Paul McCrane's Leonard Betts with one eye pulled open in The X-Files
It's always a beautiful thing when you find a long-running series with enough episodes that you can select almost any one of them and start the journey. That's certainly the case with The X-Files, and while it isn't exactly an"11-part series" in the traditional sense, the show did run for eleven seasons between 1993 and 2018 — all of which are still very much worth your time.
Primarily following the strange caseload of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully , FOX's premiere science fiction drama tackled the bizarre and macabre on a weekly basis, and just about any one of the show's massive collection of monster-of-the-week episodes can thrust you into the adventure. 'The X-Files' Is an Excellent Binge-Watch From Start to Finish While it's true that you can pick up with Mulder and Scully at just about any point throughout the show and still find yourself thrilled by the material, the show's intense mytharc — which boasts most of the alien-themed episodes — requires a chronological viewing. That's just how this extra-terrestrial cookie crumbles. However, with literally over 140 different monster-of-the-week episodes to choose from, any of these are fair game for your own personal selection of Mulder and Scully's greatest hits. Looking for a story about mutant killers who find themselves in horrifying spaces? Check out"Tooms" or"The Host." Or how about a humorous tale about rural vampires? Season 5's"Bad Blood" will be right up your alley. And that's not to mention other fan-favorite X-Files episodes, like Season 2's"Die Hand Die Vertletz," Season 3's"Quagmire," Season 4's"Home," Season 5's"The Post-Modern Prometheus," Season 6's"Drive," Season 10's"Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster," or Season 11's"Familiar." Related 'The X-Files' Revival Rewrites the Sci-Fi Hit, but It Officially Deserves More Credit 10 Years Later The brief return of an iconic sci-fi series that completely changed television shouldn't be forgotten. Posts By Michael John Petty If you plan on just randomly selecting episodes, it's probably best to avoid any of the more mythology-heavy hours. But otherwise, each episode can be devoured just like one might an episode of The Twilight Zone: as a completely standalone adventure. That's the beauty of a"spooky procedural" like The X-Files. Save for Seasons 8 and 9 when Mulder was barely a presence on the show, the general status quo of the show's main characters rarely changes. As a result, audiences could tune in at any time the same way they would any typical network procedural, knowing exactly what to expect from our main heroes while being surprised by the general happenings of the case in question. It's one of the long-forgotten beauties of traditional, episodic television. 'The X-Files' Is Full of Fan-Favorite Episodes for Sci-Fi Lovers While you may be tempted to view these"filler" episodes as simply window dressing between Mulder and Scully's next big break in the global government conspiracy surrounding an impending alien invasion, the truth is that The X-Files wouldn't be the same without the monster-of-the-week installments. Growing up and watching The X-Files, I adored the UFO plots and conspiratorial-themed episodes specifically because the plot was what originally drew me to the series. But as I got to better know and love Mulder and Scully, it was the standalone episodes, the"normal" cases, that really spoke to me the most — and still do to this day. Occasionally, mythology-based episodes will venture into that standalone territory, and when they do, they end up being far more effective. Sorry Chris Carter, your X-Files mytharc is epic, but it's the weekly horrors that stand out most. Subscribe to the newsletter for X-Files episode picks and deep dives Dig deeper with our newsletter for curated X-Files episode guides, fan-favorite highlights, and clear context on standalone versus mythology hours—includes tips for standout first-time picks and guided episode choices for revisits. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Aside from streaming on Hulu, The X-Files can be found on-demand free of charge on Pluto TV, meaning there's no better time to revisit Mulder and Scully's stunning caseload than the present. Especially after the announcement that Ryan Coogler's impending reboot is making headway, the original series is a television triumph that continues to pull in unsuspecting audiences and challenge your view on reality. One of the show's biggest taglines may be to"trust no one," but don't let that stop you from trusting us when we say that The X-Files is one of those sci-fi staples you just can't miss out on. The X-Files Like Follow Followed TV-14 Mystery Crime Drama Science Fiction Release Date 1993 - 2018-00-00 Network FOX Showrunner Chris Carter Directors Rob Bowman, David Nutter, R. W. Goodwin, Michael W. Watkins, Tony Wharmby, Daniel Sackheim, Michael Lange, Cliff Bole, David Duchovny, Jim Charleston, James Wong, Peter Markle, Rod Hardy, Thomas J. Wright, William A. Graham, Jerrold Freedman, Joe Napolitano, Kevin Hooks, Larry Shaw, Richard Compton, Tucker Gates, Allen Coulter, Barry K. Thomas, Brett Dowler Writers jeffrey bell, Frank Spotnitz, Howard Gordon, David Amann, Darin Morgan, Steven Maeda, Greg Walker, Chris Ruppenthal, Kim Newton, Paul Brown, Sara B. Cooper, Thomas Schnauz, Tim Minear, William Gibson, Jeff Vlaming, Charles Grant Craig, Chip Johannessen, Chris Brancato, Daniel Arkin, Gillian Anderson, Jessica Scott, Jim Guttridge, Kenneth Biller, Larry Barber Cast See All Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Netflix's 5-Part Sci-Fi Fantasy Series Changed The Rules Of StreamingRobert Englund in Stranger Things
Read more »
Netflix's 2-Part Sci-Fi Mystery Is Perfect From Start to FinishA TV displaying the Netflix logo, as a hand reaches out to change it.
Read more »
Netflix's Best 10-Part Sci-Fi Series Deserved More Than One SeasonNetflix logo displayed on a smart device
Read more »
8 Years Later, Netflix's 2-Part Sci-Fi Series Quietly Becomes a Late-Night FavoriteLela Loren in Altered Carbon
Read more »
Netflix’s 7-Part Sci-Fi Series Is So Good, People Are Rewatching It Multiple TimesAn episode of Black Mirror on Netflix
Read more »
Apple TV’s Underrated 8-Part Sci-Fi Anthology Is Aging As Well As Black MirrorDhruv is a Lead Writer in Screen Rant's New TV division. He has been consistently contributing to the website for over two years and has written thousands of articles covering streaming trends, movie/TV analysis, and pop culture breakdowns.
Read more »