So..... X-Files is back baby!

[Howard_Casto]

Just a friendly reminder that it premiers tonight after the ritualistic kill the guy with the ball programming.  (10:00 pm)

I'm getting excited as it sounds like they want to make this a yearly thing instead of a 9 part mini-series.   

Apparently you can already binge-watch on hulu's premium service, but I'm going to go old school and watch it every week like a civilized human being.

p.s.  Gillian Anderson is still hot.   

[wp34]

Makes me wish they would bring Fringe back.

[BadMouth]

I have the Tivo set.  Somehow the second film flew under my radar and I never saw it.
I feel like I need to watch that first.  Maybe I'll have an x-files evening.   

[Grasshopper]

To be honest I'm pretty sceptical about it.

The original series somersaulted over the shark multiple times. I got tired of the underlying theme of some vast conspiracy theory that was initially interesting but untimately lead nowhere.

[Howard_Casto]

Makes me wish they would bring Fringe back.

That last season of Fringe made all hope of ever taking that universe seriously fly out the window.  At least the X-Files had sense enough to leave the ending open. 

[Howard_Casto]

I have the Tivo set.  Somehow the second film flew under my radar and I never saw it.
I feel like I need to watch that first.  Maybe I'll have an x-files evening.   

You aren't missing much.  That second film seemed like an extended episode of the show, and not one of the good ones, more like filler.

[pbj]

Second X-Files movie was very wtf.

I abandoned Fringe when Spock appeared.

Wonder if David will pull some "I'm in UFO obsession therapy" publicity stunt.

[Howard_Casto]

Well that was surprisingly awesome.  Having the dude from talk soup in a serious role was a bit distracting, but other than that it was like going home again.  I was particularly impressed by the fact that they used the original title sequence.... until they shoe-horned Skinner in there.  Still.... X-files is back woot!

[RandyT]

Grrrr....was working at the time, so I set the DVR.  Finally got done close to midnight and sat down to watch it, only to find that it was pushed by the football game and I lost half of it.  Hope it's on FOX NOW, by this point, so I can see the rest tonight.

From what I saw, it's off to a good start.  I started tiring of the series by the end, but the story so far seems intriguing.  I like the idea of the 6-part mini-series.  Probably won't be as disjointed as the series eventually became.

[Howard_Casto]

Critics say that the first episode is actually the worst.  Not that I ever listen to what critics say, but that's a good sign considering how much I liked the first one.  They aren't doing the "non-ending" thing either, which is probably a good thing considering how short a window they have to work with. 

I'll be interested to see what the ratings are like, or if they even matter in this hulu/Netflix/on demand world we now live in.

The Lone Gunmen are confirmed to appear in the show at one point.  I guess as ghosts again?  Killing them off was the stupidest thing they ever did.

[HaRuMaN]

The Lone Gunmen aren't dead. 

[Howard_Casto]

They died in season 9 man.  They were caught in that building that blew up... like a ventilation shaft or something.

[HaRuMaN]

They died in season 9 man.  They were caught in that building that blew up... like a ventilation shaft or something.

Yes.  But in X-files Season 10 (the comic, but it IS canon, btw), they revealed that they faked their death. 

[Howard_Casto]

Actually they de-canonized it when the show was renewed. 

[Admiral688]

So anyone know why the short season? Are they going to tee up a reboot with new characters?

[Howard_Casto]

So anyone know why the short season? Are they going to tee up a reboot with new characters?

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are highly sought after in Hollywood these days, so that was about all they could shoot.  A 7th episode was written, for example, but they couldn't get everyone together long enough to film it. 

No, no no!  This is X-Files, Chris Carter doesn't do reboots.  This is not a "fresh new take" on the x-files, it's the original show.  While the pilot is a bit off, episode 2 feels like it could have been a 1999 unreleased  episode.  Other than the introduction of more advanced cell phones and Skinner's goatee, they haven't really changed anything.  All people involved are interested in doing future episodes, but I think they are waiting on Fox's response and the ratings to come in for the quarter season. 

[Admiral688]

So anyone know why the short season? Are they going to tee up a reboot with new characters?

Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are highly sought after in Hollywood these days, so that was about all they could shoot.  A 7th episode was written, for example, but they couldn't get everyone together long enough to film it. 

No, no no!  This is X-Files, Chris Carter doesn't do reboots.  This is not a "fresh new take" on the x-files, it's the original show.  While the pilot is a bit off, episode 2 feels like it could have been a 1999 unreleased  episode.  Other than the introduction of more advanced cell phones and Skinner's goatee, they haven't really changed anything.  All people involved are interested in doing future episodes, but I think they are waiting on Fox's response and the ratings to come in for the quarter season.

Oh, I know the deal. I'm a big fan and can not wait to see the lone gunmen back. I didn't know what the deal was and figured they brought Scully and Mulder back as a primer to new characters in the future. I'd love to see the x files back......i gave fringe a go, but after awhile became sick of the story arcs.

[Ginsu Victim]

"Mulder and Scull Meet the Were-Monster"

Wow, I loved this episode. X-Files was always fun when it was funny, and this was another gem from the writer of "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'" and "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose."

From the opening with a paint-huffing Tyler Labine (Reaper, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, Deadbeat), this episode never slows down. Mulder and Scully investigate sightings of a "were-lizard" that's been killing the locals, and it's up to them, with the possible assistance of a very freaked out animal shelter worker, played by Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, Burning Love), to find the killer.

The "were-lizard," as played by the brilliant Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords, Short Poppies), is the highlight here. The monologue he delivers to Mulder is one of the funniest things I've seen lately. We get to see the events of the entire episode played out through his eyes and it's excellent.

Not only my favorite episode of the new series, but now one of my favorites ever. Some people are hating on it for not furthering the overall storyline, considering the small number of episodes we're getting, but the writing shines so brightly, there was no way I could hate it.

Great episode, great writing, great guest cast!

[BadMouth]

I thought it was funny and I can identify with the existentialist blues of the human condition expressed in it. 
There were a few things that bugged me.  I think they put the monster in it's full glory out there in full daylight too much.
It was campy.  Like "hey look at this guy in a rubber suit!"

The other thing was that the monster stripped his clothes off before running in the porta-jon, but when the door opens he has his clothes back on.
Of course that was during his retelling of it, so he could have been lying.
At the end I was hoping Scully would drop some hint that she really did jump his bones.   

I agree that the guy playing the were-lizard did a spectacular job.  He added a lot to the character.

[pbj]

So it gets better?  Cause I watched the first episode (On Demand, kthx Fox for screwing up the DVR schedule) and even my space opera fan friends were bored by it 20 minutes into it.

[CheffoJeffo]

Wow, I loved this episode. X-Files was always fun when it was funny, and this was another gem from the writer of "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'" and "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose."

+1

 

[BadMouth]

So it gets better?  Cause I watched the first episode (On Demand, kthx Fox for screwing up the DVR schedule) and even my space opera fan friends were bored by it 20 minutes into it.

I thought the second episode was better than the first, which I wasn't all that impressed with.
It's network primetime TV, so I don't have HBO level expectations.

The third episode is goofy and in a different style, but was pretty entertaining.
You could skip it though and won't miss anything in the overall story arc.

[Ginsu Victim]

I think they put the monster in it's full glory out there in full daylight too much.
It was campy.  Like "hey look at this guy in a rubber suit!"

I thought it was part of the joke. I mean, look at the title of the episode.

[BadMouth]

I think they put the monster in it's full glory out there in full daylight too much.
It was campy.  Like "hey look at this guy in a rubber suit!"

I thought it was part of the joke. I mean, look at the title of the episode.

Yeah, I mean they did show the monster kicked back in a very human reclined position enjoying the day with a piece of wheatgrass hanging out it's mouth before people came along and bothered him.

[Howard_Casto]

Episode 3 is a complete deconstruction of the X-Files and procedural crime dramas in general.  It was perfect and wonderful in it's purposeful cheesiness. 

While I'll admit that the first episode was a little off, 2 and 3 were classic X-Files.  If you didn't enjoy them then you've got to admit to yourself that you just never liked the X-Files to begin with because those scripts, modern technology nods aside, could have been pulled from season 6 of the show they were so spot on. 

[CheffoJeffo]

This is kind of cool ...

http://www.vulture.com/2016/02/x-files-easter-eggs-weremonster.html?sf20260232=1#

[Howard_Casto]

I liked the skip at the end when running into the forest.  It's awkwardness in movement had to be a reference to the infamous bigfoot footage, which also featured a strange gate.

[Ginsu Victim]

I liked the skip at the end when running into the forest.  It's awkwardness in movement had to be a reference to the infamous bigfoot footage, which also featured a strange gate.

I like how they didn't make the lizard suit look too real on purpose. All the people who say "it's just a guy in a suit" -- well, that's how it actually looks!
Even better is the joke that when he's a human, he's just a Guy (Guy Mann) in a suit.

[BadMouth]

So what was up with that?

I kept thinking there wasn't enough time left for things to be resolved.  Yeah, there wasn't.

What's next?  Moulder & Scully are abducted, that remains a mystery for the future, and the tv series moves forward with Einstein and Miller?

I like Einstein.  Miller is a bit bland, but then again the character of Moulder that he would be replacing is usually monotone and speaks in an odd evenly paced cadence.
They haven't really developed Miller's character much.  I want to see some weird quirky specific unexplained phenomena that he spends his time on when off the clock.
The character currently doesn't have much depth.  He's just kind of a generic fbi guy who happens to have some of the same interests in the paranormal as Moulder.

[Howard_Casto]

Well at first they were promoting it as the series finale but they quickly changed that to the season finale.  All parties involved have shown interest in another season.  Also they were going to film an additional episode but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts.  So this time next year more x-files, probably with Mulder and Scully.  I think the Einstein and Miller characters were supposed to be the two replacement agents from the later episodes of the show, but the T 1000 had scheduling conflicts and couldn't make a guest appearance like his partner did. 

[pbj]

Did Fox screw around with the showtimes on this?  My DVR basically refused to record it, and we don't watch much live TV.

Off to bittorrent, I suppose....

[Howard_Casto]

I would compare it to the first time you watched The Fellowship of the Ring.  "This is awesome!..... Wait.... that's the end?  They just cut it off!  WTF!!!!"

[Ginsu Victim]

I would compare it to the first time you watched The Fellowship of the Ring.

A lot of us went in knowing it was going to end like that....it was a trilogy.

[Howard_Casto]

That's not what I mean.  Back to the Future was a Trilogy, but each one had endings.  Ditto for Star Wars.  What I mean was that like Fellowship, it just sort of ended out of nowhere. 

[Ginsu Victim]

That's not what I mean.  Back to the Future was a Trilogy, but each one had endings.  Ditto for Star Wars.  What I mean was that like Fellowship, it just sort of ended out of nowhere. 

They had no clue BTTF and Star Wars would even have more movies.

LotR's trilogy had already been established for decades.

[Howard_Casto]

Well I explained what I meant and I think you understand, but feel free to keep picking nits.