Rating: 
Summary: Season 1 - what a great year!
Review: The first season is very fresh and unique. The next three or four seasons may overall be better, but the first is definetely a great one! Collecting the best TV-series of all time on DVD is almost a dream come true. These valuable episodes never worn off and you can watch them thousands of times! Alright, let's get to the business...The first season (1993-1994) contains many outstanding episodes, and almost all of the 24 are good. Here's a list of my favorites:
Beyond the Sea
Pilot
The Erlenmeyer Flask
Deep Throat
E.B.E.
Ice
Squeeze/Tooms
Eve
Darkness Falls There's only one bad episode:
Space The DVDs are the best format for these episodes. Though the picture isn't always crystal clear, it is satisfying, but the sound is without exceptions wonderful, especially with Dolby Pro Logic II. Bottom line: buy all the XF seasons! I have currently 1-4, but I'm going to collect them all and keep them in good shape...
Rating: 
Summary: Season 1: The Seed is Sown To Be Reaped Two Years Later
Review: Viewing Season 1 of the X-Files is like watching an enclosed flower of deftly wrought magnificence beginning to bloom: petal-by-petal, episode-by-episode. It would be two more years before the series would reach its leafy pinnacle of creativity, and become one of the defining television shows of the '90s. Yet even this early on the brilliance and potential shines through. Unlike the later seasons (6-9), Season 1 has an excellent episode every-other entry. The highlights include "Ice" (1x07), "Beyond the Sea" (1x12), "E.B.E." (1x16), "Darkness Falls" (1x19) and "The Erlenmeyer Flask" (1x23). Honorable mention should be given to the "Pilot" (1x00), "Deep Throat" (1x01), "Squeeze" (1x02), "Ghost in the Machine" (1x06), "Eve" (1x10) and "Young At Heart" (1x15). In contrast to the last seasons of the X-Files, the pilot episode is hilarious due to the awkward -- yet budding -- chemistry between the dyadic stars, the unperfected special effects and the outdated haircuts. Gillian Anderson has a hairstyle intentionally reminiscent of Jodie Foster's Clarice Starling from "Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Her voice is also somewhat unmodulated. On the other hand, David Duchovny, whose wooden minimum acting style approach in later seasons became legendary, emotes normally in this season; thus, appearing as if he is "over"-acting. In précis, Season 1 is outstanding in spite of its unconscious flaws and is a worthy addition to the collection of any fan or, indeed, the casual viewer. Buy it and you shall take your first toddling steps towards "the truth." Overall... The X-Files' Seasons 1 through 3 are excellent.
The X-Files' Seasons 4 through 6 are very good.
The X-Files' Seasons 7 through 9 are average.
Rating: 
Summary: The price of this box set is an X-Files mystery...
Review: This box set of the first season of the The X-Files comes on 7 dvds. The design of the box is a sort of "digi-pack" that folds open. This is the same style used in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer box sets. The most recent season of Buffy (season 4) had 6 dvds but knocked down about 70 bones in price. Meaning I can get 2.5 seasons worth of material in the Buffy boxed sets. What's going on here? Does Fox use some sort of alien-gold in the manufacturing of their dvd discs that makes them cost so much more? I smell a conspiracy here and it's costing X-Files fans a lot of money.
Rating:
Summary: The Xfiles.. what will they think of next?
Review: Before i ever watched the xfiles (first episode i saw was Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose [CBFR]) i used to watch Star Trek. I probablly would have gotten the DVD's of The original star trek (if they even have it out) and The Next Generation, if i never even watched X-Files. Don't get me wrong, Star Trek isnt that bad.. but after watching X-Files, Star Trek seemed kinda boring afterwards. The thing that is soo different is the X-files generally stick to the storyline & has more action in it. If that wasnt enough, the gore (when they do show it) & the spookiness in it is what got me to like the X-Files in the first place. My fav. episodes on this set is..
01. Pilot (1x79)
02. Deep Throat (1x01)
03. Conduit (1x03)
04. Shadows (1x05)
05. Ice (1x07)
06. Fallen Angel (1x09)
07. Eve (1x10)
08. Lazarus (1x14)
09. Born Again (1x21)
I like most or all of the episodes in the 1st season but those are my favorites. If your a X-File Fan then get this season on dvd.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic
Review: Well worth the money. The entertainment hardly ever stops with this 7 disk set covering season 1 of the X-Files. Every single episode is good and every episode is original. The only flaws present would be that the episodes aren't in widescreen and they're not in 5.1 sound. But again, the series provides intelligent, errie entertainment, not to mention the beautiful Gillian Anderson. Highly recomended.
Rating:
Summary: The X Files lives forever!
Review: The X Files is an addictive show. It is smart and in a class of its own. I always wondered how the writers came up with so many different, wierd subjects to talk about. They're brillant! Every episode keeps the audience captivated and wanting more. It slowly evolved into a long, intriguing story line intertwined in Scully and Moulder's personal lives and it all started with this first season... terrific.
Rating:
Summary: This is one addictive series.
Review: Let me preface this by saying that I am not particularly a sci-fi person, definitely not a horror person, and actually not even a t.v. person. When The X-Files debuted in '93, the dramatic feature genre in television virtually didn't exist, and anything like the mini-movies we have come to expect from any series today was unheard of. Consequently, I had turned my t.v. off two years prior, and resorted to simply renting movies. Ten years later, I still haven't missed t.v., but I've seen every episode of this show that's avaliable. The trick is, it's an unexpected combination of attractions--several of them might be lost on you the first time, but one of them will hook in. When my space-age friend brought over the pilot one night from the video store to see what all the fuss was about, I at first didn't think it was my kind of fuss. The pilot was one of the creepier episodes they've made, because it uses actual cases to build its plot about horrific alien abductions; I'm generally not impressed by fear factor alone, and it seemed to me that this was the main gig of the show. Also, the pilot-budget, eighties-grade special effects were cheesy to me having only been watching films for many years. But I had to admit there was a snappy intelligence in the dialogue and a swave mystique in the plot that exceeded the attempts of a lot of big budget films. And the dynamic between the leads, even now, and having no familiarity with the actors, was intruiging enough to stay with me. For years after that, whenever some strand of pop culture would bring The X-Files to mind, I would wonder what that dynamic was like now. Finally, just as the series was ending, I ended up catching a midnight rerun while flipping channels at a hotel. It was a season five self-parody episode that worked the Mulder-Scully dynamic and their respective positions on paranormal matters for all it was worth. I discovered that it was worth a lot. Season one, as I now know, is more purely theory-based than the others, which become more dramatic and intricate out of accumulative history. Still, I came to genuinely appreciate the basic formula of the show that is carved out here: to pose an age-old paranormal problem like ghosts, ufos, genetic engineering, suburban ledgends, etc, put it into a dramatic narrative, and investigate it with an updated, clever scientific perspective. Carter has brought folklore and fairy tales into the twenty-first century. The best episodes are often scary, but in a conceptual, tense way rather than a shock-therapy freak-out way--as are the Grimms, for that matter. And because the show has its finger in so many different pies, pledging allegiance to no single genre, it seems to carry inherent ironies. It is fantastic, but also grounded; dark, but also a hero myth; complicated, but also dualistic; serious, but always up for a self-parody; a buddy set-up that is always verging on and never promising more. The heroes are uncannily intelligent, and become more experienced and suave as the years go on, and yet they have a fundamental innocence about them, even a kind of angelic beauty as they hold their guns up at whatever slimy creature is before them. This is especially true in the first season, when newbie Gillian Anderson is only 24, long haired and soft around the edges (especially while pregnant in the second half,) and 30 year old David Duchovny is like a skinny, buzzed boy scout. They are really posited as unconventional heroes in every respect, not the least of which is the gender role-reversal, which revolutionized female roles in particular in both television and film. The seeds of greatness are here in the first season, and those who have a taste for pure script will understand what it portends for the later, bigger budget years. These are not the flashiest episodes of the series, but they are well-conceived from the get go, as well as beautifully photographed and edited, especially for the times. They are darker as a unit than a season will usually be, because much of the human warmth and light the show can speak of comes out of the slow-building relationship between the leads--even a knowing glance, a single quip, will later make a difference. But if you find that a third or half of them don't thrill you, fret not--the margin narrows. The high points: Pilot, which is just a treasure in retrospect, seeing all that it set up and how it has blossomed since; Squeeze, one of the cleverest and best-written monster concepts of the series, as well as the most enjoyable volleying of the two characters in the season; Ice, one of the most dramatically tense episodes ever; E.B.E., a classic ufo goose chase that ends with everything in question, including a long-trusted source; Beyond the Sea, the first Scully-centric episode, not to mention the first overtly character-based episode of the series, excellently plotted, with Brad Douriff as the first guest star; The Erlenmeyer Flask, the finale, in which things just start to get complicated.
Rating:
Summary: WHERE IT ALL STARTED!!!
Review: There is no question that this is NOT the greatest x-files season of them all, but what is terrifically fun to watch is the evolution of the series. If you are a big fan, it's a hoot to go back to the very beginning, particularly to watch Scully. It's amazing the character ended up working so well. At first, she was awkward and poorly dressed. Gillian Anderson smiled more and was, frankly, a bit goofy. Over the course of the season, she got her "sea legs" and it was then that the show really tightened up. Anderson is always good, but it was obvious the writers (Chris Carter) were still figuring out where to go with her. One fascinating thing on the DVD are the deleted scenes from the first episode. SCULLY HAD A BOYFRIEND!!! They are in two scenes together, and it's wild to imagine how different the show would have been if they'd kept that character! The sense of isolation from the rest of the world that made the dynamic between Mulder and Scully so cool would NOT HAVE WORKED. Mulder would have been a loner, but Scully would have had a real attachment to the outside world. A social life. Can you imagine??!! And the first season features the character Deep Throat too, who it's fun to look back on fondly. Outstanding episodes include the two featuring Toombs, the guy that can stretch himself, and ICE, a personal favorite. Yes, it's a rip-off of THE THING, but it is really well done and we finally start feeling the heat between Mulder and Scully. And if you're a fan of the "conspiracy" arch, then THE EHRLENMEYER FLASK (season finale) is really where it all got started. We see the beginnings of cancer man, who was actually in the first episode, but no lines. Also the character of Skinner was still in evolution, and he is certainly a jerk in this season. There are simply lots of fun things to go back and remember. It feels like the best nostalgia...pretty amazing considering the show is not THAT old, relatively speaking. One warning: if you buy this season, you'll want them all. It's that much fun...so make sure you're ready to get addicted.
Rating:
Summary: The Series that Elevated Television...at Least for Awhile...
Review: The X-Files really was a brilliant concept. Four main elements launched it into television history: First, the "buddy" television show pairing together a single man and a single woman working together has a long history, but it really hadn't worked well since "Moonlighting" in the mid-80's. Everyone loves the potential for romance between the two main characters, even if nothing ever happens on-screen. Second, millions of viewers had been waiting for a show with just a little of the weird and unusual. Not like Star Trek, which is set in the future, but something set in the here and now. Something (with a little stretch of the imagination) that COULD happen here. Now. Third, the actors were good. Fourth, the writing was generally very good. The first season's episodes work best when the relationship between Mulder and Scully is developed and/or jeopardized as in "Ice," "Beyond the Sea," and "The Erlenmeyer Flask." Any episode that contained Deep Throat or the Cigarette-Smoking Man added even more interest. Episodes that don't work as well are missing these elements, such as "Space" and "Eve." Still, even the episodes that aren't the best of the season are still pretty good, better than the majority of stuff on television then AND now. This first season collection is first-rate. The episodes look crisp and clear. The only gripe - not many deleted/extra scenes. Still, a great package to celebrate the first season of a great series. 7 discs (6 discs with episodes, one bonus disc)
4 episodes per disc
Rating:
Summary: The TV series that changed your life forever.......
Review: In September 1993, the US Network station FOX needed a TV show to help it stay stable. They expected little of this odd show from Chris Carter. It was called The X-Files and was a hit. It went from popular cult to become a global phenomenon. Never before has a TV show been so popular...except maybe Baywatch, but we all know half the viewers were just watching it for Pamela Anderson, don't we? No, this was a TV show of extreme quality and class. Yes, it was about aliens and the occult, but that didn't matter - OK, it did...but not to the extent that it was all they went on about. Beneath the surface of all this sci-fi was the rare and unique chemistry of Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson respectively, the two were perfect for the roles of the two agents. This factor - along with the storylines - is the strong point of the show. The two are simply legendary characters in TV history and are definitely the most symbolic TV show characters of all-time...except for, of course, Pamela Anderson's famous pair... In The X-Files' Season 1 opening episode - Pilot - FBI Agent Dana Scully is assigned to work with fellow FBI Agent Fox Mulder. The X-Files is opened; a series of cases in which the two agents are assigned by the FBI Headquarters in Washington D.C. to investigate unexplainable and downright freaky occurrences that take place up and down the US. Scully is the serious-minded medical scientist who seems to have a negative response to most, if not all, of Mulder's theories. Mulder, on the other hand, is the one that believes in almost anything he sees possible. He is incredibly determined to prove the existence of extra-terrestrial life, expose the government's secret plans and much more at any chance he gets. Scully is more laid-back on the whole subject and always seems to have a more believable theory on a certain subject than Mulder. The episode is very strong for a pilot episode and pulls it off to superb effect. The episodes throughout the entire nine year of The X-Files are split into two - the mythological episodes and the stand-alone episodes. The former deal with the sci-fi arc of the show which is its main focus, and the stand-alone episodes deal with a vast range of occult subjects such as grisly murders, psychic happenings, urban legends, religion, possession and much more. The mythological episodes are few and far between in Season 1, but they are superior treats when they occur. In Deep Throat, a tip from a secret government contact leads Mulder and Scully on a trail of missing test pilots and a possible government cover-up of a UFO crash site. In Fallen Angel, the future of The X-Files project is threatened when Mulder infiltrates a secret government cover up of a UFO crash site. In the episode E.B.E., a UFO is shot down over the Middle East and secretly transported to the US. Mulder and Scully are sent on a wild UFO chase by Deep Throat, only to find it does not exist and they have been sent to distract them from preventing the truth - whatever it is - from prevailing. In the final episode of Season 1 - The Erlenmeyer Flask - Scully uncovers startling and shocking evidence that the US government has been secretly testing alien DNA on humans with disastrous results. Deep Throat is also killed in this episode and The X-Files project is officially shut down. The stand-alone episodes of The X-Files Season 1 are all outstanding. Rarely does a television show produce top notch episodes time and time again, but The X-Files does it easily. Highlights include Squeeze, The Jersey Devil, Ghost On The Machine, Fire, Lazarus, Miracle Man, Shapes, Darkness Falls, Tooms, Born Again and Roland. In Ice, the agents are stranded in a remote Arctic research station and stalked by a worm-like parasite that controls the mind of its host. Eve is a chilling episode in which the agents discover an eugenics experiment that has produced a race of identical, extremely intelligent and murderous children. Gillian Anderson's shining moment of glory comes in Beyond The Sea. Scully's father dies suddenly and they investigate a case in which the only way they can locate an elusive kidnapper is to enlist the help of a death-row inmate with psychic powers. The inmate also knows a message which Scully's father tried to tell her before he died. The episode is emotionally tough for Scully and Anderson is awesome when she confronts the psychic about how he tricked Agent Mulder towards the end of the episode. Gender Bender is a misunderstood episode that many people find rubbish, but I find rather entertaining. Bizarre murders are committed by a killer who can change sex at will. The agents are led to a town with a simple and seemingly ordinary tribe, who is hiding a much larger and darker secret. I really was scared for Mulder and Scully when they returned back to the house of these strange folk in the middle of the night. Something about those people and the way they act frightened me to death! OVERALL GRADE: 10/10 If you're a fan of the X-Files, the Season 1 DVD Box Set is absolutely essential as this is where it all began! Buy this Box Set and witness the foundations on which one of the most popular, controversial, talked-about and downright intelligent TV shows in history is set. Be a part of the X-Files all over again...buy this box set from Amazon now!
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