Back in August of last year (when fustar.info was just a twinkle in my eye) my wonderful woman very kindly bought me Season 1 of The X-Files on DVD for my birthday. Since then, somewhat to my surprise, we've found ourselves enthusiastically reacquainting ourselves1 with a show I'd considered, for years, a long-lost, eX friend.
Where once a weekly X-Files fix was, for my younger siblings and I, an unmissable routine, in latter years we had, like a lot of fans I'd imagine, drifted fairly far from the show (to the point where I was watching infrequently during Season 6, and not at all during 7, 8, and 9).
Part of the problem (if not the main one) was that the show's mythology appeared, on the one hand, to be seeking to clarify itself excessively (many X-Files fans, myself included, enjoyed how the show resisted a single, definitive 'truth'), while on the other, it seemed to be descending further into a bewildering, baroque mess - what my brother memorably referred to as "Chris Carter's tangled ball of wool".
Having now rewatched the first 8 and a half Seasons (yes, I know, we got a bit carried away…), I've been surprised and delighted at how well it stands up to the intense scrutiny of a DVD watching schedule (the only way to watch TV shows for me. Forget this 'once a week' malarkey). Well, I should qualify that. Seasons 1-5 are still marvellously entertaining, witty, intelligent, scary etc., with the law of diminishing returns setting in thereafter. Having said that, Seasons 6, 7, and (even) largely 'Mulder-less' 8, still have plenty to offer…despite a certain narrative clunkiness and penchant for OTT melodrama taking hold. The less said about Season 9's 'mythology' episodes the better - with the whole 'Scullly's God-Child' cack-fest coming off as disturbingly earnest Christian (or at least monotheistic) propaganda 2
My interest in the show never really hung on whether or not the central mythologies would untangle/resolve themselves, but was sustained (largely) by the excellence of the two leads and the way the writers allowed them to go far beyond the 'cop show' clichés they could easily have become. It has, of course, been frequently noted that (superficially, at the very least) the Scully/Mulder dynamic constituted a form of gender transgression/inversion3 unusual in a mainstream TV program. While Scully was (at least in the early years) cool, rational, sceptical, analytical etc., Mulder was, in contrast, 'emotional', dependent on intuition, credulous…and so forth.4
Delving a bit further, it's hard not to admire how consistently 'perverse' the male hero, in particular, is (and it's hard to imagine anyone but David Duchovny pulling this off as convincingly as he did). Mulder is, essentially, a kind of traumatised 'child-man' - emotionally scarred/immature, and deeply neurotic - with no social life, few friends (other than three even bigger nerds), no place to go (most of the time) except hang around the office late into the night, and (famously) no bed5. His 'home' is a completely spartan space, serving, merely, as somewhere to crash (bored and lonely) on the couch while he indulges in his (largely implied) porn fixation.
With the square-jawed, resolutely earnest, man-of-action, shit that currently dominates the (post-9/11) space once occupied by The X-Files (*cough* 24, *cough* Lost) we need our Mulders (and Scullys) more than ever. Sadly, of course, by the end of The X-Files run (which we will reach on DVD before too long) the show itself was crying out for Mulders and Scullys…as it descended, inexorably, into a carbon copy of/template for the kind of robust, laughably 'intense', garbage that has become a hallmark of the 00s.
P.S: I wrote all that while stricken with 'flu…so if it’s a tad 'feverish' then don’t blame me.
Tags: the x files, mulder, scully, tv
- Well I was doing the reacquainting, while she was pretty much 'acquainting' for the first time [back]
- Mark Snow's music also becomes, in these later years, increasingly overbearing and suffocating. [back]
- By this I mean an inversion of gender stereotypes of course. [back]
- Though, of course, Scully’s obstinate scepticism became a bit hard to swallow as the years went on…as the show often, humorously, reminded us. [back]
- Until he got a water bed through a very convoluted set of circumstances. [back]
I too gave up watching after about five years - I only saw a handful of episodes of the last three seasons. I used to like the whole mythology, until it became blatantly obvious that Chris Carter was just making it up as he went along (unlike, say, Joss Whedon, who quite clearly planned Buffy stuff years in advance). That’s one of my problems with Lost, actually - I don’t think the writers have a clue what half the stuff is actually about yet. They think of something cool and then come up with an explanation or background for it later, and after the first few seasons of the X Files it seemed like Chris Carter was doing the same thing.
That said, I did love the X Files for the first few years, for a lot of the reasons you mentioned above. The characters were fantastic, their interactions were always convincing, and the one-off episodes were often amazing. And yeah, Mulder really was an astonishly odd hero by mainstream TV standards, wasn’t he?
April 5th, 2006 at 3:08 pmI think an over-reliance on epic story arcs can lead to the narrative becoming a sprawling mess that lacks the tight, ‘edited’, discipline required for engaging, absorbing episodic television.
I’m a big Buffy fan but I thought Season 7 suffered very badly from an endless “to be continued” feel (as did a lot of Angel). No longer was each 45 segment required to have a beginning, middle, and an end, but (rather) each episode served only as a chunk of a (relentlessly ongoing) 22-part whole.
The best Buffy eps (Hush, Once More With Feeling, Restless etc) struck a perfect balance - being, on the one hand, thoroughly entertaining ‘one-offs’, while moving the story forward dramatically and thematically on the other.
Though The X-Files never went as fully down the single story arc route as Buffy (eventually) did, it’s best moments were invariably those that showed a lightness of touch, a subtleness, a playfulness etc. The more it tried to force a grim seriousness, and engage in grand, unwieldy plotting, the more it found its wonderful characters suffocated by mountains of wearily ‘intense’ exposition.
Still 2 of favourite shows ever though.
April 5th, 2006 at 4:35 pmI totally agree. It’s funny, Season 7 was the first season that I didn’t watch every week when it aired on Sky - my friend Kate downloaded it for me when it aired in the US and then every few weeks she posted me several episodes on CD - and I think that’s why, at the time, I didn’t mind the structure so much. I was watching it in these big two-and-a-half-hour chunks. But in retrospect, the only episodes that really stand out individually are Selfless (the Anya one), Storyteller and Conversations with Dead People. The rest of the season blurs into one big potentials train/Buffy makes a speech/potentials train again/random potential gets killed montage. I did, however, adore the return of the mayor. And also, for geekish reasons, the introduction of Mel’s axe from Fray, which made me and my similarly geeky boyfriend shout “isn’t that….?” as soon as it came on screen. But yeah, they were all just good moments in a too-fast blur.
Still, I think that in the earlier seasons Joss Whedon mastered the season-long story arc. Buffy Season 2 is still my favourite bit of television ever - it’s structured so perfectly and yet most of the episodes work fantastically on their own too. Season 3 did that brilliantly as well. They never quite pulled it off again, although that was also down to the crappy villains of Season 4 and 5….
April 5th, 2006 at 5:06 pmYou’re not the people I offered the V for Vendetta tickets to at the blog awards are you?
April 5th, 2006 at 6:50 pmAgree with you 100% about the X-Files. Agree with you 100% about LOST. Agree with you 100% about Buffy, but, man, you *are* feverish about 24, which IMHO is one of the most exciting series EVER created for TV. :-)
April 5th, 2006 at 8:01 pmStella,
The whole “endless Buffy speechesâ€? aspect of Season 7 was, of course, memorably lampooned in Storyteller, with Andrew turning the camera away from yet another Buffy monologue. Talk about having a nod and a wink at your viewers and almost (tacitly) admitting that the show had become a bore.
I’m with you on Season 2 - also my favourite TV season ever. At times hilarious, at times - as in Passion or Becoming Part 2 - bloody heartrending. When I saw the final scenes of the latter episode for the first time - way back when they first aired on Sky (or TV3?) - I was totally floored! Magic stuff…as was all of Season 3 (you can’t but love the mayor).
Holger,
The problem with 24 (or part of the problem) for me is that it’s too exciting! By that I mean that it’s so relentlessly ‘tense’ and dependent on shocks, twists, and thrills that it quickly becomes deeply tedious.
I just hate the pacing, hate the showy camera-work, hate the overwrought acting. Sorry!
Willing to be convinced that I’m being unfair though…
April 5th, 2006 at 9:38 pmMy problem with 24 is moral. Oh, and it’s tyranically demanding of its viewers from week to week. Hence, my preference for something one-shotty, but with an overarching narrative - early X-Files and some TNG seasons got it right.
April 5th, 2006 at 10:58 pmWhen big story arcs started to become the norm during the 90s - in shows like Babylon5/DS9 etc - I was originally quite excited by the idea. As the years went by, however, it became fairly obvious that the problem with such arcs was that they tended to strangle and suffocate character development and interaction. Everything was surrendered to the plot and one tended to lose the easy charm of those periods of ‘down time’ where characters could grow and become fleshed out (as opposed to merely being tools for ‘action’).
Not only that, but if one didn’t particularly care for the arc in question then the whole season was more or less a write off (See the final season of DS9 for details…shudder).
April 5th, 2006 at 11:23 pmI have, ahem, never seen an episode of Buffy! To all you fans out there that probably seems like an enviable position given that you could pop off and watch it all again for the first time. Swoon.
April 6th, 2006 at 9:08 amI have seen season 1 of 24 - we have every season released thus far on DVD in our flat - and I’d honestly rather clean the bathroom than watch any more of that overblown, ham-acted, uberdramatic, ludicrous & repetitive cack (the proof in that is the contrast between the pile of unwatched 24 discs gathering dust in our living room and our sparkling loo).
You’re not the people I offered the V for Vendetta tickets to at the blog awards are you?
No, we weren’t there, alas!
I’m with you on Season 2 - also my favourite TV season ever. At times hilarious, at times - as in Passion or Becoming Part 2 - bloody heartrending. When I saw the final scenes of the latter episode for the first time - way back when they first aired on Sky (or TV3?) - I was totally floored! Magic stuff…as was all of Season 3 (you can’t but love the mayor).
Passions was the episode that really pulled the rug from under the viewers - I realised that if they would actually kill a (fairly) major character, then no one was safe. They could (and would) do almost anything. And those were in the days when it was much easier to avoid spoilers, so it was a total shock. And poor Giles coming up the stairs with his rose still gets to me…
Becoming Part II is probably my favourite television episode. It’s got everything - tension, genuine fear, the best heroine-fighting-back-when-all-seems-lost moment ever, and a truly devastating ending. And I loved the fact that they finally brought up the loose thread of Xander lying to Buffy about Willow five years later!
I actually interviewed Sarah Michelle Gellar a few years ago and it was one of the weirdest experiences of my life - I’ve interviewed plenty of famous people before, and it’s always odd at first seeing them in the flesh, but having tea with Buffy felt like a dream in which you’re suddenly in your favourite TV show. Incredibly weird and disorientating. She is absolutely tiny in real life, too - I’m 5′2″ and weigh about 8 stone, and she made me feel like a burly giant.
April 6th, 2006 at 10:17 amStellanova,
I’m impressed that you managed to interview Sarah - was it Buffy-related, as she rarely (compared to some others) spoke about the show in interviews. If so, you’re my new hero.
Becoming Part Two was a fine moment in the show, as was Restless and the musical (all mentioned above by Fústar).
And to bring this back to The X Files - why have so many characters been in mortal danger in season 9? John Doggett has (so far - and we’re only up to something like episode 12) had his back broken, and been in a coma; and Reyes has been in a serious car crash, close to having her life support switched off. I like the two characters but don’t really care what happens to them.
As for 24 and LOST - I tried watching them but just couldn’t. I think it says a lot that myself and Fústar got rid of the TV about 2 and a half years ago - (hopefully) never to return.
April 6th, 2006 at 11:44 amStella,
Were you not tempted to challenge her to a fight just so you could go around (proudly) sporting an “I beat up Buffy” T-shirt? I’m sure she’d have seen the funny side of it…
Foolhardy,
I don’t know if I’d go as far as preferring to scrub the jax, but given the choice between watching a season of 24 and cleaning an oven dish with ground in Bisto stains, I’d definitely choose the latter. ‘Twould give me a legitimate reason to wear my precious Marigolds too…
Jess,
Very true about Season 9…it’s starting to turn into ER!
April 6th, 2006 at 12:24 pmfústar, I outgrew the Marigold shame a while back and now happily wear them all the time. I even have a cut-off pair for the car!
I must backtrack on my previous statement (NO not the one about 24 - it’s poo) re Buffy and having never seen it. I did see a thoroughly enjoyable movie of the same title ages ago during my video shop attendant days (I will never have a better job) - well before the tv series appeared methinks. It featured Pee Wee Herman (a hero of mine) if I’m not mistaken. And Rutger Haurer maybe?
April 6th, 2006 at 12:40 pmHe changed his name from Haurer to Hauer to avoid alimony payments.
April 6th, 2006 at 12:42 pmI must get me some of those ‘Car-i-golds’ post haste!
You’re right about the Buffy movie as far as the cast goes. It also stared Donald Sutherland by the way.
While it was written by Joss Whedon (the creator of the TV show) it’s generally seen as a very slapdash, cheesy, and daft precursor to the infinitely more successful/enjoyable TV show that was to follow (Whedon had very little control over what was done with the script). It’s still a kitschy bit of fun though, but has basically nothing to do with the TV show.
Whedon had, until Serenity, pretty dire experiences on movies, as the following explains:
April 6th, 2006 at 12:56 pmWell whether you want to call him Haurer or Hauer he’s still responsible for one of the best ever cult-movie baddies in The Hitcher.
I remember well when you worked in the video shop…man did I envy you (I still do).
April 6th, 2006 at 1:04 pmOn first viewing The Hitcher gave me the runs. With Blade Runner my opinion of Mr Hauer (aka Haurer) was sealed. Premature perhaps but there you go.
On the subject of vampires: I presume you’ve seen Near Dark? It’s been years but it certainly did it for me. I think the director went on to make Point Break but, hey, we all make mistakes.
yup, that video shop job was sweet.
April 6th, 2006 at 1:17 pmOn the strength of those two performances alone Mr. Hauer/Haurer has (rightfully) passed into cult legend. Both are films I can happily rewatch again and again.
I have indeed seen Near Dark (a number of times) and got Anchor Bay’s natty DVD release there a while back. Terrific stuff, and (coincidentally enough) both it and The Hitcher were written by the same guy (Eric Red).
April 6th, 2006 at 1:56 pmDon’t forget Hauer’s Euro-ouevre, not least the Legend of the Holy Drinker.
April 6th, 2006 at 4:31 pmIt was when The Grudge came out, but she didn’t seem to have a problem talking about Buffy at all, which was great, because I had worried that she mightn’t be keen on mentioning the B-word. Alas, I couldn’t put most of the Buffy stuff into the finished interview, because it was for a general mainstream audience - the IT magazine - who probably wouldn’t really care.
April 6th, 2006 at 6:24 pmPerhaps I should have said that by IT I meant Irish Times, not a technical publication…
April 6th, 2006 at 6:25 pmIndeed. He’s done his fair share of schlock, take-the-money-and-run stuff, but when he’s given the right role he can be pretty mesmerising.
April 6th, 2006 at 7:13 pmMonstrous movements are afoot in Northumberland.
April 7th, 2006 at 3:14 pmWhat ever became of the intrepid Irish sailors and their shadowy stowaway?
April 7th, 2006 at 3:17 pmThey landed safe and sound and were recently pictured on the cover of the Limerick Post.
No sign of the shadow, but then I doubt he’s a land-lubber.
April 7th, 2006 at 3:57 pmMaybe he’s living in the coal shed.
April 7th, 2006 at 4:44 pm