The Top Ten X-Files Episodes

[Libby]

Well, I liked Improbable as well, so clearly we're both silly. The only bit I didn't like was I thought the music at the end went on a little too long. I think some people found it a bit confusing because they didn't know whether it was supposed to be a light-hearted fun episode or a deep serious one. And some people couldn't get past the idea of Burt Reynolds in an X-File episode.

For the scene in the garage, CC wanted old classic cars, but no-one remembered that old cars have old-fashioned exhaust systems, so the garage filled up with fumes.

I liked the interaction between Scully and Reyes when Reyes is explaining her "theory".

[ethsnafu]

The scenes between Reyes and Scully are great. I have to agree. I do think that they were still trying to iron out who Reyes was and I would have loved to have seen a more coherent character and we would no doubt have gotten this as we moved into season ten had there been one. If I remember rightly, when she is first introduced she is rather more quirky, more scatterbrained, than in later episodes and "Improbable" is a portrayal closer to that than to the bolder, more assured woman we see in a lot of season nine.

Improbable could well have been an episode of The Lone Gunmen. It has the same kitsch feel as "Tango de los Pistoleros" and for that I loved it and what else was noteworthy was how much it felt like a Doggett/Reyes episode. I can't imagine that the story would have worked as well with Mulder and Scully and it's clear to me that the team had discovered what a Doggett/Reyes looked and felt like by this point as many of the S9 episode would not have worked with other characters in the lead either. I do hope that bit of ramble makes sense.

Eth

[Guest WaveCrest]

When trying to put together a Top 10 favourite X Files episodes list (either a Top 10 favourites or a 'in no particular order' list), picking 10 out of the 202 episodes is very difficult. I was trying to remember the ones I liked the most, and inevitably a lot of top-notch episodes had to be left out of the list. Some of these were from the eighth and ninth seasons. The following is a list (in no particular order) of my 10 favourite eighth and ninth season episodes (I still haven't seen the episodes Invocation and Lord of the Flies):

1.) Patience (a very good episode with Doggett and Scully working on their first case together)

2.) Salvage (a nod to Robert Patrick's T-1000 role)

3.) Empedocles (Monica Reyes' debut)

4.) Alone (episode 180 was a tribute to an X Files fan if I recall correctly)

5.) 4-D

6.) Audrey Pauley

7.) Scary Monsters (the return of Agent Leyla Harrison from "Alone")

8.) William

9.) Release (I disliked Brad Follmer before this episode. He redeemed himself in this episode)

10.) Sunshine Days (the 200th episode, and a homage to The Brady Bunch).

[ethsnafu]

I was itching to put Audrey Pauley on my list as well Richard. I wish I had but then you have to be fairly ruthless when you only have ten options. Not only is Annabeth Gish great in that episode but Tracey Ellis as Audrey is absolutely superb. I have just glanced at her IMDB page and released that that was the last role she is credited for. Now that's surprised me. She hasn't passed has she folks as it looks extremely odd to see her career come to such a halt.

Eth

[Guest Sidewinder]

Oh man... Reading this is really hard. Brings back a lot of great memorys- and shows me how much I forgot! There are really a lot of (later) episodes I didn't saw since the first airing- even though I bought the DVD-sets years ago (just managed to watch the bonus materials).

I told me girlfriend about that yesterday and she was like "Well, where's the season 1 set?" Looks like a complete re-watch coming soon.

[Guest WaveCrest]

I was itching to put Audrey Pauley on my list as well Richard. I wish I had but then you have to be fairly ruthless when you only have ten options. Not only is Annabeth Gish great in that episode but Tracey Ellis as Audrey is absolutely superb. I have just glanced at her IMDB page and released that that was the last role she is credited for. Now that's surprised me. She hasn't passed has she folks as it looks extremely odd to see her career come to such a halt.

Eth

Audrey Pauley should have had an extra 15-30 minutes added to it, as when watching it you felt stuff had been cut out of it. It was an inventive episode (the teaser being the first example) and imagine if a tenth season (or a Next Generation spin-off) had been given the green light, there could have been more inventive episodes like this.

Occasionly the IMDb dosen't update a person's page when they've passed away. It could very well be that Tracey Ellis retired from acting and went into teaching acting or another job.

[ethsnafu]

I completely agree with you about a tenth season Richard. The pairing of Doggett and Reyes was really beginning to find its own feet and the episodes were beginning to feel like they were uniquely theirs rather than simply being 'more of the same' with two new characters inserted into them. I would have loved them to have rested Mulder and Scully at the end of the ninth season and carried on with the new characters and a whole new mythology in season ten though I fear the fans wouldn't have accepted a show without M&S in some form or another.

Eth