Small Talk: The Looooove. The Priiiiiide. Welcome Home.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Mulder and Scully try to find out the truth, along with dealing with aliens and other strange situations along the way. Loved this board over on TWOP and it would be cool if there was one here too for fans of the series to be able to discuss the show and the movies, etc.

[David T. Cole]

The Small Talk topic is for:

• Introductions
• Off-topic chatter
• Having virtual tea with forum buddies

This is NOT a topic for actual show discussion. When you want to talk about the show:

• Figure out the nature of the topic you want to talk about
• Look for an existing topic that matches or fits
• If there is NOT an existing topic that fits, CREATE ONE!

Examples of topics that populate show forums include (but by no means are limited to):

• Character topics
• Episode topics
• Season topics
• Spoiler topics
• Speculation topics
• In the Media topics
• Favourite X topics
• ...you get the idea

Happy trails beyond Small Talk!

[AntiBeeSpray]

Thanks David. Will start on some of the threads soon. 

[Bastet]

Thanks for starting this up, AntiBeeSpray (and thanks for converting it to our Small Talk thread, David).

I look forward to reconnecting with those from the TWoP forum who migrate over here, and to meeting new faces that share my love for this wonderful show.

For those who don't know me from the TWoP forum, I'm a civil rights lawyer living in Los Angeles with my cat, Maddie (that's her in the avatar, looking much happier than she does right now, having had three teeth extracted on Friday).  Sadly, I lost my kitty Baxter - whose various travails were covered in the Meet Market thread over the years - unexpectedly just before Christmas.  We live in a 1938 fixer-upper that, nine years later, I have finally actually fixed up.  I finished all the major renovations before the end of the year (other than a total redo of the kitchen and bathroom, which is still several years away), and am STILL painting the trim work and new plaster resulting from my new windows. 

[AntiBeeSpray]

I recognized your name right away, Bastet. Glad to see you here! Cute cat avatar, by the way. Aww :(. That sucks. How old was he?

Edited March 31, 2014 by AntiBeeSpray

[Bastet]

Thank you, ABS (hm, that looks like I'm calling you Anti-Lock Braking System).  He was only 13, and went into cardiac arrest out of the blue.  I got him to the hospital, and they were able to resuscitate him after 19 minutes of CPR (which is virtually unheard of) and for three days in ICU it looked like he might be among the five percent of cats who (long-term) survive cardiac arrest, but on that third morning he arrested again.  They called me several minutes into unsuccessful CPR, and with the underlying cause still unknown and thus the probability this would keep happening high, I told them to stop compressions.  It was all very traumatic; my cats are family to me, so losing one is always devastating, but for it to happen so suddenly and unexpectedly was extra difficult.

[Taryn74]

*waving madly*  I made it over here!  It's time to go pick the kids up from school, but I look forward to chatting with you all again about our favorite show.  I hope everyone does a "about me" type of post, I love finding out about people's real lives and putting stories with faces.  Or, usernames.  Whatever.

 

Bastet, sorry to hear about your furbaby.  :(

[smrou]

Oh, Bastet, I'm so sorry about your Baxter.  It's just so hard to lose a pet.  When I lost my Spooky it was very sudden and for at least a couple weeks afterward I would break into tears whenever I thought of her.  And she was only three years old, which on the one hand makes it all the more unexpected, but on the other hand it means I hadn't had quite as long to become attached.  Although my Smudge isn't much more than three and I have a very difficult time imagining my life without her.  

[JanetMacklin]

Hi y'all! I'm new to The X Files (er, in the middle of what will probably be the first watch of many). My parents were huge fans throughout my childhood and could never quite convince me to watch it. Finally I decided to take their advice and I wish I'd done so sooner. I do remember episodes that tiny me caught in passing that terrify me to this day - like Aubrey. I'm currently on episode 6.09 and the sixth season is a little shaky for me, given that season 5 was pretty much my favorite of those I've watched. And Fight The Future was incredible. I went in with low expectations - I've never seen a movie tie-in to a tv show - and it blew me away.

A friend of mine is also a huge, longtime fan and he finds watching the show with me hilarious. I had so many theories about mytharc that turned out to be completely ridiculous. I'm also a champion at overreacting to characters in peril. So many times throughout the series I find myself worried for Mulder and/or Scully and I have to remind myself "you have (this many seasons left). They live. Probably."

[AntiBeeSpray]

Hi JanetMacklin! It's nice to see a newer fan of the series. Glad to see that you like it so far. Had to convince a friend of mine back in 08' to become a fan. Took him to see IWTB and he was converted. It was SO much fun. Have any favorite characters yet (aside from M&S)?

[IndependentMind]

What is so amazing about The XFiles is how even after20 years their fanbase continues to grow. And look how pack their Comic Con panels are. And both David and Gillian are so darn good looking. They are beautiful together and the chemistry between these two have yet to change. If anything, they are even closer now

[Bastet]

Thank you, Taryn and smrou.  Smrou, I'm so sorry to hear about Spooky.  Unless this is a false memory implanted by the aliens, I think I remember - from the Meet Market - when you named her.

And I hope Smudge is with you for a good, long time!  My first cat - he was the only cat my parents had when I was born, and he was with us another seven years - was named Smudgy, because his fur pattern made it look like he had a smudge of dirt on his chin.

Welcome, Janet.  Since you're currently watching season six for the first time, maybe you'll want to open up a thread for that season and give us your impressions; it's always so fun to hear what people just now seeing the show think of it.

[baci87]

Hey everyone! I recognize a few names from TWoP. I was a HUGE lurker...posted a few times but that's it because I found that forum so late in life. *Sigh

Anyway, if anyone wants a recap by Jessica for any episode just message or contact me (I'm not sure how you do it on this site) and I'll send it to you.  Those recaps made me laugh so many times I wasn't ready to let them go.

[smrou]

Unless this is a false memory implanted by the aliens, I think I remember - from the Meet Market - when you named her.

I'm sure I mentioned it there.  There's an excellent chance that when I got her I asked other XF Meet Market folks to help brainstorm names.  

 

 

And I hope Smudge is with you for a good, long time!  My first cat - he was the only cat my parents had when I was born, and he was with us another seven years - was named Smudgy, because his fur pattern made it look like he had a smudge of dirt on his chin.

Smudge is so named because of the out-of-place bit of white on her nose (you can see her in my avatar, but for a larger version check out the Pet Pictures thread in the Everything Else section of these forums).  Actually, that white on her face is what led a friend of mine to suggest the name, but the reason I immediately decided that must be her name is because Smudge is what my parents used to call me as a kid (I was a messy kid).

Edited April 1, 2014 by smrou

[smrou]

Bastet, you got me curious, so I checked and...here is where I posted on TWoP about getting a cat.  And then on the next page there is discussion of names.  You preferred Spooky, which was the winning name!  (It's sad to read back about my brand new kitty Spooky now that she is gone forever.  I miss her.)

 

[Oops, I double-posted.  Got used to the automatic merging on TWoP so I didn't think about it.  Sorry!]

Edited April 1, 2014 by smrou

[JanetMacklin]

Hi JanetMacklin! It's nice to see a newer fan of the series. Glad to see that you like it so far. Had to convince a friend of mine back in 08' to become a fan. Took him to see IWTB and he was converted. It was SO much fun. Have any favorite characters yet (aside from M&S)?

Krycek, weirdly, is a favorite of a sort. I can never figure out if the character is truly bad news or just long ago realized that he was in too deep and is acting out of self-preservation. I was totally behind the Corvarubbias and Krycek hookup of distraction.

Since I finished SR 819 I have to say that Skinner keeps emerging as a favorite. Mulder and Scully really respect and have a caring rapport with him, and he with them. And I just love the way he handled CSM in the earlier seasons. Even the Skinner-centric episode (where he was working for CSM in order to secure Scully's cure) was fantastic. I just refer to that episode as "Smallpox Bees".

And of course, The Lone Gunmen are favorites. It's almost worth seeing their spinoff series. 

I am kindly reserving judgment about D. Fowley at present. I just don't care for the way she was introduced. I didn't naturally pit her against Scully, until she herself did. Mileage variable, opinion subject to change.

 

Welcome, Janet.  Since you're currently watching season six for the first time, maybe you'll want to open up a thread for that season and give us your impressions; it's always so fun to hear what people just now seeing the show think of it.

 

I will if I can come up with a clever title! As I've been slowly making my way through the series, I've noticed that The X Files has the most welcoming fanbase. Thanks for having patience with a newbie, everyone. 

[AntiBeeSpray]

@ Janet: Yea he was a rather interesting character. A definitely shade of gray one if you think about it. As for D. Fowley... I can't reserve judgement on her sadly :(. Too much history lol. I remember a lot of people called her The Fowl One (myself included) back then. But as a character, she is one good one. So in that way, taking M & S out of the equation, I can see what a tangled web she weaved and how much of a complex character she truly was.

Edited April 2, 2014 by AntiBeeSpray

[SnideAsides]

Krycek, weirdly, is a favorite of a sort. I can never figure out if the character is truly bad news or just long ago realized that he was in too deep and is acting out of self-preservation. I was totally behind the Corvarubbias and Krycek hookup of distraction.

I think my favourite part of this is that I vaguely remember reading somewhere that it was a late addition - if memory serves, it was the same two-parter where Krycek got into Mulder's apartment and planted one on him after giving him some information (no doubt spawning thousands of 90s-era slash stories), and someone somewhere along the pre-production line didn't want to imply a recurring character that major was gay, especially after how Ellen's sitcom had just been cancelled.

But yes, Krycek is delightful.

[Bastet]

Let's not already get moderated for talking about the show in the non-show thread.  Anyone who comes up with a clever thread title for Krycek, Skinner, seasons, etc. - start 'em up. I'm coming up creatively dry this early in the morning.

Speaking of thread titles, when the show forum request was converted into this Small Talk thread, it was noted that we could ask for a title change if we collectively wanted.  Do we want to stick with this or change it to something else? If something else, do we want to poach the "Hangin' With the Action Figures" title from the Meet Market, call it "The FBI's Most Unwanted" or "Down in the Basement" or ... ?

Edited April 2, 2014 by Bastet

[AntiBeeSpray]

Let's not already get moderated for talking about the show in the non-show thread.  Anyone who comes up with a clever thread title for Krycek, Skinner, seasons, etc. - start 'em up. I'm coming up creatively dry this early in the morning.

Speaking of thread titles, when the show forum request was converted into this Small Talk thread, it was noted that we could ask for a title change if we collectively wanted.  Do we want to stick with this or change it to something else? If something else, do we want to poach the "Hangin' With the Action Figures" title from the Meet Market, call it "The FBI's Most Unwanted" or "Down in the Basement" or ... ?

Whoops! Nothing like greeting some of the newer members and getting caught up in show talk :p.

How about 'Mulder's house of Pencils?'

Also on a more serious note: Anyone having issues accessing some parts of the site? I can't access game time or the faq, etc. part on Google Chrome. It will only let me access a cached version.

Edited April 2, 2014 by AntiBeeSpray

[ElleryAnne]

I'm revisiting my old X-Files addiction after several years of not watching it.   I'm still a fan of Krycek - he always was my favorite -  but this time around I find that I want to reach through the screen and throttle Mulder sometimes.  Oddly enough, I'm finding that I like Jeffrey more than I originally did, and wish he'd been in more episodes.  

I never did get through the ninth season of the show but I think I'll give it another try.

[tigerisis]

Oh Yay! I am already seeing familiar faces! This is very exciting.  So I was a 50/50 lurker/poster over at TWoP since 2001 or so.  I will miss that place but glad to find a new home and see familiar people and new fans of this brilliant, brilliant show. Here's to another 20 years of this show being talked about and dissected ad nauseum, lol! I am already looking forward to what everyone is already saying here.

smrou, I remember reading about your Spooky.  I had a cat as a child named Spooky.  We didn't have him for more than a couple years.   We had to move and he literally headed for the hills! Guess he didn't want to move.  I, too, am a cat lover and have a little furball named Kiki that I live with.  My animals are like family to me, too, so I understand the heartbreak you had Bastet.  That is rough. 

I'll catch up here again soon!

[Another G Woman]

Hi, folks! I'm another TWoPer who has made the migration.

I can't promise that I won't be a sporadic poster (as I have been in recent years), but I'm happy to have a new home! May it be filled with sarcasm and squees.

[scrambled eggs]

Hi everyone! I'm glad this forum is here now, I've been slacking on my X-Files fandom but will try to do better. 

[MyrtleGroggins]

Hi all! I was shockingly bad at keeping up with the X Files forum over at TWOP (like, seriously, appallingly awful) but I'll try to do better over here!  Plus, it's time for a series rewatch one of these days...

[MyrtleGroggins]

Very sorry to double-post (if the posts don't merge) but I wasn't sure where else to put my mini-PSA: Amazon US has the entire series (plus both movies) on sale for <$90 today, it appears.  In this group, it is likely that everyone is already squared away, but I'd hate for anyone to miss out!

[Taryn74]

WOW, amazing deal!  Thanks for the heads-up!  I already own all of it but am definitely passing the information along.

[Hidebehind]

Hi everyone!

I guess you could call me a new fan of the The X-Files - quite literally. I wasn't even born until season four, so I never got the opportunity to experience the show during its original run. My parents introduced me to the show via Netflix when I was about six; I saw most of the earlier seasons and then flat-out refused to watch with them anymore because I found it so scary. I think the show had a big impact on me, because I have incredibly vivid memories of a couple episodes. But as much as it terrified me at times, I was very fond of those two agents. I always thought Mulder was so cool... hehe.

Even though I'm a big fan of science fiction and have always been intrigued by cryptozoology, I didn't think to rewatch The X-Files until recently. It was like fate, of course - I immediately fell in love with the show and the characters all over again and watched every episode within a few months.

I came here after I found out that the TWoP forums are shutting down. I never posted (I'm pretty reticent, to be honest) but I had so much fun browsing through the X-Files threads on there and reading everyone's thoughts and analyses, even if I was just a bystander and not an active participant in the discussion.

I feel like a dork, but it makes me SO happy that there's still fans around willing to chat about this amazing show. :)

Edited April 12, 2014 by Hidebehind

[Taryn74]

Welcome to the fandom, Hidebehind!  I think you're probably about the same age as my daughter, which makes me feel very old, heh.

[Hidebehind]

Don't feel old! I'm just young - I'll be 17 in a couple of weeks, to be exact.

Does your daughter like the show? I've had some success getting my friends to watch it with me, though none of them are hardcore fans. The only real complaints they had were with the outdated special effects; they thought it was great otherwise. I do think the series explores some very universal themes that will continue to resonate with people as time goes by.

[Taryn74]

My Dana's not quite 16 yet, so she's close but not exactly the same age.  I haven't had any success getting her to watch, yet.  She keeps saying she doesn't want to pick up a new show right now (she's not finished with Supernatural yet, and she's also a hardcore Doctor Who and Sherlock fan) but I'll eventually get her hooked on it. 

Plus, the theme song still freaks her out a little.  I used to watch XF after she had gone to bed, but she could still hear the TV well enough to know when the theme was playing.  It always made her feel like aliens were coming to get her.  To this day if I'm watching and I know she's in the next room, I'll crank the theme song up really loud.  She usually stomps to my door yelling "Mother! That's not funny!"  *cackling*

[smrou]

I'm always happy to hear about young XF fans.  I teach 16-18-year-olds and when on occasion I mention XF usually nobody in the room has even heard of it.  Which is honestly kind of heartbreaking for me.  

[smrou]

Today I'm wearing these socks and it's making me very happy.  Even though nobody can actually see them due to my pants and shoes.

Edited April 14, 2014 by smrou

[SnideAsides]

I saw the I Want to Believe poster in the background of an adult film once. It was quite the distraction.

[joelene]

Hi everyone!

I've also migrated from TWoP, but I changed my username. I used to be urbanmilkwoman. Mostly a lurker but I posted a bit in the last few months.

For those interested, despite my usernames, I'm actually a guy. My name's Joel and I love Dolly Parton so I've been using this new username lately, heh. My former was a reference to the tv-show Smack the Pony. I'm also representing Sweden. Anyway. Good to see all of you here, already chatting away!

[Bastet]

I'm so glad you shared the story of your username, because as soon as I saw it I started singing Jolene.  I, too, am quite a fan of Dolly Parton.  Hers was the first concert I attended (back in the early '80s some time) and I last saw her on stage about five years ago for the Backwoods Barbie tour.

[Taryn74]

Hi Joel!  Love Dolly Parton!  Good to have you here.  I recognize your old username from TWoP.

[joelene]

Awesome, guys! I mean really, how anyone can not love Dolly is beyond me. I'm so jealous you've had the pleasure, Bastet! The times she's been performing in my city I've been either broke or unavailable. One day, gadummit!

[smrou]

Awesome, guys! I mean really, how anyone can not love Dolly is beyond me.

You saying that immediately made me remember that there was an episode of the Extra Hot Great podcast where they talked about a category of celebrities they call "Unhateables" and Dolly Parton was one of the people who was suggested as belonging in that category.  

 

Anyway, hello joelene.  I think that's a great name and I'm glad you explained it.  And it's nice to have a resident Swede.  The one time I ever went to Sweden it was to visit X-phile and former TWoP poster, Kanel.  

[Bastet]

I remember lying in bed sick years back, unable to muster up the energy to find the remote when some entertainment news program came on after whatever I'd been watching.  They were on the red carpet of some charity event that had drawn celebrities - and "celebrities" - from many different genres.  They wound up putting together a little montage of the wide variety of people who, during their interview, either spotted Dolly Parton or otherwise learned she was there.  To a person, there was an "OMG, Dolly Parton is here?  I love her!" reaction. 

[joelene]

You saying that immediately made me remember that there was an episode of the Extra Hot Great podcast where they talked about a category of celebrities they call "Unhateables" and Dolly Parton was one of the people who was suggested as belonging in that category.  

 

Anyway, hello joelene.  I think that's a great name and I'm glad you explained it.  And it's nice to have a resident Swede.  The one time I ever went to Sweden it was to visit X-phile and former TWoP poster, Kanel.  

 

That's so true about Dolly Parton-McAwesome! I'm trying to come up with others but the only names that popped into my brain place was Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith. Heh. 

That's so great you went to visit a Swedish TWoP:er! How did you like it? You still talk?

 

I remember lying in bed sick years back, unable to muster up the energy to find the remote when some entertainment news program came on after whatever I'd been watching.  They were on the red carpet of some charity event that had drawn celebrities - and "celebrities" - from many different genres.  They wound up putting together a little montage of the wide variety of people who, during their interview, either spotted Dolly Parton or otherwise learned she was there.  To a person, there was an "OMG, Dolly Parton is here?  I love her!" reaction. 

 

Haha, can't blame 'em! I'd love to know who that was if you remember?

 

Sorry for the late reply. That's another thing you might notice about me. I'm terrible at keeping up with conversations on forums, so you'll have to bear with me!

[Bastet]

I remember Mary J. Blige being one of them, but that's all that is coming to me right now.

 

I'd put Myrna Loy on the "unhateable" list, too.  I mean, I love Katharine Hepburn just as much (they're my two favorite classic movie actors), but I can understand her rubbing someone the wrong way.  Actively disliking Myrna Loy is unfathomable to me, though.  I can't think of many others.  Helen Mirren, maybe.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Bastet

[Hidebehind]

 I haven't been on here in a while because I'm taking the SAT next month and don't want to distract myself, but it's hard when little gems like this show up on the practice tests:  

It completely made my day! There was even a reading comprehension passage about UFOs and the Loch Ness Monster.

[Taryn74]

That is awesome Hide!  Did you squeal out loud when you saw the question?  Heh.

[AntiBeeSpray]

That's made of win, Hide :).

[Badforthefish]

Care to take me to lunch? ;-)

 

Hi Guys! *waves* I used to be on TWOP as Scarletb aka "Fish" on LiveJournal and TV Com. So great to see the old TWOP gang found a new home. I saw Bastet's name and went "wait, I know these guys!" This place was mentionned by a Phile on Haven in the middle of a discussion about GA & DD recent Twitter antics, that's how I ended up here.

 

Would the PTB who run this let us start a new "Mulder, She Wrote" thread, you think?

Edited April 27, 2014 by Badforthefish

[Taryn74]

Yay!  Welcome back, Scarlet.  Or, Bad or whatever we need to call you now LOL.

[Badforthefish]

Thank you Taryn! Scarlet is my pen name. Fish is what people call me on LJ because my journal is also "badforthefish". Call me what you want, I ain't fussy. :)

[Bastet]

Hi, badforthefish.  You'll always be Scarlet to me since I've been reading your stories for a long time, but whatever the name it's nice to see you here.  Stick around!

[smrou]

Hi, badforthefish.  It's nice to see our little group here growing.  Hopefully that will continue.