Customer Reviews

EXaminations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6-9 of "The X-Files," Featuring the reviews of Unbound I

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

 

 

I was so looking forward to this book, and the insight into seasons 8 and 9, especially since there are no other books out there that cover these two specific seasons. Instead, I got a load of crap. The author should have forewarned his readers of his blatant bias and overtly narrow-minded opinions on the Mulder/Scully Dynamic (which is still quite debatable among the most hardcore of fans - were they, or weren't they?) and his horrendous interpretations of John Doggett and Monica Reyes. I thought I was reading the work of a small homophobic child with his insistence on referring to the Monica Reyes character as a lesbian. Absurd. Simply absurd. She was never considered a lesbian. I guess he forgot about her former relationship with AD Brad Follmer. She was not on the make for Scully. She was Scully's friend, as was Doggett. The book was supposed to be about season 6 through season 9. He gives us much insight with seasons 6 and 7, then explains for the last half of the book why there should have never been a season 8 or 9. Why make the claim that it was an objective, informative view of all four seasons? Instead, the reader is given one fan's own biased opinion of only two of them. Not worth the time, money or effort for someone that is legitimately interested in an objective, well-informed discussion on the last four seasons of the show, and especially the last two.

Well. I would have to agree with the two last reviewers there. Bad book for seasons 8 and 9. And it had such potential. But the author was too busy explaining why there never should have been a season 8 or 9. How sad. Someone should have helped him with his hype and title about this book being one that would take an honest look at ALL of the last four seasons, without all of the biased b.s. towards seasons 8 and 9. Believe it or not, there are a lot of fans out there that LOVED seasons 8 and 9, and enjoyed seeing Scully come into her own those last two years without Mulder. Very nice change of pace. And I would agree that the author showed much adolescent, childish behaviour in the way that he slurred Reyes' character all the time with his childish remarks. I would have expected a little more professionalism out of a "professional" writer. Again - sad. So, I would recommend maybe checking it out of the library or something, but for those that want a true account of the last four seasons (and seasons 8 , 9 Doggett and Reyes) please don't waste your money on this load of .... Yeah...

I found Unbound 1's book to be a detailed look at key episodes from the last four seasons of the show, and one that is written with a definite fan bias and not much objectivity. But as a fan, that's the only way it could be written.

Unbound 1 analyzes the episodes with an emphasis on the Scully/Mulder relationship, which was a key aspect of the show to fans like myself, so I did appreciate his comments in that area. I also appreciated his dissatisfaction with plot and character in the last two seasons.

In some cases I think Unbound 1 went too far, as in his constant references to the Monica Reyes character as a "lesbian," which the character was not. It's not so much that Unbound 1 labels her as one, but that he uses the term as a slur because he doesn't like her character. I found that to be a bit adolescent for someone who is a professional writer.

Overall, I enjoyed EXaminations, since there is not much in print about the last few seasons, and I do agree with many of the points Unbound 1 made in his book. This is a book that truly demonstrates how fans analyze and connect emotionally to their TV shows. And believe me, there are many of us out there.

I came into the "X-Files phenomenon" after everyone else it seems, and looking to find out more about the series, especially the later years (Seasons 6-9), I highly anticipated reading this book, as it was hyped as "covering the last four years of the X-Files." This description, I feel, is a bit misleading, but I still consider buying this book a great choice and money well spent. (My only regret is not purchasing one the author had signed--didn't know those books were available!) For the most part, I am thoroughly satisfied with this book. It answered many questions concerning the decisions made during the last two years of the show, and why the divisions in the fan base have occurred (which, I must admit, I didn't understand at the time). However, the author's reviews of the episodes during Seasons 8 and 9 were only on the episodes that David Duchovny appeared in. Considering the incredible insight he showed in his writing of his reviews of those episodes, I would have like to have read his thoughts and opinions on all the episodes, including those about the new characters of Doggett and Reyes. (They, for the most part, are ignored in this book). I felt after reading this book that while I definitely knew more than I did before I read it, there were still unanswered questions. (I guess I fall into that very small minority of fans who liked all nine seasons, feeling that even "bad" X-Files episodes were 100% better than everything else being offered on TV at the time). So, if you are looking for a wonderfully written, thoroughly entertaining review of the Mulder/Scully dynamic during the last four years of the X-Files, buy this book. You won't be disappointed. But be prepared to acknowledge that the author is definitely an "old-school" X-Files fan. If you are looking for information in any other direction, you need to keep looking. But this book is by far the best of the "behind the scenes" books out there, and any additional books by this author would be greatly appreciated by this reader.

I've helped write three official episode guides for The X-Files (The Truth Is Out There - The Official Guide To The X-files, Trust No One (The Official Guide to the X-Files, Vol. 2), and I Want To Believe - The Official Guide To The X-files, Volume Three (3)), so I know what it takes to write one for a show this densely packed with material. I've also written reviews of The X-Files ([...]), so I know the difference between a summary and a review. Neither the title nor the description of this book state that it is an episode guide, that is, a compendium of episode summaries. I did not read this book expecting to find recaps of the individual episodes; the author rather is presenting his subjective opinion of themes found in certain episodes of the series. The focus is on dissection, not description. There is no pretense to objectivity, nor should there be. A review is never objective, it is an analysis of an artistic effort which is necessarily personal and "biased". One hopes that it is also rational and justifiable, that the critic makes an effort to explain WHY certain elements appear weak or strong, or why a story succeeds or fails to entertain.

I'm not sure why Mr. Kessenich felt compelled to add "Unauthorized" to his title -- all reviews are "unauthorized", or should be -- but otherwise his title is not misleading. EXaminations is a snapshot of one fan's reactions to the last few seasons of The X-Files, and as such comes across as an honest effort to delineate "what went wrong". If one accepts the premise that some qualities of The X-Files declined in these seasons, Mr. Kessenich at least makes an attempt to explain why. He includes fan opinions from interviews and (apparently) Internet postings, sources which are by their nature ephemeral. By capturing them here, he has rendered a service to some historians of media and pop culture. If he places too much emphasis on one facet of the show--the Mulder/Scully relationship--at least it is a reflection of the genuine passion aroused in audiences by this pairing, one which continues to generate discussion to date.

I did not agree with all of Mr. Kessenich's opinions, nor did I agree with his assumption that the series declined after the production moved to Los Angeles. However, his opinions are well presented, well thought out, and supported by reasonable examples. As a reflection of one thoughtful critic's opinions, I found it interesting reading.

This book is horrible as an episode guide. Airdates and ratings are NOT included, and once we get into seasons 8 and 9, the author left out many episodes. There are only 13 episodes covered from season 8 and only 5 from season 9.

The author of this book should have followed the format of the episode guides that were published by HarperCollins for the earlier seasons by Brian Lowry, Marc Shapiro, and Andy Meisler -- but he chose instead to provide a blow-by-blow accounting of the on-screen attraction between Mulder and Scully.

I feel ripped-off and cheated -- as this book is horrible!

If one is going to do an episode guide -- they should AT A MINIMUM -- include ALL the episodes!

I cannot recommend this book to anyone ...EXaminations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6-9 of "The X-Files," Featuring the reviews of Unbound I

First of all, this is my favorite XF review book out there. Why 4 stars? I feel kinda gipped that Tom didnt review half of season 8 and only a few eps in season 9. You see, he didnt want to review the episodes that didnt have Mulder in them. Soo, in that respect the title was misleading...I WANTED reviews of seasons 6-9..not parts! BUUUUT...looking past that, I think a lot of the reviews on here are needlessly negative made by people who have no sense of humor. This book first and foremost was written by a FAN of the show with his own humor and own interpretations of the episodes. It wasnt written by an impartial observer...thats why I loved it! Its a fan who had his heart invested in the series like me. Who knows the characters like me, and picked up on all the subtle nuiances like me! He noticed all the character development I noticed and the touches and the interaction and read between the lines the way Carter intended. So all the people saying "Well, there's no indication Mulder and Scully were ever a couple or had sex" UUm, ok, one word...um...DUH. It makes me question if these people have any intelligence at all. Yes they did, yes they were. (If you dont believe me actually do some research--thats how we all learn!)But thats not the point. It IS however how a lot of eps were interpreted, which may be what spawned these negative reviews. By childish people who didnt agree.

The whole "Lesbian Whale Singer" thing was a JOKE. If you are THAT touchy, I feel sorry for you. I dont know why everything has to turn into this "Im a victim" politically correct mentality. Its JOKE. He was playing around and giving humor to the review..he kept calling Doggett a stalker, but was Dogette a STALKER? NO! Geez, lighten up. Is it childish? Yeah, but most male humor is childish, so, get over it.

Ive been a fan of the series since 1993 ep one. I am TO THIS DAY a die hard fan and literally own every book there is one the show. I highly recommend this book to fans. Its written by one of your own. I DO disagree with his OPINIONS on some episodes...he doesnt like "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" and "Without" which are fan favorites,and he likes some stuff which I dont, and thats ok! but overall I love the book, I just wish there was more to it!

I loved this book, the author was really insightful with the episodes he chose to review, the non-episode articles are also intelligantly written, often humerous and enjoyable. Where I think the book fails is that it doesn't cover the whole of seaon 8/9, only selected episodes, the episode in which Mulder appears. This is because the book has a shipper heart through and through and is intent on covering the Mulder and Scully relationship. Fair enough but I would have loved to see what the author thought of more non-shipper episodes. It isn't very comprehensive in that regard but still a good read.

These reviews of Season 6-9 are great! Written by a true fan of the "X-Files" makes it unique and very interesting.As the owner of many previous books reviewing this show, I found this book one of the best. It looks at the show from a fans point of view and makes it much more fun to read. I found myself easily relating to and agreeing with Mr Kesseinch's reviews. If you love the "X-Files" or are just a casual viewer who likes to know what others think about this show-get this book! You will really enjoy it!