the once and future tropie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tropiavera) wrote2010-09-03 06:31 am
tropiavera) wrote2010-09-03 06:31 am
Entry tags:
the fbi's most unwanted
Come, friends, join me: earlier this summer allchildren, ![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
rawles.livejournal.com, and myself embarked on a quest to rewatch The X-Files. It has been hilarious and arduous, and filled with unbelievable nostalgia and timewarps to 1993. I had many (so many) feelings, and I have handily compiled my relevant thoughts on the first season episodes we watched! We skipped seven episodes due failures in quality or some other regard. There are also spoilers, both for the first season and for events in later seasons.
Pilot: Jeeeeeeez. I actually watched this one twice becauseallchildren and rawles.livejournal.com joined after the first night of the great rewatch. The pilot has held up pretty well, I think, especially when you compare it to other pilots where it's more obvious the overall tone of a show hasn't settled yet, which was not at all the case here. Government conspiracy, us against the world, autopsies, and oh my god BILLY MILES! I am still waffle on thinking his later appearances were a very clever inclusion of past mythology and thinking it was more gerrymandered retconning, but that first wave of nostalgia was pretty delicious. Also, someone needed to teach David Duchovny how to actually pronounce "Oregon," a growing enunciation problem that becomes more evident the more you watch, and to stop with the goddamn high-talking. I'm glad they stopped trying to sell the "based on a true story" line after the pilot, but as a hook it's certainly intriguing.
Deep Throat: The military-industrial complex might be experimenting with alien technology?! Or are they?! Yeah, they totally are. It's interesting to look at in retrospect what themes the writers clearly found interesting to play with, though I don't really think it all comes into the real story of the mytharc until the third season, even from the beginning they were dabbling with the idea of the military/the government/"them" hybridizing human and alien technology, and quickly got into the idea of people messing around genetically. Two great tastes that taste great together?
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Seth Green
Squeeze: The nightmares of youth never die! It is going back and realizing just how many of my unconscious phobias stem from episodes of The X-Files. See an overly large sewer grate? Don't step too close to it, for heaven's sake, that's where liver mutants hang out. As I mentioned in my larger post, for all that this episode is made of nightmares, I do quite like the larger the larger philosophy in this episode (and its counterpart), as well as the old detective. Also, as observed by Tris, shit gets classic fast.
Conduit: Hands up if this episode taught you half of what you remember about binary. …Just me? Cool. One of the things that I really noticed in the first season, starting with Conduit and Deep Throat (and Shadows, coming up), is that women's stories were emphasized in a way I feel like you don't see on procedurals anymore. Maybe it's that most procedurals are about solving murders, where here that was only sometimes the case. It feels more progressive when it's not a procession of dead women. This is a pretty compelling episode, but it's too bad they cast a standard Creepy X-Files Child Actor™ in a role that wasn't actually a murderous changeling.
The Jersey Devil: More women's stories! I…guess? Anyway, who remembers anything about this episode that isn't Scully's idea of a date outfit, Jesus Christ:
That is so intensely early 90s it is almost painful.
Shadows: A pretty solid episode! I mean, there are at least two egregious "Scully is conveniently absent and so misses some supernatural shit", but again, a pretty nice story based on a lady.
Ghost in the Machine: It's another pretty solid one, but it is impossible to watch this episode in 2010 without getting pulled out of it constantly by the "groundbreaking" "technology". Aww, 1993! Also, how many times would Mulder have gotten killed without Scully? This is only episode episode seven, you guys, pace yourselves. The totally obvious "or IS IT?!" ending is pretty hilarious.
Ice: RESPECT. A damn good episode, not just "for a freshman series," but out of the whole run, I'd say. Again, you get a lot of the themes being played with here, like the presence of alien material, but the debate over the risk of public knowledge versus the dishonesty of a massive cover-up is one of the central tenets of The X-Files, as well as the early emergence of the "us against the world" theme. Plus, that scene where Mulder and Scully check each other's necks for the worms. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Felicity Huffman
Space: I have seen this episode at least six times and I have no goddamn idea what happens. There are killer faces? Someone let Chris Carter write things? Shit.
Fallen Angel: Maaaaaaaaaaaax! I remembered the effects as being less janky than they look now, but this is still a pretty great episode. The enigmatic Dr. Scully.
Eve: Goddamn evil children, for real. I remember this episode as being a lot creepier than it was, actually. I mean, certainly it's creepy, obviously, and the extended kidnapping sequences are not appreciated, but this was more, Okay, Sally Kendrick, stop making that face, versus OH MY GOD I AM NEVER SLEEPING AGAIN WE MUST GET RID OF ALL VENTILATION SHAFTS. Experimentation with embryos and fetuses were again, themes that would come up again and again, in the super soldier business as well as later this same season, but you can see how then-topical issues with fertility and cloning were clearly things that fascinated the writing staff.
Fire: Jesus Christ it's another CC episode, get in the car. Listen. This is a terrible episode, but it is also hilarious. I cannot explain how little it tracks across emotional arcs, but it is ridiculous. Phoebe Green is pretty much Mimi Fowley 1.0, right down to Scully's over-telegraphed insecurities and the femme fatale-ing, but at least they fleshed her out a LITTLE bit by the time they got to Mimi. The character of Phoebe makes almost no sense, and her orange lipstick is worrisome. I can't not recommend that you watch it, though, because the character of Cecil L'Ively is a treasure of truly impressive overacting. A GODDAMN TREASURE.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Mark Sheppard
Beyond the Sea: Gillian Fucking Anderson, ladies and gentlemen. "Strange business on death row" was a well to which 1013 returned many times, but for me, this is really the only one you need. Luther Lee Boggs is just such a great character, and Scully's emotional path through this episode is tremendous, as well as phenomenally acted. We do get another unfortunately predominant theme, that of Mulder believing in anything except what Scully does. His reasoning at the beginning makes sense (that Boggs is a fraud and so on) but he is just such a dick about it!
Gender Bender
Lazarus: More Scully backstory! Launching a thousand fanon theories about Scully's ~unresolved issues with authority figures~. This one is kind of tedious in light of how incredibly obvious most of the twists are.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Callum Keith Rennie (just racking up the future BSG alums)
Young at Heart
E.B.E.: GUNMEEEEEEN, such babies! I think it's interesting how established the pattern of Mulder meets with his contacts/Scully does research trope is when Mulder is also simultaneously portrayed as being hated by everyone. Except his token weirdos and politicians, I guess. For all the intrigue of Deep Throat's world-weariness, I really vastly prefer X. Unlike Lazarus, the twists hold up pretty well here, and also do a lot to continue setting the trust no one/us against the world themes.
Miracle Man
Shapes
Darkness Falls: Chris Carter tackles the incredibly timely subject of...eco-terrorism? Sure! It's a decently creepy MotW, but holy jesus, the special effects. It's inevitable that some things wouldn't age well, but man. I wish it didn't have to be this badly.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Titus Welliver (if you watched Deadwood, I guess)
Tooms: Auuuuuuuggghhhhhhh. First of all: Eugene Victor Tooms is visibly psychotic and I don't understand what the fuck court system could possibly not see that. Tooms pulling a Scorpio is still a clever twist that I like. Skinman and CSM, working together, though! It's strange how late into the first season characters were introduced. It's still startling how long you go without seeing Skinner. The ending, with Mulder being all "Change is coming!", is one of the more ham-fisted attempts at foreshadowing I've ever seen.
Born Again
Roland
The Erlenmeyer Flask: Oh, gosh. So much of this episode feels iconic now. The poisonous green blood, the alien fetus, Deep Throat's death: TRUST NO ONE. The bookending flourishes to the pilot are a nice touch. Aww, season one!! When you were good, you were nostalgic excellence. When you were bad, you were...well, let's not speak of it. And onto season two, oh god, if we can make it. For record's sake, we watched 71% of the first season.
allchildren, rawles.livejournal.com, and myself embarked on a quest to rewatch The X-Files. It has been hilarious and arduous, and filled with unbelievable nostalgia and timewarps to 1993. I had many (so many) feelings, and I have handily compiled my relevant thoughts on the first season episodes we watched! We skipped seven episodes due failures in quality or some other regard. There are also spoilers, both for the first season and for events in later seasons.Pilot: Jeeeeeeez. I actually watched this one twice because
allchildren and rawles.livejournal.com joined after the first night of the great rewatch. The pilot has held up pretty well, I think, especially when you compare it to other pilots where it's more obvious the overall tone of a show hasn't settled yet, which was not at all the case here. Government conspiracy, us against the world, autopsies, and oh my god BILLY MILES! I am still waffle on thinking his later appearances were a very clever inclusion of past mythology and thinking it was more gerrymandered retconning, but that first wave of nostalgia was pretty delicious. Also, someone needed to teach David Duchovny how to actually pronounce "Oregon," a growing enunciation problem that becomes more evident the more you watch, and to stop with the goddamn high-talking. I'm glad they stopped trying to sell the "based on a true story" line after the pilot, but as a hook it's certainly intriguing.
Deep Throat: The military-industrial complex might be experimenting with alien technology?! Or are they?! Yeah, they totally are. It's interesting to look at in retrospect what themes the writers clearly found interesting to play with, though I don't really think it all comes into the real story of the mytharc until the third season, even from the beginning they were dabbling with the idea of the military/the government/"them" hybridizing human and alien technology, and quickly got into the idea of people messing around genetically. Two great tastes that taste great together?
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Seth Green
Squeeze: The nightmares of youth never die! It is going back and realizing just how many of my unconscious phobias stem from episodes of The X-Files. See an overly large sewer grate? Don't step too close to it, for heaven's sake, that's where liver mutants hang out. As I mentioned in my larger post, for all that this episode is made of nightmares, I do quite like the larger the larger philosophy in this episode (and its counterpart), as well as the old detective. Also, as observed by Tris, shit gets classic fast.
Conduit: Hands up if this episode taught you half of what you remember about binary. …Just me? Cool. One of the things that I really noticed in the first season, starting with Conduit and Deep Throat (and Shadows, coming up), is that women's stories were emphasized in a way I feel like you don't see on procedurals anymore. Maybe it's that most procedurals are about solving murders, where here that was only sometimes the case. It feels more progressive when it's not a procession of dead women. This is a pretty compelling episode, but it's too bad they cast a standard Creepy X-Files Child Actor™ in a role that wasn't actually a murderous changeling.
The Jersey Devil: More women's stories! I…guess? Anyway, who remembers anything about this episode that isn't Scully's idea of a date outfit, Jesus Christ:
That is so intensely early 90s it is almost painful.
Shadows: A pretty solid episode! I mean, there are at least two egregious "Scully is conveniently absent and so misses some supernatural shit", but again, a pretty nice story based on a lady.
Ghost in the Machine: It's another pretty solid one, but it is impossible to watch this episode in 2010 without getting pulled out of it constantly by the "groundbreaking" "technology". Aww, 1993! Also, how many times would Mulder have gotten killed without Scully? This is only episode episode seven, you guys, pace yourselves. The totally obvious "or IS IT?!" ending is pretty hilarious.
Ice: RESPECT. A damn good episode, not just "for a freshman series," but out of the whole run, I'd say. Again, you get a lot of the themes being played with here, like the presence of alien material, but the debate over the risk of public knowledge versus the dishonesty of a massive cover-up is one of the central tenets of The X-Files, as well as the early emergence of the "us against the world" theme. Plus, that scene where Mulder and Scully check each other's necks for the worms. I'm not saying, I'm just saying.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Felicity Huffman
Space: I have seen this episode at least six times and I have no goddamn idea what happens. There are killer faces? Someone let Chris Carter write things? Shit.
Fallen Angel: Maaaaaaaaaaaax! I remembered the effects as being less janky than they look now, but this is still a pretty great episode. The enigmatic Dr. Scully.
Eve: Goddamn evil children, for real. I remember this episode as being a lot creepier than it was, actually. I mean, certainly it's creepy, obviously, and the extended kidnapping sequences are not appreciated, but this was more, Okay, Sally Kendrick, stop making that face, versus OH MY GOD I AM NEVER SLEEPING AGAIN WE MUST GET RID OF ALL VENTILATION SHAFTS. Experimentation with embryos and fetuses were again, themes that would come up again and again, in the super soldier business as well as later this same season, but you can see how then-topical issues with fertility and cloning were clearly things that fascinated the writing staff.
Fire: Jesus Christ it's another CC episode, get in the car. Listen. This is a terrible episode, but it is also hilarious. I cannot explain how little it tracks across emotional arcs, but it is ridiculous. Phoebe Green is pretty much Mimi Fowley 1.0, right down to Scully's over-telegraphed insecurities and the femme fatale-ing, but at least they fleshed her out a LITTLE bit by the time they got to Mimi. The character of Phoebe makes almost no sense, and her orange lipstick is worrisome. I can't not recommend that you watch it, though, because the character of Cecil L'Ively is a treasure of truly impressive overacting. A GODDAMN TREASURE.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Mark Sheppard
Beyond the Sea: Gillian Fucking Anderson, ladies and gentlemen. "Strange business on death row" was a well to which 1013 returned many times, but for me, this is really the only one you need. Luther Lee Boggs is just such a great character, and Scully's emotional path through this episode is tremendous, as well as phenomenally acted. We do get another unfortunately predominant theme, that of Mulder believing in anything except what Scully does. His reasoning at the beginning makes sense (that Boggs is a fraud and so on) but he is just such a dick about it!
Lazarus: More Scully backstory! Launching a thousand fanon theories about Scully's ~unresolved issues with authority figures~. This one is kind of tedious in light of how incredibly obvious most of the twists are.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Callum Keith Rennie (just racking up the future BSG alums)
E.B.E.: GUNMEEEEEEN, such babies! I think it's interesting how established the pattern of Mulder meets with his contacts/Scully does research trope is when Mulder is also simultaneously portrayed as being hated by everyone. Except his token weirdos and politicians, I guess. For all the intrigue of Deep Throat's world-weariness, I really vastly prefer X. Unlike Lazarus, the twists hold up pretty well here, and also do a lot to continue setting the trust no one/us against the world themes.
Darkness Falls: Chris Carter tackles the incredibly timely subject of...eco-terrorism? Sure! It's a decently creepy MotW, but holy jesus, the special effects. It's inevitable that some things wouldn't age well, but man. I wish it didn't have to be this badly.
Retrospectively Hilarious Supporting Cast: Titus Welliver (if you watched Deadwood, I guess)
Tooms: Auuuuuuuggghhhhhhh. First of all: Eugene Victor Tooms is visibly psychotic and I don't understand what the fuck court system could possibly not see that. Tooms pulling a Scorpio is still a clever twist that I like. Skinman and CSM, working together, though! It's strange how late into the first season characters were introduced. It's still startling how long you go without seeing Skinner. The ending, with Mulder being all "Change is coming!", is one of the more ham-fisted attempts at foreshadowing I've ever seen.
The Erlenmeyer Flask: Oh, gosh. So much of this episode feels iconic now. The poisonous green blood, the alien fetus, Deep Throat's death: TRUST NO ONE. The bookending flourishes to the pilot are a nice touch. Aww, season one!! When you were good, you were nostalgic excellence. When you were bad, you were...well, let's not speak of it. And onto season two, oh god, if we can make it. For record's sake, we watched 71% of the first season.
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this is my favorite post omg <33333333
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<33333333