My overriding memory of the show was watching the episode Ice and, direct ripoff of The Thing that it is, being blown away by it. As a show it really did hit the full spectrum of storytelling styles over the course of its run. Some episodes are SF, some are straight up horror, others owe a debt to the supernatural. There was the real-time episode, the Groundhog Day one, the black & white one, the 'follow the main characters with a camera crew' one, etc.
Like most I did lose interest towards the end due to the reasons you mentioned (specifically the convoluted on going plot which left me completely lost) but I'm optimistic for these new episodes.
Did you by any chance catch Dark Skies? This was a short-lived '60s set series made a few years after The X-Files, and probably falls into the category of something that tried to cash in on the X-Files' success as it involved Area 51, Roswell, grey aliens and conspiracies. I do recall a later episode of The X-Files that had a number of elements that seemed borrowed from Dark Skies (my theory being one of the writers joined The X-Files and dusted off an old script). It wasn't a great show by any stretch, but at time when The X-Files was holding its cards with respect to plot developments, I appreciated how much Dark Skies revealed in its early episodes.
Thanks for the feedback! We're not above flattery here.
I agree with the storytelling spectrum observation, as the episodes we watched back both struck me as un-typical X-Files episodes.
I personally never caught Dark Skies but was aware of it. I think at the time I enjoyed the monster of the week episodes of the X-Files more than the alien stuff so was probably turned off by a show that was 100% aliens. It's a shame though because it sounds like I missed out on something good. I'll add it the ever-growing list of TV shows I need to watch.
Great stuff guys.
ReplyDeleteMy overriding memory of the show was watching the episode Ice and, direct ripoff of The Thing that it is, being blown away by it. As a show it really did hit the full spectrum of storytelling styles over the course of its run. Some episodes are SF, some are straight up horror, others owe a debt to the supernatural. There was the real-time episode, the Groundhog Day one, the black & white one, the 'follow the main characters with a camera crew' one, etc.
Like most I did lose interest towards the end due to the reasons you mentioned (specifically the convoluted on going plot which left me completely lost) but I'm optimistic for these new episodes.
Did you by any chance catch Dark Skies? This was a short-lived '60s set series made a few years after The X-Files, and probably falls into the category of something that tried to cash in on the X-Files' success as it involved Area 51, Roswell, grey aliens and conspiracies. I do recall a later episode of The X-Files that had a number of elements that seemed borrowed from Dark Skies (my theory being one of the writers joined The X-Files and dusted off an old script). It wasn't a great show by any stretch, but at time when The X-Files was holding its cards with respect to plot developments, I appreciated how much Dark Skies revealed in its early episodes.
Thanks for the feedback! We're not above flattery here.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the storytelling spectrum observation, as the episodes we watched back both struck me as un-typical X-Files episodes.
I personally never caught Dark Skies but was aware of it. I think at the time I enjoyed the monster of the week episodes of the X-Files more than the alien stuff so was probably turned off by a show that was 100% aliens. It's a shame though because it sounds like I missed out on something good. I'll add it the ever-growing list of TV shows I need to watch.