Long overdue rant part 2: The X-Files

Moving onto the 90's, my television obsession of choice was The X-Files. And I mean obsession. I had every episode on VHS (taped off the the TV as it first ran). I even collected the TV Guide adds in the beginning. I still remember that it premiered on September 10th, 1993 and that I wasn't at home at the time, but was camping with my parents and watched it both at the campground and later on the tape I had set at home.
On top of it being really good television that spoke to my sci-fi obsession without being self-parody (well, until they intentionally self-parodied, which in and of itself was hilarious) I was insanely attracted to Gillian Anderson (by 1995, what man wasn't?). It helped that this show started at a time in my life of great change (I started dating my first girlfriend that October). It also ended the spring before I ended my first engagement. So I followed it from Sophomore year of high school all the way through my first two years of working in the "real" world.
The X-Files was broken down into three types of episodes: Conspiracy arc, monster of the week, and later the "comedy" episodes (which, with the exception of the "Dreamland" two part episode were all monster of the week).
The seasons themselves, in my horribly biased opinion, can also be separated.
Season 1 was the "introduction" which basically introduced us to the main characters, gave Chris Carter time to gain some traction, and showed us the beginning of the conspiracy.
Season 2 was shifted to accommodate both the corner they wrote themselves into in season 1 (they shut down the x-files division in the season finale due to the uncertainty of season 2, at least it would have had closure) and Gillian Anderson's pregnancy. This led to the creation of the "Scully is abducted" sub-plot which really gave birth to the overall conspiracy ARC and gave the show its real direction. Keep that in mind for later.
Seasons three through five were basically the high point of the show - the conspiracy got deeper, the Darin Morgan episodes were in here, and the show gained so much popularity that Fox agreed to make a movie.
Here is where the problem starts - Chris Carter wants to turn the show into a movie franchise, but Fox isn't ready to let go of its sure-fire television success so they agree to continue the contract through season seven.
Several things happen which make me think things would be wildly different if Carter got his way:
They closed The X-Files and burned down the office in the Season Five finale.
For the first time since Season 1there was no "To Be Continued" at the end of the season finale
The movie itself, which of course I loved because it was, well, The X-Files, was a pretty good movie, felt like a movie, but there were definitely episodes that were better. If this, however, were the first movie in a SERIES OF MOVIES, I could see X-Files, Part 2 being something similar to X-Men 2 and The Dark Knight in its ability to expand on the first movie. There was even a part of the movie edited out and re-added on the video version that had The Well-Manicured Man (played by John Neville) basically explained why Mulder's sister was kidnapped and what happened to her (or her clone). Carter originally edited this out because he knew he was going back to series (the movie was filmed before the decision was made to have a season 6) and he would have and need more time to explain this.
Seasons six and seven were the "LA" years. Duchovny started getting big for his britches and decided he wanted to start dictating and be closer to his wife in LA, so he basically strong-armed getting the show moved from Vancouver for shooting to LA. The first scene of the show it was obvious they were filming somewhere else.
Don't get me wrong, there are some fantastic season six and seven episodes (two that stand out are "Monday" from season six which very subtly referenced an earlier episode without making you realize it, and the episode from season seven with the Genie).
However, the team realized they needed to do something different, so they decided to basically explain the whole conspiracy, kill it off, then change it. When they did this the first time it worked brilliantly. I even liked that they tried to turn Mulder into a "Christ-like" figure, mainly because there have always been some religious undertones in the show (personified at times by the Scully character). They also left some things up to you to decide, not clearly explaining why Mulder becomes psychic but giving you pieces to draw your own conclusion.
This led to Season seven, which was the end of the contract obligations for the bulk of the actors. This very much felt like the "last" season by the loose ends they tied up (what REALLY happened to Mulder's sister, which Carter basically said is what would be told at the end of the series) and other episodes that hinted at Mulder and Scully finally transforming their relationship beyond "partners." In fact I think the season finale of season seven would serve as one of the best series finales I have ever seen.
It left plenty of mysteries, which is GREAT for a show all about mysteries. It would also allow Carter to go back to turning this into a movie franchise.
Fox got greedy and wouldn't let it go, so we had Seasons 8 and 9. I'm very conflicted about these last two seasons. Duchovny was only in a handful of episodes, and the ones he was in were actually pretty entertaining. He left a bit of mystery as to what happened to his character.
I also really enjoyed Robert Patrick and his character. At this point it made sense to make Scully the believer, and John Doggett was a great skeptic for her. They disagreed a lot more, but he played the character solid and although most fans of the show didn't like him, I enjoyed his character.
Then mid-season they shifted. Big time. Mulder came back, dead. Then he was alive again because they figured out how to bring him back. After three months in a coffin. Ahem. They also introduced the "Super-Soldiers", aka the new new conspiracy which basically had Alien replicants infiltrating the government and the FBI. I think Duchovny was in two more episodes after they "brought him back" since they fired his character (which sucks if you think about it. You're abducted and they do horrible experiments on you. You die. You are brought back to life, just to get fired. Actually that's kind of what happened to David Duchovny's career in real life, so....
And they brought in Anabeth Gish, who I didn't mind looking at, but wasn't much of an actress or character. Suddenly it went into season nine as "X-Files: The Next Generation" with Scully being the "elder" and Doggett and Reyes being the new agents. America didn't buy it, and the show was allowed to finish out its ninth season. However this allowed the last half of season nine to be pretty enjoyable, since the show was ending we got to see some cool episodes that dove into Doggett's back story, revisited the Brady Bunch house (with David Faustino) and there was even a weird episode with Burt Reynolds and a very sad but well executed episode where Scully gives up here baby.
So then there's the series finale, which could have been one hour long had they not decide to spend the first hour explaining everything that happened up to that point. So basically Mulder is tried and convicted for killing a military officer and is sentenced to death. Of course this officer is a "super-soldier" and can't actually be killed. But he's convicted, so everyone gets together and breaks him out of jail. The show ends with Mulder and Scully on the run, but now Mulder is more spiritual because he believes that the dead are not lost to us. Or something. The ending of the episode was a nice throw-back to the pilot, but still was way too convoluted.

The part of the blog where I actually talk about what I said I was going to talk about
Sorry for the long intro, but I wanted to give everyone an idea on where I was going with The X-Files: I Want to Believe. When I first heard about the movie coming out, I was concerned. Since the series finale a lot had changed in my life and I was a different person. I also on a more practical level didn't know HOW they were going to pull it off. There were rumors that it took place during the show's timeline, which made no sense since they were visibly a lot older. Then it was confirmed that no, it takes place after.
How, I thought? I like to think I'm creative, but I couldn't creatively think of a way they would work this one out. So how did they do it?
Quick plot synopsis - an FBI agent is attacked and kidnapped during a rather ridiculously snow Virginia winter and the only lead is a psychic, who also happens to be a convicted pedophile and former priest, who says he can help the FBI. We flash to Scully, who's now a doctor in a catholic hospital. They give her a sub-plot about a boy with a terminal disease that she is trying to treat. She gets a call from Xhibit the FBI agent saying that they need Mulder back because they want to find this agent and this case is x-files like. (None of the other characters are even referenced. That would have been such an easy thing to do and would probably have gotten more fans involved, but I digress). So she goes to a house where Mulder with a beard is living and tells him the FBI wants him back for this case and will drop all his charges (didn't realize the FBI had the ability to pardon people who were tried and convicted in military court for murdering military officers, but OK I'll shut my brain off sorry). So I know they had to fix that major issue somehow, but I just wish they could have been smarter, because part of the reason The X-Files was so successful was that it WAS an intelligent show. This show hit big right at the time that darker shows with more cerebral fare were getting successful as a response to the big, dumb action shows of the 80's (see what I did there? I referenced a previous blog. I am AWESOME). So seeing this take a silly plot hole out was disappointing.
Aside from that, I was one of the few people that enjoyed it (i was also one of the few that saw it - I went to a 10pm show opening night and the theater was 3/4 empty). It would have made a really good episode of the show, and beside the pardon in the beginning was a standalone episode (aka monster of the week) versus the previous movie which was very conspiracy heavy. I know Carter still has dreams about making this back into a movie franchise, but something tells me Fox is pretty much done with this franchise.
Now let me tell you what I REALLY liked about it. First I'll get the plot out of the way. Scully keeps saying to Mulder we should just leave and retire or whatever. Mulder and Scully help the priest who is right. They don't find the FBI woman but they do find another victim. Walter Skinner pops up in super-cameo mode and helps them find Mulder just in time to save the girl and him (this was also kind of a nice reversal of the "Scully as Damsel in Distress" formula that sometimes found its way into the show). So at the very end Scully's faith is renewed, Mulder is clean shaven and I guess not wanted for murder anymore. Then the credits roll over a background of ice melting (the whole movie takes place during snow). Eventually it becomes grass, trees and then pans back and is flying over an ocean in a tropical setting, and closes in on a row boat with them in bathing suits (looks kinda CGI) then they look up at the camera and wave as it fades.
This along with what Scully says in the movie strike me. When Mulder rightfully questions "why should I go back, how do I know this isn't just a way of smoking me out" she responds "they're just happy to have you out of their hair. No one cares anymore" it dawned on me. This isn't the beginning of the movie franchise. This is the end of the franchise itself. Lets ignore one of the other writers saying "the series has 2012 being the alien invasion, and we're considering making another movie for that" and think about it. The series ended basically a mess. This movie allows a much happier ending for the title characters, who after 15 years (yikes!) of crap and heartache finally get to go and retire and be happy together. What surprises me even more is I REALLY like this ending to the franchise.
The show was a product of the 90's. It BELONGS in the 90's. The feelings and events that happened in that decade are different then those in the decade that just passed. Trying to make The X-Files 2012 is counter-productive because the times are different and it just doesn't fit. Making a big budget "X-Files! Invasion 2012!" movie would be silly because the show was never about showing outcomes like that. The only cool thing about the 2012 date is that it was considered at least half way through the show because a nameless character in an easily missed line in season 5 basically says that that is the year of colonization (told you this was an obsession). I like that the date was set before all the 2012 hype kicked into high gear. For that its creative. To bank on it now for another sequel would be exploitative at best.
So I'm sorry to see it go, to put these characters to rest, but as an adult I realize that this should happen more often. If it would be popular to end things (Lost is a GREAT example) at the right time and NOT try to spin off or remake it, we may have more original ideas in Hollywood. Life isn't a series of "reboots." Good storytelling isn't either.