X-Phile

on Saturday, August 02, 2008

The Odd Couple Heroes : Spooky Mulder and Scully

Take a TV show and add a dollop of "horror", a cup of "conspiracy", a slice of "science"and blend in an assortment of "legends both urban and ancient" and finally sizzle it with the tension between a believer and a skeptic. The result is something called the X-files which has held my attention for most of its nine seasons. It had all the ingredients that I liked and it was good story-telling.

In recent years, this has been perhaps the only TV show that I have tried not to miss no matter how busy my schedule. Although, my interest did wane towards the last two seasons when I felt that the ideas and the writing had become a little stretched and that it had dragged on a little too long. Ah, but I could go on and on about the stories covered in the first seven seasons. The real spark was in the story writing and the story telling where the kudos must go to creator Chris Carter and his team. Chris Carter has said that part of the inspiration for the series came from his memory of a TV series entitled "Kolchak: The Night Stalker". Well, that was one of my childhood favorites too.

The filming which was mostly done in the early years around Vancouver provided a dark and misty atmosphere which went well with the tales. Also as the years went by, the growing relationship was a fan favorite.

This post was prompted by the recent release of the second feature film from this franchise called "X-Files : I Want to Believe". As a fan, I went dutifully to see it at the very first opportunity and I was ............disappointed. I don't want to leak out the story elements but there were definitely somethings there that will make fans happy. This movie was touted as a stand alone story and a return to a more understated style. Unfortunately, it achieved that so well that it was in the end too mundane and inconsequential. For me, the first movie, "X-files: Fight the Future" was far more satisfying with the grander story scheme and background and the fact that it answered many old questions and advanced the story line.

Having said that, I hope the message gets back to Twentieth Century Fox that I and millions of fans will willingly spend our hard earned money to see the third movie of the series. So even if this current one flops, don't let it stop you from making the third and hopefully Chris Carter will have found his happy spot by then.

In the meantime, I will return and watch re-runs of the TV series. It is probably impossible to have a favorite episode as there were many good ones. Apart from the alien abduction/conspiracy story arc, there were many good single episodes.

Here are some of my favorites that come to mind;
  1. Darkness Falls (with the life-sucking luminous insects)
  2. Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose ( about a man who can foretell people's death)
  3. Folie a Deux (an insect like creature that hides in plain sight)
  4. Drive (in which a man has to keep driving to prevent his inner ear from exploding)
  5. Tithonus (in which a man tries to capture death on film)
Which were your favorites?

18 comments:

Dr.John said...

I watched x-files but didn't have a favorite. Missed both movies.

Anonymous said...

Gosh, I've wondered. It didn't look very good - and I loved(!!) the series. Thank you for guinea squirreling for us. Maybe I can wait until it's out on DVD!

Jess said...

SUCH a Filey. I am SUCH a Filey.

I have the first six seasons on tape, and only really lost interest the last season, when everything got slightly wonky and off-kilter.

I can't wait to see the new moovie, altho' I've had several people tell me it's not as great as I'd hoped it would be.

But I still want to believe. ;)

Ruth W. said...

I also loved that series, however I think I will just remember those episodes and not watch the movies.

molly said...

I loved the series on TV. But as soon as one was over I'd forget all about it. I'm impressed by your memory---or did you sit there taking notes??!

heartinsanfrancisco said...

I liked the series but have been hesitant to see the movie. It seems a bit like raking up dead coals.

I also haven't seen Sex and the City (movie) although I probably will eventually. In general, I don't think it works to make movies of TV shows.

Jay said...

I hated the show, watched only a couple of times, and under duress :)

My best friend loved it to death, and there were some Sunday nights where I just couldn't get out of it - but if I watched, she'd owe me BIG.

Marja said...

I liked x-files but missed a lot. I never missed House for along time. These day I don't watch any of them

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Dr. John,
As I said, second movie is missable but the first one is worth a look.

claudia,
DVD would be fine but don't forget to demand for movie 3!!!

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

daysgoby,
please go see the movie. The more that see it will send a message to the film studios that fans are still interested in a movie 3. I too want to believe.

ruth,
I know what you mean but movie one is good cause it answers a lot of questions from the series.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

molly,
remembering all the story details is an illness called being an X-phile but I did cheat a little by using an on-line list of episodes.

hearts,
X-files or Sex in the City? Sadly, you have revealed where your heart lies and it ain't with Spooky Mulder. :)

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

jay,
Don't tell me.......another fan of Sex in the City? :)

marja,
My brother, who is a doctor,lways gets so flustered when he sees House and insists on telling anyone who would listen how unrealistic the show is. So when ever the show is on, I get a lot of enjoyment watching my brother's reactions.

the walking man said...

Missed them all *sigh*

Jo said...

Sometimes great TV series don't translate well to the big screen.

The X-files lost something when they relocated to California from Vancouver. David Duchovny wanted to be with his family, so they moved the show, and it definitely was not the same after that.

I used to see William B. Davis (cigarette smoking man) in my neighborhood all the time.

.Tom Kapanka said...

Like "Lost" and "24" which I did get into, X files was one of those shows that if you came in late... you felt lost.
By the way, cool counter on the side. I've not noticed that before.

Claire said...

Ooo, I loved X-files and Kolchak the Nightstalker before that too!! When I was a kid there was a show on afterschool called Dark Shadows about a vampire named Barnabus. It was campy but fun. I'm a big fan of sci-fi in general. I like horror too, the w/o lots of blood and guts, but scares the crap out of you kind.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

mark,
I think you would have enjoyed the conspiracy elements of the show if not the spooky part.

jo,
certainly the show had a certain feel and look based on the wet, damp and misty look from around Vancouver, so it did seem strange when that was lost by the move to LA.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Hi Tom,
I enjoyed 24 but didn't watch it the first time but caught it on re-runs. But I'm afraid that Lost just lost me.

claire,
I have never seen the Dark Shadows TV show that you mentioned but I remember reading a comic book series that featured an unusual family which had a vampire called Barnabas and a brother who was a werewolf. Possibly the same?

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