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The X-Files - The Complete Seventh Season

The X-Files - The Complete Seventh Season

List Price: $99.98
Your Price: $74.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: X-FILES SEASON #7
Review: Don`t believe the hype. This is a great season. I just love it.
I own seasons 1-7 and spent just over $1000 to complete my collection so far. You should buy what you like.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 5 stars for technical quality...
Review: Maybe a 2 for the content. Season 7 is in my opinion the worst year of the show as a whole. The highlights mentioned in Amazons review were exactly the ones I would have chosen as the best episodes. Hungry, Goldberg Variation, Theef, etc, are among my faverite episodes of the entire series, and there were a few other notable classics as well, but Season 7 still lands at the bottom of the pile for me. It's a good set for the extras, like all the other X-Files DVD sets, and to complete your collection I say buy it, it is a quality set from a technical viewpoint. But for a casual fan looking for a first set to buy, I'd recomend the first season. For a more seasoned fan looking for great episodes, I'd go with Season 5 for the sheer diversity of concepts and creativity, not to mention some great mythoogy episodes.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Weak in theory, but good for some things.
Review: After reading some of the reviews of this season I had been prepared for most of the episodes to be bad, but that really wasn't it; it was just that fewer of them were really jaw-dropping good. The bad ones are bad, but this is not new; and the pervading flaw of the season is shared by bad, average, and good episodes alike. The main issue with Season Seven is that it is weak on the intellectual side. And yes, this is a big side for The X-Files. There, are, however, certain things that can compensate for it to certain degrees. You'll find that the successful episodes here are the ones that do just that. I should mention that I consider myself a relatively critical fan of this show--a fan, but only of the right episodes. So I'm not selling this to you out of sentiment, but because I think those who have followed the show this far might regret missing a few things. After you see them, resell them if you want, but you probably want to make up your own mind about them first.

First off, I want to redeem the mythology episodes, if only partially. The premiere was pretty chaotic, as they usually are, but the follow up, as usual, made up for it. Amor Fati is a cunning and original examination of the deep psychology behind Mulder's quest, as well as ultimately a stunning tribute to his deep connection with Scully. Between the dream-like dialogue and singular performances, this has become one of my favorite mythology episodes of all time. Likewise, the mid-season two-parter SUZ/Closure, in which Samantha's mystery is finally laid to rest, has been much criticized by fans for the surprise theory behind it and the lack of action. On the spiritual/emotional level, however, it did hit home even with most of these naysayers, and affected a genuine release. The ending is visually gorgeous as well as Duchovny's best performance of the season.

The stand-alones try various methods of making an impression without strong theory, and are varyingly successful. For example, in Hungry, the monster in question is explained only in a passing reference to "genetic mutation." No reference is made to what genes could have possibly resulted in his particular condition, or why when he gets so Hungry he has to go for human brains instead of Doritos. Fans are split over whether the character development makes up for this. Orison revisits Scully's creepy and vary un-paranormal stalker/kidnapper from Season Two's Irresistable. The actual "X-File" in this case pretty much boils down to a black-and-white speculation on the existence of pure evil, (nothing like Season Six's Milagro) but it does serve a good slow-motion action scene to conclude. En Ami uses an old established paranormal idea on the show to get the story in motion, and then reverts to a character episode between CSM and Scully. This method had potential, and is only weakened by an unrealistic character turn for CSM.

Some of the lighter episodes, like The Amazinf Maleeni, The Goldberg Variation, and Je Souhaite, get away with simply jolly mood and get away with a simple Sherlock Holmes-esque unraveling of a mysterious chain of events. The worst episodes are those that simply take some paranormal ability for granted, like the Voodoo episode Theef and the embarrasing gamers episode First Person Shooter. (Then again, the series-worst Fight Club is beyond explanation.) Perhaps not surprisingly, the best stand alones outside of the lightning bolt X-Cops come from outside of the usual writing team--from the itching stars themselves, actually. David's Hollywood A.D., more riotous than The Unnatural, is right up there with Bad Blood among the funniest episodes ever. The scene from Hollywood A.D. when Mulder and Scully and Skinner are all on the phone to each other on split screen, in bathtubs, is almost worth the season. Gillian's all things, is another of the many examples of The X-Files doing something totally different and getting away with it. It is slow, but in the respectable way of Season Four's Musings of a Cigaratte Smoking Man, and with similar character insight. Representing the inner life approach to the paranormal, it is in a way Scully's Amor Fati.

As for the controversial finale Requiem, it is important to keep in mind that this was meant to be the last episode of the season, not just of the series. It is classic X-Files all the way up to the last line, which was added at the last minute when it was learned the show would be kept on the air even without Duchovny in the next season. Practically, this last line made for disaster in the following seasons; but poetically, outside of its intended confounding effect, it is in a way rather fitting.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Yes, but not quite.
Review: I did not like this season at all, it seems that they ran out of things to do. Te first three disks are complete filling, the episodes are dull, the argument nonexistent and that great anticipation of the unexpected of the previous seasons is lost. If you have the first six seasons, by all means and for the sake of "getting them all" do buy it, but is definitely not one of the best.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Ok, here's the deal
Review: This is a must have for all X-Files fans. Season 7 has been criticized by many a viewer, but there are however, some great points in it. Points being: the actors doing some writing and directing on their own, the different directions that the characters are taking, and the stand alones (Hungry, X-Cops, and First Person Shooter). As for becoming stale, just keep in mind that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have been playing the same characters for the past 6 years. It can be a little difficult to maintain the edge on something like that. The writers chose to bring the Samantha Mulder storyline to a close with some brilliant, emotional acting by DD in SUZ and Closure. GA explored the private side of Scully in "all things". This season was a healing experience for both characters. (they seemed quite distanced from one another after the rift over Diana Fowley)There is more hand holding and gazing (yes, he does GAZE at Scully). Scully and Mulder are more in touch with each other's feelings and emotions. Skinner becomes the ally that he wanted to be in the 6th. Fans that followed the series should not be disappointed in season 7. Many loose ends are tied up and more intersting questions are posed. Season 7 is a must have for X-Files fans.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: too small
Review: The widescreen versions are horrible. The original airings were fullscreen.Don't waste your money.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Search for the Truth Continues
Review: If you are true fan (or phile) of the X Files, you must add Season 7 to your DVD collection.

Season 7 has taken a lot of criticism from some hard core fans, but there are some stand out episodes. The mytharc continues from Amor Fati through Requiem. These will blow your mind!

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and the Cigarette Smoking Man himself each wrote and (DD and GA directed) their own episodes with unique insights into the characters they had been playing for the past 6 years. I thoroughly enjoyed these episodes!

The episode Closure is also controversial as it offers closure to Mulder's quest of finding his missing sister. This episode (as well as Gillian Anderson's penned ep) introduced many to Moby's music for the first time.

If you're a true fan (or phile) of the X Files, you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Season Seven is Great!
Review: I don't care what anyone says, The X-Files seventh season is one of the best. It features some of the best stand-alone episodes in the show's history. Just look at X-Cops, Je Souhaite, Hungry, or Rush and you will see what I mean.The mythology episodes weren't that great, but the other ones make up for it. Plus this is the last season with Mulder and Scully together. Along with seasons 1-6, every fan of the show should buy this set.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Widescreen format is how it was shot!
Review: All I want to say is that the reason season 5-9 are in widescreen is because they were shot that way. Ten-Thirteen productions had been using a normal television camera, but when it came time to shoot the movie thay switched to a film camera. Since the movie was shot after season 4, season 5 and all seasons after, were also shot with the film camera. The reason why people are raving about the widescreen is because that is how the seasons were shot after 4 and they were then cropped in order to fit the standard screen. Hopefully people will research things before they review what they don't know...that is just lazy.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Beginning of the End for the X-Files
Review: Like too many other TV shows, the X-Files simply continued beyond its viability as a TV series. By season 7, fans of the show who originally believed that Chris Carter had some kind of master plan for the "mythology" that drove the X-Files began to realize that there was no such plan. The writers had simply been making it up as they went along, and they were now out of ideas. My DVD collection includes Seasons 1-6 of the X-Files, but unless you are fanatic about having the "complete" series, I would pass on buying the remaining seasons.

To the reviewer who complained about the use of widescreen on the X-Files DVDs:

Beginning with season 5, the X-Files was filmed in 16:9 widescreen, and it was intended to be viewed that way. In fact, if you were able to recieve a Fox digital broadcast in your area at the time, you could have viewed the last few seasons in widescreen (what Fox calls "High Resolution Digital Widescreen"). The 4:3 version (for regular analog TV) is actually the one that is cropped for display. Many current and recent TV shows (including Babylon 5) are filmed in 16:9 because they anticipate that either now or in the near future they will be shown in HDTV (for which 16:9 is the chosen aspect ratio).


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