'éí 'aaníígÓÓ 'áhoot'é' (The X-Files - The Complete Collector's Edition (DVD))

Member Name: Teena2003

Product:	The X-Files - The Complete Collector's Edition (DVD)
Date:	01/07/09 (44 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: all 204 episodes and first feature films in one place

Disadvantages: later seasons disappointing, packaging low standard and breaks easily

... or 'Far away from here, the Truth is' (The Truth Is Out There) - the opening tag line in the ancient Navaho language in the episode 'Anasazi'

I have an open mind when it comes to the paranormal. I am likely to believe that there must be intelligent life out there, Earth can't be the only planet with intelligent life. But I draw the line at people who pretend they can talk to the dead, the likes of David Acora et al.

From the moment the very first episode aired on Sky TV I was hooked. I even arranged my annual holiday around the programme and made sure I did not miss a minute. One May I was driving from Miami airport to St Petersburg where my friends live, some 280 miles across Florida, hoping to make it on time for the season finale. I made it with moments to spare. However, they had a tape running so we did not watch it that night but caught up with all the latest news.

At the time of video I had bought box sets of the first 6 seasons and kept them for the longest time. I then sold them on ebay but never invested in DVDs of the show. I always thought they were too expensive as individuals. I decided to invest around £75.00 of my hard earned cash into the complete season 1-9 and movie of the X-Files some time ago when I was in the Watford branch of HMV. It was on special offer and I have not seen the whole set for less money anywhere since. You are more likely to see the set at a price of £110.00 plus.


The Stories and characters

Over the 9 seasons, there were two distinct storylines, 'the monster of the week and paranormal happenings' and the 'alien story arch'.

Right from the first episode, the viewer is drawn into the world of alien abduction and the myths surrounding them. Special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), special agent with the FBI has made it his life's work to find out everything about alien abductions. His interest in this matter is not just a hobby. He is convinced that his younger sister Samantha was abducted by aliens from their home when they were both children and he is convinced that the government is hiding the truth about aliens and alien abductions.

FBI cases that are unusual, paranormal or unexplained have been classed as "X-Files" - an area Mulder is spending more and more time, much to the dismay of his bosses and what later turns out, shady government figures.

Over the seasons, Mulder's constant companion is medical doctor and fellow special agent by the name of Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). She was initially sent to debunk Mulder's findings and report back to the powers that be. But over time she is becoming more and more drawn into the murky world of Mulder's obsessions. Never becoming a true believer, her own faith is tested on numerous occasions, in particular when it comes to her own health and the possibility that she might have been an alien abductee.


Little Green Men

Over the seasons, we follow Mulder and Scully as they are trying to find out what happened to Mulder's sister, the possibility of aliens living on earth and government involvement in this cover up. Both agents are frequently in mortal danger, often escaping certain death by mere fluke.

The journey is not without personal hardship for both characters and takes them around the world, including places in Russia and Africa. We meet what appear to be a variety of 'aliens', typical grey beings the likes of the Roswell aliens to shape shifters, super soldiers and aliens that appear to be melting into green goo.

Whether or not Mulder ever finds his sister, or at least finds out what happened to her is something I will not discuss here, it is something fans of the show will have been following for the duration of the show and those new to it will have to work their way through the seasons.


Monster of the week

The typical monster of the week shows are stand alone episodes that can be watched out of sequence without having to know what has gone on before or will follow.

Very few monsters have a repeat performance apart from season one's Eugene Tooms, a monster surfacing only every 30 years, killing people for their livers and then disappearing again. His mode of entry into people's houses was by stretching his bones and body to slip through the tightest gaps. He appeared twice, towards the beginning and end of the first season and the episodes are still regarded as some of the best of the show.

Of course, there are a lot of urban myths that were examined, the likes of Bloody Mary, vampires, ghosts in machines, exorcism and many more. Amongst the 200+ episodes there should be plenty of interesting stories.

There was usually one episode per season that stood out from others, not because it was particularly great. No, these episodes were often played for laughs or light relief. Season two had the episode Humbug, entering the world of side show performers and generally seen as freaks. Bad Blood is a take on the vampire myth but not played entire straight as Mulder and Scully have to give their accounts of what happened during a field trip and it is played out on camera.

These episodes are more memorable for their funny, yet razor sharp dialogue with more laughs in 45 minutes than the rest of the season which is often very dark.

Seasons 8 and 9

By the end of season seven it became clear that David Duchovny did not want to be tied up for entire 20+ episodes of the X-Files. His character Fox Mulder was written out of the show without killing him off so Duchovny could come back occasionally and star in the odd episode or two.

In his place, we were suddenly introduced to John Doggett (Robert Patrick - Terminator 2) who is paired with Scully to examine the disappearance of Mulder. Later we see another new person enter the show, agent Reyes.

Whether or not the producers had hoped to develop a Doggett/Reyes relationship the likes of Mulder/Scully is still debatably but there was never really the chemistry of the earlier seasons and the show ended with an extended finale where we meet most of the old nemeses we had grown to love or hate, some individuals we thought had expired along the way years.

Whether or not the last episode brought the previous nine years to a successful conclusion is still debatable but along the way fans and occasional viewer were treated to hours and hours of excitement and fun, hours of being shock and disappointment but it left you wanting for more most of the time.


Other players we came to know

CGB Spender aka The Cigarette Smoking Man (William B Davis) - a shady government figure, always smoking in the background with his fingers in all pies. He knew more than he let on and nobody ever knew what he had to hide. Most of the time he tried to hinder Mulder's progress but was he really as bad as everyone thought.

AD Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) - in theory Mulder and Scully's superior but one of the few people both agents trusted and who managed to help them on their quest.

The Lonely Gunmen aka Frohike, Byers, Langly - conspiracy theorists named themselves after the possible assassin on the grassy knoll in Dallas the day Kennedy was shot. These three are able to help Mulder when other roads appear blocked.

Agent Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) - double agent, first assigned to shadow Mulder when Scully was apparently abducted but turning out to be look after just one thing, himself.

There are plenty of recurring characters helping and hindering the two agents including family members who often get killed off in the pursuit of the truth.


The Box Set

A must have for all fans of the show and those who want to find out more about the phenomenon of the 1990s. Watching all shows will take you weeks but there's always a way to just dip in and out of the seasons and pick the shows that are taking your fancy.

Each season is contained in its own DVD box with on average 4-5 discs per box. As each season contains on average 20-24 episodes you can see that there will be about 4 episodes per disc plus any extras the likes of commentary, documentaries and interviews.

To help you know what to watch, the box set comes with a nice booklet containing short summaries of all episodes as well as lists of extras found on the discs. Little pictures next to the summaries will give mental jogs to those who can't quite remember the episode from just the description.

One of the negatives of this box set seems to be that the hinges in the individual season boxes are very easy to break off and it will make it look cheap and nasty.

However, this should not deter from the actual delight of having all episodes of the show in one place. Shame it came out before the latest movie as that is not included in will need to be purchased separately.

In short:

* All 9 seasons (204 episodes) and first feature film on 61 disks.
* Theatrical movie
* Audio commentary on selected episodes
* Deleted scenes
* Mythology documentary
* Interviews creator Chris Carter and cast
* Special effects sequences
* Character profiles, featurettes and much more

Summary: a must for all fans