The X Files is coming back! (1 Viewer)

[questrider]

This last episode was a mess of amateurish writing. How did Mulder hear what the guy in the hospital said to him "in a euphoric state" if (a) Mulder took a placebo and wasn't tripping, and (b) wasn't even in the room to communicate with the guy? The ending was a classic deus ex machina where Mulder just spit out some words the guy said pointing to a hotel without any explanation and then all of a sudden the SWAT team bursts into the hotel room. It wasn't even an X-File. And with only six episodes why introduce us to another set of Mulder and Scully surrogates. Total waste of an episode.

This six-episode miniseries is such a misstep. It's like it's been made by people who had nothing to do with the original series and thus do not understand what the original show was about or how it worked. But it's the contrary. I'm beginning to think Vince Gilligan made a good decision to not be involved because this has turned out to be a train wreck. And I can't imagine next week's season finale episode making things any better since from the previews it looks to be about as coherent as the season premiere was.

I'm disappointed it looks like nobody took this seriously and just took their checks and cashed them quickly.

 

[Simon Massey]

Well Ive enjoyed the miniseries and only the first episode was a major misstep so far. Episode 2 and 5 have been pretty standard fare that could have been in any season but 2 had some great character moments regarding Mulder/Scully and their child. The third episode has definitely been the highlight but I really enjoyed the focus on Scully in the fourth and I certainly don't think Gillian Anderson has been disappointing in the slightest for this. The last one will be interesting because the series had largely provided closure and I would expect this one will be a little more open. Would welcome another miniseries though.

 

[TravisR]

I am a little confused about Einstein's pills.

Spoiler

did she really give Mulder placebos or did she just say that to save her ass in front of Skinner?

It's whatever you want to think. Personally, I think Einstein seems pretty straight laced to actually engage in illegal activity and it's more of an X-File if Mulder somehow hallucinated the whole thing (including the right answers) and saved the day.

 

[Oliver Ravencrest]

I enjoyed the episode.

I took it as being that Einstein gave Mulder a placebo. With all the talk about God and the power of the human mind, Mulder believed he took mushrooms, so he thought he had hallucinated but actually experienced it. To me, that fits with the show.

 

[Malcolm R]

And with only six episodes why introduce us to another set of Mulder and Scully surrogates.

No concrete info, but as someone else already suggested, perhaps they're establishing a backup, B-team, that can take on the bulk of the investigation if Duchovny/Anderson are unwilling to commit to another full mini-series, or their schedules don't synch with FOX's desired production schedule.

They could film a few short Mulder/Scully segments, or bookends for the episode, and let Miller and Einstein take lead on the case. It would allow FOX to extend the series with limited involvement by Duchovny and/or Anderson.

 

[Chris Will]

I love the X-Files and have enjoyed seeing new episodes on TV again but, I've been very disappointed with these episodes. If this was a normal 20+ episode season then fine, you expect a few not so great episodes but, when you come back for only 6 shows then please have a compelling story to tell. The last episode was just a waste of my time, didn't even feel like an X-Files episode and Mulder's trip sequence was too long and I almost turned it off right there. I looked at my wife and said "they come back for 6 episodes and this is the best they can come up with." She agreed. Maybe the last episode will redeem it all but, I have my doubts.

 

[TravisR]

I've been pretty pleased with the episodes (Mulder And Scully Meet The Were-Monster stands with some of the best episodes) but I do wish that they had gone with 6 mythology episodes instead of having 4 monster of the week shows. With so few episodes, they could have told a fairly self-contained mythology story and not had to worry about losing the audience with too much history or plot points that go back years. Back in the 1990's, the audience wasn't all that used to serialized storytelling but today, they'd be ready for something like that.

 

[Richard V]

At least the final episode looks as if they are going to resurrect the mythology.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I've been pretty pleased with the episodes (Mulder And Scully Meet The Were-Monster stands with some of the best episodes) but I do wish that they had gone with 6 mythology episodes instead of having 4 monster of the week shows. With so few episodes, they could have told a fairly self-contained mythology story and not had to worry about losing the audience with too much history or plot points that go back years. Back in the 1990's, the audience wasn't all that used to serialized storytelling but today, they'd be ready for something like that.

This will come as a giant shock but of course I agree. (Josh likes the mythology episodes? Really??) Although if it's more of the mythology of the first episode of this revival, maybe I'd be less inclined... if their mission in that premiere was to make a mythology episode that wouldn't work even for me, they finally did it.

But I do want to say to their credit, that only the "Were-Monster" episode was truly a stand-alone, and the other episodes at least acknowledged and felt part of the same series - it didn't feel like there was a massive divide between the mythology episodes and monster of the week episodes as it often felt to me during the original run. For instance, the first episode back focused on the alien mythology but also touched on Mulder and Scully's son. The son has come up in almost all of the episodes, which makes even the more stand-alone cases feel connected to the whole. When they investigate the DNA mutations in the second episode, they question whether it could be connected to the alien DNA in the first episode. That's the kind of thing I'm really appreciating - in the original run of the series, they'd never acknowledge any personal life stuff from Mulder and Scully that started in the mythology episodes, and they'd never acknowledge that a current case could be in some way related to the larger mythology case. By having monster of the week episodes that don't pretend the mythology doesn't exist, both types of episodes fit better together, and I appreciate that better sense of connection.

That said, it does seem kinda random to just bring them back for a few monsters of the week - just in terms of the in-universe storytelling, Mulder and Scully seem to exist in a weird place now - the FBI just wants them back? For how long? Is this the new full time job? It would make sense to say they were brought back in for a specific case, but seeing them back full time as if nothing had ever happened seems a little weird if you think about it too much. (Obviously the solution is not to think about it too much!)

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Put me down for thoroughly enjoying episode 5 and loving the mushroom sequence and the theological musings of God, hate and love. Why shouldn't Carter use his creation to explore the ideas that interest him, and then also find an amusing yin yang approach to circling those ideas via his doppelganger characters of Scully and Mulder? And the interesting twist here reminds us that Mulder 'wants to believe' and is eager to believe in the paranormal, but questions God, whereas Scully holds on to her Catholic faith in God but always questioned everything else.

Carter's not a young Turk in Hollywood anymore who is desperate to win over new fans or completely mollify long-term fans. He can explore what he wants and let the chips fall where they may with the brief window Fox has allowed him. And with the good ratings, they could usurp his control and run with the new characters, as studios are want to do, but at least he got another big turn at bat.

Taking a hallucinogenic substance to psychically 'diagnose' or connect to a patient is exactly how shamans work in tribal and Native American cultures. I loved how quick Mulder was to embrace this approach. Yeah, give me some mushrooms. It's a bit old school. Today, hallucinogenic spiritual seekers and Hollywood searcher types try Ayahuasca (Chelsea Handler just did an episode on her Netflix series). And the X-Files previously covered peyote, I believe, when Carlos Castaneda was in vogue.

I also loved the idea that the strength of Mulder's passion for a transcendental experience is so strong, that a placebo can give him the same effect. Says everything about the power of the mind. But why he trusted a couple processed capsules instead of the natural organic version, I don't know.

 

[MarkMel]

So that was supposed to be the last episode? WTF, a couple of answers and a cliff hanger. When will this get answered?

 

[Lord Dalek]

..........................................................................................................

That sucked.

 

[David Weicker]

Ugh!

What a crappy episode. Horribly written. First act crammed to the gills with exposition that overwhelmed even this faithful viewer of the original series. And what was up with Agent Reyes - was her character that moral-less in her seasons?

And the "ending"

What a colossal waste of an hour (or six, I guess).

 

[The Obsolete Man]

Ugh!

What a crappy episode. Horribly written. First act crammed to the gills with exposition that overwhelmed even this faithful viewer of the original series. And what was up with Agent Reyes - was her character that moral-less in her seasons?

And the "ending"

What a colossal waste of an hour (or six, I guess).

Reyes was where they lost me. Completely out of character and rolls over for the CSM when he threatens her with a few vague lines.

After that the new X-Files had worn out its welcome for me. The cliffhanger was just the icing on the cake. Resolve it, don't resolve it, whatever. Now we know what it takes to make season 9 look like a great sendoff.

But, we got the Darin Morgan episode and 2 and 5 were okay. So, half the season didn't suck.

 

[questrider]

I'm still stunned at what an incoherent mess this entire miniseries was conceptually. They either should have spent the entire six episodes working on this "alien contagion invasion" plot or waited until they could do more an 8-12 episode season. This should have been called The X-Files: Deus Ex Machina. And that's the ending with a "maybe we'll make more" marketing blitz?

I really wanted to believe that the truth was out there but I guess trust no one. Nothing important happened today.

 

[TravisR]

Reyes... Completely out of character and rolls over for the CSM when he threatens her with a few vague lines.

Yeah, I had trouble with that one. I could deal with the mountain of exposition and that the episode felt like it was the second half of a two-parter since there was so few episodes but even if she gave Scully info, that was completely out of character. Not to mention that Reyes and the CSM shared zero screen time and he was living in a cave when she was working the X-Files.

 

[Matt Hough]

A very disappointing wrap-up to this mini-run of episodes. Far too expansive a narrative to be able to do it justice in 42 minutes, and I am SO fed up with a "scientist" who scoffs at far-fetched scenarios with people collapsing weirdly right before her eyes. I know that's the premise of the show, but it's really growing whiskers now.

I did enjoy the episodes between the premiere and closer (some more than others, it's true), but this was left deliberately as a cliffhanger with absolutely no indication that there would be more episodes of the show produced. Ratings have been good, but they didn't know that when the shows were filmed, so this could really have been a sucker punch to loyal fans if the show had not met the network's ratings expectations and a way to be found to continue the story.

 

[Malcolm R]

but this was left deliberately as a cliffhanger with absolutely no indication that there would be more episodes of the show produced.

They may have shot a couple different endings. One that concluded things if the ratings were low, and one that allowed for a continuation if the ratings were good.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Well the ratings were indeed good, so...maybe?

 

[TravisR]

Well the ratings were indeed good, so...maybe?

I'm sure it'll be back, it's just a question of when everyone's schedule is open to do more episodes.