Customer Reviews

The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths, and the Movies

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths and the Movies" was released on November 11th and let me tell you, this is THE book X-Philes have been waiting for. I know that I have been waiting for an official, behind-the-scenes guide to the entire series and the movies for quite some time, and this is definitely it.

I know, I know you're probably saying, "Didn't that show end like 6 years ago?" or "That show lost its appeal years before it actually ended," or "The new movie sucked, right?" Well, whether you think those things or not, I think people need to be reminded just how much of a ground-breaking TV show "The X-Files" was. If you read this book, it'll take you for a trip down memory lane and remind you that this really was one of the greatest shows on TV and similarly did for television what "Star Wars" did for movies. It literally paved the way for quality shows like "Lost," "Fringe," "Heroes," "24," and others. It changed the way TV shows were made (I will say, however, that no show to date has the moody atmosphere of an "X-Files" episode).

This book has it all: Unveiled mysteries, never-before-seen on-location photos, explanations of unsolved plots, discussion of the FBI's paranormal investigation branch, breakdowns of every episode, etc. Basically, just about everything you want to know about the TV Series is in this book, including the two movies! Also included are a few script note cards, a reproduction of a Lone Gunmen newspaper, and three X-Files mini-posters - two for the movies and one "I Want to Believe" poster like the one in Mulder's office.

I'm not sure why Amazon says that this includes things like "alien and monster charts," "alien and monster cards," "Mulder and Scully booklets," etc. It doesn't. But for what it does include, it is really a great book for any X-Phile to own. J.J. Abrams (of "Lost" fame) even writes a preface for this book, as "The X-Files" was one of his main inspirations for film-making. Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz write forwards to the book as well.

It is my hope that future generations who were perhaps too young when the TV series aired will discover this TV series. It was a part of growing up for me, as it first aired in 1993 when I was 13 years old and stayed with me until 2002 when I was almost 22. I plan on raising my eventual kids on a steady "X-Files" diet when they are the appropriate age, and I am hoping that many other parents who were fans of the show will as well. Like "Star Wars," I see this TV show as something to be passed down from generation to generation. Going through this book was like looking through a yearbook of sorts, only it encompasses half of my lifetime. I almost shed a tear when skimming through the full-color photographs of the various memorable episodes of the show. It reminded me of growing up. During those 9 years, no matter how my life changed, Mulder and Scully were always there, always searching for the truth.

If you loved this show when it was on, and still sometimes reminisce about the good ol' days of Mulder and Scully, then this is the book for you. It's a little late coming out, but it was definitely worth waiting for.

Just to preface this, I am a nerdy X-Files fan. And back in the day I made it my business to know unnessary details about the show. So, I do own most of the books that came out about the series (official and unofficial). I was surprised to say the least to find another one coming out. Seemed a little too late -- but I bought it anyway.

If you are expecting an in-depth analysis of the shows and the movies then this is not the book you want. It does comment on every episode of the series but some of these comments are really just a summary of the episode. Some of the key episodes they expand on, with quotes from past cast and crew.

They do not do an in-depth analysis of any of the characters, although there is a discussion about how certain individuals were cast for certain roles and some of those people that originally auditioned for them (or people whom the writers had in mind). I found it odd that they did not address much about the relationships between the actors themselves.

There are a lot of photos, including photos behind the scenes. Although the majority are episode stills and professional photos that have been seen many times before.

However, there are a few errors with some of the information. The most obvious is a Kim Manner's quote about David and Gillian's last scenes with him as a regular on the series that is printed within the description of the series finale.

Overall, I rate this a solid 3/5. It was a good first read but I'm not sure that there is much in the book that a reader will come back to. The extras included: three posters, story cards, a "Lone Gunmen" newspaper are great additons but overall I think they waited to long to publish.

It pains me not to be able to give this 5 stars, but it is riddled with typos and errors. To the point that the publisher should be embarassed and fans should be insulted. You can't create a book for fans of this show and not be incredibly anal about the editing.

That said, I am a rabid fan with a compulsion to own as much as possible related to the show. And even though I pre-ordered this before knowing about the mistakes, I'd probably still buy it had I waited and read reviews and learned about the careless editing. But if the subject were anything other than XF, I'd return the book. I understand that they wanted to release this close to the DVD release of IWTB, but that's unfortunate for the fans who wanted--and deserved--a well-crafted book of memories.

But it's not all bad! There are reasons for keeping the book. The photos are great. The intros by JJ Abrams, CC, and FS are some of the best reading in the book (and error free!). While the dust jacket design is unimaginative and at times baffling (a large photo of Mulder with Phoebe Green on the back!?), the actual hardcover design is really cool: all black with a glossy taped X on the front and a bee on the back. So chuck the dust jacket and display that awesomeness on your coffee table! And the goodies stuck in envelopes in the front and back covers are a fun surprise.

Hardcore fans will buy this book no matter what. But I think everyone should know what lies in store. The thing is, you read through it once and get upset about the mistakes, but you'll go back to the book again simply to view the pictures.

I got this book after being told by numerous people that this was The Best Thing Ever (TM). Boy was I disappointed. There are numerous typos and errors in this book. I was told by someone in contact with people working on this book that the publishing company ignored their final edits and deliberately went to press knowing about these errors. And I mean stupid, stupid stuff like punctuation mistakes, incorrect dates and missing episodes. There is NO EXCUSE for these typos.

In its effort to discuss the entire series, the book goes for quantity and pretty pictures over quality and content, and although it has some amusing and interesting anecdotes, it provided less behind the scenes information than I was expecting and hoping for. This is basically a pretty coffee table book with episode summaries. If you're a hardcore fan like myself, then I guess you should have this book for its value as a piece of memorabilia, but otherwise I wouldn't waste my time or money.

This book is a truly gorgeous item. A big, heavy hardback with tons of photos, most never-before seen, printed on high-quality paper. The authors clearly care a lot about the show and have done much research and many interviews to complete this. Every single episode is discussed, and although some of them are glossed over with a mere plot summary, most have some new, candid information regarding the production. I've never seen an X-Files book this honest before - here you'll find the actors, writers and producers admitting exactly what worked and what went wrong. Gillian Anderson confesses that at the beginning the producers had to hire someone to go through lines with her because she was wasting so much money in flubbed takes due to her inexperience. Several producers talk candidly about the move from Vancouver to L.A. and how they felt like they were betraying the very people who made the show a success. Stories like this make the book an extremely interesting read from start to finish.

This book is such a pleasant surprise coming so long after the series ended. In addition to all 202 episodes, both the 1998 feature film and the recent, unfairly criticized "I Want To Believe" are discussed in detail. To give you some idea of the care that was taken over this book, there are two elaborate card folders attached to the inside cover at both ends; one contains a replica "I Want To Believe" Poster and the other contains replicas of the index cards used by Chris Carter to storyboard the second season episode "The Host"!

My only criticisms of the book are that there are several typos and inaccuracies that should never have made it through the editing process, and that given the vast research put into this book there is really no excuse to gloss over some of the episodes.

If you are or ever were an X-Files fan, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. You really must own it. And if you have a friend or relative who is an X-Phile, you just found the perfect gift!

First of all, "The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths and the Movies" is a very impressive, high-quality book, with good production values and striking graphic design. A lot of thought and effort clearly went into the photo and text layout. The volume has good heft, is well put together and shows many clever touches. For example, the front cover has a black-on-black "X" that emulates the masking-tape signal that Mulder put on his window whenever he needed to meet his deep-cover Government source. The back cover sports a life-sized black-on-black bee, which ties into the "Fight the Future" movie and several of the mythology episodes.

With that said, however, I must report that I was disappointed in the book's content. There really is not that much new here beyond what is available in many other sources. Most of "The Complete X-Files" consists of episode summaries, and most of them are just that--a sentence or two and nothing else. Some episodes warrant a couple of paragraphs, and some of the summaries include cast or crew anecdotes, but, again, there's probably not much that you haven't already read elsewhere. The photographs are very nice, ranging from postage-stamp-size to double-page spreads, but may not be worth the price, especially if you expected to find real "behind the scenes" stories rather than a lot of pretty pictures. There is some coverage of the second movie "I Want To Believe," but not enough to really do it justice.

For me, the best part of "The Complete X-Files" is the last few pages, which contain an excellent, graphically stunning chronology of all nine seasons. Each episode is illustrated by a tiny photograph--and I mean TINY. But despite their miniscule size, whoever chose these photos did an extraordinarily good job of picking the one image that perfectly captures the essence of the episode. Speaking of size, the worst part of "The Complete X-Files" is the microscopically small text and captions. The 6-point-or-so font is very hard to read, especially when printed, as it is in many cases, in white on a black background. It's definitely not "user-friendly" for the many X-Files fans with aging, less-than-perfect vision. This is one reason, along with the lack of substantial new information, that I rate "The Complete X-Files" with only three stars. It could have been so much better...

Marvellous photos but what I expected was a detailed summary of the chapters, and a complete biography of the actors.
The texst give a general view, but they are not so detailed.
In next editions please improve the written subjects.
The photos are so great that I can't give less than 4 stars.
They are suficiently marvellous to convince anyone to purchase this book.

First thing that you notice when watching this book, is how good the cover looks. Black and shiny. I have enjoyed reading this book. Its filled with behind-the-scenes information and many pictures. I read reviews here saying it barely had any BTC, i do not agree with that. I think it have lots of it. Strange.

The pictures are plenty and some quite big and some small. I think think it many good stories in this book. Two other things i felt could have improved this book, was that it was too short.
247 pages of to a 201 episodes tv-series. I would have liked to see a more thorough book. I think it could at least had 400 pages. I guess some writes are too lazy and does not do justice to the series, which i think it deserves.

Not the first time i see a long tv-series that only has 180 to 300 pages a book. The book "Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic by Martin Grams, Jr", certainly did the series most justice, by making over 800 pages of information. Its pretty heavy and thorough, unlike this book. It does make you think this book was just typed quickly, and the author did not take his time to do better product. Enough about that, i still must recommend this book if you want plenty of good quality pictures, interviews and behind-the-scenes information.

What a wonderful book. It's huge, it's colorful, it's unique, just like the series was. After all this time, the X-files continues to amaze all of its fans and a new generation that keep saying "how on earth could they survive a whole summer between seasons?" Yes, there was nothing like this show, there IS nothing like this show and I'm sure they will never be anything like this show.
Don't you dare remake this series!

Love the X-files! This book has really great never before seen pictures and good short antedotes from all nine seasons and both movies. Have only read about 1/4 through so far but very good and interesting. thanks!