The First File

X Files has the distinction of being among the longest-running Sci-Fi shows of all time. In fact, I can think of only one, Stargate, that has beaten it. When X Files hit it didn’t take long for numerous fans to be swept up in it. I happened to catch the werewolf episode, “Shapes,” and was hooked for life.

There wasn’t really anything like X Files on TV when it came out. When was the last time you saw a prime-time show where the heroes fought monsters? It was dark, edgy, mysterious, and gripping. It had a way of grabbing hold of the imagination and not letting go. Going back and watching these early episodes again I’m reminded of exactly why it became so ragingly popular. This is fantastic stuff!

Later episodes would become more comedically or dramatically driven, but the early episodes are almost purely suspense/thrillers. If Jaws made you afraid to swim in the ocean X Files would make you afraid to do pretty much anything.

There is no conspiracy at this point. For that matter, there is no continuous story line. These are individual stories told on a cohesive premise but on the whole not linear like later seasons although retrospective viewing can make it feel more linear.

Fox Mulder is a brilliant criminal profiler. He is obsessed with FBI’s oddest cases deemed “unsolvable” and filed under “X” to get them out of the way. His obsession stems from a belief that his sister was abducted by aliens and his hope that something in these strange files will guide him to the truth of what happened to her.

Members of the FBI and govt. are unhappy with Mulder’s investigations but have been unable to prevent them. They recruit the scientifically-minded Dana Scully to watch over Mulder’s shoulder expecting her to be able to pick apart his investigations. These men make two fatal flaws one in assuming Scully will blindly follow orders rather than investigate with impeachable integrity and another in assuming, as Scully herself often does, that the things Mulder investigates can’t possibly be what he claims they are. Aliens, monsters, ghosts: these things aren’t real. Right?

Actors sometimes take a while to settle into their roles on a series like this, but David and Gillian instantly own Mulder and Scully. Their characters develop but always feel like the same people. William Davis’ cigarette-smoking man is legendary. Mitch Pileggi’s Skinner endured so well that he became an increasingly large part of the show and is now almost as vital to it as Mulder and Scully themselves. The Lone Gunmen team became so popular they got their own series (sadly short-lived though it was). So right from the start many of the most loved characters are part of the series, though there are plenty more yet to come.

Production value certainly isn’t what it could be today, but the show looks terrific. The dark tones create a strong atmosphere unmatched by the majority of anything shown on TV. At the same time the show manages to deliver laugh-out-loud lines in perfect comic-relief tradition.

I’ll get into more specific comments as I go through the episodes.

CONTENT:
These early episode are tame. The biggest thing is the scare factor, but even that is less than what comes later. There is some bad language, but that’s about it. There is an episode that revolves around sex with some sensuality shown, but it’s pretty tame as far as what is depicted. Still, parents concerned about this sort of thing might want to watch it first.

DVD:
X Files was one of the first shows to begin seasonal TVD releases. The first few seasons aren’t quite as impressive as the later ones, but to this day few shows have matched these for content and design.
For packaging you have a few different options. The original release is a folder that fits inside a sleeve. The best thing about this is that virtually ever surface from the sides of the sleeve to the panels of the folder is covered in original artwork. An insert provides more images with information and chapters for each episode. Very few releases even come close to this level of design.

Later this was repackaged as thin plastic cases in a box. I believe these exclude the extra features from the original set.

Lastly is the box set (which I have reviewed if you’d like details). It does include all of the original extras. Only the packaging has changed.

X Files would be so good in 5.1 surround, but the 2.0 is very good. The aspect ratio is the TV standard 1.33.

Some nice animation leads into an episode menu with individual menus for each episode. There is blessedly little fanfare before getting to an episode (no disclaimers and other such useless stuff) although a play all feature would have been nice.

Several episode have international clips. These are up to 4 variations on a scene from each of the episodes played in different languages. They are a little interesting on the first set, but they get boring soon after that since they all cover the same languages.

Each episode has a 10 and 20 second trailer. These are surprisingly fun to watch.

A number of episodes have short behind the scenes features. In addition to those are similar features called Behind the Truth. These were bits created as promotions by FX. They are typically extremely interesting though often far too brief. There are also 9 that aren’t about any single episode. These include looks at Mulder, Scully, Deep Throat, and the Lone Gunmen. There’s a look at the Tooms episodes, the challenges of creating the theme song, makeup effects and blood problems, prop storage, and looks at Mulder’s office and apartment.

A big behind the scenes feature looks at getting the show started, music, strange lighting, Gillian’s pregnancy, and effects with some funny stories thrown in.

There are a few other features here and there like a couple of deleted scenes. All of these I will talk about in the episodes list.

There are a few DVD-ROM features as well. One is a list of episode summaries which also include cast lists (these will be included on the regular DVD portion of later releases) and other credits. The Game Roots of Conspiracy deals mostly with trivia questions. It’s not particularly impressive.

EPISODES:
There are 24 episode ranging anywhere from 44 – 46 minutes long except for Pilot which is more like 48. So not only do you get more episodes than average, each episode is a few minutes longer than average on top of that. Not bad. Chapters are exceptionally well done though less consistent than future X Files releases. An episode may have anywhere from 11 to 16 chapters. While the number may vary the format is pretty much opening, theme song, story, story, story, credits. Navigating an episode is easier than the vast majority of other TVD sets.

1: Pilot
When FBI agents Mulder and Scully are paired they immediately take on a case that will be typical of the type they will investigate, but typical in their case is unfathomable in any other. Following leads on a mysterious death the agents exhume a buried corpse that turns out to be inhuman. Mulder suspects alien abduction with a government involvement. Finding evidence is hard enough, but now somebody out there is trying to actively prevent them from carrying out a successful investigation.

A couple of deleted scenes establish Scully with a boyfriend. He was evidently going to be a serious relationship because they appear to be living together. They are fun scenes to see, but the episode is better without them. They can be activated while watching the episode or played alone on disc 7.
A behind the scenes clip looks at character designs, casting, and episode effects.
This episode has only one trailer. It’s fun because it talks about the “new series!”

Billy Miles and those close to him make their first appearances though it will be a while before we see any of them again. More importantly, Cigarette-Smoking Man (AKA Cancer Man AKA…. Well, maybe I won’t tell you his name….) makes his first appearance though it’s a very small role.

Title notes: Pretty much all pilot episodes are called “Pilot.”

2: Deep Throat
When a test pilot develops a strange condition the military won’t comment on it even to his wife. When Mulder steps in to investigate a mysterious man approaches him to get him to drop it. But when does Mulder ever listen to admonition? Suspecting the involvement of alien technology, Mulder will get answers even if it means sneaking onto a top-secret airforce base. There he’ll get a glimpse of what the military is hiding and just how far they’ll go to keep it a secret.

A BTS clip looks at the character of Deep Throat.

Deep Throat obviously makes his first appearance here. Seth Green plays a small part. It’s amusing though definitely not his best work.

Title notes: the code name for Mulder’s informant – a reference to a real life informant.

3: Squeeze
A business man is murdered in his office. That much is unquestionable; the rest is unexplainable. How did the killer get in? Why take the victim’s liver? When the investigative team hits a brick wall the lead investigator approaches Scully for help. He’s adamant about keeping Mulder out of it, but Mulder is the only one able to turn up any evidence, impossible evidence though it may be, which he then connects to old cases buried in the X Files. Just try keeping him away now.

A BTS clip talks about the particular importance of the show, creating the squeezing effects, and the bile.

Doug Hutchison makes his first appearance as Tooms and Donal Logue guest stars.

Title notes: this is a reference to the villain’s special ability.

4: Conduit
A teen girl vanishes from a camp site. She’s a wild child so chances are she ran off with some guy, but her mother thinks she was abducted. Mulder, feeling a special connection to the abduction of his sister, is the only person who is even willing to consider the possibility of inhuman kidnappers. The only witness, though, is a little boy who begins acting strangely mainly by writing in binary which turns out to be anything but random. That does get a few people’s attention much to Mulder’s dismay.

A BTS clip looks at Mulder’s doubts, the composer Mark Snow, the binary idea, the interaction of Mulder and Scully, and emotion in the show.

Title notes: Mulder considers the boy to be a conduit for extraterrestrial info.

5: The Jersey Devil
A man is attacked and mutilated with teeth marks that appear to be human. The locals don’t want help with the case, but Mulder is too invested to back off. He sends Scully off while he plays homeless to find a monster – possibly the legendary Jersey Devil.

This is one of the weakest episodes. For one thing more connection to the real JD legend would have been an improvement. Besides not liking where the story went with its explanation there just isn’t enough in the way of suspenseful elements. The emotional reveal of Mulder’s personality is good, though.

Title notes: A real-life monster myth that ties into a fictional explanation.

6: Shadows
Mulder and Scully are called in to advise on the mysterious deaths of two criminals. Finding evidence of things the other investigators wouldn’t believe Mulder takes Scully on a fact-finding mission. They find an emotionally distraught woman surrounded by strange occurrences. An uncontrollable psychokinetic power? A sinister plot involving a faked death? Mulder is the only one with a chance to uncover the truth, but he may be prevented from doing so.

Title notes: reference to the intangible cause of the strange events compared to the tangible case of illegal dealings with terrorists.

7: Ghost in the Machine
A corporate exec. threatens to shut down a technology research project and is then mysteriously killed. A brilliantly masterminded plot or something less easily explainable? Mulder’s former partner calls on him for help and quickly displays the reason he doesn’t share Mulder’s respect like Scully does. The agents must find a way into a highly secured building guarded by a sophisticated computerized defense system.


Title notes: a parallel between human beings and the sophistication of the computer’s intelligence.

8: Ice
A group of researchers dies mysteriously in an isolated facility. A nonsensical transmission is the only clue. Mulder and Scully along with a team of scientists are sent to investigate. They discover something so dangerous that they do not risk accidentally transporting it back to civilization. When people start dying the team quickly discovers that they can’t trust each other, but with the deadly blizzard raging outside they have nowhere to run.

A BTS clip talks about the approach of the episode, effects shots, and the “creep-out” factor.
A Behind the Truth bit looks at choosing the worm and creating the skin effects.

Xander Berkley guest stars.

Title notes: the story revolves around ice.

9: Space
Someone or something is apparently sabotaging the space program shortly after some scientists begin seriously suspecting life on Mars. When a shuttle is launched on a mission a frightening vision causes an accident. If Mulder and Scully can’t figure out what’s going on in time to allow for repair of the shuttle the astronauts will die. Are Martians trying to hide their existence?

The quality of this one lacks. It looks like an early 80’s or even 70’s TV show at first. There is none of the suspenseful atmosphere that has made so many other episodes great. This one might be the worst episode ever made.

Tom McBeath (well known to Stargate SG1 fans) plays his first role. He’ll return a few more times though not as the same character. I guess they didn’t expect him to turn out to be such a recognizable face.

Title notes: the episode revolves around the space program.

10: Fallen Angel
A ship has crash landed and a secret government containment team dispatched. Deep Throat puts Mulder on the scent. When the agent is captured he meets another would-be investigator, Max. As Mulder tries to figure out the mystery of the ship and how Max fits in a dangerous alien wreaks havoc on those that would try to capture it.

This one has a special effects clip which is a funny shot of an actor in a goofy orange suit to create the alien effects. This bit shows up in other features as well, but it’s so amusing that it’s fun to have access to it by itself. There isn’t a whole lot of detail about the actual effect. It can be activated during the episode or played from an index on disc 7.
There’s also a BTS bit that talks about the limits of the look, UFO kooks, and influences.

This one, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, introduces Max.

Title notes: this is the government’s code name for the situation – a downed UFO.

11: Eve
A man is found dead, drained of blood. The work of aliens? Mulder thinks so and is hot on the trail. When a similar murder happens the agents find that the man’s daughter looks identical to the first man’s yet there seems to be no relation between the two. They uncover a plot of genetic tampering (a precursor to the experiments revealed in later seasons) that some will kill to protect.

A BTS clip looks at the origins of the idea, casting, and scary images.

This isn’t directly tied into the larger story that is to come but does seem to relate. Surprisingly none of the villains ever return to the series which is really too bad because the little girls are very creepy and do a terrific job with their roles.

Title notes: this is the name of the villain

12: Fire
A killer is targeting a prominent family, but how is he able to make things burst into flame for no discernable reason? An old flame of Mulder’s, Phoebe, comes to him for help, but the passions she stirs in him have a history of getting him burned. Mulder must face his fear of fire and a woman that likes to play games with his emotions.

I’m very surprised there has never been another mention of Phoebe in the series. It actually weakens the impact of the story when you step back and look at the whole thing particularly in light of Mulder’s history with Fowley. It makes Phoebe seem less important to him than this episode makes her out to be.

Amanda Pays guest stars.

Title notes: the episode revolves around fire.

13: Beyond the Sea
Scully sees her dad moments before she gets a call letting her know that he has died. Meanwhile Mulder is looking into a kidnapping that follows the MO of another case that ended in murder. A man on death row claims to have clairvoyant knowledge which he offers in exchange for a lighter sentence. The agents’ roles are reversed. Mulder is skeptical while Scully is not so immediately dismissive, but the grief over her loss may be clouding her judgment. Either way it’s a race to save the victims while Scully struggles with her loss.

Sheila Larken and Don S Davis (General Hammond!!) make their first appearances as Scully’s parents. Don won’t return often, but Sheila we’ll be seeing a lot of. Brad Dourif guest stars as the inmate.

A BTS bit talks about the story pitch, fighting to cast Brad, and the song. A Behind the Truth clip also talks about casting Brad.

Title notes: it’s the name of the song played at Scully’s dad’s funeral and highlights his connection to the sea as well as his passing in life.

14: Gender Bender
A killer or group of them using sex as a weapon? The facts of the case are hard to reconcile, but that is Mulder’s specialty. The leads point to a secluded religious community whose strange ways and private nature hide strange secrets. A late night infiltration puts Scully in the hands of one of the cult members and Mulder in a hellish cave.

The swap from horror to sci-fi towards the end doesn’t work very well.

Nick Lea makes his first appearance, but it isn’t as Krycek.

Title notes: reverence to the cross-gender nature of the villain.

15: Lazarus
Scully is involved with the stopping of a bank heist and loses a fellow agent, one with some personal ties to her. Attempts to revive the agent are successful, but he doesn’t seem to be himself. In fact, he’s acting like a criminal. Scully is quick to discount any strange events, but Mulder is too intrigued. And it’s a good thing because Scully is about to get herself in a world of trouble.

One issue I’ve had with this series is the inconsistency in Scully’s belief system. She believes in God which requires some level of belief in the supernatural yet she is completely unaccepting of anything connected to the soul.

Title notes: the character comes back from the dead so the title references the man raised from the dead by Christ.

16: Young at Heart
A criminal Mulder incarcerated is seemingly back from the dead with a vendetta against his captor. Memories of a difficult past weight heavily on the agent, but he can’t let up because the villain’s next target is Scully. What strange youth experiments were done to this man?

Title notes: reference to the youth experiments conducted.

17: EBE
A UFO is shot down by a fighter jet and a trucker may have answers, but when Mulder and Scully investigate the locals get uncooperative quickly. Mulder turns to the Lone Gunmen for help in tracking the potential path of the UFO while Scully investigates electronics she finds hidden in her pen. Mulder catches Deep Throat in a lie putting a kink in their relationship. How can Mulder trust him now? But nothing will prevent Mulder from finding his alien.

A BTS clip looks at the character of Deep Throat and casting the actor as well as a strange scene.

The Lone Gunmen make their first appearance.

Title notes: stands for extraterrestrial biological entity which is what Mulder and Scully are chasing.

18: Miracle Man
A young man displays an aptitude for faith healing even to the point of bringing a burn victim back from the dead. Lately though, people he tries to help are dropping dead. Some think he’s at best a fraud, but others wonder what sinister motives his benevolence may hide.

Title notes: reference to the boy’s ability to heal.

19: Shapes
A werewolf story, X Files style. Something has been attacking animals, but when the monster is shot it turns out to be nothing more than a human. Was this an excuse to commit murder or is something more mysterious going on?

Title notes: reference to the shape-shifting ability – from man to wolf.

20: Darkness Falls
Mulder and Scully have a penchant for getting themselves into isolated areas in deadly situations. This time they are deep in the woods investigating the disappearance of an entire logging camp. Prime suspect: ecoterrorists. If only it were that easy to explain. An unknown bug has everyone living in fear, and though they’re not to blame for any deaths, the ecoterrorists have made escape impossible and survival unlikely.

A BTS bit talks about distrust of authority and government, story origins, and the bug effects.

Title notes: reference to the onset of danger.

21: Tooms
Our first sequel, and they couldn’t have chosen a better villain to revisit. Based on evidence too crazy to believe, Tooms is released. FBI Assistant Director Skinner cracks down on the X agents essentially tying their hands in the matter under the watchful eye of CSM who appears to have it in for the X Files department. Mulder defies them in order to keep Tooms from killing again while Scully looks for easier to swallow evidence from previous murders to put him away. Tooms is fighting back though, framing Mulder for assault.

A BTS bit looks at the making of a sequel, bringing in Skinner, the original idea of CSM, and the naked villain.

Skinner’s first appearance.

Title notes: name of the villain.

22: Born Again
A lost and withdrawn little kid shows up outside a police station. Moments later an officer dies a strange death involving a high window. As Mulder and Scully investigate they find that this troubled girl is the center of many strange events. When they find a link to a murdered cop some years before the mystery gets increasingly sinister.

Maggie Wheeler guest stars.

Title notes: reference to the reincarnation-like idea. There doesn’t seem to be any connections to the Christian use of the phrase.

23: Roland
A seemingly mild-mannered and simple-minded janitor murders a scientist and solves complex equations. It’s up to the FBI to figure out what’s really going on.

Title notes: name of the janitor.

24: The Erlenmeyer Flask
A man with superhuman powers evades cops then vanishes. Deep Throat gets Mulder involved who finds his way to a genetic scientist – a suspiciously dead one. Mulder uncovers a cloning operation while Scully finds a strange virus with unearthly genetic structure. The perpetrators are deadly serious about hiding their agenda, and they raise the stakes with Mulder’s life.

A BTS clip talks about story origins, the significance of an address used, and mythology possibilities. A Behind the Truth bit covers the difficulty of shooting this and problems with props in liquid nitrogen.

Title notes: the type of container that holds what Scully is afraid will turn out to be monkey pee.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
While extras aren’t as impressive as later seasons, and there are some weak episodes, this is some of the best TV in existence. It’s very well suited for multiple viewings and is one of the most valued releases in my DVD collection. 5* without question.