If you are fan of the show and will watch them more than once then they are certainly worth the money. As far as the extras, there are commentary tracks on select episodes and various featurettes throughout the entire run. There are "international clips" which are just select scenes dubbed into various languages as they are shown worldwide. The only extras I was ever wanting see are the notorious gag reels that were made for cast and crew at the end of the seasons but alas they are nowhere to be found on the current discs.
In the UK in October, we will be able to get the seasons at a far cheaper price. Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are being re-released in simpler packaging this October for £30 (roughly $55), when they used to sell for the equivalent of $115. The other seasons will follow in later months.
I don't see any reason why Fox shouldn't do this in the US as well. Anyway my point is, maybe you should wait for a possible announcement of this kind of re-release.
If not, they're still well worth it. I only own Season 1 at the moment but I know the later seasons are packed with extras.
Since they lowered the prices, if you are a fan, I'd say it's definitely worth the investment. The extras are pretty decent with documentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes on each set.
I think there is a reason that TV show box sets on DVD took off with The X-Files -- because those sets were well done and gave fans what they wanted. I'd be hard pressed to think of sets that were better than the X-Files sets all around. If you are a fan of the show - or were a fan - they will remind you why you were.
Yes, The X-Files sets are still great packages even when you compare them to more robust sets coming these days. There's only one thing that I'm still disappointed about... season 6 episode Triangle needs to be transferred to dvd properly using the correct master and not some "beta" thingy that was used. Well... maybe when HD-DVD comes through...
Assuming you've seen all the episodes in Seasons 1 and 2, I think perhaps the best place to start would be Season 3. This is because it is the first of the sets that actually have worthwhile extras (commentaries on Jose Chung's From Outer Space and Apocrypha etc). Also just 'cos it has some of the best episodes of the entire run IMO.
Storywise, you'll want to start with season 1. It'll give you the perfect chance to watch the entire series in order.
I have 1-5 and stopped with the movie. Now after a couple of years, it's time to go back and get Season 6. I'll probably get the entire series (and Lone Gunmen if they release it!)eventually.
I'm also going through Millennium season 1 through Netflix. Very underrated and well worth it for X Files fans.
I'd like to see what Fox will do with HD discs and this popular series. Will they go back to the actual film negatives and re-transfer the wide-screen episodes to 1080p/60 and Seasons 1-4 at 4:3 ratio HD and progressive and then re-edit the show and include updated and higher resolution visual effects, and then release them at their best on HD video?
Sony went back to Seinfeld's original film elements and re-transfered them to HD, but granted there were very few effects shots in that show except for the titles and the occasional green screen work.
I don't think they'll make this kind of effort. The seasons have sold well on standard DVD, but they have always been quite expensive, so Fox can't guarantee that if they do a new HD release they will sell well - will that many people re-buy them? Also, I think that the effects are only put onto the show after the films have been telecined and mastered on some video format.
Out of 200 episodes , a great many had digital effects, and I don't think Fox would see it as worthwhile to invest a lot of time and money into re-doing these effects. Of course it'd be fantastic if they did an HD remaster (I don't think I could afford to buy them all up - I only own two of them now anyway!)
Bryan: This thread was helpful to me for finding deals on sets. I've gotten legit used sets on eBay for 1/2 price or less, and new sets from DeepDiscountDVD (during sales for almost 1/2 price). It's taken some time, but well worth it. Good luck!
In my humblest of opinions, it was during season 4 were the show started to lose it's luster. Don't get me wrong, I liked 4, and 5 very much. ( After that it pretty much sucked) but during 4 and into 5 the magic started to get old. The show hit it's stride in season 3. Pure magic. Everything seemed to work. My opinion, your mileage may vary...