X-Files help

[Raven Wolf]

Ok... first of all.... You boys are crazy!

2nd of all.... I'm confused at the mentioning of

That would be "Never Again".

in the way it was. Did I walk into the wrong part of a convirsation? It sounds like you're saying that's one of the titles of one of the episodes you were talking about, when it's not. "Never Again" is the one with the tattoo guy.... When Scully gets a tatoo of an Ouroboros...??? Maybe I misunderstood why you were saying That would be "Never Again".

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

any comments? ZF, Larain, MIB, HPDrifter...what say you? Moriarty, where are you????

4th Horseman..

Ahhh yes, just got done with an episode of Twin Peaks and basking in the glory. Unfortunately, I can barely keep my eyes open now, so I will have to post my thoughts tomorrow, after a long grueling day of work. I can say, however, that, as usual, I agree with you 100% on some of these episode, and disagree with you 100% on others, but such is the nature of our tumultuous relationship.

[4th Horseman]

Ok... first of all.... You boys are crazy!

2nd of all.... I'm confused at the mentioning of in the way it was. Did I walk into the wrong part of a convirsation? It sounds like you're saying that's one of the titles of one of the episodes you were talking about, when it's not. "Never Again" is the one with the tattoo guy.... When Scully gets a tatoo of an Ouroboros...??? Maybe I misunderstood why you were saying That would be "Never Again".

Hey beautiful, glad to see you prowling the board...."Never Again" was the one where the tattoo on the guys arm in the shape of a woman, made him do evil and nasty things....its also the episode, where as ZF says, Scully seems to be a bit out of character..seemingly playing the role of the common 1800's barroom whore..(well, maybe not that bad), but it certainly was an episode where after building all of this chemistry with Mulder, she goes off on some bizarre physical tangent and seems to have a physical relationship with this guy....just left a bad taste in my mouth...

4th Horseman...

[Guest ZeusFaber]

watched "Terms of Endearment" today....WOW, i thought this episode was fantastic, because it turned out to be just the opposite of how it started...the woman wanting a demon baby, whereas the guy burying his "demon seeds" wanted to have a normal baby....which one was more evil?....any comments??

Hmm, seems we have somewhat differing views on S6. I found "Terms of Endearment" to be largely average. I certainly agree that the ultimate premise is pretty original and not easy to predict, and it has some great images in it (particularly the demon in the hellfire around the bed), but it was still a little workaday for me. Not awful by any means, just not the stand-out entry that you saw it as.

"How the Ghosts stole Christmas" was very good. Asner, (although i dont adhere to his political views, he is one hell of an actor...and of course Lily Tomlin. A very nice, light episode, but was disappointed to not see Mulder and Scully share a holiday smooch before they opened their presents..

I thought "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" was a superb episode. It's a great concept, a spectacular homage to classic Christmas ghost stories and haunted houses, but puts an inspired twist on it due to the way it wittily pokes fun at the characters of Mulder and Scully. The "pop psychology" insights of the ghosts when they quiz each of them in turn is simply brilliantly written, operating on a number of levels. Great self-depricating humour. The visuals in the house are very nice too, wonderfully shot throughout. Then there is the climax to the tune of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". All in all it captured the holiday season atmosphere superbly without ever becoming maudlin (in perhaps the way "Omerta" arguably did).

"Dreamland I and II"....didnt care too much for these episodes...

I still enjoy them. It's a very different kind of humour to the clever wit mentioned above, it's more about laugh-out-loud moments and slapstic comedy, but it still works in its own unique way in my eyes. Perhaps it's thanks largely to the expert delivery of Michael McKean, whereas in someone else's hands it might have fallen flat. Who can't help but burst out in laughter at the Marx Brothers mirror dance scene?

"The Beginning" - man, what kind of a horses ass is their new boss? The beginning of this episode was one i remembered watching a long time ago that made me sit thru the entire episode...i give this episode high marks...

It does well coming on the back of the movie to pick up on its threads and sew it back into events of "The End". Not quite the most spectacular of mythology episodes though. That was yet to come this season. And yes, Kersh certainly proves a much more hard-nosed (and probably more believable) boss. You're going to see more of him as the series goes on.

"Drive" - a BIG piece of

That bad, eh? I thought it was okay. Brian Cranston put in a great performance. More of a standard episode, admittedly, but not awful.

"Rainking" - see "Drive"

"The Rain King" is more of a guilty pleasure for me. I can see why some people could be easily turned off as it becomes overly sentimental and has an extremely cheesy ending. I had fun with it though. Not wonderfully clever or outstandingly put together, but fun nonetheless. The teaser to the tune of "Rainy Days and Mondays" is pretty effective IMO.

I will comment later on "Triangle" but i was only able to sit thru the first 15 minutes before i found myself wanting to do the dishes, mop the floor, vacuum the kids rooms, etc...

What?! You've got to be kidding me!

"Triangle" was one of the best episodes of the season for me. A little outlandish, granted, but it's one of those extravaganza episodes that always sticks in the memory as far as I'm concerned. A clever spin on The Wizard of Oz with rollicking good fun on the Queen Anne, and real treats in seeing our regular characters in new guises back in the 1940s -- CSM as a Nazi villain? Skinner as the double-agent? Scully as a feisty OSS agent? What's not to love?

Added to this is the superb feats of cinematography and direction that go on throughout. Conceiving it all as one long take is simply inspired, if you ask me. The clever ways they hid a few cuts along the way also deserves praise, but more importantly the way they could keep a scene going with spectacular energy (particular praise to Gillian Anderson on that score) where you would normally have to cut and go again and redress the set etc., is simply amazing work from everyone in the cast and crew.

It's a really special episode, in my book, not just another average standalone. Brilliant.

[4th Horseman]

Hmm, seems we have somewhat differing views on S6. I

Hold the presses!!!! Guess we cant be accused of being "homers" for each other anymore...first off, most of you are FAR, FAR more familiar with the X-Files than i am. My virgin sojurn is sure to be fraught with disagreements and petty annoyances...Understand that my current positions on ANY episode is temporal, pending review...It could also all boil down to not "being in the mood" that particular day, so in terms of "Triangle", perhaps my mind was somewhere else. My feelings towards this episode are most certainly not set in concrete...

"Terms of Endearment" and other episodes like "All Souls" appeal to me because of my upbringing. I am origionally from the midwest (the Beltbuckle of the Biblebelt) where at any given moment on any given Sunday, you can walk from church to church in any "smallville" town and hear the roots of evangelical southern baptist rhetoric. Fire and Brimstone, God vs Satan, all laid out in its horror and splendor by a pastor whose passion for his belief left an indelible mark upon my soul. It is "meat and potatoe" religion, not like out here in California where the remnants of the 60's "love generation" still seem to resonate from church to church. Since moving here years ago, the "core message" seems to have drifted from one of a "judging God who demands loyalty with heavy penalty for disobediance" to a more passive, almost lethargic "sugar coated" message. Love, Peace, flowers and puffy clouds rolling by in the sky sermons. The very "soul" of the epistle of "reaping what you sow" has been morphed into a "guilt-free" message...in my struggles to understand the difference, the Pastor of the church my wife and i were married in told me that in these "modern" days, the church does not look upon the message i was brought up with as being "productive", that to preach similar theologies would "scare away" some people, and that a more tolerant, gentle message of Love appealed to a far greater number of people seeking answers.. I have noticed in the years since i have moved from the Bible Belt that the further west i go, the more tolerant the Church becomes...Perhaps that is a sign of the times, of our society accepting issues, behaviors, actions that once were considered obscene or offensive...

sorry to get off on a tangent, i will pull it back together here....

All i know is that the episodes that depict the struggle between Good and Evil, God vs Satan, whether it be X-Files, MillenniuM, or any other show (if well done) will always pull at the strings of both my heart and soul far more than the comedic or mytharc episodes will. Thats not to say i like them any less, but you cant deny your roots, and thats why "All Souls" is by far and away, of all the episodes i have seen from S1-current S6 is my favorite...This is Who I Am....

4th Horseman...

[Guest ZeusFaber]

That's interesting.

I think the whole "fire and brimstone" approach makes for great storytelling, as evidenced by Millennium in general, but in terms of a religious message to follow I find most of that kind of thing to spread hatred, intolerance, rigidity, a lack of acceptance and mass negativity. Not much good can come of that. But I don't want to get into a big religious debate.

I think there are episodes from all kinds of different genres explored by The X-Files amongst my favourites. Mythology episodes like "The Erlenmeyer Flask" or "One Son", or "Existence"; comedic episodes like "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" or "War of the Coprophages" or "Syzygy"; standalones like "Irresistible", or "Pusher", or "Roadrunners"; and extraveganza episodes like "The Post-Modern Prometheus", or "Triangle", or "Improbable". Something from every category.

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

Can we get back to discussing X-Files PLEASE! This extraneous banter is really diluting the purity of this thread....(just kidding)..

anyway, watched "Terms of Endearment" today....WOW, i thought this episode was fantastic, because it turned out to be just the opposite of how it started...the woman wanting a demon baby, whereas the guy burying his "demon seeds" wanted to have a normal baby....which one was more evil?....any comments??

"How the Ghosts stole Christmas" was very good. Asner, (although i dont adhere to his political views, he is one hell of an actor...and of course Lily Tomlin. A very nice, light episode, but was disappointed to not see Mulder and Scully share a holiday smooch before they opened their presents..

"Dreamland I and II"....didnt care too much for these episodes...

"The Beginning" - man, what kind of a horses ass is their new boss? The beginning of this episode was one i remembered watching a long time ago that made me sit thru the entire episode...i give this episode high marks...

"Drive" - a BIG piece of

"Rainking" - see "Drive"

thats as far as i have gotten into S6...I will comment later on "Triangle" but i was only able to sit thru the first 15 minutes before i found myself wanting to do the dishes, mop the floor, vacuum the kids rooms, etc...

NOW, SO FAR, OVERALL, MY FAVORITE EPISODE IS ------- "All Souls"....

followed closely by "The Calusari"....

any comments? ZF, Larain, MIB, HPDrifter...what say you? Moriarty, where are you????

4th Horseman..

Yes, I have to say I loved Terms of Endearment (loved the movie with Jack Nicholson too). I thought it was a great episode with excellent quirkiness, and I love the way Mulder plays with Bruce Campbell's character. Bruce was another example of great casting in that one. "How the Ghosts stole Christmas" is one I would like to see again, because I seem to remember it as an episode that I didn't get a great deal of enjoyment out of. Dreamland is one that we disagree on for sure. I thought it was a lot of fun and loved it. There was some genuinely funny stuff worked into the script regarding the identity switch, and the actors did a great job with it. For example, the mirror scene cracked me up, as did the some other scenes, such as the one between Mulder and Morris Fletcher's wife, thinking he is Morris. I think there are a lot of good laughs and fun, and speaking recently about funniest one liners, I loved it when she referred to Scully as "Dana Scully, special tramp". I do share your opinion on "Drive" and "Rain King" though. These are two of my least favorites, and episodes that I would skip if I had the discs.

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

You know Terms of Endearment is right behind All Souls. What i liked about Terms was that to me Bruce Campbell had the lead in this episode. I thought Bruce and Davids relationship was very funny but static. kinda like me and Bliss's relationship

Yes, I like to shuffle my feet on the floor with no shoes on, until the static builds up, and then I touch Joe and zap him with a shock. When I catch him off guard and zap him he runs around like a wild bore for a few seconds, knocking stuff over. He kind of reminds me of Chris Farley at a frat party.

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

Hey beautiful, glad to see you prowling the board...."Never Again" was the one where the tattoo on the guys arm in the shape of a woman, made him do evil and nasty things....its also the episode, where as ZF says, Scully seems to be a bit out of character..seemingly playing the role of the common 1800's barroom whore..(well, maybe not that bad), but it certainly was an episode where after building all of this chemistry with Mulder, she goes off on some bizarre physical tangent and seems to have a physical relationship with this guy....just left a bad taste in my mouth...

4th Horseman...

I agree, not one of my favorites, and a rare occasion where I wasn't very impressed by a Morgan and Wong effort. I think it manages to squeek into the mediocre category, but that's about all I can say for it. How did you like Paper Hearts a few episodes earlier. That one was definitely one of the season 4 highlights, and I thought Tom Noonan, (Dollarhyde from "Manhunter") was sensational, and very charismatic for such a sicko. I love the scene where Mulder halls off and slugs him. Come to think of it, Noonan was also a creep in the movie "The Pledge" with Jack Nicholson. His crowning achievement was, of course, Manhunter. He was awesome in that movie.

[Guest MillenniumIsBliss]

What?! You've got to be kidding me!

"Triangle" was one of the best episodes of the season for me. A little outlandish, granted, but it's one of those extravaganza episodes that always sticks in the memory as far as I'm concerned. A clever spin on The Wizard of Oz with rollicking good fun on the Queen Anne, and real treats in seeing our regular characters in new guises back in the 1940s -- CSM as a Nazi villain? Skinner as the double-agent? Scully as a feisty OSS agent? What's not to love?

Added to this is the superb feats of cinematography and direction that go on throughout. Conceiving it all as one long take is simply inspired, if you ask me. The clever ways they hid a few cuts along the way also deserves praise, but more importantly the way they could keep a scene going with spectacular energy (particular praise to Gillian Anderson on that score) where you would normally have to cut and go again and redress the set etc., is simply amazing work from everyone in the cast and crew.

It's a really special episode, in my book, not just another average standalone. Brilliant.

I have to confess, I would be moping the floor with the Forth Horseman if somebody turned on this episode. Triangle is to me what Owls and Roosters is to you.... well, I don't dislike it that much, but it just didn't work for me at all.