This is a tightrope walk, tonally, so we can't necessarily blame the series too much if they fall off on occasion.

Case 06, File 17: Trevor

AKA: The Gritty Shadowcat Reboot?

Calling one episode of The X-Files a ripoff of another is unfair, to say the least. The series sits at over 200 episodes, most of them Monster of the Week episodes. The series can't possible avoid repeating itself, even obliquely, on occasion, especially if you boil plots down to broad outlines. If you boil everything down to its bones, everything looks like bones. Which is why I won't say this episode is a ripoff of any others, but it does bear some strong resemblance to a lot of Revenge From Beyond the Grave episodes.

Case 06, File 16: Alpha

AKA: MRAs Ruined The Title Of This Episode

In case episodes like 3 and Shapes didn't prove it to you, The X-Files does want to do episodes about classic monsters but, as episodes like 3 and Shapes prove, they don't just want to do classic versions of those monsters. The X-Files is a weird, creative show with a lot of weird, off the wall ideas, and it doesn't ever really like to be constrained by existing boxes. So even when your idea can be theoretically summed up by the word "Dude changes into wolf" you can bet it's gonna take that idea in an odd direction.

Case 06, File 15: Arcadia

AKA: Domestic AU, Don't Like Don't Read

There are some episodes that are, shall we say, widely beloved by the fanbase, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's because the episodes are just generally really good; Intensely scary, extremely well written, fantastically acted or just unique concepts executed immaculately. But the fanbase is also human, with human tastes and human ships and sometimes widely loved episodes can be widely loved for...more base reasons.

Case 06, File 14: Monday

AKA: I Am Legally Barred From Making A Joke About That Bangles Song

There are premises, concepts, ideas, in fiction that for one reason or another become so fixed in the culture's imagination that in the end, anyone who can figure out a way to explore that concept in their premise, will feel the temptation to try it. And one of those concepts is the Groundhog Day loop, where the same day is lived over and over again. Movies and tv shows from Buffy and Angel to The Twilight Zone have used it, with some like Russian Doll and Happy Death Day using it as their central premise. As such, it's not at all surprising that a show like The X-Files would want to give it a shot.

Case 06, File 13: Agua Mala

AKA: The Most Interesting Thing To Ever Happen In Naples

If there's one thing I appreciate more and more about The X-Files as I get older is how out there they were willing to be with their premise. I watch sci-fi shows today with access to special effects that The X-Files could only dream of, and they never once take a wild swing on an idea as bizarre as "A tentacle monster made out of sea water." That doesn't mean the episode is great, or even good, it just means that even when the show wasn't at it's best, it was always willing to hog wild on some truly strange concepts.

Case 06, File 12: One Son

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Case 06, File 11: Two Fathers

AKA: Mulder Has Two Daddies

There's a problem that long running shows eventually hit where the plot has spiraled out of control into a mess, with so many twists and turns and different factions and motivations, that keeping track of all of it usually requires a Pepe Silvia Wall (am I trying to turn Pepe Silvia into a verb or an adjective, I forget). When you get there, you can take two paths: You can either let the plots continue to spin out of control and hope you can wrap them up eventually (this is known as the LOST path, and I do not recommend it) or you can try to prune a bunch of stuff, and usually a lot of characters along with it.

Case 06, File 10: Tithonus

AKA: Do You Really Want To Live Forever

The X-Files' Monster of the Week episodes exists in this weird gray area where they definitely exist and matter, but also kind of don't. With the exception of the rare sequel episode, the elements brought up in one rarely seem to affect the others, and our intrepid heroes almost never seem to remember lessons they've learned in other episodes (you'd think Mulder would remember the incredibly convoluted way to kill a vampire he learned in 3 in Bad Blood). Normally this is fine, but when an episode touches on the same theme or subject as another, it can get...frustrating.

Case 06, File 09: S.R.819

AKA: A Weapon To Surpass Metal Gear

Audience knowledge can be a hindrance to crafting an effective story or creating proper stakes. Knowledge that the massive pile of character deaths at the end of Infinity War would almost certainly be undone turned it from tragic to frustrating. And that's especially true in a TV series or other serialized fiction, where we know instinctively that the hero isn't in any real danger. So this episode's solution: Put a secondary character in danger.

Case 06, File 08: The Rain King

AKA: Storm's Romantic Comedy

I've been referring to certain episodes in Season Six (and throughout the series frankly) as "Funny" episodes, and I suppose it's time I quantified that. While The X-Files is pretty consistently funny, the "Funny episodes" are episodes where the point is less to be scary or exciting and more to make you laugh, where the humor part of the series grows and takes over an entire episode. And while I do stand by my assertion that several of the last few episodes qualify, good lord does this one take the cake.

Case 06, File 07: Terms of Endearment

AKA: Ash Is The Evil Dead

Content Warning: This Review discusses miscarriages. If reading about that is a problem for you, I understand and I'll see you next time.

Fame is a complex thing; A person may be very famous in one circle and a complete unknown in another. I am reminded of when I watched the episode Sleepless with a friend (prior to doing these reviews mind) and pointed out Tony Todd in the villain role, and they just had no idea who Tony Todd was. So, when you're casting an actor to play against type or to subvert expectations, you have to have a good idea of who your audience is and who they would find famous.

Case 06, File 06: How The Ghosts Stole Christmas

AKA: Merry Christmas Murder Ghosts!

Season Six has the reputation of being the season where they started pushing the series to be more funny, and while I don't know if that's accurate, it certainly feels accurate, which might be worse than being accurate. The X-Files had always been funny, yes, and it had its funny episodes, but Season Six is where it started to feel like they were pushing for more comedic episodes more consistently. And the fact that we're on our fourth funny episode in a row is certainly not helping that perception.

Case 06, File 05: Dreamland Part II

AKA: The Scully And Moris Variety Hour

Endings are tough in The X-Files, especially in Monster of the Week episodes. You want to have an exciting climax and a solid ending, but you can't have a real ending where they catch the monster and prove it exists, or the base premise of the show will be undone, and we're not ready for that. Still, you want to feel like the characters accomplished something or the ending with feel unsatisfying. Which is why the ending to this duology is...contentious.

Case 06, File 04: Dreamland Part I

AKA: Freaky...I Dunno What Day This Takes Place. Tuesday?

There was a subgenre of X-Files episodes that existed for...eh, more or less the first season, where the episode would be about aliens or something similar but not actually involve the larger conspiracy or the government or any of that stuff (Gender Bender, or maybe Conduit are good examples). As the series' metaplot got more complicated and dominant, this style of episode got discontinued, with most of the alien-centric episodes being Myth arc episodes. And while this isn't technically the same thing, an episode with the Conspiracy that isn't a Myth arc episode has me in the same frame of mind.

Case 06, File 03: Triangle

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Case 06, File 02: Drive

AKA: If I Make A Reference To The Ryan Gosling Movie Will People Get It?

The X-Files is not an actor's show. That's not an insult, a lot of my favorite shows aren't really focused on the acting. The series is mostly known for good sci-fi hooks, solid monsters and scary sequences, more than it's known for its acting. The flip side of that is that the genuinely great performances, not merely good but great, tend to be the ones that really stick in the audience's minds.

Case 06, File 01: The Beginning

AKA: No That Was Like Six Seasons Ag-Oh I Get It You're Doing A Thing

Every good series that goes beyond a handful of seasons (I'd say 3 or 4 max) must have a Golden Age, and every Golden Age must inevitably come to an end. And I must say, it's nice of The X-Files to have such a clear line between its Golden Age and its end. I mean, the movie took place between them. The look of the show is different (they moved production to LA to keep Duchovny, who would spend the rest of his time on the original run with one foot out the door, happy). The Myth arc started to get more complex and hard to follow. And the episodes? Well I guess we'll see.

Case 05, File 21: Fight The Future

AKA: The Big Damn Movie

Approaching a movie to review is a slightly different act than approaching an episode of a TV show. I mean, a movie is longer (rimshot). But more seriously, while a TV show can have reasonable expectations that its audience will at least be familiar with a lot of the basics going into each new episode, a movie generally has to stand on its own merits, regardless of how jaw droppingly huge the show it's based on was at the time.

Case 05, File 20: The End

AKA: Not Actually The End We've Got Like Six Seasons Left

I dunno if I can really explain to readers right now, especially those who weren't there, how huge The X-Files was during its initial run. It seems to regarded as something of a niche property now, but it was big in a way TV shows really can't be anymore. The biggest show right now is The Big Bang Theory, which typically pulls in between 8 and 10 million viewers during it's current season. The X-Files season 5 regularly pulled in over 20 million. With so many viewers and the show barreling towards a movie, it comes down to the show to put up a barn burner of a finale leading into the feature. Or maybe...an Office Burner. Oh god that was awful.

Case 05, File 19: Folie a Deux

AKA: Machines Made Of Meat

Mulder is fucking weirdo. I love the man dearly, I hope that is beyond question at this point, but there is no getting around the fact that by any standard of human behavior, Mulder is a weird fuckin' dude. Depending on the episode this can either be a light hearted joke or a searing insight into his character, depending on how the episode wants to frame other people's reactions, but it is odd to see the series occasionally try to frame an entire episode around people thinking he's crazy.

Case 05, File 18: The Pine Bluff Variant

AKA: I Don't Remember Point Break Well Enough To Make A Reference To It

One of the central tensions of The X-Files is that it is deeply, consistently distrustful of the government, almost to the point of paranoia (and I am not one to trust the government, trust me on that). But it's also about government employees who are doing government work. And not like Parks and Rec, they work for the FBI, their job is often to track down people who are against the government. It's a weird energy for the series and one which only a few episodes manage to address head on.

Case 05, File 17: All Souls

AKA: In The Arms Of An Angel

There was this kind of a trend in fantasy circles in the 90s of instead of drawing on stuff like Norse and Greek mythology for their stuff, they would instead draw on Catholic apocrypha and Antediluvian (it's a word, look it up) myth. This was partially for access to some really odd shit (Antediluvian myth is really weird guys) but also to grant it a slight edge. After all these aren't just weird monsters, these are weird monsters that are based on stuff that is kind of technically related to stuff that people actually believe. Some of this stuff was good, a lot of it was bad but all of it was really really weird.

Case 05, File 16: Mind's Eye

AKA: Justice Is Blind But Also Has Psychic Powers

What makes an X-Files episode good is a nebulous thing, and honestly, even I can't pin down exactly what connects the episodes I like. Sure there's some common elements (good script, solid concept, entertaining banter, all the usual suspects) but what exactly tips an episode from "Good enough to watch" (which is basically the entire series, outside some outliers) to truly great is something I have trouble nailing down.

Case 05, File 15: Travelers

AKA: Turns Out Roy Cohn Is The Real Monster

I always got the sense The X-Files regretted killing off Mulder's dad as early in their run as they did. Mulder's dad is a conceptually fascinating character, with his conflicted loyalties to his family and to the Conspiracy, the fact that he gave up Samantha to be abducted, his friendship with the Cigarette Smoking Man, all of that stuff could make for a fascinating character, but they killed him off in more or less the same breath in which he arrived in the series. So it's understandable they'd want to jump back to show him in flashbacks.