101 - "Pilot"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 9/10/93
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Cigarette Smoking Man
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: FBI Agent Dana Scully is assigned to partner with Agent Fox Mulder and is charged with submitting field reports validating his efforts on the unexplained cases known as "The X-Files". Their first case involves a dead girl found in a forest who bears the same markings as several other dead bodies found at various sites in America.
Thoughts: This episode kicks off with an atmospheric moment in the forest and ends with the ever creepy Cigarette Smoking Man, but has a lot of exposition and dialogue in the middle. The effects aged fairly well, aided by a HD remaster that is currently available on Netflix streaming. A promising start to a fantastic series.
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102 - "Deep Throat"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 9/17/93
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Deep Throat
Notable Guess Stars: Seth Green
Synopsis: After a woman claims that her military pilot husband was kidnapped by the military, Mulder and Scully investigate only to find themselves in the middle of a cover-up of the experimental use of alien technology in military aircraft.
Thoughts: Duchovny and Anderson get more comfortable in their characters' skins, and both the suspense and action are kicked up a notch as the agents face their first real peril together.
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103 - "Squeeze"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 9/24/93
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It?: Definitely Not
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Doug Hutchison, Donal Logue
Synopsis: Scully is recruited by a former colleague to look into a string of murders where the bodies are missing their livers. In all cases, there is no apparent point of entry or exit.
Thoughts: This is the first of the "monster-of-the-week" format episodes, and easily one of the strongest and best of the series. It's creepy, claustrophobic, and downright icky with an atmospheric score.
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104 - "Conduit"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 10/1/93
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder makes an investigation personal after a girl is abducted in a similar manner to his own sister, Samantha.
Thoughts: There's a lot going on in this episode, much of it unnecessary to the abduction itself. There are 3 plots going on simultaneously - enough for at least two of them to have their own episode so that the each idea could be fleshed out better. In any case, this is the first time we get some real details about Samantha's abduction, but it could have been done better, especially as it is the primary arc of the whole show. It may be that the writers didn't want to give us too much too early, but the extra fat makes this could be "great" episode simply "good".
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105 - "The Jersey Devil"
Score: 4/10
Original Airdate: 10/8/93
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate the murder of homeless people in Atlantic City by what Mulder believes to be the urban legend creature, "The Jersey Devil."
Thoughts: This episode is a boring misfire with a annoyingly strange tribal-sounding score and generally unlikable characters. The only thing of note that makes this episode worth a view is a crossroads character moment that Scully has where she (and we) come to the realization that working on the X-Files is not going to allow her to have a normal personal life.
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106 - "Shadows"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 10/22/93
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate some murders where the victims' throats were crushed from the inside. A mousy secretary is the connecting factor among the victims leading Mulder to believe she is either telekinetic or has a guardian angel.
Thoughts: This episode is fine - not great, not terrible. It has some suspenseful moments and a few cool effects, as well as some good banter between Mulder and some NSA agents.
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107 - "Ghost in the Machine"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 10/29/93
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Deep Throat
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: After an executive is murdered in a completely automated high rise building, Mulder and Scully must outwit and destroy a homicidal artificial intelligence, one that the government is also desperate to get their hands on.
Thoughts: This episode is fun, if only for laughing at the "state-of-the-art, this is the future" computer technology represented in 1993. There are some good intense scenes with the agents in serious peril to keep the episode interesting.
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108 - "Ice"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 11/5/93
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Definitely Not
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Xander Berkeley and Felicity Huffman
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully are sent to Antarctica along with 3 other scientists to find out what happened to another team of scientists. There they find themselves isolated with each other, who may or may not be infected with a life form that takes over your personality.
Thoughts: This episode is a direct homage (or you can say they stole this plot) to John Carpenter's "The Thing", but they 100% nailed it. From the sense of dread, isolation, paranoia, fear, and the real possibility that Mulder or Scully might not be Mulder or Scully anymore, this is a well-crafted episode.
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109 - "Space"
Score: 2/10
Original Airdate: 11/12/93
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Goodness, Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guest Stars: Ed Lauter
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully are brought in to investigate when a space shuttle mission is being repeatedly sabotaged.
Thoughts: This episode, the one that series creator Chris Carter deems his least favorite episode, earns its notorious reputation. It's boring and has awful special effects and is a complete waste of time. I'll go ahead and spoil the episode to save you 45 minutes. A 1970's astronaut, Mulder's childhood hero by the way, while on a mission is possessed by the ghost of an alien. It is he that is unknowingly sabotaging the missions while under the influence of said alien ghost. Yep. Not just an alien or not just a ghost.... an alien ghost. There you have it.
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110 - "Fallen Angel"
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 11/19/93
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Deep Throat
Notable Guest Stars: None
Synopsis: After Mulder disobeys direct orders by investigating the government cover-up of a UFO crash, he and Scully are brought before a hearing to determine Mulder's fate with the FBI as well as the future of The X-Files.
Thoughts: This episode gets to the heart of what the show is truly about - proving the existence of extra-terrestrial life. The proof is finally presented with the first on-screen appearance of an alien being (if only on infrared) as well as the first on-camera abduction - witnessed only by Mulder of course. This episode features some cool camera work as well as some eerie sound effects to add to the suspense.
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111 - "Eve"
Score: 9/10
Original Airdate: 12/10/93
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Deep Throat
Notable Guest Stars: Harriet Samson Harris
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully search for two missing little girls whose fathers were killed simultaneously and identically but on opposite coasts. Mulder believes the men were exsanguinated by aliens, but the sinister forces at work may be more earthly.
Thoughts: This episode is intense and has some great performances by Harriet Harris in dual roles. One of the best episodes of Season 1. Pop Culture Note: the band Eve 6 got their name from this episode.
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112 - "Fire"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 12/17/93
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: For "Supernatural" Fans, No; For Everyone Else, Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Amanda Pays and Mark Sheppard
Synopsis: Mulder's college girlfriend, an inspector from Scotland Yard, solicits him (with Scully in tow) to investigate the spontaneous combustion of a British Aristocrat.
Thoughts: Young Mark Sheppard (Crowley from "Supernatural") is great as an obsessed pyrokinetic, and the plot is interesting, but this episode suffers a great deal from an uncharacteristically catty performance by Anderson that doesn't fit or suit Scully's character. I don't blame Anderson; I blame the writers.
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113 - "Beyond the Sea"
Score: 10/10
Original Airdate: 1/7/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Brad Dourif
Synopsis: After Scully's father suddenly dies, a man on death row (a brilliant performance by Dourif) claims to be psychic and that he not only has a message from her father, but also details regarding an active serial killer.
Thoughts: This episode has some of the best writing of the series and provides some unexpected character moments when Mulder is the disbeliever, and Scully wants to believe.
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114 - "Gender Bender"
Score: 3/10
Original Airdate: 1/21/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Nicholas Lea (but not as Krycek - more on him later)
Synopsis: A serial killer kills several victims after a sexual encounter and swaps its gender after each time. Mulder and Scully investigate a religious sect from which they believe the killer originated.
Thoughts: This episode is just plain dumb, and apparently all dance clubs play the same awful trance song every night. Avoid this one. It's not as bad as "Space", but almost.
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115 - "Lazarus"
Score: 4/10
Original Airdate: 2/4/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: After an agent and bank robber are simultaneously killed in a robbery gone awry, the agent is resuscitated but with the spirit of the villain inside if him.
Thoughts: This is yet another frustrating episode. For starters, it's slow and poorly acted. Second and more importantly, it is one of those episodes where Scully's insistence of disbelief wears one down because the evidence is in her plain sight the whole time. I give this insistence of disbelief a pass most of the time because it makes up the important charachter dymanic and contrast between Mulder and Scully. That, and they usually do a good job of writing the episode in such a way that the evidence is not always accessible or witnessed by Scully.
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116 - "Young At Heart"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 2/11/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Deep Throat, Cigarette Smoking Man
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: At a present day murder scene, a note is found with the same words and same handwriting as a muderer that Mulder put away years prior to the X-Files, on who was believed to have died in prison.
Thoughts: This episode is highly suspenseful and features some great cat-and-mouse games between Mulder and the killer, but it is hindered a bit by long scenes of science-heavy exposition.
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117 - "E.B.E."
Score: 8/10
Original Airdate: 2/18/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Deep Throat, The Lone Gunmen
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: After Mulder defies direct orders by investigating a UFO crash, Deep Throat sets Mulder on a path that Mulder believes will lead to finding an Extraterrestrial Biological Entity in the flesh.
Thoughts: This episode has a lot crammed into is 43 minutes - we meet The Lone Gunmen for the first time, we learn Deep Throat's backstory and how he came to be involved with all of this, and maybe, just maybe, we get to finally see an E.B.E.
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118 - "Miracle Man"
Score: 5/10
Original Airdate: 3/18/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Scott Bairstow
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate the deaths of several people who had one thing in common: they were all previously healed by the son of a preacher man.
Thoughts: This episode, for all intents and purposes a murder mystery, feels like it would be more at home on the likes of "Criminal Minds" or "Castle". Not horrible; not great.
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119 - "Shapes"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 4/1/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: It's a werewolf-esque creature episode. Mulder thinks its a shapeshifter; Scully thinks it's a wild animal.
Thoughts: Practically average in every way.
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120 - "Darkness Falls"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 4/15/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Jason Beghe and Titus Welliver
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully investigate the disappearance of a group of loggers. The local law believe they were murdered by eco-terrorists, but the culprits are millions of ancient tiny insects that only swarm in the dark.
Thoughts: I want to score this episode much higher because the creepy factor is off the charts. That said, the visual effects are AWFUL, and the characters make some rather silly B-movie level type decisions. With a tighter script and today's vfx capabilities, this episode could be one of the scariest.
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121 - "Tooms"
Score: 7/10
Original Airdate: 4/22/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Skinner, Cigarette Smoking Man
Notable Guess Stars: Doug Hutchison
Synopsis: Eugene Victor Tooms, the liver-eating, body contorting villain from the episode "Squeeze" is paroled, despite Mulder's adamant protests, and sets to finish his murder spree.
Thoughts: Hutchison is still fantastic in the titular role, but this episode is too bogged down by courtroom scenes and bureaucratic red tape to achieve the greatness of its predecessor, but the climax is intense and claustrophobic. Overall, the Squeeze/Tooms duo rates an 8/10, and is a great watch back-to-back. "Squeeze" is the first of three Monster-Of-The-Week episodes to get a sequel.
As an added bonus, we see the first interaction between Skinner and the Cigarette Smoking Man in this episode.
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122 - "Born Again"
Score: 6/10
Original Airdate: 4/29/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Either Way
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Maggie Wheeler
Synopsis: A murdered detective reincarnates as a telekinetic little girl and begins exacting revenge on his killers.
Thoughts: Between this episode and "Shadows" and "Lazarus" the trope of the dead returning in some fashion to exact revenge is starting to wear thin. This one is the best of those three with the creepy kid factor edging out "Shadows".
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123 - "Roland"
Score: 3/10
Original Airdate: 5/6/94
Episode Type: Monster-Of-The-Week
Skippable: Yes
Should You Skip It: Yes
Recurring Secondary Characters: None
Notable Guess Stars: Zeljko Ivanek
Synopsis: A mentally challenged janitor may be responsible for the deaths of some scientists in an aeronautics lab.
Thoughts: This is a dull episode that moves along at a snails pace and has an unnecessarily depressing ending. One of Season 1's worst.
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124 - "The Erlenmeyer Flask"
Score: 10/10
Original Airdate: 5/13/94
Episode Type: Mythology
Skippable: No
Recurring Secondary Characters: Deep Throat, Cigarette Smoking Man
Notable Guess Stars: None
Synopsis: Deep Throat leads Mulder and Scully on separate missions to provide both of them proof of extraterrestrial life: Mulder to a find an on-the-loose alien-human hybrid whose blood is extremely toxic to humans, and Scully to a cryogenics lab where she will find something that will shake her beliefs to the core.
Thoughts: The Season 1 finale of "The X-Files" starts with an exciting high speed chase and ends with a shocking bang - literally and metaphorically. The stakes have never been higher, and you'll want to watch the Season 2 premiere episode immediately. The wait between seasons for this show was always excruciating, but thankfully that has been eliminated by Netflix and DVD.
