Re: The X-Files

I haven't seen Fight For the Future in a year or so won't comment on that.  Although I always liked the big set pieces to it.

I Want To Believe I always actually was not much of a fan of because how dark the subject matter and content was.   It just didn't bother me in the same way in my rewatch the other day.

What I loved was how it made me really think about the concept of faith.  I enjoyed the ambiguity as well.  That's much more what life is like and what faith is like.   I don't think the movie gave me answers but allowed me to dwell / think through the concepts.  And it worked for me as a standalone film or an x files entry because, well, faith is at the center of the x files universe.

That said I understand it's not a film that's everyone's cup of tea. It wasn't even mind up until this point.  But I took a lot out of it this time around and I also appreciated the locations and cinematography.

Re: The X-Files

The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat was really such a classic episode.

The irony is die-hards loved it and casual viewers did not.   I think a lot of what hardcore fans vs. the casual audience wanted was in conflict at times.

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

Where is this fanfic?! I must read it!

It only exists in my head - I never wrote it sad

Re: The X-Files

At least have the decency to let us see that novel you wrote!

**

"The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat" rubs a lot of X-Philes the wrong way because the Dr. They conspiracy and the plot are deliberately contradictory. Reggie is a mental patient, yet Mulder meets Dr. They and Skinner recognizes Reggie as a an FBI colleague. The episode also declares that in an era of absurd misinformation and conspiracies that have terrible real world consequences, THE X-FILES has become an artifact that might best be laid to rest.

It's a good episode.

Re: The X-Files

Super interesting comments from Chris Carter on the latest episode of the X-Cast podcast yesterday.

I think it was around the 30 minute mark but he said he cast Robert Patrick as Doggett because he had loved what he did in.... Fire in the Sky.

Pretty cool Tracy Torme officially has had a material impact on affecting both the Sliders universe and the X-Files universe.

Re: The X-Files

I'm only 20 minutes into the X-CAST episode, but regarding Chris Carter's post-Season 11 interviews: Carter's comments have been incoherent and nonsensical and contradictory. He said he didn't adjust his script for Gillian Anderson quitting; then he said he did adjust. He said that he knew Gillian Anderson was quitting; then he said it took him by surprise. He said he'd do a Season 12 without Gillian; then he said he wouldn't. He's also said that the mythology of Season 10 isn't meant to pick up on the original mythology and then claims that it does; that the black oil was going to return in Season 11 (even though it didn't), that Monica Reyes would have a huge role in Season 11 (but didn't), etc..

My personal opinion: Carter smokes a lot of weed. And there's nothing wrong with personal enjoyment, but it's pretty clear to me that constant, daily, high usage has damaged his memory and made him incapable of planning or recall, which is also why Carter couldn't seem to keep track of where Mulder and Scully were living in Season 11 or which cars they drove.

And when he's like this, Carter is hopeless. Oh, in X-CAST, I've just come to the segment where Carter says he wasn't aware that Gillian was quitting until he read about it on the internet at which point he decided to create a cliffhanger with Skinner getting run over -- except Gillian didn't say she was quitting until well-after that episode had been filmed.

This man can't remember what he's saying or doing from minute to minute. I really don't think it would kill him if he stayed sober on weekdays or the night before interviews.

I give up.

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

IOh, in X-CAST, I've just come to the segment where Carter says he wasn't aware that Gillian was quitting until he read about it on the internet at which point he decided to create a cliffhanger with Skinner getting run over -- except Gillian didn't say she was quitting until well-after that episode had been filmed.

I caught that too and was confused.  But never backtracked to look if she had made another set of comments ahead of time..

Re: The X-Files

Regarding the X-Files (and SLIDERS), it's interesting how they were both fox shows, shot around the same time.  Both filmed in vancouver (and eventually relocated to LA).

Does anyone find it interesting that with these similarities, there really feels like there is a different style in how each one was shot.   As extremely respectable as Sliders S1 was, X-Files just seemed to feel a bit better done, a little bit more cinematic, and even more of an expensive feeling.   I wonder if this is because SLIDERS in part had a sitcom-ish tone to some degree, and it was more trying to be reflective of its heavy humor element in how it was shot, etc.

Re: The X-Files

Probably, SLIDERS reflects how it came from creators who had previously worked on the NAKED GUN series and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- comedies and parodies. In contrast, THE X-FILES was based on KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER and inspired by the Watergate scandal; THE X-FILES was a criminal procedural in a world of horror while SLIDERS was a dramedy drawing on the talent of sketch comedians.

370 (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2023-01-23 18:13:54)

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

Probably, SLIDERS reflects how it came from creators who had previously worked on the NAKED GUN series and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE -- comedies and parodies. In contrast, THE X-FILES was based on KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER and inspired by the Watergate scandal; THE X-FILES was a criminal procedural in a world of horror while SLIDERS was a dramedy drawing on the talent of sketch comedians.

great observation, makes sense.  (btw, wrong thread?).

we also do see some twin peaks style pacing, cinematography as well, i think.

one interesting thing was i was a HUGE fan of the Naked Gun movies (and Leslie Nielsen) growing up.  It wasn't until SLIDERS was finished that I realized it's Weiss connection and the shared DNA.

Re: The X-Files

https://twitter.com/DiscussingFilm/stat … 1698696224

Re: The X-Files

X Files had a 30th anniversary event in Saratoga Springs, New York, home of the X-Files Preservation Collection / Musuem.   They have another planned July 5-7 in 2024.

Looks like this year's was a success despite the location being somewhat out of the way:
https://twitter.com/William_B_Davis/sta … 1607228416

Coverage:
https://twitter.com/XFilesMuseum

https://www.saratogian.com/2023/07/08/t … f-x-files/

Re: The X-Files

@XFilesMuseum
We are making room for new inventory so we need to clear out the old.   This is your chance to enjoy a 10% discount on all orders over $15.00  in store and online.  Sale ends 8/1/23

https://twitter.com/XFilesMuseum/status … 8177184773

Some pretty cool items:
https://xfilespreservationcollection.co … hop?page=2

Re: The X-Files

RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan wrote:

X Files had a 30th anniversary event in Saratoga Springs, New York, home of the X-Files Preservation Collection / Musuem.   They have another planned July 5-7 in 2024.

Looks like this year's was a success despite the location being somewhat out of the way:
https://twitter.com/William_B_Davis/sta … 1607228416

Coverage:
https://twitter.com/XFilesMuseum

https://www.saratogian.com/2023/07/08/t … f-x-files/


Podcast episode on the event

https://twitter.com/TheX_Cast/status/16 … 6184169473

Re: The X-Files

X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES: CRYPTIDS, BIOLOGICAL ANOMALIES, AND PARAPSYCHIC PHENOMENA was an official collection of 50 monster of the week FBI casefiles (in-universe documents). A sequel has been announced: X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES: EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY AND THE SYNDICATE, covering the Colonization myth-arc, release date December 21, 2023. I'm not sure how the book can make sense of it after Seasons 10 - 11.

X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES: CRYPTIDS, BIOLOGICAL ANOMALIES, AND PARAPSYCHIC PHENOMENA is a wonderful book by Paul Terry. It is a collection of FBI casefiles, photographs, archival notes covering 50 of Mulder and Scully's monster-of-the-week cases. This is not a guidebook to the entire series, but rather a curated collection of in-universe documents.

The files are, of course, written in the voices of Mulder and Scully preparing their reports after their investigations with photographs showing scenes, items, and evidence. Author Paul Terry had, for this licensed book, gotten access to FOX and Chris Carter's prop collections to take photos. In some cases, Terry had to recreate the props as digital images for the book.

One delightful touch: as the X-Files department was set on fire and their records burned in the Season 5 finale "The End", the book has frequent notes from Agent Leyla Harrison (the FBI accountant from Season 8 & 9's "Alone" and "Scary Monsters") detailing how many of the files we're seeing are reconstructions and partially recovered retrievals from damaged computer files. Many of the pre-Season 6 files have scorch and burn marks to account for how they are present in this casebook after the fire. It's a hilarious and clever approach to justifying these files' existence after the show destroyed them.

Now, Terry has turned his casefile approach to Colonization and what is going to be even more of a continuity conundrum than the fire of "The End".

From Eat The Corn's Facebook Page:

Following the revelations of the cases declassified in THE X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES: CRYPTIDS, BIOLOGICAL ANOMALIES, AND PARAPSYCHIC PHENOMENA comes this vital second volume of top-secret X-Files: THE X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES VOLUME II: EXTRATERRESTRIAL ACTIVITY AND THE SYNDICATE details Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder’s close encounters with alien beings and exposes the secrets of the shadowy Syndicate.

Featuring UFOs, little green men, and the conspiracies to hide them from the public, these richly detailed and painstakingly re-created case files open up the X-Files universe like never before. These vital cases served as the backbone to the cult television series and provided a powerful throughline and emotional lifeline for Agent Mulder.

Now, through archival imagery and unredacted reports, fans can experience firsthand the thrills of some of the series’ most beloved episodes, including “Deep Throat,” “Jose Chung’s from Outer Space,” “Fight the Future,” “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man,” and many more.

I am not sure how these casefiles will reconcile the Season 1- 9 mythology with Seasons 10 - 11 declaring that it was all a hoax. I am not clear if the book will even cover Seasons 10 - 11 and none of those episodes are listed (although no comprehensive list of episodes covered in Volume II is available yet).

Season 10 provided a broad, blanket explanation ("There is no alien conspiracy") that dismissed the black oil, bees, alien human hybrids, bounty hunters, buried spaceships, Faceless Rebels and Syndicate as a distraction.

It would be rather self-defeating if all of these casefiles were labelled as hoaxes.

Season 11 offers a scrap of reconciliation: the Mr. Y character (never seen in Seasons 1 - 9) gives brief exposition: "We were all part of a Syndicate involved in alien colonization" and adds, "The aliens are not coming," explaining that they have lost interest in planet Earth due to environmental damage, awkwardly shifting "There is no alien conspiracy" to "There is no longer an alien conspiracy". It goes by so quickly that I've never been able to really assimilate it.

I guess writer Paul Terry could go with the view that Colonization was a real but abandoned plan, and gently treat the "hoax" explanation of Season 10 as erroneous opinion rather than fact.

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES: CRYPTIDS, BIOLOGICAL ANOMALIES, AND PARAPSYCHIC PHENOMENA is a wonderful book by Paul Terry. It is a collection of FBI casefiles, photographs, archival notes covering 50 of Mulder and Scully's monster-of-the-week cases. This is not a guidebook to the entire series, but rather a curated collection of in-universe documents.

I have this and love it.

I honestly wish you would do a SLIDERS book -- something more on the history of the show, perhaps with essays and critques as well. 

Although I admit it, you might only sell 100 copies (not because of the quality, of course). 

That said, it would be great to have a history before anyone associated with SLIDERS passes away --- though obviously Peckinpah is gone.

Re: The X-Files

Well, I feel TF has captured the important stuff in Dimension of Continuity which is currently available via Archive.org. I admit, I've been so busy lately (hence the lack of posts) that I haven't even managed to finish converting SLIDERS REBORN to ePub format (although I am about halfway through converting the sixth and final part).

In podcasts, Carter had alluded to a novelist writing a new X-FILES novel that he had been reviewing. It definitely wasn't this project, though, and Carter did not name the author. Since then, I haven't heard anything about it. Maybe it didn't go forward.

Before the writers and actors' strike, there was some indication that the excellent Ryan Coogler (BLACK PANTHER) was going to be reviving THE X-FILES either as a reboot or a continuation with a new cast. Obviously, it's all shut down now and who knows what will survive the strike. Hopefully, THE X-FILES will be back in some form, preferably with a more competent creator.

378 (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2023-08-10 19:41:46)

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

Before the writers and actors' strike, there was some indication that the excellent Ryan Coogler (BLACK PANTHER) was going to be reviving THE X-FILES either as a reboot or a continuation with a new cast.

I did hear that.

Yes, when the strikes end, I have a feeling less content will be ordered in the past.

Even if X-Files  is a bit of a mess re: mythology and handling Scully and her child, it's staying power feels significant.

Re: The X-Files

https://www.avclub.com/the-x-files-at-3 … 1850803122

Re: The X-Files

THE X-FILES was definitely groundbreaking when it first aired 1993. It presented horror and science fiction in the context and budget of a TV budget police procedural. It presented itself as a show with an ongoing mythology with fans urgently combing through ancient texts from cultures across the globe to uncover Chris Carter's secret code. It delved into shadow government conspiracy theories that were often too bizarre for the mainstream and presented them in the familiar cop show context. It made ideas that were too fantasy-oriented and too peculiar seem accessible.

However, it quickly became a follower rather than a leader. BABYLON 5 debuted in 1994 and began an ongoing arc. BUFFY debuted in 1997 and showed that you could do ongoing continuity as well. BABYLON 5 and BUFFY would hint at cataclysmic events... and show them. And move onto something new.

Meanwhile, THE X-FILES, even by its ninth season, was still teasing a future alien invasion story that it could never actually show onscreen with a TV budget.

Of course, BABYLON 5 and BUFFY were niche shows for sci-fi and fantasy fans. THE X-FILES, however, was a major network show courting a general audience, and THE X-FILES had a viewership and a fanbase and a legacy that BABYLON 5 and BUFFY can never hope to match. And THE X-FILES could have absolutely achieved the same pop cultural immortality as STAR TREK if it had reinvented and updated itself.

But unfortunately, it came back in 2016 and was hilariously dated. The idea of federal government masterminding a secret shadow government was laughable in an age where conspiracies are obvious and open in the capitalistic gluttony of the military industrial complex. The idea that aliens could be hidden from the public in an age of YouTube was absurd.

THE X-FILES revival mythology was toxic: a lot of the X-FILES shadow government conspiracy concepts had become based in fraudulent health misinformation where essential and life-saving vaccines were falsely called toxic by pseudoscientists and fakes.

THE X-FILES revival doubled-down on this anti-vaccine, anti-health misinformation that was eccentric in the 90s but outrageously foolish and harmful in 2016. It was truly misguided for Chris Carter to present polio vaccines as the delivery system for the Spartan Virus, especially when Carter himself is absolutely not an anti-vaxxer and just wanted the dangerous vaccines as a plot device.

It's funny: when comparing the 2018 season of SUPERNATURAL and the 2018 season of THE X-FILES: SUPERNATURAL's 2018 season (its 14th) was a strong combination of ongoing arcs and standalones. The season premiere established the threat of a rogue archangel. Character relationships progressed each week even if individual cases were wrapped up, the rogue archangel story expanded the show's mythos with new developments and revelations.

In contrast, THE X-FILES' 2018 season seemed deeply confused. The Season 10 cliffhanger was dismissed as a dream. The Season 11 premiere established that Mulder and Scully were searching for their son; it isn't mentioned again until Episode 5, doesn't come back until Episode 10. Episode 2 has Mulder and Scully living in the same house in a romantic relationship; Episode 7 has Mulder visiting Scully's separate house and saying he's never been there. Episode 1 has Mulder driving a Mustang; Episode 7 has Scully driving an SUV that Scully drove in the 2017 season.

Episode 3 has Mulder and Scully romantically involved; Episode 4 has Mulder disappearing for days and not bothering to tell Scully. Episode 1 has Mulder and Scully losing all trust in Skinner; Episode 6 has them helping Skinner without confronting him. Season 11 had some great episodes ("This", "Lost Art of Forehead Sweat", "Ghouli", "Followers", "Nothing Lasts Forever"), but against the incoherent continuity, the characters seemed like different people in different lives from week to week. It was alienating and confusing.

I'm not saying that the continuity of SUPERNATURAL was ever perfect, but SUPERNATURAL never lost track of where the characters were living, who they were dating and what they were driving.

Looking at the 2018 series finales for SUPERNATURAL and THE X-FILES: SUPERNATURAL's season finale asked some difficult questions about why evil and injustice exist, featured some strong comedy and compelling action, and had a shocking climax where Sam and Dean confront their enemy: God.

In contrast, THE X-FILES' season finale had a shootout, a car chase, a run around a dark warehouse... and had nothing much to say about conspiracy, legacy, family, faith or science. THE X-FILES finale had nothing to say about anything.

This sort of time-slot filling, statement-free mediocrity is no longer enough for a TV show to become a global phenomenon.

There is a lot of good work in TV. QUANTUM LEAP is a heartfelt treatise on empathy augmented by technology, STRANGER THINGS is a haunting period piece, and even low stakes comedies like the SAVED BY THE BELL and iCARLY revivals were able to revisit former storylines with care, introduce ongoing arcs, and keep track of where everyone lived and who was dating whom from week to week.

It's absurd that Mulder and Scully were not receiving ongoing character arcs in 2018 when that same year featured Archie Andrews, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the Ninja Turtles with season-long development. If THE X-FILES can't meet the standard of Archie, Sabrina and the Turtles, then THE X-FILES has no business being on TV.

I hope THE X-FILES will come back someday with a showrunner who can keep track of where everyone lives and who is dating whom from week to week.

Re: The X-Files

So it looks like there is yet another X-Files event  Philefest or something and I think it's at Mall of America?

https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/philefest/
https://twitter.com/hashtag/Philefest
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/Philefest/

Re: The X-Files

A bunch of interviews by the X-Cast team from PhileFest.

https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-x-cas … es-podcast

Re: The X-Files

Another good podcast covering the PhileFest event in Minneapolis.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1 … 0627997261

This is just a one-episode recap (no interviews or live coverage like the other one).

It's interesting hearing all this stuff, because X-Files and Sliders obviously came around at the same time, under the same network, and both have high brand awareness or familiarity today among the general public who were around back then.

Yet, you listen to these podcasts and the contrast between the SLIDERS fanbase and the X-Files fanbase is so stark.  Like, obviously X-Files was a much bigger property, but they have developed critical mass to have a ton of people travel to the middle of the country, enough tickets told to have a ton of the actors appear, 30 years after the fact.  Multi-day event.  Concert (the singer who did "Why Don;t You Love Me David Duchovony).  The creator present.  All 30 years later.

Now you think about SLIDERS.  A SLIDERS specific/only event would have trouble drawing many people just for the event.  Could you get 30?  40?  I don't know.   So there's just a huge difference.  X Files may have been 2x as popular as SLIDERS when it originally aired but the cohesion in the fanbase (still sticking together) feels 10x what SLIDERS has now.

I didn't realize there was that level of gap.

What worries me to some degree is, as wonderful as everything we'd have from SLIDERS has been, of course I want more.  And, it worries me that JRD and folks like Tracy may not be around forever.  At a certain point, any sort of event, even if it was an online reunion panel, may not be possible.  The years keep on slipping buy.   With X-FIles, the creatives behind it get to all come back together, and celebrate together.  Same with the fans.  Philefest gave everyone that wonderful feeling.  With SLIDERS, I dont know if Tracy has even seen Jerry in 25 years, or if Sabrina has seen any of the others in god knows how long, or if the core folks have been together.   Yet they had something so special originally.  And the actors' chemistry was special because how they got along.  And the fanbase drove so many resuscitations of the show.  The fanbase was special and hasnt had much to congregate around.   So it feels like people deserve this reunion but may never get one.  We may leave it at where it was in the 90s, and that's a shame.

SLIDERS, thankfully, is still not off the map.  It didnt come and go like most shows.  It still survives.  It still is on a premium streaming distributor.  Most shows disappear forever or go to second, or third tier platforms.  SLIDERS lasting  impact is not thing, it is something people still dip back into even if it's a niche.

Re: The X-Files

I suspect that THE X-FILES' longevity is not really about the diehard fans. THE X-FILES was not like SLIDERS or BUFFY or BABYLON 5 in that THE X-FILES did not sustain and survive and become successful as a niche show. THE X-FILES was a success across a wide demographic and a success for a general audience. I think it's because the science fiction and supernatural stories of THE X-FILES were presented in a highly conventional formula: the formula of police procedural.

Visually, THE X-FILES resembled a lot of dark cop shows and detective shows like NYPD BLUE or HOMICIDE. The scripting was underplayed and subtle as opposed to bombastic and stylized like BUFFY or BABYLON 5. It looked and sounded like other high profile, pseudorealistic cop shows of the era, but the stories were decidedly otherworldly and unnerving. And because THE X-FILES was able to camouflage its eccentricities in a conventional guise, the general audience was willing to accept it and follow it from a conventional(ish) beginning to some very strange places.

This allowed THE X-FILES to hit a wide range of demographics, and as a result, its viewers were just viewers in general, not a specific range of genre fans. I think this is probably why Chris Carter avoided ongoing continuity, perpetually reset the characters, never had too much advancement or development, and kept the show in a permanent holding pattern. Whatever his faults, he was trying to keep the show from alienating that general audience.

Slider_Quinn21 once remarked that his reaction to the continuity changes in the mythology were usually, "Okay! I guess this is happening now!" and admitting that he didn't remember the myth-arc well enough to be concerned by continuity errors. I suspect that's what Carter wanted most of the time, for better or for worse.

385 (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2023-09-17 20:05:02)

Re: The X-Files

I know what you mean. Let's call them diehard fans sourced from the general audience.  They aren't as concerned about the mythology of the alien invasion.   But they are highly interested and passionate.  The relationship between Mulder &Skully is important to them, Mulder's character is important to them, David Duchovny is important to them, Skully is important to  them, Gillian is important to them, Mitch Pileggi is important to them.   

It seems fan base. 2x more composed of women than sliders remaining fanbase (by percentage) I'd guess. 

Sliders fan base is less "geek" oriented than Trek's.  X files' might be more "geek" oriented than Sliders' but probably closer to Sliders' than Trek's on that scale.  Sliders' remaining fan base loved the characters (and their teamwork). X Files is closer to that than Trek's which may be more interested in thr mythology/world building.

Re: The X-Files

More coverage of Philefest:


The X-Files Chat Room Podcast
https://thexfileschatroompodcast.buzzsp … al-episode
&
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/p … 0628358985



Scully Nation
https://scullynationpod.buzzsprout.com/ … after-dark

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b … 0628420051

Re: The X-Files

Volume II of Paul Terry's book is available for pre-order.

https://www.abramsbooks.com/product/x-f … 419771392/

code XFILES30 to receive 30% off.

Now only if we had something like this for SLIDERS.

Re: The X-Files

https://twitter.com/thexfiles/status/17 … 2143474852
Coming July 30th from #1 New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray…
The X-Files: Perihelion extends Scully and Mulder's story beyond season 11.

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

August 10, 2023
In podcasts, Carter had alluded to a novelist writing a new X-FILES novel that he had been reviewing. Carter did not name the author. Since then, I haven't heard anything about it. Maybe it didn't go forward.

RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan wrote:

https://twitter.com/thexfiles/status/17 … 2143474852
Coming July 30th from #1 New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray…
The X-Files: Perihelion extends Scully and Mulder's story beyond season 11.

Penguin Random House wrote:

The X-Files: Perihelion
by Claudia Gray


The Truth Is Out There . . . But So Are Lies.

#1 New York Times best-selling author Claudia Gray extends the story of The X-Files beyond its eleventh season in this thrilling—and romantic—original novel.

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are still reeling from the death of their son William, but cautiously joyous about Scully’s unexpected pregnancy. Determined to raise this child together, Mulder and Scully struggle to find meaning away from the X-Files as they navigate the uncertain waters of their relationship. Then the FBI asks for their help tracking down two mysterious serial killers: one who seems to be able to control electricity, and another who disappears from the scene of the crime in what witnesses describe as a puff of smoke. It’s enough for the Bureau to re-open the X-Files—if Mulder and Scully are willing.

They reluctantly agree, cautious about what it might mean for them and their unborn child but determined to find justice for the killers’ victims. But their return to the X-Files sparks the interest of a shadowy cabal, the heirs to the now-dead Syndicate, and Mulder and Scully soon discover that their investigation is connected to a worldwide threat on an unprecedented scale... one with their own future at its heart.

Coming July 30, 2024.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book … udia-gray/

I am so very, very, very tired of that stupid Syndicate myth-arc. Christ on a bike, AGAIN?

But out of respect for RussianCabbie, I will put in a pre-order, read it the day it comes out, and post about it here. :-)

Re: The X-Files

interestingly enough, the twitter account deleted the tweet and didn't repost.  maybe sucked into the Bermuda Triangle.

Re: The X-Files

It could be that the announcement was premature or it could be that Twitter is not particularly reliable after its current owner fired too many engineers and stopped paying a lot of bills.

Re: The X-Files

https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/c … -interview

Re: The X-Files

hmm, didn't realize Coogler was pitching a reboot.  I think the obvious focus has to be on AI, which is IMO the gravest threat to humanity ever created.  Aliens and other such traditional conspiracies are no longer believable.

Re: The X-Files

Grizzlor wrote:

hmm, didn't realize Coogler was pitching a reboot.  I think the obvious focus has to be on AI, which is IMO the gravest threat to humanity ever created.  Aliens and other such traditional conspiracies are no longer believable.

Apparently, that might be the case.  As apparently Dean Haglund may have mentioned it 15 minutes into this interview:

https://rumble.com/v4ly10b-xfiles-lone- … llian.html

Re: The X-Files

Grizzlor wrote:

hmm, didn't realize Coogler was pitching a reboot.  I think the obvious focus has to be on AI, which is IMO the gravest threat to humanity ever created.  Aliens and other such traditional conspiracies are no longer believable.

I used to be worried about aliens or AI, but I still maintain people are the biggest danger to humanity.  At this point, there's at least a chance that aliens or AI is benevolent.

Also conspiracies used to be fun.  Now its just everything.

Re: The X-Files

I just discovered Hoopla has some x-files audiobooks I hadn't see before:

https://www.hoopladigital.com/audiobook … n/12244243

https://www.hoopladigital.com/audiobook … s/15992453

And a philosophy ebook
https://www.hoopladigital.com/ebook/the … s/11883924

397 (edited by RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan 2024-05-01 15:55:18)

Re: The X-Files

This is sad and reflective of how hard it is to put together these events

https://xfilespreservationcollection.co … -fest-2024

398 (edited by ireactions 2024-05-01 20:06:33)

Re: The X-Files

It's really tough. Fan gatherings are a leisure activity. And it's hard to spend on hotels, meals, travel and such for leisure.

I think the last movie I saw in a movie theatre was MADAME WEB and only because my job gave me a gift card. The last movie I saw in theatres on my own dime was MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING. It just does not make sense to go to a movie theatre and pay for a $15 ticket, parking, concessions, gas and such when I have an adequate TV at home with an okay speaker system.

It may not make financial sense for a lot of people to travel to a fan convention when they could use message boards, Facebook, Reddit, podcasts and ebooks for a facsimile of meeting cast and crew and attending discussion panels.

On another note: Claudia Gray's upcoming X-FILES novel, "Perihelion", costs $28 USD. https://a.co/d/4C4yXFc

Twenty. Eight. American. Dollars. Look, Claudia Gray may be a splendid author and "Perihelion" may be the greatest literary achievement since HUCKLEBERRY FINN. But even then, it would not be worth $28 American dollars in the year of our Lord 2024. It cost less to watch MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING in a movie theatre than it does to buy "Perihelion".

(I actually preordered the ebook from a Canadian bookseller for $12 USD awhile ago.)

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

It's really tough. Fan gatherings are a leisure activity. And it's hard to spend on hotels, meals, travel and such for leisure.

I think the last movie I saw in a movie theatre was MADAME WEB and only because my job gave me a gift card. The last movie I saw in theatres on my own dime was MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING. It just does not make sense to go to a movie theatre and pay for a $15 ticket, parking, concessions, gas and such when I have an adequate TV at home with an okay speaker system.

It may not make financial sense for a lot of people to travel to a fan convention when they could use message boards, Facebook, Reddit, podcasts and ebooks for a facsimile of meeting cast and crew and attending discussion panels.

On another note: Claudia Gray's upcoming X-FILES novel, "Perihelion", costs $28 USD. https://a.co/d/4C4yXFc

Twenty. Eight. American. Dollars. Look, Claudia Gray may be a splendid author and "Perihelion" may be the greatest literary achievement since HUCKLEBERRY FINN. But even then, it would not be worth $28 American dollars in the year of our Lord 2024. It cost less to watch MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING in a movie theatre than it does to buy "Perihelion".

(I actually preordered the ebook from a Canadian bookseller for $12 USD awhile ago.)

Yes, I think what they found was after doing the event each year over the last two years and things getting expensive, they were not getting enough repeat customers (or new ones to make up that lost).  Event though an annual convention sounds wonderful, it was hard to pull it off.  The convention still managed to be a big success with their ability to pull it off over the last two years.

That book is quite pricey but maybe it's priced higher for first buyers and they know over time it will come down inevitably?   Or maybe they are just pricing it too high smile   It's really nice to see more stories with the original characters.  Something sliders never got.

Re: The X-Files

RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan wrote:

I just discovered Hoopla has some x-files audiobooks I hadn't see before:

https://www.hoopladigital.com/audiobook … n/12244243

This book is excellent so far.

Re: The X-Files

RussianCabbie_Lotteryfan wrote:

This is sad and reflective of how hard it is to put together these events

https://xfilespreservationcollection.co … -fest-2024

The guest list was lousy.  Nobody is traveling to Saratoga for Mitch Pileggi (who does a million conventions) and a few other dinky names.  Saratoga is in the middle of nowhere, which again, nobody wants to go to, because you would have to fly in somewhere else then drive hours to get there.  Obviously the couple who run the museum live up there, but that's just a tough sell.  They had a better guest lineup last year, which was still overshadowed by PhileFest in Minneapolis a few months later that featured Chris Carter.  I went to something called X-Fest 2 outside Chicago in 2019, which had a nice lineup itself.

Re: The X-Files

Grizzlor wrote:

The guest list was lousy.  Nobody is traveling to Saratoga for Mitch Pileggi (who does a million conventions) and a few other dinky names.  Saratoga is in the middle of nowhere, which again, nobody wants to go to, because you would have to fly in somewhere else then drive hours to get there.  Obviously the couple who run the museum live up there, but that's just a tough sell.  They had a better guest lineup last year, which was still overshadowed by PhileFest in Minneapolis a few months later that featured Chris Carter.  I went to something called X-Fest 2 outside Chicago in 2019, which had a nice lineup itself.

I can't find the guest list. Who was on it?

Considering all the B-list, C-list, and D-list celebrities whom Grizzlor has met and photographed -- if Grizzlor says the event guest list was lousy, then it was undoubtedly terrible.

(Disclaimer: B/C/D-list is merely a measure of the level of public interest in the celebrity, and I don't use it as a reflection on their talents characters. I would love to meet Tom Welling someday and ask him some diet and fitness questions, and Tom is C or D list.)

I have been struggling with event planning in recent years, and one challenge: your event has to offer a reason to go that's worth the trouble of leaving your home. And if your event is not located in a major hub, your event has to offer an attraction that is rarely if ever offered by anyone else. If Mitch Pillegi was the biggest name on the guest-list, as Grizzlor notes, that doesn't appeal to anyone who could go to a more accessible appearance in a closer major city.

It seems to me that the Preservation team would be better off creating a travelling version of their exhibits and holding their event in a more central locale, perhaps partnering with an existing X-FILES event.

Re: The X-Files

If you guys had to guess... is Earth Prime the same for our Quinn Mallory and the Mulder and Scully we saw in the X Files documentary series?

Re: The X-Files

I'm going to say no. I think, for SLIDERS to be effective in contrasting parallel worlds with our world, the sliders' home Earth needed to be almost aggressively mundane even if it wasn't exactly our own specific Earth. If the sliders' home Earth is the center of a confusingly contradictory alien invasion plot in addition to housing vampires, werewolves, poltergeists, demon children, talking tattoos, talking dolls and that Flukeman thing, then the wonder of parallel worlds is diminished.

But also... I cannot get a handle on the Earth in which THE X-FILES took place, and nearly every season just baffles.

The alien mythology episodes position THE X-FILES as being set in a sci-fi biotechnology universe where all paranormal events are the result of alien technology and genetics experiments and their biological properties being harvested and transplanted in some way.

However, the monster of the week episodes often present THE X-FILES as a supernatural universe in which demonic forces and incomprehensible beings of darkness and monstrosity exist just outside human perception and manifest as vampires, werewolves, the walking manifestation of Death, that goat eating thing near the Mexican border, and present a world where genies can rewrite reality, writers can make their fictions appear as flesh and blood, and people have other inexplicable powers.

Some of the monsters of the week do approach pseudoscientific explanations of genetic anomalies or unusual brain and biological structures, but these sit awkwardly next to episodes with witches and magic golems which are explained through folklore and mysticism.

It's like the separate universes of SUPERNATURAL (magic) and FRINGE (technology) have somehow crashed together and THE X-FILES, somehow ricocheting between the rules of either universe, never establishes any rules for its own universe. And THE X-FILES pre-dates SUPERNATURAL and FRINGE!

The fictional alt history of THE X-FILES is also baffling. The original backstory was that in the late 1940s, the black oil Purity alien race attempted to invade Earth only to be warded off by threats of nuclear armageddon and a treaty to organize the human race for Purity to infect as parasites to reproduce, efficiently and without resistance for maximum production while the conspirators would be spared.

Season 10 abruptly changed this to claim the alien invasion was a hoax and a distraction from the real conspiracy of unleashing the Spartan Virus for population control.

Season 11 changed this again by claiming that the original invasion plan was real, but the aliens lost interest in Earth due to global warming and resource depletion (although the only resource they cared about in the original arc was human bodies). Season 11 also had the conspiracy not unleashing their population control virus for no stated reason whatsoever and instead being concerned with a manhunt for William Mulder.

I have no idea what is going on in the parallel Earth featured in THE X-FILES. Is it a sci-fi universe or a magic universe? Is the mythology about alien colonization of human bodies, population control of the human race, or something or other with William? Are the monsters based in genetics experiments or in supernatural powers?

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that whatever's going on there is not happening on the sliders' home Earth.

Re: The X-Files

One interesting thing about the X Files and Sliders, that makes me think they are at least in the same "cinematic universe" is that a number of key actors appeared on both shows.  They feel spiritually connected.   I guess by virtue of the fact that these actors played different roles, one would have to conclude that they were not on Earth Prime.

I still wonder though.   It's almost like they are on the same Earth Prime compared to the universes of all other tv properties, in some way.

Re: The X-Files

The first two seasons of SLIDERS and the first five seasons of THE X-FILES were basically neighbours filming in Vancouver. And I certainly think of SLIDERS and THE X-FILES as existing on the same multidimensional axis.

**

What are you enjoying about the books you've been listening to?

**

Every couple years, I like to re-read the SEASON 10 and SEASON 11 comic books. They had a slightly more muted, low-key (and rushed) finale than I would have liked, but they mostly resolved their stories except for two loose ends.

**

I still have the two IDW X-FILES prose anthologies from the SEASON 10/SEASON 11 era of 2013 - 2015 to read.

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

The first two seasons of SLIDERS and the first five seasons of THE X-FILES were basically neighbours filming in Vancouver. And I certainly think of SLIDERS and THE X-FILES as existing on the same multidimensional axis.

**

What are you enjoying about the books you've been listening to?

**

Every couple years, I like to re-read the SEASON 10 and SEASON 11 comic books. They had a slightly more muted, low-key (and rushed) finale than I would have liked, but they mostly resolved their stories except for two loose ends.

**

I still have the two IDW X-FILES prose anthologies from the SEASON 10/SEASON 11 era of 2013 - 2015 to read.


I like Monsters of the Week better of the two (although happy both are available -- Hoopla is completely free in markets where your library participates with them -- not sure if it's U.S. only).


The Monsters of the Week one just helped me understand subtext better, some behind the scenes stuff and also has good criticism -- it's not just fan boy stuff.  All of it's criticism (and opinions overall) are rooted in reasoning and well-articulated.

It helps me understand and appreciate the show at a deeper level.

Personally, I enjoyed some of the comics by Joe Harris etc.  I'm a casual fan.  I like Mulder and Scully -- particularly the dynamic between the two.  The same way that I got drawn to the relationship between Quinn and Arturo, even if the dynamics are quite different.

Re: The X-Files

Apparently x files had no series bible

Re: The X-Files

https://twitter.com/ContextGillian/stat … 2721799510

Re: The X-Files

Also, besides David's podcast, he has a new movie out based on the book he wrote. He's earned praise for his performance.

"Reverse the Curse"
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/ … 579b80a334

Re: The X-Files

I promised RussianCabbie that I would read the new X-Files novel and review it. Well:

The X-Files: Perihelion is a novel by Claudia Gray set after the events of Season 11. Overall: it's an effective season premiere story doing what every season premiere should do: it re-establishes the characters, concept, formula and setting; it addresses the gap of time between the last installment and this one; it sets up the arcs for the stories to come; it identifies which previous story arcs are in play for this season; it lays the concerns of the previous season to rest.

Opening Act

However, it's the first installment of a larger story ending with Mulder and Scully preparing to take on the new threat for the rest of this run of books -- except Perihelion is the only X-Files novel that's been announced. There is no certainty that this novel is going to be anything more than an opening act for a larger storyline that may or may not be completed. It's like filming season opener of The X-Files and broadcasting it with no announced plans to film the rest of the season, or in this case, commission and write the rest of the books.

From TV to Print

All in all, Gray does a good job of picking up the pieces and handling the transition of The X-Files from live action television to prose. Her grasp of Mulder and Scully is more verbose than a TV performance... but less verbose than, say, one of Chris Carter's florid voiceover monologues. Gray establishes that while it has been three to four months since the 2018 Season 11 finale (as a pregnant Scully is starting to show slightly), the book is still set in 2023 - 2024 (as established by continuity and cultural references).

Picking up the Pieces

Gray follows up on Walter Skinner's situation after he was run over by a car in Season 11. Gray provides an amusing rationale for why the FBI urgently reinstates Mulder and Scully: since "My Struggle IV", the bureau has been overrun with terrifying and disturbing cases that absolutely no FBI agent wants to deal with.

Gray establishes that despite Mulder and Scully having been circling each other for 30 years and now having moved back in together, their relationship remains as challenging and difficult as ever, with Mulder having never settled into his new bedroom due to thinking he'd eventually share Scully's room with her and then realizing he's been overoptimistic.

Gray's humour is subtle, low-key and guarded with many jokes not being played as comedy, maintaining the aloof, low-key tone of the show. Gray also recontextualizes Scully declaring at the end of "My Struggle IV" that she no longer considers William to be her son on the grounds that he was an experiment and some form of artificial insemination and not Mulder's offspring, presenting it as a coping reaction of grief and loss rather than a genuine sentiment.

Breaking Tradition

Where Gray creates a massive break with the tone of the TV show, however, is the myth-arc. Perihelion features the most overt manifestation of science fiction superpowers that I have personally seen in this franchise. Perihelion establishes that the mythology going forward is about dark forces marshalling supersoldiers whose abilities are overtly those of what you would see onscreen in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, with some being threats to Mulder and Scully and some being allies.

The prominent display of superpowers is a far cry from how the TV show generally kept the paranormal and supernatural and science fiction at a guardedly distant distance (for budgetary reasons and to maintain the visual look of a police procedural).

Admittedly, Mulder and Scully have been at the periphery of sci-fi aliens and superhumans for 30 years; Gray may be well within reason to stop playing coy. Even so, this is a very distinct shift away from the usual content restrictions of The X-Files and makes Perihelion less like the original TV show and more like Fringe or a 2000s-era X-Men film from FOX.

Specificity Over Obscurity

Gray also breaks with the established narrative style of the mythology. Where the mythology on the TV show was presented as mysterious and obscure (and often frustratingly contradictory and vague), Gray is overt and specific. Gray lays out very clearly: what the new conspiracy group wants, what their plans are, the main players in this organization, and the overall motivations of most of the key figures.

This clarity may feel mismatched and completely at odds with what The X-Files was as a TV show. Alternatively, it may feel welcome and appreciated after the confusion of Colonization and the Spartan Virus and Project Crossroads and William, each item there retconning a previous story element. I am somewhere in the middle.

Turning the Page

In addition, Gray makes no attempt to reconcile Colonization with the Spartan Virus or the Spartan Virus with Project Crossroads or to address any of the continuity confusion from Season 10 retconning Seasons 1-  9 or Season 11 retconning Season 10. Gray instead declares unambiguously and several times: the Syndicate is defeated. Whatever their plans were (Colonization, Spartan Virus, something or other with William) -- those plans are over and done with.

I considered this to be a relief and a release from the shackles of the past. Not every reader will feel the same way.

Gray also definitively and firmly establishes that the Cigarette Smoking Man is no longer on this mortal coil, and that the page has turned on whatever it was he was or wasn't doing. The old myth-arc is over. The new and specific and unambiguous myth-arc will be the mythology going forward.

However, it's very clear that Gray's interest in The X-Files mythology is more an obligation to be addressed diligently rather than anything resembling a lifelong passion. Instead, Gray's ardent devotion and loyalty is to Mulder and Scully.


Professional MSR

Gray explores every layer of their relationship with loving warmth and a subtly comedic criticism, observing their perpetual patterns: friendship and avoidance, passion and denial, cohabitation and distance, trust and secrecy. Gray's portrayal of Mulder and Scully's relationship is far more in-depth and nuanced than simply seeing them as the believer and the skeptic.

Gray delves into how every aspect of how their relationship affects their professional lives, their personal diets, their approaches to health care, their attitudes to home decor. Gray explores layer upon layer of the joyful nightmare that is Mulder and Scully's association. The Mulder/Scully dynamic is so central to Gray's vision of The X-Files that the mythology, well-handled or not, is merely one of many beachheads in the Mulder and Scully relationship.

Unpromised and Uncertain

The conclusion of Perihelion is, frustratingly but somewhat understandably, not a conclusion to overall arc. Instead, it is a lead-in to an ongoing series of X-Files novels, none of which have at this writing been announced, none of which are guaranteed to ever exist.

At $28 USD, Perihelion is a steep investment when a Disney+ subscription or a movie ticket costs less; it's hard to say how well the book needs to sell in order to justify a sequel. Disney's recent attempt at a Buffy the Vampire Slayer Audible series, Slayers, didn't generate sufficient return for a follow-up.

The X-Files comic books from IDW actually sold worse when the show was airing its revival seasons to the point where the show's brief return ended up ending the comic book tie-in line. And after Season 10 of The X-Files rendered the supposedly canon IDW publishing line out of continuity, there is no way to seriously claim that Perihelion is canon. A revival with showrunner Ryan Coogler is in development and has not, despite speculation, established whether it's a sequel to the TV series or a reboot.

There is the risk that Perihelion will be a beginning with no middle or end... which makes it hard for me to say that any X-Files fan should pay $28 for what's effectively Chapter 1 with no promise of Chapters 2 - 6 to come.

Professional and Enjoyable

But, setting that aside, Claudia Gray was assigned to write an X-Files novel that picked up the pieces after Season 11 and set a stage for subsequent stories, and she has produced a professional, enjoyable product that achieves her assignment. If there is no sequel, I will, of course, expect that Disney issue every reader a full refund and a letter of apology from Mickey Mouse.

Re: The X-Files

Thanks for the review. A very nuanced, multi-dimensional, fair take.  I am glad you were able to appreciate and get enjoyment out of aspects of it.

Re: The X-Files

this looks good

https://www.amazon.com/eXtra-Files-Humo … 1368084311

reminds me a little bit of Annie Fish's work (anthology book) on that one episode of Sliders

Re: The X-Files

So, Kimon of EatTheCorn.com, basically the Temporal Flux of THE X-FILES -- he and I were discussing who the most incompetent people in THE X-FILES might be.

IB:
Honestly, the main people I would get fired are: the Alien Bounty Hunter and Krycek. They never seem to keep track of who they're working for or what project they're pursuing and are constantly turning against and murdering colleagues before finishing their work which is no way to create a respectful professional environment.

The Alien Bounty Hunter seems to crash a lot of vehicles, and since transport is a key function of his job, he's clearly an unsafe driver and a danger to himself and others.

That said, my poor grasp of the mythology could be the problem, so I'd check in with you before filing a recommendation of termination.

KIMON:
Behind the stern appearance of Brian Thompson lies in fact the worst pilot in the history of the Shapeshifters' race, ostracized to a different planetary system because of too many incidents.

Re: The X-Files

IB: I'm really looking forward to THE X-FILES: THE OFFICIAL ARCHIVES Volume 2.

KIMON: You saw that the release date is now October 2025?

IB: Maybe they are infusing the anti-alien magnetite into the ink on each page.

KIMON: Good call. You never know when the Colonists will slide into our universe.

Re: The X-Files

My review on the "Perihelion" novel was featured in the X-Cast podcast! In the mailbag section, podcasters AJ Black and Carl Sweeney share various comments from different fans. Then AJ Black says at 1:05:17:

"Ibrahim had a really brilliant review, but it's a really long review, so I am not going to read that out."

Faint praise, but it resounds in my ears.

:-D

Re: The X-Files

ireactions wrote:

My review on the "Perihelion" novel was featured in the X-Cast podcast! In the mailbag section, podcasters AJ Black and Carl Sweeney share various comments from different fans. Then AJ Black says at 1:05:17:

"Ibrahim had a really brilliant review, but it's a really long review, so I am not going to read that out."

Faint praise, but it resounds in my ears.

:-D

That's great. I was meaning to post their podcast episode here (still have yet to listen).