Customer Reviews

The X-Files Season 1

5 star:		(229)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"The X-Files" is an excellent fit for DVD---beautifully shot, a mythology deep enough to keep teenagers buying background material, and a rabid fan following noted for their penchant to purchase anything "X".

Having collected several of the collector's sets on VHS, like many I was frustrated by the lack of completeness in each release, with a season represented by only 25% of its episodes. While this is acceptable for the casual fans, it proved exruciating for the true X-phile, as invariably favorite episodes were left out of the mix.

This situation has been rectified with the release of the entire first season of the show on DVD in a seven-disc collection. It is now possible to watch each episode commercial-free and in sequence in a digital-quality medium. In addition, an extras disc has been added (details are listed above), including a DVD-ROM computer game.

Having completed my viewing of the entire 1st set, several observations came to mind: - The "X-Files", almost unique in episodic television, hit the airwaves fully-formed. There is precious little difference in tone or execution between the pilot and subsequent episodes. - Whereas some of the 3rd and 4th season episodes saw a noticeable decline in quality (due to the loss of key writers and Chris Carter's focus elsewhere), the 1st season episodes are generally superbly-written.

Unfortunately, my cut of this collection did suffer from noticeable editing problems. Nothing major, typically just a couple of misaligned frames at chapter cuts, but let's face it--for this kind of money, it should be flawless.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend this collection.

Remember back when The X-Files was still fairly easy to understand?

Relive those magic (and sometimes goofy) moments with this new box set. Sure, half of it has already been released on VHS - but this set includes some gems that the first couple waves of home video ignored.

Remember the eternally creepy "Young At Heart", or a few unintenionally silly episodes like "Space" or "Ghost in the Machine"? Or Nicholas Lea's first X-Files appearance (although not as Krycek)? How about "Roland" or "Born Again", which represent some of the finest moments from the first season? They're all here, alongside other popular episodes like "The Erlenmeyer Flask", "Deep Throat", "E.B.E.", "Darkness Falls" and "Ice" (which is essentially a remake of John Carpenter's The Thing - but the X-Files does it better)!

For the first time in the U.S., you can finally buy a TV program season by season. And plus - these discs give you trailers, interviews and even some cool DVD-ROM content.

If only Paramount would do their Star Trek discs this way!

In the first season of The X-Files, we are introduced to the Lone Gunman, Scully's father dies, Deep Throat is killed, and the X-Files are closed.

All 24 episodes are on 7 discs, with documentaries, deleted scenes, etc.

Episodes:
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1) The X-Files (pilot) - This is the episode where Scully is assigned to be Mulder's partner. Her assignment is to apply a scientific look at Mulder's "discovers." In their 1st assignment they travel to Oregon where it appears several teenagers have been abducted by aliens.

2) Deep Throat - Mulder meets with Deep Throat who is willing to provide information concerning UFOs and government conspiracies.

3) Squeeze - Mulder and Scully meet Eugene Tooms who can squeeze his body through any space. It appears that every 30 years he comes out of hibernation and eats the liver of 5 people.

4) Conduit - Mulder and Scully learn of a teenage girl who apparently been abducted and during the investigation they discover the girl's mother may have also been abducted in her youth.

5) The Jersey Devil - Mulder and Scully travel to New Jersey to investigate the legend of a beast that has been stalking people.

6) Shadows - Mulder and Scully investigate a woman who appears to be under the protection of a ghost.

7) Ghost in the Machine - Mulder is contacted by Deep Throat and informs him that the DoD is seeking a computer whiz.

8) Ice - Mulder and Scully travel to Alaska after all communications are cut off. While there, they discover a worm like "alien."

9) Space - Mulder and Scully are told that sabotage attempts are being made against NASA's Space Shuttles. A former astronaut and head of the program appears to be possessed by an alien ghost.

10) Fallen Angel - Mulder has less than a day to prove that a space ship has crashed.

11) Eve - Mulder and Scully investigate the murder of two men, one in California, and the other in Connecticut. Their daughters appear to be identical twins.

12) Fire - Mulder and an old British girlfriend investigate what appears to be a man that can create fire with his mind.

13) Beyond the Sea - Luther Boggs, claiming to be a psychic, says he will help Mulder and Scully solve a kidnapping crime if he can get his death sentence change to life. Scully is dealing with the death of her father and it appears Boggs has contact with his spirit.

14) Genderbender - Mulder and Scully investigate the Kindred, who appear to have the ability to switch gender and may in fact be aliens.

15) Lazarus - Scully and Jack Willis are involved in a shootout with a bank robber. Jack and the bank robber are shot but at the hospital, Jack dies and the bank robber appears to leap into his body.

16) Young at Heart - Mulder finds himself looking for John Barnett, someone he had put into prison many years ago. Barnett, who supposedly died in prison, was part of a genetic experience to reverse the aging process.

17) E.B.E. - Deep Throat sends Mulder on a wild "UFO" chase.

18) Miracle Man - Mulder and Scully investigate Samuel who appears to have the power to heal people but lately they have been dying.

19) Shapes - Mulder and Scully travel to Montana to investigate what appears to be an Indian Manitou.

20) Darkness Falls - Mulder and Scully travel to the National Forest in Washington and discover tiny green phosphorous insects that are active in the dark and feed on human flesh.

21) Tooms - Tooms, from the Squeeze episode, is release for good behavior but go back to his old ways.

22) Born Again - Mulder and Scully investigate an 8-year-old girl who may be a reincarnated serial killer.

23) Roland - Mulder and Scully investigate Roland, an autistic, being manipulated by his dead brother who is frozen in liquid nitrogen.

24) The Erlenmeyer Flask - Mulder and Scully investigate the terminally ill that are being injected with alien DNA. Deep Throat is killed and the X-Files are closed.

I have been a fan of The X-Files ever since the third season. What drew me to the show was the cool, creepy environments that Mulder and Scully kept finding themselves in, the gruesome special effects work, and the incredible production values (the writing and camera work are both top-notch.) However, I had completely missed the first two years of the show. Sure, Fox had released some episodes on VHS, but not even half of a season was available. When I got a DVD player, this was the first thing I bought. It is quite expensive, but do the math: an average DVD costs twenty bucks, and usually has at least 2 and a half hours of stuff. This set contains SEVEN discs, with four episodes per disc at 45 minutes each. That's 3 hours per disc, and less than 20 dollars each. Plus, the seventh disc has a ton of cool extra stuff, like all of the TV spots for each episode, plus the deleted Teletubby scene from "Fallen Angel." Bottom line: if you like this show, you need this set. It's just that simple.

The first season of "The X-Files" had some of their best episodes ("Beyond the Sea", "E.B.E.", "Squeeze", "Tooms, the derivative "Ice")and a fair share of their weakest ("Ghost in the Machine" and "Space") until later seasons as well. Regardless, it's an essential purchase for fans as the mythology is established. What's different about this version vs. the previous release of the same title? Nothing but the packaging.

The transfers are the same as before. This set is packaged in slimline jewel cases vs. the more elaborate packaging for the previous more expensive edition. If you've put off buying the season sets because of cost, this is a good opportunity to get them at a reasonable price. The only part missing to this set is the disc that features all the extras.

All the seasons through the sixth are currently (as of 12/27/05)planned for re-release in the same packaging throughout 2006 as this reissued set. The good news is that Fox isn't changing the cover or the contents so if you've rented the previous seasons (or have a few of them already) you'll be getting the same stuff more or less but for much much less $$.

There's something special about having a box set tucked away in your DVD collection. It's nice knowing you have every episode available to watch at any time. This set is simply superb. The entire first series of the X-Files is spread across seven discs with a host of extras and even a couple of DVD-ROM games for your computer. Season One of the X-Files was probably the best; it was a hundred times more fresh and original than some of the trite that has been doled out in the past seasons, notable six and seven. Every x-phile has a soft spot for Season One. It's hard to believe it is seven years old now. These episodes were made before David Duchovny could afford acting lessons and before the series' success forced them to dumb down the storylines for the general viewer. If you're a serious x-phile then you'll already own this set, but for the curious newcomer who missed out and wants to know what all the fuss is about (where have you been?) then this is by far the best place to start. There is no doubt whatsoever that the X-Files revolutionised the way TV looks and feels. This set is a fantastic way to own 18 hours of the best television ever made. See what it was like before everyone involved succumbed to the swinish flu of commerce. Don't even think about complaining about the price; seven DVDs for that price is an absolute bargain. You could never get a whole season on VHS for that price. Picture and sound quality in this set are excellent - for those people who have complained about it, remember that it was filmed seven years ago on a modest budget so the picture is never going to be truly crystal clear but it's the best you will ever see it. So, take the plunge and buy it. Completists beware though, you'll have to save up for the 7 subsequent box sets like me! It's worth every cent.

The X-Files changed televison and spawned many new attempts of sci/fi television. This is an amazing value. Think about it, two shows equal 90 minutes. Thats a whole movie worth of X-File intrigue. Multiply that by 12. Thats right, 12 movies worth of X-Files! Don't forget the additional material like interviews and behind the scenes information. That is one hell of a bargain. I know some of you are saying I've got season one on VHS already. No you don't. Only some of the episodes were released before. Jump on this bargain and get all the episodes on superior media (DVD baby!). I know they always say Trust No One, but trust me on this one. You will not be let down.

The X-Files Collection is a worthy hobby and next to Star Trek is certainly one of largest of the television series DVD collections, running an extra two seasons longer than the maximum seven season Star Trek series. Although The X-Files is not the longest running television media franchise, it can boast being one of the longest running SF series airing for nine seasons between 1993 and 2002. At around 1100 minutes per box, you are looking at approx. 9 boxes with 165 hours of viewing. That is nearly 1 full week of non-stop X-Files. Very few DVD series can come even remotely close to that. Get going collecting right now and you could build up the series collection in no time. By the end you will have a television paranormal anthology that defines the word awe. This is the kind of item that requires 1 hour a day of your time over the course of a year. The X-Files creator Chris Carter nails a powerful television series premise, setting up a fringe paranormal bureau of investigation that is at odds with its own department, the government, the military and just about everyone else, with the immortal tagline "The truth is out there". Fox "Spooky" Mulder (David Duchovny) is the workaholic basement-dwelling good-looking nerd with a heart of gold and a mind for the criminal macabre, all things supernatural and who runs the X-Files department. He is teamed with Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), the rational doctor turned FBI agent who is asked to write reports on the X-Files cases by her cynical boss. Most episodes play along with the theme of Mulder witnessing a paranormal event while Dana gradually arrives on the scene only after it is over, missing it all, or discovering something odd at best. This kind of regular plot occurrence bonds the characters and is what makes The X-Files so enjoyable. The inside DVD case is nothing special and even has some failings with some editions coming with a seventh bonus disc that is just sitting in a slot in a piece of card and falls out easily, bouncing around the box. However not all boxes have this bonus seventh disc item. The more important six discs with episodes are firmly in place in a plastic flip case inside a thick season box that slides into a wider cardboard presentation holder for the shelf and looks quite good. Although the inside is slightly flimsy, these DVDs are presented on the cheap and so economically The X-Files seasons are sound value for money but the presentation is nothing to brag about and when we get around to seeing what is on the discs we will not be so blown away either. There are 4 episodes per disc, and 6 discs in total for a grand total of 24 episodes. Some discs have a few deleted scenes... and that is about it. On the episode discs there are no commentaries and not much in the way of bonus material except for some international clips with Mulder and Scully speaking in Japanese for a scene. Disc 6 also appears to have some error on the menu system where if left alone it will turn black and white. It does not affect the playback on the episodes though. It is just shoddy work. They could have at least provided us with the X-Files remastered in 5:1 Dolby Digital but have instead just presented the series as it was aired in 2:1 surround. Again, everything here is on the cheap. The transfer quality however is very good for most of it. Since the show was shot in full frame, these dimensions are retained.

The X-Files: Season one, delivers as a fine example of how such a simple premise can land like a bombshell on the international television scene. There are no real cheap budget restrictions evident either, as what is on display is mostly quality acting and storytelling using natural American environments. Most of the characters in the X-Files series are found in the pilot episode `pilot' on disc 1, however Assistant Director Walter S. Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) doesn't show up until near the end half of the Season in episode 20 - `Tooms'. Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin) does not appear in the Pilot show, but is in the first episode. `The Lone Gumen' John Fitzgerald Byers (Bruce Harwood), Melvin Frohike (Tom Braidwood) and Richard 'Ringo' Langly (Dean Haglund) appear in episode 16 - `EBE'. The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis) makes quite a few appearances. The series gels from the word go with some enthralling SF thought and implementation. Not since Star Trek had the world seen a series like it before. Apart from a lot of episodes borrowing from films like `Wolften' and `The Thing' the X-Files was doing wholly new stuff that even movies like `Good Will Hunting' have borrowed from. Season one of the X-Files is mostly about alien abductions, government conspiracies, shape shifters, wild men, poltergeists, artificial intelligence, body snatching parasites, the face on Mars, UFO crashes, eugenics, psychics, hermaphrodites, possession, aging, faith healing, werewolves, alien insects, alien bacteria, reincarnation and alien DNA. Although many of the shows might not be completely logically and even have some serious plot holes, the general weirdness going on still makes the show one of the best ever. `EBE' is the most popular show in Season One, next to the cliff-hanger last episode `The Erlenmeyer Flask'. `Fallen Angel' is a classic UFO crash X-Files episode, `Shapes' is scary and `Darkness Falls' is a great original alien story. The bottom line for The X-Files: season one is that it is a classic. It is not necessarily the most conspiracy orientated X-Files season because it covers a lot of paranormal ground. The real bonus is seeing Mulder and Scully looking really young. What are you waiting for? But remember, you get what you pay for.

An outstanding bargain considering this set is less that half the price of the original issue.
True, you don't get all the bells and whistles of the original issue, but you certainly pay a premium for them. The (IMO) almost absurd price kept many X-philes (like me) from owning the seasons on DVD.
Until now.
Here, you get every episode (and isn't that what you really want?) at a price almost any fan can easily afford.
The entire season boxed in three slimline cases is also a plus - taking up much less shelf space.
The back of each case contains a list of the episodes inside, plus a brief synopsis of each, if, like me, you sometimes need your memory "jogged" on some of the less familiar titles.
At this price, I plan on purchasing one season per month (have Season 1, Season 2 is on the way) and will, in the end, finally own the series rather painlessly and at a reasonable cost.
5 ***** and recommended.

This reduced price edition of The X-Files: Season 1 differs from the original not only in packaging but in content.
The episodes are all here, but the bonus features found on the 7th disc is not. This is evidenced here:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5019
I also have personally checked this and other reissued sets in the store.

Based on this, Fox and Amazon are misleading its customers in calling this the Collector's Edition as though it were the definitive release of the show, when it actually contains less than the original collector's edition.