The X-Files - The Complete Ninth Season

Rating:
Summary: Beyond Shark Bait
Review: Justifying this horrendous season by saying "well, its still better than most TV shows out there." is like saying "Gee, it doesn't matter that our President is bad, no-one smart ever runs for president anyway." Simply put, this season SUCKS. There is no X-Files without Mulder & Scully, period. Chris Carter jumped his shark sometime in season six. Super soldiers? A jesus/alien baby? Puh-leez, even the cheesiest moments of Buffy are better than this pablum. What a horrible way to end a once-fantastic series.

Rating:
Summary: Even great series must come to an end
Review: Even great things must come to an end. After nine marvelous seasons, in which the series managed to establish new benchmarks in quality television, THE X-FILES wrapped up its run with what is unquestionably its most controversial and reviled season. Although Season Nine has come in for a vast amount of criticism, I firmly believe that much or most of it is undeserved. Many of its critics have obviously not seen all or even most or perhaps even any of it. For instance, if one scrolls down to the reviewer from Sweden, they complain that Scully spends the season crying over the fate of poor William. Actually, she spends very little time during the season crying, and she doesn't cry any at all in the two episodes that immediately follow her decision to put William up for adoption. She does cry briefly when telling Mulder in the series finale about having to give up William, but that hardly justifies the claim that she spends all of her time crying. One finds literally dozens of inane comments on the season like that one. All in all, Season Nine is a worthy successor to the eight that preceded it. It remained to the very end one of the finest series on all of television.

My own belief is that Season Nine was more often criticized than watched, and that those who did watch and still criticized did so mainly because he was no longer as familiar has it had been in the past. Many hated Doggett and Reyes primarily because they were not Mulder and Scully. Many hated the fact that while Scully was back, she was no longer officially on the X-Files, though she spent so much time helping Doggett and Reyes-and vice versa-that the distinction in the end was a bit meaningless. But for those willing to get past the fact that Mulder was no longer there and Scully only unofficially part of the X-Files, Season Nine was yet another season filled with riches. The show was always split between stand-alone episodes and mythology episodes. I will be the first to admit that this year's mythology episode left a lot to be desired. Though I think criticism of Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish, who I both thought did marvelous jobs and should definitely play roles in future X-FILE movies, was simply wrong-headed, I will be the first to agree that the Super Soliders story arc simply sucked. It lacked originality, passion, and the power to fire the imagination of the show's viewers. There were despite this some good moments, especially Terrance Quinn's (aka Terry O'Quinn, who went on to a great year as a regular on ALIAS in that show's Season Two and currently is superb on LOST as former paraplegic and resident knife-throwing badass John Locke) appearance as a Super Soldier, by and large this arc was an utter mistake. But the stand-alone episodes were absolutely first rate, with several as good as anything seen in any previous season. The season opening two-parter, "Nothing Important Happened Today," had many great moments, many of them thanks to Lucy Lawless, who had just departed XENA. "Hellbound" was not merely one of the most haunting episodes in X-FILES history, but the point where Monica Reyes because integrated in the show. "Lord of the Flies" was simultaneously one of the funniest episodes of the season, and one of the most transcendently weird, as Doggett, Reyes, and Scully (aided by a self-smitten scientist who insisted on being called "Rocky") investigate a boy who has the ability to manipulate flies. "John Doe" is truly as good as any stand-alone episode in X-FILE history, as John Doggett wakes up in Mexico with no memory of who he is. "Trust No 1" is one of a couple of great Scully episodes, where she discovers that she has been the focus of attention of several in a nebulous secret governmental organization. And for those who had hoped for the blossoming of a Mulder/Scully romance, her e-mail to Mulder in the episode confirmed that that had finally taken place, even if after Mulder had left the show (but meaning that he could not return without the romance being fullblown). "Underneath" was a great episode about a Jekyll and Hyde personality, another great episode worthy of the X-FILE name. "Provenance" and "Providence" formed an excellent two-parter that developed William's story to a greater extent. "Scary Monsters" was a solid if unspectacular episode about a boy with the power to create monsters with his mind, while "Audrey Pauley" was an absolutely stunning episode about coma-victims, of whom Monica Reyes was one, who exist in a kind of limbo, but which a mentally impaired woman was able to visit. Up to this point there had been no truly bad episodes during the whole season, even if some of the Super Soldiers arc had not been especially stellar, but then the show turned it up a notch with Burt Reynolds supplying one of the best guest appearances in the run of the show in the great episode "Improbable." After this, however, the show did stumble in a few episodes, though even then they were not completely without interest. "Jump the Shark" saw the show saying farewell to the Lone Gunmen, with a demise that was dramatically flat. It was a terrible way to say good-bye to some of the show's most beloved characters. "Release" had some fine moments as one of Scully's students at the Academy displayed an uncanny ability to analyze the corpses of murder victims, but failed at some crucial moments. "William," on the other hand, was very nearly a great episode, with a horribly disfigured man who seemed genetically similar to Mulder appears in the office of the X-Files. It slipped a bit with a lack of explanation of the emotional process that Scully went through to put William up for adoption. Nonetheless, a very fine episode. Many seem to like the episode "Sunshine Days," where a man with remarkable mental powers recreates the inside of his house as the Brady Bunch home, but apart from that gimmick I don't think he did very much. But the show went out marvelously with the final two-parter that formed the finale of both the season and the series, "The Truth." It also imposed order on previous seasons that in truth were not as clear as this episode would make it appear. For instance, it really wasn't crystal clear that the Cigarette Smoking Man was Mulder's father (there had been some clues that would suggest that he was lying to Mulder), or which account of what happened to Mulder's sister was true, or other details in the overarching mythology. I believe the final episode imposed an order that the show did not in fact possess as it was unraveling. Nonetheless, they managed to provide something approaching a narrative of what the previous nine years had been about (more of this in a second). But the great thing for the episode for me was seeing Scully get Mulder back, for them finally to be able to affirm and admit openly what they meant to each other, and for the foundations for future movies to be laid down, as Scully asserts to Mulder that her goals are the same as his, and their implied joint assertion to continue the search for the truth.

Now, the reason I think that the final two-parter was a bit of a cheat was the fact that in a variety of places the writers and producers admit that they were pretty much making up the mythology as they went along. Frequently they tried things that were not truly compatible with what had gone before. A couple of times they painted themselves into corners. And on a few occasions they killed off characters with no very clear idea of why they were doing it (Krycek, the death of The Well-Manicured Man in the film, the first two deaths of the Cigarette Smoking Man, and the death of the Lone Gunmen are merely a few examples). Contrast this with BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, where Joss Whedon would plant hints of events that would occur a couple of years later, e.g., in Season Three where Faith mentioned something to Buffy in a dream sequence that would take place in exactly two years-what happened was Buffy died). But credit must be laid where it is due: the multi-season consistency that we saw in BUFFY was in large part made possible by the multi-season inconsistency of THE X-FILES. With THE X-FILES, it became possible for shows to develop long story arcs that would take years to tell, and in that way, among others, it has made a permanent mark on television. My own feeling is that THE X-FILES produced the greatest stand-alone episodes since THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but that its even greater influence could be in making it OK for shows like BUFFY to develop long, multi-season story arcs. The value of this can't be overstated. In the early 1990s I read an article by a television critic who argued that television, often considered the poor sister of the movies, actually had more potential for extended narrative than did film. I absolutely agree with this, and would insist that the two shows that most fully developed and confirmed the potential of TV are THE X-FILES and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Jointly they established the range of what television was capable of. In the wake of those two shows, it is impossible to imagine cinema ever developing story lines anywhere near as complex, or character analyses as rich and sustained as is possible in television. For instance, in THE X-FILES we gradually become sensible of the enormous contradictions in Scully's personality, a remarkably gifted and talented woman who has considerable personal achievements, who nonetheless has the self-realization that she has a fascination with charismatic males, and we see her over several seasons struggle with the way she feels drawn to Mulder for this reason and her attempts to keep herself apart from him. Or the two or three seasons during which Scully feels that she has no life because of the X-Files, and often manifests hostility towards Mulder as a result. No movie provides the opportunity to develop the host of character nuances that we observe in Scully over the years.

This was not the best season for THE X-FILES, but it was still great, great television, and an essential part of the X-File saga. I strongly recommend it to anyone open-minded enough to give it a chance.

Rating:
Summary: Don't do it, man......
Review: I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, wouldn't it be nice to own the complete ninth season of the X-files? For only 80 dollars, now I can!"

Well, let me tell you something friend. It's not worth it. It's not that the DVDs don't look nice, and are well constructed. No, the DVDs themselves are fine. The episodes on the DVDs, however, are not.

Oh, Season 9 was bad. There's all this gobbly-goo about Super-soilders, and there's the once hot and awesome Dana Scully (see Seasons 3 and 4 for really hot and awesome Sctully) now being all domestic and maternal with her alien-baby William. Giving Scully had an alien-baby....who came up with that incredibly lame idea in the first place? Answer: Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz.

Truth is, Carter and Spotnitz should have left the show after they made the movie and turned the show over to people who know a thing or two about continuity (like former writers James Wong and Glen Morgan).

Season 9 is HORRIBLE. I know the X files is all about Trusting No One, but trust me, buying public. DO NOT BUY X FILES SEASON 9 UNLESS YOU LIKE TO BUY AND WATCH AND OWN GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!

Peace Out

Rating:
Summary: Yuk!!!
Review: I started watching XF when I was 11 and I was hooked from day one! I just loved it, especially the Mulder/Scully story lol
But Chris when you start a show with just two leads you cant take them away and expect that people will still like especially when the two new ones are crap!!!
XF should have ended after season 5 after that it turned into some sort of corny comedy wich works for a show like Buffy but not here
Season 9 was so bad that I think I missed some eps and it dident really bother me
And why is Scully crying so much! Its annoying!
You can see that Gilly dont really want to be there, she looks bored
Too bad XF dident end on top cus this has made me hate the whole show wich I grew up with
Dont buy this its not worth it

Rating:
Summary: Ending with a whimper
Review: The problem with Season 9 isn't the fact that the writers had run out of things to say. And it wasn't the addition of Agents Dogget (Robert Patrick) or Reyes (Annabeth Gish), both of whom tried to do their best with dodgy material. The real problem was the deadening presence of Scully (Gillian Anderson) and her story.

Gillian Anderson didn't want to fulfill the last year of her contract. She was bored, and only stayed on because they threw some extra money at her. And it shows. She sleepwalks, with stony face and pursed lips, through all of her scenes. It doesn't help that her part mostly consists of whining, teary-eyed, about The Baby, until (blessedly) giving it up for adoption.

The X-Files might have gone on for a few extra years if they had let Anderson go and let the new kids do their thing. It wouldn't have been very good, but it might not have been quite this bad.


Rating:
Summary: Crap crap and more crap
Review: This season was about Chris Carter and Fox trying to hold onto past glory and make as much money as possible. This show should've ended in season 7, although season 8 had 4 or 5 ok episodes. The show was about Moulder and Scully. It was bad enough when Moulder left, but Scully was pretty much absent from this season. I thought her baby being some kind of freak child was rediculous. The super soldier story was pointless, and should've never been used. After learning the truth in season 6 the writers should've spent the rest of that year and year 7 on concluding the alien takeover idea and ended the show. Then came the long and I mean long awaited series finale. They spent most of that episode in a courtroom. I guess it was an ok episode, but it wasn't the blowout a show like this needed to end on.

As far as Dogget and Reyes go, I didn't really have any feelings one way or another. Dogget had a few moments in season eight where he was kind of likeable. They might have been able to pull off a spin off show, I really don't know. I probably wouldn't have watched it. I would've given it more of a chance then I did them calling it the ninth season of the X files.
In stead of having an 8th and 9th years of this show they should've had a 4th and 5th year of an equal if not better show Millennium. Don't buy this set. Don't allow them to profit from this crap.

Rating:
Summary: I think this season was pretty good.
Review: When it was being broadcast on television, I felt like a lot of other X-Files fans, disappointed that David Duchovny wouldn't be on at all for most of the ninth season. This is precisely why I missed out on the episodes but when I brought the boxed set for season 9 I got a lot more than I expected. Some of the episodes in Season 9 were very good, very suspenseful. The first two, "Nothing Important Happened Today" were pretty good. Lucy Lawless as a guest star was a nice touch. I also enjoyed "John Doe" which is when John Doggett (Robert Patrick character) loses his memory while in Mexico. It was very compelling to watch, as were "TrustNo1" and especially, "Improbable." I think "Improbable" was by far the best because it was so hilarious. Burt Reynolds was superb as a guest star. He certainly gave the most memorable performance of the season. Now, the worst episode, by far, is "Jump the Shark." Very important characters are killed off in this episode. I won't say which ones because I don't want to ruin the suspense but really, I don't know what the creators were thinking when they did this. These characters didn't have to die. They were great. In fact, I think the X-Files could have continued without David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Sure, it wouldn't have been the same but Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish are terrific actors. Combine that with good scripts, good producers, and good directors and we could've had X-Files running for maybe two or three more seasons. Anyway, what's done is done. All I can say is watch this if you don't mind the fact that David Duchovny is no longer a part of the regular cast. The majority of these episodes are good, suspenseful and just as dark and mysterious as those of the earlier seasons.

Rating:
Summary: It was OK, but where are the Gunmen??
Review: I was a long-time fan of this show, starting back in the second season. Even when I went away to college, my friends and I had "X-Files" night. Many of us where dissapointed with how the show evolved in it's latter seasons, so when our fav trio of paraniod hackers got their own spin-off...there was much rejoicing. Please release that one season on DVD!

Rating:
Summary: Shame it ended
Review: I rented this set of DVD's and haven't bought them yet. I'm going to though. The X-files had me hooked from the beginning. It was so well crafted all the way around it was like watching big screen movies on my television each week. The seasons after Mulder I admit I went into with a grimace.

I'd waited so long for Mulder and Scully to get together that the fact that David Duchovny was leaving had me at a loss for the show. Although he left during season 8. I wanted to review season 9's dvd's. They have wonderful extra features.

The main reason I am writing this review is that there was a major back lash over the casting of Robert Patrick as Agent John Doggett. But I found him charasmatic on screen. The tough cop turned agent soon deligated to the X-files wasn't something I was complaining about so much anymore. He was different and brought a new spin on the series. Although they retained the spirit of the show with the Alien Conspiracy, etc. I felt that he could easily keep me viewing. He's not a traditional looking leading man so his talent needed to be top notch and I felt it was. He made me care about Agent Doggett even when my Mulder/Scully fan side was screaming a resounding "NOOOO." I'm glad I gave this season a chance.

I won't say every show was excellent there are a couple I didn't care for fully, but I still will watch them over and over again. This series never gets old for me. There is always something new I pick up on that I didn't the last time.

Don't miss out on Season 9 because of preconcieved notions there are wonderful X-files story rivaling Mulder and Scully only with a little different twist.

My only complaint with the X-files DVD series in all 9 boxed sets is that they didn't price them lower for people like me who'd love to have them but can't shell out anywhere from $65-110 per season. To have the complete collection it runs about $700-800 which is a large investment and I continually ask myself do I really need to spend the money on them. But I do want to and know I will eventually. They are well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Writers stopped caring about quality
Review: I was one of those people willing to give Season 9 a chance, and I did. I could care less if Mulder was not in all the episodes, but when I devote 9 years to a show, I do expect halfway decent writing and a modicum of continuity.

Its not that the new characters were bad, its like the writers didn't expect the show to last as long as it did and near the last few seasons, they stopped caring and instead of trying to end The X-Files on decent note, they attempted to rewrite it.

Its almost like Season 9 is a completely different show and not a very good one, writing -wise.

And I agree that making Scully pregnant and romanticizing Mulder and Scully was one of the dumbest writing moves they came up with. It was obvious an attempt to cater to mainstream audiences who only watched for that aspect and nothing else.

I would only recommend Season 9 for those who want to complete their collection. Other than that, they're really not worth repeated viewings.