Season 8: Ginormous pregnancy and WHINY Scully...

[AntiBeeSpray]

Any new thoughts on Season 8? What's your views on the writing, acting, etc? Cont. from Small talk..

[Hidebehind]

I'm really not a fan of Scully's pregnancy. I never saw Scully as someone who would impulsively decide to have a child, especially while working in such a dangerous environment. If they wanted her to have a kid, they should have had her adopt Emily back in season five---at least that's more true to her character. 

 

I never felt invested in Doggett, but I think he's a decent character.

 

My favorite episodes from this season are Roadrunners, Patience, Redrum, Vienen, and Per Manum. I think Roadrunners in particular is great. 

[Bastet]

Scully deciding to get pregnant wouldn't have made much sense to me, and Scully deciding to remain pregnant under these bizarre circumstances of not knowing how or even what made even less sense.  I was really glad not to be watching any more.

[queequeg]

Scully's pregnancy or desire to have a kid never bothered me so much.  Plotwise I don't think it was a wise choice to give her a kid, but it didn't seem out of character based on her earlier desires for a "normal" life and the fact she wanted to adopt Emily.  But the "who the baby daddy?" crap was just ridiculous.  I feel like Chris was trying to be clever with that and it was just dumb.  And her giving up William was a stupid, convenient way of dropping a kid that wasn't a great idea to begin with.  

[AntiBeeSpray]

Scully's pregnancy or desire to have a kid never bothered me so much.  Plotwise I don't think it was a wise choice to give her a kid, but it didn't seem out of character based on her earlier desires for a "normal" life and the fact she wanted to adopt Emily.  But the "who the baby daddy?" crap was just ridiculous.  I feel like Chris was trying to be clever with that and it was just dumb.  And her giving up William was a stupid, convenient way of dropping a kid that wasn't a great idea to begin with.  

 

Amen! Seconded. I really HATED the whole who's the daddy bs. it was really, really immature imo to have handled the plot line and not fair to either M or S.

[SnideAsides]

Rewatch update: Surekill and Salvage are both really, really underrated. Are they excellent? No. But they're surprisingly good. That's been the big surprise of this rewatch, actually, that I've really enjoyed a lot of the episodes I remembered nothing about but that the episodes I usually love feel lacking by comparison.

[queequeg]

Salvage was the metal man ep, right?  Oh, I think that was close to my least favorite for season 8.  I think I hated it more than the butt genie ep.  I can't remember Surekill good or bad, so I guess that is good for that ep?

[joelene]

For me, Surekill's only saving grace is Kellie Waymire (RIP).

[Goshengir1]

I have barreled through the first half of season 8, and I'm finally up to Par Manum and yay, Mulder's back episodes - which I will start watching tonight. It only took me three days to get this far, but it seemed to take forever! I haven't watched these episodes since they were first on, so I had completely forgotten the freaky weird stuff that happens.  First of all, Mulder was dying of a brain disease and even went so far as to have a headstone engraved with his year of death? And he was taking off on road trips to find shamens who could cure him by literally eating him alive and then puking him back up? And he never told Scully, and she didn't notice that anything was wrong even though their relationship had obviously moved to the next level? I mean, seriously...this is so baffling I find it insulting to the fans.  Wasn't it enough that he got abducted by aliens, did they have to give him a fatal brain disease too?

 

The episode with the freaky little Indian man crawling up people's butts was crazy and confusing too (though I liked the end when Scully was so upset about shooting the boy/Indian man and obviously missing Mulder like crazy), and others were just boring.  I liked Roadrunners because it was scary in a compelling, good story way, and of course it was written by Vince Gilligan - love him.  I don't have any problems with Doggett except that he isn't Mulder.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I have barreled through the first half of season 8, and I'm finally up to Par Manum and yay, Mulder's back episodes - which I will start watching tonight. It only took me three days to get this far, but it seemed to take forever! I haven't watched these episodes since they were first on, so I had completely forgotten the freaky weird stuff that happens.  First of all, Mulder was dying of a brain disease and even went so far as to have a headstone engraved with his year of death? And he was taking off on road trips to find shamens who could cure him by literally eating him alive and then puking him back up? And he never told Scully, and she didn't notice that anything was wrong even though their relationship had obviously moved to the next level? I mean, seriously...this is so baffling I find it insulting to the fans.  Wasn't it enough that he got abducted by aliens, did they have to give him a fatal brain disease too?

 

The episode with the freaky little Indian man crawling up people's butts was crazy and confusing too (though I liked the end when Scully was so upset about shooting the boy/Indian man and obviously missing Mulder like crazy), and others were just boring.  I liked Roadrunners because it was scary in a compelling, good story way, and of course it was written by Vince Gilligan - love him.  I don't have any problems with Doggett except that he isn't Mulder.

 

I thought he was dying of that in early s6 for some reason! Yea, I got my seasons mixed up. But now that you mention it, it almost seems as if CC did it on purpose (due in part to the lawsuit), it's rather petty if you ask me (the whole dying from the brain disease thing and the whole who's the daddy thing). 

[supposebly]

 

CC did it on purpose (due in part to the lawsuit)

 

What lawsuit?

[AntiBeeSpray]

What lawsuit?

 

This one.

 

Lawsuit

 

Before the season aired, David Duchovny filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox. Duchovny was upset because, he claimed, that Fox had undersold the rights to its own affiliates, thereby costing him huge sums of money. Originally, in the contract, Duchovny was eligible for an estimated five percent, but, according to him, he "had seen only a fraction" of the money. Eventually, the lawsuit was settled, and Duchovny was awarded a settlement of about $20 million. The lawsuit put strain on Duchovny's professional relationships. Although his lawsuit never called Chris Carter a defendant, their friendship was notably impacted. One anonymous source noted that "the whole lawsuit thing revealed that Carter knew (Duchovny) was getting screwed and didn't warn him. Carter proved where his loyalties lay with his actions."

 

Neither Carter nor Duchovny were contracted to work on the series beyond the seventh season; however, Fox entered into negotiations near the end of season in order to bring the two on board for an eighth season. After the airing of "Requiem", Duchovny expressed his intentions to leave the series. He explained, "I was kind of a free agent after season seven, and to me, there was not much else to do in terms of the character. So it was really about me wanting to pursue other parts of my career as a writer, director, and actor." Rumors began spreading—and were eventually confirmed—that, since Duchovny had not expressed an interest to appear as a main character in the eighth season, that another character would take Mulder's place. Many fans on the internet believed that Mitch Pileggi, who portrayed Walter Skinner, would take the role; Pileggi later called this guess "ridiculous."

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org

[supposebly]

So if Duchovny got screwed, did Gillian Anderson get screwed too? She just didn't do anything about it?

[AntiBeeSpray]

So if Duchovny got screwed, did Gillian Anderson get screwed too? She just didn't do anything about it?

 

Good point. Not sure on that one tbh. We only heard of the one side of it back in the day. I figure she probably did get affected by it in some way. Who knows? *shrugs* Tbh though, it's pretty much water under the bridge now. They're all on the same side, getting along. And that's what matters and what counts :).

[supposebly]

True. I wasn't around at the time, I only started watching around 2001, so I missed most of the behind the scenes stuff. But a lot of what I learn makes it look like the success of the X-files must have inflated his head quite considerably.

I don't include the lawsuit, including from what I read outside that wikipedia article, he had every right to sue. I just wonder if Gillian had a similar contract and just didn't sue or if she had a different contract.

[AntiBeeSpray]

True. I wasn't around at the time, I only started watching around 2001, so I missed most of the behind the scenes stuff. But a lot of what I learn makes it look like the success of the X-files must have inflated his head quite considerably.

I don't include the lawsuit, including from what I read outside that wikipedia article, he had every right to sue. I just wonder if Gillian had a similar contract and just didn't sue or if she had a different contract.

 

Probably. Same with her tbh. But as far as I can tell any bit of them not getting along wasn't money related. This is going off of what they've said about it. Again, who knows? She might have.

[Bastet]

I just wonder if Gillian had a similar contract and just didn't sue or if she had a different contract.

 

Different; she had to renegotiate to get equal pay.  That new contract is how she got stuck hanging around all nine seasons (although she did negotiate a shooting schedule that allowed her travel time to Vancouver since Piper was in school by then).  Maybe they screwed her out of a cut of the syndication rights to begin with, and that's why she didn't file a lawsuit similar to DD's.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Different; she had to renegotiate to get equal pay.  That new contract is how she got stuck hanging around all nine seasons (although she did negotiate a shooting schedule that allowed her travel time to Vancouver since Piper was in school by then).  Maybe they screwed her out of a cut of the syndication rights to begin with, and that's why she didn't file a lawsuit similar to DD's.

 

Good point, Bastet.

[M.F. Luder]

 

Maybe they screwed her out of a cut of the syndication rights to begin with, and that's why she didn't file a lawsuit similar to DD's.

That's what I always assumed. I would think that if she had the same basis to sue as David, she would have. I don't think she would leave money on the table given the fact that she was already getting screwed over in terms of pay.

[supposebly]

 

That's what I always assumed. I would think that if she had the same basis to sue as David, she would have. I don't think she would leave money on the table given the fact that she was already getting screwed over in terms of pay.

 

Oh nice. And women still don't get equal pay. She better get equal pay this time.

 

 

That new contract is how she got stuck hanging around all nine seasons (although she did negotiate a shooting schedule that allowed her travel time to Vancouver since Piper was in school by then).

 

I wondered about that. It seemed odd to have the new "dream team" with Doggett and Monica and her still around.

Edited June 2, 2015 by supposebly

[AntiBeeSpray]

Oh nice. And women still don't get equal pay. She better get equal pay this time.

 

She has for awhile. They both earned 4 million each in FTF (iirc) and around 250k a piece in IWTB. Last I heard, they both weren't getting paid that much for the new episodes. So it sounds like a pay issue for both of them.

 

She said this supposedly earlier this year: “Yes, it is still a problem. In a very, very big way, including something recent and unconscionable, which I really can’t talk about but yes, it is still alive and well," she sighed to The Big Issue magazine on the topic of gender inequality.

 

Source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/news/gillian-anderson-equal-pay-is-still-an-issue-31108129.html

 

I think it's just bs imo. A newspaper/website trying to drum up views tbh. She's brought up about pay, but not about the equal issue lately. Just the amount in regards to the BOTH of them, not just herself.

 

And this other quote pretty much backs up why I think it's bull: Throughout the run of the TV show Gillian was paid less than her co-star David Duchovny and their wages only became equal in the second movie. <-- Uh, no it was far sooner. If any site/paper can't do any research right then I really question any of the data or information in the article itself. I figure it's made up.

[M.F. Luder]

She better get equal pay this time.

I think she is. But she did make a comment in an interview not too long ago where she talked about equal pay issues and she said she recently had to deal with a situation that was egregious and she would never talk about it but she was disappointed it was still an issue. I wondered if she was talking about The X-Files, given the history, but I really don't think they'd try to pull that crap again.

 

 

She has for awhile. They both earned 4 million each in FTF (iirc) and around 250k a piece in IWTB. Last I heard, they both weren't getting paid that much for the new episodes. So it sounds like a pay issue for both of them.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think getting paid the same amount for the movies is the same as getting paid the same amount per episode. Especially during the last 2 years. (I could be wrong, but I thought she was never paid the same amount per episode as DD)

Edited June 2, 2015 by M.F. Luder

[Bastet]

That's what I always assumed. I would think that if she had the same basis to sue as David, she would have.

 

Exactly, especially since that was a big chunk of change.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I think she is. But she did make a comment in an interview not too long ago where she talked about equal pay issues and she said she recently had to deal with a situation that was egregious and she would never talk about it but she was disappointed it was still an issue. I wondered if she was talking about The X-Files, given the history, but I really don't think they'd try to pull that crap again.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think getting paid the same amount for the movies is the same as getting paid the same amount per episode. Especially during the last 2 years. (I could be wrong, but I thought she was never paid the same amount per episode as DD)

 

You'd figure they wouldn't.

 

I thought things leveled out by then.

 

Just came across some old stuff! Thank you People magazine.

 

Time machine time, circa 1998: the link, it's the first little blurb.

 

Gotta love the uncomfortable time. Seriously though, they've said it wasn't due to the money... but due to the fact that they worked together so much that it made them not like each other so much at times.

Here's a quote from around that time:

 

“Gillian and I get along, but we have our moments. I think sometimes we all just go—Goddammit, I’d rather be anywhere else but here and I’m going to make you suffer for it! But other times I’ll look at her and think she’s the only one that really knows what I am going though. So there’s a real bond there.”

DD, TV Times (UK), October 1998

 

 

Source: shitbetweenus

 

 

And another one (this one from 2015):

 

 

Are you good with, I mean, can you handle that stuff pretty well, at this point? Like are you good when things are going well?

 

GA: That’s a really good question. I think I’m better at it. I don’t think I used to be real good at it. You know, during – I was having this conversation last night…

 

Um, you know, there was a period during The X-Files when it got attention and we started to win awards, and it was so – I didn’t know how to handle that, either. I didn’t know how to take in all the goodness. And so I just – like there are pictures of me with awards, like, the Golden Globe or the Emmy, where I look like I’m upset that I won an award! Like  I’m not happy, like, what’s wrong with her?  It was so– it was too- it was a LOT. And I didn’t know…

 

And also because we were shooting in Vancouver, we were protected from a lot of – and it was before TMZ, before Twitter, before anything, right? So we were in this bubble, and then coming down for award show, award show, award show, win win win, and I, I did not know how to handle it. And even to the point where, I don’t know what the sequence of things were, but one year I ended up – and it actually might have been for the episode in season three, but I won the SAG, the Golden Globe, and the Emmy. And the last one, I realized that I hadn’t mentioned my family, and so I can’t remember which one it was, it might have been the SAGs, but I only talked about my family and didn’t talk about my reps or David or whatever – and there was an uproar, and I had to take out an ad in Variety or something, apologizing. But that’s where my brain– I , I, I’ve never KNOWN these things.

 

And I have a tendency to be really inappropriate, and tell the truth, and run off at the mouth… and to say, just to say what the shit is. What the facts are. And either people go, “oh, that’s just Gillian,” or they go, “OH my GOD, can you BELIEVE she fucking DID THAT?” … So it was… it’s… it’s all good.

 

Good. Good. Were you and David, did you kind of share the experience of the success of the show, or did you guys kind of go off a little bit in your own corners?

 

GA: Well… it’s weird, cause we’ve talked about it since then, about the opportunity that we had to… you know, because we were the only two people who were going through the same thing at the same time. But I think that something had wedged itself in there at some point that kind of had us on different sides of the planet for a little while. So through a lot of that, we, we, there were moments where we were together in it, and a lot of where we were on, um, just not, just not. And it’s a shame. And we’ve talked about the fact, you know, in private and in public, about what a shame it was that we didn’t utilize that.

 

Nerdist podcast, Jan 12, 2015

 

 

Source: Same as above

 

Here's the exact quote (from People Magazine) for those who don't want to click:

 

X-asperated

David Duchovny to Gillian Anderson: Don't blame your paycheck on sexism

 

Focus

 

Call it the battle of the X's. A couple of years ago, X-Files star Gillian Anderson groused that she was making less than costar David Duchovny because of her gender. Duchovny—whose $110,000-per-episode salary is now only slightly higher than Anderson's—sounded steamed about the issue in a freewheeling interview last month in Britain's The Guardian newspaper. "If she's making less money than me, she should blame her lawyer, her agent or herself," he said. "She shouldn't blame the fact that she's a woman, or me." Duchovny noted that Demi Moore, who is reportedly paid $10-$12 million per film, makes more than he does and asked, "Is it because she's a woman [and] has breasts?" Duchovny also complained that he has taken more knocks than the Three Stooges on the show: "Mulder has lost every fist fight he's ever had on The X-Files. Scully has won almost every one. Gillian is 5'2", I'm 6'; the odds are that I'd probably win more. However, because she's a woman, Scully can't lose. You become tyrannized by this notion that women must not only be treated equally, but they must never fail. It makes for bad drama." Duchovny also bemoaned what he saw as unnecessary sexual-harassment lawsuits, sympathizing with "an employer saying one time, 'Gee, that girl has nice [breasts].' I shouldn't have to lose my business because of that. If you are offended by it, you can say so. But people's lives are being ruined, and I believe that the cause of feminism is actually being set back." On the salary issue, Anderson, reached by PEOPLE, backed her costar. "David is right. The issue here is equal pay for equal work." Duchovny told PEOPLE he stood by the interview, adding generously, "I want everybody to make as much money as possible."

 

He supposedly wasn't earning much more than her at that point. Early on it was a huge difference though, but it seems as if by then things (at least to a point) had been worked out.

 

And going by the interview, it seems as if that they were on the same page.

[Goshengir1]

Last night I watched Per Manum – Three Words, and I have so many conflicting emotions about these episodes I hadn’t seen since 2001.  There are many things that remind me of why I became an embittered fan (I hate the IVF plot just as much as the brain disease that came out of nowhere), but there are also many, many things I enjoyed so I’m going to focus on the positive!

Per Manum did over all frustrate me, but I loved the last hug scene where Scully brushed past Mulder’s lips to kiss his neck…I just wish her memory of that evening kept going to include the part where they started working on creating a miracle.  I could totally see that happening right then, but I have no idea where it fits into the timeline.

 

This is Not Happening and DeadAlive surprised me in how much they allowed GA to portray Scully as a woman desperate to find, and then mourning, the man she loves and father of her child.  This is not a woman looking for her partner and best friend; she’s terrified and anguished because he’s the love of her life, and everyone around her (Skinner, Doggett) knows it and accepts it. I just love it when she goes to Skinner’s door after her bad dream, and he gets dressed to follow her outside instead of inviting her in (as Mulder would have done) because that’s not appropriate between them. And then he tries to comfort her in a totally Skinner way. 

 

I just have to add that they lucked out that GA is such a pretty, pretty crier…I don’t know how she summons such perfect, crystal tears and never gets red-eyed or snotty-nosed. She’s flawless.

 

I read Frank Spotnitz’s episode commentary on DeadAlive (transcribed on mitchpileggi.net) and a couple things surprised me. The first is about the scene where Doggett tries to keep Scully from seeing Mulder after he’s first dug up, and then about the final scene when Mulder wakes up.

 

But this scene is going to pretty clearly indicate a current that goes through these last two seasons as well, which is, I got the pretty clear sense that John Doggett was in love with Dana Scully. And of course Dana Scully was in love with Fox Mulder. So you sense this heartbreak, you know, she's in love with this guy and he wants to be there for her and he can't be, because her heart's taken by someone else.

 

This was also sort of the dilemma, after all this time and after the probability that Mulder and Scully had consummated their relationship, to continue teasing the famous sexual tension instead of actually giving the audience romance was very difficult, and so just to be truthful storytellers we had to surrender some of that tension in favor of overt romantic feelings. And here, as I was saying, the point of view is Doggett's, and we went back and forth about how to end this episode, on Mulder and Scully in the hospital room, on Doggett in the hallway. And you can see the decision we made.

I never got the impression that Doggett was in love with Scully, I just thought he respected and cared for her, but now I can see it that way.  I’m just glad they never had him as a romantic competitor with Mulder, because that would not have gone over well. I love the final scene where Scully doesn’t even pick her head up off of Mulder’s chest when Doggett walks in, she just looks at him like, yes, this is my man and he’s alive.  I guess that is pretty overt, I just wish they had allowed it to carry over into the next few episodes.  I understand why things were a little awkward between Mulder and Scully after a long separation and the whole dead thing, but two people in love would have had a truthful conversation about his impending fatherhood. Wouldn’t he have said, wow, Scully, did I do that, are we having a baby? Instead of gee, that’s great, I’m really happy for you? Mulder acts so confused about the whole thing it’s infuriating.  They were not being truthful storytellers there, at all.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Goshengir1

[AntiBeeSpray]

Last night I watched Per Manum – Three Words, and I have so many conflicting emotions about these episodes I hadn’t seen since 2001.  There are many things that remind me of why I became an embittered fan (I hate the IVF plot just as much as the brain disease that came out of nowhere), but there are also many, many things I enjoyed so I’m going to focus on the positive!

Per Manum did over all frustrate me, but I loved the last hug scene where Scully brushed past Mulder’s lips to kiss his neck…I just wish her memory of that evening kept going to include the part where they started working on creating a miracle.  I could totally see that happening right then, but I have no idea where it fits into the timeline.

 

This is Not Happening and DeadAlive surprised me in how much they allowed GA to portray Scully as a woman desperate to find, and then mourning, the man she loves and father of her child.  This is not a woman looking for her partner and best friend; she’s terrified and anguished because he’s the love of her life, and everyone around her (Skinner, Doggett) knows it and accepts it. I just love it when she goes to Skinner’s door after her bad dream, and he gets dressed to follow her outside instead of inviting her in (as Mulder would have done) because that’s not appropriate between them. And then he tries to comfort her in a totally Skinner way. 

 

I just have to add that they lucked out that GA is such a pretty, pretty crier…I don’t know how she summons such perfect, crystal tears and never gets red-eyed or snotty-nosed. She’s flawless.

 

I read Frank Spotnitz’s episode commentary on DeadAlive (transcribed on mitchpileggi.net) and a couple things surprised me. The first is about the scene where Doggett tries to keep Scully from seeing Mulder after he’s first dug up, and then about the final scene when Mulder wakes up.

I never got the impression that Doggett was in love with Scully, I just thought he respected and cared for her, but now I can see it that way.  I’m just glad they never had him as a romantic competitor with Mulder, because that would not have gone over well. I love the final scene where Scully doesn’t even pick her head up off of Mulder’s chest when Doggett walks in, she just looks at him like, yes, this is my man and he’s alive.  I guess that is pretty overt, I just wish they had allowed it to carry over into the next few episodes.  I understand why things were a little awkward between Mulder and Scully after a long separation and the whole dead thing, but two people in love would have had a truthful conversation about his impending fatherhood. Wouldn’t he have said, wow, Scully, did I do that, are we having a baby? Instead of gee, that’s great, I’m really happy for you? Mulder acts so confused about the whole thing it’s infuriating.  They were not being truthful storytellers there, at all.

 

Exactly. It was a pain in the butt.

 

Word. It was All Things according to Gillian that they (M & S) conceived William. So there's the fill in the blank.

[Taryn74]

I understand why things were a little awkward between Mulder and Scully after a long separation and the whole dead thing, but two people in love would have had a truthful conversation about his impending fatherhood. Wouldn’t he have said, wow, Scully, did I do that, are we having a baby? Instead of gee, that’s great, I’m really happy for you? Mulder acts so confused about the whole thing it’s infuriating.

 

 

I waxed poetic about this a while back (on TWoP) but the first couple of times I watched S8 I thought the same thing, but after a while I kinda came to understand where Mulder was coming from.  I think it was more than just 'What the....Scully's pregnant?!?' that was weirding him out so much.  It was the 'Scully's pregnant, she has a new partner (Doggett), a new confidant (Monica), her relationship with Skinner is different....everyone here has moved on, maybe you should too' undertone that he couldn't handle, IMO.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I waxed poetic about this a while back (on TWoP) but the first couple of times I watched S8 I thought the same thing, but after a while I kinda came to understand where Mulder was coming from.  I think it was more than just 'What the....Scully's pregnant?!?' that was weirding him out so much.  It was the 'Scully's pregnant, she has a new partner (Doggett), a new confidant (Monica), her relationship with Skinner is different....everyone here has moved on, maybe you should too' undertone that he couldn't handle, IMO.

 

Good points! That makes a lot of sense considering.

[Taryn74]

Yeah....I mean, they paid a lot of lip service to how they "never stopped searching" and all that, but for all intents and purposes, that's exactly what they did.  Even before he turned up dead in TINH.  This is the guy who spent 20+ years looking for his sister, putting his life on the line countless number of times to do so, and didn't give up until he met her ghost for crying out loud.  A few months of following a few weak leads here and there, as long as it didn't put them out too much?  That's nothing.  And on top of it, there was an underlying attitude of frustration with him for being abducted in the first place, like the whole thing had inconvenienced them terribly and he was awfully rude to put them through all that.

 

(Not saying this is how I necessarily feel about S8, mind you, but I can see how it would look that way to Mulder and why he would be a bit pissy about it.)

[AntiBeeSpray]

Good points! 

[Goshengir1]

Oh yeah, it's funny to see how hard Richie has been trying to find his friend in TINH the whole time the FBI agents have been wandering around distracted by mutants! I understand the awkwardness after Mulder comes back, and I think that is how DD himself must have felt coming back and finding out how much the show had moved on without him.  They really don't do a whole lot with his character in a lot of episodes except have him banter with Scully in a really annoying 'what exactly is their relationship' type of way.

 

I think it made me really mad back in the day, and still frustrates me, because that tease of who's the father is distracting, and not truthful to the story they are telling.  There was an obvious momentum to their relationship that was borne out during TINH and DeadAlive with Scully's terror and grief, and it just comes to a skidding halt during the next episodes and then stutters along with some really sweet moments like Mulder putting his hand on her belly in the hospital, and giving her the doll and saying 'tell the kid I went down swinging' when he was stuck on the oil rig, mixed in with head-scratching moments like making cracks about the pizza man and how they're not the Mad About You couple because they just work together, and Scully thanking him for taking her to Lamaze class like he's being a good friend, and I know that's all tongue-in-cheek but it comes from TPTB trying to be cute and having us wonder 'did-they-or-didn't they' up until the final episode and it's really just annoying.  They could have shown the awkwardness between Mulder and Scully after his return and them trying to figure out their new relationship in much better ways.

[Taryn74]

Oh yes, so much WORD to everything you just said.  For sure.

[Bastet]

Although I didn't watch, I feel like I have a handle on the basics of what they did - coy, bullshit games to try and keep up some mystery as to the baby's parentage - and it just illustrates how hamstrung the writers were by CC's insistence on that shit.  It was impossible to tell the story honestly while adhering to his edict, so it was doomed to failure.  They both know what it is to come back to a world that has gone on without you.  They both know what it is to have to keep working and generally functioning while wanting to find the other.  And poor Scully knows what it's like to live with the knowledge she'll never see him again.  These stories can't be told when someone refuses to even acknowledge that they're a couple!

[Goshengir1]

Oh, a million times yes...I was really hoping I would like these episodes more since I know how it all ends and I can watch them back-to-back, but they're pretty much just as frustrating to me now as they were when they first aired.  I think because I can sense how good it could have been if they hadn't tried to hold so much back.  I mean, we all knew Mulder was the father, did anyone really think Scully was going to give birth to an alien-hybrid? So it could have been really great if they had been true to the story and let Mulder and Scully act like the couple they were set up to be, not like two people who suddenly don't know what to say to each other and apparently never talk about anything until they're holding William.

 

One frustrating example - when Scully is rushed to the hospital in Empedocles the nurse asks Mulder if he's the husband, and of course he says no.  Oh good grief, this was 2001 not 1901...the nurse should have asked if he was the father, but CC and company couldn't have him answer that question because they're being all cagey and cute. Gah.

 

Editing to add that I watched Essence/Existence last night and I can almost forget all of my frustration with the previous episodes because of how perfect the last scene is...sigh. I just love those two and to see them kissing over their baby as the camera pulls away got me all emotional. It also reiterates to me how much better everything leading up to that moment could have been if GA and DD were allowed to act like a couple (which they do so perfectly), and of course I know what's coming with season 9, but nothing really distracts from that gorgeous final scene.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Goshengir1

[AntiBeeSpray]

So... I was kind of bored and I did some searching... found CTP's take on Per Manum. And laughed a bit at this particular quote.

 

 

 

-- And it wasn't only the viewers who were confused. "I assumed I knew what put her in this predicament," said Gillian Anderson during the filming of "Per Manum." "But lately I've been proved wrong. I don't know what is going on. Which is nothing new."

 

-- Asked about the baby's father during a visit by critics to one of the show's sets, Anderson said, "Do I know who the father is? From day to day, I think I know, but things can change, and they have changed."

 

-- During one of the press junkets toward the beginning of Season 8, Chris Carter was asked if Scully's pregnancy meant that the notoriously stiff and guarded Scully had been having sex. "Yes, there's a potential she was having sex," Carter said sarcastically. "We're going to play with that storyline." But when asked if The X-Files would ever show such a relationship "in the flesh," Carter replied, "This is prime time. You can't consummate a relationship."

 

-- When asked point blank by journalists who was the baby's father, Carter replied, "I am." And without missing a beat, he added, "I'm the baby's father and its mother."

 

Source: http://cleigh6.tripod.com/CTP/CTP-permanum.html

 

This whole thing had me going O_o and XD at the same time.

 

I honestly feel so bad for Gillian at that time. I'd be just as confused as she was. Nothing like having the rug pulled out from under you. Seems as if the writers were gaming the actors up to a point there.

 

And Chris's remark? Seriously? XD That's pretty strange. Hello! There were plenty of shows that were on in prime-time back then that at least hinted at that. Not as explicitly as shows that aired later on, but still... I don't know what else to think in that regard.

 

The last one... wow. I'm literally O_o by it.

 

Note: This is nothing against Chris. Just me musing over it. Nothing more.

[wanderingstar]

I've just started re-watching this season, and it's made me realize how even a mediocre X-Files episode is better than 90% of what's on TV currently.

[Taryn74]

I've just started re-watching this season, and it's made me realize how even a mediocre X-Files episode is better than 90% of what's on TV currently.

 

Testify.

[Smad]

Reading this thread and seeing people go 'poor Mulder' after he comes back from the dead makes me wonder if I'm a horrible person for thinking exactly the opposite. He's a freaking douchbag and has no right to be and he's not getting any sympathy from me whatsoever. I'm ignoring the brain disease crap (didn't exist, lalala I can't hear you) in order to make my point. The way it was portrayed in Requiem showed that up until he stepped into the circle of light with the other abductees he had free will. He made the conscious decision to step into the light because he wanted the experience. I know the bounty hunter would have come for him one way or the other but that's not how it happened. So since Mulder wanted this, why should I feel sorry for him about anything that happens after?

 

I have to admit I'm biased towards Scully (she is my hero) but for me Requiem was the biggest and worst ditch Mulder has done (I know most people would say Demons but for me it's this one). He wanted to be abducted therefor leaving Scully behind and putting her through the same emotional turmoil that he was put through when Samantha was taken from him. Only it's worse in Scully's case because she was having health problems on top of it. We didn't know she was pregnant at that point but she was clearly not feeling well. What if her cancer had returned? Mulder didn't know what the cause was yet he left her anyway.

 

When I saw the S8 2 part premiere for the first time I actually laughed at Mulder being tortured (come on the dentist chair is funny in and of itself) and experimented on because hey...isn't that what you wanted Mulder? Because apparently to you all the reports you have read for years from abductees made the experience sound like a 5 star cruise. So when he screamed Scully's name I was like 'don't you dare scream for her to rescue you'. You willingly left her while she was having health problems and on top of that you want her to rescue your sorry ass? Just enjoy your little vacation, Mulder.

 

And then he is surprised that life went on without him so he behaves like an ass, especially towards Scully and Doggett. Go die again, Mulder.

[Bastet]

The way it was portrayed in Requiem showed that up until he stepped into the circle of light with the other abductees he had free will. He made the conscious decision to step into the light because he wanted the experience.

 

I've never seen it (I stopped watching some time in season seven), but from hearing about the episode when it aired, that was my impression -- Mulder had gone and knowingly done something stupid, and getting abducted was exactly what he knew was going to happen.  The ultimate Mulder Ditch.  But you're the first person I've heard speak of it in those terms in eons now.

[M.F. Luder]

I always felt like that but thought that I was misinterpreting things because no one else ever mentioned it (that I saw). I thought that he must have been under a trance or something and it only seemed like he willingly stepped into the light and got himself abducted. And when he was returned...he was still acting like an asshole. I also ignore the brain disease thing, but if we want to acknowledge it, he's an asshole in that situation too. Ugh!

 

This is bringing back all my frustration with DD for leaving the show. I understand why he did it, now, but back when I was a teenager I was so angry that he would turn his back on this show and totally ruin it in the process. Ultimately, it was the writers who completely mishandled his departure. I'll always wish that the show had ended in season 7. I can't even re-watch the last 2 seasons because they bring back uncomfortable feelings. I'm too dramatic about this show...

[Smad]

Well I'm usually only going to certain boards to read about a show when I'm doing a rewatch. And I don't do that for all shows. And way back when I wasn't big on posting on sites so I usually just lurked. But I did save all stuff I wanted to from TWOP (including X-Files) when I heard it was going to be closed.

 

I think most people wank hard or spin the end of S7 because they are shippers. In order to keep liking Mulder and therefor the ship you really have to do that. And even on TWOP there was hardly anyone in all the years who expressed my sentiments of the biggest Mulder ditch ever. But Mulder hate came easy to me after 2-3 rewatches of the show and as I got older I just couldn't deal with this guys treatment of Scully anymore. I think as I lost my shipper inclinations (I was a HUGE shipper when the show originally aired but I was also a teenager) I was better equipped to see him more clearly and it didn't do the character any favors.

 

When last I watched S8 I hoped it would be revealed that Scully and Doggett hooked up after Mulder was dead and buried. And it was largely because Doggett treated her right. Skinner for the most part did too but the thought of him and Scully squicks me out (too much of a paternal/sibling vibe).

Edited October 9, 2015 by Smad

[AntiBeeSpray]

I always felt like that but thought that I was misinterpreting things because no one else ever mentioned it (that I saw). I thought that he must have been under a trance or something and it only seemed like he willingly stepped into the light and got himself abducted. And when he was returned...he was still acting like an asshole. I also ignore the brain disease thing, but if we want to acknowledge it, he's an asshole in that situation too. Ugh!

 

This is bringing back all my frustration with DD for leaving the show. I understand why he did it, now, but back when I was a teenager I was so angry that he would turn his back on this show and totally ruin it in the process. Ultimately, it was the writers who completely mishandled his departure. I'll always wish that the show had ended in season 7. I can't even re-watch the last 2 seasons because they bring back uncomfortable feelings. I'm too dramatic about this show...

 

Yea but that was the fault of the writers for having the characterization of the character be that way.

[M.F. Luder]

Yea but that was the fault of the writers for having the characterization of the character be that way.

Yeah, that's what I said. I'm not blaming DD for it.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yeah, that's what I said. I'm not blaming DD for it.

 

Thanks for clearing that up!

[funkymunky]

(although she did negotiate a shooting schedule that allowed her travel time to Vancouver since Piper was in school by then).

 

Was Piper living in Vancouver? I assumed she would have moved down to LA with her mom.

 

I just finished my re-watch of season 8. I'm not going to get into the storylines, but what ticked me off was DD's name coming up first in the credits in the episodes he came back for. I also watched the promo spots on the DVD, and was really annoyed that for those episodes, the announcer would make a big point of saying "Starring David Duchovny!" and there would be a shot of him standing in front, with Scully and Doggett in the background. 

[Bastet]

Was Piper living in Vancouver? I assumed she would have moved down to LA with her mom.

 

At this point in the series, yes - primarily Vancouver, because of school.  Prior to that, she’d been based in LA.  (They seem to have done a nice job of shifting primary physical custody over the years according to what was best at the time, considering they were in different countries most of the time.)

 

That is annoying about the credits.  A contractual thing, but annoying.  And it's no surprise the network promoted the hell out of DD being back for those episodes.  What is surprising is how stupid 1013 was to write those episodes so that Mulder and Scully spent so much time apart rather than taking advantage of it.  (I didn't watch, so I don't know details, but I remember a lot of online screaming about it.)

[baileythedog]

Heh, I think that was most people's reaction.  I thought it was beautiful, but I fully recognize I am in a very small minority there.

Ah, you are not alone. I guess I am X-Phile #6 that liked Closure and the starlight resolution. It was a suitable ending that still allowed for all the various other incarnations of Samantha that we'd seen in the past. She'd still been abducted, she'd still been cloned, she'd still been created as an adult means to taunt Mulder, she just managed to live, as a real girl, until the age of 14 when she was able to get herself away from her captors. 

[Jac]

Dear God, if someone on this show, including Scully refers Scully as being barren one more time I will scream. The term is infertile and Scully of all people should know that.

Edited February 7, 2016 by JacquelineLHope

[Bastet]

Seriously!  I think it started with one of the Kurt Crawfords ("... barren now, from the same procedure that caused their cancer ...") and in the midst of a terrific episode I was yelling at the TV, "What century is this?!"  As time wore on, and the episodes got worse, it only got more infuriating.

[Jac]

The moment that inspired my initial rant was Mulder describing Scully as being 'diagnosed as barren' in Essence/Existence. FFS writers, no one has been diagnosed as barren since at least the 1950s.