Notes from the day I stayed home and more or less watched The X files for 10 hours…
Friday. October 26. On the couch. At my house…
8 am. The day started with the creepy episode with the guy who digs up women and cuts off their hair and fingernails. Right out of the box I was aware of the fact that this is a prime example of the kind of episode that draws the criticism of the viewers. Scully appears to be uneasy with the crime they are investigating, while Mulder remained strong and dispassionate, gets more lines, and stays cool the whole time. And making it worse, he winds up saving her at the end, which is good but nonetheless unfortunate that it was ever necessary.
9 am. “Humbug” with the Jim Rose Circus.
I don’t like this one. Never have. It always felt a little dated, since the Jim Rose Circus started in 1993 and toured with Lollapalooza and Nine Inch Nails and it really feels like The X-Files was just trying to show that it was hip and relevant in 1994 when this aired. But I can forgive a lot of this shows early sins. I took about a half hour off to do something around the house that had to be done.
10 a.m. “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose.”
This is considered one of the series’ best episodes, about a man who can predict the time and manner of a person’s death who helps to track down a killer. I’ve always enjoyed the Darin Morgan ones (he did my recent favorite about alternate reality and the nature of truth). It has all the requisite goofy touches that I love from Morgan, including the TV psychic who shows up to help the police.
One thought: it was mighty lucky this Bruckman guy ran into Mulder, an open minded member of law enforcement. If this had been real life, the cops might have used him as an easy fall guy for the crimes. I love the way Bruckman just accepts his fate as just part of his life. His gift is more of a pain in the ass than anything else, and he knows it.
11 a.m. “Grotesque.”
The episode with Red Forman guy. Took this one off because after the 1st 3 hours I really needed to brush my teeth. And other stuff.
12 noon. “Leonard Betts.”
I was kind of in and out for this one. One curiosity: this ep starred the asshole Doctor from ER, and it followed the one with the Red Forman guy. These actors were together in the movie Robocop.
1-2 p.m. I took a nap. Not sure what I missed.
2 p.m. The one with the doll who gets people to kill themselves. This is one of the creepiest episodes. You’ll never hear the Hokey Pokey Song the same again.
3 p.m. Something about Vampires. Mulder and Scully face an inquiry over a case of the death of teenage vampire. It was funny to see how they told different versions of the same story in which the size of Luke Wilson’s teeth change.
4 p.m. I wrote something down but I can’t read it. Something about a guy who sees something. Sorry.
5 p.m. Mulder and Scully get lost in the woods and it turns out they are being ingested and nobody really knows what’s going on up until the very end.
6 p.m. I started watching the next episode but by that point I had to go out.
Usually I’m not really much of a binge watcher. But this was fun. BBC America seems to have selected the creepiest episodes in conjunction with Halloween. At one point or another I have seen every episode, but it is a testament to the value of this series that it can hold up to multiple re-watchings.
I highly recommend using a perfectly good day to do this every once in a while.
8 am. The day started with the creepy episode with the guy who digs up women and cuts off their hair and fingernails. Right out of the box I was aware of the fact that this is a prime example of the kind of episode that draws the criticism of the viewers. Scully appears to be uneasy with the crime they are investigating, while Mulder remained strong and dispassionate, gets more lines, and stays cool the whole time. And making it worse, he winds up saving her at the end, which is good but nonetheless unfortunate that it was ever necessary.
9 am. “Humbug” with the Jim Rose Circus.
I don’t like this one. Never have. It always felt a little dated, since the Jim Rose Circus started in 1993 and toured with Lollapalooza and Nine Inch Nails and it really feels like The X-Files was just trying to show that it was hip and relevant in 1994 when this aired. But I can forgive a lot of this shows early sins. I took about a half hour off to do something around the house that had to be done.
10 a.m. “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose.”
This is considered one of the series’ best episodes, about a man who can predict the time and manner of a person’s death who helps to track down a killer. I’ve always enjoyed the Darin Morgan ones (he did my recent favorite about alternate reality and the nature of truth). It has all the requisite goofy touches that I love from Morgan, including the TV psychic who shows up to help the police.
One thought: it was mighty lucky this Bruckman guy ran into Mulder, an open minded member of law enforcement. If this had been real life, the cops might have used him as an easy fall guy for the crimes. I love the way Bruckman just accepts his fate as just part of his life. His gift is more of a pain in the ass than anything else, and he knows it.
11 a.m. “Grotesque.”
The episode with Red Forman guy. Took this one off because after the 1st 3 hours I really needed to brush my teeth. And other stuff.
12 noon. “Leonard Betts.”
I was kind of in and out for this one. One curiosity: this ep starred the asshole Doctor from ER, and it followed the one with the Red Forman guy. These actors were together in the movie Robocop.
1-2 p.m. I took a nap. Not sure what I missed.
2 p.m. The one with the doll who gets people to kill themselves. This is one of the creepiest episodes. You’ll never hear the Hokey Pokey Song the same again.
3 p.m. Something about Vampires. Mulder and Scully face an inquiry over a case of the death of teenage vampire. It was funny to see how they told different versions of the same story in which the size of Luke Wilson’s teeth change.
4 p.m. I wrote something down but I can’t read it. Something about a guy who sees something. Sorry.
5 p.m. Mulder and Scully get lost in the woods and it turns out they are being ingested and nobody really knows what’s going on up until the very end.
6 p.m. I started watching the next episode but by that point I had to go out.
Usually I’m not really much of a binge watcher. But this was fun. BBC America seems to have selected the creepiest episodes in conjunction with Halloween. At one point or another I have seen every episode, but it is a testament to the value of this series that it can hold up to multiple re-watchings.
I highly recommend using a perfectly good day to do this every once in a while.
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