Has the X-FILES Aged Well ?
 

I only saw episodes here and there when it aired. I'm thinking of buying the dvds sets starting from Season 1.

Just wondering how well the show has aged ? especially compared to the many similar shows it has inspired.

The conspiracy stuff is just as stupid as ever, but I think a lot of the freak of the week episodes are still amazing. I can't think of anything really essential past season 4 or 5...and I certainly wouldn't recommend going beyond season 6.

Yeah, the storyline conspiracy stuff is junk. the un-related spooky stuff is pretty much gold. Pretty much dies off after season 4

Definately the first couple of seasons as people have said are still amazing. I recommend it.

It's still too early - wait 'till it gets as old as Twilight Zone is and then we'll see...

That's fine and good if we're trying to determine if the show was a classic, but it seems that the guy just wants to buy the DVDs and is trying to get a gauge as to whether it's a decent purchase.

I'd say that the first three seasons of the show will become classics.

Seasons 4 and 5 will be viewed as slightly flawed, but still excellent television.

Seasons 6-8 will be seen as the collapse of the show.

Season 9's negatives should be burned.

I guess that I thought the OP was asking if they show felt dated, not just if the quality holds up.

For example, I can still watch Buffy season 1 and not feel like it was a long time ago.

I realize the show came on several years after the X-Files-which is where I would say the show does seem to feel "older" than it really is when you start from season 1.

I see the cars and the clothes and just the way things look and it feels like it has been even longer than it has.

But there are plenty of stand alone snoozers like "Space" from season 1. While there are gems like "Eve".

I don't mind the conspiracy story at all, but, as mentioned when it did finally start to fall apart...it really fell apart. I tend to not point to specific seasons, but I started to get a bad feeling when they introduced the bees when the stung everyone.

When the super-soldiers were first introduced the show had gone off the rails.

And I was never satisfied with how the ended things with Samantha.

So, yes, the quality went down after season 5 for sure. But I'm very happy to have all nine seasons-only season 9 is complete junk, with maybe just a few good episodes and that terrible]y disappointing finale.

Same here. Sometimes I'll happen upon an episode, and even though I may have seen it once or twice before, it's just off kilter enough, and funny enough to keep me watching. Definately recommend the episodes before Duchovny went off to become a "star".

Seasons 1 through 5 will always be considered great television.

The first three seasons were the best, but after that you get diminishing returns. It starts going downhill somewhere around season 4 or 5, and just keeps falling; it never gets better.

As for how well it's aged, I will occasionally watch some older episodes on cable and I find myself sort of shocked just how low budget the early episodes come off. At the time, it seemed like the series was big and cinematic, and now it looks like they shot it someone's backyard with a camcorder. But there's still quite a bit of good stuff in those early seasons. Even if the aforementioned "Space" seems like it was shot after-hours in an office building instead of NASA HQ.

I agree with most people here. First three seasons were some of the best TV ever. Seasons 4 and 5 were pretty good. For me, six and seven had a few gems and are now worth purchasing since they aren't $150 anymore. At this point however, it is being compared to it's own glory days, which may or may not be fair since again... in it's glory days, it was some of the best stuff ever. Season 8 was a mess and I only watched the last episode of season 9.

I think it has aged pretty well. I never thought the special effects were anything great, even when they originally aired. The conspiracy does slump off after the movie (between seasons 5 and 6?) and David Duchovny's ego-driven departure sent the show into an unrecoverable tail-spin... which is unfortunate because it gave the writers an opportunity to revive the show with two NEW "Mulder and Sully"'s in Dogget and Reyes (reversing the believer and the skeptic). However, Carter was too busy tending to his other failing shows (see The Lone Gunman, Millenium and Harsh Realm) to provide any real guidance to The X-Files.

I still occassionally watch the entire series all the way through - well I've done it three times now - so I'd say it holds up. You may want to hold out on a purchase though. The price drop has happened, but you may find a SERIES set soon?

And in the meantime, any word on them moving forward with the 2nd movie? Haven't heard a peep about it in about a year now. :( I'd love it if they could give us more closer to the series finale with a good "freak of the week" movie!

Pretty much sums up my exact thoughts. I'd only add that Season 8 had a few good stand-alone eps that gave me hope. Only to have those hopes lead nowhere. :)


But, yeah, that's a good description of how the show runs. I have all of the seasons (because I'm a whore), but I rarely make it into 6-9 when watching.

I'd glad to see a lot of people that recognize problems with the show in the fourth and fifth seasons. I always found the move to California too pat of a reason for the show's decline. Those seasons started getting a lot jokier, undercutting the realism that was carefully cultivated in the first three seasons. If they do make a second movie, I hope they're able to capture the feel of those seasons, and I hope they film it in Vancouver.

None of those similar shows can hold the x-files jock.

And yes it has aged well, me and the better half just recently got finished with season 1-6.

I think everything after Scully's 'makeover' has aged fairly well. The first two seasons have some great episodes, but there definitely is a more low budget, almost 80's look to them (even though it was early 90s it was still the earlier days of Fox). And Gillian Anderson's hairstyle and wardrobe look like 80's holdovers as well.

Oh.

And I felt season 8 had more good episodes than season 7.

This is why I only own seasons 1-5 on DVD.

Cheers people, i've decided to get seasons 1-3 on dvd to start with.

Ive just checked Gillian and David on IMDB, gee their careers really went down the crapper after the X Files. David never become the big film star.

This is the vibe I'm getting from the "numbers" on Lost. They seem to have become the backbone of the show, whether intentional or not, much like Samantha was on the X-files. Because of this, also like the X-files, the answer will NEVER live up to anyone's expectations.

Another problem with Samantha is that they dragged it out too long and by the time a resolution was presented, the show was already on the down slide and by that time many didn't even care anymore.

As for the show holding up, this is going to sound like a bullshit answer but, the ones that hold up hold up really well, the ones that don't really fall flat. Probably a 70-30 split.

I actually loved the Mythology/Conspiracy episodes. In my opinion, if you're going to buy most of the seasons, you should just buy them all, or else some of the previous episdodes you watched will be pointless. A lot of people are saying the show went down after season 4 or 5. I know a lot of people whose favorite season is 6 or 7, so it's just a matter of opinion. I do agree that season 8 & 9 are a little sub-par, but I would still recommend getting all the seasons. I guess it depends on how hardcore of a fan you are.

Buy the mythology sets.

Most of season 1 and 2 are boring "monster of the week" episodes.

Season 3, 4, 5, and 6(the first half of it) are the best.

Buy volumes 2 and 3 of the mythology set.

This way you get to see the most of the best characters on the show: Cancer man, Alex Krycek, the Well Mannicured Man, etc.

That's fine... if you don't mind that the mythology never really had a resolution.

:hscratch: Some of those are the best episodes of the series.

Squeeze
Ice
Eve
Beyond the Sea
Darkness Falls
Tooms
The Host
Duane Berry/Ascension

just to name a few.