The X-Files

Started by MacGuffin, November 23, 2003, 07:42:14 PM

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Sleepless

Thanks for the kind words on the podcast, lol. I knew this was going to be a chaotic one but I think it worked pretty good. By the time we got to the revival episodes we all know how these podcasts work, so I've been doing little to no editing on them. I think that's most obvious and, like you said, neccessary here... Anyway, glad you liked it :)

I've been struggling with my thoughts on the two mythology episodes we got in this revival. I think the conclusion I've come to is that although the mythology has always been the backbone of the show and what it has always been known for, I really don't care any more. I always felt that after the Redux arc the mythology went downhill fast (FTF excepted, but then that was written and produced around S4, even though it was released after S5.) Two Fathers/One Son did a good job of blowing up the mythology storyline, and though there were some good mythology moments that followed that two parter (I'm thinking primarily of Biogenesis) there was never any real cohesiveness or sense of direction/momentum that the earlier years had. This was particularly evident by the seasons 8 and 9 when everything pinballed between pregnancy experiments, super soldiers and Mulder's disappearence. So to expect cohesiveness from the mythology in the revival was silly. I was excited to see where CC was planning on taking things after the revelations of MS1, but its now clear from both watching MS2 and reading interviews with him and other crew members that he didn't really have a plan at all.

I hated that cliffhanger.

When they return for S11 - which is inevitable at this point, it's just a matter of whether we get it within the next 24 months or not - I think they really need to pare down the mythology and keep it simple. They need another One Son to blow up the detritus that has accumulated around William, alien DNA, ARVs, and basically everything that happened between season 6 and now. Blow it all up in epic fashion and then come up with something fresh that isn't weighed down with all the baggage that has come before. Pick a strand that was never resolved and make that the focus.

For me personally, there were 3 really good eps in this revival and 3 really bad ones. The chasm between them is huge. That said, I'm going to rewatch them all one more time (in production order) before we podcast Thursday night, though there's really only one ep that I want to watch again - and that I think will be one I'll revisit time and again along with other classic eps in the future.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Jeremy Blackman

Sleepless - I just wanted to say that was a really tasteful and beautiful way to end the podcast [for now]. It also felt very balanced and substantive.

(We all have complaints large and small about the episodes; I totally agree that all that pain doesn't need to be hashed out extensively.)

I am really intrigued by your problems with Founder's Mutation. Those are things I had never heard before. I'll watch out for them next time. (If you feel like expounding on it here, please do. They honestly sound like things that should have bothered me.)

That shoutout made me giggle with glee. Thanks for that. :yabbse-grin:

I'm pretty accustomed to ranking things, but for some reason, I find it nearly impossible to rank these revival episodes. I know that Chris's Struggle II is the worst, but beyond that I really have no idea. I think Babylon is marvelous, except the last sequence was like a slow motion trainwreck. Home Again is also pretty great and feels the most like the classic seasons, but it literally ends with Scully comparing William to garbage. I'm not even sure where to put My Struggle I, whose premise is now highly suspect, but which still has this Fight the Future energy that really does it for me.

I could not agree with you more strongly that above all, I'm glad the show swung for the fences and did some very interesting things. This experimental route was actually one of the best possible outcomes.

Sleepless

It is a weight off my shoulders to have that final podcast done and out in the world. The original plan was to have it go out the Friday following the My Struggle II session, but our conversation got bogged down answering all those listener questions (my fault!) but after two hours of extensive bitching (my fault again to a large extent - I had several intro jokes poking fun at the writing given that's what a lot of online complaints were about, but rather than setting up a playful tone for the show, it opened the floodgates of negativity.) I knew it wasn't something I wanted to put out. We ended up doing the quiz, etc. regardless but I knew we'd have to record our discussion again. We did, a week later. But the audio was awful and people's hearts just weren't in it. I think I ended up using a bit of me and Avi from that second session, then I trawled through our first session to add in Garrett, Tiffany, and some more Avi. Although there was a LOT more of their stuff that I could have used, ultimately I wasn't enjoying listening to it while going through the editing process, so why would I put it out there for everyone else? Obviously, I get the negativity, but at the end of the day the show is called X-Philes Talk X-Files for a reason – irrational unconditional love is a part of that to an extent. We're not out to play the part of legitimate critics here, but when we do have problems with the show we articulate them playfully and with good humor. I think we were true to that throughout the podcast, and Jessa/Roi in particular nailed that tone during the revival discussions. So yeah, I wasn't not joking when I said getting this ep out was my struggle – it had been weighing on my mind since we abandoned that first recording. So it's nice to hear you think it was a tasteful signoff. Phew.

One segment I had done in advance of our first recording session we ultimately decided not to use for various reasons. It's a fake interview with Mitch Pileggi using clips from the show, in which we discuss how he's secretly been a writer on the show for years, and that Fox have now asked him to replace Chris Carter as the head writer for S11. It was a goofily haphazard few minutes, but we all thought it was funny. But it was right not to include it. Avi initially balked fearing that even though it was clearly for shits and giggles, it would upset Mitch and jeopardize their relationship with him if he found out about it because he is apparently a both a delicate flower and drama queen (who knew?) Likewise, I quickly realized that just as with my extensive joking in the intro for the initial discussion, it just wasn't the right tone. Live and learn. I might see if there's a way I can stick it up here though, might as well have someone enjoy it since I did the work.

So, yeah – Founder's Mutation... Maybe it was just the fact Mulder and Scully had slotted right back into working The X-Files after all these years, to be working together as they were. It felt lazy of the revival - they just took the show from two decades ago and stuck it in the present without any real effort. I found it jarring after the setup of MS1; that we were suddenly in this world. On reflection, the episode might have played better to me had it been broadcast as the 5th as originally intended. I did rewatch all 6 in production order (which does on the whole work a LOT better) but I think by that point I'd already built up animosity to the episode. However, it should play better in that original order because the arc of M&S reconnecting and learning to communicate with each other has already played out by this point. But everyone else seems to love the ep... Also on reflection, MASMTWM has a very similar problem in terms of the M/S relationship, but I guess I found it easier to ignore because I was focused on other things I was hoping for from the ep. Also, that was much more Mulder-centric and given the nostalgia trip DM was clearly going for, it felt more excusable given the context.

I know ranking stuff is extremely self-indulgent, but I do it anyway ;)

Thank you so much for listening and giving feedback throughout this experience. It's been just a couple weeks short of a year that I've been working on XPTXF. It's definitely bittersweet that it's come to an end.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Jeremy Blackman

Quote from: Sleepless on March 24, 2016, 09:45:52 AMWe're not out to play the part of legitimate critics here, but when we do have problems with the show we articulate them playfully and with good humor. I think we were true to that throughout the podcast, and Jessa/Roi in particular nailed that tone during the revival discussions.

Absolutely agree.

Roi was probably my favorite guest. Keva is a close second. And Tiffany of course. (Seems wrong that I can rank people but not episodes.)

Quote from: Sleepless on March 24, 2016, 09:45:52 AMI might see if there's a way I can stick it up here though, might as well have someone enjoy it since I did the work.

If you want Xixax to host the file, email it to me: xixaxfilmforum@gmail.com

Quote from: Sleepless on March 24, 2016, 09:45:52 AMSo, yeah – Founder's Mutation... Maybe it was just the fact Mulder and Scully had slotted right back into working The X-Files after all these years, to be working together as they were. It felt lazy of the revival - they just took the show from two decades ago and stuck it in the present without any real effort. I found it jarring after the setup of MS1; that we were suddenly in this world. On reflection, the episode might have played better to me had it been broadcast as the 5th as originally intended. I did rewatch all 6 in production order (which does on the whole work a LOT better) but I think by that point I'd already built up animosity to the episode. However, it should play better in that original order because the arc of M&S reconnecting and learning to communicate with each other has already played out by this point. But everyone else seems to love the ep...

I can understand that. I think I was fairly determined to like the second episode, as were most fans. And I was already prepared to forgive the production order weirdness. Either way, though, yes, it did feel strange to go from a frenzied conspiracy episode to Mulder and Scully inexplicably being in their old jobs again — it seemed to highlight the artifice of the format. They could have solved that with a 2-hour MS1. We needed more than that fleeting explanation from Skinner. I would have loved to see re-entry interviews or something. I can see it now; halfway through his interview, Mulder gets a phone call with a tip and walks out, pulls Scully out of her interview, and they go off to work their first new case.

Sleepless

Fake Mitch Pileggi interview download

In retrospect, not as funny as it seemed at the time when the internet was ablaze with CC-hating post-MS2. Definitely happy that this wasn't included in the final ep, regardless of Mitch's "delicate flower" temperment. Currently kicking myself I didn't tweet it on April 1st though.

Thanks, JB!
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Jeremy Blackman

2:36 – 2:58 is my favorite.

Honestly, I love Mitch's voice acting in that clip. He has the most paternal and authoritative whisper of anyone I know.

Sleepless

Chatted with an aquaintence the other day who also happens to be a huge XF fan. Has a huge collection of magazines and other paraphernalia from back in the day, etc. Of course the subject of the revival came up. He hadn't listened to the podcast at all, but said that Babylon was by far his favorite of the bunch. It feels nice knowing that there are other people out there who feel the same. There are dozens of us! Dozens!
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Jeremy Blackman

'The X-Files' New Season Update: "Significant Talks" Underway

http://deadline.com/2016/08/the-x-files-new-season-talks-fox-tca-1201800258/

The six-episode new season of The X Files was one of the best performing Fox series last season, especially on-demand. Ever since the reboot launched, Fox executives have been trying to secure more episodes.

"We would love to do other seasons," Fox Entertainment president David Madden said at TCA Monday. "There are significant talks with all three principals", creator Chris Carter and stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.  "We are working hard, and would like to get a new season soon."

Madden and Fox TV Group chairman Dana Walden were asked whether the network would want to make creative changes for a new season of The X-Files since the recent one was met with mixed reviews.

"I actually think the season was strong," Madden said. "The episodes represent Chris and his team's vision, and we will take our cue from them."

Added Walden, "The show was off the air for a very long time. It was introduced to new viewers, and (the writers) had the challenge of filling in the mythology. Going forward, there won't be the same obligation to reset the series."

Sleepless

The series that had a generation looking to the sky gets a breathtaking audio reprise in an original full-cast dramatization featuring actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson returning to voice FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

Based upon the graphic novels by Joe Harris - with creative direction from series creator Chris Carter - and adapted specifically for the audio format by aural auteur Dirk Maggs (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Alien: Out of the Shadows), Cold Cases marks yet another thrilling addition to the pantheon of X-Files stories. Featuring a mind-blowing and otherworldly soundscape of liquefying aliens, hissing creatures, and humming spacecraft, listeners get to experience the duo's investigations like never before.

Set after the events of The X-Files: I Want to Believe and providing additional backstory to the incidents that pulled Mulder and Scully out of reclusion prior to 2016's miniseries revival, a database breach at FBI headquarters allows an unknown group to access and capitalize on those investigations left unsolved - dubbed cold cases - by the secret department once known as The X-Files. As friends and foes of the agency long thought gone begin to inexplicably reappear, former agents Mulder and Scully come out of anonymity to face a growing conspiracy that involves not only their former department but the US government and forces not of this world.

Here, fans are treated once again to Mulder and Scully's irreplicable chemistry as only the series' leads could deliver, Duchovny's deadpan and cynical aloofness finding its natural counterpoint in Anderson's unwavering intelligence and rigidity. Appearances from series regulars and the actors who made them fan favorites round out this must-listen arc: the gruff, no-BS righteousness of Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi); the distinctive click-puff of the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis); and the stooge-like hijinks of three beloved conspiracy theorists called the Lone Gunmen (Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, and Bruce Harwood).

Whether you're a believer or a skeptic, find your "I Want to Believe" poster. Break out that makeshift alien stiletto. Grab a pack of Morley cigarettes.

The truth is out there. You just have to listen.

$25 pre-order on Audible.

Based upon the graphic novels by Joe Harris. So not really canon then.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Sleepless

He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Sleepless

The X-Files season 11 first look

Spoils and speculation based on the article:

But the showrunner promises he planned this reversal long before crafting that cliff-hanger: "Everything is by design." (I mean, I *want* to believe)

In Carter's own words: "Shippers were heard" ... fans rooting for the formerly estranged duo to fully patch things up "have something to look forward to." ... "William has been an absent center," Carter says. "He will come to the fore." (Groan)

After episode one delves into the Cigarette Smoking Man's (William B. Davis) backstory and apparent family ties to Mulder (But why? on every level)

the second hour opens with a time jump to put distance between Mulder and Scully and the events of the premiere (Because paint and corner and ... I'm not sure how the show recovers from this)

episode three is a darkly comedic hour, penned by Carter, focusing on doubles and doppelgängers. (Like Syzygy? And Fight Club? And, to a much lesser extent, Babylon?)

He also teases the addition of a so-called Mr. Y (Really?)

and some characters who only appear to be new (so the lone gunmen are actually alive again?)

the showrunner says we'll get a new angle on Mulder and Scully's long-suffering boss, Assistant Director Skinner (happy with the promise of another Skinner-centric episode)
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Sleepless

The retcon is out there.

New trailer for S11 here:



There's a good breakdown of the above over on XFN. Reading between the lines, I'm nervous about the sense that maybe Carter's way out of the corner he painted himself into twas that it was all a dream. And as awful as that sounds, I can't help shake the feeling that maybe that isn't the very worst way they could take things. Ho-hum.

Also over on XFN, this recap of the NYCC panel.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Jeremy Blackman

I think any and all continuity is out the window at this point. I mean... they literally showed us the flesh being burned from CSM's bones so that only his charred skeleton remained (below), which was then apparently fixed with partial cosmetic surgery.

If they're retconning things again, that's a big ask. It's really hard to take the mythology seriously. But the new stuff does look pretty good.



Sleepless

Fuck yes, X-Files is back :yabbse-grin: [Spoilers follow]

I'll admit, I was kind of dreading it. I rewatched all of S10 just prior to xmas and it did not hold up, just barely 2 years later. MS2 in particular was a disaster, just mind-numbingly boring - and that's before you even got into the plot of the story and the corner CC had written himself into. From what little was teased ahead of S11, it was pretty clear that the whole cliffhanger scenario was going to be revealed as "just a dream." What a hack move. But I was anticipating it, so it made it a little easier to swallow. Honestly, I got caught up in the story almost right from the beginning, and was happy to have the slate wiped clean and be swept up in the retconned storyline. Given the alternatives, it was the best case scenario, though of course I wish it'd been given a bit more forethought before we got here.

But the show finally feels like X-Files again. Mulder's soliloquies aside, (which, to be fair, have always been a staple of CC's writing - though not to *this* extent) I thought this episode was fantastic. Not perfect, of course. Far from it. But it felt like old school X-Files, that S10 had just been a misjudged bungle, that everyone was finally back on their game again and everything was in sync again. And that twist, I was left beaming! I haven't been this happy with the show in a while.

There were a few things I had some trouble with... Monica being CSM's right-hand woman. Given that no-one sees how this makes any character sense, I would have been happy to let CC scrap that and chalk it up to a symptom of Scully's vision. He chose not too, and so it's still reality, and it still doesn't make any sense on any level other than CSM has to have someone to talk to about his evil plans and AG was in need of a paycheck. Alright, that was the main thing I had a problem with. The inclusion of the two new agents ("Abercrombie and Bitch") seems a little pointless. I guess they're there because they played a part in Scully's vision (he's on the bridge with Mulder at the end) but their inclusion here was so brief and seemed completely pointless. Also, as much as I loved the revelation at the episode's end, it felt a bad place to end the episode. There wasn't really an ending at all, no resolution to this story, even by XF standards. No doubt some elements will be scattered throughout subsequent episodes over the remainder of the season (the William story promises to crop up a lot, plus there's an entire ep devoted to Skinner) before culminating in MS4 which CC has already said will center on William (he'll likely provide the opening VO like the other MS eps have been introed by Mulder, Scully, and CSM respectively.)

But that twist, wow! Finally, someone on the show has shown a sense of memory of what went before. I've never been interested in the William storyline at all. Until now. It makes perfect sense, and I'm now fully interested and invested in where things go from here. That's not the reaction of shippers, obviously, and I've already seen some hugely negative reactions from my friends I do the podcast with (yes, we're back too).

So what did everyone else think? Me, I'm in love with the show again and excited for more.
He held on. The dolphin and all the rest of its pod turned and swam out to sea, and still he held on. This is it, he thought. Then he remembered that they were air-breathers too. It was going to be all right.

Jeremy Blackman

I'm not sure what to think. I actually agree with all your observations, but I don't know, some of the writing in this episode was so bad. Perhaps I'm holding this to 2017 prestige TV standards, when Chris Carter is the same writer he always was. You have to be on board for the cheese.

SPOILERS

Highlight for me: Mulder opening the door to find a different smoking man and a different woman. I thought we had entered Lynch territory for a second.

That throat-cutting though.

And yeah, the reveal does make sense, horribly enough. It's like you said... I'm kind of shocked by the strength of this throughline.