Customer Reviews

The X-Files Mythology, Vol. 2 - Black Oil

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

 

 

The first episode used in this compilation comes from mid-third season. The two part story "Nisei" and "731" provides Scully with additional insights to her abduction and also ties in what Mulder believes is proof of extraterrestrial life, which comes in the form of an alien-human hybrid. The hybrid is an important development to understanding of the overall conspiracy story arc and how the abductions introduced in the first volume tie in. In the next episodes the black oil begins to surface in the two part story "Piper Maru" and "Apocrypha". There are some important truths revealed about the origin of the black oil in this story, as well as how the pursuit of the truth affects Skinner. The season three finale "Talitha Cumi" is the first half of a two part story. This first part unveils a past relationship between the Cigarette Smoking Man and Mulder's mother that he wishes weren't true. The story continues with the second part of the story and season four premiere episode "Herrenvolk". This is when Marita Covarrubias is first introduced. Her minor role becomes important to later episodes as a pseudo-informant to Mulder. Additionally "Talitha Cumi" and "Herrenvolk" introduces the concept of rebel aliens who opposes colonization.

In "Tunguska" and "Terma", the conspiracy story arc continues to focus on the black oil and ties in its origin to Tunguska, Russia. Both Mulder and Krycek get caught up in the mess, as well as Scully and Skinner become the center of attention with the Senate Select Subcommittee on Intelligence and Terrorism. "Momento Mori" is about Scully learning more about her abduction and this episode introduces her illness, brain cancer. In the two part story "Tempus Fugit" and "Max", Max Fenig from the season one episode "Fallen Angel" returns. In this story Mulder and Scully try to unravel the truth behind a Military cover up of the plane crash of civilian Flight 549. Of all the episodes included, this two part story adds the least to the overall conspiracy story arc.

The next episode "Zero-Sum" is an awesome episode. In this story Skinner is coerced into working for the Cigarette Smoking Man. What makes this episode great is Skinner getting down and dirty by doing some cloak and dagger type stuff. As an episode, there are some subtle, yet important details revealed about colonization. The last three episodes included in this set feature the season four finale "Gethsemane" and the first two episodes from season five "Redux" and "Redux II". This last story for the black oil box set proposes a few important advancements for the conspiracy story arc. The most important is the understanding Mulder obtains in the episode "Gethsemane". With the help of a man from the Pentagon's research division, Michael Kritschgau, Mulder and Scully learn that not everything is what it seems. The story continues in "Redux" and "Redux II" and our favorite F.B.I. agents learn more about how they have been pawns in a much larger picture.

Overall I enjoyed the watching the exclusive mythology episodes back to back. The conspiracy story arc driving the series is certainly one of the most interesting things about the show. Despite it is missing a few details in characters and whatnot, the episodes flow pretty well together. This is a great addition for fans or casual viewers interested in just the conspiracy episodes.

DVD Detailed Episode Guide (in order, and by season)

1. "Nisei", Season 3, Episode 9
2. "731", Season 3, Episode 10
3. "Piper Maru", Season 3, Episode 15
4. "Apocrypha", Season 3, Episode 16
5. "Talitha Cumi", Season 3, Episode 24
6. "Herrenvolk", Season 4, Episode 1
7. "Tunguska", Season 4, Episode 8
8. "Terma", Season 4, Episode 9
9. "Momento Mori", Season 4, Episode 14
10. "Tempus Fugit", Season 4, Episode 17
11. "Max", Season 4, Episode 18
12. "Zero-Sum", Season 4, Episode 21
13. "Gethsemane", Season 4, Episode 24
14. "Redux", Season 5, Episode 1
15. "Redux II", Season 5, Episode 2

The second volume in the X-Files Mythology series focuses on the Black Oil aspect of the series. Compiling 15 episodes from seasons 3 to 5, this volume is mainly features episodes about the parasitic, black colored oil like alien substance that can infect humans. The episodes included here: Nisei, 731, Piper Maru, Apocrypha, Talitha Cumi, Herrenvolk, Tunguska, Terma, Memento Mori, Tempus Fugit, Max, Zero-Sum, Gethsemane, Redux, and Redux II, are all excellent and just about classic X-Files episodes that are compiled here for a cheap price, which is what makes the X-Files Mythology series worth owning for casual X-Files fans who don't want to shell out the money for complete season sets. If you are a die hard X-phille, you're better off with the season sets which include all the great stand alone episodes (where as the Mythology sets revolve around the series' single storyarc), but other than that, this is a solid deal for casual X-fans.

As any devoted X-Phile will tell you, the idea of a collection devoted exclusively to the "mythology" episodes alone is a somewhat dodgy idea, with many attendant problems. First of all, much of the show's ineffable charm was found in the balance of standalone/comedic/MOTW ("monster-of-the-week") episodes vs. the heavier mythology episodes - watching all of these tangled, knotty mytharc episodes can be a suffocating experience. Secondly, the overarching character development of both Mulder and Scully (as well as the secondary characters) was rarely restricted to the mythology episodes; someone who only knows the X-Files through these four mythology-only boxed sets will miss the introduction of Skinner and Cigarette Smoking Man's first speaking role ("Tooms"), the introduction of Alex Krycek and Mr. X ("Sleepless"), and the revelation that Scully has cancer ("Leonard Betts"), among other things.

Finally, there is some dispute as to what constitutes a "mythology" episode in the first place. For example, Volume 1 ("Abduction") of this four volume set has drawn a lot of justifiable criticism for excluding a pivotal early first season episode called "Conduit," where the depths of Mulder's obsession about his abducted sister Samantha are first explored. (The fact that "Conduit" is arguably one of the ten finest episodes in the history of the series, both eerie and poignant, only makes its omission that much more painful.) "Musings Of A Cigarette Smoking Man," concerning the secret history of Mulder's nemesis, is also a mythology episode, as is the excellent late Season Four installment "Demons." Some of the decisions made in what to include or exclude seem arbitrary.

This last point is important because it DOESN'T address the inexcusable omission of a major mythology two-parter from this set: "Christmas Carol" and "Emily." Their omission can't be explained by an arbitrary "is it mythology or isn't it?" judgment call: these two episodes are directly on-point with the larger mytharc, complete with questions about Scully's abduction, the harvesting of her ova, alien-human hybrids, green-blooded shape-changing bounty hunters, and government conspiracies. What's more, they're very good episodes, ones which I would place in the upper echelon of X-Files mythology installments.

The most surprising question, then, is: why hasn't anyone noticed they're missing? My theory: these episodes came chronologically after "Redux" and "Redux II," which conclude this set, and before "Patient X" and "The Red And The Black," which open Volume 3. The compilers must have thought nobody would notice their absence, I guess (a suspicion furthered by the fact that the "Mythology Timelines" included with these sets conveniently omit any reference to these episodes, even as they namecheck other episodes which aren't included in these packages). The reason I'm TRULY steamed, however, is because there's absolutely no reason why they couldn't have been included here. Each DVD can hold, at the very least, five full episodes (see disc 6 of the Complete Season Two boxed set), and the final disc of this set only holds three. This wasn't an issue of limited space and painful decisions needing to be made, it was simple laziness.

There have been a number of X-Files mythology episodes that were either badly written or irrelevant to the larger conspiracy. (For an example of the former, see the atrocious "Per Manum" or the Season Nine two-parter "Nothing Important Happened Today." For an example of the latter, see "Fallen Angel" and "Tempus Fugit"/"Max": all three of these are excellent, and in fact the latter - included on this set - may be my favorite two-parter in series history, but none of them have anything to do with the greater conspiracy.) "Christmas Carol" and "Emily" are neither of these, and their unexplained disappearance in these sets is therefore inexcusable. It comes close to invalidating the entire raison d'etre of this package in the first place.

This may seem like a bit of a rant, but the mistake/intentional oversight in this case is so inexcusable, and the loss so great, that it seriously damages the value of the "Black Oil" set. Unless you buy/rent/have already seen these missing Season Five episodes, you're missing a huge part of the story. Additionally, the Black Oil set is light on useful extras: there are only three commentaries (and R.W. Goodwin is soporific as always on "Talitha Cumi"), and the documentary is skimpy and inessential.

Ultimately, these mythology boxed sets are most useful for fans who want to follow the continuing storyline through the last few dodgy seasons without buying the complete seasons. In that sense Volumes 3 and 4 are the ones to get, while Volumes 1 and 2 are less so since you're much better off purchasing the new reduced-price editions of the first five or six seasons. (Also, there's far less confusion in Seasons 7-9 over what does or does not constitute a "mythology" episode - you won't be missing anything crucial with the later boxed sets like you are with the first two.)

I'm giving "Black Oil" two starts as opposed to only one because there's no denying the objective quality of most of the installments found here. "Nisei"/"731" ("Scully, let me tell you, you haven't seen America until you've seen it from a train"), "Piper Maru"/"Apocrypha," "Memento Mori," "Tempus Fugit"/"Max" - these are series highlights. But for reasons explained above this set was already a questionable investment; the omission of a major (and high-quality) mythology two-parter merely ices it.

The whole "black oil" storyline was one of the best storylines in the entire show of X-Files. I am happy that FOX Entertainment has brought all these episodes togther in one place because it compiles episodes from different seasons and the price is right too. It would cost a little less than $300 to buy three seasons of the X-Files, but this is only $32! I really like this storyline because I am a fan of strange things being able to inhabit people. Watch the X-Files!!!

Like many people, I found the "Mythology" eps hard to follow when they aired. I also came to see them as tedious, confusing and arbitrary as well. However, when I began to consume my X Files in ways other than a weekly one hour dose, they not only came to make more sense to me, they became my favorite XF eps, to the point that many of the MOTW and other stories took a backseat to the Myth arc. Carter and Co. may have given themelves a wide berth for plenty of improvisation, but the basic jist of the story is almost painfully simple when you watch the Myth arc in order. A close encounter of the fourth kind is followed by an insidious program of colonization- abduction, implantation, impregnation, genetic manipulation, and planned annhilation are what the greys have in store for us. The XF crew don't allow you much contact with the aliens themselves- that would allow you to familiarize them, perhaps even humanize them. As it is, the Conspirators are barely human.

This volume has the added bonus of containing the poignant Scully Cancer arc, a frightening second act to the Scully abduction story of the first volume. You'll get a heaping helping of Vancouver rain, mud and gloom as well- creating an ambience the series missed terribly when the production moved to sunny LA.

Perhaps Fox is milking the still healthy X-Phile Nation with these boxes, but for many fans who haven't yet taken the DVD plunge, this may be a good place to start. One of the greatest serial dramas in history at its peak.

It's been interesting reading the reviews of the X-Files Mythology series. The die hard fans love it all. THe purists find fault in episodes not included. I was out of the country during the X-years and appreciate this whole set of 4 topic driven collections. I can watch the sets one at a time and get a good overview of the threads of the series. I think it's a good idea and will use this same review for each. bg

The X-Files is my favorite all-time TV series (though, I must admit, it is tied with Seinfeld and the Simpsons). I would always look forward to seeing it, whether a rerun or a new show. Though I missed many, many, many episodes during its 9 year life (I was never really one to be glued to the TV for any show), I have been frustrated in my efforts to watch episodes I have missed, mostly due to the expense of the Complete Season DVD sets. It is once in a blue moon that I can afford to put down as much as $120 for a TV show, so I've done without for a long time, barring my ownership of Season 3. Also, I've found that the episodes I care the most about catching up on are the ones that push the main story line along-- the ones dealing with the government-conspiracy-alien-takeover story line; something I've since learned is referred to as "the Mythology arc." This will sound lame (even to this writer) but the Bare Naked Ladies song "One Week" summarized my hopes when sitting down to watch the X-Files. "I hope the Smoking Man is in this one." The smoking man's involvement in an episode usually indicated a furthering of the overall plot, the mythology arc. In short, these are the Smoking Man episodes.

Vol 2 of the most current repackaging (though I found "slimmer" versions of complete Seasons 1, 2, and 3 which are cheaper than the originals), takes us further down the rabbit hole, with the mythology episodes from Seasons 3 - 6. Early acting jitters from Gillian Anderson and David Duchovany (seen in seasons one an two) are all but gone. And with the monster of the week episodes gone, what remains is arguably the best material in the X-Files history, particularly in the first two discs. Sure, certain helpful episodes are noticably absent (especially to X-heads), but few can argue with what's here; all killer no filler. Though typical fans rate Seasons one through five as *****, then taper off the scores of the last half of the show's life, don't let that scare away the curious. The last two Volumes of this repackaging are stellar, not to mention a great value @ $30.

I can't say any of the episodes or seasons or Volumes are my favorite, but "Black Oil" comes close. I mean, body jumping alien liquid trying to get back to its ship in a forgotten silo in the middle of nowhere? C'mon! Forget about it; it's solid, television gold. STILL setting the prime time curve over ten years later.

OVERALL: 10 out of 10.

We know Fox Mulder and the quest he is on. We also know his companions and the people who chase him mercilessly, and we know what would happen if he gave up. That said, there is more to it all than meets the eye. There are abductions that happen, muddy little pools of the past lying in wait for the next foolhardy onlookers to come, colonization plans hatching, and soliders that are super - thanks for asking! I like that a lot and I have to give the writers a lot of credit. Even shows that model themselves after the X's cannot seem to place the right amount of boom in that sphere of intrigue.

After noting exactly what happened in the years (3 seasons) that added up to the event that encapsulated "Abductions," the X-Files turned to another story arch. This time it dealt with a mysterious fluid call the Black Oil which, by the show's accounts, began tormenting humans in the wayyy wayyy back. In fact, the one thing that this is missing is the movie "Fight the Future," where you see the aliens attacking some really acient wayfarers. True, these are collections of the series and, true, the timeline you get with this includes these run-ins. Still, some of the pieces here are missing a little.

One thing that runs a little off-base is the fact that not all of this is turly about Black Oil. While many episodes are, some are simply furthering the aliens and what they do AND this is what is called Black Oil. Even some of Colonization could actually be considered Black Oil if someone wanted to argue it, but the point of the matter is that there is a story inside of a story. If you can put this aside and watch what is happening, there is some nice stuff showcased here. When you combine that with the timeline that comes with the series - it is supposed to have that and if it does not then you shoudl not get it - you get explanations about the new players in the macabre planetary combine that chews on human will. These include "X," Marita Covarrubias," "Alex Krychek," "Jeremiah Smith," "Alien Bounty Hunter," Micheal Kritschgau," and "Max Fenig." They ar enot limited to these, but these are the ones mentioned.

Of all the things contained within this series, I like these pieces the best. The headlines are easily missed sometimes and you could possibly debate the inclusion of some pieces here. I personally love that part of it all, asking and hearing ideas, seeing what people have included in their "truths." Also, there are some extras BUT NOT much, with a few optonal interviews and a deleted scene sometimes. The interviews seem to average 1 - 3 or 1 - 4, so they are not a biggie. Stil, it is well worth taking out and looking over.

Very good!! Much more professionnal than volume 1 ! And we start to see the picture pretty clearly! Great info! :)

I'm still not convinced that this series of inexpensive boxed with minimal new special features that present the mythology episodes of THE X-FILES is all that desirable or that it should take priority over a complete reissue of the individual seasons in more reasonably priced editions. Nonetheless, it is a great way of calling attention to the extraordinary importance of THE X-FILES in taking long-story-arc television to the next level.

THE X-FILES always functioned on two level: first, it consisted of a host of standalone episodes that are probably the finest set of supernatural stories on TV since the glory days of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. Because the box here is focused on the mythology episodes, I won't say more about these here. The second level of THE X-FILES was the mythology episodes, a series of individual shows that taken together over nine seasons told the story of an international government conspiracy to hide the truth about human-alien encounters, as well as the reason for that conspiracy. It is almost impossible to stress the importance of these episodes, because they helped recreate what was possible on commercial television, and has helped provide a template for the future of television. I earnestly believe that THE X-FILES was one of three television shows that jointly reinvented what was possible on television. Briefly, here is a short account of what these shows accomplished:

The first of the three shows was TWIN PEAKS (which, by the way, dealt in its second half with alien abduction-one of the abductees being the actor who would play Scully's father later on--featured as a minor character a transvestite FBI agent played by David Duchovny). Many will remember what a bombshell TWIN PEAKS was when it first appeared on TV. It was the first series on TV to show that the medium could provide entertainment as absorbing and as artistically complex as movies. But most importantly, it told a story that took a couple of dozen episodes to tell, and completely shattered the convention that a story had to fit in a single episode. On the other hand, it was completely different from soap operas or shows like HILL STREET BLUES in that it was attempting to tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. These other shows had continuity from week to week, and things happened to the characters over a long series of episodes, but there really wasn't a story as such that they were trying to tell. But TWIN PEAKS did. Unfortunately, after one of the greatest-perhaps the greatest-first seasons in the history of TV, TWIN PEAKS faltered badly in the second season, starting yet one mystery after another without resolving any, piling oddness on top of mystery. The lesson to be learned: the narrative must be consistent and it must go somewhere.

THE X-FILES was one of the first shows to benefit by the new creative space created by TWIN PEAKS. Chris Carter and his cohorts didn't repeat the mistake of resolving no mysteries or not allowing the narrative to proceed to definite places. And because the show did not fall apart in its second season like TWIN PEAKS did, it was able to do something that had never been done on TV before: expand its ongoing story over a stretch of several years. It was an astonishing achievement and as a result is not merely a great show because of the enjoyment it provides, but because of the influence it has exerted on the development of TV. Nonetheless, the mythology arc of THE X-FILES had at least two problems. First, as Chris Carter and others have admitted, the story arc was more or less made up as they went along, and it sometimes shows. At several points the arc is shifted in a way that seems intended to surprise the viewers. For instance, until in Season Seven we get an authoritative account of what happened to Mulder's sister Samantha, several versions of what happened to her were trotted out. And who was Mulder's biological father? If you watch all of the commentaries on the DVD sets, you will discover that even well into the series the primary producers of the show weren't sure who Mulder's father was. In the final episode, "The Truth," they finally clear this up by baldly stating that it was the Cigarette Smoking Man, but they could easily have stated the opposite. So, there was an inconsistency in tone and in fact caused by a lack of long-term planning. Second, the show erred by focusing primarily on either that week's mystery or the great conspiracy that was the subject of the mythology, whereas any fan of the show could tell what really fascinated us about the show: Mulder and Scully. Eventually, the show became more about Mulder and Scully than the conspiracy, but it took a while. The lesson to be learned? You must plan your story arc ahead of time and the focus must be on the characters and not the mystery.

THE X-FILES made possible the third crucial show in the recreation of the possibilities for TV: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. What did BUFFY add to the mix? Two things. First, BUFFY had long story arcs that extended over the course of not merely several episodes but over seasons, much like THE X-FILES. But unlike THE X-FILES there was far more long-term planning. For instance, in a late Season Three episode one character says something to another than in retrospect was a clear reference to something that happened two years later. This enabled far more internal consistency in the story arc than we saw in THE X-FILES. The second, and perhaps more important, addition was the focus from the beginning of the show to its end on character rather than situation. If in THE X-FILES the emotional life of Mulder and Scully was somewhat in the background and the conspiracy in the foreground, on BUFFY the emotional lives and relationships of Buffy, Willow, Angel, Spike, and Xander were the focus, while the villains and monsters were background. But it must be noted that without the exceptional success of THE X-FILES in ratings, BUFFY would never have been allowed to take the long-story-arc to the next level.

Where has all of this gotten us? The heirs of TWIN PEAKS/THE X-FILES/BUFFY THE VAMPURE SLAYER include: DARK ANGEL, ALIAS, FARSCAPE, WONDERFALLS, ANGEL, FIREFLY, DEAD LIKE ME, CARNIVALE, SIX FEET UNDER, SMALLVILLE, 24, THE WIRE, and LOST. If one reads LOST's co-creator Damon Lindelhof's comments in an April issue of ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, it is obvious that many producers are acutely aware of the changes that the three shows I noted above had wrought. He mentions explicitly LOST's debt to TWIN PEAKS and THE X-FILES (as well as the lessons to learn from the mistakes of the two shows) as well as the success of BUFFY in shifting the focus to character, and the intent of producers and writers to continue in that tradition.

So, while I'm not sure that these four DVD boxed sets address any real need, and while I'm absolutely convinced we would have been better served by new, far less expensive versions of the individual season boxed sets, these sets do serve to call attention to the long story arc of the show that along with TWIN PEAKS and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER did more than anyother to establish the long story arc as the highest form of television art. My conviction is that we are at the beginning of what could be a permanent trend in television, as the medium moves more and more away from the standalone episode, and more and more towards long story arcs.