The X-Files | the m0vie blog

New Podcast! The X-Cast – Season 2, Episode 8 (“One Breath”)

Posted on December 2, 2016 by Darren

Just a quick link to another recent guest appearance over on The X-Cast, a great X-Files podcast run by the prolific Tony Black.

In my final appearance on the show’s second season, I had the pleasure of an extended conversation with Tony about One Breath. Readers of the blog will know that One Breath is (along with Never Again) one of my absolute favourite episodes of the show, so it was an honour and a privilege to be invited to talk about it on the show. We got to talk about all sorts of fun things, from Mister X’s grouchy demeanour to performative masculinity to just how carefully Walter Skinner sets up his stylish dead drops. Check it out the episode here, or click the link below.

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New Podcast! The X-Cast – Season 2, Episode 6 (“Ascension”)

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Darren

Previously on the X-Cast…

Just a quick link to another recent guest appearance over on The X-Cast, a great X-Files podcast run by the prolific Tony Black.

I got to return to the show to talk about the second part of the series’ (and the podcast’s) first two-part episode, Ascension. Wherein we discuss the unrelenting forward momentum of the second part of X-Files two-parters, the recurring sense that Krycek thinks all of this is just a little bit beneath him, and the joy of Roger Moore style stunt sequences. As ever, it was my pleasure to appear on the show, and Tony was as wonderful a host as ever. Check it out the episode here, or click the link below.

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Filed under: Podcasts!, The X-Files | Tagged: ascension, duane barry, the x-cast, the x-files | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The X-Cast – Season 2, Episode 5 (“Duane Barry”)

Posted on November 4, 2016 by Darren

Just a quick link to another recent guest appearance over on The X-Cast, a great X-Files podcast run by the prolific Tony Black.

I had the privilege of guesting on the show to talk about the first two-part episode of the series in the first two-part episode of the podcast. First up, Duane Barry. Wherein we discuss the directorial debut of Chris Carter, the point of intersection between The X-Files and regular procedurals, and the vandalism of supermarket scanners. Once again, it was a joy to appear on the show, and Tony was as gracious a host as ever. Check it out the episode here, or click the link below.

To be continued…

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Filed under: Podcasts!, The X-Files | Tagged: duane barry, Fox Mulder, mulder, the x-cast, the x-files, tony black | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The X-Cast – Season 2, Episode 1 (“Little Green Men”)

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Darren

Just a quick link to a guest appearance over on The X-Cast, an X-Files podcast run by the wonderful Tony Black.

I had the privilege of guesting on the show to talk about the second season premiere, Little Green Men. Wherein we discuss the worst government surveillance agents ever, how parking charges are the real crime at the Watergate, and whether Mulder really is a “pig.” More seriously, it was an absolute pleasure to guest on the show, and Tony knows his stuff inside and out. Check it out the episode here, or click the link below.

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The X-Files Reviews Master List

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Darren

Our X-Files reviews are now more-or-less update, covering twenty-three years of the franchise and related materials.

Somebody got in contact with me to point out that there is not a complete list anywhere on the site of all the reviews and all the supplemental material in a rough “reading order” for somebody looking to get a sense of just what this project covered. So here that is. Think of it as a rough table of contents for our X-Files coverage, including every episode and various other goodies – crossovers, tangents, best-of lists, sister series, projects involving key creative personal.

The ordering on the list is approximate at best, but it does offer a sense of how various pieces of coverage relate to one another. As one might expect, the fourth and fifth seasons were very much the “peak” of the show and its coverage, with the various threads getting more esoteric from that point onward.

Just a quick thanks to everybody who read these pieces, commented upon them and engaged with them. Thanks to everybody who pointed me in good directions, and those who offered constructive criticism. I hope you enjoy. I’ll be back when the show is.

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The X-Files: Season 11 (IDW) (Review)

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Darren

This June, we’re going to be taking a look at the current run of The X-Files, beginning with the IDW comic book revival and perhaps taking some detours along the way. Check back daily for the latest review.

The X-Files: Season 11 is a relatively lean beast.

The X-Files: Season 10 seemed to struggle to map out a clear direction or identity for itself. This was most obvious in the context of the comic book’s mythology, as writer Joe Harris and his collaborators frequently found themselves revising and rewriting the mythology from one story to the next. All the elements introduced in Believers were reduced to a footnote in Monica & John. Although Gibson Praise made his first reappearance in the final pages of Believers, the mythology only truly galvinised around him over the course of Elders.

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In contrast, The X-Files: Season 11 has a very clear idea of where it is going and room for a minimal amount of distractions along the way. While the art team on Season 10 changed quite frequently, the nine comic book issues that comprise Season 11 are all handled by the core team of writer Joe Harris, penciller Matthew Dow Smith and colourist Jordie Bellaire. There is a consistency and focus to the run that is striking. There is no time for exploration or improvisation. Everything serves its purpose in the context of the story being told.

This is a double-edged sword. While it does reduce the chance of an endearing standalone story like Chitter or Immaculate, it does afford the run a purity and energy that was somewhat lacking as Harris had to revise and rewrite his mythology while the revival miniseries moved closer and closer to public announcement. In some respects, Season 11 feels kind of like the version of The X-Files that some fans wanted when the revival was announced. It is an efficient attempt to resolve dangling plot threads and bring closure to the story being told.

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Filed under: Comics, The X-Files | Tagged: comic books, continuity, idw, joe harris, the x-files | Leave a comment »

The X-Files – Season 10 (Review)

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Darren

The six episode revival miniseries is a strange beast.

It is hard to think of it as the tenth season of the show. In fact, the marketing of the DVD and blu ray sets describes it as “the event series”, perhaps a tact acknowledgement of that fact. There are a number reasons why it is difficult to think of these six episodes comprising a tenth season. Most obviously, the season is only six episodes. Even in the current context of truncated episode orders and split season, that is a short season. By modern standards, it would be a short half-season. Referring to it as the tenth season of The X-Files feels like false advertising.

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However, there are other reasons that it is difficult to think of these six episodes as constituting a season. Quite frankly, the six episodes are wildly variable in tone and quality, to the point that it is difficult to distill a singular unifying theme or meaning from. They are six random episodes of television, some good and some less good, with one masterpiece and one boldly ambitious mess. It is almost easier to talk about the episodes individually than it is to discuss them as a single season television.

Then again, that’s what makes them feel so much like The X-Files.

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Filed under: The X-Files | Tagged: chris carter, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, James Wong, the x-files, x-files | 4 Comments »

The X-Files Deviations (IDW) #1 – Being and Time (Review)

Posted on July 13, 2016 by Darren

Being and Time is not a good comic book.

There are a number of reasons why the comic doesn’t work, but the simple fact of the matter is that it has an interesting premise but does little of interest with that premise. Nevertheless, there is something quite intriguing the set-up, an “out-of-continuity” tale that offers a glimpse of a parallel universe where Fox Mulder was abducted in the place of his sister Samantha. More to the point, it seems entirely telling that the only supplemental X-Files comic to be published by IDW during the entirety of The X-Files: Season 11 was one entirely outside continuity.

What might have been.

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Filed under: Comics, The X-Files | Tagged: abduction, being and time, Comics, deviations, Fox Mulder, idw, Samantha Mulder, scully, x-files | Leave a comment »

The X-Files – My Struggle II (Review)

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Darren

“This is the end,” the opening credits tease.

This is not the end.

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Filed under: The X-Files | Tagged: chris carter, my struggle ii, the x-files | 6 Comments »

The X-Files: Season 11 (IDW) #6-8 – Endgames (Review)

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Darren

With Endgames, it all comes to an end.

The grand epic story that writer Joe Harris had built across thirty-five issues of The X-Files: Season 10 and The X-Files: Season 11 comes to a close with this three-part story. Given that the default length of a mythology-heavy story in Season 10 was five issues, Endgames cannot help but feel somewhat truncated. However, there has always been a sense that Season 11 is winding down rather than ratcheting up.

Alien nation.

In some ways, Endgames suffers from being overly ambitious. Harris reintroduced the faceless rebels into his mythology with My Name is Gibson and The X-Files Christmas Special 2015, but they feel like they crowd out what is otherwise a straightforward confrontation with Mulder and Scully squaring off against Gibson Praise. It is in some ways disappointing that all of Gibson’s plans build to a handful of trucks in the desert.

And, yet, in spite of that, there is something oddly charming about Endgames. The three-parter might be a compromised twist on the ending that Joe Harris originally envisaged for his massive epic, but it is still an ending.