Wednesday 16 October 2013

The X-Files re-viewing project

The X-Files is among my favourite TV shows of all time. If it wasn't for the fact the final season was a huge disappointment, it would have never been usurped by Lost. I strongly believe that almost none of the shows that everyone knows and loves today would have existed if it wasn't for The X-Files providing inspiration, or - in the case of Breaking Bad at least - the launching pad for the careers of people who went on to create their own shows.

Last month, the show celebrated its 20th birthday, which is why I've decided to rewatch the entire show from the beginning and provide a commentary on here as I do so with reviews of each episode viewed through the hindsight of 20 years. If you've managed to go this long without watching this show, firstly, I invite you track it down and watch along with me. And secondly, if you are for some reason unable to do that, and wish to watch it in the future, there will definitely be some major spoilers, especially when it comes to the episodes that explore the shows "mythology" involving alien visitations and a shadowy government conspiracy to cover up their existence.

Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1)

Written by Chris Carter; Directed by Robert Mandel
David Duchovny as Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully
William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man
Charles Cioffi as Scott Blevins
Zachary Ansley as Billy Miles
Sarah Koskoff as Theresa Nemman
Cliff DeYoung as Dr. Jay Nemman
Leon Russom as Detective Miles
Stephen E. Miller as Coroner John Truitt
Jim Jansen as Dr. Heitz Werber
Malcolm Stewart as Dr. Glass
Richard Rielle as Shaw
Katya Gardener as Peggy O'Dell

Nobody knew what they were letting themselves in for when they signed up to appear in this pilot episode for a new science fiction TV show influenced by the likes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Prime Suspect and Silence Of The Lambs. Gillian Anderson in particular has gone on record as saying she expected that at most it would run for around 12 episodes and boost her profile enough for her to move onto something bigger straight after.
It turned out however, that The X-Files would grow into a cultural phenomenon and the longest running science fiction show in US TV history (until Stargate SG1 and Smallville broke that record at least). And here's where it all started.
Young and promising FBI Agent Dana Scully is given the task of assisting a rogue agent who has become obsessed with so-called X-Files (cases classified as unexplainable and consigned to the FBI's basement where they had been mostly forgotten), and debunking his theories using her knowledge as a scientist and medical doctor.
Fox Mulder was one of the FBI's most promising young agents himself before discovering the X-Files, but now he's gotten a reputation as a paranoid madman, whose singular focus is causing him to waste his obvious brilliance.
The new partners' first case sees them travelling to Bellefleur, Oregon to investigate a series of mysterious deaths of people who were all part of the same graduating class which Mulder is convinced is linked to alien abduction.
It's strange, but when people talk about The X-Files, they always talk about the mythology starting early into the second season, but right from the off you have Mulder talking about how he's been trying to access certain documents that keep on being blocked by people within the government and confessing to Scully that his sister disappeared under mysterious circumstances when she was 8 years old, both of which are major elements of the mythology.
There's also the issue of the Cigarette Smoking Man, debuting here in an unspeaking part in a number of scenes where he leans on things and smokes ominously during meetings. It's always talked about how he was never intended as anything other than an extra, but if he didn't become a major character, it would have been a crime. Sure, he didn't have any lines until Season 2, but he was still a huge part of this episode - especially that final scene which confirms right from the off that the government are hiding something, and the Smoking Man is definitely a big part of it. Things went into a lot more detail later on, obviously, but the groundwork was definitely beginning to be laid right from the beginning.
Now, 20 years on, it's amazing how well the story holds up, Duchovny and Anderson's chemistry with each other leaves you interested right from the start, and eager to learn more about these characters. The deep friendship that would later develop has yet to form, as Mulder is still extremely mistrustful of Scully who he assumes has been sent to spy on him. This being the first episode of a strange new TV show from an untested creator and two unknown leads, it's no surprise that the production values don't hold up as well today as episodes in later seasons, and sometimes it's shocking just how old it looks, but when the rest of the package is this good a few shoddy effects doesn't matter much.

(8/10 - A strong opening episode)

Deep Throat (Season 1, Episode 2)
File:DeepThroatE.jpg
Written by Chris Carter; Directed by Daniel Sackheim
David Duchovny as Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully
Jerry Hardin as Deep Throat
Andrew Johnston as Colonel Robert Budahas
Gabrielle Rose as Anita Budahas
Michael Bryan French as Paul Mossinger
Seth Green as Emil
Lalainia Lindbjerg as Zoe
Vince Metcalfe as Colonel Kissell
Monica Parker as Ladonna
Sheila Moore as Verla McLennan

Mulder and Scully's second case brings them to Idaho to investigate the disappearance of a group of military test pilots at an air force base in which experimental new aircraft are being tested. During their investigation, they are subjected to intimidation from the military, but an undeterred Mulder trespasses on the air force base and is witness to a strange flying object before being kidnapped and having his memory of the event erased.
The overall conspiracy plot thickens a little in this episode, with the introduction of Deep Throat - the first in a series of shadowy informants within the government who intermittently provide Mulder with information or cryptic clues to decipher. His role in this story is not only to do that, but to provide Mulder with the hope he needs to carry on his search with the line, "Mr. Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time".
Another great addition to The X-Files is the idea that not every case will be solved. In a lot of instances, the episode would end with the agents not actually knowing anything more than when they first arrived. It makes a refreshing change for a show to not tie up all the loose ends in a plot, and it's really quite realistic considering the cases which they are investigating.
As well as the advances to the main plot, this episode features a very welcome guest appearance from Seth Green, years before he found fame as Oz in Buffy The Vampire Slayer.

(8/10 - Continues the story in strong fashion, introduces more elements that would become vital to the show as it progressed, and is a strong episode in its own right)

Squeeze (Season 1, Episode 3)
Alt=A man reaching his arm down a chimney, seemingly stretching his arm beyond its normal length
Written by Glen Morgan and James Wong; Directed by Harry Longstreet
David Duchovny as Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully
Doug Hutchison as Eugene Victor Tooms
Henry Beckman as Frank Briggs
Kevin McNulty as Agent Fuller
Terence Kelly as George Usher
James Bell as Mr. Johnson
Gary Hetherington as Mr. Kennedy
Rob Morton as Mr. Kramer
Paul Joyce as Mr. Werner

After the last two episodes, the shows writers decided in their wisdom that if the show dealt exclusively with its alien and government conspiracy storyline, it was going to run out of steam very quickly. This decision led to what would become the main bulk of the show - the so-called "monster-of-the-week" episodes which would focus on different creatures or paranormal and supernatural phenomena every week. Sometimes certain characters or creatures would make a return episode, but for the most part these were all standalone stories, with intermittent episodes that furthered the shows overarching plot.
And what a way to introduce the concept of Monster-Of-The-Week episodes to The X-Files. An old friend of Scully's from the academy requests her help in solving the case of a series of murders in which livers have been removed and there appears to be no point of entry to the murder scene. It isn't long before Scully - who has become known as Mrs. Spooky among her fellow agents thanks to her work on The X-Files - and Mulder are uncovering strange elongated fingerprints, and records of similar cases (and identical prints) that date back to murders from 1963, 1933 and 1903.
As the show's first horror episode, it works incredibly well and really began to show the range of cases that were possible thanks to the nature of the show's titular X-Files. It also introduced the world to the genuinely creepy Eugene Victor Tooms (played by the creepy for other reasons lately Doug Hutchison) - a mutant with green eyes and the ability to contort his body in order to fit through extremely tight spaces, though amusingly he can't use this ability to get out of a pair of handcuffs.

(9/10 - The scope of the show expands beyond the realm of aliens and government conspiracies in spectacular style. An early classic episode with a genuinely creepy villain. The best episode of the show so far at this point)

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