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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.
Well...I'm sure it will go out with a bang...we should have a lot of questions answered for the second half of this season. Maybe we will even see a cameo of Mulder towards the end...or is that just hopeful?
I gave up watching the x-files a long time ago.
Origionaly it was very good but the writers seemed to confined with the same plotlines and format of each episode.
Had the program been given a freer reign and alowed to evolve over time (think star-trek) I think I would be still watching it today.
Shame
Anyone quoted by a reporter knows how little they understand
Don't believe what you read is the truth.
With the season that ended in 2001, it was obvious that way too many patches had been applied to the story continuity, and with the season finale, I simply gave up. The show just sucked at this point. Heck, my sister and I decided that when something sucked real bad, we would simply call it "X-files bad".
I do feel bad for the show and Duchovney. He is a very likeable actor, however, he has been severely typecasted (see the last two or three movies he's been in) and I don't think he can really shake that off. I don't even know if Gillian Anderson can make the break, but she probably has a better chance.
Anyway, R.I.P.
Never hit your grandmother with a shovel, for it leaves a bad impression on her mind...
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 3rd time the found Mulder's sister.
Scully has a baby.
The New Year's Eve kiss.
Right after "From Outer Space"
This
Arguably the funniest episode was the one they crossed over from COPS. The whole "BACK TO THE CAR! BACK TO THE CAR" line just did it for me :)
In case of fire, do not use elevator. Use water!
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?
What?
Do you mean that there are new episodies out there?
I thought that they were just re-runs. But... wait a minute! Yes! Mulder is never there! So, maybe there are new episodes.
I sincerely thought that my TV was going bad because Mulder really didn't look like Mulder, his voice was wierd and Scully never used 'Mulder' when assressing Mulder... or whoever is Mulder-2.0-i386.rpm right now...
I guess it's time to cancel the appointment with the TV technician and the cable guy.
I really liked some of the X-file's episodes. Not only some of the really good "normal" ones, but the comedic/weird ones were erally good, too.
I don't think I'll ever forget the episode from the two different viewpoints, or the COPS episode. There was a lot of original work there, which should be remembered. Too bad the last couple seasons have been going downhill...
Honestly now, Iron-absed Super Soldiers that can regenerate from a single vertebrate? Come on...
Moderation: Put your hand inside the puppet head!
Comparing Dallas (80's soap) with X-Files (90's soap):
Dallas - Bobby has an affair with another woman.
X-Files - Mully gets kidnapped by aliens.
Dallas - Yet another JR scheme to get all the money from the familly.
X-Files - Yet another conspiracy at the highest level.
Dallas - Pamela's dream sequence.
X-Files - Scully's dream sequence.
I've barely been able to watch it since Duchovny left. Yeah, Gillian Anderson is great, but it was the chemistry between the two that did it for me. For me, he really defined the show, and when he left, it was pretty much over, I think. As far as I'm concerned, it ended several seasons ago.
I've been watching X-Files since its first season, and let's face it... it's been pretty terrible in recent years, even before Mulder and Scully were written off into the margins. How long can you milk an alien colonization/invasion/kidnapping/master-race-breed ing conspiracy before the plot twists and turns cease to be surprising? Personally, I think they should make more episodes involving... what was her name, Candy? the entomologist. Or more episodes where Mulder kills vampires by driving stakes through their hearts. Or yes, more carnie episodes with real Geeks and the puzzleman!
I'm not going to miss X-Files. Give me the reruns!
--Jim
Please.
which episode was that? i've got some gnutella searching to do :)
Now I don't have to worry about how much money I'm going to keep pouring into buying the rest of the series on DVD.
You should never take life too seriously - You'll never get out of it alive.
Oh well, it has had a good run. I guess it's good to take it off the air while it's not such a bad show.
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken - Tyler Durden
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.
The series really started to get worse several seasons ago. There has been more of a shift from drama to comedy.
I now prefer to watch Alias, which has the same time slot and is much better show.
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.
Agnst over the show's direction, the carrot-and-stick approach to the Mulder/Scully relationship, and the exodus of the show's better writers has been building up for years.
If it weren't for the failure of Milennium, Harsh Realm & TLG, the show would have gone off with a satisfying bang years ago. Sad, really.
Further reading:
Chris Carter Plots Series Finale- On The Toilet
X-Files: "We're going to dish out answers this time, we swear!"
This is intended to stir up a little discussion:
When do you think X-Files jumped the shark?
I say it was toast once Mulder left.
?
I could make some disparaging remarks about beating a dead horse or milking the golden cow to death, but I'll hold my tongue out of respect for what the show was in it's best years. Would gladly buy a DVD of the first few seasons to watch them again.
Carter is simply being merciful.
How many times will they seemingly solve The Big Mystery... then again in a movie.
Gimme the original cast and the occasional guest like Peter Boyle.
Robert Patrick may have been a recognizable face, but you need an actual actor with some skills, if only for wry humor like Duchovny, not a digital clothes horse with dozens of b-movies plus Striptease.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
It seems to me that the season ending kiss between mulder and scully at the end of last season would have been a fine farewell for the show... instead, they had to drag us through a season of "Bobby Ewing" (if you don't get that reference, think TV's "Dallas")
So what is Fox going to do with itself when it loses it's Sunday night cult-show? Face it, they aren't going to do it with programs like "The Chamber". What a joke!
King of the Hill and the Simpsons have gone downhill and Futurama gets screwed every week by post game bantor. Malcolm has a good cast and good writers, but...then what?
I vote to bring back Space Above and Beyond or Young Indiana Jones!
Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
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 agree, but it's timing was all off. Chris Carter was looking to take control of Fox Friday night along with Sunday night. Unfortunately, that was back when X-Files was still a decent show and no one had enough time to try to keep track of two twisting storylines. Millennium would have been a great followup to the end of X-Files.
Wooden armaments to battle your imaginary foes!
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.
Fox did not give the show a chance with the new actors. Granted, the idea of trying to revitalize an old show with new actors is lame, but why does fox insist on aborting all of their new ideas in their infancy(The Tick, The Lone Gunmen, etc.)?
My cousin works as the editor for the X files, and she was pessimistic about the success of the show with the new actors, but they could have at least given it a chance!
Oh, well, there are always re-runs. I hope that the show goes into syndication soon, because I am missing it already.
In a hotel in a small mountain village, Chimgan, on the edge of the Altai mountains there is a hotel. At 2$/night, you may guess that this isn't the Hilton.
On entering the hotel, I sneaked passed the reception (I was registered as a local there)and we passed a television room where about 30-40 people were watching TV with rapt attention,
It was the X-files, of course (earlier episode with Mulder as well as Sculley). In a country where the government really does have control, it was hot stuff, even when badly dubbed into Russian.
See my journal, I write things there
There's a nifty little website out there called Jump The Shark ... "a Chronicle of the moments a TV shows goes downhill" ...
For me, I'm not sure when that momemnt happened, but I just know I haven't been watching it for the past couple of years. To me, the show lost it's "Twilight-Zone-Like" playfulness somewhere down the line and is now just another tedious soap-opera with a monster waiting to jump out of a closet.
Then again, I liked the original Lone-Gunman, and lost interest after only a couple of episodes.
healyourchurchwebsite.com - WWJB?
I am glad that that shuffling animated corpse of a show will finally be given the long-overdue burial it deserves. It hasn't had anything new to say since the last millenium.
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.
The show did not go downhill after Mulder left. The show went downhill after Cancer Man left. He was the face of the conspiracy. He was the glue to it all. Without him the show has languished and there appears to be no overarching purpose anymore.
You know some wag is going to come up with pilots and episodes for X-Files:2100, and put it on at 2AM battling Sheena: Queen of the Jungle for the 1.6 share available there.
Ewwww.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
Mulder: What are they doing?
Scully: I think they're trying to tell us something, Mulder.
Scully: Mulder?
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
When Scully started to believe the dynamic was ruined. The audience wants to believe (had to use it) the unbelievable, to be Mulder, but needs a doubting Thomas to convince or disagree with. It's the same formula that keeps sitcoms on (think husband and wife arguements over toothpaste caps, for example). When everyone is in harmony, the audience goes to bed.
My favorites were always the monster hunts...the conspiracies became pathetically twisted and ridiculous. Although the black oil coming out of faucets onto helpless prisoners was unsettling...
The shows went bad when they moved production of X-files from Canada to California. The show lost its feel, its mood, its whole character. David D. got married and demanded that the show move to California so that he could be close to his wife. David was the main reason the show was likable and also the main reason why the show sucks now...
This isn't new news. After Carter closes down the series he plans to (allegedly) grab mulder & scully (and whomever is in the current cast who wants to join in on the party) and put together another movie. It was suggested that we could be looking at another trek-like franchise of movies and spin-offs.
Thankfully I will no longer have to deal with Xfile zealots whining on about "We'll you just never know".
The problem with the Xfiles was that at the heart of it's fundamental premise was a contradiction. They existed in "our" universe, but shit happened that was total fantasy. As a result, science would always fail to explain what was happening because it was bound by the rules of the real universe but the "other side" of the dramatic tension, was not. This really annoyed the shit out of me. I mean it _REALLY_ annoyed me, to the point that I could just never watch it.
I think the comedy analysis with Dallas was quite pertinent. Xfiles was soap opera and nothing more. I have never found a soap opera compelling (unless you count Chances in the last series or so, but then they got canned with funding for another 12 episodes or something and so that just got bizarre!). BTW I would argue that Bab5 was not soap (definitely) and that shows like space 1999, dr who, start trek, stargate (not all are series I like) whilst not necessarily "dramtically complex" are not soap opera either.
"The first thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is stop digging."
For awhile I was thinking that it was time for the X-Files to end. Many of the most recent plots centered around a hackneyed government conspiracy and the acting was only good at best (save Robert Patrick, he's been very good in my opinion.) but I hardly think that the X-Files has gone downhill as badly as, say, the Simpsons.
This was until I saw the latest episode last Saturday, which I can venture to say was one of the best X-Files Episodes I had ever seen. The plot was great, the acting likewise was excellent, and the cinematography was top-notch. It was really a testament to how well the X-Files has been able to recover after losing one of their stars, and nearly losing the other. Another of my favorite episodes also was a fairly recent one, also starring Robert Patrick and not David Ducovney, namely the one starring another Terminator 2 alum, Joe Morton. This was the one where the lawyer seems to be moving backward in time from when he is killed by the father of his wife who he allegedly killed, to the actual murder itself. The plot was ingenious, the acting equally as good, and ranks among my top 20 or so episodes. First rate work, and although I commend them on choosing to go out on top, unlike many of the posters here, I will be sad to see the show end.
forma3
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.
I'll believe it when I see it. People have been saying that at the end of every season for almost as long as its been going. I agree that its bad but die?... I don't know.
The Anti-Blog
My wife asked me why I don't watch it anymore, given that I used to record every episode. This is why: the writers have stopped caring.
-Legion
I'd agree with this except that probably season two it was at its peak and just begining a long and slow decline.
Which, the other sleeve that he got 'Harsh Realm' from?
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
David D. got married and demanded that the show move to California so that he could be close to his wife.
Fox asked Chris Carter to move the show to LA. The tax breaks in Canada were reduced, so the cost per episode ended up being the same in both locations (since they were still flying a lot of the actors up from L.A.) David Duchovny mentioned that he'd support the move so he could be closer to his wife, and that's what the media jumped on. We shouldn't blame David Duchovny for something that wasn't his decision.
- W. Blaine Dowler
http://www.bureau42.com
I think CNN and Daily Variety are in on it too - I heard a tape of Daily Variety's interview and Carter said "It's the tenth inning. We want to go out with a touchdown." Only aliens would make a mistake like that, and Daily Variety edited it to cover for him.
The X-files went downhill when the writers really, really ran out of stuff to do with Mulder and Scully. They could have seen it coming. Somewhere around season *5* they should have begun transitioning Mulder out. There was still enough of the Scully character to develop for a season or two.
Now, with Doggett, I liked the show again. The Scully + Doggett thing was working for me, and after firmly estabishing Doggett, getting rid of Scully and completing the transition to a new team would have made a lot of sense.
However, they waited too long. They show went flat, and now they are in a position of trying to both transition and rescue the show. I think it is a darn shame. I think with one more season, they could have gotten the show fixed. Maybe the writers were so out of stories, even new characters couldn't keep the writers going. (Actually, I like Doggett *better* than Mulder. It is probably because Patrick can act rings around Duchovny.)
Yeah. Like "Harsh Realms"?
I've hated the X-Files since the second episode. (The first episode was actaully promising, but then it got real dumb, real quick. Imagine how great the X-Files would have been if David Lynch & Mark Frost had worked the project.)
Carter was only successful because there was a severe vacum in culture which needed to have that massive up-swing in weird UFO, crop circle & abduction stories acknowledged in some manner. He did it in the dumbest possible way which has had the basic effect of making such material seem ridiculous and beyond consideration. "Nobody cool believes in conspiracies anymore!"
Nice job, Carter! You did a bang-up job of putting the nation back to sleep with your nose for extraordinarly DUMB writing. (The X-Files actually had one of those 'The Office Tower Computer has gone Homicidal' stories, for goodness sake! I thought we'd left that kind of crap behind with Wonder Woman and freeking Knight Rider!)
Good riddance, Carter.
-Fantastic Lad
X-Files started to get caught in a kind of "Lost in Space" mode. Problem, adventure, no resolution, reset to starting point.
The movie is perfect example of this. It had to appeal to non-TV viewers by not being too convoluted. OTOH, it couldn't really change anything because it would void the upcoming season. Thus, the kind of "it was all just a bad dream" dynamic that started to take over.
IIRC, the plan was to have one season after the first film, then finis. The show would end, but allow periodic films that would really get things rolling. The various Trek franchises have proven the workability of this.
It seems Carter got greedy or scared. Either he wanted to keep the TV power he had, or he was afraid to give up his baby and make a serious jump to films and real plot development/resolution. The show has just been wallowing in a lot bad horror type crap lately (Didja see Dogget get amnesia from some fiendish soul sucker? Puh-leeze!)
I miss the dark paranoid tone of cancer man, aliens, conspiracy that was so cool. Is there any possibility that Carter can resurrect that on film? I dunno, but every new episode reduces the chances.
Just too bad; fine performances in the characters of Dogget and Reyes. Too bad they are wasted on lame plots.
Sig?
Sigue Sigue Sputnik!!!
My sig's been a link to the Millennium DVD online petition for a couple of months now, just in the off-chance that anyone who matters ever reads those damn things.
As of right now, only 785 people have signed.
BTW, if anyone is wondering what my current sig quote ("It is still the dark of night," printed here for posterity's sake if I ever change my sig) means, it's the motto that shows up on the boot screen/screensaver of computers operated by members of the Owl sect of the Millennium group, referring to their secular belief that the end of the world is not yet at hand. The rival Rooster group's computers display the motto, "There are X days remaining," where X is the number of days until January 1, 2000, when the fundamentalist Rooster group believes a religious event will bring the end of the world. "Owls" and "Roosters" are two of the absolute best Millennium episodes ever made, certainly better in my book than anything ever on the X-Files. (Yes, I believe Millennium is the superior show of the two, by far.)
< tofuhead >
It is still the dark of night.
I think things started to fall apart when it was revealed the the aliens DO exist.
Why?
Because up until that point, the show revolved around conspiracy theorys, and occult knowledge, and how they intertwined. Sure, the govt was involved - but it seemed like it was involved for some other reason - not because of aliens, but because of itself - something secret it was doing THEY didn't want US to know about. The show seemed to be dragging toward the idea that the "grey alien" theory was a scam, something the public in its mindlessness would believe - while the truth was far more sinister.
I liked it when they went "off on tagents" about wierd creatures, events or monsters, some that seem (or did) come straight from tabloid rumors. Others that have been in the collective conscience for a long time. It was a TV version acting out all of those "Unexplained Phenomenon" books you can find moldering in the corners of used book stores.
Why they went away from this concept is beyond me. If they had stuck with it - perhaps elements from the funky things in our REAL world could have been worked in (like that giant strange shaped squid recently, among other recently discovered "mysteries") - maybe explained in a manner that sounds plausible, at least in the X-Files universe.
The other thing that needed to be made clear was Scully's relationship with Mulder (I know, most fans would be disappointed, but hey) - that tension kept the show good, but at some point it had to give - maybe it did in recent seasons, but I haven't watched since they brought in Robery Patrick (is that his name) in lieu of Duchovney (sp?)...
I don't know - it could have been so much more...
Reason is the Path to God - Anon