Case 8.5, File 08: Maximum Beyers

AKA: So We're Just Naming Episodes After The Gunmen Even If It Doesn't Make Sense Huh?

One of the problems with making a move to direct comedy is that it limits the subjects you can realistically cover. That's not to say that comedy can't address certain themes, it definitely can. It just means that, the more serious the issue you're address, the more difficult a tightrope walk you're on. If you fuck up a serious subject in a serious movie, eh at least you're taking the subject seriously, and you can usually skate on by (unless you REALLY fuck it up). But if you fuck up a serious subject in a comedy, then you're not just fucking up, you're "Making light of it."

Case 08, File 16: Three Words

AKA: No, Not The Three Words You're Thinking Of

As the 8th season hit and Mulder disappeared into space, the series' story arc episodes shifted from being about the Conspiracy to being about finding Mulder, or just learning about (read: backfilling) what happened to him before he was abducted. But with Duchovny back in the series (sorta) and Mulder back in the game (again, sorta) they're left with a new question to ask: What the hell do we do with this team now?

Case 8.5, File 07: Planet of the Frohikes

AKA: King Kong Vs. The Lone Gunmen

There are handful of comedy maxims that, despite being critically regarded as "Lowbrow" remain broadly true across all mediums. Among them is the fact that, monkeys are always funny. Plenty of movies, tv shows and comics have hung an inordinate amount of faith on the idea that a monkey's very existence can make any scene inherently comedic. And they're right, for a very limited amount of time, but after that, you have to have something to back up the monkey or people are gonna start feeling ripped off.

Case 08, File 15: Deadalive

AKA: Okay But I Have Seen Dead Alive...It's Called Braindead In The US

The possibility of Mulder's death, in the middle of Season 8, is one of those things that prompts a knowing roll of the eyes from the fans. Maybe this was a little less obvious in 2001, but there was absolutely no way they were going to kill off the central character (and yes, despite his absence, he is still very central to the series in Season 8) and certainly not in the middle of the season. No, the question was never "Will Mulder live?" It was "How will Mulder live and will that be satisfying?"

Case 8.5, File 06: Madam, I'm Adam

AKA: You Think They Named The Episode Or The Dude First?

One of The X-Files' pieces of quiet brilliance was its decision to have its leads be FBI Agents. In a Monster-of-the-Week format, you need to have the leads find out about the monster, have a reason to get involved and then travel to the monster before you can get to actually dealing with the monster; Having Mulder and Scully be FBI Agents instantly gives them access to knowledge, motive and transportation, so you make your life very easy that way. The Lone Gunmen on the other hand, don't have any of that stuff so the episodes have to contrive a reason for them to get involved, with varying degrees of contrivance.

Case 8.5, File 05: Three Men and a Smoking Diaper

AKA: I Haven't Seen Three Men And A Baby Either

As The Lone Gunmen settles more naturally into a comedy mindset, it's going to have to start figuring out what kind of stories it wants to tell. Sure it could lean into The X-Files stuff and have the characters chase monsters and conspiracies, but the more overt comedic tone of the show makes those kinds of episodes feel incongruous, and besides, feeling too similar to the show it's spinning off from is how spinoffs sink. As such the show has two major directions it can go; Either lower the stakes so they can fit more nicely into the style or raise them to ridiculous levels to make the whole thing feel like a parody.

Case 8.5, File 04: Like Water For Octane

AKA: Oh Shit, I Just Realized I've Never Seen Like Water For Chocolate

One of the core issues The X-Files (and by extension, The Lone Gunmen) has to work around is that the heroes can't actually win, which is a bigger problem than you might think. Mulder and Scully (or Doggett or Reyes) can't actually get proof of aliens or monster, and the Lone Gunmen can't get real proof of their various conspiracies, or the world will change in ways the show isn't willing to deal with, so the series has to walk the line of having a satisfying story, while still maintaining the status quo, which is hard to maintain.