The X-Files - General Discussion

[MagnusHex]

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Finally finished The X-Files' pre-reboot seasons a while ago but didn't post 'coz 1) I've been away from Primetimer for a long time, and 2) there really wasn't much to say that wouldn't come off as pointless whining. It's a mess, things were rushed, and the series literally ended on a clip show. A freaking clip show, albeit one that served to explain "Yes, the mythology makes sense, so stop your angry tirades on X-Files message boards."

Speaking of a hot mess, I just watched I Want to Believe... Sigh. I want to believe I have a better reason to watch this film than obligation to watch every entry of a series.

It's not a bad film, just a really mediocre MotW full of throwbacks to classic X-Files elements: Alien abductions (albeit illegal aliens)! Transplanting organs into someone else's body! Men exploiting women's bodies for their own selfish agenda of prolonging life! Redemption for sins of the past! Oh, and let's not forget - we're back in Vancouver, baby!

Chris Carter's original plan of doing one MotW standalone movie before moving on to a MythArc movie made sense, especially if it's so long after season 9's The Truth came out and new audiences need to familiarize with these characters again without getting confused by the MythArc (just watch The Truth, folks; it literally spoon feeds you all the info). I wouldn't mind seeing a series of X-Files films to be honest, and I wouldn't have minded I Want to Believe being so mediocre had that movie series happened and Chris gets to do some serious MythArc storytelling in the following film. I've seen my share of films telling a huge arc over several movies (Harry Potter comes to mind, but mostly anime TV series that were adapted into films), so I'm used to that kind of thing. But Chris' vision didn't happen, so we're only left with this disappointing mess.

I mean, Fight the Future wasn't exactly breaking new grounds either aside from finally making the kiss happen, but it at least had a good reason to exist: it's a big budget blockbuster version of a beloved TV show, literally beginning the film with a building exploding and then literally proceeding to an alien spaceship in Antarctica (not to mention the fact that Mulder literally pissed beneath a poster of Independence Day, asserting their superiority as the more intelligent alien invasion flick). I Want to Believe, on the other hand, had 1) budget cuts, 2) time-constraint due to the writers' strike, and 3) a PG-13 rating that stops the film from delving into The X-Files' traditional horror territory. It's stuck between being a poor man's version of Fight the Future and a more expensive version of your average MotW episode, and not even a good episode at that. It's no Rush, it's no Ice, and it's definitely no The Post-Modern Prometheus.

And that's not even the worst part. The movie also got into a controversy where a gay couple are the villains, and one of them literally grafted their lover's head onto a woman's torso... oh, and that lover was also molested by a pedophile priest, leaving uncomfortable implications to the origin of his homosexuality. Between homophobia and transphobia undertones, I don't even know where to begin with how wrong that premise is.

Spotnitz apologized and claimed that it was not their intention to cause offense, of course, and I do believe that was true. I think what went on was an unfortunate attempt to delve into darker territory, but also a thought-provoking one that involved a gay couple's love for each other. I can see what they were trying to do, mirroring the villainous gay couple's love with Mulder and Scully's love, or even how the gay couple went into extreme means for the sake of their love, similar to Scully's desperate attempt to perform stem-cell surgery on a terminal kid that might or might not remind her of William. There's that connecting through line of not wanting to give up on their love, both the gay couple and Scully (and to a lesser extent, Mulder). I can see what they were trying to do... it just doesn't work.

But given the enormous pressure of the deadline and budget cuts, I don't really blame them; filmmaking is hard. There have been a few auteurs who managed to spin the straws of troubled production into gold, from Coppola to Spielberg to Kubrick, but I think it's kinda unfair to compare Carter to those giants, especially when Carter's more savvy with TV production of a smaller scale. You could produce a bad MotW episode and still go on to have another shot at a great one next week, but with movies, it's more challenging to do that, a bigger gamble.

But in the end, I think a lot of the problems of the film is a lack of focus that leaves me uncaring for the characters or the plot. I didn't really care about the gay couple's motivation or love for each other, so making them gay seemed arbitrary. The big reveal about how horrific the couple's surgeries were at the end when Skinner went "What the hell are you doing to her?", it felt like it was supposed to be a shocking look into a serial killer's den, but it just ended up feeling like a mediocre, poorly-shot, going through the motion sequence that's in a rush to wrap up the film. The cinematography of this film is just boring at times, lingering on uninteresting shots that lacked the big-screen grandiose that existed in the series' previous big-screen debut, Fight the Future. There's just a feeling of lethargy in the script that not only failed to make this feel like a big budget film, but it also makes it feel like we're just going from one plot point to another without caring too much about the characters' motivations, with Mulder and Scully flip-flopping between trusting the psychic priest and not trusting him and then believing him again. It's an uneven mess that's a result of a rushed production.

And the thing is, the main plot shouldn't even matter that much. In a Grey's Anatomy interview, Shonda Lynn Rhimes said that the drama comes first, then they would see which medicine or illness fits the drama they were thinking of. Similarly, in The X-Files, the human element is usually the focus over the details of the conspiracies or the many cryptids, so if the Mulder/Scully plot elements are great, then a bad MotW plot doesn't matter as much. Unfortunately, that's not the case in I Want to Believe, because it simply retreads the familiar beats - the kiss, Scully's respect for Mulder's stubbornness, Mulder's respect for Scully's independence from "constantly chasing the darkness" and abandoning her medical career. The only new element here is Mulder and Scully's love for their lost child, William, but that wasn't explored explicitly in the film, so we're only left with familiar beats we've already seen from both Fight the Future and the TV series.

So if the main MotW plot is mediocre, and the Mulder/Scully stuff is also forgettable, what are we left with then? Just another failed, B-level movie of the aughts.

5/10

[supposebly]

@MagnusHex, your comment shows me that I remember literally nothing from that movie. other than it was winter.

There was a gay couple and a head being sewn on? You'd think that would leave SOME impression.

[Bastet]

I remember Amanda Peet - who bugs me in everything I've ever seen her in - falling down an elevator shaft and the small audience at the midnight showing cheering.

I remember the goofy rowboat scene after the end credits.

A swimming pool, a terrible beard that thankfully got shaved off, snow, a pedophile priest, a very dimly lit hospital, Dr. Scully using Google for medical research, the "unremarkable house", dogs, and Russians.  That's what I remember.  The details of the stupid body transplant plot, nope.

[supposebly]

There was a swimming pool? I think someone fell into a frozen lake? Oh yes, Amanda Peet was there. I forget what for.

Yes, all that and I still don't want to rewatch. I do remember sitting in the theater with my sister and we looked at eatch other at the end: What the hell was THAT? 

[Taryn74]

I remember laughing hysterically that CC apparently thinks it freezes hard enough south of the Mason-Dixon line to completely hide bodies in blocks of ice under the snow. 😂

[MagnusHex]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I remember the goofy rowboat scene after the end credits.

Yeah, that was so bad. I thought the end credits sequences was gonna lead to something meaningful, like some Marvel post-credit scene. To be fair, this was released in July 2008, only three months after Iron Man's "Avengers initiative" scene, so post-credit hype wasn't big in mainstream cinema yet. But still, it led to Mulder and Scully just randomly rowing a boat (which was a reference to them mentioning that they wanted to get away from the darkness and just civilization far far away, but it was such a small, trivial mention I almost forgot about it).

And I swear, Gillian Anderson totally waved at the chopper overhead shooting this scene. She's literally waving. That's how little she gave a freck about this film.

Edited March 19, 2022 by MagnusHex

[BetterButter]

Gillian Anderson Reveals Her One Condition to Return to ‘The X-Files’

[MissL]

On 4/2/2022 at 12:31 AM, BetterButter said:

Gillian Anderson Reveals Her One Condition to Return to ‘The X-Files’

Awesome. Yes. It’s basically sounds like she’d only do it if CC was nowhere near it and based on the absolute crap writing he did in the revival I 100% agree.

And I’ve seen I want to believe twice and I have no memory of a swimming pool or gay couple having anything to do with the story. I remember the stupid hospital plot and some guy was kidnapping people for parts but couldn’t remember why. I really only watch for Scully’s pretty hair, the bed scene and “scratchy beard” at this point. the rest of the movie is a wash. Even their kiss at the end was filmed at some stupid angle if I remember right because Chris is an asshole who still wanted to be coy about the whole thing.  Or maybe I’m just thinking about the series finale poorly lit jail kiss. I can’t believe how much I’ve grown to hate that man. I’m grateful for the creation of the show! That’s my mantra when I hear his name now. 

[MagnusHex]

7 hours ago, MissL said:

or gay couple having anything to do with the story

To be fair, it's a very subtle insert. You wouldn't catch it at all if you weren't paying attention to the dialogue. As a matter of fact, I didn't catch it myself either; I only realized what's happening when I looked it up. lol

But yeah, CC has definitely lost his touch for a long time now. Vince Gilligan is the real brains anyway, what with his Breaking Bad success.

Edited April 5, 2022 by MagnusHex

[Bastet]

Going around the dial, I just came across "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" on Comet.  Checking the program guide, they're in the midst of a marathon of comedic episodes; the best episode of all time, "Bad Blood", is up next.  Am I watching instead of cleaning the house even though I know these episodes verbatim?  You bet your blankety-blank bleep I am.

[Taryn74]

"He had big. buck. teeth?"

"He had a slight overbite."

[Cobb Salad]

2 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

"He had big. buck. teeth?"

"He had a slight overbite."

I love that episode, especially how Mulder and Scully show us how they see each other during the telling of their side of the story during that episode.  😆

[sinkwriter]

"I haven't eaten since 6 o'clock this morning, and that was a half a cream cheese bagel. And it wasn't even real cream cheese, it was light cream cheese!"

Cracks me up every time.

[Taryn74]

On 4/18/2022 at 10:09 AM, Cobb Salad said:

I love that episode, especially how Mulder and Scully show us how they see each other during the telling of their side of the story during that episode.  😆

It's also a fascinating look into how each of them sees THEMSELVES. Mulder trying his best to present his crazy theories as gently as possible even though he knows Scully is going to be annoyed with him, Scully always covering for Mulder because she doesn't want everyone to think he's just bonkers. I love this episode so, so much.

3 hours ago, sinkwriter said:

"I haven't eaten since 6 o'clock this morning, and that was a half a cream cheese bagel. And it wasn't even real cream cheese, it was light cream cheese!"

Cracks me up every time.

I use "I do it all for you, Mulder!" all the time. LOL.

[Bastet]

Now I'm watching the end of "Paper Hearts" since going around the dial yields nothing else I'm interested in, and for all the ways in which Mulder is such a jackass in the original series, he always has these great moments, like when the daycare worker who released the little girl to "Agent Mulder" is distraught this is all her fault, and he walks up, touches her arm, looks her right in the eyes and says, "It's not your fault, it's mine."  And then - gasp - apologizes to Scully, admitting she was right and Roche was playing him all along.

Next up is "El Mundo Gira", which I will not be watching.  But that reminded me how many great episodes are followed by total clunkers, like the writers shot their wad and just had bupkis for the next one.  In fact, this is true of some of the absolute best episodes, and it's not just that whatever followed would inevitably pale by comparison, like the mytharc two-parter after "Bad Blood", it's going from perfect to putrid.  Clyde Bruckman is followed by "The List" (and I have an odd affection for that one, but even I acknowledge it's an exponential drop-off in quality), Jose Chung gets "Avatar" as a successor, Pusher is followed by "Teso dos Bichos", and "Small Potatoes" leads directly to "Zero Sum". 

Edited April 21, 2022 by Bastet

[Anela]

I keep starting and stopping this. I don't know if I've ever seen the whole series, but I loved it when I was a teenager. 

Edited May 9, 2022 by Anela

[BetterButter]

Inside the Grand Opening of The X-FILES Preservation Collection

Quote

We're heading to Saratoga Springs, New York for a behind the scenes look at some of the amazing exhibits housed in the X-FILES Preservation Collection.

 

[Bastet]

13 hours ago, BetterButter said:

Inside the Grand Opening of The X-FILES Preservation Collection

Since I give Chris Carter a lot of shit, I will also give credit where credit is due: It is incredibly nice of him to donate all that stuff, attend the museum opening, and spend the time talking with fans.

The author of that article is a fan who attended the museum opening, but called "War of the Coprophages" Coprophagia instead.  I thought perhaps she's from another country and that's how the episode is titled there, but neither seems to be the case.  Odd.

[mmecorday]

"Sanguinarium" was on Comet last night. I have somehow blocked the memory of this episode so seeing it was like watching it for the first time. It's really not one of the show's finest moments. It was more like a test to see how much gore Chris Carter could get away with.

[Taryn74]

48 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

"Sanguinarium" was on Comet last night. I have somehow blocked the memory of this episode so seeing it was like watching it for the first time. It's really not one of the show's finest moments. It was more like a test to see how much gore Chris Carter could get away with.

Is that the one with the plastic surgeons who were being possessed or something while they were doing surgery?

[mmecorday]

@Taryn74, that's the one.

[Taryn74]

44 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

@Taryn74, that's the one.

I always get it, Schizogeny, and Synchrony mixed up because they're all S words and (in my mind) the titles have nothing to do with the episode to keep them straight LOL.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

I always get it, Schizogeny, and Synchrony mixed up because they're all S words and (in my mind) the titles have nothing to do with the episode to keep them straight LOL.

They're all dumb:

Sanguinarium - Possessed plastic surgeons
Schizogeny - Killer trees
Synchrony - Time traveller kills both versions of himself (with bonus Nancy Kerrigan look-alike [or "bonus" if you're like me and can't stand Nancy Kerrigan])

[festivus]

What's the name of the one with the chick that thinks she and Mulder are soulmates throughout time? It was on the other night and I had to turn that shit. One of the few times that Scully is allowed to be right in that it is all a bunch of horse hockey! Well that's what I think anyway. 

[Bastet]

6 hours ago, festivus said:

What's the name of the one with the chick that thinks she and Mulder are soulmates throughout time? It was on the other night and I had to turn that shit. One of the few times that Scully is allowed to be right in that it is all a bunch of horse hockey! Well that's what I think anyway. 

The title of that piece of shit is "The Field Where I Died", in which James Morgan's wife, Kristen Cloke, despite being totally devoid of acting talent, plays the ridiculous character(s) Melissa Ephesian and her many personalities.  It's unwatchable.

[Taryn74]

I have a soft spot for TFWID, because cults and cult leaders fascinate me. I don't even mind the regression scenes that much, mostly because I find it interesting that Scully is always in a position of authority over Mulder in their past lives. The soulmate business, however, is a bunch of hot garbage and I'm not sure what CC was smoking when he dreamed that one up.

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, Taryn74 said:

The soulmate business, however, is a bunch of hot garbage and I'm not sure what CC was smoking when he dreamed that one up.

Morgan and Wong wrote the episode.  Did CC have them include that part?  I think he was getting pretty salty around that time over how many fans were shipping M&S, so I can see him being petty enough to say Mulder has a soulmate, some random other woman, but that doesn't seem M&W's style, so I don't know how it came to be.  I just know I've never watched it again, as it was such a painful slog to get through the first time.

[PhoneCop]

On 7/8/2022 at 3:20 PM, Bastet said:

They're all dumb:

Sanguinarium - Possessed plastic surgeons
Schizogeny - Killer trees
Synchrony - Time traveller kills both versions of himself (with bonus Nancy Kerrigan look-alike [or "bonus" if you're like me and can't stand Nancy Kerrigan])

Don't forget Syzygy! Carter tries to write a Darin Morgan script and it doesn't go so well.

[Bastet]

29 minutes ago, PhoneCop said:

Don't forget Syzygy! Carter tries to write a Darin Morgan script and it doesn't go so well.

I like Syzygy.  It's more silly than stupid, so it's fun.

I love how irritated Scully is by Mulder.  The way she asks "What are you doing?" when he's sniffing her while she goes on about having to bring a girl down to identify the remains of her dead dog Mr. Tippy is everything, and then, of course, there's "Sure. Fine. Whatever" which I still say to this day.

[Taryn74]

23 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I like Syzygy.  It's more silly than stupid, so it's fun.

"You don't think she's a virgin, do you?"

"I doubt she's even a blonde."

Heeeeeeee.

[Featherhat]

With TFWID it would be a hard sell even if there wasn't a large shipping contingent and you know, the show being all about Mulder and Scully's bond. "Oh some random woman is Mulder's soulmate but well never see or hear from her ever again!" Doesn't work. And if you keep missing your timing, are you really soulmates? I'd believe Lucy Householder is Mulder's soulmate before Melissa.  I do think it's interesting that allegedly Scully was his father and Sergeant in previous lives.

With Syzygy it shouldn't work but it does. I love the psychic demanding Mulder's card go through before, their petty relationship squabbling and baby Ryan Reynolds. I love that the girls state a moral of this episode "Best friends are supposed to stick together" and M&S both promptly ignore it. 

Killer tree ep is meh except it has a couple of good lines and potentially something interesting to say about cycles of abuse and trauma that never actually comes out.

Sanguinarium is meh on it's own but interesting to see that it's part of a pattern of eps where characters quest after eternal life in an extremely gory eat people/suck their life force fashion - right up through IWTB to "Nothing lasts forever". Also interesting that some eps go with "Wicca good" and others go with "Wicca potentially evil occult worship." 

On another note I recently watched IWTB for the first time in a really long time and what was the point of Amanda Peet's character? I know she was supposed to be the believer to Drummy's sceptic but it didn't really work. We get a tepid crush that neither Mulder or Scully care about, she says "I thought I believed but now I'm not so sure" and promptly dies half way though the film and he death has little impact on Mulder or how the rest of the story plays out. So what was the point of her being all over the first part of the film? 

Edited July 10, 2022 by Featherhat

[Bastet]

The IWTB script desperately needed re-writes that couldn't happen because of the WGA strike - it plays like a filmed first or second draft - but the strike was the only reason the film was greenlit in the first place (studios feared it would be protracted and they wouldn't have enough summer releases, so completed scripts looked good to them just by virtue of being ready to go).

The anemic promotion didn't help, but it's just not a good movie.

[Featherhat]

I liked some parts of it but I sighed at a lot of other stuff. I knew the circumstances surrounding the movie and I know that my AP complaint is common but it still bugged. 

Some parts have the makings of a good MOTW, there's some decent character study of Mulder and Scully but a lot is meh. 

I adore Scully so much but I also really didn't like that she talked Mulder into taking this case to formally get the FBI of their backs (for the death penalty!) and 5 minutes later she was claiming the darkness was destroying him and he needed to quit right now or be swallowed by the darkness forever. Even invoking Samantha, which was just weird since it doesn't fit my top 20 cases where Sam is close to the surface even when they don't mention it specifically. She seemed much more consumed by Christian's case as a substitute for William than he did with Monica Bannen's. And if that was supposed to be an actual thread, a lot more could have been made of it or it could have been done differently. .....Yeah I know....early draft etc.

Anyway I've been on a semi X Files kick since it came to Disney + in the UK and this thread has me trying to find clips and eps so I just outright watched the pilot and FBI BABIES! They both look twelve and fall into a proto dynamic so easily. Scully refuses to be a spy! Mulder knows she's been sent as one but respects her process, opens up and they both realise that she will never be able to write "it was aliens" in an official report. 

I'm also grateful to D+ for confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that DHDV was the first ep I saw. Rain of frogs is a pretty great first memory of this show, even though I only saw because my parents were watching. 

[Bastet]

8 hours ago, Featherhat said:

Even invoking Samantha,

I think I said something at the time along the lines of: It's like they finished their first draft of the script and smoked a bowl, Chris turned to Frank and said, "Oh, wait, we should add something about Samantha," and Frank was too stoned to say, "Dude, she's starlight; move on."

[mmecorday]

Anyone else really hate the episode Stephen King cowrote? I'm watching it now on Comet and I'm remembering just how disappointed I was the first time I watched it. It's a "Twilight Zone" ripoff.

[Taryn74]

2 hours ago, mmecorday said:

Anyone else really hate the episode Stephen King cowrote? I'm watching it now on Comet and I'm remembering just how disappointed I was the first time I watched it. It's a "Twilight Zone" ripoff.

The actual X-File was dumb (A talking doll?! That's never been done before! LOL) but the Mulder/Scully interaction is golden. Him carefully describing how to look for a pull string on the back of the doll has me rolling every time.

[Featherhat]

I imagine if I had watched the episode when it was originally hyped up as a hugely anticipated "Stephen King does X-Files!" I might be disappointed, as case wise it's a standard decent MOTW and you don't know it's King unless you know. Even with the Maine setting. The girl just seems a sullen brat rather than frightening and the doll and setting are barely creepy and not very atmospheric. 

And IIRC it's the one where you can take a metal claw to the face and come away with barely a scratch. And the people scratching their faces aren't convincing. 

However it's actually one I really enjoy. I love Vacation!Scully who's allowed to wear jeans and T-shirts and drive a convertible and she spends the ep looking fantastic. Poor Scully, they agree to take the weekend off probably to prove that they can occasionally have a life and are NOT co-dependent on each other but nope! Mulder doesn't even bother trying and she jumps in despite herself even whilst muttering "I'm on vacation" a lot, because duh. It's got great M/S interaction despite Mulder not being in it that much and kind of continues the idea that both of them start thinking of the other's POV to solve a case when separated.  

I like the Sheriff, it's nice to see Scully have a Not!date with a normal guy, although maybe she should ask him if he's secretly clones because he should look very familiar to her having also been the Sheriff in DHDV and Detective "Blankety-Bleep-Blank!" Manners. 

It's one of those S5 MOTW eps that aren't anything particularly wow case wise but just make everything work as personal favourites in general nonetheless for other reasons, mostly character moments, like Detour and Folie a Deux. 

Apparently King's original script was different (more M/S interaction at the end) among other tweaks. 

https://xfiles-behind-the-scenes.tumblr.com/post/131889269002/cute-things-from-stephen-kings-original-script

Edited July 19, 2022 by Featherhat

[Bastet]

17 hours ago, mmecorday said:

Anyone else really hate the episode Stephen King cowrote?

Nope, I adore "Chinga" for Vacation!Scully, HopelessWithoutHer!Mulder, the sheriff, "The Hokey Pokey" as a song to be murdered by, The World's Deadliest Swarms, every word of every phone call between Scully and Mulder, and for the memory of my friend calling me to say "I think I just turned gay" after Scully kicked the door shut from the bathtub with her wet leg.

I will totally put up with the stupid doll and the stupid kid and the stupid mom to get all that.

The phone calls:

[Taryn74]

37 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The World's Deadliest Swarms

Oh G-d, I had forgotten about that one! And then when it flashes to the TV as he's turning it off, that's really what it is despite it sounding quite......otherwise. 😂

[Featherhat]

1 hour ago, Taryn74 said:

Oh G-d, I had forgotten about that one! And then when it flashes to the TV as he's turning it off, that's really what it is despite it sounding quite......otherwise. 😂

Checking the ep now, he kind of fumbles with the remote when she first asks what he's watching (she's thinking the same thing as the audience) and when I first saw it I remember assuming that he actually changed to that from porn but it doesn't seem to be the case, and the sounds really are people screaming/moaning from being swarmed. 

Bathtub!Scully is something that popped up throughout the show, which connects to Donny Pfaster's evil version all the more because it's one of the few indulgences we've seen her enjoy more than once. 

Watching the phone calls, it's another one where Mulder (and Scully in her own way) flirt like mad from a distance where nothing physical can possibly happen and everything can be brushed off as a joke in a way that they fumble every time Serious Emotional Territory comes up. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by Featherhat

[festivus]

Just watched the forehead sweat episode again. I've come to really love it and I wish it was the last episode of the series. I think for me it is.

[sinkwriter]

Lol. What's the forehead sweat episode?

[festivus]

It's in the last season, called "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat" I think. Now, you made me type all that out, dammit. 😆

What could be a better ending for the show than Scully saying "I want to remember how it was" with the shot panning from a bigfoot foot jello mold to the stars above.

[mmecorday]

Quote

The title of that piece of shit is "The Field Where I Died", in which James Morgan's wife, Kristen Cloke, despite being totally devoid of acting talent, plays the ridiculous character(s) Melissa Ephesian and her many personalities.  It's unwatchable.

This episode was on Comet tonight. I hope Kristen Cloke visited a dentist after filming this. All that scenery chewing must have been hell on her teeth.  

[Bastet]

I know he turns out to be an evil bastard, but the way Dr. Scanlon says "I'm gonna go" and books it out of Scully's hospital room when he realizes he's in the middle of what is about to become a very intense mother-daughter moment is hilarious.  There are so many incredible things happening in Memento Mori, I never really honed in on that moment before, but I was just going around the dial and came across it.

I'm bummed I didn't tune in just a little earlier, to see one of my favorite Mulder moments of the original years of the series:  "I will be right there."  Stuff like that is why I could never quit him, even though he infuriated me so frequently back then.

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I'm bummed I didn't tune in just a little earlier, to see one of my favorite Mulder moments of the original years of the series:  "I will be right there." 

That's one of my favorite moments too. His body language is so heartbreaking.

[Featherhat]

On 12/3/2022 at 5:35 AM, mmecorday said:

This episode was on Comet tonight. I hope Kristen Cloke visited a dentist after filming this. All that scenery chewing must have been hell on her teeth.  

I said before that this episode is a hard sell, even if you take out any shipping. Mulder allegedly has a random soulmate who is never seen or heard from again (and that he doesn't give a single shit about). Really? But KC makes it almost impossible to believe and DD doesn't help even though he's usually a good actor. 

I think some of the cult stuff is interesting and Scully as Mulder's father in a previous life is worth a ponder considering their dynamic sometimes, but over all, meh. 

Edited December 21, 2022 by Featherhat

[MagnusHex]

I gave up on watching season 11 about a week ago after remembering how dull season 10 was. I've been trying to stop myself from completing bad TV seasons just for completion sake, beginning with my drop of the other Fox network show they milked to death, The Simpsons after season 11, so dropping X-Files was a difficult but ultimately inevitable decision.

Finding a worthy replacement for X-Files proved more challenging, however, but I ultimately settled on rewatching The Twilight Zone on the new blu-ray set I bought, not to mention watching The Leftovers on HBO Max (which was recommended to me when I looked up "shows like X-Files").

It's been a long journey with Mulder and Scully and writing about their adventures, and I still appreciate the good times as much as the other '90s TV shows that fell into decline in later seasons, including Buffy and Simpsons, but it's unfortunately time to move on from "the truth." The truth? The truth is I've been bored since season 7 (Doggett proved entertaining for a while, and his reappearance in season 10 would've prevented my departure), so I'm more surprised I haven't jumped ship after season 9.

So long, friends. See you in another universe, maybe.

[Bastet]

Going around the dial and stumbled on WOTC about halfway through -- "Her name is Bambi?" is perhaps the greatest delivery of a sexist line I've ever heard. 

[Featherhat]

I pretty much love all of WOTC in its entirety. What is going on? I don't really care and that isn't something I said about later in the series. Love the person at the beginning waxing lyrical and scientific about cockroaches being revealed to be the exterminator who get swiftly murdered by them.

Love seeing Bill Dow (a favourite HIT Vancouver actor!) 

Love the whole Men In Black (the movie) feel a year before it came out. Love Mulder sitting in his car on his time off waiting for alien lights and getting mistaken for a drug dealer. Even though he has at least three houses to stay in in New England he just sits in his car. 

Love Bambi and her improbable but plausible "bugs are UFOs" theory. Love that she finds an improbable meeting of minds at the end.

Adore Scully doing personal life stuff: cleaning her gun, defleaing Queequeg (die Flea die!) trying to read and yet she keeps answering the phone but not taking the bait until she hears that he's met another female scientist called Bambi and then she springs into action. I don't think she was consciously romantically jealous but they were  both territorial about each other from fairly early on. And that being the trigger to get her there is hilarious  imho. Both play it perfectly.