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The End of The X-Files
fonixmunkee writes "CNN is running this story that says the cult TV classic, "The X-Files," shall be no longer after this season. I have been a huge fan of this show since it started in '93, so I'm quite saddened by it's projected departure." The story originally showed up in Daily Variety, saying that Chris Carter wants to move on to other projects.
The show should have ended after the 5th or 6th season. Use the movie as a stopping point, or as a prelude to the final season. In an abstract way, I like how Mulder & Scully are now the shadowing unknown figures to the newbies Doggett and Reyes.... but the show just lacks the same sort of viceral, "what the hell is going on here?" punch that it used to have. How many bug episodes have there been, now? 4? (Cockroaches, flies, bees, little-glowy-green-things from inside trees) After you unravel the whole Alien Conspiricy (tm), there's nowhere to go but down.
Pity Fox didn't give Lone Gunmen a better chance. The 1st episode was.... eh (and HOW "eh" after Spet 11th), but some of the later ones were just brilliant. Guess John C. Potato doesn't wanna watch middle-aged geeks. Who knew?
AHHHHHHH! I'm burning with goodness again!
- Reakk, Sluggy Freelance
The X-files is ooold. Old in the sense that it's
out of touch with the trends. Government conspiracies were all the rage back in the early
ninties (Oliver Stone's J.F.K. for example),
but it doesn't feel very fresh today.
I think in 20 years people will look back on 'X-files' as a typical ninties show,
like "Cheers" for the 80's, "M*A*S*H" for the 70s,
etc..
I like John Dogget, good character, and well acted by t2 guy (heh). Am I the only one? The main thing that gets on my nerves is that it feels like they are just repeated the same stories. I mean, did they ever REALLY solve the whole alien invader thing? I didn't think they did....and now these "super soilders", will they just leave that story up in the air as well?
Please.
Call it controversial, but I loved the very first season the best, and I always thought it would have been cool if it had ended there - with their contact dead, the X-Files closed, and Mulder and Scully split up, and no questions answered.
I mean, subsequent series were quite good, but what a cool way to end it.
Not only willing, he is already signed up for it... aside from this being disclosed in the article (which you obviously didnt read), it has been a known fact soon after the first movie premiered.
and, as it has been said before, Mulder's departure killed it. They could have survived a few more seasons answering questions leading to other questions leading to blah... But Mulder's presence was IMHO mandatory for the X-Files concept to catch audience.
:]
:)
BTW, I always thought the way they designed the Mulder character was chosen to perfectly suit us geeks. It was Mulder's charism that made the show enjoyable (and later on, "watchable") instead of what it has now become : absolute crap
Until Carter has another good idea ("good idea" != "Millenium"), I will live on my memories of the first 3 seasons of X-Files
Karma cannot be described by words alone.
The cinematography still rocks- the homage to 'Traffic' last week was cool. (I just got the arc between 'All Things' and 'Grand Canyon' after seeing the latter last week) And even if the character development has stalled a bit, the writing still exhibits creative flashes (even if the only character to ever speak truth was Kritchcau during his walk with Mulder thru the Pentagon!) The problem has always been that while we want Mulder and Scully to wild thing, we're sorta repulsed by the cheapening of the act into some sorta alien conspiracy instead of the natural progression of a relationship.
Course while the reality of Anderson and Duchovney's 'antipathy' towards one another doesn't help the overall vibe one gets from the show, there's no denying the onscreen chemistry is one of the best ever. Reyes and Dogget do hold some hope, although there was one scene where Reyes and Anderson appeared simpatico.
Overall, perhaps it's better to do movies, where the plot lines could have the continuity of writing and cinematography and feel more of a piece than a 44min tv show.
I'd say it was just after the movie that it really started to suck. The writing took a serious nose-dive and the directing just flat out died.
Been an X-File fan for years and originally thought that the loss of Duchovny was irrecoverable.
But...let me just say that Robert Patrick is one damn fine actor. While Mulder's character was far more likeable and what not, Patrick's portrayal of Doggett is superior IMHO. If they could have severed ties to the Scully/Mulder X-Files and just call the Doggett/Reyes X-Files The Next Generation or something - I'd be happy.
The restrictions imposed by continuity and actors disinterested in continuing their roles hamstrung the entire show. Unfortunately, what could have been a more than viable alternative (Doggett/Reyes) is weighed down by the legacy of the show.
Praying for the end of your wide-awake nightmare.
I have been a fan of The X-Files pretty much since its inception. It's one of the only TV shows I actually put aside time to watch (the others being the local news that's on while I get ready for work, and CBS Sunday Morning. Everything else is pretty much tripe IMHO).
I have to confess that I was not sorry to see Mulder go. Once the whole Samantha thing was resolved (well done, I might add), he bored me. As much as I like Scully, I think she probably should have left along with Mulder. The two are too closely intertwined in the series to survive without the other. Especially with the revelation a few shows ago that Scully and Mulder had a thing going (I thought they just did a turkey baster number and moved on from there). Scully and Mulder in love? Good grief... Remember when Mork married Mindy, or when David got together with Maddy (that was on Moonlighting, for those who don't remember)? Talk about a death knell for a TV show. Now we have the whole Scully & Mulder fling to bore us into changing the channel.
This has me worried about a sequel to the X-Files movie. If both Mulder and Scully are in it, I can guarantee it's going to be a love story. I don't mind love stories, but I don't think they fit with the whole X-Files thing. If it's a love story, I'm going to skip it fer sher.
All that said, I am very sorry that Reyes and Doggett won't be able to develop more. I sincerely think that those two characters could have easily taken over for Mulder and Scully. I find them immensely more likeable at this point anyway. They have all the sexual tension that Mulder and Scully had, and they still offer that "I believe" vs. "I'm skeptical" professional tension that M & S had. Plus these two actually have lives. This makes them much more interesting.
Anyway, I'll shut up now. RIP X-Files... You gave me something to watch after Twin Peaks was cancelled...
E.
When they announced that Duchovny was leaving, they had a chance to bring some fresh air to the show. Unfortunately, they blew the opportunity by letting Duchovny hang around with Mulder casting a shadow on the last two seasons. Patrick, unfortunately, never really had a chance to do much with his role.
I guess this was a pretty good deal for Duchovny who mistakenly thought he was good enough for movies just because his wooden delivery worked on the small screen. Now without X Files, the frightening thought is that we'll get more Duchovny movies. So long as he sticks with roles like that which he had in Zoolander (the wacky conspiracy nut), he'll be OK.
* As is generally the case, my opinions do not reflect those of my employer.
The lie the hard-core X-Files fans all sucked up was that there was some overarching story line that was being revealed over time, a la Lord Of The Rings. It became clear to most of us after a couple of rounds that the writers were completely winging it, stringing the conspiracy plot out for yet another season. It looks like Chris Carter has now gone to the well a few times too many and even the core fanboys have realized that the next upcoming "revelation" is just going to be the latest application of smoke and mirrors.
Call me a heretic, but the episodes I enjoyed the most were the freestanding ones.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Well, it seems Fox is a network that's stuck in a rut, and always looking for a cash-cow.
Back in its early days, they weren't pulling a lot of money, sure, but they didn't have a big audience to begin with. They were much more willing to give a show (like the X-Files, or the Simpsons) a chance - even if it was considered by some to be offbeat or weird. They had nothing to lose at the time.
However, now they're nationwide, and they want marketshare. Big time. They don't seem to think they can give a show a chance to get the bugs worked out, to refine its "sense of self", so to speak - "for all my selfless devotion, I except some really big returns". And if they don't see the returns fast - that being in terms of BIG ratings - they're tripping over themselves to cut it loose ASAP.
Which is, of course, why they're milking the everliving fuck out of the series that they've got that did catch on - because they don't know where they'll find the next "big thing" - the next X-Files, or the next Simpsons, to keep them in the ratings.
Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"