Is The X-Files Worth Watching Start to Finish?

Submitted by ofthedappersort t3_11z5iol in television

I discovered this show like 15 years ago and absolutely loved it and still do. However, I'm sure I've missed several episodes especially the ones without Mulder & Scully. I appreciate the "overarching conspiracy" storyline but I definitely prefer the monster-of-the-week episodes. With all that being said, is it worth it to watch the whole series? There's a lot of episodes and I know some of them are clunky. I also could never get into the Doggett & Reyes episodes as much. What do you think?

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RectifiedUser t1_jdb0fnn wrote

I would say watch till the end of season 7 then after that you can make the decision of if you want to stop or continue on with it.

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PedroEglasias t1_jdc3ad2 wrote

Yup as a complete obsessive fan, this is correct. It's a fantastic show, production value and writing was only overshadowed by sopranos and the wire. BUT...Duchovny leaving really wasn't healthy, Robert Patrick is a legend, but the real magic was the dynamic between Duchovny and Gillian Anderson combined with Chris Carters writing.

And huge shout out to Mark Snows compositions, music was huge part of the show

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Confident_Basil_2213 t1_jdc8azh wrote

I'd say S10 and S11 it sort of finds it footing again. S10 Ep3 for me is easily an all time Top 20 episode.

But yeah if you skip S8 and S9 and cherry pick S10 and S11 you'll have a more enjoyable experience.

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British_Commie t1_jddv1oc wrote

The overarching mythology episodes in Seasons 10 and 11 are awful, but the Monster Of The Week episodes are fantastic

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Maverick916 t1_jdd0lhi wrote

Disagree, watch at least season 8. The Doggett/Scully connection is really good here.

Season 9 aint great though.

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British_Commie t1_jddvmjz wrote

Not sure why you've been downvoted. The Doggett and Scully dynamic was pretty interesting, especially with how the show was really running out of steam by the end of Season 7.

I'd say that Season 8 is pretty up-and-down, but there's stuff good stuff there.

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br0b1wan t1_jdd1awx wrote

Agreed. Once Mulder is out and Doggett is in, it loses the magic. End of season 7 is where I really stopped watching.

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DRACULA_WOLFMAN t1_jdiaydr wrote

I think season 8 is totally fine, Doggett is a good character and it was a nice change of pace after season 7, which has the worst episodes in my opinion. It is hard to get over Mulder being gone though.

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Nobodycares2022 t1_jdb71wq wrote

Yes , but no one will blame you skipping over the Doggett & Reyes episodes. I usually skip over them when I rewatch The X Files

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MeasurementNo0 t1_jdb002a wrote

I would say to watch it until it gets too lore heavy. The seasons where the episodes are more standalone are fantastic

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SomboSteel t1_jdb2owv wrote

This. Just don’t expect much out of the main narrative and enjoy all the short stories along the way

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reddit455 t1_jdb1qqp wrote

did you ever see

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_(TV_series)

Millennium is an American television series created by Chris Carter (creator of The X-Files), which aired on Fox from October 25, 1996, to May 21, 1999. The series follows the investigations of ex-FBI agent Frank Black (Lance Henriksen), now a consultant, with the ability to see inside the minds of criminals, working for a mysterious organization known as the Millennium Group.

​

it's a worthy distraction.

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KlaatuBrute t1_jdf1kbl wrote

Man do I miss mid-90s/early-2000s Fox TV. Millennium, X-Files, Sliders, MANTIS, Dark Angel, Firefly, and probably many more I can't remember.

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tedfundy t1_jdbozfh wrote

What’s it on? I can’t find it.

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USCJets t1_jdbrj6e wrote

It's not on streaming services last time I checked a couple of months ago. I had to buy the dvd sets which can be kinda expensive for all 3 seasons around $200.

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tedfundy t1_jdbrks8 wrote

Damn. Ok. Thank you.

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Papatheosis t1_jdcltd0 wrote

I’m sure someone could send you a link of where to stream it (not torrent) if you really want it. (Hint: I do, just ask).

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rood_sandstorm t1_jdbqo0n wrote

Ahhh yeah. His password is “Soylent are people too” or something like that lol

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MattyKatty t1_jddx740 wrote

I’m just glad you didn’t reference The Lone Gunmen show

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whoisdatmaskedman t1_jdjpsvm wrote

There was also a spin-off for X-Files, called the lone gunmen, which focused on those characters. Only 1 season I believe, but worth watching.

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PeterIanStaker t1_jdcrojg wrote

I did rewatch the series recently, and I'd say a lot of it holds up really well.

This seems to be an unpopular opinion, but I really enjoyed the spooky government covering up aliens main arc of the story, up to a point. Right up until the movie comes out actually. After that it starts to trundle badly and doesn't really go anywhere interesting.

That would be my recommendation in fact. Watch straight through up to (and including) the movie. From that point on, just pick and choose the good stand alone episodes, of which there are still many.

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bcraig8870 t1_jdd1wys wrote

This has always been my opinion, even during the show’s run. When the film came out I just logically assumed they would retire it from television and make a new film once every two or three years. After all, this was still in the time when film was by far the preferred and more esteemed art form. There wasn’t a Sopranos-level series on a dozen different streaming services. But logic never got in the way of a studio executive trying to squeeze blood from a turnip.

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TheNerd420 t1_jdb0qld wrote

Absolutely 💯! it’s still my favorite show to this day!

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LemonsAreDangerous t1_jdb9ij1 wrote

As a fan of the series, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ... Well, maybe? One of my favorite TV watching experiences ever was hate watching Season 11, so maybe it was all worth it but there's so much trash in get through.

I will say give Season 8 another try, it's underrated.

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Smoothw t1_jdbikhx wrote

Season 9 and the revival are pretty dogshit even if you are a massive fan, I would just skip em. If anything,the revival story episodes are even worse than the story episodes of season 9.

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BoobsGal t1_jdb6tbd wrote

Not really. It’s still a good show though, and you can skip entire episodes within a season and not really miss anything (in a good way)

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michaelyup t1_jdb0lz7 wrote

I was young when the show was new and watched every Sunday. I was in college, still watching, but lost interest when Mulder and Scully phased out. I’ve tried to rewatch start to finish since it’s all on Hulu. I end up skipping around to the stand alone ‘creature feature’ episodes and skipping the ongoing drama episodes.

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haley_joel_osteen t1_jdb46mt wrote

Was originally Friday nights, if you were watching the early seasons live.

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michaelyup t1_jdb4mwf wrote

Sounds about right. Maybe I did too many drugs in college to remember all those details. But, cerulean blue, I remember.

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Crashtag t1_jdbgqei wrote

It was great early on. Trailed off toward the end.

I’m still so annoyed at how bad the movies were. They could have done so much, yet they were like long episodes of a show, and not good.

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malko2 t1_jdc5bby wrote

Absolutely. They make some cast changes later in, but I think even after then, it's still worth watching.

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supercalifragilism t1_jdd620g wrote

Yes, it is.

A lot of the mindblowing stuff (serialized arcs) is humdrum these days, but they were genuinely executing a lot of fantastic stories on a week-to-week basis. You'll be surprised at how good a lot of the episodes are, and by season 3 or four the black comedy elements are building and the Twin Peaks vibe start to rise. You'll probably end up looking forward to the monster-of-the-week episodes, and you should pay attention to the episode writers, you'll start developing favorite writers.

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Parking_Onion_3846 t1_jdelhwv wrote

> You'll be surprised at how good a lot of the episodes are, and by season 3 or four the black comedy elements are building

Even season 2 already has a really good one of those (S2-20, Humbug).

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Xenu66 t1_jdbq3eq wrote

As a long time fan, Season 1 to 6 are almost all good episodes, the first movie is good, 7 through 9 are OK, definitely a lot of good ones in there and the second movie and the 2 revival seasons are pretty questionable imo, they probably shouldn't have bothered trying to bring it back

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moveoolong t1_jdbr5fz wrote

I’m not a huge fan but some of those monster of the week episodes are still very, very good.

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Mikkelzen t1_jdcpru8 wrote

i watched all of the seasons except for the very new stuff (forgot those seasons names) for the first time about a year and a half ago. i then watched it again half a year later (whole series). X-files is IMO one of the best television shows to have ever been made = very worth it

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valentino_42 t1_jdcww8g wrote

I love the X-Files... there are great "creature of the week" episodes, there tons of great mytharc episodes. But man this show wanted to have its cake and eat it too. It wanted to be a never-ending serial drama, but it also built itself around the strange strange occurrence of Mulder’s sister’s abduction that demanded some satisfying answer. If it had limited itself to 5 or 6 seasons with an actual conclusion, it would be perfect. But as evidence by this thread, it just tapered off towards the end. It just kept feeding mystery boxes and never giving satisfying answers, just adding more and more.

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Psnjerry t1_jdd1i2n wrote

I haven’t got past season 7 so yeah good until that

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mikevago t1_jdd3rw0 wrote

It was a hugely influential show, but the quality from episode to episode could be uneven compared to the contemporary shows they influenced. (For starters, they had to come up with 26 episodes a year instead of 10-12). And it absolutely drops off after Duchovny leaves. There are a few good episodes here and there, but you're well within your rights to stop watching then.

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haley_joel_osteen t1_jdb41b6 wrote

No. Loved it in the early seasons, but it went way off the rails even before Duchovny left.

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Mrcollaborator t1_jdbv5ha wrote

No. Just the main storyline episodes for me about the government conspiracy / gray aliens.

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MulderYuffie t1_jdceb8d wrote

I would say so yes even Season 8 and 9 but the 2nd movie and season 10 and 11 are soooo bad. I actually completely forgot about the revival seasons again until I saw it mentioned here in the comments lmao.

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kathryn13 t1_jdcpl62 wrote

IMO, it's worth watching from through the end of season 8.

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Dorkpolare t1_jdcqh1s wrote

If you haven't watched it, you might wanna try Fringe. It is a more consistent mystery of the week show that gradually turns into a deeper narrative.

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Krinks1 t1_jdcvipw wrote

Fringe is fantastic and John Noble was horribly under-recognized for awards for that show.

Plus: Anna Torv.

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the_wessi t1_jdd0os5 wrote

X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen was great too.

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TriscuitCracker t1_jdd6doy wrote

Yeah, watch until S7 and then if you want to stop, feel free. Watch the Fight the Future movie.

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thegoldenboy444 t1_jddfcp1 wrote

I loved the first season cause it was just monster of the week.

I stopped after the first season, but surely Mulder doesn't become too obsessed with his sister right from the second season, right??

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Thomas_JCG t1_jddikw8 wrote

I'm a huge fan of the series, and my answer would be no. They had a really solid premise but kinda lost themselves on the plot, to the point most people can't even tell you what was going on. If you want to watch it, check the "monster-of-the-week" episodes, that's where the show shined the most.

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The_Firmament t1_jddjtrr wrote

I wanted to love this show. All signs pointed toward it being in my wheelhouse, but I could only make it through like 5 or so episodes. I think it has less to do with its quality and maybe to do with it being stuck in the formulaic, procedurals of the time? Since they had to have 20+ episodes a season I could already feel stuff being dragged out or used as filler or becoming repetitious.

I've tried twice to get into it, but it just didn't grab me, which still surprises me. I don't know, kinda bummed. I would wager people will suggest to stick with it and The Monster of the Week thing falls by the wayside after a while, so I would ask, where that begins and would it still work if I just skipped to that?

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FatherSlippyfist t1_jdtefnc wrote

In X-Files, the monster of the week thing is the best part. The mytharc becomes a completely irredeemable mess after a few seasons.

However, X-Files did take a while to get it's footing like many shows. First season is pretty week. Second season is better. Third is where it becomes great.

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The_Firmament t1_jdvcvf6 wrote

Okay, I figured it had to get better considering its reputation. I find it difficult since the seasons are soooo long compared to now. If it were only like 8-10 I had to sit there I could power through, but I don't know if I can do 40+ to get to the good stuff. If I started again with S2 or even S3 would I be totally lost? Is there too much foundation I'd miss?

And thanks for replying, I'm glad someone finally responded to it!

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McManus42 t1_jde1q94 wrote

Up until the end of s6. Anything past that isn't great. The story has a decent conclusion at the end of s5 and s6 has some great episodes. The rest are kind of trash

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Hopeann t1_jde7j7j wrote

Short answer yes long answer h*** yeah.

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MosquitoClarinet t1_jdea8pk wrote

I'm convinced the season 8 finale is the perfect time to stop as it's the only satisfying ending and season 9 is just... Not good.

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Big-End-9824 t1_jden1x5 wrote

I recently enjoyed watching it again. It’s a bit dated though but still enjoyable.

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exaslave t1_jdfgysl wrote

To finish?

Not really, I didn't like the revival that much and before that there were some flaky seasons but by that point you can probably decide if you want to continue on the big changes. Before that there's many seasons of great content.

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Mainlandempire t1_jdfmt1z wrote

You could try fringe, same type of show less seasons

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ofthedappersort OP t1_jdfnr7x wrote

I've heard good things but one of the biggest reasons I like X Files is Mulder & Scully.

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ofthedappersort OP t1_jdht7c5 wrote

UPDATE: Apparently Bruce Campbell was considered for the role of Doggett. God that would've been amazing.

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WrongKindaGrowth t1_jdmuvgk wrote

Yes, and the revival has an amazing episode with just Mulder and Scully that's just so much fun. Watch it all!

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xNuts t1_jdbv5c9 wrote

Nope. Some episodes are really outdated and don't stand up so well nowadays.

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