Ad for The X-Files, Nov 3rd, 1996

Back in 1993, RTÉ were censoring Beverly Hills 90210 and…

• Back in 1993, RTÉ were censoring Beverly Hills 90210 and Baywatch. I was not best pleased and wrote them a letter or three on the subject.
• Back in the 80s they used to cut The Hitchhiker to ribbons, too.
• And later in the 90s, the BBC were chopping off parts of the The X-Files. Sigh.

The X-Files 10.6

• Weakest episode of the new season. Doesn’t quite succeed in making the apocalyptic events seem credible. And there isn’t enough Mulder.
• Delighted to see Einstein and Miller back. Einstein is particularly well used. But, again, the scenes with her and Scully aren’t quite as dramatic and tension-filled as the script would hope.
• The Mulder/Cigarette Smoking Man confrontation, however, is top notch and yields some very interesting ideas.
• Some of the dialogue was stiff and unintentionally comedic. Also
  unintentionally comedic: the sight of Scully confronting a mob of looters with a speech about going to the hospital.
• The cliffhanger? Unsatisfying cop out ending.

8/10

The X-Files 10.5

Lauren Ambrose, Robbie Amell, Janet Kidder.

• The new season delivers another superb story, nothing like anything else so far this year.
• The guest cast (and the two guest characters) are wonderful. First, because they are fun (being clones of Scully and Mulder) but second, because they really come across as interesting and likeable agents. These are two people I would like to see again.
• It was an episode of cameos: blasts from the past. Very cool.
• David Duchovny was hilarious when Mulder got high.
• This was very different to classic X-Files stories because it was all about the main characters, but at the same time it was exactly like the way the show was when it started because it took a simple idea and created a genuinely thought-provoking tale around it. That is what the show used to do best.
• The final duologue was very on-the-nose. And maybe in the hands of less capable performers it would have failed, but these two made is sing. Chris Carter is so lucky to have them.

10/10

The X-Files 10.4

Another great episode, balancing a good case-of-the-week with a surprisingly excellent Scully b-story. Gillian Anderson terrific. 10/10

The X-Files 10.3

Wow. That was one of the best-ever episodes. Funny and profound. Magnificent.

• Things I loved:
• Scully clearly enjoying Mulder’s company. It looks like the two of them are having fun together. This is important to the viewer’s enjoyment, I feel.
• The ending was uplifting, not just because Mulder got his faith back but because the dialogue was all about how important the people you meet along the way are.
• Tyler Labine!
• Rhys Darby!
• Rhys Darby dressed as Carl Kolchak!!
• The Scully sex scene 🙂
• The twist as to what was really going on.
• The Kim Manners grave.

10/10

The X-Files 10.2

Much more story-driven than 10.1 but less focused overall. It didn’t really start properly until the final third when Mulder and Scully spoke with Jackie Goldman. From that point forward, the episode was very good: giving us a perfect X-Files ‘villain’. 9/10

The X-Files 10.1

Joel McHale.

• Good. Clunky in places, and virtually plot-less but… it skillfully reinvented the show for today and our slightly different take on pop-culture conspiracy theories.
• The best scenes were the ones where Mulder and Scully were alone together. We love these two character and they were (mostly) well-written and (always) well played here. (The scene on the porch had terrible dialogue.)
• But Tad O’Malley (a fascinating character) was central to the rest of the best scenes. Great idea to have a character like him in the premiere.
• By the time it was over, although almost nothing had actually happened, I was very intrigued as to what this new information meant and where it would take our heroes. And that, quite simply, was not guaranteed. The show had to work to get me to this place. And it did.

9/10

69% of Masters of Sex watched. Oddly appropriate.

69% of Masters of Sex watched. Oddly appropriate.

Some gifs of Morgan Woodward in various guest star roles…

Some gifs of Morgan Woodward in various guest star roles (1979-1997).

One of my favourite character actors. And easily one of the best/busiest.