Thank you for articulating my thoughts better than I did! This is exactly what I meant. And I probably to certainly would watch a reboot if/when they did one, if only out of curiosity
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I love the X-Files, definitely up there as one of my favorite shows. The way it kind of pioneered the monster-of-the-week type stories, you can definitely see it bleed a little bit into NuWho.
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I was a massive fan when it was airing in the 90s. I had episode guide books, quiz books etc. I bought the DVD box set years and years ago and tried to rewatch it. I couldn’t get back into it. Something wasn’t clicking for me. I did do a rewatch of the main “Mythology” episode though a few years ago. For me, I think it’s a fond memory that will stay that way.
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Me and my friend have been working through this together, and we watched the first 2 episodes of s4 tonight. I honestly think it’s my 2nd favourite tv show of all time (no. 1 is Doctor Who of course), I love it so so much! Mulder and scully are so weird (affectionate) and scully is quickly becoming one of my all time favourite characters 
I love that the seasons are so long, it allows for so much character development
I’m really intrigued by the current story arc and I hope it sticks the landing, I would hate to be disappointed by another tv show[1]
stares at buffy ↩︎
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Yay, more X-Files fans! I’m exactly the same, The X-Files is my number two favourite TV show of all time, and I think it holds up incredibly well for the most part. In terms of pure vibes, I think it’s really unrivalled (I love the spookiness and 90s-ness of it all), and it has so many memorable episodes, all anchored by a fantastic leading duo. I especially love how the show gets more experimental as it goes on - you’ve already seen some of that with Humbug in season 2 and Darin Morgan’s other episodes in season 3, but things get even more out there format- and tone-wise from season 4 onwards 
Absolutely, Mulder and Scully are an incredible pairing, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have chemistry for days. I totally agree with you on the season length as well. It does mean the quality can be a bit up and down at times, but it really gives the characters and the world of the show room to breathe in a way you don’t really get nowadays on TV.
I’m not going to say anything specific arc-wise, because I don’t want to spoil or influence you, but I will say that in my mind, the show isn’t about the arcs at the end of the day - it’s about Mulder and Scully, and all the weird supernatural stuff they investigate on a weekly basis. Some of the individual “monster-of-the-week” episodes are really fantastic pieces of television, essentially mini-movies in a lot of cases, and they’re mostly more memorable to me than the season arcs. There’s nothing wrong with being invested in the arcs, but I don’t think they’re where the heart of the show lies.
What have been your favourite episodes of the show so far, and what have you thought of the different seasons? Anything you’re particularly hoping to see going forward?
stares at buffy ↩︎
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I wouldn’t say I’m invested in the arc, I’m more interested in the development of the characters in relation to the wider story developments. How will mulder react now his mother is healed and will he find out she was only healed to placate him? What are the consequences for scully because of Her investigations into this smallpox tagging system thing?
The ones that stand out to me so far are:
Squeeze (so creepy)
Ice (really tense, especially at the end)
Beyond the sea (really great character stuff for scully)
Duane Barry scully abduction episodes in s2 (so tense and so sad, but brilliant)
Clyde buckmans final repose (really sad)
Quagmire (I watched this with a few friends and we found it hilarious. Poor scully’s dog 
)
I’ve also really enjoyed the last episode of s3 + the first episode of s4 (intriguing arc developments)
I don’t think there have been many I’ve actively disliked, which is fantastic!
I think I like s3 the best so far? If I had to rank them it would be 3 > 2 > 1. As the seasons have gone on, mulder and scully have gotten much closer, which I enjoy more (although their s1 dynamic was really fun!)
I would love to see scully having more focus/being more active. Sometimes it feels like she is following mulder; he gets calls from contacts, his sister, father and mother are all linked to the plot, he runs off chasing crazy leads, and scully is just left behind. Obviously it’s not like that all the time, and she still does a lot in the more standard monster of the week stuff, and I did love her doing the investigation into Jeremiah smith’s files. When she was presenting her (scientific) evidence to those guys and skinner, I thought “yes! She’s caught the delusional [1]conspiracy bug from mulder and she doesn’t know it!”
I say delusional—they’re usually right ↩︎
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You’ve definitely got some interesting stuff coming up in response to these plotlines in the next few seasons - the relationship between Mulder and his mother, as well as the fallout of Scully’s investigations and experiences on the X-Files, are big threads running through the next few seasons, if I remember rightly. You’ll definitely see Scully become more active as the show goes on as well, and there comes a point a few seasons down the line where her role gets even bigger. Again, I don’t want to spoil any specifics, but I think you’ve got the right attitude when you say that you’re most interested in the development of the characters, because that’s the best part of the season arcs.
Love all the ones you’ve called out here. Beyond the Sea and Quagmire actually form two of my top three episodes of the whole show - the latter is as close as the X-Files gets to being cosy, and it’s almost a comfort watch for me, while the former is an absolutely barnstorming character piece for Scully, with a genuinely fantastic villain and some electrifying scenes (that intro!). Squeeze is genuinely very creepy, and Clyde Bruckman is funny, sad and beautiful at the same time (it’s usually regarded as the best episode of the show’s entire run). I personally also love Ghost in the Machine (for being 90s as heck), Darkness Falls (for having a very different setting, and for that ending), The Host (because the Flukeman is one of the show’s all-time best monsters), and the other Darin Morgan episodes Humbug, War of the Coprophages and Jose Chung’s From Outer Space (for being hilarious, and thought-provoking to boot).
I agree with your season rankings as well - the show just gets better and better throughout the first three seasons. And if you enjoy seeing Mulder and Scully’s dynamic develop, you’ll definitely want to keep watching 
Please keep coming back and posting in the thread as you go through, if you can - as you can probably tell, I’ve got loads of thoughts about the X-Files (not quite as many as Doctor Who, but it’s pretty close), and it’s great to hear the opinions of someone going through the series for the first time.
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I loved this one too! The isolated forest setting created a lot of tension. Bugs freak me out so much though!
Me and my friends found out the hard way that watching this at 11pm is not a good idea 
The flukeman was really cool though!
The bait and switch with humbug was really cool, I thought it was that mermaid and then that was a complete red herring…
War of the coprophages was another episode I found hilarious, mulder ringing scully, her giving a diagnosis and being completely right, then Turning up at the last minute, only to get covered in dirt 
I can’t believe I forgot about Jose chung’s from outer space! The format of this was so so cool and unique, and really funny too (the pie scene with mulder lives rent free in my head 
)
I will absolutely do this, I’d love to discuss everything with someone who loves xfiles too!
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Watched a couple more episodes tonight, first time in several weeks (which was several weeks too long). I enjoyed them both, but me and my friend were commenting on the fact that Scully hasn’t had many episode around her, lots of the stories focus on Mulder 
[1]
I love Scully and she’s so awesome, I want more of her! 
look at her, how could possibly not want her to be in everything all the time [2]
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That’s understandable, I took quite a few breaks going through the show for the first time. Are you still in season 4? There’s a lot of focus on Scully later on in that one.
I know what you mean about Mulder, I say I love both him and Scully equally, but I secretly prefer Scully Gillian Anderson is just a phenomenal actress!
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Yeah, still on season 4, so that’s very good to hear!
Why secretly…? 
Is there a hidden organisation deep within the X-files fans who will make you disappear if you admit that you like Scully more? 
/j
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It almost feels like choosing between children, in a strange way They’re both equally important to the show and equally fantastic, and I love them both, so I just feel a tiny bit guilty for preferring Scully ever so slightly…
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Very sad news regarding Mark Snow today: https://variety.com/2025/artisans/news/mark-snow-dead-x-files-ghost-whisperer-blue-bloods-1236447489/
I think his soundtrack was an enormous part of why the X-Files had such a strong atmosphere, and the music he composed is up there with the best of TV, IMO. A huge shame that he’s passed away, but at least he leaves behind a fantastic body of work.
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That’s sad news. His music for the X-files was fantastic.
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