The X-Files was one of those shows that came on mostly when I was still a kid. So I watched, but not all of it and a lot of what I did see I remember fuzzily now. I do remember my parents not allowing me to watch a couple of times and I remember being scared by it at least a few times. I needed a tv show to watch right now and since there is a new movie coming soon I figured I’d give this one a rewatch.
Pilot (1×01) – You can tell this is a television pilot filmed in the early 90s. Not only does it scream 90s, you can see the cast and crew still trying to figure out just how to snuggle into these stories. A lot of the episode feels awkward, like they don’t have it down just right yet, especially the movements of Mulder and Scully. It’s still not a terrible mystery though and it is a not altogether shabby introduction to the series. I especially enjoyed the moments at the beginning where they run down the background and resumes of Mulder and Scully and how they got to where they are.
Deep Throat (1×02) – The show already looks a lot better in its first episode after the pilot. While it is still obviously rusty and early on, it has a more polished look. This is another mythology episode, with Mulder finding an Area-51 type military base and even spotting a UFO, before having it wiped from his memory by…the air force? The special effects are shaky at best, but still work because of the atmosphere (like Mara said). Seth Green guest stars as a stoner who helps Mulder onto the military base.
I bet Mulder’s new “friend” will pop up again and again.
Watching these two episodes I was really struck by how young Scully looked. In some scenes she looked like a college student. She looked like someone my age. Then I found out that Anderson was only twenty-four when the show started! She really is about my age at this time (at least the actress is, the character is obviously at least four years older than that).
Squeeze (1×03) – The first monster of the week episode. As someone who is already greatly familiar with the characters, it is a lot of fun to watch how they initially introduced Mulder and Scully to the audience and how their relationship develops. There is a lot in this episode about Mulder’s reputation as “Spooky Mulder” and the effect that reputation has on everyone around him and even on Scully through association. The main subplot centers on Scully and an old academy friend of hers, of course in the end she has to choose between him and climbing the ladder herself and Mulder. The actual monster was creepy enough, a century old serial killer who can stretch and squeeze himself through any opening.
Conduit (1×04) - An alien abduction story. This episode focuses mostly on introducing us to Mulder’s backstory, specifically the possible abduction of his younger sister. Throughout the episode we see Mulder relating his own experience to that of the family as he looks at photos and talks to the abducted girl’s brother. You can see his dedication here, both toward solving this specific case (being very personal to Mulder himself) and toward the X-Files in general. We see that Mulder’s obsessions with things that go bump in the night is a direct consequence of the loss of his sister as a child. The final scene with Scully listening to Mulder’s hypnotic recollections of the abduction on tape while Mulder cries in a church over a picture of himself and his sister is really affecting. Not a very scary episode, but definitely an emotional one that fleshes out Mulder’s character very well. We can see how he became “Spooky” clearly now.
Knowing that Mulder’s obsession with his sister is a continuing plotline, I’m looking forward to seeing more. Although I seem to remember the buzz around the conclusion of this story to be a let down. Still, I always thought that Mulder and his sister were really the heart of The X-Files, the driving force, so it will be interesting to see if that holds up.
Once again we see the FBI’s attitude toward Mulder and Scully having to choose between supporting her partner or feeding him to the wolves. Despite backing Mulder, she does her best to reign him in on an obviously emotional case, perhaps even doubting whether she should be allowing him to continue.
I was surprised to see Mulder in a church. I always thought he was a believer in everything but religion, while Scully was a skeptic of everything but religion. Although I do seem to remember the pair of them crossing over at the end of the series, with Scully becoming more believing in the supernatural and Mulder more accepting of religion.
And I just have to say, Mulder and Scully are totally rocking the shoulder pads at this point. Not just Scully, but Mulder too. Hilarious 90s fashion.