So, I just started watching the entire series of The X Files on Hulu for the first time ever. I know nothing about it, except that it was wildly popular.

Calling all X Files fans!! What should I be looking out for??

On Episode 4 of Season 1. So far, so good!!

Just enjoy the ride. The majority of the episodes are what are known as monster of the weeks, which was just a random case that didn't advance the overall plot.

It's like Seinfeld where there are a ton of actors that were nobodies that went on to be famous.

I can basically quote the series, just like Seinfeld.

Unfortunately the series outlives the quality.

Really enjoy the first 8 or so seasons.

The truth is probably out there!

One of the coolest and most innovative things The X-Files ever did was the big, theatrical movie between seasons five and six, summer of '98. I casually caught episodes here and there prior to '98, but got pretty into it when the movie was announced and they revealed that it would bridge the two seasons. I know it was a huge logistical feat to pull off - I think they actually had to shoot the movie *before* they shot season five, in order to have it ready by summer '98, which meant they had to have all of season five planned *before* they shot the movie, just after season four wrapped, which is insane - but I wish more series would have been able to pull something like that off; season finale in May, movie in July, season premiere in September. You'd think with the way shows are made now - with fewer episodes and sometimes two years between seasons - we would have seen another series try it again, but I guess it's just too much of a headache. Just shows how special The X-Files was back in the day, and that the movie was legit good was even more impressive. Just talking about it again makes me want to revisit it.

That said, I basically quit watching once Duchovny left, if not a season or so before, as the quality really started to dip, and the revitalization a few years ago was even worse. I think I lasted only two or three episodes before bailing, it was just so bad.

The revival was a huge letdown when all was said and done, as was the original finale at least in my mind, but as a whole I loved the series, and growing up it was something I never missed... And besides, it gave us the Line Gunmen!

Home was one of the wonderful episodes of prime time tv ever made.

Loved the X-Files growing up, but don't really remember much about it other than liking it. It was the only show that my brother's and I would watch religiously with our dad. Fond memories of being told to shut up and sit still while watching.

Huge fan. Still have the X-Files theme as my ring tone. Favorite episode is Jose Chung's from Outer Space. It's a complete satire that pokes fun of just about all things alien related.




Rule 1 compliance.......

Through Season 4 - one of the best dramas of all time.

Season 5-7 the mythology arc really takes a dive, but it has some of the best standalone episodes (Post-Modern Prometheus, Bad Blood, Drive, Field Trip, Triangle, etc...).

8 and 9 are just a mess. The mythology arc falls over itself and makes so little sense it's not even worth trying to follow, and without Duchovny you lose some of the great standalone Mulder/Scully episodes.

Proposition Joe said:

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Through Season 4 - one of the best dramas of all time.

Season 5-7 the mythology arc really takes a dive, but it has some of the best standalone episodes (Post-Modern Prometheus, Bad Blood, Drive, Field Trip, Triangle, etc...).

8 and 9 are just a mess. The mythology arc falls over itself and makes so little sense it's not even worth trying to follow, and without Duchovny you lose some of the great standalone Mulder/Scully episodes.

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Agree with this completely.

There were still some decent episodes in the last couple of seasons. I thought Robert Patrick was pretty good as Doggett.

I need to do a full show re-watch and will not exclude anything!

TCTTS said:

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One of the coolest and most innovative things The X-Files ever did was the big, theatrical movie between seasons five and six, summer of '98. I casually caught episodes here and there prior to '98, but got pretty into it when the movie was announced and they revealed that it would bridge the two seasons. I know it was a huge logistical feat to pull off - I think they actually had to shoot the movie *before* they shot season five, in order to have it ready by summer '98, which meant they had to have all of season five planned *before* they shot the movie, just after season four wrapped, which is insane - but I wish more series would have been able to pull something like that off; season finale in May, movie in July, season premiere in September. You'd think with the way shows are made now - with fewer episodes and sometimes two years between seasons - we would have seen another series try it again, but I guess it's just too much of a headache. Just shows how special The X-Files was back in the day, and that the movie was legit good was even more impressive. Just talking about it again makes me want to revisit it.

That said, I basically quit watching once Duchovny left, if not a season or so before, as the quality really started to dip, and the revitalization a few years ago was even worse. I think I lasted only two or three episodes before bailing, it was just so bad.

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I do still get amused by that movies opening(?) sequence. They are in Dallas....and there is a mountain range in the background.

Duncan Idaho said:

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Home was one of the wonderful episodes of prime time tv ever made.

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You have a very interesting interpretation of the word "wonderful"!

Most disturbing thing I've seen on tv.

Ha, totally forgot about that. If I remember correctly, I think Lost's John Locke is in that scene as well.

I watched the original X-Files series from 1998 to 2002, then the revival from 2016 to 2018.

I used to love watching X-Files with no lights on.

TCTTS said:

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Ha, totally forgot about that. If I remember correctly, I think Lost's John Locke is in that scene as well.

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You mean The Stepfather?

chris1515 said:

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Duncan Idaho said:

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Home was one of the wonderful episodes of prime time tv ever made.

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You have a very interesting interpretation of the word "wonderful"!

Most disturbing thing I've seen on tv.

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Daveintx said:

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The revival was a huge letdown when all was said and done, as was the original finale at least in my mind, but as a whole I loved the series, and growing up it was something I never missed... And besides, it gave us the Line Gunmen!

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The revival / latest season was either brilliant, or crap. It depended on the episodes.
The episodes which were the 'monster of the week' were great. But the episodes that fit into the over arcing story throughout the series sucked.

My last rewatch a few years back I only did the mythology episodes, and it was decent but mostly based on nostalgia. A few of them were still terrifying though.

But for sure the best episodes are nearly all MOTW ones. They get weird and great and gross and violent.

Word of warning. Fight the Future is good so you might think the other movies should be watched... but it is a trick. They are not suited for viewing.

Based on this thread, I decided to give Fight the Future a rewatch tonight for the first time in probably 20 years and, 55 minutes in, I have to say, it's damn good. As good as I remember, at least. I totally forgot about the whole virus/vaccine plot line, which almost makes it even more interesting now. I also forgot that it's directed by Rob Bowman, who's from my hometown of Wichita Falls. With "North Texas" playing such a crucial role in the movie, I wonder if Bowman's the reason for that location being so key? That said, on this rewatch, now having lived in LA for so long since, it's so obvious every bit of this was filmed here. I'm 95% sure Nakatomi Plaza is in the background of the opening downtown "Dallas" scene (there's also a palm tree in the background of one shot), and yeah, the mountains in the background of the rural "Dallas" area where the kids find the ancient alien goo is pretty funny too. I remember really liking the Washington DC scenes as well - I always enjoy DC-set movies for some reason - but even the stuff with Mulder and Martin Landau at the DC bar and then Mulder going to Scully's apartment in Georgetown is clearly just downtown LA. But the plot itself is genuinely intriguing, fun detective work, and all moves at a great pace. Overall, it's just really well done and makes me miss big-budget '90s thrillers.

Anyway, I'm saving the second half for tomorrow night, and really looking forward to finishing.

Oh yeah that part is hilarious. Also notice the park is close enough for the Dallas skyline to be in the background, and it looks like the freaking Mojave desert.

However it's wild to think of the things this movie played with / predicted. The bombing was inspired by Oklahoma City and predates 9/11, the virus angle, even "africanized honey bees" weren't a thing yet.

Decay said:

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Oh yeah that part is hilarious. Also notice the park is close enough for the Dallas skyline to be in the background, and it looks like the freaking Mojave desert.

However it's wild to think of the things this movie played with / predicted. The bombing was inspired by Oklahoma City and predates 9/11, the virus angle, even "africanized honey bees" weren't a thing yet.

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Africanized or killer bees came to America in late 80s/early 90s

TXAG 05 said:

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Decay said:

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Oh yeah that part is hilarious. Also notice the park is close enough for the Dallas skyline to be in the background, and it looks like the freaking Mojave desert.

However it's wild to think of the things this movie played with / predicted. The bombing was inspired by Oklahoma City and predates 9/11, the virus angle, even "africanized honey bees" weren't a thing yet.

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Africanized or killer bees came to America in late 80s/early 90s

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Okay fair enough. I forgot that the media reports everything since 2016 as if history never existed before then.

I only remember hearing about them on the news as a little kid and getting scared when someone would get attacked by a swarm and almost killed.

I've always been a huge fan of the XFiles since the beginning, but have somehow never seen the movies. Sounds like I need to at least give Fight the Future a shot.

Was about to say - you weren't a kid in the 80s/90s if you didn't assume killer bees would be the end of us.

I enjoyed the reboot episodes, personal favorite was Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster. If I was going to show someone a single episode to get them into the reboot episodes, this would be it.

There were some great moments in the reboot...

One of my favorite episodes that hasn't been listed here yet is X-Cops. I haven't seen it since the initial airing, so I don't know how well it's held up.

Watched it the other day - still holds up. I feel like this show was self-aware before many other shows were.

Great series. Was absolute appointment television for a stretch of the 90s. Tons of cool ideas and great episodes, but ultimately collapsed under its own conspiratorial weight. There's only so many times you can see aliens and then the next week argue that aliens might not be real.

A 10 episode reboot on HBO could be awesome.

amercer said:

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Great series. Was absolute appointment television for a stretch of the 90s. Tons of cool ideas and great episodes, but ultimately collapsed under its own conspiratorial weight. There's only so many times you can see aliens and then the next week argue that aliens might not be real.

A 10 episode reboot on HBO could be awesome.

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Are you describing the xfiles or qanon?