X-Files Review: Entire Sixth Season

School’s out, so I have time to watch entire seasons
of TV for review once more. Here’s the sixth season
of The X-Files. With any luck, I’ll get you
the entire series of Firefly and maybe a
season or two of something else by the time I’m back
in class on January 5. If you have any suggestions,
make them here. Items on
this
list
(which aren’t marked “need to buy”) will get
prompter attention, simply because they’re more
convenient.

Cast

David
Duchovny

as Fox Mulder.

Gillian
Anderson
as Dana Scully.

The series creator was Chris
Carter
.
Complete cast and crew info can be found at this IMDB
page
.

Original Airdate

This season originally aired from 1998-1999.

Synopsis

Mulder and Scully have to deal with the post-movie
events, the
revealed purpose of the government conspiracy, the
assignment of
Agents Spender and Fowley to the X-Files, and the
corruption of
A.D. Skinner.

High Point

“Two Fathers” in general, and Krycek’s use of the
Jedi Mind Trick
against Spender in particular.

Low Point

The arrangement of episodes on the DVD is pretty
irritating. They are
in the broadcast order, not the production order.
“Arcadia” was
originally delayed to get special effects correct,
and “The Unnatural”
was just set before “Agua Mala.” Viewers of the DVD
set should watch
“Arcadia” immediately after “One Son,” and “The
Unnatural” any time
before “Agua Mala.”

As far as the content goes, I enjoy the comedic
episodes most of the
time, but only as a break from the ordinary. To have
six in a row in
the early season and then two more near the end was a
little too much.

The Review

The show moved in new directions, including the
emphasis on comedy,
and the inclusion of celebrity guest stars, so that
should count
towards originality. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects in most of the episodes were
good. The moving
lips in “The Unnatural” could have used work, as
could the mirror
sequence in “Dreamland II.” The rest were very
convincing. I give it
5 out of 6.

The story in terms of the sweeping arc was
well done,
wrapping up old threads and bringing in news ones to
keep things
moving. The work done with Agent Spender in the “Two
Fathers” / “One
Son” two part episode is excellent. The comedic
episodes are good
individually, but a third of a season is a little
much. I give it 4
out of 6.

The acting had reached the “comfort zone,”
when the parties
involved could just go out and do it with little
prep. Still, the
only big hint at any boredom with the characters
comes in “The
Unnatural,” when David Duchovny took his chance to
write and used it
to write an episode with David and Gillian instead of
Mulder and
Scully. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was
effective in many
ways. It’s nice to laugh, and the mythology episodes
had some
excellent moments (particularly in “S.R. 819,” “Two
Fathers,” and “One
Son,”) but episodes like “Field Trip” tend to leave
me dry. I give it
4 out of 6.

The production improved noticeably over
season five. The
cinematography is now serviceable in both possible
aspect ratios. I
give it 5 out of 6.

Overall, while not a bad season, it marked
the beginning of
the downslide that brought us seasons 7 and 9, the
worst of the series
(in my opinion.) I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, The X-Files: Season Six receives
31 out of 42.

One reply

Comments are closed.