requiem | the m0vie blog

New Podcast! The X-Cast – Season 7, Episode 22 (“Requiem”)

Posted on December 14, 2021 by Darren

The X-Cast is covering the seventh season of The X-Files. It is a season that arrives at an interesting point in the larger arc of the series, with the creative team trying to both prepare for the end of the show without actually committing to it. I joined Carl Sweeney, Cathy Glinski and Kurt North to discuss the season finale, which perfectly encapsulates this tension.

Requiem is an episode that existed in a variety of contexts between production and airing. When it was filmed, there was every possibility that it could be the last episode of The X-Files ever. Chris Carter wanted to use it as a launching pad to a series of spin-off movies. However, between filming and broadcast, its meaning shifted dramatically. Following a disastrous season, Fox had no choice but to greenlight an eighth season of The X-Files, and David Duchovny reached a settlement in his lawsuit against Fox. Requiem went from being a series finale to a season finale, without changing a single shot.

You can listen to the episode here, or click the link below.

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Filed under: Podcasts!, The X-Files | Tagged: carl sweeney, cathy glinski, chris carter, david duchovny, kurt north, mulder, requiem, scully, the x-cast, the x-files | Leave a comment »

New Podcast! The X-Cast X-Files Podwatch – Episode #82 (Je Souhaite/Requiem)

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Darren

I’m thrilled to be a part of The X-Cast X-Files Podwatch, a daily snippet podcast rewatching the entirety of The X-Files between now and the launch of the new season. It is something of a spin-off of The X-Cast, a great X-Files podcast run by the charming Tony Black. Tony has assembled a fantastic array of guests and hosts to go through The X-Files episode-by-episodes. With the new season announced to be starting in early January, Tony’s doing two episodes of the podcast per day, so buckle up. We’re almost there at this point, now marking the end of the Duchovny era of the show.

My final appearance of the somewhat uneven seventh season reteams me with the fantastic Sarah Blair. We’re discussing the last two episodes of the seventh season, and the last two episodes of the show’s original cast configuration, Je Souhaite and Requiem. Two episodes that could in their own way have served as finales for The X-Files.

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Filed under: Podcasts!, The X-Files | Tagged: david duchovny, je souhaite, requiem, sarah blair, the x-cast, The X-Cast X-Files Podwatch, the x-files, twin peaks | Leave a comment »

The X-Files – Requiem (Review)

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Darren

This September, we’re taking a trip back in time to review the seventh season of The X-Files and the first (and only) season of Harsh Realm.

As with a lot of the seventh season, Requiem is an oddity.

It is an episode that exists in a weird limbo state, carefully designed and calibrated so that it might serve two – if not three – very different purposes. Requiem was written and filmed at a point where nobody knew what was going to happen next. Requiem could have been either a season or a series finalé; it could have been the last episode of the seventh season, the last episode of the series before the launch of a movie franchise, or even just the last episode ever. That is a lot of weight to put on a single episode.

“X” marks the spot where it all began…

In essence, Requiem existed in a state of ambiguity and flux. It was never entirely sure what Requiem would be when Chris Carter wrote it or when Kim Manners directed it. Requiem had to be designed to be fluid and malleable; it had to support any context that might be heaped upon it in the editing suite or on broadcast. Stories like Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space” and Bad Blood had explored the blurred boundaries of reality and perception; Requiem is perhaps that idea applied to the show itself.

Chris Carter could tell you what happened in Requiem as it went through production. He could explain plot details and character motivation; he could outline the chain of events that bind Requiem together. However, it was impossible for anybody working on Requiem to actually assert what the episode was until three days before the episode aired. Until that point, Requiem was a shadow or a blur, just waiting for some larger context to bring it into proper focus.

Things are looking up…

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Filed under: The X-Files | Tagged: chris carter, cliffhanger, david duchovny, Fox, meaning, purpose, requiem, resolution, x-files | 16 Comments »

Ultimate Spider-Man – Vol. 10-11 (Hardcover) (Review)

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Darren

This represents the final volume of Ultimate Spider-Man, the relaunch of the popular character created by marvel as a way of introducing the iconic webslinger to the those who might be understandably wary of the backstory and continuity tangles the character has found himself in (did you know the character sold his marriage to the devil?). It’s been a landmark run, and a popular one and – by any measure – a successful one. There’s a reason that this ‘reboot’, to borrow a cinematic term, was famous for outselling the mainstream titles. So, as it winds down, what do we think?