Customer Reviews

The Nitpicker's Guide for X-Philes

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Even though I sporadically watched The X Files over the years, I was never a hard core X-Phile.

That is, until I bought all four seasons on DVD and began to watch them episode by episode. (Hey, I'm a completist -- or "obsessive," as some would say!)

I also bought this book by Phil Farrand as a sort of guidebook to help me pay even closer attention to the series as I made my way through each season.

I agree with previous reviewers in that some of these nits are extremely picky, indeed. But some are downright hilarious.

All of them, however, lead me to believe Mr. Farrand has way too much time on his hands.

For the record, the Nitpickers Guide for X-Philes takes a very, very, VERY close look at each episode of The X Files for the first four seasons, pointing out continuity, character, geography or technology problems found therein. They could be as nitpicky as dates not lining up with "reality" -- all the way to noticing how props shift from one hand to the other when the camera angle changes, or windows being on a certain wall in one episode and on another wall in a subsequent episode, etc.

I found this book to be a lot of fun to read after watching an episode. More often than not, it caused me to re-watch the episode to see for myself the "nits" discovered by the author.

If you like The X Files, you'll enjoy this book. If you're not a die-hard X-Phile, this book won't mean much to you.

I hope Mr. Farrand writes a second volume covering the next four seasons!

This is one of the best book I've read in a long time! Phil Farrand gives you summaries of the plot, great moments and lines, as well as all the detailed, nitpicky stuff. I can't tell you how many times I found myself nodding and saying "I noticed that too!" or "That's my favorite line too!" while reading this book. It doesn't take away from your viewing pleasure and is a lot of fun to read. And, being a true nitpicker, I found that Phil didn't mention Senator Matheson calling Mulder "Fox" in "Little Green Men" even though he said it at least twice! Reading this honed my nitpicking skills as well, a result being that I have found several nits in recent episodes, which is always fun. What a great book!

This book really has it all for the nitpicker who loves minutiae, seasons 1 through 4. My only issue with with this book is, occasionally, the author's "annoyingness." To him, his book represents an chance not only for him to point out details and errors in the episodes of The X-Files, but also to evaluate them -- and share his perception (and often unfunny jokes) with his captive audience. This personal editorializing doesn't interest me, but I'm willing to bear it to learn of the fascinating inconsistencies, oddities of equipment and setting, and illogical leaps or related faux pas that the series commits -- and that I'd almost never notice without the pointing of his ever vigilant finger.

Oh....My....Gosh. How thourough is this book? The perfect time to have it is NOW, since all the first 4 seasons are on DVD and this book covers the first 4 seasons. It's too much fun to watch the episode, read about that episode in this book, finding all the nits and technical errors and plot oversites and such, and then watch the episode over again.

I hope - I pray that there will be a follow-up book on this, for the rest of the seasons (5-9), since 9 is the last. The author should also do nitpicks about the X-Files Movie(s).

Hurry up with the sequel!

This book is great for anyone who has purchased the X-Files on DVD. Most fans have seen reruns of the show on FX and other channels but with the release of every episode on DVD (one season at a time)this book is a great way to freshen episodes that you may have already seen 2 or 3 times. I just hope that the author and publisher put out a similar book for seasons 5-8 and the movie! Highly recommended.

This is a great x files book , because I am like the biggest x files fanatic ever. The way the book is written is awesome it has trivia,maps of Mulder and Scully's apartments,bloopers,equiptment problems,cast lists,plots on the episodes that you could never get the object of.The author's opinion on the 5 best and worse episodes.Like the #1, and I agree is Jose Chung's From Outer Space. If you have the dough,get this book. It's great, thats why I gave it 5 stars.

Farrand is a master at the art of Nitpicking. I live for this kind of stuff in film and tv, and I have the book next to me during every episode of The X-Files. Some might think that it would take away from the viewing experience, but it only takes it to a new level. With reviews, plot insights, etc for every episode, it is the best watching companion you can find. And with Farrand's non-obtrusive opinions and refreshing wit, he begins to feel like your X-Files watching buddy.

This was one of the first X-Files related books I got and I LOVED it. A great read and fun to have around while watching the eps.

I was surprised to find no reviews of this book. It's a pretty interesting look at the plot inconsistencies and other production "glitches" in the X-Files. Some of the stuff is REALLY nit-picking, but the author admits that it is all in good fun. If you can take the same approach, and want to learn about things that you may not have noticed, this book can be fun. I suppose it's also nice to know that for all the amazing work the creators of the X-Files have done, nobody's perfect!

This book is interesting, funny, and very very thorough. Farrand has utilized X-Philes across the world (and their notoriously keen eyes) in compiling his episode-by-episode nitpick compendium. Sometimes a little too self-referential (we can forgive him), sometimes, well, a little *too* nitpicky, but always informative. You'll start nitpicking too, once you're acquainted with Farrand's technique. And parents of young X-Philes--this is the book to buy your children. They will memorize it, and begin long, lengthy discussions of X-files nitpicks at the dinner table. This is something they'll love.