Nine episodes of The X-Files to rewatch before new series

DON’T have 145 hours to rewatch all 202 episodes and two movies? Here are 9 X-Files stories to get you excited about the new series.

WE’RE only weeks away from six new episodes of The X-Files.

Six new adventures following Mulder and Scully as they peel back the many, many layers of alien-government conspiracies, or wrestle with garden variety creepy crawlies.

But if you didn’t start rewatching all 202 episodes (and two movies) back in March when it was announced there would be a new instalment, it’s probably too late to start now and fit everything in before you hear that familiar theme song blare out of your TV speakers once again.

So we’ve picked nine episodes that you should rewatch to remind you of the sheer awesomeness of Chris Carter’s creation.

They’re not necessarily the nine best episodes or the nine most important in terms of the rich mythology of the show. But we think they’re the nine most representative episodes of a series that delivered a diverse slate of stories — some terrifying, some hilarious and some that almost had you convinced the alien colonisation was coming on December 31, 2012 (it didn’t — obviously. Or did it?).

The best part is it’s all available on streaming so you don’t have to fiddle with your old DVDs, trying to find the correct episode on the correct disc. Yay — progress!

PILOT (season 1, episode 1)

Where it all started: The first time Mulder and Scully laid eyes on each other.

The first episode established everything we came to know and love about The X-Files — a hint of the government conspiracy, that the truth is “out there”, the dark and cold aesthetic, and, of course, the chemistry between Mulder the believer and Scully the sceptic.

“Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?” he asks. Her reply: “Logically, I would have to say no.”

In between Scully walking into the basement office of the X-Files for the first time to the last shot of Cigarette Smoking Man filing away the implant within the bowels of the Pentagon is an intriguing story of a town plagued by alien abductions — the town and its inhabitants will feature again in seasons seven and eight.

SQUEEZE (1.3)

Tight spaces.

“Squeeze” is the third episode of the first season and sees Mulder and Scully investigating a mutant serial killer with the ability to extend his body through impossibly narrow gaps.

As the first “monster-of-the-week” episode of the series, the creators hoped it would be creepy enough to set the scene for all that would ensue. And they nailed it.

The episode begins with the agents at the scene of a murder where the victim’s liver had been ripped out their body. At first, they’re baffled at how the perpetrator got in the room. After investigating one of the scenes, Mulder discovers an elongated fingerprint on a small ventilation system, which he believes is where the killer gained entry.

Determined to prove he is correct, Mulder does some more investigating and finds the fingerprint matches two others from similar crimes in 1963 and 1933, as well as one taken in 1903.

However, the idea of a mutant killer over 100 years old is too much for Scully to handle. A final showdown manages to see her reassess her beliefs, but as the show was still in its early days, Scully remains sceptical for the most part.

PAPER CLIP (3.2)

Why wouldn’t a UFO be hiding in an abandoned mine?

For a mythology episode, “Paper Clip” has a lot of emotional depth. It also sets the tone for the series’ excellent third season, arguably the show’s best. “Paper Clip” is a full-blooded conspiracy episode, going right to the heart of The Syndicate — the shadowy group of men in cahoots with the alien colonists, manoeuvring events since the Cold War and muddying the truth at every turn.

Fast-moving, “Paper Clip” dealt with both the larger questions (alien-human hybrids, how much did the government know?) and the personal ones (Mulder’s interrogation of his mother, how involved was his father, Scully’s sister). It also had some heart-thumping action sequences in the abandoned mine with the endless rows of filing cabinets and the signature flashlight dance in the dark.

Even though Mulder and Scully finally glean some pieces of the puzzle (or did they?), it’s not enough. As Scully says in the closer, “I’ve heard the truth, now I want the answers.”

PUSHER (3.17)

You’re getting very sleepy.

Before Vince Gilligan created Breaking Bad he was a writer for the X-Files and “Pusher” is some of his finest work. The writer was so impressed with his own effort, he told Chris Carter it was the best work he would ever do for the series.

Gilligan originally wanted to use the idea for a movie script but, happily, changed his mind, feeling it was a better fit for the X-Files.

The episode sees the FBI agents investigating a man forcing people to kill themselves with mind control. Scully is sceptical to the idea, but Mulder is convinced it’s true and soon finds himself in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with killer Robert Patrick Modell.

Not only does the episode offer suspenseful writing, but it features former Nirvana drummer and current lead singer of the Foo Fighters Dave Grohl as an extra. Grohl has since regarded his brief cameo as his acting debut.

HOME (4.2)

Neither Miss Philippines nor Miss Colombia.

Genuinely one of the scariest and most violent episodes of The X-Files, “Home” is a masterful study of Smalltown, USA (the kind Mulder wants to settle down in) and the grotesque underbelly of such seemingly perfect places. It’s also about the tension between change and a wistfulness for the “good ol’ days”.

The action starts when a group of boys discover the body of a deformed baby buried in a shallow grave. The culprits — identified early on — are the Peacock family, who’ve been inbreeding since the American Civil War. The “monsters” in “Home” are so gruesome and chilling that for most of the episode, despite being completely within frame, you only see glimpses of them — a pair of eyes, the side of a face illuminated by a lightning flash — as their true visages remain shrouded in darkness. And looking under the bed will take on a whole new meaning.

In “Home” as in many of the best X-Files stories, there’s nothing supernatural or extraterrestrial about the enemy. Sometimes, the most horrifying villains are all too human.

MEMENTO MORI (4.14)

Lean on me.

When Scully finds out she has cancer, she reacts clinically — telling Mulder of her diagnosis in scientific terms, as if she’s reading from a case file of some random person. But throughout the episode, she comes to a place of acceptance, but also defiance. Mulder is busy trying to find a non-medical solution to Scully’s predicament, convinced that somewhere in the upper echelons of the alien conspiracy is a cure to her cancer.

“Memento Mori” features among Chris Carter’s favourite episodes and it’s not hard to see why — the tender moments between Mulder and Scully, and even what Skinner is willing to do to save her, speaks volumes about a show that despite all the monsters and grandiose conspiracies, is still about these characters. At the same time, it also manages to advance the overarching mythology.

BAD BLOOD (5.12)

What lovely teeth you have.

Considered by many as the funniest episode of the series, “Bad Blood” is a great example of the wry humour of The X-Files, and of Vince Gilligan.

Mulder and Scully travel to a random town in Texas, where a bunch of cows have had the blood drained of them, with the culprit leaving behind two little puncture marks. Mulder’s convinced it’s vampires while Scully, not so much.

But you never quite know what’s going on, with the episode (including the same scenes) told from Mulder’s and Scully’s individual perspectives — the two versions are wildly differing. In Scully’s version, Mulder is “exuberant”, going off on flights of fancy at a whim, while in Mulder’s version, Scully is dour and poo-poos his sensible theories. Much like season three’s “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space”, “Bad Blood” drives home just how unreliable our personal recollections are, especially when there are spooky things going on. Bonus: Luke Wilson guest stars as a (“probably not bucktoothed”) sheriff.

THE X-FILES: FIGHT THE FUTURE (first movie)

After five years, the kiss almost happened. Damn that bee!

While technically not an episode, X-Files: Fight the Future is vital in explaining the wider mythology of the television series. Released between seasons five and six, the movie tells of Mulder and Scully’s efforts to uncover a government conspiracy to hide the truth about an alien colonisation of Earth.

Despite its release date, the film was shot between the fourth and fifth season, after Chris Carter decided a feature film would help explore the show’s mythology on a wider scale.

Fight the Future was instrumental in answering questions for regular viewers of the show and it also took the relationship between Mulder and Scully to new heights.

However, fans were furious after a kiss between the two characters — five years in the making — doesn’t come to fruition after it was interrupted by an alien-virus carrying bee.

If you only have limited time to catch up on the X-Files before the new season, this should be first on your list.

DREAMLAND (6.4 and 6.5)

The episode is worth it for this scene alone.

“Dreamland” is the collective name for the fourth and fifth episodes of the sixth season.

Despite containing a member of the Men in Black, the episode is only loosely connected with the mythology of the television series.

The story centres on Mulder switching bodies with shady government agent Morris Fletcher, while investigating the infamous Area 51. After the body swap, Mulder sets about convincing Scully he and Morris have done a Freaky Friday, but she, of course, remains sceptical.

The episodes are largely considered the funniest of season six, with the exchanges between Morris and Scully, and Mulder and Morris’ family downright hilarious.

The real hero of the episodes is a scene including a mirror, Mulder and Morris.

Aside from the all the humour, the episode does manage to do some soul searching and really puts emphasis on the blossoming romance between Mulder and Scully.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

If you ploughed through these and want a few more episodes to satiate your X-Files appetite, try these on for size:

- “The Host” (2.2): The Flukeman strikes. Enough said.

- “Arcadia” (6.15): Mulder and Scully go undercover in suburbia as a married couple. Wackiness ensues.

- “The Erlenmeyer flask” (1.24): The first season finale which really kicks off the alien-government conspiracy wholesale with Scully unable to deny what she’s seen.

- “Eve” (1.11): The X-Files really excelled at creepy kids and it didn’t get much creepier than the Eve clones.

- “Two Fathers/One Son” (6.11 and 6.12): The original conspiracy is, at last, settled and questions are answered.

- “Badlaa” (8.10): Purists won’t agree because Mulder is gone, but Scully and Doggett investigate a creepy legless man who hides in the stomach of his victims.

- “Closure” (7.11): Mulder finally (finally!) finds out what really happened to his abducted sister, Samantha.

- “X-Cops” (7.12): An X-Files/Cops crossover? It can be done. And it was awesome.

All nine seasons of The X-Files are available to stream on Presto (half-owned by News Corp, the publisher of this website).

The new series of The X-Files will be fast-tracked on Channel 10 within a week of the US debut (January 24).

Older, but are they any wiser?