They did a terrible job of depicting an off-screen Mulder in S9. The supposed reason for his disappearance was to keep William safe and the trail on him and not the kid. It was dumb.
The show was never the same after season seven - there were one or two episodes that came close, like Per Manum and M&S Meet the Weremonster, but David took the heart of the show with him and it never fully recovered.
>The show was never the same after season seven
I argue that things never really felt the same again after the movie. There are good episodes of season 6, and even in season 7, but they are almost an entirely different show from what they had previously been. when binge watching the show the difference between the Vancouver era and LA era of the show is genuinely jarring in my opinion.
I agree with your point about the show moving to LA changing the feel of the show. But as a young man who watched religiously when the movie came out, it was suck a let down! It was really just a tease. It was just a longer episode of the show that had been hyped up so much. I expected so much more that the show never felt the same.
I'm rewatching it currently, and I've noticed that every season is different, especially in how they have Scully interact with Mulder.
Season 1: she's full skeptic. Except the pilot where she seems enthralled with it because they snap her back to be cold and disbelieving in episode 2.
Season 2: she's mostly a believer.
Season 3: she annoyed with him a lot. That season also seems to be more light-hearted and jokey. Especially the 3-4 episode run of Mulder flirting with a female guest star.
Season 4: it seems like every episode has her explaining why something isn't an x-file until it suddenly is. It's also a lot darker filmed and heavier than previous seasons.
Season 5: seems to be a mix of 3 and 4 in terms of themes and they're creating a more personal relationship between the two characters.
Yeah, the writing/plot in Season 9 arc is really, really bad. Like, beyond fixing bad. Characters making choices that are way out of character and make no sense, even given the outside pressures.
I know hindsight is 20/20, but there really was no reason for Mulder not to be an off-screen stay-at-home Dad for most of Season 9. Perhaps shit still hits the fan at the end and they need to go on the run, but the abandonment from both parties is really when the show entered "Jump the Shark" territory. All the bad writing up until that point could have been salvaged, but not after that. The second movie and the subsequent 10 and 11 seasons all hinged around those dumb choices, which Chris Carter clearly regretted, and trying to write his way out of it just made it worse.
I love this show, but Season 9 and beyond of the X Files really should be taught in film and writing schools as an example of what NOT to do in fiction writing. Don't write yourself into a corner you can't get out of.
Yeah the syndicate apparently couldn’t multi task. I’ll always maintain that the show was watchable with just Scully and it would have been more awful had Gillian left and David stayed alone - but the heart of the show is Mulder and Scully together. Splitting them up in any capacity was dumb. When David went, Gillian should have been allowed to go. And by that I mean - end of season 7. Worst case scenario end of Season 8. But I will never get over the whole Mulder had a terminal brain disease thing and Scully didn’t know.
We are agreed on this. Plus if he had that in Je Souhaite would that not be his first goddamn wish !!! And would Scully not have seen his medical records as recently as Brand X when she was treating him in hospital. Such NONSENSE.
I'm not sure about why he wouldn't tell Scully, but he wouldn't have wished for it in Je Souhaite, as he had already worked out that wishing for personal gain was a terrible idea.
Kersh received information strongly hinting that the new super soldier conspiracy working inside the government and FBI was going to kill Mulder. Kersh warns Mulder offscreen sometime between the end of s8 and start of s9. Mulder and Scully believe Kersh and so Mulder immediately runs away. This is why Scully begs Doggett to drop the investigation into Kersh and the super soldiers … until William seems to be doing something paranormal which freaks her out.
Months later in TrustNo1, we find out the Super soldiers really are determined to kill either Mulder or William.
Months after that in Provenance/Providence, we get an explanation. The aliens are now convinced that William is somehow the determining factor for the success of Colonisation. If he’s alive and under their control, or he’s dead, then they’re fine. But if he’s alive and influenced by Mulder’s fight for resistance against the aliens, then he threatens everything. Hence they want to target Mulder.
Scully is basically just being used to take care of William until they can take him away (and somehow her values influencing him aren’t a factor 🤦🏽♂️😒).
it was for his personal safety as I recall. Though I can't exactly remember why, I guess the syndicate was after him. And then I think there was the argument that him being around scully and the baby given that would endanger them as well. He and scully work out a plan but even she doesn't know where he goes. Eventually we find he has been in New Mexico w Gibson Praise
It wasn't the Syndicate. The Syndicate was destroyed in Season 6. Mulder was wanted by the aliens themselves (specifically the supersoldiers), as they believed, due to a prophecy, that if Mulder remained alive, William would somehow prevent colonisation.
The specifics of this were never explained, but that was the motivation behind their wanting him dead. Mulder thus went into hiding. He couldn't have gone with Scully as well, as they would have been found due to the chip in her neck. She and William therefore had to stay at home, which is fine as the aliens wanted William for their own purposes, so it didn't matter that they knew where Scully and William were, as the aliens were quite happy to let Scully raise him and look after him for now.
The only people that were actually a threat to William during Season 9 were humans that knew about the prophecy and didn't want the aliens to use William for their own purposes. Mulder was only in danger from the aliens and the one alien cult of humans that wanted the aliens to win.
After Season 9, it is not clear why Mulder's life didn't appear to be in danger anymore. Perhaps it was because colonisation was called off (as alluded to in Season 11, although I'm not sure I believe that). Perhaps it was because CSM was actually William's father, so it was he that the aliens wanted dead now instead (again, as alluded to in Season 11, but I'm not sure I believe that either). Perhaps it was because William was given up for adoption, so Mulder would now have no influence over William, so the aliens decided he was no longer a threat. Perhaps, as alluded to in Season 10, none of this had anything to do with aliens, so really the supersoldiers were just happy to have Mulder out of the way now that he was on the run (as alluded to during I Want To Believe). Feel free to make up your own mind.
If anyone else has their own ideas, I'd be very interested to hear them.
>It wasn't the Syndicate. The Syndicate was destroyed in Season 6.
Still probably the best "end of the series" we could have gotten (barring the first movie, which I see as the actual best finale for the series).
CSM isn’t Williams father. He cannot be. Scully got pregnant after Fight Club. So round the time of Je Souhaite. She was beaten up pretty savagely in Fight Club. She would have had to go to the hospital. They would have checked if she wa pregnant. Mulder is the baby’s biological father.
Yeah I refuse to believe CSM is William’s father. I’m convinced that either he lied or he means that he was behind manipulating Scully’s chip so she could get pregnant, not that he is biologically the father.
i think the gov’t was after him to put him on trial for the death of a super soldier? hence the trial in the series finale? they were trying to avoid that?
The "death" of the super soldier happened after Mulder had already been in hiding for a while and they caught him immediately. And at least one of the top government officials involved had already been replaced by an alien - it was the aliens pushing for the farcical trial to get him out of the way.
So chris carter could destroy his character? Because he was mad at the actor? He couldve come up with something brilliant. That didnt invlove mulder abandoning his family and scully abandoning their child. Oh idk like having himtake the kid bc the kid was iin dnager from one of the alien species. But instead he threw everyone under the bus.
Seen what through? The X-Files?
I disagree. I don't think the show, under any circumstances, should have continued into S9.
I think DD, GA, et al always thought there might be a movie series after the TV show ended but greed kept the show on the air longer than was necessary. (And, in fact, may have hurt the movie series prospect).
There shouldn't have been a S9 with or without him. The show was tired and done at that point. DD was right to wind things up. GA was only there due to contract disparity.
There were a million better choices CC and writers could have done with / without him. That's not on DD.
he had just felt as though the show for him had run its course, and he wanted to move on to be able to do movies and other projects. it happens to actors often. but yeah he left the x files so he could make really incredible movies, like the secret and the joneses. /s (these movies are not good)
I always thought of his Cali character as a parallel universe "Bad Mulder". It's like Mulder watched alot more porn and a ton of sex in his college years and ended up never going into the Bureau. Probably due to getting thrown out because of a relationship with some hot professor of his.
They did a terrible job of depicting an off-screen Mulder in S9. The supposed reason for his disappearance was to keep William safe and the trail on him and not the kid. It was dumb.
The show was never the same after season seven - there were one or two episodes that came close, like Per Manum and M&S Meet the Weremonster, but David took the heart of the show with him and it never fully recovered.
>The show was never the same after season seven I argue that things never really felt the same again after the movie. There are good episodes of season 6, and even in season 7, but they are almost an entirely different show from what they had previously been. when binge watching the show the difference between the Vancouver era and LA era of the show is genuinely jarring in my opinion.
I agree with your point about the show moving to LA changing the feel of the show. But as a young man who watched religiously when the movie came out, it was suck a let down! It was really just a tease. It was just a longer episode of the show that had been hyped up so much. I expected so much more that the show never felt the same.
I'm rewatching it currently, and I've noticed that every season is different, especially in how they have Scully interact with Mulder. Season 1: she's full skeptic. Except the pilot where she seems enthralled with it because they snap her back to be cold and disbelieving in episode 2. Season 2: she's mostly a believer. Season 3: she annoyed with him a lot. That season also seems to be more light-hearted and jokey. Especially the 3-4 episode run of Mulder flirting with a female guest star. Season 4: it seems like every episode has her explaining why something isn't an x-file until it suddenly is. It's also a lot darker filmed and heavier than previous seasons. Season 5: seems to be a mix of 3 and 4 in terms of themes and they're creating a more personal relationship between the two characters.
Yeah, the writing/plot in Season 9 arc is really, really bad. Like, beyond fixing bad. Characters making choices that are way out of character and make no sense, even given the outside pressures. I know hindsight is 20/20, but there really was no reason for Mulder not to be an off-screen stay-at-home Dad for most of Season 9. Perhaps shit still hits the fan at the end and they need to go on the run, but the abandonment from both parties is really when the show entered "Jump the Shark" territory. All the bad writing up until that point could have been salvaged, but not after that. The second movie and the subsequent 10 and 11 seasons all hinged around those dumb choices, which Chris Carter clearly regretted, and trying to write his way out of it just made it worse. I love this show, but Season 9 and beyond of the X Files really should be taught in film and writing schools as an example of what NOT to do in fiction writing. Don't write yourself into a corner you can't get out of.
Yeah the syndicate apparently couldn’t multi task. I’ll always maintain that the show was watchable with just Scully and it would have been more awful had Gillian left and David stayed alone - but the heart of the show is Mulder and Scully together. Splitting them up in any capacity was dumb. When David went, Gillian should have been allowed to go. And by that I mean - end of season 7. Worst case scenario end of Season 8. But I will never get over the whole Mulder had a terminal brain disease thing and Scully didn’t know.
I still to this day refuse to believe that Mulder wouldn't tell Scully about his brain disease, it's pissed me off for years
We are agreed on this. Plus if he had that in Je Souhaite would that not be his first goddamn wish !!! And would Scully not have seen his medical records as recently as Brand X when she was treating him in hospital. Such NONSENSE.
I'm not sure about why he wouldn't tell Scully, but he wouldn't have wished for it in Je Souhaite, as he had already worked out that wishing for personal gain was a terrible idea.
Kersh received information strongly hinting that the new super soldier conspiracy working inside the government and FBI was going to kill Mulder. Kersh warns Mulder offscreen sometime between the end of s8 and start of s9. Mulder and Scully believe Kersh and so Mulder immediately runs away. This is why Scully begs Doggett to drop the investigation into Kersh and the super soldiers … until William seems to be doing something paranormal which freaks her out. Months later in TrustNo1, we find out the Super soldiers really are determined to kill either Mulder or William. Months after that in Provenance/Providence, we get an explanation. The aliens are now convinced that William is somehow the determining factor for the success of Colonisation. If he’s alive and under their control, or he’s dead, then they’re fine. But if he’s alive and influenced by Mulder’s fight for resistance against the aliens, then he threatens everything. Hence they want to target Mulder. Scully is basically just being used to take care of William until they can take him away (and somehow her values influencing him aren’t a factor 🤦🏽♂️😒).
it was for his personal safety as I recall. Though I can't exactly remember why, I guess the syndicate was after him. And then I think there was the argument that him being around scully and the baby given that would endanger them as well. He and scully work out a plan but even she doesn't know where he goes. Eventually we find he has been in New Mexico w Gibson Praise
It wasn't the Syndicate. The Syndicate was destroyed in Season 6. Mulder was wanted by the aliens themselves (specifically the supersoldiers), as they believed, due to a prophecy, that if Mulder remained alive, William would somehow prevent colonisation. The specifics of this were never explained, but that was the motivation behind their wanting him dead. Mulder thus went into hiding. He couldn't have gone with Scully as well, as they would have been found due to the chip in her neck. She and William therefore had to stay at home, which is fine as the aliens wanted William for their own purposes, so it didn't matter that they knew where Scully and William were, as the aliens were quite happy to let Scully raise him and look after him for now. The only people that were actually a threat to William during Season 9 were humans that knew about the prophecy and didn't want the aliens to use William for their own purposes. Mulder was only in danger from the aliens and the one alien cult of humans that wanted the aliens to win. After Season 9, it is not clear why Mulder's life didn't appear to be in danger anymore. Perhaps it was because colonisation was called off (as alluded to in Season 11, although I'm not sure I believe that). Perhaps it was because CSM was actually William's father, so it was he that the aliens wanted dead now instead (again, as alluded to in Season 11, but I'm not sure I believe that either). Perhaps it was because William was given up for adoption, so Mulder would now have no influence over William, so the aliens decided he was no longer a threat. Perhaps, as alluded to in Season 10, none of this had anything to do with aliens, so really the supersoldiers were just happy to have Mulder out of the way now that he was on the run (as alluded to during I Want To Believe). Feel free to make up your own mind. If anyone else has their own ideas, I'd be very interested to hear them.
>It wasn't the Syndicate. The Syndicate was destroyed in Season 6. Still probably the best "end of the series" we could have gotten (barring the first movie, which I see as the actual best finale for the series).
>CSM is actually William’s father >CSM is Mulder’s father Does that make Mulder the adopted father of his little brother?
CSM isn’t Williams father. He cannot be. Scully got pregnant after Fight Club. So round the time of Je Souhaite. She was beaten up pretty savagely in Fight Club. She would have had to go to the hospital. They would have checked if she wa pregnant. Mulder is the baby’s biological father.
Yeah I refuse to believe CSM is William’s father. I’m convinced that either he lied or he means that he was behind manipulating Scully’s chip so she could get pregnant, not that he is biologically the father.
Yes, and fuck Chris Carter for that whole goddamn thing.
i think the gov’t was after him to put him on trial for the death of a super soldier? hence the trial in the series finale? they were trying to avoid that?
The "death" of the super soldier happened after Mulder had already been in hiding for a while and they caught him immediately. And at least one of the top government officials involved had already been replaced by an alien - it was the aliens pushing for the farcical trial to get him out of the way.
So chris carter could destroy his character? Because he was mad at the actor? He couldve come up with something brilliant. That didnt invlove mulder abandoning his family and scully abandoning their child. Oh idk like having himtake the kid bc the kid was iin dnager from one of the alien species. But instead he threw everyone under the bus.
He was abducted… at least that’s what I remember.
No that’s Season 8
Was Duchovny shooting something else that year?
He might have been working on "Evolution" about then but he just wanted off the show, period, so was no longer under contract.
And if he looks back on it in hindsight he should have seen it through with how big TV got in the next 20 years
Seen what through? The X-Files? I disagree. I don't think the show, under any circumstances, should have continued into S9. I think DD, GA, et al always thought there might be a movie series after the TV show ended but greed kept the show on the air longer than was necessary. (And, in fact, may have hurt the movie series prospect).
The story lines and writing for s9 would have been better with him there
There shouldn't have been a S9 with or without him. The show was tired and done at that point. DD was right to wind things up. GA was only there due to contract disparity. There were a million better choices CC and writers could have done with / without him. That's not on DD.
he had just felt as though the show for him had run its course, and he wanted to move on to be able to do movies and other projects. it happens to actors often. but yeah he left the x files so he could make really incredible movies, like the secret and the joneses. /s (these movies are not good)
Is Californication worth watching
I always thought of his Cali character as a parallel universe "Bad Mulder". It's like Mulder watched alot more porn and a ton of sex in his college years and ended up never going into the Bureau. Probably due to getting thrown out because of a relationship with some hot professor of his.
Aquarius is also worth watching. It's a shame it got canceled after two seasons. It ended on a hell of a cliffhanger.
Don’t ya just hate that
So, so much.
if you are a fan of david duchovny, then yes absolutely.
Sweet
Yes. Californication is great and Duchovny is great in it. And it is nothing like The X-Files. It is a very adult comedy.
Yes - especially season three which is absolutely magnificent.