As a lover of Bad Blood and PMP and The Natural and Triangle
I like 'em too, just not all the time. They didn't really define TXF in any special way, either---the plots could easily have been exported to Night Stalker, or Outer Limits, or something.
they're not so wrapped up in the craptastic arc that went nowhere, and are therefore less tainted by my resentment.
You're so right about that. I used to wish that Whedon had had TXF instead of Surfer Dude. TXF (and Millenium) and a touch of that when Morgan and Wong were doing the day-to-day production, but Carter was truly the Hack-who-got-lucky. After what was it, the fourth?, revelation of The Truth About Samantha, I just threw up my hands. And it kept getting worser and worser and worser. I've read here in b.org some people complaining about BtVS melting down in S6-7, but that was nothing to what happened to TXF.
Now I'll fight to the death for the Ship, but the best XF eps were the early arc episodes, and those are almost never chosen.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this, as I can pretty much only stomach the standalones these days. But that may be in part because I can't forget where the arc went (i.e. nowhere really slowly) enough to see even the good arc-y episodes without feeling a slow burn of rage.
I would put "Bad Blood" on my top ten list of XF, easy, because as parodies go, it's pretty damn perfect. PMP does get a bit heavy-handed in a few spots, but it's still enjoyable.
"Arcadia" and "Unnatural"--meh. Shippy XF-lite seems about right. And I've always thought "Triangle" was overrated.
As for the Angel list--agree that lack of AYNOHYEB is a head scratcher. But I like most of the picks on that list... well, except IWRY, which always makes me laugh like the drain and roll my eyes instead of making me cry. I'd have put in Rm w/ A View instead of "Spin the Bottle", and I've always thought "Hero" was poorly conceived, anvilicious, and shamelessly manipulative (I still bawl like a baby at the end every time I watch it, then I get vaguely pissed afterward), but I could see why people picked it.
A list without AYNOHYEB is not a list made by humans from my dimension. It stands alone beautifully.
I agree. There was so many amazing moments in Season Two and Three that never made the list. And five from Season Five? Bah! We just saw them.
It's amazing to be that I have no desire to watch X-Files at all. I loved the first five seasons so.
Hmm. I like AYNOHYEB, but it seems to me there was a fair amount of dissent here when it aired. Am I remembering wrong?
Birthday
is one I'd like to see again.
I've read here in b.org some people complaining about BtVS melting down in S6-7, but that was nothing to what happened to TXF.
Oh yeah. I liked 6 & 7, but even those who didn't have admitted that it never got as bad as late era XFiles. I personally think that Buffy got too arc-dependent in the later seasons (that is, the arc and the ideas were driving the plot and the characters rather than the other way around), which always seemed to result in mid-season lethargy after season 3. But you could generally see what Whedon and company were trying for, even if their reach exceeded their grasp.
We'll have to agree to disagree on this, as I can pretty much only stomach the standalones these days. But that may be in part because I can't forget where the arc went (i.e. nowhere really slowly) enough to see even the good arc-y episodes without feeling a slow burn of rage.
Oh, well, I'm there too. The best XF eps ever were the Anasazi, Blessing Way, Paper Clip arc, but I can't watch any of that now without cursing loudly and throwing things at the TV, which my wife says is inappropriate for someone approaching 50.
I'm just saying that viewer's choice eps for arcy series(es ?) never seem to reflect the meat of the show; they just tend to hit the lighter stuff.
(Edited 'cause I can't spell 'chioce'.)
Huh. I remember being distinctly underwhelmed by AYNOHYEB. And I've always been reluctant to mention that fact, since it's so universally loved here.
