The File Room

6.11 - Two Fathers

The X-Files finally starts wrapping things up with The Syndicate by having a lot of people talk about how they are wrapping things up with The Syndicate. Michaela and Ed struggle through a very exposition-heavy episode, but also chat about birthdays, camping and Joan of Arc.

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6.10 - Tithonus

Pizza Birthdays, not aging, and knowing when you’ll die... This week we discuss Scully’s immortality, note actors who hated each other, and manage to link the Final Destination franchise to X-Files origins.

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6.9 - S.R. 819

All hot streaks end eventually, and after a season of nothing but great, really good and pretty good episodes, Season 6 hits a hard stop with this one, which squanders a good premise and typically strong technical work with murky plotting and sedate performances. Michaela and Ed dig into it, while also finding time to talk about the World Cup and The Odyssey, which were both extremely fresh topics when they recorded this a month ago.

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6.8 - Rain King

Every Brit's favourite topic: The Weather. PLUS we meditate on taste, high school drama for the middle-aged, and more weather.

6.7 - Terms of Endearment

It's a real testament to The X-Files writers' command of tone at this point in the show's run that they manage to craft a very entertaining and at times moving episode out of a story which involves a frankly excessive amount of child death. Michaela and Ed talk about that, as well as guest star Bruce Campbell's excellent work as the episode's monster, the best things about America, and some '90s bands with Scottish singers.

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6.6 - How the Ghosts Stole Christmas

Michaela explains how heat delays trains, Ed explains the disgrace of Gijón, and then we discuss the small but perfectly formed cast in this episode, that mashes up Christmas and Halloween for a bit of apparition fun.

6.5 - Dreamland II

Mulder is still trapped in another man's body and The X-Files continues to find fun ways to mess with him. Michaela and Ed round out this very entertaining two-parter, and also find time to talk about their recent trip to London, DIY and waterbeds.

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6.4 - Dreamland I

Michaela's living her best middle aged life, Ed shares his bag-flotsam triggered Proustian rush, and then we have some thoughts about this surprisingly divisive episode.

6.3 - Triangle

Mulder gets sent back in time to 1939 (or does he?!?) in a technically remarkable episode, which utilizes both long takes and split-screen to dazzling effect. Michaela and Ed delve into the many impressive visual elements of this episode, as well talk about how good the current series of Taskmaster has been.

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6.2 - Drive

Ed drives almost as much as Mulder in one of the most consequential episode of TV of all time... while Michaela floats with some Jelly fish, and fan-girls.

6.1 - The Beginning

The X-Files has to deal with the aftermath of the movie and the consequences of moving to Hollywood after five years in Vancouver. Michaela and Ed discuss how the change in location affected the mood of the show, how its moments of self-awareness make the mythology go down a little smoother, and Ed's latest injury. Also, apologies for the slightly rougher audio this week - Ed's microphone did not work, so had to resort to using the microphone on his earbuds. It's mostly fine, but it's more compressed than usual.

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Bonus - X Files The Movie

This week, The File Room goes to the cinema to watch Independence Day... Just kidding, it's time to watch The X Files Movie - complete with corn fields, Antarctica, a ticking biological clock for all of humanity, and The Near Kiss. Michaela and Ed discuss whether Fight the Future is a triumphant big-screen reward for five years of loyalty, or just a very expensive mythology episode with a better coat budget. PLUS Michaela mourns the tragic, hole-riddled demise of a beloved tent, and Ed celebrates Mother's Day with Fried Green Tomatoes.

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Season 5 Recap

What a season, what a season. As The X-Files prepares to head to Hollywood - both literally and metaphorically - Michaela and Ed look back on the fifth season and talk about their favourite episodes and guest performances, and try to determine whether the demands of the movie ultimately hurt the season leading up to it.

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5.20 - The End

This week, The X-Files tries to pull off a grand pseudo-series finale involving a mind-reading chess prodigy and a literal fire in the basement, but the real tension might just be Scully's reaction to Mulder's ex. Michaela and Ed discuss whether 'The End' actually works as an ending, while also catching up on expensive car repairs, Morris dancing, Bob Odenkirk's action movie chops, and a Studio Ghibli film featuring a cat in a tuxedo... or does it?

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5.19 - Folie A Deux

Mulder's seeing a giant bug man in an episode that is surprisingly tense and paranoiac, even more so when you learn about the troubled production. Michaela and Ed discuss how The X-Files crew managed to turn disaster into victory in post-production, and also talk about the novel Klara and the Sun for arguably too long.

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5.18 - The Pine Bluff Variant

This week Michaela reveals a big life change ahead, AI tries to turn Ed's D&D campaign into a business memo, and we discuss 'The Pine Bluff Variant', an episode of The X-Files with more double-agent turns than the last series of The Traitors*. *or what I'd assume. Paul only made me watch the last episode.

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5.17 - All Souls

The X-Files abruptly remembers that Scully's daughter died and tries to examine her grief through the prism of a case involving angels, with mixed results. Michaela and Ed try to make sense of it all, while also discussing video stores and spoiling the hell out of the forgotten Robert Pattinson vehicle Remember Me and the novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh, so consider this a spoiler warning.

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5.16 - Mind's Eye

A major milestone in the UK year has been met with celebrations, meanwhile Ed has joined the Flimsy Wrist Brigade... Is this episode of the X Files a blinder? Did we see too much?

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5.15 - Travelers

Like R.E.M., The X-Files is exhuming McCarthy this week in an episode that goes back to the 1950s, an era of paranoia and persecution, when absolute psychopaths ran the American government. Hard to imagine such a thing, right? Michaela and Ed also talk about Ed "Velma-ing" on a late night run.

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5.14 - The Red and the Black

Michaela is mildly annoyed by holiday admin, Ed is uncomfortable about discussing BDSM and Mulder and Scully complete their Freaky Friday plot line.