Binge-watching. Everyone does it, some more than others. As a full-time college student, it gets difficult to shell out some time every week for watching shows on Netflix. Usually I have a hard time keeping myself interested long enough to watch more than one episode before moving on to something else. Every once in a while, something ekes it’s way through the piles and piles of crap on Netflix, and not only appeals to everything I love about being a nerd, but also holds a special place in my heart: yes, I’m talking about classic sci-fi series The X-Files.
The X-Files, created by Chris Carter, revolves around two FBI agents named Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they investigate strange happenings, everything from the paranormal to the extraterrestrial (but mainly the latter). Mulder “wants to believe”, and he is always the one to pitch an obscene and crazy idea that usually turns out to be true. Scully is the scientific one, trying desperately to provide scientific evidence to things that cannot be explained.
I have a bit of a past with the show, although my past doesn’t involve me actually watching it. My mother watched the series live when it originally premiered, and continued to watch after I was born. I have vivid memories of being petrified by the eerie theme, having nightmares after reading her unofficial companion book, and ogling her X-Files themed Barbie and Ken dolls. Surprisingly, it took me 18 years of life to finally sit down and watch the show. Over the past few weeks, I’ve only had enough time to get through season one, but I definitely plan to finish the show.
So, what did I think? I think for this specific style of article, where I talk about full seasons of shows, I should give my thoughts specifically on episodes that I believe stood out. Let’s begin, shall we?
Episode Three: “Squeeze”
While I enjoyed the first two episodes, it wasn’t until “Squeeze” that I was hooked. From the beginning, this episode scared the crap out of me. The villain, Eugene Victor Tooms, was some sort of mutant that could distort his body to fit into ridiculously small spaces. The opening of this episode made me look at sewer grates in a whole new light.
Episode Eight: “Ice”
This episode had a John Carpenter’s The Thing vibe to it, and seeing as that is one of my all-time favorite horror films, I loved this episode. The claustrophobia of a few people being stranded in an arctic bunker was really fun to watch. The parasite that amplified anger and paranoia also made things very interesting.
Episode Nine: “Space”
This was the first truly horrible episode. The show started in the early nineties, so bad special effects are expected, but this one takes the cake by far. The plot involves the ghost of an alien. That sounds way cooler as I type it than it actually was. I’m also fairly certain I read somewhere that this is show-creator Chris Carter’s least favorite episode out of all ten seasons.
Episodes Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, and Fourteen: “Eve”, “Fire”, “Beyond the Sea”, “Gender Bender”
All four of these episodes were really awesome Monster-A-Week style episodes. Who says an episode has to contribute to the overarching plot to be awesome? Each of these episodes featured a really cool villain. “Eve” involved psychotic clones of an eight year old girl on a murdering spree. “Fire” featured every fandom’s favorite That-Guy-In-Everything Mark Sheppard as a pyrokinetic murdered setting people on fire. “Beyond the Sea” involved Scully confronting a death row inmate who can allegedly communicate psychically with Scully’s recently deceased father. “Gender Bender”‘s villain was a gender-swapping Amish psycho murderer who I believe has actually made me afraid of Amish people.
Episode 20: “Darkness Falls”, or “The One Where Mulder and Scully lose”
This was my hands-down favorite of the season. Mulder, Scully, and a few others become trapped in the woods when a massive swarm of ancient insects begin terrorizing the woods and cocooning people. This one left me feeling empty inside, as Mulder and Scully don’t actually win this one. Yikes.
I enjoyed every episode in this season to some capacity, but I could tell the show was still searching for it’s feet. I truly recommend this show to not only fans of science fiction, but to fans of good TV in general. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson bring the characters to life with such believability and chemistry, I could keep watching the show just for those two.
If you’re interested in watching a staple of television history, or want to get caught up to watch those recordings of the new mini-season that was just on, you can find the entire show on Netflix. If you’re like me, and prefer owing the DVDs and showing them off to your friends, you can find all the seasons and both movies through this Amazon Affiliate Link here!
As I hopefully find more time to watch TV, I will continue this show. I plan to do a write-up for every season, similar to this one. Got a better idea for a set-up? Got anything in particular you want me to write about? Feel free to drop a comment below! See y’all next week!
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