The X-Files Event Series Blu-ray Review
Brad Sturdivant
June 26th, 2016
The X-Files Event Series is a perfect, 6 episode embodiment of every frustration I’ve ever had with the series. I know that sounds dramatic, but it’s actually true. Everything you’ve ever liked or disliked with The X-Files (click The X-Files Complete Series Blu-ray Review to read my review of the entire series) can be found in this limited 6 episode run, from the humor, the plot holes, the drama, the wasted episodes; it’s all here. That said, if you stuck with The X-Files through nine seasons and two movies, there’s no reason to give up now.
The show starts out with a “drama” (the term X-Files fans affectionately call any storyline that runs across the series) episode where Mulder and Scully are asked to assist Tad O’Malley with what he believes is evidence of a government cover-up. This is a decent opening to the series since it starts us with a new government conspiracy for Scully and Mulder to investigate and gives them a reason to reunite. Of course, in typical X-Files fashion, the deeper government conspiracy makes little to no sense and we don’t get any real resolution. In this case, the writers might have been too ambitious with their scope and might have ran out of money. Either way, the “drama” this time around generally misfires and takes us away from what we really like about The X-Files, which is Mulder and Scully working together.
The second episode of the series has Mulder and Scully back in the FBI, in their old offices. There’s no explanation given and our two heroes get right back to where they were in season seven. This isn’t necessarily impossible for the audience to accept, but why ask us to? It would have taken ten minutes to explain how Mulder and Scully got their jobs back. The second episode is a standalone episode and falls in line with most of the episodes we’re all familiar with.
The highlight of the series is the third episode, titled “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster”. This is everything we love about The X-Files. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are right back in their groove and their chemistry is on full display. The episode is hilarious, a little ridiculous, yet somehow manages to be thought-provoking. The frustrating thing about this series is that this third episode is all we really need from The X-Files. Just put Mulder and Scully together on some crazy case and let them carry the episode.
The fourth and fifth episodes are a bit of a mixed bag. There’s a heartfelt scene with Scully dealing with her mother’s death and Mulder comforting her. There’s also a running theme of both of them coming to terms with not knowing their son. Anyone that might be trying to jump into the show without 9 years of history would be completely lost, but for those of us that are fans of the show, it was nice to see them bring up things we were familiar with.
All in all, the event series is perfectly on par with the middle seasons of The X-Files. There are some misfires, some average episodes and one great episode. I was impressed that Duchovny and Anderson picked up right where they left off, but I would have hoped Chris Carter would have done more with his second chance. It’s rare that someone with his experience is so hit and miss from one episode to the other, but in some ways, that’s part of the charm of The X-Files.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: The X-Files looks great on Blu-ray.
Audio: The audio is fine.
Commentary on 3 episodes: Thankfully, the third episode gets a great commentary from Duchovny, Anderson and the writers. Their jovial, lighthearted track is probably the highlight as far as supplements are concerned. Chris Carter shows up on the other two commentaries and they’re okay, but focus more on the story and technical aspects.
Deleted Scenes (5:20): This is a random bag of deleted scenes that are too short to make much of a difference.
43:45 The Making of a Struggle (53:36): This is a 5 part making-of featurette chronicling the event series and how it got made.
Season X (1:23:15): 13 featurettes that cover the 6 episodes.
Gag Reel (9:40): Looks like everyone is still having fun.
Monster of the Week: A Recap of the Wildest and Scariest from the Original Series (10:55): A highlight reel of the monsters featured on the show.
The X-Files Green Production (2:45): Like they did with the movie, they filmed the event series as environmentally friendly as possible.
Grace (9:35): This is a short film from one of the script coordinators.
