The X-Files on Blu: It's official! (1 Viewer)

[Jim Pattison]

I responded to their e-mail by assuring them that I had watched my Season 8 discs, and they they were definitely too dark when compared to both the Season 8 DVDs, and to previews of the Season 8 episodes on iTunes. I subsequently got a message telling me that I would be receiving the replacement discs, and that they'd provide a tracking number once they were shipped. So all's well that ends well...I hope.

I'm happy to report that my replacement discs arrived yesterday. I was starting to worry as I'd never received a shipping notification. I thought these were being shipped by FedEx, but mine were delivered by UPS.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Okay, I'm moving slowly on these, watching with my 19-year old son (a firm fan now). Some observations:

Why does Season 5 look different on BD than the previous four? It's much darker, the color a bit richer or saturated, but the shadowy parts aren't that great. Did they use a different film stock that season? Also, is that the first one they definitely marked for 16x9 aspect?

Season 6 is where the show moved to Los Angeles. Good luck for that subbing for Maryland or Virginia locations as Vince Gilligan was so fond of featuring.

The music changed in Season 4. Up to that point, it seemed like it was just Mark Snow noodling a little bit on his synthesizer. But it really starts to open up in Season 4 with a lot more featured styles, and, if I'm not mistaken, some real orchestration here and there. Amazing what a bigger budget on a hit show can do.

Carter was definitely trying to pull a Darin Morgan with his B&W Masque and Cher obsessed episode (Post Modern Prometheus?). It looks great and I like his directing, but ironic or clever humor is not Carter's forte. It comes across more as just an odd-ball homage to Frankenstein. And in the intro he says they dance to "I Got You Babe" at the end, but the Cher song at the end is actually, "Walking In Memphis." Methinks there was a clearance issue for the Sonny & Cher tune. Sonny not around to sign off on that one.

I'm now pretty much completely of a mind that the conspiracy episodes are just a circular waste of time. The only problem is; they were easily some of the best directed, the best budgeted and featuring the best action sequences. But all in service of these tiresome memes going nowhere. Who's the next Deep Throat? What's the next tease that Mulder actually gets some solid proof? Carter wrote most of those episodes, and he wears his paranoid conspiracy theory love proudly on his sleeve (I now have much deeper respect for Duchovny having to memorize all the bullshit), but oh my god does it just come across as so much gobbledygook now. And then he rehashes it and basically hits the find/replace button for the event series and tries to sell it all to us again. Let him direct and oversee, but keep him away from plotting and dialogue.

Season 5 also features Anderson's big emotional arcs, getting clear of cancer and finding a possible daughter. I forget if she was nominated or won an Emmy that year, but they were clearly tailoring those stories for her very rich skills as a dramatic actress. And my son absolutely flipped for the return of the mind control character and the twist ending with Mulder and Scully about to shoot each other.

Overall, I have to say that for a series that had to put out 22 or so episodes a year, this show was consistently entertaining and holds up quite well (despite technology changes). Kudos for always choosing really good character actors and delivering feature film quality visuals. And I can honestly say, I forgot all about the original framing by the first two episodes. It just wasn't an issue for me (Maybe because the original AR wasn't burned into my retinas as much). And also, honestly, my son NEVER would have watched this show otherwise. He says he couldn't imagine them any other way than the AR and look they have now, which on BD is pretty awesome.

Duchovny may be looking a little more bored than usual this season, but we're still quite hooked.

 

[TravisR]

Why does Season 5 look different on BD than the previous four? It's much darker, the color a bit richer or saturated, but the shadowy parts aren't that great. Did they use a different film stock that season? Also, is that the first one they definitely marked for 16x9 aspect.

Nothing more than a guess but S5 was the first time that Joel Ransom was the director of photography for the entire year (he came on in the middle of S4) so maybe he wanted to put his own visual stamp on things a little more? With a new season, a change in the look wouldn't be as jarring if it happened in between episodes 13 and 14.

Carter was definitely trying to pull a Darin Morgan with his B&W Masque and Cher obsessed episode (Post Modern Prometheus?). It looks great and I like his directing, but ironic or clever humor is not Carter's forte.

The Post Modern Prometheus is an extremely popular episode but I never liked it as much as most other fans. The black and white is neat and it's nice to see M&S dancing at the end of the episode but I don't think it's a stand out episode. Now that Vince Gilligan is famous (for a writer), it's common to highlight his XF work but he was always easily the best at the comedic or offbeat episodes after Darin Morgan. Episodes like Small Potatoes, Bad Blood, Monday, X-Cops, Je Souhaite and Sunshine Days are all very good changes of the XF pace. It's also fun to see Gilligan in goofy mode with the episodes focusing on The Lone Gunmen (Unusual Suspects, Three Of A Kind and Jump The Shark) and in many episodes of The Lone Gunmen spin-off series.

 

[Xphile620]

I'm now pretty much completely of a mind that the conspiracy episodes are just a circular waste of time. The only problem is; they were easily some of the best directed, the best budgeted and featuring the best action sequences. But all in service of these tiresome memes going nowhere. Who's the next Deep Throat? What's the next tease that Mulder actually gets some solid proof? Carter wrote most of those episodes, and he wears his paranoid conspiracy theory love proudly on his sleeve (I now have much deeper respect for Duchovny having to memorize all the bullshit), but oh my god does it just come across as so much gobbledygook now. And then he rehashes it and basically hits the find/replace button for the event series and tries to sell it all to us again. Let him direct and oversee, but keep him away from plotting and dialogue.

Season 5 also features Anderson's big emotional arcs, getting clear of cancer and finding a possible daughter. I forget if she was nominated or won an Emmy that year, but they were clearly tailoring those stories for her very rich skills as a dramatic actress. And my son absolutely flipped for the return of the mind control character and the twist ending with Mulder and Scully about to shoot each other.

Overall, I have to say that for a series that had to put out 22 or so episodes a year, this show was consistently entertaining and holds up quite well (despite technology changes). Kudos for always choosing really good character actors and delivering feature film quality visuals. And I can honestly say, I forgot all about the original framing by the first two episodes. It just wasn't an issue for me (Maybe because the original AR wasn't burned into my retinas as much). And also, honestly, my son NEVER would have watched this show otherwise. He says he couldn't imagine them any other way than the AR and look they have now, which on BD is pretty awesome.

The HD conversion through Netflix and Amazon, and the the BD release, has done wonders for the series. I own the DVD sets, but didn't realize just how poor the quality was next to HD.

I hear you on the mytharc. I like the mytharc, but the episodes become progressively more convoluted as time goes on, and only by very careful watching are you rewarded with the writing and direction. The mytharc basically concludes in S6, but is rejuventated a couple of years later. As far as The X-Files: The Event Series, I don't believe it's Season 10; it's a reboot of the series, and just feels very tonally different from the original series. So I count it as more a companion piece than canon to the original series.

I'll be eternally grateful FOX gave us a BD release!