Post-Lupin
Prolific Poster
Immanentizing the Eschaton
Posts: 5,673
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Post by Post-Lupin on Jan 27, 2016 3:27:48 GMT -5
How many Continuum alum is Chris Carter gonna cast? I will wager, fewer than The 100 has.
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Post by pairesta on Jan 27, 2016 6:28:49 GMT -5
This is something that's occurred to me in the intervening years, but it seems front and center now, what with your Teds Cruz running about for president: the right wing bent of the show makes me uncomfortable. Does the show have a right-wing bent? Even Mulder, the stupid one who believes everything with the tiniest shred of evidence, was super disdainful of McHale's extreme gun-rights positions, and one of them criticized real-life conservative shitbag Bill O'Reilly. It doesn't seem like the kind of show that would vote for Ted Cruz if it were a sentient entity that had been afforded suffrage. Although keep in mind of course that this is like one of two or three full episodes of the X Files that I've seen since I was in elementary school, so I'm missing a lot of context in which to place Sunday's episode. The implicitly anti-government tone is right wing. Scully protests against McHale's BS but Mulder doesn't. And the gun lines in the first ep really bugged me, since we do have Cruz running around saying the exact same thing. Skinner's remark in the second episode about all the bureaucracy tying things up. The two big iterations of the show were during Democratic presidencies, so there's simmering right wing sentiment to capitalize on. I can't see that first episode making it to air at the height of the Bush presidency.
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Post by pairesta on Jan 27, 2016 6:34:34 GMT -5
I liked the second episode alot more. Duchovny and Anderson seemed to click more, have their old spark back. And it had the rhythms of the old show. It still feels rushed though, and not quite all the parts fit or made sense (not sure why the guy at the beginning died or where he fit in, also what are these visions Mulder and Scully are having about William?).
Honestly, they should have just kept this comeback mythology free and done 6 MOTW eps. Skinner's investigating some serial killer with supernatural abilities and brings Mulder and Scully back into the fold, and then they're off. Maybe they back into some sort of larger connection or mythology in the course of these investigations, but don't just start it off that way. I know all the hallmarks of the show come from the mythology (CSM, the yet to appear Lone Gunmen, etc) so it's easy to want to lean on them, but I'd rather they just stay gone and see where we can go from here.
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Post by ganews on Jan 27, 2016 9:31:05 GMT -5
The whole thing suffered from feeling like it was endlessly rehashing vague outlines of the show's old story beats - the one scene with Skinner is essentially his entire character arc AGAIN, as he's played out in varying ways since the show's third season - can you trust him as his bosses are untrustworthy but no maybe you can. Poor Skinner; 23 years and no promotion to a higher GS. That's the government for you. No wonder he hasn't retired yet.
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Post by ganews on Feb 1, 2016 21:21:35 GMT -5
I enjoyed the episode tonight, for the most part; I really enjoyed the first third. But I think I've put my finger on just what's off about the writing to me: it's like X-Files filtered through Joss Whedon devotees.
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Post by Lady Bones on Feb 1, 2016 22:04:13 GMT -5
I enjoyed the episode tonight, for the most part; I really enjoyed the first third. But I think I've put my finger on just what's off about the writing to me: it's like X-Files filtered through Joss Whedon devotees. This is complicated for me because this was the first Morgan episode I've seen, and also that I'm generally a Whedon fan I guess, but the episode's writing seemed to fit with everything I know about the older Darin Morgan episodes.
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Post by UnarmedAndDangerousVorta on Feb 1, 2016 22:56:32 GMT -5
How many Continuum alum is Chris Carter gonna cast? I will wager, fewer than The 100 has. that's just a side effect of the 100 being produced in Vancouver. Oh, looks like the revival is also made in Vancouver.
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Post by pairesta on Feb 2, 2016 7:01:32 GMT -5
Yeah, this was more like it. Everything mostly clicked and I can see a place for X-Files in the modern day if it does stuff like this. Now just come up with a bone-chiller like "Home".
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Feb 2, 2016 10:14:15 GMT -5
I was already in love with the episode but Scully's casual, smirking "Besides, I'm immortal, remember?" made it a stone cold Top 10 classic in my book.
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Post by pairesta on Feb 2, 2016 10:43:59 GMT -5
I loved Scully's "That's the Mulder I love." It was full of such genuine affection for the character and their relationship. It's hard to believe the show came this far in three episodes, when in the premiere they both seemed awkward and going through the motions at times. But this was like 20 years haven't even happened.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Feb 2, 2016 14:27:43 GMT -5
I flat-out loved the episode. I think it single-handedly justified bringing the show back. This is the sort of thing I love in my X-Files.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Feb 2, 2016 19:29:56 GMT -5
This is complicated for me because this was the first Morgan episode I've seen, and also that I'm generally a Whedon fan I guess, but the episode's writing seemed to fit with everything I know about the older Darin Morgan episodes. Yeah I loved this episode, think highly of Morgan's previous work and Whedon didn't come to mind once. Of course last time Morgan did an episode of the X-Files, nobody knew who Whedon was; except people who memorised the names of all the screenwriters credited to Toy Story or some vampire comedy movie nobody liked that much.
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Post by pairesta on Feb 9, 2016 7:15:53 GMT -5
Two heavy plots that didn't gel together and get time to breathe on their own. I guess they are making a go of awkwardly wedging in Scully's issues with giving up her baby wherever they can. Also weird tonal shifts; it started off kinda dark comedy, then shifted to full on drama. And the local officer who called them in completely disappeared, when in other better episodes he'd be graphically ripped in half at the 30 minute mark.
So the best episode by far is the one where they just made a go of what the X-files would be like today, with modern trappings, hangups, and ennui. Yeah, there were plenty of callbacks, but it didn't hang heavy over the episode or try to respark the old mythology. If they do another round, that's the approach I hope they take.
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Post-Lupin
Prolific Poster
Immanentizing the Eschaton
Posts: 5,673
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Post by Post-Lupin on Feb 11, 2016 7:54:04 GMT -5
Points for deconstructing the Westernised version of Tulpas there, but minus a couple for the 'Tulku' derivation, which is iffy at best. At this point, all they need to do is a half-way decent Slenderman story & I'll be happy, (considerable) flaws and all.
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Post by pairesta on Feb 11, 2016 10:41:48 GMT -5
Points for deconstructing the Westernised version of Tulpas there, but minus a couple for the 'Tulku' derivation, which is iffy at best. At this point, all they need to do is a half-way decent Slenderman story & I'll be happy, (considerable) flaws and all. OMG, a slenderman episode of the X-files is terrifying genius. I don't think I'd survive though.
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Post by odnetnin on Feb 12, 2016 4:15:54 GMT -5
As true non-believer who watched the first episode out of morbid curiosity and because Joel McHale Can Do No Wrong, the second episode because...I don't know why (the blowjob bit was fun!), and pretty much loved the the third episode, should I watch the fourth one? The title and premise aren't grabbing me, plus there are so many TV shows
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Post by pairesta on Feb 12, 2016 6:47:15 GMT -5
As true non-believer who watched the first episode out of morbid curiosity and because Joel McHale Can Do No Wrong, the second episode because...I don't know why (the blowjob bit was fun!), and pretty much loved the the third episode, should I watch the fourth one? The title and premise aren't grabbing me, plus there are so many TV shows It's not as bad as the first one. It's a good glimpse that X-Files can also do scary very well, even if there are many other, better episodes in the show's original run.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Feb 12, 2016 9:37:18 GMT -5
I thought the fourth episode felt a lot like a, say, season 6 or 7 episode from the old show - while it wasn't great or anything, it felt extremely X-Filesy in a way that more-or-less worked. Not great, by any means, but familiar in a sort of comforting way, if that makes any sense. If the show ends up going full-seasons (or even 13-ep seasons), I'd be okay with this being the show's baseline.
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Post by pairesta on Feb 12, 2016 10:12:40 GMT -5
I thought the fourth episode felt a lot like a, say, season 6 or 7 episode from the old show - while it wasn't great or anything, it felt extremely X-Filesy in a way that more-or-less worked. Not great, by any means, but familiar in a sort of comforting way, if that makes any sense. If the show ends up going full-seasons (or even 13-ep seasons), I'd be okay with this being the show's baseline. I'd say the same, except that's my criticism: it feels like an ep from season 7 onwards on the show, when it was on its downward slope. It's fine, it know what it's doing, but it also vaguely feels like we'd seen it done before too.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Feb 12, 2016 10:50:44 GMT -5
I thought the fourth episode felt a lot like a, say, season 6 or 7 episode from the old show - while it wasn't great or anything, it felt extremely X-Filesy in a way that more-or-less worked. Not great, by any means, but familiar in a sort of comforting way, if that makes any sense. If the show ends up going full-seasons (or even 13-ep seasons), I'd be okay with this being the show's baseline. I'd say the same, except that's my criticism: it feels like an ep from season 7 onwards on the show, when it was on its downward slope. It's fine, it know what it's doing, but it also vaguely feels like we'd seen it done before too. I intended it as a bit of a criticism as well, but, given how badly revivals of show often go, feeling like the show when it was beginning its downward slide is better than, say, feeling like an episode from season 9. It's not a best case scenario (i.e., getting Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose every week), but, at the same time, it could be a lot worse. I was actually pretty pessimistic about this when it was announced, and to be honest, even including the first episode, it's turned out better than I was concerned it would.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Feb 16, 2016 14:55:23 GMT -5
While I loved the sequence with Mulder tripping balls, most of the rest of last night's episode was about as bad as we could have feared. The doppelgangers were sort of fun, at least conceptually, but that was one lazy, hackneyed, Islamophobic, bad bad bad plot to hang an episode on.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Feb 16, 2016 19:21:14 GMT -5
I spent most of that episode wondering what the hell I was watching. At least from the AVC's review comments I know I'm not alone. That really was bizarre. Cool to see yet another Continuum alum cameo, though.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Feb 16, 2016 22:13:44 GMT -5
I spent most of that episode wondering what the hell I was watching. At least from the AVC's review comments I know I'm not alone. That really was bizarre. Cool to see yet another Continuum alum cameo, though. It's a shame Stephen Lobo was given such a minor and frankly nonsensical character. (Why did he want the body? Why was he speaking Arabic? Why did he fold when photographed? Was there literally any motive for what he was doing?) He would have been a much better Agent Miller than Arrowbro; anyone who's watched Continuum (and c'mon consider it it's all on Netflix now) knows he can be charming and irritating at the same time. On the other hand, he's not pallidly white than Miller, which may not be what you want when you want X-Files doppelgängers down to Einstein's red hair. Which leads me to think they never seriously considered this as a spinoff show. But Lobo and Ambrose is an X-Files team I'd want to watch, I'm just saying. Both of the post-Darin Morgan episodes were messy, but they're at least messy in recognisably X-Files ways (the clunky handling of Islam is also consistent with the show's frequently embarrassing forays into subjects of other cultures, and far from its lowest point on that score, lest we forget "Badlaa" exists.)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2016 23:16:44 GMT -5
Aside from the terrible Radical Islam bombing choice (REALLY?), I loved it.
I still need to watch last week's; I only saw maybe the first fifteen minutes, and was distracted even then.
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Post by rimjobflashmob on Feb 16, 2016 23:21:13 GMT -5
I spent most of that episode wondering what the hell I was watching. At least from the AVC's review comments I know I'm not alone. That really was bizarre. Cool to see yet another Continuum alum cameo, though. It's a shame Stephen Lobo was given such a minor and frankly nonsensical character. (Why did he want the body? Why was he speaking Arabic? Why did he fold when photographed? Was there literally any motive for what he was doing?) He would have been a much better Agent Miller than Arrowbro; anyone who's watched Continuum (and c'mon consider it it's all on Netflix now) knows he can be charming and irritating at the same time. On the other hand, he's not pallidly white than Miller, which may not be what you want when you want X-Files doppelgängers down to Einstein's red hair. Which leads me to think they never seriously considered this as a spinoff show. But Lobo and Ambrose is an X-Files team I'd want to watch, I'm just saying. That whole sequence was something that I kept thinking they were going to follow up on but instead all we got was the fucking Lumineers. Then again I'm always down for more Lobo on my screen. Maybe Bryan Fuller will scoop him up for Pushing Trekkibal.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Feb 17, 2016 14:12:59 GMT -5
Maybe Bryan Fuller will scoop him up for Pushing Trekkibal. I'd love that, but I do notice that Lobo only seems to show up on stuff shot in Canada (he also had a minor pre-Continuum role on Fringe as an FBI agent for those counting.) This X-Files' season's wise return to Vancouver has meant it's fallen back on a lot of actors familiar to those of us who watch TV shot in the area, but Star Trek's never shot in Canada; and who knows if that'll change. Still, even if we never see him on Star Trek and we totally should see him there, anyone with sense would snap him up as the lead for something.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 17, 2016 15:03:57 GMT -5
Stephen Lobo... I was wondering who that hottie was!
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Post by pairesta on Feb 18, 2016 7:22:08 GMT -5
God damn, I hate to sound like a broken record here, but this show just cannot land on a tone. You go to commercial break showing us a horrific bomb and people burning alive, then come back to immediate "goofy" music with Mulder and Scully. And it's like they just crammed every idea they could into the revival, all the old leftovers they never got to do when the show ended, regardless of how well they fit together. Why introduce Mulder and Scully clones now? And good lord, they're on next week again too?
Speaking of next week, I'm not looking forward to it, since we just pick up right where the first ep left off, it looks like.
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Post by pairesta on Feb 18, 2016 7:24:32 GMT -5
Aside from the terrible Radical Islam bombing choice (REALLY?) the right wing bent of the show makes me uncomfortable.
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Post by Douay-Rheims-Challoner on Feb 18, 2016 11:02:33 GMT -5
God damn, I hate to sound like a broken record here, but this show just cannot land on a tone. You go to commercial break showing us a horrific bomb and people burning alive, then come back to immediate "goofy" music with Mulder and Scully. It really feels like they're trying to do more than six episodes in six episodes - the last two episodes both felt like ideas for two completely different episodes awkwardly grafted together.
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