The X-Files

Shadowy conspiracies and the supernatural... I was a huge fan of this show and its fantastic mix of fascinating mythology and stand-alone episode weirdness. And it, of course, taught me two important lessons: you should trust no one, and the truth is out there. Ah, the nostalgia!

A landmark TV series by any standard. Combined sharp writing, great acting, and an evocatively cinematic look to create a fascinating, paranoia-fueled experience. Not every episode was a winner, but when it was good, it was amazing.

TV: Seasons 1-5 represent classic TV - some of the best written and produced entertainment ever. To a certain extent, it's fair to say that 'you had to be there' to experience the best of a cult sci-fi show thriving on its symbiosis with burgeoning internet sub-culture. Whilst the episodes continue to thrill, the feverish speculation and obsession of the 90s X-Files experience is a novelty lost to the ages. You can (and maybe should) stop watching after S6. S1:90|S2:93|S3:95|S4:93|S5:97|S6:92

I am part of a unique age-group of men and women around the world, whose left eye will twitch whenever someone mentions 'The X-Files', because this was the first time we learned that grown-ups lie. 'The X-Files' was NOT based on real FBI files. There are no moth men! It's all bullshit! So when all is said and done, and you have to ask yourself "Is this 'The Wire'?" You'll answer: That's a stupid fucking question. Don't ever talk to me again.

Until Lost this was my favorite. There are a bit too many monster-of-the-week episodes, but I can accept that. And the X-files theme still makes me excited.

Inconsistent, dragging and dramatically repetitive but priceless as a celebration of genre fiction. Pretty amazingly for such a long run it manages to be interesting and engaging most of the time. Massively commendable in its openness and generally very well produced. I would have to admit to some nostalgia points but seriously, this used to creep the shit out of me as a child.

OK to be honest I have seen very little of this program. But what I am going to reveal to you now is true, really. The very first time I ever saw this program occurred when I flicked to the channel at the precise moment when the character of Scully was bent over, getting a tattoo on her ass, seemingly enjoying it a great deal. At that point I wanted to believe. But I believe now it was just providence that I tuned in at the very moment something rather unusual for television was taking place.

One of my favourite shows of all time. This came out when I was 15, during the pinnacle of my occult and supernatural phase. I ate this shit up like candy. This was "Freak of the Week" before it was a thing. The seasons with Duchovny and Anderson were great, but I kinda lost interest once Duchovny left and Robert Patrick came on board. At least Mulder came back for the series finale (and then for the reboot!) The "COPS" episode is still one of my faves.

A poor choice to continue without the real star drags this down. Although the story arc are entertaining, a handful of amazing one offs really are the highlight of this series. Their intermittent silly fun attitudes help make the grim leads interesting and beloved.

One of the best shows in TV history. They won't ever make a show like this again.

There's no denying that when X-Files came around it set new standards for how well produced TV could look, and me being a young teenager, its extensive sic-fi universe resonated deeply. Still, the lack of plot progression, as evident in the almost none-existing character development (Scully still being a sceptic even after being chased by monsters and kidnapped by aliens), slowly took the air out of the series. I stopped watching somewhere around season five.

I mostly stopped watching the original run during season 6, but throughout 2015 I've been re-watching the entire series (currently halfway through 5) and I still love it. There's plenty of clunkers but some of the greatest television ever made is found here (most of the Darin Morgan episodes for example). My rating might change as I approach the end but this is one of the few shows that still feels important to me.

One of the most consistently good series out there - after S1 progressively gets better and better. Great production, guest stars, writing, acting and WOW the chemistry between Duchovny and Anderson - out of this world. Cannon and non-cannon episodes, for the bigger part are top quality. After S5 which started to show symptoms of dragging, S6 took a different turn and evolved the show - brilliant. At a point the non-cannon eps became more interesting than the cannon. Even S8 is great. Awesome.

A few gems hidden among all the pulpy dumbness. Seasons 7-9 are embarrassing.

Based on random viewing of maybe 30 episodes when it was airing; didn't watch the show at all once Mulder left so I'm assuming it got terrible. Fairly hit and miss, the monster of the week kind of outings were compelling enough and occasionally fantastic (as well as the incredibly fucked up for 90's broadcast television "Home" episode). The overarching sister abduction/grand conspiracy plot on the other hand was a chore. By the end of his run Duchovny was phoning it in like a champ.

Not so great as a series, but there are some seriously good episodes out there. That’s the truth.

Robert Patrick plays a great character that didn't get great scripts. There really aren't any good episodes after Season 6 or so. The mythos episodes don't make a lot of sense when viewed as a whole. But the series did a great job of mixing in episodes full of drama, horror, and suspense, with episodes that were light-hearted and tongue-in-cheek. Duchovny and Anderson have great chemistry. I'd not watch the entire series, but find a guide online and watch only the "classic" episodes.

It was never an all-time favorite of mine, unlike some of my friends back in the day. I'd say I've seen 25% of the episodes, tops, pretty much all in reruns. But I think that's enough to rate it. It has plenty of sci-fi/horror-ish pleasure to it. Good chemistry between Duchovny and Anderson, of course; classic spooky title sequence. It was clearly before TV writers had learned how to properly pace out larger myth arcs and reveals, though.

Starts great, gets even better, slips a little, picks itself up and comes back just as good if you like irony, then proceeds to get generally worse. I stopped watching, but man do I still love this show.

Just ignore the last few seasons and enjoy the ride.

One of the most innovative shows of its time. The X-Files dared you to believe in the impossible and pushed the boundaries of what is possible for TV and a show of this nature. Cliched at times for a serial drama it overall kept the pacing fresh and invigorating where you could not guess what was coming next. Duchovny and Anderson are believable and juxtaposed each other perfectly setting the bar high right from the pilot. An enjoyable series.

This is an admittedly very inconsistent show but when it shines, it really shines. It helps that the two leads are both awesome and work together super well. The production is solid too, I also forgot how much genuinely good camerawork is in this. It does suffer from the era of early-internet conspiracy theories and as a result is quite dated. Still, this is one of the best science fiction programs ever made.

Encouraged a kind of magical thinking that no doubt aided Clinton(s) & Dick Morris in decimating the Left and Trump & co. in re-Birchifying the Right, but while emphasizing that such speculation's only possible in the America of Tuskegee, Paperclip, & The Bomb; also, crucially, that the chief engine of the 'UFO phenomenon' may well be government disinformation. Strongest of all is feeling for freaks of all kinds. Darin Morgan's episodes, particularly Chung & Bruckman, are truly wonderful.

(Estimated rating long after watching.) Unfortunately, a bit unfocused. Basically, we have a bunch of horror stories with various tenors and the alien topic. What I mostly enjoyed, was the horror stories.

From fun monster-of-the-week episodes to super serious, seasons-long conspiracy arcs this show could pretty much do everything and did it well. Absolute solid first 6 seasons. Half of season 7 and all of seasons 8 and 9 are pure garbage but the 11th and final one includes just enough ingredients to wash away that terrible taste.

Made it through the first six or seven seasons.

Seen a couple of OK episodes (stretchy guy and one about fungus) but rest I've seen were balls.

Pretty much what everyone else says. 1-6 are sublime, 7-9 ranges from passable to insufferable, especially 9 which was hell to get through. I am not feeling optimistic about the new season.

& YCl3

not flawless classic.

The X-Files is a TV classic that wouldn't really hold up today. There are 2 aspects to the show; the alien mythology arc, that spans (or is sparsely distributed across) several seasons and includes conspiracies, intrigue, and several instances of surprise family. I personally enjoyed this side of the show more. And then there are the case-of-the-week episodes, which vary wildly in quality, but contain some of the best (usually comical) episodes.

It is a little dated nowadays, but full marks for revolutionizing television & crafting a remarkable story & work of art. Man, Fox really goes bonkers in those later seasons but we’ll never not love Scully.

only ever watched one episode. I think I remember it had something to do with a tree. never got quite much into this

Another drama I'll never understand. Gillian Anderson has gone onto do great work in The Fall and Hannibal, Vince Gilligan created Breaking Bad, and Chris Carter was at least partially responsible for what Millennium eventually became, plus a few of the episodes (especially the Wong/Morgan ones) are legitimately impressive, but there's too much dead weight to recommend it to anybody. This is what TV was like before HBO, back when they had to pump out twenty-two episodes a year or sometimes more.

masterpiece

Scooby Doo for the older kids.

Ah, se as últimas temporadas não tivessem fodido o resultado geral...

Watched a couple of episodes and was immediately turned off by the show. All I remember every episode. "There out there Scully". It's a government conspiracy and the people need to know the truth. The truth is out there.

Best thing of the show is how it set on a line between different interpretation. On the long run might be a bit repetitive, but overall it is very differentiated.

Season 1: 80/100 Season 2: 100/100 Season 3: 100/100 Season 4: 80/100 Season 5: 100/100 Season 6: 90/100 Season 7: 80/100 Season 8: 80/100 Season 9: 60/100

So I went back and watched every single episode and I will say that the memory of 90s era X-files is far better than the overwhelming majority of the episodes. At best a handful stand out enough to be novel and unnerving. They are the episodes where Carter didn't really try to explain or make sense of what was happening, but exploited lo-fi special effects effectively. The rest of it? Bad acting, bad special effects and, of course, the writing: "Tell them about your DNA." "I have alien DNA."

It's probably mostly just thanks to childhood nostalgia, but this is the perfect comfort food TV to me. Just cozy as hell to watch.

great series

Very worthy genre piece at its best, but it's quite inconsistent. 77777766666

massively inconsistent. works best when aproached with more humour in the middle seasons than the dead serious of the first few.

This show has tons of filler and almost every episode has at least one aspect that has aged beyond poorly. However I still really enjoy it. Some episodes are very funny and enjoyable to watch.