The End

So this is it, I think. I don't know that I have that much more to say about The X-Files that I haven't said in the course of watching 201 episodes and two movies.

The X-Files: I Want To Believe

Uh, what the hell did I just watch?

The X-Files Final Friday Feature: Favourites

Before I get to the second movie (that'll be on Monday), I might as well go through the series and talk about some of my favourites. I feel like such lists would have been made a lot in 2002, and since the movie didn't come out until six years later, I don't think there's much left to be revealed that would influence my list or anyone else's. I can list things I really liked, and maybe a few things I really didn't, and I'll write about I Want To Believe next week.

The X-Files Season 9, Episodes 19/20: The Truth

The end. Wait, that was season five. This is really the end. No more X-Files episodes after this. One movie. Some comics. And it's over.

Nine years of television, for us condensed into around ten months. And what a ride this has been. Let's see how it all turns out.

The X-Files Sesaon 9, Episode 18: Sunshine Days

I never watched The Brady Bunch. And while I can't appreciate 'Sunshine Days' on that level, there was still a lot to enjoy here as the series comes to a close.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 17: Release

'Release' is an episode I probably would have cared more about if it had happened earlier or if Doggett were better developed as a character.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 16: William

Wow, seriously, show? Why must you do this?

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 15: Jump The Shark

R.I.P. The Lone Gunmen.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 14: Scary Monsters

Those creatures under the bed are real good, Tommy, real good indeed. That was a good thing you did to Agent Reyes and Agent Harrison, too, sending them to the cornfield.

(Side note: it is a shame this post is going up on October 30. It would be the perfect Halloween episode.)

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 13: Improbable

What. What is this episode. I can't even.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 12: Underneath

No, you really don't want to see your housekeeper's body. Holy crap this episode was horrifyingly gross.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 11: Audrey Pauley

I think it's safe to say 'Audrey Pauley' is one of the best episodes in the entire series, and with only nine episodes to go, it is very likely the best episode in the remaining run. I just don't see how they can top it at this point.

The X-Files Season 9, Episodes 9/10: Provenance/Providence

Nope. Big huge flaming buckets of nope.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 8: Hellbound

'Hellbound' is Reyes's 'The Field Where I Died', right?

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 7: John Doe

This is another of those episodes that probably seemed like a good idea to the writer, and then just couldn't quite find the right rhythm in its execution.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 6: Trust No 1

I don't know who to believe any more. I think that was probably the point, no?

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 5: Lord of the Flies

'Lord of the Flies' was not a good episode. I don't think it was even a good concept.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 4: 4-D

There is more than one of everything.

The X-Files Season 9, Episode 3: Daemonicus

Oh, season nine, you were off to a pretty good start, Mulder's absence notwithstanding, but this? What did we do to deserve this?

The X-Files Season 9, Episodes 1/2: Nothing Important Happened Today

I saw the title for this two part episode and my first thought was, "Then why even make an episode out of it?" Because really, if it's nothing important, it's probably just going to be Mulder and Scully hanging around at her house playing with William.

The X-Files Season 8, Episodes 20/21: Essence/Existence

There were some good aspects to this two part season finale. And then it went to an absurdly Christian place and made me really uncomfortable.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 19: Alone

'Alone'. Or, 'Doggett and Leyla Harrison, X-Files Groupie go on a Field Trip'.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 18: Vienen

Maybe this is what happened to Deepwater Horizon.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 17: Empedocles

Hey, it's another Fringe-like episode. And the character development here is getting complicated.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 16: Three Words

"Fight the future." Where have I heard that before?

The X-Files Season 8, Episodes 14/15: This Is Not Happening/Deadalive

Mulder's triumphant return and it's pretty much the best thing ever.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 13: Per Manum

OK, season eight, I forgive you. You're not that bad, after all.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 12: Medusa

Another good episode? What is happening?

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 11: The Gift

Death is your gift.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 10: Badlaa

Oh, X-Files. Why?

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 9: Salvage

Metal man, metal man, metal man hates the people he thinks did this to him. They have a fight, everyone dies, and I may have fallen asleep during this episode it was so pointless.

The X-Files Friday Feature: When Television Series Go Bad

Boy is this ever a good time to talk about how most shows run at least a season too long.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 8: Surekill

Sometimes I get the feeling the writers just don't think their ideas all the way through, but implement them anyway.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 7: Via Negativa

OK, getting better. Creepy dream sequences are always a plus.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 6: Redrum

Finally, a decent episode.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 5: Invocation

This really would have been the perfect episode for Mulder to be in. Alas, he was not.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 4: Roadrunners

"Hey, remember when we wrote that episode, 'Home' in season four? Let's do that again." -surely someone on the writing staff who forgot how horrifically disgusting that episode was.

The X-Files Season 8, Episode 3: Patience

Still no. Also, what the hell is going on in this episode anyway?

The X-Files Season 8, Episodes 1/2: Within/Without

Well, this is different.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 22: Requiem

This was just meant to be a season finale? Really?

The X-Files Friday Feature: The Springfield Files

Yup, I've finally seen 'The Springfield Files'.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 21: Je Souhaite

Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it, along with a whole bunch of other things you didn't want because you didn't really think through the potential consequences of your wish.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 20: Fight Club

Sometimes there are episodes with interesting concepts and promising setups that turn into outstanding pieces of entertainment. And sometimes there are episodes that are 'Fight Club'.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 19: Hollywood A.D.

Skin-man calls Mulder from a bubble bath. Film at eleven.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 18: Brand X

'Brand X' was gross. And it didn't have quite enough else to keep me interested beyond the grossness the way a similarly bug-infested episode, 'War of the Coprophages', did.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 17: all things

What can I say about 'all things'? I thought this was really good when I first watched it, and the more I let it sink in, the more amazing it becomes.

A character study of Scully by Gillian Anderson. It really doesn't get better than this.

Also, she ships Mulder/Scully.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 16: Chimera

Yeah, no. 'Chimera' is not exactly going to make my list of favourite episodes, I'm pretty sure.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 15: En Ami

Scully and the Smoking Man, together at last. Wait, that sounded wrong and wasn't what I meant. Seriously, though, this could have been a great 'buddy cop' kind of caper if only there'd been more witty banter.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 14: Theef

Hey, it's 'Fresh Bones' without the racism. And that's not really much of a compliment.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 13: First Person Shooter

'First Person Shooter' took a little longer to get going than it should have, but it turned into a pretty decent episode once it picked up. I wasn't thrilled with the reason for the killer's existence and independence, but I guess it worked.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 12: X-Cops

Holy crap. 'X-Cops' was kind of a spectacular episode. The only possibly negative thing I could say about it is that the handheld video action made me quite dizzy at times. Otherwise, it was perfect.

The X-Files Season 7, Episodes 10/11: Sein und Zeit/Closure

I'm not really sure why they needed two episodes for a story that was extremely similar to a single episode they already did back in the fourth season, 'Paper Hearts'.

And like past episodes that dealt with Samantha's disappearance, I'm still not convinced that there was any actual closure here.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 9: Signs and Wonders

Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?

I fell for the misdirection completely in this episode. Because why wouldn't the oppressive fundamentalist preacher be guilty of raping and impregnating his own daughter and then forcing her from his church?

Well, because apparently the devil had come to town and was orchestrating the whole thing.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 8: The Amazing Maleeni

So it turns out Maleeni really was amazing, wasn't he? I loved the long con in this episode, though I guessed just before Mulder did that LaBonge was in on the con.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 7: Orison

'Irresistible', part two. And just as creepy and tense and disturbing as it was the first time around.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 6: The Goldberg Variation

OK, let's see if we can follow this. If a train leaves Boston on Sunday night at 8:15, headed for Washington at 85 miles per hour, and runs over a penny left on the tracks in Connecticut, causing the track to ripple ever so slightly, disturbing a bird that's landed on the track in Pennsylvania, and that bird then flies into the path of a 747 on its way from Newark to Los Angeles, causing one of the plane's engines to fail, and a panicked passenger calls his wife on his cell phone, and the sound of the phone ringing startles their cat, which then jumps on the coffee table, accidentally pressing the channel button on the remote to switch the TV to FOX, just in time for The X-Files, someone might have watched this episode without even meaning to.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 5: Rush

I initially liked the drug metaphor here - much better than the 'magic is drugs' on Buffy - but wasn't sure where the episode was really going or how it would be resolved.

I also kind of hoped that Mulder and Scully would enter the light and become super fast, too.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 4: Millennium

YES! This episode made me extremely happy, and if you've been reading this blog, you know exactly why.

The X-Files Season 7, Episode 3: Hungry

I'm pretty sure Joss Whedon watched this show. I'm pretty sure he saw this episode. Actually, I guess I should assume Jane Espenson saw it, decided she would copy it, but change it up to be fucking atrocious, and call it 'Doublemeat Palace'.

'Hungry' was actually reasonably OK, but for one unfortunate implication.

The X-Files Season 7, Episodes 1/2: The Sixth Extinction/Part II: Amor Fati

Well, this was unsettling. And creepy. And disturbing.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 22: Biogenesis

Getting the band back together, are we? And for a cliffhanger of a season finale, which we haven't seen in a while. I can already tell this is going to be quite a ride.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Sports

Yeah, sure, why not? We've seen enough references to Mulder being a sports fan, plus one entire episode that had a lot of baseball in it, so I might as well write a post on the subject.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 21: Field Trip

Thanks a lot, X-Files, you've now made me wonder if my entire life is a hallucination while I'm slowly being digested by a giant fungal colony.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 20: Three of a Kind

So, 'Three of a Kind' was obviously a followup to 'Unusual Suspects', and was similarly excellent. Also amusing, because really, any episode that features the Lone Gunmen as main characters is bound to involve hilarious hijinks.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 19: The Unnatural

Baseball and aliens and racial tension. Three things that I never thought I'd be talking about all in one single post, but this is The X-Files, after all.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 18: Milagro

I don't know what other people thought of this one, but I found it to be an outstanding episode. The obvious one to compare it to is 'Jose Chung's From Outer Space', but it also had elements of another of Darin Morgan's excellent episodes, 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose'.

It wasn't quite up to the standard of either, but it's still one of my favourites so far.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 17: Trevor

Note to television writers: If you aren't going to reveal the meaning behind the title of an episode until more than halfway through, maybe don't make it the name of a person?

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 16: Alpha

One thing I had observed in seasons five and six was that for the most part, the episode quality had vastly improved over the early seasons. The good episodes have always been good, but the bad ones in seasons one and two were a combination of forgettable and unforgettably atrocious.

'Alpha' reminded me of some of those runs of awful episodes in the first two seasons.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 15: Arcadia

I can't really tell if this was a pro-Mulder/Scully episode or a very anti-Mulder/Scully episode. Either way, they pretended to be a married couple and they were hilarious about it.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 14: Monday

It's Groundhog Day! Only less silly. And less well paced.

But it is Monday. A lot.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 13: Agua Mala

What the fuck did I just watch?

The X-Files Season 6, Episodes 11/12: Two Fathers/One Son

So, new plots now, right? It looks like we get all the resolution we'll ever need to the plots of the first five seasons in 'Two Fathers' and 'One Son'.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 10: Tithonus

It is a testament to the great writing of this series that they can recycle ideas and turn them into a pretty spectacular episode.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 9: S.R. 819

Another Skinner episode? And it's gross and veiny? Actually, the skin effects reminded me of the 'Fringe' pilot episode. I'm not even sure what to think of this one at this point. We'll probably have to revisit it later and see how it connects to events that happen over the rest of the series.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 8: The Rain King

There is nothing about 'The Rain King' that wasn't weird. It wasn't bad, but it was really really strange.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Summer Break

OK, I know it's cheating, but it's partly because I feel like I've exhausted a lot of my Friday Feature ideas and I haven't yet got my hands on a copy of 'The Springfield Files'. I do have more ideas for what to write, but I think this will be a good time to take a break from writing something every Friday only do periodic Friday Features until I can come up with enough ideas to do them weekly again. Plus, I'm pretty busy this summer and haven't had as much time to write as I'd hoped.

Some of the ideas I'm saving, primarily because they kind of have to wait until near the end. They wouldn't really make much sense right now.

So next week, there will be an episode post on Friday because of reasons, and a Feature the following Friday, and then who knows? By that point, I should be getting close to season seven, which means there won't really be that much of the series left. Well, there will, but three seasons feels more manageable somehow, but it's still about 15 weeks' worth, depending on two-part episodes and such.

Since I sometimes only get a chance to watch four episodes in a week, I won't be doing regular episode posts on Fridays to substitute for missing Features. Some Fridays just won't have a post.

In hindsight, what I should have done is write individual posts for those first 16 episodes that I ended up bunching all together - and four Friday Features - before I figured out how I wanted to write this blog. Then I'd have had a month long backlog to work with.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 7: Terms of Endearment

Well, this was uncomfortable and kind of gross, wasn't it? 'Terms of Endearment' wasn't bad, just super uncomfortable all the time.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 6: How the Ghosts Stole Christmas

I think this was a Christmas episode as only The X-Files can do it. It was also pretty amazing.

The X-Files Season 6, Episodes 4/5: Dreamland

What the fuck did I just watch?

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 3: Triangle

Yes! Time travel! Only not really? Either way, another brilliant episode to start off season six.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Canada

This show is very clearly filmed in Vancouver. Or rather, was - I figured I should do a post about Canada now that the show has moved to Los Angeles, right?

It's not really obvious to me from the geographical features - I've never been to Vancouver, and I've only been to Seattle once, but Canada definitely looks a lot like parts of the U.S., too.

No, it's clearer from a lot of the guest actors.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 2: Drive

OK, this was an outstanding and super tense episode. It reminded me somewhat of two Fringe episodes, 'The Box' in one particular way that, like in that episode, didn't initially make sense to me, but later turned out to be kind of awesome and 'Johari Window' in a slightly more apparent way.

The X-Files Season 6, Episode 1: The Beginning

The Beginning. Welcome back to the regular old small screen X-Files, where everything is a disaster right from the start! This felt like mostly an establishing episode, since I would assume the movie was expected to bring in some new fans. So we get re-introduced to a lot of the characters and plots and sets - which are new sets in L.A. now.

The X-Files: Fight the Future

I've now seen the first X-Files movie. And it wasn't entirely what I expected, which was more or less an extended episode in HD with better special effects and swearing. It was at least a little more than that, and I feel like they did a good job of telling a story that just wouldn't have fit on the small screen. Maybe not quite epic, but definitely cohesive, and definitely something that answered a LOT of questions about the series. And actually opened up one other major question.

Now what?

The X-Files Sesaon 5, Episode 20: The End

Well, I suppose this really is 'The End', isn't it? Only it's not, because there are still four seasons and two movies left.

Spoiler alert: It's not the end.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Serialised Television

It seems like a good time, right before the season five finale and the first feature film, to write about serialised television, because for the most part, The X-Files isn't. Except when it is. Obviously.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 19: Folie à Deux

Holy shit, this was one of the more disturbing episodes of the show, wasn't it?

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 18: The Pine Bluff Variant

Wow, this was a fantastic episode. Duplicity, conspiracy, and Holland Manners. Er, Sam Anderson, but if you've seen Angel, you know what I mean.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 17: All Souls

Well, if this isn't 'Revelations', part two. While Mulder has been having a season-long crisis of faith of his own, now Scully gets to have her years long crisis. It's not that she's losing her faith, but it does seem that ever since her abduction in season two, there's been a lot more doubt in her mind about the things she has believed.

And meeting Emily and finding out the truth about her surely did not help.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 16: Mind's Eye

If I believed what I saw on television and knew nothing about reality, I might believe that all blind people had special abilities they used to compensate for their inability to see.

The X-Files Friday Feature: D.C., Politics

It's weird watching a show like this living in the Washington, DC area.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 15: Travelers

Another episode with absolutely no Scully and almost no Mulder, either. In hindsight, it's now obvious why this episode wasn't very good.

The X-Files Season 5, Episodes 13/14: Patient X/The Red and the Black

Oh fun, Krycek again. And the black oozing goo, now also known as the Black Cancer and the Black Oil. Perhaps it will reappear as Black Slime next season.

I think that but for the final reveal, this two-parter would have been largely just kind of blah. There seemed to be a lot of filler considering that the plot itself was more straightforward than many of the other two-part episodes we've seen.

The X-Files Sesaon 5, Episode 12: Bad Blood

Hey, everyone, remember '3'? That was the last time this show tried to tackle vampire mythology, and it did not go so well.

That is so not the case with 'Bad Blood', which is, I think one of the best episodes of the series, and definitely of season five so far.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 11: Kill Switch

Well, I suppose actual humans uploading themselves to the internet is better than a demon being scanned from an old book onto the internet, right?

The X-Files Friday Feature: You Got Your Science In My Fiction

Or maybe you got your fiction in my science? (Hrm, now I want some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.)

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 10: Chinga

Remember the rule of The X-Files: children are evil or creepy, often both. This goes doubly so for dolls. And even more so for dolls in episodes co-written by Stephen King.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 9: Schizogeny

In every season of The X-Files, there is at least one completely incomprehensible episode. In season five, that episode is 'Schizogeny'.

Because seriously, I don't get it.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 8: Kitsunegari

Just like in 'Tooms', when I didn't even remember 'Squeeze', I was a little confused for the first few minutes of 'Kitsunegari'. OK, so Mulder and Scully apprehended someone, and that's when I should have realised this would be a sequel episode continuing from a similarly creepy first episode - Mulder and Scully never worked together before the series began. It should have been obvious that this was a followup to something we'd already seen.

The X-Files Season 5, Episodes 6/7: Christmas Carol/Emily

NOPE. A world of NOPE. I have no idea what the hell is going on or why. This was a very uncomfortable hour and a half.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Blogging, Revisited

Writing a blog about a television show is a lot like writing a book report.

I'm glad it's not for credit.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 5: The Post-Modern Prometheus

Well, this was different. It's Frankenstein. And it's in black and white. And it's kind of funny and bizarre.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 4: Detour

Mulder and Scully clearly do not remember 'Darkness Falls', because they've decided to venture into the woods on some kind of hunch about a monster. Well, Mulder's hunch.

Of course, the alternative is attending what sounds like a horrible convention for FBI agents with two of the biggest tools in the bureau. I mean, seriously, do people like that even exist? People who think those silly team building exercises are actually useful? Whatever, they aren't in most of the episode.

The X-Files Season 5, Episode 3: Unusual Suspects

The Lone Gunmen origin story! YES! And some somewhat confusing misdirection, but that's OK, because despite nothing really being resolved by the end, we see the formation of the Lone Gunmen and get some interesting back story on the three of them.

The X-Files Season 5, Episodes 1/2: Redux

I can already tell season five is going to be spectacular. I also have pretty much no idea what to believe any more after watching 'Redux'.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Midpoint

What incredible timing. By watching four episodes a week and pairing the two part episodes, I've managed to finish season four on a Thursday.

More importantly, I've very nearly reached the halfway point (the actual halfway point will be after S5E4 or S5E5, depending on how you count the movies) of the series. It's time to revisit a few things.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 24: Gethsemane

I refuse to believe the lie. That would be too easy.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 23: Demons

So it looks like it's time for the annual game of "Did Mulder murder someone?" Only this episode is a lot better than 'Grotesque', because in addition to being a good mystery, it explores some more of Mulder's backstory and his memories involving his sister's abduction.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 22: Elegy

Does this remind anyone else of 'Irresistible'? That's kind of the vibe I got from 'Elegy', especially when Scully herself became involved in the case and experienced a strange connection to it that she wasn't entirely able to explain or deal with.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 21: Zero Sum

Scully is absent, the bees are back, and Skinner is trying to have Mulder implicated in a massive coverup on the orders of the Cancer Man. Oh, and also it turns out that the Cancer Man is working with Marita Covarrubias, Mulder's latest informant. Of course.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Technology

It occurred to me that I haven't really talked much about the technology on the show, and that I've been intending to ever since I saw those giant bricks of cell phones in the first season.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 20: Small Potatoes

Another hilarious episode, this time starring Darin Morgan as opposed to being written by him. Still, he's involved in a lot of the really great episodes, isn't he?

'Small Potatoes', which from the title I was expecting might literally be about, well, small potatoes, was already a pretty amusing episode, and then about halfway through it reached a point at which it became both unbearably hilarious and actually rather uncomfortable.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 19: Synchrony

Hey, a time travel episode. With lots and lots of apparent paradoxes, except that they are explained by, of all things, Scully's graduate thesis that she wrote when she was 23.

'Synchrony' has a lot of good points, but maybe made the plot a little too obvious at times.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 17/18: Tempus Fugit/Max

I never thought taking Latin in high school would be relevant two decades later, but here we are. Time flies. This is the first non-English episode title I could translate.

And 'Max', well, that would just be a person's name.

A lot happened in these two episodes, and they were two of the better mythology arc episodes we've seen in a while.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 16: Unrequited

'Unrequited' was kind of a retread of 'Sleepless', wasn't it?

A soldier subject to some kind of experimentation, or in possession of a natural ability, was mistreated by the military, and now wants his revenge, which he exacts by killing generals. Eh.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Shipping

Whenever I watch a show, I have a tendency to put characters together that I think would really be compatible. That's kind of hard on The X-Files, because there are really only two main characters.

But there are enough secondary characters to provide for at least some variation.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 15: Kaddish

Oh, hi, we're in a stretch of really really good, but really really depressing episodes, apparently.

Also, for some reason, it seems this show, along with a lot of shows, are pretty horrible at depicting myths and legends from say, Spanish speaking countries or parts of Africa, but when it comes to depicting Jewish culture, they actually do a reasonable job. Can't imagine why that is.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 14: Memento Mori

And here's the real continuation of Scully's cancer storyline started in 'Leonard Betts'. And it's about as depressing as you'd expect.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 13: Never Again

Well, this was an uncomfortable 45 minutes, wasn't it?

In another, "Hey, it's that guy!" moment, I realised that the main villain was played by an actor I'd seen in several episodes of Veronica Mars and an incredibly creepy episode of Angel. Actually, I guess this guy must often play creeps, because his character here is not exactly the most upstanding kind of person, either.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 12: Leonard Betts

Oh. My. God. How can I talk about this episode? How can I even discuss the first 40 minutes of it when the last five throw that at me? How? How is this happening?

The X-Files Friday Feature: Meta

Whenever I get into something, I can't help but look for external information about it. I find it enjoyable to learn behind the scenes information, things about the writing process, influences, and so on.

Of course, there's also a slight risk to that.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 11: El Mundo Gira

As soon as I saw the description of this episode, I had a feeling it would go nowhere good. The killings did not at all resemble anything that has reportedly been related to the legend of the Chupacabra, and I'm not sure the depiction of undocumented immigrants was necessarily the fairest, either, but this turned out to be a better episode than previous cultural appropriation episodes like 'Teso dos Bichos' and 'Teliko' and 'Fresh Bones'.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 10: Paper Hearts

When I get to the end of The X-Files, I will probably look back and consider 'Paper Hearts' one of the best episodes of the entire series. True, there are over a hundred episodes I haven't yet seen, but seriously, this was an amazing episode.

The X-Files Season 4, Episodes 8/9: Tunguska/Terma

In Soviet Russia, Alex Krycek betrays everyone (seriously, he is the worst triple agent ever), as always, and loses his arm for his troubles. Maybe he should get together with Lindsey McDonald. They'd make a great team of pompous double crossing assholes with a grand total of two hands between them. Maybe Wolfram and Hart can give Krycek an evil hand, too!

And Mulder makes some epically bad decisions, one of which is trusting Krycek for even half a second, and nearly pays with his life, while Scully makes some questionable decisions and pays with her freedom.

Well, this is a huge disaster already, isn't it?

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 7: Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man

For an episode titled, 'Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man', this was remarkably more obtuse than a lot of previous episodes. I kind of expected that maybe we'd learn something about him, and while we did, I don't know that we really learned anything particularly useful.

Either way, I think this was clearly an unusual episode, both in its presentation and its content, as compared to the rest of the series so far.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Death Eaters

Why Death Eaters? Well, that's a good question, really. Why, indeed.

Yeah, I've been throwing this term around, and I don't know if I've fully explained my insistence on it.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 6: Sanguinarium

Don't say no to the Incredible Medicine Show!

Cosmetic surgery gone horribly wrong in the most bloody and gory way possible? And witchcraft? Must be The X-Files.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 5: The Field Where I Died

I think we're in a stretch of episodes I don't really get?

This one is pretty bizarre, and as in some others, ends with a complete failure by Mulder and Scully to actually save any potential victims (and there are a LOT in this one) but only a lot of philosophical poetry recitation on Mulder's part.

Actually, it starts with the philosophising, doesn't it? (And ends with it.)

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 4: Unruhe

Well, here's another brilliant and disturbing episode that only minimally involves paranormal activity. Though that minimal paranormal activity does provide the clues they need to break open the case. And to rescue Scully, because she gets abducted. AGAIN. She's a decent investigator and a good scientist, but holy shit she is not genre savvy. Yes, let's pursue a mentally unbalanced man already suspected of stalking his victims and using a powerful dental anaesthetic to subdue them. JUST SAYING.

Also, sharp things near eyes. STOP.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 3: Teliko

Um, guys. Writers. Composers. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?

'Tribal' or 'exotic' music in an episode about West African immigrants? Yes, clearly someone must have thought that was a good idea.

This is going to be 'Fresh Bones' all over again, isn't it? Yeah, this isn't going to be easy to write about, because like 'Fresh Bones', I didn't really like the episode.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Nightmare Fuel

Since I just finished watching 'Home', this is probably the time to talk about nightmare fuel, which The X-Files contains rather a lot of.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 2: Home

Holy shit this episode is disgusting. Which I already knew.

'Home' is rather horrifying, but reasonably well done, all things considered.

The X-Files Season 4, Episode 1: Herrenvolk

Everything dies. Well, that's bleak.

And we start season 4 with the other half of 'Talitha Cumi'. To be continued, indeed. I actually watched this more or less immediately after finishing season 3, because there was no way I was going to let that cliffhanger keep me up all night wondering what was coming.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 24: Talitha Cumi

We've reached the end of all thingsseason 3. And it's another cliffhanger. They're going to do this a lot, aren't they? Like, every season, right?

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 23: Wetwired

DO IT! DO IT NOW! DO IT AGAIN! KILL 'EM ALL!

When I first saw 'Blood', I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought that was a great episode. And now they've remade it and called it 'Wetwired' and instead of Mulder being the one affected, it's Scully, and the paranoia runs much deeper than before, and the violence seems much more real.

And this episode is significantly better than the already outstanding 'Blood'.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Fringe

I've mentioned the show, Fringe more than a few times here, and figured it was time to expand on some of those mentions. Obviously, this will contain plenty of spoilers for the show.

If you haven't seen Fringe, I highly recommend it, especially since I know you already like The X-Files.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 22: Quagmire

This is not a boat accident! It wasn't any propeller, it wasn't any coral reef and it wasn't Jack the Ripper. It was an alligator.

Oh right, SPOILER ALERT.

It was an alligator.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 21: Avatar

Well, I was not expecting a Skinner episode. I especially wasn't expecting him to be that heavily involved in any case of the week episode, let alone the prime suspect.

While this is another one with a bit of a shaky resolution, the basic plot is rather solid and certainly makes Skinner a more sympathetic character, and really helps explain a lot about the way he works at the FBI.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 20: Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'

How does one write a blog post about an episode of a science fiction television show that completely deconstructs the entire premise of the series?

'Jose Chung's "From Outer Space"', another Darin Morgan penned episode, is framed in quite possibly the most interesting way of any episode up to this point, and while it does focus on aliens and generally similar mythology to the long arc episodes, it doesn't appear to actually be connected to them.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 19: Hell Money

OK, so here's yet another episode that, like 'Teso dos Bichos', depends at least a little bit on a tenuous interpretation of cultural or religious mythology.

And, like 'Teso dos Bichos', pretty much falls flat on its face.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Intelligent Life

So I guess this is as good a time as any to talk about the possibility of intelligent life in the universe.

Note, I did not say elsewhere in the universe.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 18: Teso dos Bichos

The good episodes are easy to write about. The bad ones, not so much. I make no promises about the quality of this post about 'Teso dos Bichos', which was incomprehensibly bad.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 17: Pusher

Please explain to me the scientific nature of the Whammy.

'Pusher' was yet another brilliant and disturbing episode, ending with one of the tensest and most unsettling scenes in the series so far.

The X-Files Season 3, Episodes 15/16: Piper Maru/Apocrypha

Another two-parter! Third one of season 3! Best one of season 3! Also the densest. There are about a million plot and character threads in these two episodes, and I wish I could say we learned something from it, but I'm afraid it just opened up more questions without at least closing something.

But that's obviously the show's Thing, so I don't really expect to get any real actual answers until, I don't know, probably the second movie. Either way, 'Piper Maru' and 'Apocrypha' are two very good episodes that at first appear to diverge from the season's initial plot regarding the human experimentation and focus more on just aliens, but eventually come full circle and continue the plot threads started in 'Anasazi'.

The X-Files Sesaon 3, Episode 14: Grotesque

Nightmare fuel alert: people being murdered and covered in clay as if they are sculptures. That's horrifying. But also leads to a pretty interesting episode in 'Grotesque'. Oh, and Mulder becomes delusional and paranoid. Well, more than usual, I mean.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Spot the Actor

One of the interesting things about getting into a show as late as twenty years after it first aired is that I've seen a lot of other more recent shows and movies, and some of the people who may not have been stars then have since moved on to bigger and better things. (Though some came from bigger and better things than even The X-Files at the time.)

I mean, I do this all the time in everything I watch, not just this. I'm sure everyone does to some degree, especially if there are people you see again and again - after all, there does seem to be a bit of a line between TV and film actors, and there are an awful lot of people who have just been in dozens and dozens of TV shows for one or two episodes.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 13: Syzygy

Sure. Fine. Whatever.

I admit I enjoyed 'Syzygy' when I first watched it, minus the hideously uncomfortable out of character behaviour from both Mulder and Scully, but as I watch it again, I find there's less to like and more to be disturbed by.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 12: War of the Coprophages

When I first saw the description of 'War of the Coprophages', I was rather concerned about the notion of killer cockroaches. I'm not good with bugs. Like, at all. I've been known to unload entire cans of RAID on stink bugs and spiders before. I think the presence of actual cockroaches in my home might induce a desire to use a small nuclear device.

But then the episode turned out to be really really ridiculous and funny?

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 11: Revelations

Religious mythology plus typical X-Files mythology equals an interesting role reversal for Mulder and Scully in 'Revelations'. And some fantastic character development for Scully.

But this is also a difficult episode for me to watch and comment on, due to my intense non-religiousness and general lack of religious knowledge.

The X-Files Season 3, Episodes 9/10: Nisei/731

This seems to be becoming a pattern. Aliens to start the season, then a mid-season two-parter, then ... well, then I don't know, but probably complete abandonment of anything related to the main series alien mythology storyline until the season finale. We'll see.

Either way, they know how to create tension in these two part episodes, and I think '731' is a pretty amazing followup to the otherwise kind of meh 'Nisei'.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Scully

Last week, I wrote about how I identified with Fox Mulder on this show. But ever since the beginning of this series, I've also strongly identified with the character of Dana Scully. She's a scientist - always curious, always wanting to know more about the world, even if it disrupts her assumptions about the way the world works.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 8: Oubliette

'Oubliette' was intensely creepy, and extremely tense. And really dark, but that's what you get when you name an episode 'Oubliette', I suppose.

What seems like a fairly run of the mill kidnapping story is complicated by a past victim, who is experiencing Amy's kidnapping along with her, but also giving Mulder and Scully a chance to solve the case using somewhat unconventional means.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 7: The Walk

Well, we're back to the disturbing episodes. Wait, did those ever really take a break? 'The List' and '2Shy' were pretty disturbing, too, but somehow 'The Walk' seemed even more so.

The whole idea of people being made specifically to suffer is pretty revolting. And while I get the idea that Rappo has suffered plenty himself, the idea of inflicting it on others is pretty uncool.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 6: 2Shy

'2Shy' was a pretty mediocre episode, and while it's definitely creepy, I think that apart from the unusual physical condition of the perpetrator of these horrible crimes, this kind of story was better told in 'Squeeze' and 'Tooms' and 'Irresistible'.

Plus, there are some really uncomfortable implications in this episode. Not one of the show's finer moments.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 5: The List

'The List' was an episode I kind of liked with an ending I really hated. Way to leave us hanging.

The plot, though, centering around a condemned man making his final threat from the electric chair, was compelling at the beginning, and initially I thought everything was just a coincidence, but then I remembered this is The X-Files.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Mulder

I have to admit, I often find myself identifying with Mulder when watching this show. I'm not a believer in conspiracy theories or aliens, but people who know me know that I do hold strong beliefs and I defend them adamantly.

But I also like the idea of grey areas (god dammit, the phrase 'shades of grey' will never be usable again, will it?) Not everything - perhaps nothing, even - has a clear answer or a definite right or wrong.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 4: Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose

Holy shit, this episode was amazing. I have no problem declaring 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose' to be the absolute best episode of The X-Files I've seen so far. The dialogue, especially the banter between Mulder and Scully (or really anyone and Scully) is enjoyable and often hilarious.

The X-Files Season 3, Episode 3: D.P.O.

In a very abrupt shift from 'The Blessing Way' and 'Paper Clip', 'D.P.O' is the most case-of-the-week of case of the week episodes. I think the contrast probably makes this episode seem worse than it actually is.

Because the episode is not bad, and despite the overall creepiness and violence of Darin Peter Oswald, manages to highlight the loneliness he felt throughout his life and later as a result of his condition.

The X-Files Season 3, Episodes 1/2: The Blessing Way/Paper Clip

A two part start to the season that continues right where the previous season left off? SIGN ME UP.

I already get the sense, two episodes in, that season three is going to be where this show goes from merely 'great' to 'fucking phenomenal'. The stakes are high immediately, the writing is solid, the characters grow (well, sort of) and the conspiracy deepens.

Season 3. It seems to be when a lot of shows hit their stride, doesn't it?

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 25: Anasazi

Um. Whoa. I think I need some time to digest 'Anasazi'.

This was clearly the work of writers who knew the show was being renewed, and went all-in with a cliffhanger season finale. I was right, it was epic.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Geography

The X-Files is a show that takes place in a lot of different cities, but primarily Washington, DC, but is filmed entirely in and around Vancouver.

This often makes for some strange visuals, especially when it comes to the vegetation in the area, but also the architecture, street layouts, and addresses.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 24: Our Town

It's 'Red Museum' Part II. Well, not exactly, but close enough.

'Our Town' is about isolation and secret keeping, and oh yeah, freaking cannibalism. And a woman being killed and then sinking into a vat of half-processed chicken bits. Because that's something I've always wanted to see.

The X-Files Sesason 2, Episode 23: Soft Light

You know that thing in fiction where people who try so hard to avoid a particular outcome end up walking right into it? Well, 'Soft Light' was kind of like that.

And in this case, it turns out to be total disaster.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 22: F. Emasculata

Dear The X-Files,

You know what I really need to see? Something hideously gross, because you haven't done that in a while. Howabout something with explosive, pus-filled boils? That seems to be the kind of thing you guys are into, right?

Thanks, I knew I could count on you!

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 21: The Calusari

Sometimes this show is very predictable. Other times it's not. Sometimes they lead you well down a certain path only to completely destroy your expectations.

'The Calusari' fits kind of into that last category. (While the episode is titled without any diacritical marks, I believe the correct way to write the Romanian word is Căluşari, which I had to cut and paste from Wikipedia, as I'm not entirely sure how to make the letters on my keyboard.)

The X-Files Friday Feature: Music

To me, the background music in a TV show or movie is extremely important. I listen to and play a lot of music myself, though I'm pretty sure I'd be a terrible composer if I attempted to back dramatic scenes.

It's hard, and Mark Snow is brilliant at it.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 20: Humbug

In a way, I kind of wanted this episode to suck, so I could say, "Bah, Humbug!" but it did the exact opposite. It was entertaining and funny and intriguing and ... did I say funny already?

The X-Files decides to do comedy to change things up a bit from the fairly gloomy and uneven season 2, and it does not disappoint in the slightest.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 19: Død Kalm

Apparently the filming crews still had access to the ship set from 'End Game' and didn't want to waste it. 'Død Kalm' was the result, and it wasn't half bad.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 18: Fearful Symmetry

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo.

OR

Elephants and tigers and gorillas, oh my!

The X-Files Season 2, Episodes 16/17: Colony/End Game

Another two part episode in the middle of the season. Why do I feel like they're building towards and absolutely epic season finale here?

So, the 'Colony'/'End Game' combination isn't quite on the level of 'Duane Barry'/'Ascension', but I'm OK with that, because these episodes still told an amazingly deep and complex story, and were quite tense at times. Plus, now we see Mulder in danger. I figured that had to happen at some point. (Besides 'Aubrey', I mean, since that wasn't part of the main plot.)

The X-Files Friday Feature: The Perils of Blogging

Unfortunately, there won't be a normal Friday Feature today. It's 8:49 on Friday morning and I'm already leaving my house much later than I expected to.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 15: Fresh Bones

Zombies and voodoo, what could possibly go right?

Very little, apparently. I thought 'Fresh Bones' was all over the place, and I'm not sure I really followed what was going on.

And for some reason, X showed up, despite this being otherwise unconnected to any of the past storylines. I mean, don't get me wrong, I like that kind of cross-continuity, but why would he waste his time on this?

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 14: Die Hand Die Verletzt

A witch hunt! Only not?

I kind of liked the subversion of the typically very conservative Christian school board by making them devil worshippers instead. Of course, then everything got very weird and seriously fucked up. Because apparently they aren't devil worshippy enough.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 13: Irresistible

OK, so clearly Scully is not OK. This case, more than any of the others she's worked since 'Ascension' and 'One Breath' definitely got to her, and we even got to see some of her own flashbacks that were triggered during her abduction, though we don't necessarily know how reliable those flashbacks are.

But almost more importantly, the show is back to doing what it does best, which is telling creepy and unsettling stories. And in this episode, it did that extremely well.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 12: Aubrey

Finally, some quality.

I honestly didn't know what to think for most of 'Aubrey'. I often try to come up with theories while watching, only to watch those theories completely shattered by the end of an episode.

In this case, though, I think I was only partly wrong?

The X-Files Friday Feature: Conspiracy

One of the things I'm realising about this show is that it's not, as I originally thought, 'a show about aliens', but instead a show about conspiracies and coverups. Yes, aliens play a large role in that (or so we're led to believe so far) but the thing that really keeps me coming back is the twisted plots within the FBI and the government in general.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 11: Excelsis Dei

I found 'Excelsis Dei' (which is mislabelled on Netflix as 'Excelsius Dei') pretty creepy and unsettling, like most X-Files episodes, but otherwise not very compelling, unlike most X-Files episodes.

It seems we're in a stretch of mediocrity between 'One Breath' and whatever the next great episode is going to be, because 'Firewalker' and 'Red Museum' were only marginally OK, if that.

Either way, that's certainly not all there is to this episode.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 10: Red Museum

In what initially seemed to be a run of the mill case - well, as run of the mill as anything on The X-Files can be, suddenly an assassin shows up who Scully remembers as being the man who shot Deep Throat, and we're made to wonder how everything is connected.

The only problem is this episode feels incomplete, and not in that way of there's more to be revealed later, but that only part of the story will ever be told.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 9: Firewalker

'Ice', 'Ice', baby.

This essentially felt like a rehash of a much better first season episode. People doing scientific exploration in an isolated and harsh environment discover a previously unknown biological entity that infects them and eventually leads to their demise.

That doesn't mean it was a total loss, though.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 8: One Breath

Dear The X-Files,

Please save some good episodes for your later seasons. How can you possibly top this?

The X-Files Friday Feature: Nostalgia

I won't say The X-Files is making me nostalgic for the '90s, but it certainly brings back some memories.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 7: 3

Wow, that title isn't confusing at all. Episode 7: 3!

Three ... vampires, apparently? This was a really strange episode, and felt really out of place, considering what we just saw and is still unresolved from the last two.

I don't even know if I can write much about this episode, because for the most part, I didn't really understand it. But also because I kind of hate that it's where it is.

The X-Files Season 2, Episodes 5/6: Duane Barry/Ascension

OK, this two part sequence really ups the ante, doesn't it? I feel like this is where the series goes from being merely good to great, and even spectacular.

And to think that at least some of this plot line came out of the fact that Gillian Anderson needed to take maternity leave.

Well, regardless of the reason, 'Duane Barry' was already an excellent episode, but then the last 2 minutes happened, and everything changed.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 4: Sleepless

OK, this is getting seriously good. We have in 'Sleepless', for the first time, an episode that deals with government conspiracy but not aliens.

And we finally meet X, the mysterious man on the telephone who has been slipping clues to Mulder and Scully the last couple of episodes.

But really, the main plot of this episode is plenty disturbing, even without the rest of the plot going on at the FBI.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 3: Blood

I believe I have a new favourite episode of this show.

DO IT.

DO IT NOW.

We may or may not have spent the rest of the dayweek saying that out loud to each other after watching this episode.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Skepticism

I read this article on Discovery the other day, and it seemed like the perfect timing as I'm writing about watching The X-Files.

Spookily, it also references a book written by a man named Chris Carter, and while that's an incredibly common name that the creator of The X-Files shares with many people, I found it interesting that he shares it also with someone who has written books attempting to discredit scientific skepticism. (Of course, I also found it ironic that someone is essentially trying to debunk skepticism.)

So obviously, as a rather skeptical person myself, and one who has been known to demand proof of things that are not immediately apparent to me, I found myself intrigued.

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 2: The Host

'The Host' was a really disturbing and kind of gross episode. I will never look at pipes and water treatment the same way again. Or creepy sewer-dwelling monsters, but you know, I don't really have to think about those very often as it is.

I think I would have preferred the culprit in this one to be actual aliens, because the idea of genetically mutated monsters somehow seems a little more plausible, and I sure don't want to see one of those things coming through the pipes, or in a swimming pool, or a sewage tank, or really anywhere at all.

So yeah, gross monsters combined with people swimming in shit. This is not going to be an episode I rewatch very often.

"Hey, X-Files, have you got any non-creepy or disgusting episodes to use as the second episode of the second season?"

"Go fish."

The X-Files Season 2, Episode 1: Little Green Men

So, season one has come to a close. I have no profound conclusions or even predictions for the next season. I don't know how I could possibly predict what will happen. Mulder and Scully will do stuff? There will be aliens? Who knows?

Either way, it begins now! And it begins with aliens (one prediction right!). Maybe?

Actually, it begins with a voiceover.

And more importantly, it begins with kind of a disaster, because the X-Files really have been shut down, Mulder and Scully have been separated, with Mulder working on what sounds like some busywork project they have him on until they can figure out what to do with him, and Scully teaching at Quantico.

Things cannot possibly get any worse for them, right?

The X-Files Season 1, Episode 24: The Erlenmeyer Flask

Holy shit. I don't even know how to write about this episode. SO MUCH HAPPENED in this spectacular season finale. It can only get deeper from here. How deep does the rabbit hole go?

We finally got confirmation of both the existence of extra-terrestrial life and of a giant government cover-up. I didn't think that would happen in the first season.

Oh yeah, and Deep Throat got deep sixed. WHAT.

The X-Files Season 1, Episode 23: Roland

For a show that deals with extraordinary phenomena, this episode almost bordered on the ordinary. As much as I don't believe in psychic abilities in real life, I can much more easily accept the idea of a psychic connection between identical twins than some of the other far-fetched things they've dealt with.

But also, this was a sad story about a family that was split apart because of attitudes about intelligence and its relative value in individuals.

The X-Files Friday Feature: Fashion

I've been trying to think about exactly how to structure this blog, and I've arrived at something I think both works for myself and will do justice to a show that I know an awful lot of people feel very strongly about.

I'm going to try to do this thing where I write about one episode each day Monday through Thursday (I've mostly given up on the idea of grouping episodes and only highlighting certain ones - it makes it too hard to plan - so yes, just individual episodes each day, with the possible exception of two part episodes, which I don't want to split in half).

And then I get to dedicate Fridays to other things about The X-Files that I want to talk about but that doesn't really 'belong to' a single episode. Because there's a lot of that, too, and the more of the show I watch, the more I'll discover that I want to write about.

And in this case, as I approach the end of the first season, I feel like I just have to say something about the clothes. Because come ON.

The X-Files Season 1, Episode 22: Born Again

OK, we inadvertently watched this before Tooms and I'm honestly not sure which one is more disturbing. I also don't think we missed anything by watching them out of order, but I'll certainly be more careful to check episode numbers before I click in the future.

So hey, another creepy kid shows up. I still think the Eves win on creep-factor so far, especially since Michelle's condition was only temporary. But oh so damaging in the mean time.

The X-Files Season 1, Episode 21: Tooms

Confession: I accidentally watched this episode out of order, after episode 22. But I'm posting about it first, so there.

Amusingly, they even referenced Tooms in the next episode, and it didn't even register with me. Shows how much attention I've been paying, apparently.

I do remember at the end of 'Squeeze', thinking there'd be no way they could contain the guy in a conventional cell, and there were plenty of ways he could escape, but given what I knew of the show, especially the early episodes, it was unlikely that case would ever be revisited.

And I didn't even think about that when we saw Tooms at the beginning of this episode. In fact, I was so not expecting this kind of continuity that when he appeared and started reaching through the slot in the door, I thought, "Well, at least he's not that guy from 'Squeeze', because then he could just put his entire body through there..."

Whoops.

The X-Files Season 1, Episodes 18-20

Because I don't have that many specific things to say about each of these episodes, I'll cover three - 'Miracle Man', 'Shapes', and 'Darkness Falls' - in one post.

The X-Files Season 1, Episode 17: E.B.E.

Apparently this episode is part of the 'alien mythology arc'. And to some extent, I don't even care. This was a damn good episode, either way.

The X-Files Season 1, Episode 13: Beyond The Sea

While there have been other episodes I've thought were good, this is the first one I consider truly great.

When Scully's father appeared in the chair at night, I knew something was wrong, and it kind of surprised me that they'd kill off her father so early in the series. I didn't find his death as affecting as I've found others on TV because I never got a chance to know the character. But this was all about Dana Scully, anyway, not her father.

The X-Files, Season 1, Episodes 1-16

I've actually watched 16 episodes so far. I only decided to create this blog after having done so, so I won't be going back and creating posts for each of them.

In fact, I don't know that I'll be making separate posts for every episode, but I will at least reference every episode I've watched in a given week or so. I'm pretty sure I won't be updating this every day, but since I tend to watch 4 or 5 episodes a week, I'll probably post at least once a week, and possibly more if a particular episode stands out and I feel warrants its own post.

However, I will say that I'm really enjoying the show so far.

Introduction

Hi.

So.

Here's the deal.

I've never seen The X-Files before. I know almost nothing about it. I know there's a Mulder and a Scully, and he believes in all kinds of creepy shit and she doesn't, and that's about it.