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The Truth Revealed

usermilk writes "Now that the X-Files has finally ended, I recommend you all check out The X-Files Timeline. It has a list of all the episodes, chronologically, and what happened when. A very good utility in figuring out what the heck happened, and when." If it hasn't shown in your timezone yet, obviously, don't click through.

280 of 494 comments (clear)

  1. Please remember - no spoilers 'till it's played on by taniwha · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    3 more hours ....

  2. The ending, in a headline by bskin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Local FBI Agent Discovers Religion; Gets Laid

    --
    hot foreign sheep.
    1. Re:The ending, in a headline by Navius+Eurisko · · Score: 2

      I had a tad baffled by this. Although Carter never made it explicitly clear in the show, isn't Mulder presumed to be Jewish?

    2. Re:The ending, in a headline by joshjs · · Score: 1

      Although Carter never made it explicitly clear in the show, isn't Mulder presumed to be Jewish?

      He doesn't really claim to be Christian. I think that would be very out of character. It seems like he's just decided to try to "believe" there's some kind of higher power. That, to Mulder's character, might not be such a stretch.

    3. Re:The ending, in a headline by Paradoxish · · Score: 1

      ??? It's been stated by Mulder and implied (and this is something you should know if you've only tuned in for like 10% of the shows) that he either believes in no higher power or his belief is very very limited. He needs facts, the Truth. He can't deal with something as unknowable as God. At least, that's how I interpreted it all along. I didn't see him as being able to find God, period. Oh, well. ...the last episode was disappointing. (no spoilers, hah!)

      --
      If you need to interpret my post, then you don't get it.
    4. Re:The ending, in a headline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You doofus. It's a plot device used to explain things the audience would know if they stopped watching TV 24/7.

    5. Re:The ending, in a headline by Colonel+Panic · · Score: 1

      "isn't Mulder presumed to be Jewish?"

      So what's the problem? Jesus himself was Jewish as were all of the first Christians. Christianity was originally considered to be a branch of Judaism which believed that the Messiah was Y'Shua (Jesus).

    6. Re:The ending, in a headline by siouxmoux · · Score: 1

      anyone waiting for the next X Files Movie. you may have to wait until 2004. what next? the X Files next generation the Y Files.

    7. Re:The ending, in a headline by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 2, Funny
      If you need to interpret my post, then you don't get it.

      Just what are you trying to say?

    8. Re:The ending, in a headline by JLyle · · Score: 3, Funny
      Nothing says you stop being Jewish if you decide to accept the tennants of Christianity.

      Who are the tennants (sic) of Christianity and how much rent are they paying?
  3. Thank you, ChrisD by cliffy2000 · · Score: 1

    For not posting this article with "The series finale ends with XXXXXXXXXXXXX." It is much appreciated.

    1. Re:Thank you, ChrisD by MathJMendl · · Score: 2

      If you are suggesting that you're a West coaster, you wouldn't have really checked with Slashdot before watching it, would you? I think after last time it was doubtful that they would do the same again. That thing has been beaten to death by now.

      --


      "I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
  4. Wow Right on Time by shaunj · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't know what is more amazing.

    -Slashdot had an article about the end of the X-Files at EXACTLY 10:00PM

    or

    -I checked Slashdot for an article on the X-Files at EXACTLY 10:00PM :-)

    1. Re:Wow Right on Time by Zekk · · Score: 1

      ahhh, but i was up here at 9:58 while the credits ran, and slashdot had nothing!! slackers ;-)

      --
      .sig
    2. Re:Wow Right on Time by CrazyClimber · · Score: 1

      the first might be amazing, but the best the second would qualify for is pathetic.

  5. More movies? by Gilmoure · · Score: 1

    Looks like they left it open ended.

    --
    I drank what? -- Socrates
    1. Re:More movies? by IronTek · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but considering Chris Carter has stated that the upcoming movie will be a self-contained story and not a "mythology," I think this was simply a poorly constructed series finale.

      ...You'd think that, by now, Chris Carter would have figured out how to write a better series finale...As we all know he's had to do it many, many times.

    2. Re:More movies? by jo42 · · Score: 2, Interesting
      In the various entertainment blurbs, while flipping through the channels, it is official, there is a YAXM (Yet Another X-Files Movie) coming. Chris Carter, fscking bastard that he is, left the final episode wide open for a follow on: I predict it will be called "X-Files: A New Hope" [see the last few minutes of the finale]. I also thought the finale stunk like a wet suicide wing and beer fart. I so wanted to bitch slap Carter for not answering much of anything and having everyone ineffective as they have always been - argh!.

      Well, at least we know for sure that Fox and Dana knocked booties and had a love child.

    3. Re:More movies? by user32.ExitWindowsEx · · Score: 1

      X-Files: A New Hope......2 things:
      First, as far as trademakr law goes, wouldn't that be a little too similar name-wise to another certain movie that all Slashdotters know of?
      Second, if it starts with any sort of opening text, I'll probably run from the room screaming.

      --
      "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb." -- Dark Helmet
    4. Re:More movies? by unikron · · Score: 1

      Hmmm... Another Trekish Effect? Maybe...
      Well up until the very special date that is mentioned (no spoiler), there could be a yearly movie (or telemovie)...

      And then? X-Files Next Generation? William Mulder-Scully Goes and makes contact with the alien people? Third encounter? David Duchovny making movies at the age of 70(or so) and mockering the (at time) generations? (Maybe he could run for president and become a real shadowy conspirator!)

      Hmmm.... I wonder where I would be...

    5. Re:More movies? by asincero · · Score: 1

      Actually no, Fox and Dana didn't have a love child. Apparently they did have sex at the end of the season finale of last season (and was confirmed in one of the episodes this season), but Dana's baby was already born by then.

      - Arcadio

  6. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  7. Just finished watching by BgJonson79 · · Score: 2

    To be honest, I really liked the ending. It summed it up well for those of us who missed various large chunks. And make sure you set some time aside on December 22, 2012 to see the fireworks.

    --

    There are four boxes used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order.

    1. Re:Just finished watching by MathJMendl · · Score: 2

      I very much didn't like the ending. The rest of the episode was good but the ending ranked high on The Cheese Factor (TM), and it didn't answer anything. The rest of the episode summed up things well, but it definitely didn't sum up the ending. I think they left things open ended in large part due to the movies that will come out. I bet there will be some kind of final movie with Mulder and Scully against the alien invasion. My expectations aren't too high for that though. The X-Files was a great series, but a lot of it feasted on leaving things open to the imagination. Once they answer everything, it just becomes something like the movie Independence Day.

      --


      "I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
    2. Re:Just finished watching by LoadStar · · Score: 1

      At first, the general reaction to this episode is "Hey! We got cheated!" With an episode titled "The Truth," you expected answers to the questions raised over the last 9 years. Who is the conspiracy? Who are the aliens, and why are the rebel aliens against the alien invaders? And so on, and so forth.

      However, I personally don't think that this was the message of The X-Files at all - and certainly not the message of this episode. In fact, The Truth that Mulder has been seeking throughout the entire series is that there are questions - some of which may not have answers, at least easy answers. The Truth is that there is something more out there than all of us, whether it be alien invaders, government conspiracy, supernatural or paranormal events.

      If you look back at the entire 9 year history of the X-Files, you quickly realize that for every answer they find - another group of questions take the place of what answers they may find. They could've attempted to answer some of the questions asked throughout the series (not all, mind you - to answer all the questions would take far more than a 2 hour TV episode) but in the end, the answers would have been anticlimactic, and just lead the viewer to start asking "But what does that mean for...?"

      So in short, The Truth that is out there is the question. Indeed, in some ways, it is the human condition. The quest for something more, something outside of ourselves. It is the belief that there is an answer to every question. And in this, I think this episode succeeded.

    3. Re:Just finished watching by lux55 · · Score: 1

      I agree. The big (admittedly cheesy) ending was about not giving up hope, because when you give up hope you stop trying. I've always believed that if you sincerely try, it doesn't matter whether you win or lose, because it's not about the end result so much as the means; what you did and learned along the way. I think in the same token, it doesn't matter whether or not Scully and Mulder win or lose, but that we were with them to learn about them and ourselves along the way.

      Even if it was going downhill over the last few seasons, I'm sad to see it go. Characters like Mulder and the Lone Gunmen were heroes in a landscape quite lacking in those. Perhaps we don't or shouldn't need heroes to base our actions or beliefs on, but maybe we need them to reassure us we're not crazy for hoping and for believing.

      Wow, that was cheesier than the show's ending! :)

    4. Re:Just finished watching by Chetmurray · · Score: 1

      Hum... and I thought the ending meant, we will all be saved through pre-martial sex. Or maybe that is just what I was hoping.

      Chet

    5. Re:Just finished watching by nobody69 · · Score: 1

      I never felt like there were that many unanswered questions to begin with. I mean within the show's universe, The Conspiracy exists and the aliens are coming, but we've known that from the beginning. It's nice to know the date that they'll show up, but not essential. I think the people who are disappointed with the lack of answers, really wanted the government to stand up and say "You're right, let's prepare the fortification of the Earth". As cool as something like that could have been (and it would provide some nice fodder for the movies), it would have been against the themes of the show. I have always felt that The X-Files was about the nobility of struggling against impossible odds, not about the coolness of defeating them. It was a major paradigm shift for mainstream sf to have that attitude, compare The X-Files to Star Wars or Star Trek, and it was a breath of fresh air, or maybe dank, musty air, to feel that The Fight is as important as The Victory.

      --
      "Bugger this, I want a better world." - Jenny Sparks
  8. Re:Another episode by fishebulb · · Score: 2

    Dont click the link moron. It gives away nothing about the episode, unless you ignore the warning to not click the link

    then its your own fault

  9. ex-files? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I always said "10-files". Damn you Steve Jobs and your MacOSX.

    1. Re:ex-files? by daeley · · Score: 2
      --
      I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
    2. Re:ex-files? by black_widow · · Score: 1

      You wouldn't believe how many people call the "Citation-X" the "Citation ex" instead of "Citation 10"

      Especially since there is a Citation I, II, III, V, VI, and VII...

      The Cit10 is the worlds fastest bizjet btw.

  10. Re:dumbasses by chazzf · · Score: 2

    Why don't you just not click through the link until you've seen the finale? There, was that so hard now?

    --
    No statement is true, not even this one.
  11. Mark Your Calendars by Servo5678 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Spoilers ahead yadda yadda yadda...

    So, anyone got plans for December 22, 2012?

    Well, in all seriousness, now that it's all over - who's truth was out there? Did we learn anything new at all? Granted, I liked the extensive recap they gave us in the first hour. It refreshed my memory and got me caught up on a few things that I missed. The in the second hour we got a big chase and in the end nothing happened. What happened to Doggett and Reyes? Skinner? The rest of our players?

    I guess what I'm getting at is: WHAT WAS THE POINT?!?

    1. Re:Mark Your Calendars by Xoro · · Score: 1

      Yup. The only way I could tell that was supposed to be a big revelation was by the clock.

      We only learned what we've known for years: the X-Files is a great tease, but a terrible lover. They should've kept their secrets.

      --
      Kill, Tux, kill!
    2. Re:Mark Your Calendars by joel8x · · Score: 1

      To put it bluntly, to set up the next X-Files movie that Duchovny and Anderson signed on to earlier a few months ago.

      --
      Sound waves should be free!
    3. Re:Mark Your Calendars by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 1

      that is what leads into movies...duh...you think they would give up on those cash cows?

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    4. Re:Mark Your Calendars by Servo5678 · · Score: 3, Interesting
      Except that the next movie is supposed to be a stand-alone non-Mythology film.

      http://www.corona.bc.ca/films/details/xfiles2.html has more information.

    5. Re:Mark Your Calendars by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 1

      does thata rule out others? I don't think so

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    6. Re:Mark Your Calendars by eyeball · · Score: 4, Informative

      At the risk of sounding like someone who actually believes in this stuff, Dec 21 2012 is the end of the Mayan Great Cycle on their calendar. Read about it here or do a google search.

      --

      _______
      2B1ASK1
    7. Re:Mark Your Calendars by Servo5678 · · Score: 2
      does thata rule out others? I don't think so

      It depends on how much money the next movie makes, I'd imagine.

    8. Re:Mark Your Calendars by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 1

      hmmm that might not be true.

      most fans love x-files becasue of the mythology...if this is going to be a stand alone movie I would think that they might try to make a mythology based movie.

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    9. Re:Mark Your Calendars by gmkeegan · · Score: 1

      The point is that this was a 2-hour recap-slash-cliff-hanger to get lots of hype so they can really cash in on another movie. This was _not_ a series finale. M*A*S*H had a great series finale; St. Elsewhere had a pretty good one; Newhart (the one about the Bed & Breakfast) had a good one. There are many more that I won't name. I'm less than impressed and might watch the next movie on cable. If I'm bored. And a professional Curling tournament isn't on...

      Life is what happens while you're looking at screens

    10. Re:Mark Your Calendars by Cyberkidd · · Score: 1

      CSM mentioned that towards the end of the episode. He said something along the lines of "...the date so feared the mayans that they stopped their calendar then". Not a word-for-word quote, but that was the general idea. Makes an interesting connection.

      --
      "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
    11. Re:Mark Your Calendars by ImaLamer · · Score: 2

      Yeah - not only is it the end, but a bloody one at that.

      All of our tools [computers to chainsaws] and domesticated animals [from cows to cats] will attack us for the great wrongs we caused...

      ...no mention if we can reverse it, I'm almost certain the date is set in stone (literally and yes; we can't change it)

      Supposedly this has already happened and is noted on the Mayan calenders. But there is a reason that date has been selected, I guess.

    12. Re:Mark Your Calendars by dfung · · Score: 1

      OK, I'll agree that M*A*S*H had a really great finale, even though the series was so stylized that I often found it difficult to watch. Saw some of the 30th reunion show on Friday and thought it was one of the best shows of that type I've ever seen as the cast were suprisingly literate. I hate to think of what the X-Files 30th anniversary show would be like...

      And I'm a gigantic St. Elsewhere fan - I was working 80+ hour weeks at Apple back then, grinding out my little bit of what was going to be the first Macs with color and slots and I was stubbornly insistent on being home to watch St. Elsewhere each week to keep some tenuous connection with the outside world (OK, pretty darn tenuous). But I have to admit that I didn't like the finale. All the dream of an autistic son? Come on... (Should I have put a SPOILER ALERT around that? :-)).

      There was actually a very good Buffy the Vampire Slayer earlier this season which explained the entire show in one fell swoop. No spoiler here, but if you're going to have it all be a dream, this was the way to do it.

      Hmm.. Any other dream resolutions shows? Who killed J.R.? That one really takes the cake as worst deus ex machina that I can imagine, but I believe they painted themselves into a corner because of contracts back then.

      DF

    13. Re:Mark Your Calendars by whovian · · Score: 1

      woohoo! Bierwanderung to the central americas!

      --
      To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
    14. Re:Mark Your Calendars by Neuracnu+Coyote · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You know, I bet you were one of the people to bug their coworkers on August 29, 1997 and excitedly ask them if they were all prepared for the Terminator/SkyNet apocalypse. I can't give you those long ago squandered minutes of your life back.

      Here's the scoop. The guys at Fox aren't dummies. They know what a salivating fan base the X-Files carries. The way to cash in here is to:

      a) Take the next few months off and start (or continue) development on an end-all, be-all second X-Files movie, which will no doubt include more scenes of Scully and Mulder necking around spaceships. This will neatly tie up some of the loose ends left open by the series finale and give everyone warm, fuzzy feelings deep in their cockles.

      b) Q3, 2011. Fox introduces a new series based on the X-Files' impending fictional doomsday featuring sexy, wise-cacking teens outwitting grodey, bug-eyed alien conspirators. But it'll have a story arc, so the geeks are forced to watch it all.

      Just my vision of the future.

      --
      --
    15. Re:Mark Your Calendars by gilign2b · · Score: 1

      Skinner, who cares? Doggett and Reyes, I assumed they would die getting to M and S's vehicle, but then the chopters just flew off. Someone farther down the line pointed out that like quoted in the episode, December 12, 2012 is the end of the Mayan calender. Makes sense seeing the episode don't you think...

    16. Re:Mark Your Calendars by Communomancer · · Score: 1

      Just clearing up a point on your "Dallas" reference. There was no dream resolution for "Who Shot J.R.?" (not killed, btw). Kristin Shepard, the sister of JR's wife Sue Ellen, shot him. He was shot on the season finale in 1980, and the hype was so huge, that Vegas bookmakers laid odds on who had done the actual shooting.

      The Dallas dream resolution had to do with Bobby. He was killed in a car accident in the 1985 cliffhanger, but came back at the end of the next season. That whole season "turned out" to be a dream.

      --
      "UNIX" is never having to say you're sorry.
    17. Re:Mark Your Calendars by Chris+Y+Taylor · · Score: 2

      >So, anyone got plans for December 22, 2012?

      I plan on running around town looking for Christmas presents.

    18. Re:Mark Your Calendars by MarkGriz · · Score: 1
      I plan on running around town looking for Christmas presents.

      Not me. I'll just wait until Dec 24 (as usual). With that whole invasion thingy going on, I doubt I'll have to buy any presents at all.

      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
    19. Re:Mark Your Calendars by The_THOMAS · · Score: 1

      You nailed it! Completely useless episode, but really, how else could you wrap up that tangential plotline?

      --
      Ya Sure! You Betcha!, The_THOMAS
  12. huh? by caseydk · · Score: 1
    What the hell was that? So many loose ends?

    Seems like they're setting up for a new movie, but as far as I can tell, there's nothing in the works (imdb search on david & gillian). Afterall, wasn't gillian recently quoted that the series should have ended a while ago?

    Some of the recaps were appreciated since I haven't followed closely, but I guessed the occupant of the ruins (no spoilers here!).

    1. Re:huh? by Servo5678 · · Score: 4, Informative
      From what I've read Carter is planning another X-Files movie, but it will be a stand-alone film plotwise (like a monster-of-the-week episode) and won't have anything to do with the Mythology.

      Check out this page at Coming Attractions for the latest details.

  13. Hope? by mcknation · · Score: 3, Funny



    That's what I'm left with? Hope? WTF?
    Yeah, hope that Chris Carter gets abducted himself.....and soon.

    McK

  14. Re:Yippy :-p by ObviousGuy · · Score: 1

    Ever see the finale of Seinfeld? Now there was a waste of film. Though they did manage to cut down on wasting film be dredging up tons of old footage.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  15. Re:not a spoiler please read by apoKalypse · · Score: 2

    what part of 'people still have to wait 3hrs to watch the show' dont you get?

  16. what an amazing ending! by jdbo · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...that was fantastic! Yoda totally kicked ass!

    oh, wait...

  17. Hmm... by ProppaT · · Score: 1
    Was there supposed to be some kinda parrallelism between the fact that "The Truth" was a date and Moulder got himself a date at the end? Cause, honestly, that would be the only thing redeemeing I could pull out of it.

    Frickin' weak. We've been watching this show how many years, and The Truth was just a friggin' date? Friggin' frigg-it. I feel like Chris Carter just pulled me over, said "hey, close your eyes, open your mouth, and I'll tell you The Truth" and I actually fell for it...

    --
    Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
    1. Re:Hmm... by user32.ExitWindowsEx · · Score: 1

      Hope...dates...a show for geeks.
      Mabye the real message is that even /.-reading X-Files-watching geeks can actually get women.

      --
      "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb." -- Dark Helmet
    2. Re:Hmm... by TheVet · · Score: 1

      Yeah, its like taking seven and half million years to find out that the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything is 42.

  18. Re:like the comic book guy said... by joshjs · · Score: 1

    I'm not very cynical these days, but I'm quite inclined to agree. The episode was great until it turned out the climax was nowhere to be found.

    I'm glad I didn't watch for the past couple of years.

    If only I could have the last two hours back...I could've used it for something more worthwhile... like playing Counter-Strike...

  19. Hmmm... by ryanflynn · · Score: 1

    They missed one major revelation: Agent Dogget was the T-1000 -- an evil, shape-shifting , time-travelling terminator!

  20. timeline by Frizzled · · Score: 3, Informative

    the actual timeline is under the conspiracy link, it has all the episodes and ties the movie in as well:

    http://www.themareks.com/xf/conspiracy.shtml

    _f

  21. The series finale was pretty good. by Navius+Eurisko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Considering how stale the last two season had become, I was worried that the finale would have been half assed just to finish off what was once one of the greatest dramas airing of TV.

    The first hour of the finale IMO was the weakest part. I was worried when Skinner was pulling past characters as witnesses for Mulder's trial that Carter did a lame character reunion finale. Thankfully, the show picked up in the latter half.

    I did have some problems with the finale, however:

    1. The reason behind Kurst's sudden aid was never explained. His sudden character reversal was unsettling to me.

    2. I think they overdid the Smoking Man's demise. Sure, Carter probably had that shot of his face peeling away to the skull to appease all the fanboys who would claim he escaped death again. But the fanboys would say that anyway if Mulder shot him several times in the face then relieved himself on his dead body.

    The ending seem to fit the feel of the show. The protagionists now know the truth, but a little bit more of the picture remains out there. I can definately see a movie revolving around the alien invasion comming from this finale.

    1. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by joshjs · · Score: 1

      1. The reason behind Kurst's sudden aid was never explained. His sudden character reversal was unsettling to me.

      I think it's kind of implied that he's under the control of higher-ups, like Skinner was at one point.

      2. I think they overdid the Smoking Man's demise. Sure, Carter probably had that shot of his face peeling away to the skull to appease all the fanboys who would claim he escaped death again. But the fanboys would say that anyway if Mulder shot him several times in the face then relieved himself on his dead body.

      I agree. Very cheesy effects. Especially in a show that's always been well done, and largely so because they tend to know how to not explicitly show things.

    2. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by user32.ExitWindowsEx · · Score: 1
      How about The X-Files Episode II: Attack of the Alien Clones?

      Yes, I know......

      :p

      --
      "Evil will always triumph because good is dumb." -- Dark Helmet
    3. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by mbrod · · Score: 1

      The ending seem to fit the feel of the show. The protagionists now know the truth, but a little bit more of the picture remains out there. I can definately see a movie revolving around the alien invasion comming from this finale.

      Probably a few movies. You could have three with the final movie being the alien invasion. No doubt they could have good movies on what happens in the next 10 years before that happens. They could spin the current state of the world with how it is affecting the conspiracy as well. I think that would be interesting.

    4. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by Squalish · · Score: 1

      Agreed, very cheesy, but come on, the series finale is not exactly the time for subtlety. They already spent untold hundreds of thousands for attack helicopters, how in hell could they not milk them for all they're worth?

      --
      People in Soviet Russia, however, appear to be afflicted with amusing juxtapositions of the aforementioned situation
    5. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by jayed_99 · · Score: 1

      Umm. I wouldn't call those "attack helicopters". I'd call them "Bell helicopters painted black with some tubes stuck on them". I mean if the "missile-launching attack helicopter" is going to launch a dozen missiles, there would probably need to be some place to keep the missiles that wasn't the magical tube of missile-spewing death, right?

    6. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by jayed_99 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A lot of things in the last two seasons have been reversals. Mulder -- male who believes; Scully -- female who does not beleive. Dogget -- male who does not believe; Reyes -- female who does believe. Skinner -- boss who helps them out most of the time while being obstructive once in a while; Kerst -- boss who is obstuctive most of the time but helps them out once in a while. (This even goes back to the beginning two seasons ago -- Scully (the female) is the proponent of the X-files, Dogget (the male) is the doubting one...just a bit of a reversal from the first year).

      This finale is just all of the different characters focusing on one point. The male and female characters (Mulder/Dogget - Scully/Reyes) and the bosses (Skinner/Kerst) all coming together at the same point -- breaking Mulder out of prison.

      There is no "explanation" for it. It's just an directorial attempt to bring all of the opposites from pre-Duchovny/post-Duchovny onto the same track so they can make some movies that start with all of the main characters on the same track.

      (And, actually, I'm not an X-files fanboy. My wife is obsessed though, so I've had them shoved down my throat for years).

    7. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by arglesnaf · · Score: 1

      I personally think they did a good job of showing subtle doubt in Kirsch's face during the trial. There are atleast 2 scenes where you could see he had second thoughts.

    8. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by ealar+dlanvuli · · Score: 1

      yes, I was really impressed by *some* of the acting in the trial; alot of it was mediocre though.

      most of the monolouges were suke though.

      --
      I live in a giant bucket.
    9. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by epine · · Score: 1

      Naw, you reload the black tubes of missile spewing death by farting into little pneumatic suction cups that connect to the tubes through the tube spars.

    10. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by sconeu · · Score: 2

      all coming together at the same point -- breaking Mulder out of prison.

      And as a nice touch, they escaped in a Ford Escape!!!!

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    11. Re:The series finale was pretty good. by motardo · · Score: 1

      You know what's funny? Not too long ago here in St. Louis, a prisoner escaped from one of the work houses here, and stole one of the prison guards Ford Escapes.

  22. Re:Another episode by dimator · · Score: 2

    You're suggesting that one skip the entire discussion as well?

    Oh God forbid if you skip a discussion this time! Oh, the humanity!

    --
    python -c "x='python -c %sx=%s; print x%%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))%s'; print x%(chr(34),repr(x),chr(34))"
  23. I know it's overused, but... by glwtta · · Score: 1, Troll

    ... it is very appropriate in this case - worst. episode. ever.

    --
    sic transit gloria mundi
  24. Six Feet Under by ajakk · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    For all o fyou who are gettin X-Files withdrawal, I would suggest that you watch the best Sunday night show (and possible overall show) that is on now, Six Feet Under. It is a show that has a few things that are sorely lacking on most shows. 1) Plot. 2) Emotion. 3) Interesting (understatement) characters. I don't know if HBO is going to be doing reruns, as the final episode for the season is showing in two weeks. But I highly recommend watching this show if you can.

  25. good episode, bad ending by MathJMendl · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I guess I might be against the river flow on this one, but I thought that that was a very good episode. I mean, it had the classic X-Files struggle between the conspirators and the truth, along with the normal dosage of action and science fiction. The only major weaknesses I found were that the deputy director (the guy Skinner reports to) switched, since I would deem that highly unlikely after all he went through, the smoking man returning (he was a good character but I think if anything his coming back raised more questions than answers). Also, the end scene with Mulder and Scully was cheesy, and a couple of explanations were not very good.

    It was still a good episode though. As a series finale it could have improved, but since they have already stated that a movie is coming out, this definitely is NOT the last chapter.

    --


    "I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
    1. Re:good episode, bad ending by _xeno_ · · Score: 5, Insightful
      The only major weaknesses I found were that the deputy director (the guy Skinner reports to) switched.

      I'm not sure he really switched - I think that the conspirators wanted Mulder to be killed while trying to escape from jail and not via a military trial, as that would be a much cleaner way to kill him when people go looking for him. ("Oh sure, the trial may have been unfair, but Mulder tried to run and was killed while escaping, so it really doesn't matter - stop looking into it.") After all, "they" knew where Mulder was anyway and it's not so much of a stretch to imagine that he would have been placed to try and get Mulder killed.

      The other option is that he wanted Mulder out of the way, but not killed, and got cold feet after Mulder was sentenced to lethal injection.

      But I dunno, I wasn't really paying too much attention to the episode, and may have missed some things (and may be completely off the wall since I never really watched the X-Files anyway).

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    2. Re:good episode, bad ending by ArsonPerBuilding · · Score: 2, Funny

      And didn't Carter say in TV Guide that Mulder was on trial because he broke the Good Samaritin law?

      --
      1 tequila 2 tequila 3 tequila floor
    3. Re:good episode, bad ending by WEFUNK · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm not sure he really switched - I think that the conspirators wanted Mulder to be killed while trying to escape from jail and not via a military trial, as that would be a much cleaner way to kill him when people go looking for him. ("Oh sure, the trial may have been unfair, but Mulder tried to run and was killed while escaping, so it really doesn't matter - stop looking into it.") After all, "they" knew where Mulder was anyway and it's not so much of a stretch to imagine that he would have been placed to try and get Mulder killed.

      At first I thought this too, but I would have thought that Gibson - the boy who can read minds, would have read the Deputy Director's mind we he said "head north etc.". If he was lying or had a bad motivation for his advice, he would have been found out right then (actually I assumed they would'nt take his advice to head to Canada and when they actually turned south I thought for a moment that maybe Gibson had said or signalled something to Mulder - but that wasn't the case).

      --
      My next sig will be ready soon, but friends can beat the rush!
    4. Re:good episode, bad ending by EulerX07 · · Score: 1

      I thought for a moment that maybe Gibson had said or signalled something to Mulder - but that wasn't the case

      Actually Gibson shakes his head signaling NO when Mulder leaves after Kurst tells him to head north. If you taped it watch it again, you'll see.

  26. SPOILERS Re:Just finished watching by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    What did it really sum up though? After watching it I'm just as confused as when the episode started. Is the lame ending leaving open more movies with Scully and Mulder or was it just supposed to be an ominous doomsday ending saying that there's no point in even trying to go on? The way CSM described 12-22-2012 it would be the end of human civilization. Can it be changed? Is Mulder going to try or is he content that he failed to convince people because the deck was stacked against him?

    1. Re:SPOILERS Re:Just finished watching by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 1

      sort of both...he can make movies, but he made a powerful message by saying as long as you have god, there will be hope.

      at least, that is what I got out of him talking about hope and looking at scullie's necklace.

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
  27. Re:Another episode by ObviousGuy · · Score: 1

    I Obviously have nothing better to do. ;)

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  28. Re: December 22, 2012 by joshjs · · Score: 1

    December 22, 2012 seems like a great movie-release kind of date, leaving plenty of time for the writing of said movie.

    And if it's about an alien invasion...well, I'll say it'll probably be better than Independence Day, and leave it at that..

  29. Slashdot Effect Without Slashdot by shadowcabbit · · Score: 1

    Tried going to thexfiles.com, but kept getting 403s. This is partially because Fox put the address on the screen with the heading "The Conspiracy Continues" or something to that effect. This would probably be one of the few times the core Slashdot audience raped and pillaged a site before it was even posted on Slashdot.

    --
    "Why Subscribe?" Good question...
    1. Re:Slashdot Effect Without Slashdot by GigsVT · · Score: 1

      Why do you think the "core slashdot audience" likes the X-Files?

      I never did like the show much. It was a novelty the first couple seasons, but I have seen maybe 15 episodes total.

      From reading the summary of the finale, it looks like I didn't miss much either. It isn't Sci-Fi by any stretch of the term. It's a fantasy soap-opera.

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  30. Wow SPOILAGE WARNING by Fapestniegd · · Score: 1

    I can't believe the lone gunman were actually alien boumty hunters. And who could have guessed that "Cancer Man" was really the father of Scully's love child.

  31. Re:Please remember - no spoilers 'till it's played by 56ker · · Score: 2, Redundant

    At least the West Coasters can't compain that /. gave anything away in the article - they don't have to click on the links if they don't want to.

  32. Re:Yippy :-p by ASyndicate · · Score: 2

    Why do you think they did that.

    With such a good show, you cant meet the viewers expectations. Seinfeld didnt even try.

    --
    This page left intentionally blank.
  33. Spoiler alert: by baywulf · · Score: 1

    I heard Darth Vader is Luke's father and Leia is Luke's sister!

    1. Re:Spoiler alert: by Joe+Tie. · · Score: 1

      I heard C3PO is Luke's brother!

      --
      Everything will be taken away from you.
  34. Episode-A-Minute Summary by ASimPerson · · Score: 1

    Based off rinkwork.com's book-a-minute.....

    Mulder
    I see dead people!

    Cigarette Smoking Man
    I'm not dead!

    THE END.

    --
    In 3010, the potatoes triumphed
  35. Re:Please remember - no spoilers 'till it's played by MathJMendl · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Lol, after last time, do you really think anyone on the West coast is going to be checking Slashdot until after the ending? I mean, it was rather obvious that Slashdot was going to write an article about this. They have learned their lesson about this by now though. The only thing that surprised me was that article about The Lone Gunmen being possibly alive, based on a picture of them in the movie. Given the number of flashbacks in these episodes I doubted that they would be alive to begin with. Plus, how would they have survived that? It was very clear how they died, as opposed to other characters who died in more mysterious fashions, thus leaving it possible to bring them back.

    --


    "I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
  36. Re:Yippy :-p by joel8x · · Score: 1

    It wasn't horrible because as lame as it sounds, who knew Mulder would find salvation in religion? So, for what its worth, I was completely surprised - something Carter and company have failed at for some time.

    --
    Sound waves should be free!
  37. Re:Yippy :-p by ObviousGuy · · Score: 1

    They could have done like Friends who ended their run by getting those two lovebirds Ross and Rachel married.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  38. Worst episode EVER. (spoilers) by Morgahastu · · Score: 1

    Once again Chris Carter has screwed over his fans. Every year he claims that all will be revealed in the season finale, and of course it never is (except for that one time alot was revealed), after a few seasons I ignored it but I actually thought all would be revealed on the last episode, EVER. But no, nothing whatsoever is revealed and infact nothing happens. The first hour and half is pretty much a "best-of-x-files" thingy. A bunch of people testify about the x files while showing clips of older episodes. In my opinion Chris Carter just used this episode to let people who stopped watching catch up so they will know where they are in the future movies. Carter knew everyone would watch that episode and he's created a huge market or people ready to watch x files movies. he could of atleast given us one last good episode. fuck.

    1. Re:Worst episode EVER. (spoilers) by King_TJ · · Score: 2

      Hmm... I didn't even bother to watch it (yet).
      I guess I'll get around to it, since I'm sure someone I know taped it. The last few seasons have gone downhill to the point where I lost interest in the whole show.

      This series went from "the best thing on TV!" to completely lame. Personally, I think Chris Carter just started running out of ideas after the first 3 seasons. The things that made X-Files great started slipping away, and things weren't revealed because Carter himself wasn't even sure how he was going to explain some of it yet.

      It used to be, every "mystery" ended up with a scientific explanation, or at least tied into the deep UFO conspiracy web somehow. When episodes started talking about astrology, psychics, devil worshippers, and so on - it fell into the abyss of B-rated horror films. I mean, anyone can create a show where people get eaten alive by some gruesome "half man, half monster". It's only really interesting if they come up with good reasons why the guy got that way. X-Files started failing to do this half the time. Episodes where these things tied into a complex, larger picture became scarce.

  39. Re:like the comic book guy said... by MathJMendl · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree that it was the worst X-Files finale ever. Of course, it was the only X-Files finale, so it couldn't be the best. And it definitely wasn't the worst episode ever, given all those cheesy ones a couple years ago with zombies and genetic weirdos. Still, it wasn't really a finale, given that they will bring the show back in the theatres. Plus, given all that has happened with the X-Files, what good way was there to finish it? The only comparable thing I can imagine was that time they had all the cars and people meeting together when they were attempting to get away from the aliens, and the aliens killed them. That episode could have been the finale if something different happened. Also, that episode where Mulder found someone who knew his father was quite good.

    --


    "I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
  40. Another one now? by DiveX · · Score: 1

    Heck, we barely dodged the August 29, 1997 Judgement Day, but somehow Sarah Connor prevented it. Can Scully and Mulder do the same?

    --
    Cave, wreck, and deep diver.
    1. Re: Another one now? by elemental23 · · Score: 1

      Not to mention X Day, 5 July 1998. Luckily, the world has failed to end every year since then as well. Praise "Bob".

      --
      I like my women like my coffee... pale and bitter.
  41. X-Files 2 in the works by Faust7 · · Score: 1

    Cinescape has an outline of the upcoming so-called "X-Files 2," due sometime in 2004.

    1. Re:X-Files 2 in the works by cronik · · Score: 1

      Sounds about right, a "stand alone" series. Figure out how to kill all the aliens, no mythology, no wierd crap, maby they end up on the same side as the govt. At least we know that it will be difficult to drag the series out past 2012

      --
      Information wants to be free like speech wants to be free, not like we want beer to be free.
  42. Good at questions, bad at answers by carbon3C · · Score: 1

    The last episode would be perfect for an appearance on Mystery Science Theatre 3000. It was the worst piece of crap I've ever seen. Half way through I started making comments and ad lib dialog and my wife and I were cracking up -- the only way we could enjoy the show. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. The writers must have been let go before the script was written.

    2 hours long, most of it a secret trial, which was meaningless. A secret truth, which he held back until he finally asked Sculley, "Are you sure you want to know?" ... like it would destroy her mind or something. It was just a date of the alien invasion. Lots of useless, meaninless pseudo-philosophy that was completely out of context.

    The show was just hot air. Very very very lame.

    If nothing else, the final episode will at least keep us from missing the show.

  43. Re:not a spoiler please read by joel8x · · Score: 1

    I find it funny how there are people who will actually read this and be upset - just don't read it. Is it that hard to just read a different story until it comes on in your timezone?

    Even though this guy is going for troll status, you have to admit - he did an excellent job very quickly!

    --
    Sound waves should be free!
  44. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  45. Re:come now by MathJMendl · · Score: 2

    How did they "lone gunman" the thing? They told nothing of the plot, just a link to the timeline. Move along, nothing to see here.

    --


    "I have not failed. I've simply found 10,000 ways that won't work." --Thomas Edison
  46. Re:dumbasses by SparkyMartin · · Score: 1

    Who are the bigger dumbasses here-the ones who post spoilers or the ones who are waiting to watch the finale yet still insist on reading these posts expecting not to read anything about the show?

  47. can't believe Mulder died by tps12 · · Score: 1

    and in Sculley's arms no less!

    What tragedy!

    What brilliance!!

    (WARNING: the above contains spoilers!)

    --

    Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
  48. Re:Carter Should Die by drsoran · · Score: 1

    And the next movie acording to TVGuide woont be about the conspiracy. What the hell is that all about. I hope they dont make a 2 hour long episode about about a NJ shit monster.

    I was thinking about that too. If Mulder and Scully are in the movie, how the hell will they explain that away? He's under sentence of death and is definitely not an FBI agent anymore. Unless the movie takes place somewhere during the previous 9 years it'd be completely idiotic. The only stories that matter anymore for a movie revolve around them trying to foil the planned alien invasion on 12-22-2012!

  49. Re:Please remember - no spoilers 'till it's played by Naikrovek · · Score: 2

    don't forget some of us in other countries.

    yeah, also there's this great new band. they're brand new, they're called KISS, and they rock!

  50. I thought the final� was good. by usermilk · · Score: 1

    They did the best they could, I really enjoyed the recap during the first hour, I had missed the last 2-3 seasons and it was very helpful.
    I don't have the slightest idea if they will ever continue the conspiracy, but this finalé at least made me wish that the show wasn't over. It actually felt very much like the show wasn't over. I hope the second movie will be more conspiracies and not a stand alone movie.
    Sure they could have tried and pieced together every mystery and conspiracy, but did they have to? I like it being left open a little.

    1. Re:I thought the final� was good. by Peyna · · Score: 2

      You make a good point; maybe they knew that many of us stopped watching the show a few years ago (seems so from the comments), and so they used the first hour to catch us all up on what we missed. It helped me follow along a lot better.

      --
      What?
    2. Re:I thought the final� was good. by usermilk · · Score: 1
  51. Re:dumbasses by tiwason · · Score: 1

    I'm on the east coast.... and didn't watch it anyway..

    but it doesn't give everyone a chance to participate... if /. waited a few hours. everyone would....

  52. Smoking man by Chazmati · · Score: 5, Informative

    I mostly agree, and especially about smoking man returing. Was I supposed to feel some long overdue sense of closure to see him die in a super inferno slow-motion death scene? I had already written him off.

    Besides, he was looking cooler than ever, Anasazi-style.

    1. Re:Smoking man by jayed_99 · · Score: 1

      I don't know about you, but I kept expecting him to move the cigarette up to his tracheotomy/neck valve, inhale and wheeze, "I'm your father, Fox".

  53. 2012 by rbolkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    CMOS technology stops improving. Alien invasions. I think it's beginning to look like a really good year to skip out on.

    1. Re:2012 by interiot · · Score: 2

      Also, recessions tend to happen about every 10 years, so the next one has a decent chance of happening during 2012.

    2. Re:2012 by dmnic · · Score: 1

      the 12th planet chronicles...very interesting read about Niburu

    3. Re:2012 by Daltorak · · Score: 1

      You may want to skip out a bit early, the main Zentraedi fleet of 4.8 million warships will be arriving in August of 2011 to blow the crap out of us...

    4. Re:2012 by Imperial+Tacohead · · Score: 1

      I think I speak for all of us when I say, woohoo! OK, the fact that a large portion of the Earth will be rendered uninhabitable is not so cool, but the important thing is that we get mechas not too long afterwards. I'm sure glad we don't live in the BattleTech universe -- can you imagine having to wait like 500 years to get your hands on a giant killer robot?

    5. Re:2012 by Carnivore24 · · Score: 1

      According to the Mayans in 2012 all planets, solar systems, etc are supposed to lineup and the Earths gravitational fields will shift. Sounds like a good time for an alien invasion to me.
      http://www.greatdreams.com/2012.htm

    6. Re:2012 by Chuggnutt · · Score: 1

      One of the main problems (there are many) I have with the whole "12th Planet" theory is: Wouldn't we see or detect such a planet well before 2012? Like, now?

    7. Re:2012 by minus23 · · Score: 1

      In theory.. if this planet was oscillating between our sun.. and another star... it would have to move so far out that on a 3,500 year eliptical orbit it would be moving so fast and so straight at us... we would only see it at most 3 months before it made it's nearest passing point. Also... lots of stuff passes by the earth and we miss it except for when it's on it's way back out again. We don't observe much of the sky for such things.

  54. Xfiles Ended?! by dcstimm · · Score: 1

    Wow I had no Idea... Was it a good last episode?

  55. Absolutely WORST Ending EVER!!! by Schnake · · Score: 1

    Man, that was CRAP!

    Having given up on the X-Files a long time ago, I thought I'd at least the ending would feature some deep conspiracy, or meaning to life. BUT NOTHING!

    Any of these endings, no matter how overused, would have been better than what the X-Files had:
    - we all live in the Matrix.
    - God does exist.
    - all elected representatives in government are aliens!
    - there's a UFO behind the moon waiting to take us to our home planet.

    They might as well have ended it with a dog with shifty eyes (like in the Simpson episode with Mel Gibson).

    Two hours of my life wasted! Two hours of my life that I will never get back! NEVER!

    1. Re:Absolutely WORST Ending EVER!!! by EddydaSquige · · Score: 1
      Plus you have to add the time you spent posting your op. on /. :P

      I agree it was a pretty blah ending, but it left it open for the next movie. The episode as whole was kind of nice for people like me who haven't watched X Files for the last two seasons though.

  56. inside Carters and Duchovneys mind..... by dmnic · · Score: 1

    "were gonna spend 90 minutes rehashing the previous 9 years(and give them no new answers) then spend the last 30 giving them a date that a archeologist or historian would recognize anyways...."

    I still liked it though!

  57. nice by sewagemaster · · Score: 1

    wow, great episode. i think that was 2 hours?

    one thing you'll notice for the people in the pacific time zone... after mulder gets into the ford at night with his jail outfit, the next day he's wearing something else....

    but what IS the truth? they werent really clear about it... mulder didnt really talk about it. the smoky guy didnt talk about it....

    someone please explain?

    1. Re:nice by sewagemaster · · Score: 1

      i thought it was discovering religion at the end since he was holding onto skully's cross necklace... but i guess you're right because the 'truth' is supposed to make mulder scary....

      but what on earth does the cigarette guy have anything to do with anything...?

      and that super human guy... didnt he used to work in the x-files too? ( i missed a couple of episodes :)

  58. Far from over.. by graveytrain · · Score: 1

    If you think you're pissed now, wait'll you shell out the 10 bucks to see the 2nd movie when it comes out...

    --
    "Just tell him ya did it! That's what he wants to hear anyway..."
  59. bring on the movies!!!! by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 2

    all that main characters are alive...the conspericy lives on....the good guys are still fighting to win.....that equates to at least 2 movies

    I can't wait

    --



    I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    1. Re:bring on the movies!!!! by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 1

      yeah, but what use is the CSM if moulder knows the truth? duh.

      moulder knows it all, so there is no need for the CSM any more. he no longer is part of the conspericy, so he lost value and power there, the only thing he had left was his knowlege, and moulder gained all of it so he is no longer needed.

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
  60. i-95 by cr@ckwhore · · Score: 2

    First of all, i-95 doesn't go to texas. It probably wouldn't have hurt the producers, writers, and anybody else involved, to pick up a map and take a quick look.

    Besides that slight innacuracy,can anybody explain how Mulder is suddenly able to communcate with dead people now?

    Seriously, I'm not very impressed by this finale. It was poorly written, and the trial scene was simply a cheap way out for the writers to explain "the big picture" without putting much effort into it.

    Guess there are plenty of holes left for the next movie.

    --
    Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
    1. Re:i-95 by paranoid.android · · Score: 1

      Um, they couldn't have gotten on another interstate highway after I-95 to get there?

      Unless, of course, I missed the part where they showed an I-95 sign in Texas, which is likely.

    2. Re:i-95 by robw47 · · Score: 1

      No I95 doesn't go to Texas...but it was probably the closest interstate to where Mulder was being held....and heading south (from a Mid-Atlantic state) would help you to get to Texas.

    3. Re:i-95 by jonathanjo · · Score: 2

      First of all, i-95 doesn't go to texas. It probably wouldn't have hurt the producers, writers, and anybody else involved, to pick up a map and take a quick look.
      Dude, you take 95 south to 40 west. Either 95 or 81 (avoid the cities), but who would think of that?
      (Actually, Mapquest says something about going west out of DC on 70. Who knew?)

    4. Re:i-95 by ocelotbob · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Besides that slight innacuracy,can anybody explain how Mulder is suddenly able to communcate with dead people now?

      He wasn't really communicating with them, IMO. It was more like they were a physical manifestation of his doubts etc, telling him that the path he was on was no good. So basically, the Lone Gunmen were all in his head.

      --

      Marxism is the opiate of dumbasses

    5. Re:i-95 by Imperial+Tacohead · · Score: 1

      OK, but that doesn't really explain how X was able to show up and hand Mulder a piece of paper with an address on it. Or was X supposed to be alive? I suppose that's possible; it seems that everyone who ever worked for the Syndicate has some sort of Lazarus syndrome. Still, it's kind of odd that one of the dead guys was alive, and the other four of them were actually dead.

    6. Re:i-95 by Sammy76 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, at the beginning of the episode when he was talking to Krychek (sp?), I thought I knew how CC was going to end/explain the series. Perhaps it was all going to be in Mulder's head, a huge schizophrenic nightmare (much like A Beautiful Mind).

      But it couldn't have been manifestations of his doubts, because they provided new, unknown information (a witness's address, for instance). So what the hell was with the communication with the dead?

    7. Re:i-95 by j-beda · · Score: 2
      Perhaps it was all going to be in Mulder's head

      "St. Elsewhere" finished their run with an episode that explained away the entire series as being the fantasy of an autistic child (one of the minor (no pun intended) characters in the series).

      And then there was the last "Newhart" show (where he is a hotel owner in Vermont) where it turns out that the entire series was a dream taking place in the old "Bob Newhart" show - the one where he is a psychologist.

  61. Re:Yippy :-p by pianophile · · Score: 1

    Exactly. I saw Seinfeld interviewed the day the finale aired. When they asked him what he thought of it, he said, "I think everyone will hate it." He was right.

    --

    'Your brain is God.' -- Dr. Timothy Leary
  62. lame by coaxial · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The episode sucked. There was no truth. It was just a clip show. Fine the black oil is an alien virus that causes aliens to grow inside you and then bust out. But WAIT! That was only for a few episodes, then we go back to the black oil just taking over your body.

    The black oil came to earth on a meteorite. Fine, but how does that explain Roswell? The aliens crashed because of the magnetite? So the grays are the same as the super soldiers? That doesn't make sense. So we'll just ignore that...

    So everyone in the galaxy except for humans and the renegades are infected with the black oil? Assuming that's true, how could selfdisfigurement keep the renegades from being infected, when they're made of the same green foam as the same as the alien bounty hunters?

    And so what was The Big Truth? The Cigarette
    Smoking Man teased us with revealing it, but
    never did. Unless it was the invasion occurs
    Dec 22, 2012. How is the Big Secret?

    Last week's was far better.

    1. Re:lame by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2

      "Unless it was the invasion occurs
      Dec 22, 2012. How is the Big Secret?"

      Ummm, yes, that is The Big Secret(tm). That the date for the invasion was real, set, and had been sety for thousands of years and that presumably nothing could be done about it.

    2. Re:lame by Groucho · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Here's the thing, see: the old episodes worked because they made no sense except for a kind of dream logic. Trying to figure out what was going on with the greys and the clones and the black oil and the government plots would drive you dizzy. It was also more subtle--rather than hit you over the head with the words "alien" and "extraterrestrial" in every sentence, you'd wait through a whole episode just to hear the word hybrid or colonization.

      Then the writing became horribly literal and hamfistedly explicit, but there was no way to make daylight sense out of the dream logic, and the whole thing turned into a big pile of ca-ca.

      For me, the best X files episodes were the ones that made the least sense and reveled in it, like Clive Bruckman, Jose Chung, and Hollywood AD (the nutty nutty nutty one with the Lazarus bowl and Gary Shandling and the dancing undead).

      G

    3. Re:lame by matrix29 · · Score: 2

      3) The super soldiers were normal humans manipulated with the Gray's genes, dumb ass.
      Defacement kept them from getting infected, just face the fact that the virus needs an orifice to enter the body...even pores in the skin, so basically the aliens closed all orifices, including skin pores. Do you want a science book or something?

      [ Grammar corrected for reading simplification ]

      So you're saying the Grays have no openings in their flesh? Wow, I'd think it easier to wear a snug transparent spacesuit than seal all of my bodily openings. That reminds me of a joke about a guy with a tight ass telling another fellow, "Just shut up!," when he had an inquiry about it. To which the reply was, "You are full of shit!," and the reply to that was a groaning, "I know."

      --
      "Face it, a nation that maintains a 72% approval rating on George W. Bush is a nation with a very loose grip on reality.
  63. The Lone Gunmen LIVE!!! by night_flyer · · Score: 4, Funny

    oh wait, no they arent... sorry...

    --


    Thanks to file sharing, I purchase more CDs
    Thanks to the RIAA, I buy them used...
    1. Re:The Lone Gunmen LIVE!!! by doorbot.com · · Score: 2

      The Lone Gunmen LIVE!

      ...from New York it's Saturday Night!

      Oh wait, I read that wrong. Damn those homonyms.

      Now I'm getting the vision of a Lone Gunmen show on Broadway with line dancing.

    2. Re:The Lone Gunmen LIVE!!! by zCyl · · Score: 2

      I was afraid that Slashdot was going to "The Lone Gunmen are Ghosts" the X-Files finale.

  64. Re:dumbasses by I+Want+GNU! · · Score: 2

    /. didn't reveal any information about the episode, and people who ahven't seen it yet won't click through the link. There are plenty of good reasons for criticizing slashdot, you should wait till those happen, instead of making up excuses.

  65. It sucked. by yzquxnet · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sure, it was better than the last half dozen. It still wasn't the X-files I remember. They didn't even leave you hanging. The writers should have kept smoking whatever it was when the series started, cause it was working. Oh well, time to see what else is on. There is a new program that I found interesting called CSI, I will have to see how that one turns out.

    1. Re:It sucked. by the_2nd_coming · · Score: 2, Interesting

      1) why would they leave you hanging in the last show ever to be made?

      2)there was plenty unresolved for many movies to come.

      --



      I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
    2. Re:It sucked. by Sentry21 · · Score: 2

      There is a new program that I found interesting called CSI, I will have to see how that one turns out.

      My guess is, the guy dies.

      --Dan

    3. Re:It sucked. by mati · · Score: 1

      Alias (same timeslot as X-Files, but I haven't watched that for a few years now) is one of the most entertaining TV series I've ever seen. It'd probably suck if you haven't watched from the beginning though.

    4. Re:It sucked. by RebelWithoutAClue · · Score: 1
      That explains a lot. It must have started as smoking for er, um "creative" purposes.

      By the end, they clearly used too much of it and lost their minds.

      --
      "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results" - Winston Churchill
  66. The ending... by NetJunkie · · Score: 1

    Someone do me a favor and tell me what Mulder and Scully said at the ending..the pillow talk. I missed that part.

  67. Re:Doomsday! by ObviousGuy · · Score: 1

    You underestimate the stupidity of hackers.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
  68. spoiler by dirvish · · Score: 1

    There is a spoiler here. Not even a warning! Damn it! It doesn't start for another 2 hours here.

    1. Re:spoiler by dirvish · · Score: 1

      There was no warning on the kuro5hin article, the spoiler was in the beggining part of the diary entry, dumbass.

  69. Speaking of Mystery Soap Opera type of shows..... by loconet · · Score: 1

    What does the /. crowd think of shows like.... Angel & buffy ? .. I personally like them, what do the fellow geeks think?

    --
    [alk]
  70. subtract a day by dmnic · · Score: 2, Informative

    12/21/2012
    the ancient maya, hindu and chinese calendars all stop counting on this date

    1. Re:subtract a day by statusbar · · Score: 1

      Are you saying that the ancient mayans and the ancient chinese and the ancient hindus were friends?

      --jeff++

      --
      ipv6 is my vpn
    2. Re:subtract a day by geekoid · · Score: 2

      it depends.
      there is some descrepency on when 0.0.0.0.0.0 is, which means we don't know exactly when 13.0.0.0.0.0 is.
      the is the maya 6th cycle. after the first cycle, the mayans said everybody on earth was eaten by a jaguar, secod cyscle every on was killed by air, then fire, and well I forget what killed everyone in the 3,4,5 cycles.
      Now, the exact day isn't know, but I suspect some people haved "bumped" it so it will be on soliste. coincedently, the sun will be in a uniques place in our sky, but it happens every 25,000 years.AFAIK, it hasn't destroyed the universe yet.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  71. Revelation by techstar25 · · Score: 2

    I stopped watching the x-files two years ago but I did watch the last episode tonight, because I was a huge fan. Apparently I didn't miss anything the last two years. Cool.

  72. X-Files was still on? by Glytch · · Score: 2

    I spent the last few hours watching Attack of the Clones instead. I had no idea X-Files was even around anymore. X-Files was great before the movie, but the after that, it was about as entertaining as a punctured colostomy bag.

  73. Re:worst episode ever. by SWTP · · Score: 1

    Got that right! Sheech!

    What a stupid ending! Glad I stop watching and wish I had not wasted two hours on this lame plot.

  74. Re:I love my satellite dish by Abstrakt · · Score: 2, Interesting
    • Thanks to CIHF, a Global affiliate in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, I saw the finale 3 hours before most people did... :-)
    Amateur. ;-) With a commercial MPEG2 decoder and a C-Band dish, you could've seen the network feed yesterday morning...

    Cheers,

  75. 2012? by carlhirsch · · Score: 2

    Didn't Grant Morrison already use that date to better effect in his _The Invisibles_ comic?

    Although, come to think of it, his narrative fell apart at crunch time as well.

    --
    . We've got computers, we're tapping phone lines, you know that ain't allowed - Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime"
  76. Well.. What else did u expect.. by NeoCode · · Score: 1

    man.. I don't understand the fanboy geeks ranting about the all the things wrong in the finale. All Mulder's character was looking for was an answer, "the truth" and thats what he got. No one said that it'd be good or bad.

    There was nothing he could have done to change 'the situation' (well, maybe not at least till the next movie if there is one). Carter appealed the finale to a lot of viewers, filling in the holes for the late boomers and tieing everthing for the fans. Sure there were other options. Thing that could've been depicted differently but as it is often said, some things are often best left unsaid. I liked the open ending of the show and the way it ended.

    Of course, a lot of people would want to see aliens attack and Mulder coming out with a virus to upload to the mothership and save the day (don't worry, this didn't happen) but you can't please everyone. IMO this is a good ending to an almost perfect show (minus the last 3 seasons or so).

  77. 2012? by Hitokage_Nishino · · Score: 1

    Our own calendars ended Dec 31st 1999... and no alien invasions happened then. Here's to hoping the aliens are now using UNIX systems with a 64bit time_t.

  78. 2012 by minus23 · · Score: 2

    Terrance McKenna had developed a way to map out the flow of entropy and novelty as it ebb'ed it's way though history. Under his calculations.. he says novelty hits an infinate spike in 2012. He states his research was done with no knowledge of the Mayan Calandar that ends on the same date. (which kept track for 5000 years before that.). Some suspect that there is another planet out there on a 3,500 year orbit named "Niburu" which is set to return at that same time.
    w00t! -- 2012 could be very exciting..

  79. The final episode by diwanicka · · Score: 1

    I hope you are not all that naive to think he would have ended a series in this day and age not to make anymore money or continue writing stories which will no doubt have you all standing in line once they hit the theaters. Please wake up! If none of you watch or will watch didn't for a second think what would happen at the end you are just fooling your self.

    1. Re:The final episode by King_TJ · · Score: 2

      No, I think sometimes you need to know when "enough is enough" and put an end to something before it dies off of its own stagnation.

      Carter has been working on several other projects, so it's not like X-Files is his only bread and butter. He could have been respected as one of the great sci-fi TV writers of all time if he had the common sense to bring X-Files to an exciting conclusion after it ran for 3 or 4 seasons.

  80. That episode sucked so hard by TheBishop · · Score: 1

    I've been a big fan of the X-files for years, and I feel cheated by that last episode. I feel manipulated having watched this entire season, thinking they were going to make something of themselves. Instead all we got was THE BRADY BUNCH EPISODE. Burt Reynolds should have shown up at the end to slap everyone silly.

  81. You guys have some nerve... by BlueFall · · Score: 1
    If it hasn't shown in your timezone yet, obviously, don't click through.

    You guys have some nerve... First you ruin the Lone Gunmen thing, now you tell me what I can and can't do? Oh, yeah? Well, I'll click through anything I like! ;-)

  82. Re:like the comic book guy said... by blue+trane · · Score: 1

    The best episode was the self-mocking one, with Lord KenBoat (or whatever) and the fake air force aliens.

  83. The (Hello?) Roads to Texas by jzitt · · Score: 1


    First of all, i-95 doesn't go to texas.


    I see you've never driven from Texas to DC. First you go south on I-95, then west. At least I have.


    It helps to actually watch the show, and *shock* maybe even look at a map,

  84. 2012 / 2112 by Violet+Null · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, 2012 may be the end of the Mayan calendar, but the real date to remember would be 2112, since that's when the Solar Federation is going to get overrun by the returning ships of the true human race.

    1. Re:2012 / 2112 by martyn+s · · Score: 1

      I don't get it. What's the solar federation? Can you explain it to me?

    2. Re:2012 / 2112 by hazyshadeofwinter · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't this be in one of the MPAA/RIAA/copyright threads?

      "We've taken care of everything
      The words you read and the songs you sing
      The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes"

      --
      Click here if you just like to click on shit.
    3. Re:2012 / 2112 by Agamous+Child · · Score: 1

      http://www.rush.com/

      --
      I had a sig, but /. ate it. My Web Site
  85. Worst Episode Ever by jhujoe · · Score: 1

    CBG: Last night's Itchy & Scratchy was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. Rest assured I was on the internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world. Bart: Hey, I know it wasn't great, but what right do you have to complain? CBG: As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me. Bart: What? They're giving you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. What could they possibly owe you? I mean, if anything, you owe them. CBG: Worst episode ever.

  86. Military Tribunals by Catbeller · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Anyone notice Carter's demonstration of the insanity of "miltary tribunals" in which the accusers are also the judges?

    Not a coincidence that it maps closely to the current "fry 'em in the dark" policy instituted by Bush and company. Detention in secret, no contact with relatives or lawyers, disposition a secret as well -- hell, Mulder got better treatment at his "trial" than someone held under the current "emergency".

    I think Chris Carter was trying to not so subtly draw attention to our new system of "alternative" justice.

    1. Re:Military Tribunals by Pyrosophy · · Score: 1

      Spoken like a true anonymous coward...

    2. Re:Military Tribunals by JFMulder · · Score: 2

      Nah, I think you,re going a bit too far. This was typical gouvernement behaviour for an X-Files episode, and should not be treated as anything else as fiction. It may be this see someplaces in the US, but I don't think Carter was trying to do anything else then to show that Mulder was in a pretty bad situation.

    3. Re:Military Tribunals by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 4, Informative

      Don't forget about the couple of mentions of "shadow goverment" - I don't recalling hearing that term on the X-files prior to this episode, but I it certainly has been in the real news recently and at least one of the uses in tonights episode matched the real-world meaning too (when they referred to the facility where Mulder got busted as being the location of the current shadow government - a big underground bunker where people are serving on a rotational basis in case there is a serious attack on our government infrastructure, they should be protected).

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    4. Re:Military Tribunals by JFMulder · · Score: 2

      Huh? Have you watched the show during the past years? That term has been used for waaaaayyyy long time. Maybe the media even picked the expression up from the show!

    5. Re:Military Tribunals by unikron · · Score: 1

      True it was mentioned the second time scully was in a Court....

    6. Re:Military Tribunals by CommieLib · · Score: 1

      Whenever I hear someone go off half-cocked regarding the tribunals, I ask several questions:

      1. How would handle the problem of reciprocity against testifying witnesses?

      2. How would you handle the damage done to our intelligence gathering apparatus when the identities of the witnesses are revealed?

      3. How would you plan to subpoena witnesses when they are likely to be foreign nationals and indeed, are likely to be penalty of perjury?

      The realistic answer to all of this is if we adhere to the constitutional process of citizen trial, the prosecution simply not occur. The offenders would have to go free...

      Probability of a mod up on a post supporting military tribunals on Slashdot? 0%.

      --
      If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
    7. Re:Military Tribunals by Catbeller · · Score: 2
      1. How would handle the problem of reciprocity against testifying witnesses?

      How have we handled it for the last 225 years? Is this a new problem requiring the suspension of the U.S. Constitution?
      And that was not a reason given for the secret tribunals by Bush.

      2. How would you handle the damage done to our intelligence gathering apparatus when the identities of the witnesses are revealed?

      The damage is done when the suspect is taken off the street and disappeared. Do you not think that 1000+ people disappeared and no one noticed, especially the few (or none) that really are terrorists?

      3. How would you plan to subpoena witnesses when they are likely to be foreign nationals and indeed, are likely to be penalty of perjury?

      We seem to kidnap them. If we can disappear them from U.S. streets, I guarantee CIA cowboys are yanking people into vans all over the world.

      The realistic answer to all of this is if we adhere to the constitutional process of citizen trial, the prosecution simply not occur. The offenders would have to go free...

      Wow. In that case, we need to end this farce called a constitutional government. Anoint the Holy Bush, selected by God Himself (according to the right wing clergy), Dictator for Life, with the power of high and the low justice. At least for darkies. Dispense with the rule of the unwashed, uneducated masses, and we'll finally get things done!

      Alleluyah!


      Probability of a mod up on a post supporting military tribunals on Slashdot? 0%.


      Damn straight, fascist.
  87. Dear Mr. Tolkien by DiveX · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apologies to JMS.

    Dear Mr. Tolkien:
    I just wanted to say that I think the way you ended THE LORD OF THE RINGS was crap. You didn't provide any closure. Instead of spending time with the hobbits clearing out the shire (come on, urban renwal in LoTR? give me a break) and lots of goodbyes, you SHOULD have shown me what happened to Tom Bombadil, he was an important part of the story, and you just left his story thread there unresolved.

    You made a big deal out of the elves going to the west, but we never SAW it! We never found out what was there, or what Bilbo found when he got there, or what happened to the dwarves, or what happened to Merry and Pippin....

    You betrayed your audience by not resolving every single plot thread you introduced in your book, and as a result, it is never going to be of value to anyone, ever, and will never go past its first printing.

    --
    Cave, wreck, and deep diver.
    1. Re:Dear Mr. Tolkien by globaljustin · · Score: 1

      "you just left his story thread there unresolved"

      You idiot. You must have never looked in the appendices to the Lord of the Rings. Tolkein took great care to catalogue each and every important occurrance in the lives of the major characters up to and including their journey with the elves.

      What you thought was a witty post about how people should not complain about the X-files ending actually proves their point...some of the foundational questions to the series still remain, such as, what exactly happened to Mulder's sister, who is CSM, the exact origin of the Conspiracy, and dozens of less important threads.

      --
      Thank you Dave Raggett
    2. Re:Dear Mr. Tolkien by DiveX · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The comment was written by (hance my reference to) Joe Michael Strachinski (creator of the SF TV show Babylon 5) in response to the numerous complaints and whinings posted on newsgroups at the end of his series. The basic idea is that one cannot bring together all the little plot threads and dangling ideas and please everyone.

      Here is a qote from Orson Scott Card that seems quite fitting;

      "...if you're going to criticize me for not finishing the whole thing and tying it up in a bow for you, why, do us both a favor and write your own damn book, only have the decency to call it a romance instead of a history, because history's got no bows on it, only frayed ends of
      ribbons and knots that can't be untied. It ain't a pretty package but then it's not your birthday that I know of, so I'm under no obligation to give you a gift."

      I am sorry if you missed the irony of the point. I had not seen the series very much in probably 2 years and feel that things were placed together nicely. The point of the show isn't to find the end-all-be-all timeline of every little plot point, but to be able to turn off the TV at the end and say to yourself "that was a good story". If that happened, then the author did his job..if not, then pick up the remote and move onto something else.

      --
      Cave, wreck, and deep diver.
  88. Wait a minute -- Wasn't this the Seinfeld finale? by dinotrac · · Score: 2, Funny

    The whole thing was eerily familiar, and then I realized why:

    The plot was pretty much the same as the Seinfeld series finale, right on down dragging assorted past characters into a trial that the star(s) can't possibly win.

    I guess no Kramer was a clue.
    But seriously, how much difference was their between Doggitt and the Soup Nazi?

    Oh well, at least Mulder ended up better than Jerry: He gets to get personal with Scully, whereas the best Jerry could do was Elaine.
    Unless, of course, he wanted to consider George.
    Not that there's anything wrong with that.

  89. Re:worst episode ever. by kingkrap · · Score: 1

    "i repeat, worst episode ever."

    I agree with that.

  90. Heres the truth by uberstool · · Score: 1

    Fact - The vehicle Mulder escaped in was a recent model Ford Expedition.

    Fact - This episode is heavy with Ford commercials advertising the Expedition.

    This future advertising is changing.

    The real conspiracy has something to with their implied evil regarding Sonic Blue, TiVo and others

    1. Re:Heres the truth by lux55 · · Score: 1

      Who cares? It's nice of Ford to supply them with the vehicles they needed to film the show. I'm sure we can all tolerate a brief shouts out during the commercials (which have been the same for quite a few years now, there's no conspiracy there) to Ford for their help.

    2. Re:Heres the truth by jrwillis · · Score: 1

      Yeah, this has been going on for quite some time now. Although, I can't say I'm against it so long as it doesn't detract from the show. I did find it amusing how so many scenes could have that blue oval in them though. :)

      --
      Keep Austin Weird!
  91. Re:Carter Should Die by dirvish · · Score: 1

    TWO HOURS? Holy shit, i missed the first half hour!

  92. God Who? by corncrake2 · · Score: 1

    1. What's with the religious thing now...

  93. All that time and then THAT? by dvdave · · Score: 1

    My viewing slowed the last few years and I don't think I watched any shows this year, until the final one. I figured they'd wrap things up, reveal some news, secrets, something, and leave a nice little hole for another movie in a few years. Instead it was 2 hours of crap.

    The whole first hour could have been condensed into 15 minutes and the second into 10. An hour and a half was wasted on beating a dead horse and filling screen time with useless chatter. It was about as interesting as the last Seinfeld was funny.

    Lexx's final episode a few weeks ago blew it away.

    1. Re:All that time and then THAT? by thelen · · Score: 1

      The Lexx finale rocked. I was irritated that they spent all of the last season on Earth, but watching the Lexx dice and slice the blue planet more than made up for it. Hehee. What a great show.

  94. Re:dumbasses by SparkyMartin · · Score: 1

    I agree that /. should have waited to post anything remotely associated with xfiles until later, but reading these posts knowing what will be in it and then complaining that ppl should have waited is like downloading the matrix 2 trailer then saying that it ruined the movie.

  95. Re:final....not by Peyna · · Score: 2

    Would it really be The X-Files if there was closure?

    --
    What?
  96. My vision of what it was supposed to be by parkanoid · · Score: 1

    I do not know about you, but I really wanted the last episode to be beutiful, inspiring and completely inconclusive. Sure, it sounds cheesy but the whole series (never mind the last 2 seasons) was about searching for the truth, not FINDING the truth. In the end, it seems that Mulder found something that fit into all the plot lines and stopped there. That completely violates everything that the show has come to stand for. I understand that "the search" was ideal for writing more and more episodes and "the truth" is ideal for abrupt ending of the series, but it just makes me feel bad. I would much rather have something liek the black and white episode as the endgame. Of course, it has nothing to do with aliens but I would know that Mulder's quest is not over and never will be.

    1. Re:My vision of what it was supposed to be by lux55 · · Score: 1

      His quest isn't over:

      Scully: You'll never give up.

      (more conversation)

      Mulder: Maybe there is hope.

      Plus, what could be more inspiring than hope?

  97. now that's what i call by Enrico+Pulatzo · · Score: 1

    thorough...

  98. Re:Yippy :-p by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 1

    Check again, they got married (while drunk) in Vegas.

  99. How far they've fallen (in Toronto) by Tremblay99 · · Score: 1
    You know that XFiles has fallen when Toronto's global affiliate, which shows both Survivor and XFiles, went with the Survivor finale.

    If Carter hadn't tried to stretch the show past 5 or 6 seasons, people would probably still care -- making the jump to a Star Trek-like franchise possible. Now, the next XFiles movie will be a nostalgia player like the new Miami Vice movie.

  100. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  101. Re:Date Numerology by Cpt_Kirks · · Score: 1

    It all depends on what the question is. You may have to constuct a computer the size of a planet to solve that one...

  102. way too simple by Sorcerer13 · · Score: 1

    With as many seasons as there were, the "truth" should have been far more complex and mindblowing.

  103. It ain't easy being cheesy. by chili+snow · · Score: 1

    It's kind of hard to draw together an entire body of pop culture kookiness and make it work. It's even harder when you've never really had a long term plot.

    --
    -chili snow
    1. Re:It ain't easy being cheesy. by Pyrosophy · · Score: 1

      I could do it, and I haven't even seen the majority of the episodes! I don't understand why people (perhaps not the author of the preceding) think it's difficult to come up with a complex/coherent/interesting plot line, even given mistakes in the past. There are SOOOOOOO many talented creators out there, but instead of using them, the monied people who are failing their audiences prefer to hang on to it for its economic value. Capitalism might very well be a good economic model for many things, but it doesn't do much for creativity...

  104. Bad news, good news by Picass0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Bad news - The aliens take over the world on Dec 21 2012.

    Good news - If you're running linux on a 32 bit system you don't need to worry about the year 2038.

  105. Heh by Faust7 · · Score: 1

    The world's ending! But there's still hope. Gee thanks, that's where we were at the start of the show, except we didn't know the world was ending. We knew that by Season 3. Ah well, perhaps the upcoming movie (and it is coming, see Cinescape) will resolve things.

  106. The truth was already revealed... by Raunchola · · Score: 2

    If anyone owns the X-Files: Key of X soundtrack, the whole dang conspiracy is explained at the end of the CD's final track (around 10:13 or so). Some of us are already ahead of the game (and time zones I guess). :)

    Here's some more info on it.

    --

    --
    The real Raunchola isn't cool enough to have any imposters
    1. Re:The truth was already revealed... by Kaeru+the+Frog · · Score: 1

      Which CD? I have Songs in the Key of X CD and its not on there. I wouldn't call it a soundtrack.

    2. Re:The truth was already revealed... by Alexander+the+Drake · · Score: 1

      It's on the Fight the Future film score. Carter drones a lot and repeats himself.

    3. Re:The truth was already revealed... by Jin+Wicked · · Score: 1

      It's actually on the X-Files: Fight the Future soundtrack (the movie). Songs in the Key of X is a "soundtrack" for the TV show.

      The conspiracy track might be on the TV one; I don't own it, but I know it is on the movie soundtrack.

      --
      My Webcomic: Asylum on 5th Street
  107. X-Files The Movie II by Hohlraum · · Score: 1

    I'm actually glad they didn't wrap everything up. I don't care if they end the best TV show of all time as long as they keep making movies. How long after ST:TNG ended did we wait for the first movie?

  108. Re: December 22, 2012 by MaxVlast · · Score: 2

    What I want to know is why an alien civilization that is so well-organized that it can know that it will be invading Earth in 2012 over a thousand years ago hasn't invaded in the meantime. The biggest outstanding question for me is what were they doing in the interim that took 1000 years, but was sufficiently planned and specific that they knew the day they would be ready to wrap it up and invade.

    --
    There should be a moratorium on the use of the apostrophe.
    Max V.
    NeXTMail/MIME Mail welcome
  109. Umm.. by Sheepdot · · Score: 1

    The ending sucked. It was a clip show that brought back nearly every character save the original Deep Throat, who they eluded to several times during Scully's testimony.

    As a smoker, I praise Carter for his reluctance to have the smoking man die due to lung cancer, but bringing him back every other season doesn't exactly seem reasonable.

    After all, nearly every season of the X-files had either Mulder, Scully, Smoking Man, or another character disappear/die. For the series to end with not a single main character dying and the supposed alien invasion date set in 2012, I smell a GD reunion episode already in the works.

    With our luck, and Carter's creative insight, we can expect the reunion show to be a clip show too.

    1. Re:Umm.. by buckeyeguy · · Score: 1
      Somewhere during the testimony part, they flashed back to a scene where the first Deep Throat gets shot on the bridge (?)... it only lasted for a split-second.

      I didn't think the episode was all that bad, it just had too much courtroom drama and not enough meat to the story.

      --
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  110. In case anyone else noticed by Ieshan · · Score: 1

    12212012... if the 2s are converted to 0s, is 10010010, which happens to be the letter A.

    Now if only Scully had finished her binary classes, clearly she'd have realized that all the aliens were after was a little ass.

  111. Seinfeld finale, part II by Winterblink · · Score: 1

    I have to say I was expecting more. I mean it was more like a Seinfeld style ender really, basically just a recap. Whoopdie doo. I've watched the series since the beginning, most of this was just filler to me.

    --
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    -Hoban Washburn
  112. Re:Born-again X-files by bcboy · · Score: 1

    I totally don't get all the people saying "wow, the ending was all religious. How weird."

    The only message the X-files has ever had was "Science bad. Religion good." The ending couldn't have been more predictable.

  113. Once Again Duchovny Shuns Canada by FrankDrebin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I found it ironic that Mulder once again shunned Canada (when he ignores the advice of Kerst to go North) -- although it's probably a bit of an inside joke by Chris Carter. The show's downturn is widely held as simultaneous to when production moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Talk about the thing "going south". Apropos for the final episode to follow the same pattern to it's ultimate conclusion.

    --
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  114. Re:dumbasses by blue+trane · · Score: 1

    I'm on the west coast. I chose to read the spoilers, because I don't like to be manipulated by cheesy tv scripts.

  115. Re:Again... by chromatic · · Score: 1

    Neither could you.

  116. Re: December 22, 2012 by ealar+dlanvuli · · Score: 2, Funny

    Isn't it obvious, they are clearing way for a new hyperspace bypass. It has been filed in the local planning office for 1000 years, and you didn't even bother to look?

    You really need to start taking a more active role in your gov..

    --
    I live in a giant bucket.
  117. Re: December 22, 2012 by jcenters · · Score: 1

    Maybe they're on a tight schedule? A thousand years ago, they probably charted out all the planets they wanted and set an itinerary of invasions.

    December 12, 2012 just happens to be when they're scheduled to invade us (weather permitting).

    --

    vi ~/.emacs

  118. Satellite? Bah! by T.Hobbes · · Score: 2

    I'm from Halifax, too. It was also shown on the cable-equivilent Global station (what used to be MITV; channel 6) 3hrs early.

  119. Last time I watched X-Files.... by Toasty981 · · Score: 1

    Last time I watched X-Files regularly Was right when Mulder and Scully went somewhere in Africa and found a giant ship on the coast. I was hoping they'd mention that during the finale, since I remember it being a season finale and (apparently) a pretty big deal. What on Earth-Mars-whatever was the story behind that?

    1. Re:Last time I watched X-Files.... by fractaltiger · · Score: 1

      Amazing. I think this was for a finale 2 seasons ago, right? I remember an episode that may or may not have been the one you claim, and it was around the same time I stopped watching the xfiles consistently.

      Didn't Mulder get some disease that made his mind hyperactive and he entered some kind of coma? Then we had to wait for the season of 2000-2001 for him to heal. It's so fuzzy this may all be random gibberish in the back of my mind, but not many episodes had to do with Africa and poisonous spiders and some kinda ship (or a piece of it) they found

      --
      "Wireless : LAN :: Laptop : Desktop"
  120. When Will This Cocktease End?? by thelen · · Score: 1

    That's the punchline?? The aliens are coming? Well thanks for the clue Paul Revere, no one saw that coming. Oh but wait, their arrival coincides with the end of the Mayan calendar. Ooooo! That's creeeeeepy! Hit the creeeeeeepy music Mark Snow, gotta get the folks at home in a twist so they'll come see the movie and PAY us for giving them blueballs! Genius!

  121. Re:FUCK YOU! by packeteer · · Score: 1

    where to start pointing out the irony... no flame... just musing...

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  122. 2012=2003 by HanzoSan · · Score: 4, Interesting


    It all has to do with the mayan calender which translates to 2003 june.

    Theres alot of uh, lets call them, myths dealing with what will happen.

    The rapture, the planet niburu and aliens coming for the choosen people, all kinds of crazy stuff.

    Anyone who wants to see where the idea for this episodes ending or the so called truth came from, type "niburu orion group"
    or "niburu 2003" into google.

    You'll see all kinds of stuff about aliens taking over our government, and an invasion during june 2003, you'll see the mayan calender used as evidence, abductees claims, so called government officials claims, etc

    Its worth researching even if its just myths, theres still a 10 percent chance that it might actually be true.

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    1. Re:2012=2003 by HanzoSan · · Score: 2

      http://www.zetatalk.com/info/tinfo19n.htm

      looks like people arent sure.

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      If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
    2. Re:2012=2003 by unikron · · Score: 1

      David Icke and Zecharia Sitchin stuff... Well they do have a point don't they?

    3. Re:2012=2003 by slickwillie · · Score: 2

      WOW! Based on this evidence, I'm going to sell everything and move to a dome shelter in northern Montana.

  123. Time by Dh2000 · · Score: 1

    It takes hundreds of years to travel between distant star systems (with current technology), so what would happen if the aliens live on the other side of the galaxy?

    Even traveling at light speed it would take a very long time (though I don't know if light speed matters in the X-files' universe).

  124. Actually its June 2003. by HanzoSan · · Score: 2

    I actually researched this conspircy theory long before the Xfiles knew about it. Its been around for THOUSANDS of years and it traces back to the mayan calender.

    Which claims, 2012 in MAYAN years but our calender it is 2003 June.

    We use the gregorian calender.

    A guy by the name of Zecharia Sitchen

    This theory for the first time was backed up by evidence, in 1982 when planet X was discovered.

    IF any of this WAS true, our government would never tell us anyhow.

    So for now its still a rumor, myth, etc, wait until June 2003 (December 2012 on Mayan Calender)

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    1. Re:Actually its June 2003. by Anemophilous+Coward · · Score: 2

      I think the reference to 12/22/2012 is meant to be on the Gregorian calendar.

      As you responded later on, you seem to be a bit familiar with the Timewave Zero concept conjectured by Terrance McKenna. His timewave reaches zero right around that date(gregorian time). The date does not equate to Mayan 2012, but rather the end and restart of the Mayan calendar (kind of like when your cars odometer resets to all zero's).

      Supposedly something extremely 'novel' will happen on this date, possibly the convergence of everything in the universe into an Omega Point (much like a reverse Big Bang).

      I don't dispute that 2012 in Mayan = 2003 June on our calendar...just that I think they were making reference to the end of the Mayan calendar. Aliens taking over the planet and genociding the human race could be considered quite a 'novel' event in our history.

      - A non-productive mind is with absolutely zero balance. -AC

    2. Re:Actually its June 2003. by Ixohoxi · · Score: 1
      You sound really intelligent. So nothing I can say will convince you that you're actually a fool. You will simply have to wait until you realize it on your own...

      In 2003.

      --
      What's a second? An hour? A day?
      It has much more to do with
      the Earth's rotation than with cesium.
  125. 2012 is actually 2003! by HanzoSan · · Score: 2

    For the third time! lol.

    The myth uses the MAYAN calender not the gregorian calender.

    2012 on the MAYAN calender is 2003 JUNE on the Gregorian calender which we follow.

    This means its 2011 right now, and it makes perfect sense for Xfiles to end their series here considering the whole myth of aliens that all abductees and stories have claimed ENDS at 2003.

    I mean what can they use for an ending after June 2003 that fits in with all the myths?

    I admit Chris Carter did his research, he just screwed up on the year translation.

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    If you use Linux, please help development of Autopac
    1. Re:2012 is actually 2003! by Ixohoxi · · Score: 1

      No, no, no. IF he were to give an "accurate" date, that would be asking for trouble. Giving the most well-known "wrong" date is just as good as the "truth". Your point is well taken, and so is his. You are both right.

      --
      What's a second? An hour? A day?
      It has much more to do with
      the Earth's rotation than with cesium.
    2. Re:2012 is actually 2003! by tigre · · Score: 1

      The _Mayan_ Calendar says _nothing_ about 2012. The Mayan Calendar just fixes a date at some point in the future based on astronomical projections and works backwards. The trick is correlating the fixed points and figuring out when it points to. There are convincing articles which talk about the winter solstice 12/21/2012 as astronomically (astrologically!) significant in Mayan culture.

  126. According to all of the myths and theories by HanzoSan · · Score: 2


    By the way this isnt from the Xfiles.

    Aliens want earth and have taken over the government using the governments greed in an exchange Technology for freedom to abduct people.

    The Aliens could easily plan down to the date they'd invade considering how much simplier we are than them its not like we can stop them.

    The Myth claims the planet niburu enters our orbit in june 2003 (mayan calender 2012 december)

    Niburu is (planetX) rumored to have alien life on it.

    SO yeah it makes perfect sense to take over right when your planet enters the solar system.

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    1. Re:According to all of the myths and theories by phyxeld · · Score: 1

      2003 (mayan calender 2012 december)

      I've read that in a few comments. Can you back it up, or did you just read it and repeat it in this thread? It seems like the mayan's calendar wouldn't have a zero date within nine years of our calendar (2012 minus 2003), or a month named december. Where did the actual mayan date get translated into Dec. 2012 instead of 2003?

      Think about it this way: Sandwhich can't be japaneese for jesus. How can 2012 be mayan for 2003?

      --
      __
      Choose mnemonic identifiers. If you can't remember what mnemonic means, you've got a problem. - Larry Wall
  127. 2012 MAYAN is 2003 Gregorian by HanzoSan · · Score: 3, Informative

    Yes thats next year.

    But everything else you said is on target.

    Niburu returns in 2003 June.

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  128. Re:final....not by dirvish · · Score: 1

    Hell no it wouldn't. In its entire run was there ever closure, in any of the episodes? No, they were all left open, leaving you guessing, making you think. I have no idea why anyone would think the final episode would be any different.

  129. Is it telling? by Chacham · · Score: 1

    Someone was watching the episode. I came in just after half-way. He couldn't follow it, since he had never watched the series. I explained all the "references" to him. So, he summarized the entire series (alien storyline) in one sentence, and said how stupid it was. I mentioned that it was interesting if you watched how was slowly played out, but, I agreed.

  130. June 2003 by HanzoSan · · Score: 2

    June 2003 not december 2012.

    Unless you use the mayan calender instead of the gregorian and in that case the year is 2011

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  131. The Truth, the hope and the Cross by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    So in the end the real truth and hope turned out to be linked to the Cross.

    When Scully asked Mulder at the very end "You say you want to believe, What is it that you want to belive?". Mulder answered something like "That the dead are not lost to us, that they can tell us something, that there is hope". With this he examined the Cross on Scully's necklace.

    Amazing. The Cross is our only hope. Why? Because God himself became a man and suffered on the Cross to bear our sins and to show us that ultimately it's not power and might that will win, but true humility. He showed us that God isn't into a power trip, that He doesn't sit around keeping accounts of our wrongs so he can punish us - no, the Cross shows that God cares for us humans. It shows that He cared enough to suffer and die for us. He showed us that real leadership is servanthood, that we find our true strength when we're weak.

    Jesus said, "I am the way the TRUTH and the light, no man comes to the Father but by me".
    And on the Cross as he breathed his last he said
    "It is finished!"

    Think about it. Try to see it in a new light - some so-called Christians have given Christianity a bad name. Don't reject it on their account, look into it for yourself. Think about why you're laughing this message off.

  132. 2012 by Chacham · · Score: 1

    Doesn't the Great Pyramid have some reference to that time as well? Either the bottomless pit, or the King's chamber. I can't remember where I heard it.

  133. Plot ruins television by brandonsr · · Score: 1

    X-Files really started to go downhill after they developed a plot for the show that built off the previous weeks episode instead of the general "Aliens too my sister and I'm trying to the find the truth". Does anyone else agree with me?

  134. Bull by MHQ13 · · Score: 1

    Chris Carter has done it again. He answered nothing except perhaps Kirsch has a conscious.

    It was a bunch of bull if you ask me. I can't belive I even watched.

  135. From the writers of Seinfeld.....? by CarbonBasedUnit · · Score: 1

    Did this remind anyone else of the last episode of "Seinfeld", what with a trial and a the contrived parade of characters from past episodes? Giddyup! But this wasn't supposed to be funny. I think.

  136. The Seinfeld End by gebryanmac.com · · Score: 1

    When I heard of the trial as the basis for the show, I thought, it's the much maligned Seinfeld series end. And sure enough, lots of old characters trotted out, many clips and at the end of the spectacular, charcters are basically holed up in a room talking to themselves. No real closure. And judging by the negative comments, the same Seinfeld backlash. And am I a bit crazy, but wasn't Seinfeld also about two seasons passed its prime when it closed up shop?

  137. Re:Speaking of Mystery Soap Opera type of shows... by fractaltiger · · Score: 1

    Interesting... I never thought I'd talk about it here. Well, I'm a scifi fan, and I started watching xfiles about 3 or 4 years ago, though not consistently. The outer limits, star trek voyager, and some of those shows were my favorites then.

    Well, I just moderated in this story, so I hope the system won't kill me in some way by posting this. I don't really care, so here goes!

    In the past year and a half, I learned a bit about buffy but school never let me get into it. I stayed away from angel because I didn't know Buffy enough and had this creepy feeling that the shows must be on parallel universes in order to be two different tv shows.

    Now, to the shows I do watch: Charmed, for one, where there's magic all over the place. Enterprise, because of Scott Bakula and his role in Quantum Leap, which I watched for years in Spanish and then here in sci fi. Then, I started to watch Smallville (Superman's youth, for those who watch even less tv and do more computer stuff at home). I hadn't noticed till this year, but the shows have a soap opera feel to them... There's something about the POP music they play, and this feeling in the back of my head that they want to appeal a broader audience and mix reality a lot with their magic or whatever.

    Startrek doesn't quite fit in but I like the opening theme, since it's the first one with a singer and a timeline plot, and /. had these stories about the attempt to get a new audience for the next 7 years of star trek.

    PS: I do like shows that try to merge sci fi and adventure with pop culture and therefore try to not alienate their viewers. On one hand, I've always had a problem getting people to watch even a single episode of Star trek because they think the guys in prostetics and weird costumes are stupid. Same thing for x-files: they are talking aliens all the time, and my dad, for example, would never watch it with a serious interest.

    --
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  138. What an ending! by AndroidCat · · Score: 1

    Who would have figured that Elvis was behind it from the beginning?

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  139. Dec 21, 2012 - Day of Reckoning by LittleGuy · · Score: 2
    --
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  140. Re: December 22, 2012 by ronfar · · Score: 1
    Obviously because they are imprisoned by mysterious cosmic forces until "the stars are right."

    Ia Ia Cthuhlu ftagn!

    --
    All the creatures will die, And all the things will be broken. That's the law of samurai. (Jubai, 1605)
  141. Attn All Nerds by craw · · Score: 1

    Please study and learn from the final scene. Mulder laying in bed next to Scully. Mulder, sad, depressed, and a bit down and out. Scully, supportive, caring, and sort of helpless.

    What can Scully do to lift Mulder's, ummm, spririts? What can any woman do? If you can't figure out the rest, then well, the human species will somehow continue without you.

    Mulder is a lot smarter than I thought. Cool move, dude! I know what you are hoping for.

  142. How fast was that Ford Expedition? by jocknerd · · Score: 1

    They broke Mulder out of prison at 11:30pm. He and Scully then hopped on I-95 in Quantico, VA and arrived at the Texas/New Mexico border at 5:00am. Last I heard, it took a day to drive across Texas by itself.

    Other than that slip-up, I thought the show was pretty good. Now that we have only ten years left for the human race (December 22, 2012 is the date of infamy when the aliens colonize the planet), better start planning for that party of all party's!!!

    1. Re:How fast was that Ford Expedition? by DarkRabbit · · Score: 1

      Last I heard, it took a day to drive across Texas by itself.

      No, only texans think Texas is that big. You can drive across Texas in a four or five hours. Also, take into account that they are crossing two time zones.

  143. Aired an hour early, missed first half by Vortran · · Score: 1

    I watch 3 shows on TV, of which X-file is the only FOX network show I watch. It is (except for last night) usually on at 8 PM. Since this is probably my fault for not watching all the other super-cool (not) shows on Fox and seeing their teasers for the *7* o'clock showing of the series finale, how might I have known that the show was going to be on an hour earlier? I really expected they'd run starting at the usual time.

    It was still a great series finale. Too bad they couldn't make enough profit to keep the series going.

    Now I only have 2 TV shows to watch, and one is really my wife's show that I watch with her: Star Trek: Enterprise, and 7th Heaven

    Vortran out

    --
    Knowledge is like ignorance.. too much can be just as bad as not enough.
  144. The goddamn summary by madenosine · · Score: 1

    I don't feel like sitting down for two hours so just give me the goddamn summary.

  145. all I can say is... by geekoid · · Score: 2

    Thank God.

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  146. Interesting notes. by geekoid · · Score: 2

    2012 on the Mayan calender is 2003 in the gregorian calender, release date for this is 2003(tentative)

    moster of the week, you mean like night stalker?
    a tv series I loved as a kid.
    Of course XFiles has always been a night stalker clone.

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  147. Not the only scifi ending by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 2

    EFC ended Saturday night. I wonder if there was anyone still watching the show besides me?

    --
    [o]_O
  148. Set Up for the Next Movie? by north.coaster · · Score: 2

    I thought that the whole thing was pretty hokey.

    One of the judges was an alien, but what of it?

    near the end, Skinner was called into his boss' office. So what?

    As others have mentioned, the trial was a waste of time.

    Muldur is left to continue seeking the truth. And they didn't even kiss!

    The only place where there was any real closure was with the CSM. I guess that he's really dead this time.

    But they left lot's of room for another movie. Hmm....

    /Don

  149. I will reveal The Truth by cardshark2001 · · Score: 1

    Some of you seem not to have understood the ending of the series. The "Truth" is that we will be invaded by aliens, and that there's nothing we can do to stop it, and that this will happen in the year 2012. Resistance is futile and all that.

    --
    WWJD? JWRTFA!
  150. hmm.... by szero · · Score: 1

    December 22, 2002

    12 22 02

    122 202

    100 010

    4 2

    --
    "The more you know, the less you understand."