Conduit

All right, season 1 episode 4! Been a little longer break that I would have liked but hey, sometimes other stuff just comes first. 

So Mulder, as we all know, is crazy obsessed with alien and UFO encounters. This episode focuses on one that happens to hit him very close to home. Now I would shout SPOILERS here but since this aired 20 years ago I'm not going to worry about spoiling it for anyone, but this is only the beginning of the "Samantha Mulder Saga."

I really love how The X Files liked to take stories from the real world and incorporate their stories with them. Lake Okoboji does actually have some stories related to it, both UFO and otherwise. Though it seems to be much more of the later from what my minutes of research found.

Poltergeist anyone?? 

Now having watched this episode just right now something has dawned on me. I think there were some movies that may have gotten ideas right from this episode. Heres looking at you Mercury Rising! Not all that surprising though considering the ground breakingness that was The X Files. Now I have never seen Mercury Rising but I'm going to just go ahead and say, with absolutely no basis for judgement, that its just an extended version of Kevin Morris's story... minus the aliens. Take that however you would like.

Investigation or "why do I let myself get talked into these trips?"

The white wolves in this episode gave me a little White Fang vibe butI like how this episode has a little of everything and it all ties together. A little sci-fi with the UFO abduction, a little technology with the kid who can crack NSA code through a fuzzy TV screen and the white wolves that lead them to the grave. I also like how Mulder always seems to find the clues no one else can, like the sand turned glass. Seems like a pretty obvious thing to catch but hey, it's a TV show and that's how this stuff works. :)

Another great episode in the young series's life. I've read some that people think this is "a great episode to start people on" and while I think it's good, I feel like that is a dumb statement considering its the 4 episode EVER from the show. 

Fun Fact: This is little Kevin Morris all grown up, but this wasn't the only episode he was on. We'll see him as a different character in a couple seasons down the road.

Season 1 Episode 3: Squeeze

"Do you know how much liver and onions go for on Reticulum?"

Ah yes, the first non alien related episode. We finally get to see where else the series has to go and I think they nail it. I mean they could of gone any number of direction with paranormal like bigfoot, ghosts, or even the jersey devil... oh wait. Anyway, it's a very creative idea and executed pretty well I think, not to mention Eugene Tooms even returns in a later season. 

I found this, it made me laugh

Eugene Tooms is actually an incredibly creepy person, watching him take the lie detector test I thought to myself "I don't think I would trust that guy with my garbage." I mean it probably has something to do with the fact he can contort and fit in tiny vents, or maybe its the creepy face in the slow-mo blurred attack on the guy in the house, who knows why my mind thinks the things that it does. 

Hi, I'm creepy

This is why this show worked so well I think. Not only their ability to keep the alien mythos and running story throughout the entire series but the ability to branch out to other stories and have them work just as well. The writers on this show were/are amazing. 

Random Tidbit:

A recent jersey devil sighting!!! 

On a side note I should of saved some of this jersey devil stuff for the actual episode... 

Season 1 Episode 2: Deep Throat

Ah yes, the introduction of early seasons staple Deep Throat. I always liked the Deep Throat character and his connections in and out of conspiracies, also he's pretty quick on his feet to escape from Mulder so quickly in the bathroom.

"If we ignore them do you think they'll go away?" - Mulder

Overall I don't like this episode as much as the first but I do think it does a good job of building on the mythos the pilot started. Oddly the one thing that is really hitting me in this episode is the music... it just sounds weird. Like Mike Snow was part timing on a soap opera and mixed up the music this week or something. You do get a good glimpse into how desperately wants/needs to find extraterrestrial life in so way/shape/ or form.

Holy baby Seth Green Batman!!

So this one is kind of short because... just isn't much to say about this episode I guess. Perhaps it's because I don't like this episode as much. Perhaps there just isn't much to talk about in this one. I do like  later in the episode when Mulder runs off only to be caught rather quickly when they kind of give Mulder a scene very similar to Billy Miles in the Pilot. The standing in the white light under a UFO thing. I kind of enjoy the really shady hostage trade at the end of the episode as well, not really any tension to it but it made me laugh.

Random Tidbit: While googling to see if the air force base in the episode was real and if it was connected to any alien activity I found this, a website that has an image of where the KGB says there are alien bases on earth. Hooray Google!!

So today marks the 20th anniversary, to the day, of the airing of the X-Files. The X-Files always has been my favorite TV show so I figured why not celebrate the 20th anniversary by firing up Netflix and re-watch the whole series!! I mean I could use my DVD box set but who has time to get up from the couch and change DVDs every 4 episodes?

Anyway I have decided to write after every time I watch an episode just to saw how awesome it still is. I have no idea how long this will take (but I know it won't be 9 years). I am not going to commit to 1 episode a day or anything, but I will post everyday that I watch an episode (or more). I'll even watch the movies in their respected order because... why not? I'm just a X-Files fan with a little time on my hands.

DAY 1:

Pilot

Having recently watched The Fall it's blowing my mind to see Scully, Mulder too really, being soooo young. Also the lack of widescreen threw me for a loop at first, clearly we getting spoiled these days.

The only word I can think to describe it all is "classic X-Files." From Mulders dry humor to Scullys' skepticism it's just a perfect start to one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Great intro to the whole alien mythos the series is known for, mentions the conspiracies, and all the typical UFO cliches are there. Also interesting to note that no one watching this episode 20 years ago would ever think that Billy Miles would come back so much later in the series.

Dr Who anyone?

Ok maybe the comparison is a stretch but it immediate made the connection when I saw Billy Miles.

*Disclaimer* I do not watch Dr Who, nor do I know much about the show other than A. its still on TV and B. this guy is/was the Dr.

Acting was a bit laughable at times, especially when Mulder answers the phone to find out Peggy was dead.

"what...WHAT?!?!... WHO IS THIS???...*click* Peggy O'Dell is dead"

I also thought the Cigarette Smoking Man walked funny at the end of the show but eh perhaps I'm being picky, this was 20 years ago after all.

Random Tidbit: Images that came up in my google search for "billy miles x files":
1. Tim Duncan dunking
2. moss growing on bricks
3. Rick Grimes laying in the grass from The Walking Dead
4. This guy

I love google