The X-Files Season 1 (Rewatch part 1)
I’m a long-time fan of the X-Files.
I discovered it towards the end of Season 2, when it was airing in the UK. I went back and bought Season 2 on VHS, but it took me a few years to find Season 1 - back then the boxsets were limited edition. I watched most of Season 3 when it was airing - same with Seasons 4 and 5. I lost interest in Season 6, but went back later and caught up on the entire show as the VHS boxsets came out one by one. Eventually I replaced those with DVDs.
Recently, I’ve started a rewatch of the show on Disney+. I’ve seen most episodes a couple of times, particularly in the first five seasons. I’m not rewatching every episode, but picking out some of the best / important episodes and watching them roughly in order.
Here’s my quick summary of Season 1.
1X79 “Pilot”
So for this show, I’m going to refer to episodes using the classic season - X - episode format, which I’m pretty sure The X Files popularised before Netflix started “S1E01” (which is clearer to be honest). The pilot episode, aptly named “Pilot” (or perhaps it doesn’t really have a name), used an unusual number that is sometimes replaced with 1X00. These are the production codes.
But anyway, that’s not especially important when it comes to the plot.
“Pilot” does a lot well. Scully’s introduction to the actual X-Files is to back Mulder’s work with scientific reasoning - and rein him in a bit (well, a lot). Mulder isn’t seen in the most positive light, something of a law unto himself.
We could ask why they allowed the X-Files to stay open at all. A bit later on in season 2, there’s a line that says if Mulder was killed, you risk “turning one man’s quest into a crusade” (probably not the exact line, but you get the point). Keeping the X-Files within the FBI, but limiting how much is allowed to be discovered, solves that problem. For now.
Of course, we get the first meeting of Mulder and Scully, with Scully open-minded about the future, and Mulder sceptical about Scully. Which is the opposite of how these characters view the paranormal.
Besides Mulder and Scully, and the characters just around for this story, the possibly-recurring characters are lacking. Blevins has the job of introducing Scully to the X-Files, yet his character barely lasts beyond one more episode, and a stray mention (though he returns later). The Smoking Man is seen here, but has no dialogue, though he hardly features in season 1 and only has a line in one episode (“Tooms”). We haven’t got to Skinner yet.
The story is a little slow, but it sets up an interesting mystery about kids / young adults being abducted in the woods. There are fragments of future stories here: time loss, nose bleeds. However, it’s very inconclusive. Still, it’s a solid intro to the show.
1X01 “Deep Throat”
The first proper episode focuses on military test pilots who fly unusual aircraft, disappear, then return with horrible burns or have their memories wiped.
We are introduced to the first informant - the titular Deep Throat, who speaks to Mulder into a bathroom and advises him to “leave this case alone”. Obviously Mulder ignores that advice.
Having started watching the show in season 2, when revealing the alien mythology arc was frustratingly slow, I’m always surprised by how much is actually shown in season 1. The lights in the sky, and how far Mulder gets when breaking into the base, felt like giving us a lot early on. Maybe after the success of season 1 led to another season being commissioned, creator Chris Carter realised he needed to slow down a bit or the show would be over pretty quickly.
It’s an early example of having some pretty big plot points dangled in front of the viewer (and Mulder), only to find it’s all gone when Mulder’s memory is wiped. Much like the aforementioned test pilots.
Also, credit to Scully for getting Mulder out of the base. While it’s hard to imagine true peril for the two leads of a show so early on - the show would not exist without them - I did wonder what would have happened to Mulder had Scully not intervened. His memory was wiped - so would they have returned him even without Scully’s involvement?
Aside from the risqué name (!), Deep Throat is a great character - and the reveal at the end is, once again, more than I expected to hear so early in the show. A good episode.
1X02 “Squeeze”
The original monster-of-the-week episode, “Squeeze” showed that the X-Files was not only about the alien mythology.
The plot: Eugene Victor Tooms is hungry for human liver, basically.
He can squeeze into small spaces, so the crime scenes have no obvious method of entry or exit. Puzzling.
We have the first example of a villain targeting Scully. This became rather repetitive across a few stories, but it’s new here.
Anyway, Tooms is a great villain!
We also continue with not always having nice neat endings, with Tooms being locked up but seeing a narrow letterbox that he could squeeze through.
1X06 “Ghost in the Machine”
We jump a few episodes (“Conduit” is probably worth going back to) and come to this. It’s not the best episode, but it has its moments.
The computer voice is probably my least favourite aspect. It’s not especially dramatic for a character to be killed and for the computer to say “File deleted”.
Mulder’s former partner, Jerry, features in the episode - but doesn’t make it out alive.
What I did find interesting is when Deep Throat appears and talks about AI - noting that this episode aired in 1993.
1X07 “Ice”
A great episode, this is a “base under siege” setup where a creature is infecting people. Lots of moments where you’re not sure who to trust. Not much else to say really.
1X09 “Fallen Angel”
We’re back to the alien mythology. Mulder is trying to reach a UFO crash site before it gets cleaned up.
We get an introduction to Max Fenig, who shares many of Mulder’s beliefs and has been following his work. Max is a great character, and I heard that the Lone Gunmen (who are introduced a bit later in the season) were partly thought up as a result of Max.
There’s an invisible alien that causes horrific burns on several people in the episode. This is a bit inconsistent with alien encounters later in the series. But it works fine for this episode.
Something to call out: season 1 is entirely single episodes - there are no two-parters (ignoring “Squeeze” / “Tooms”, which is really a sequel). Because of this, episodes such as “Fallen Angel” are quite fast-paced. While I don’t think a lot of the later two-parters should have been shorter, pretty much every two-parter was tied to the mythology. They can feel a bit long. These shorter, single episodes progress the story but also don’t outstay their welcome.
The ending is interesting. We have Section Chief McGrath, who doesn’t appear in any other episodes, threatening to shut down the X-Files and fire Mulder. However, he meets with Deep Throat who vetoes these actions. I think it’s the first time we’re seeing Deep Throat in a scene without Mulder.
Next time
This post has got quite long, so I’ll be commenting on the other episodes I watched from Season 1 in a future post:
1X11 “Fire”
1X12 “Beyond the Sea”
1X16 “E.B.E.”
1X19 “Darkness Falls”
1X20 “Tooms”
1X23 “The Erlenmeyer Flask”
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