Case 04, File 13: Never Again

AKA: The First Men's Rights Activist

Mulder and Scully are a team. I feel like I don't need to elaborate on that, it's a fact of The X-Files' existence. The series would not have lasted a single season, much less a full 11 and 2 movies, if Mulder and Scully weren't one of the all time best teams to ever grace television. But that doesn't mean we can't find an interesting story by splitting them up. Okay, so the first time they tried (Three) didn't work out great, but that doesn't mean it can't work.

Case 04, File 12: Leonard Betts

AKA: This Episode Is Better Than Its One Sentence Summary

There are some X-Files premises that become legendary. Some of them because the episodes surrounding them were so mind bogglingly good that they just stick into the brain. Some of them however got stuck in the brain because the idea is just so freaking weird that you can't help but spend days thinking "What the hell even was that?" But hey, if The X-Files is a show known for its weird concepts, even the episodes that make you think that can be good, right?

Case 04, File 11: El Mundo Gira

AKA: This Episode Is Named After A Soap Opera

Part of what makes The X-Files unique is its ability to come up with bizarre new concepts and ideas. Even when it indulges in existing concepts or folktalkes, it usually manages to find a unique spin on them. Sometimes this can be good, like when one episode decided to spend a Loch Ness Monster episode working on Mulder and Scully's relationship. Sometimes it's bad, like when they decided to make the Jersey Devil a goddamn caveman. But overall, it's definitely exciting to get to see where the writers take a concept.

Case 04, File 10.5: The Springfield Files

AKA: Remember When This Show Was Good?

At this point in its history, The X-Files was an unstoppable juggernaut, the kind of which hadn't been seen in a horror show since The Twilight Zone, if even then. Between a massive devoted fanbase, huge ratings and rolling in critical acclaim, the series was riding on the kind of high most series would die for. At its peak there was frankly only one show that could even come close to matching it.

Okay two, if you count Seinfeld.

Case 04, File 10: Paper Hearts

AKA: The Hearts Are Made Of Cloth Dude

I think it's a bit of a false dichotomy to assume that, in an episodic series like The X-Files we have to keep our plot and character furthering stuff separate from the Monster of the Week episodes. Some of Buffy's best character work was done in what amounted to Monster of the Week episodes, so we know it's possible. Still, the series usually keeps the overarching stuff from touching the Monster of the Week stuff.  Usually

Case 04, File 09: Terma

AKA: Gulags Are Known For Being Easy To Break Out Of

The difficulty in doing a two part episode, especially in the pre-Netflix era, is that you want to have each episode have a complete narrative while tying into each other, since you can't be sure that your audience will get to see both episodes. And The X-Files...is not the best at this. Yes there's the Duane Barry trilogy, but a lot of times the dual episodes either have a weak opening or fails to stick the landing. But there have to be some exceptions. Sometimes they have to get both episodes right.

Case 04, File 08: Tunguska

AKA: Not Approved By The Russian Tourism Bureau

For the longest time, whenever someone asked me what my favorite Myth arc episodes are, once we discounted the Duane Barry trilogy (which is more about Mulder and Scully's relationship than the overarching plot), I would answer the Tunguska/Terma duo. Partially because it felt nice to have an answer (and prove I'm not totally anti-myth arc) and partially because it sticks out in my brain pretty strongly. And since part of the point of this project is to interrogate my memories of my favorite show, this is one review I've been looking forward to.