Review of X Files, The: Season 3 Boxset

Introduction

The X Files hits a peak in this, the third season DVD box set. The first season established the characters and the second established the format, adding conspiracy episodes and the occasional comedic touch. Season 3 sees the show start to explore its boundaries and finally get the budgets it deserved. Add to that the fact that nearly every story is a winner and you`re on to a sure fire hit. This apex was to be maintained for another two seasons before the stories became more outlandish and the conspiracies more convoluted than the last. But that`s a rant for another box set. Go back in time then, to a more innocent age, put these seven discs in your player and watch what is almost Sci-Fi perfection, the third season of the X Files.

A quick précis of the stories…

The Blessing Way: Continuing on from the end of Season 2, Mulder is missing, presumed dead. As Scully grieves for her partner, events move on at a breakneck pace. She is suspended from the FBI while her misconduct is investigated. The Shadow conspiracy is intent on removing all evidence of its actions and searches relentlessly for the digital tape. Scully finds an implant in her neck for which there is no other explanation but her abduction. She receives a threat to her life that leads to a tense cliffhanger.

Paper Clip: The mystery deepens in this conclusion to the season opener. A resurrected Mulder bursts in on an inappropriate moment between Scully and Skinner. Scully`s sister lies critically ill in hospital after being gunned down by Krycek, and Mulder`s family history comes back to haunt him. The answers lie buried in the heart of a mountain.

D.P.O: Mulder and Scully investigate the abnormal number of lightning related deaths in a small town. Whilst there, they meet a teenager with some very strange abilities,

Clyde Bruckman`s Final Repose: An outstanding episode. Faced with a serial killer who concentrates on fortune-tellers. Mulder enlists the aid of a psychic insurance salesman, Clyde Bruckman. Peter Boyle guest stars as the unconventional but charming psychic, in a poignant and touching role.

The List: When Neech Manley is executed, he swears vengeance on his five antagonists. A prison guard is found suffocated in Manley`s old cell, and Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate. Then more bodies turn up.

2 Shy: A serial killer haunts the lonely-hearts bulletin boards, preying on insecure women. When a body is discovered badly decomposed, Mulder and Scully are called in. The body lacks one vital element, fat. Yes, it`s the fat sucking vampire.

The Walk: Mysterious goings on at a military hospital, where Gulf War veterans are being rehabilitated. One man is boiled alive, one suffocated and a woman drowned. Mulder`s prime suspect is? A quadruple amputee.

Oubliette: When a child is abducted, Mulder is painfully reminded of his sister. However events become more mysterious when a woman begins to psychically experience the kidnapping.

Nisei: The first of a two-part story. This episode starts with an alien autopsy. Scully and Mulder try to track down the person who videotaped it, but find a rapidly cooling corpse instead and a fleeing Japanese diplomat. Mulder, investigating the diplomatic pouch finds evidence of a mysterious cargo, which leads him from a salvage ship, via a warehouse to the boxcar where the autopsy took place. Scully meanwhile, investigating the murder meets a group of women who in common with her have all been abducted and had implants. Worryingly they are all developing cancers. Scully goes back to Washington while Mulder tries to catch a train. The mysterious X reappears, telling Scully to warn Mulder away from the train. Too late, Mulder leaps aboard.

731: The conclusion starts with the massacre of several indistinct figures by what appears to be the army. Scully learns more about her implant and follows the lead to Virginia where the massacre took place. She finds a leper colony/research lab when a mysterious man with dangerous information detains her. Mulder meanwhile has found his way into the boxcar where he is trapped with a ticking bomb and a man who claims to be an NSA assassin. And could that perchance be an alien in the back?

Revelations: A killer is stalking victims who display signs of the stigmata. All the victims thus far have been charlatans. Then a child apparently exhibits the wounds for real. Mulder and Scully must protect the child from a man with supernatural powers. For once Scully is the believer and Mulder the sceptic.

War of the Coprophages: Everyone has one particular phobia that is exploited by an episode of the X Files. Personally, I detest cockroaches, and I usually watch this episode with varying degrees of cringe. Cockroaches infest a small town in Massachusetts and Mulder investigated several related deaths. But at least this episode has the delectable Bambi.

Syzygy: Satanic forces are at work when High School students start dropping dead. When Mulder and Scully investigate they discover two friends with a cosmic power. The planets have aligned and Mulder and Scully are behaving very strangely.

Grotesque: Images of gargoyles and demonic possession are the motives given by a serial killer for his crimes when the FBI apprehends him. Yet with the killer behind bars, the horrific killings continue. Mulder gets into the mind of the killer but who is really possessed now?

Piper Maru: The first in a two-part conspiracy story. The Piper Maru is an exploratory vessel searching for World War II salvage in the Pacific. During a routine dive a diver is infected by strange black oil. Later in San Diego the rest of the crew turn up dying of radiation poisoning. Mulder tries to find the missing diver. Scully asks an old friend of her father`s if he knew of the WWII salvage being pursued by the Piper Maru. Mulder follows his leads to Hong Kong, as does the black oil. Mulder`s destined to meet an "old friend" on the island. If that isn`t enough, Skinner gets shot.

Apocrypha: Mulder and Krycek return to the US to get the digital tape mentioned in the season opener. However back in the States, they are ambushed and Krycek goes missing. Skinner makes a slow recovery and gives Scully a lead as to her assailant. Investigating further, Scully finds that the same suspect may have killed her sister. Krycek makes a deal with the cigarette smoking man and Mulder and Scully end up chasing UFOs in North Dakota

Pusher: A man who can kill by the power of suggestion decides to play cat and mouse with the FBI. Can Mulder and Scully face the psychokinetic killer without being affected by his mental abilities?

Teso Dos Bichos: An ancient curse is invoked when an archaeological expedition uncovers the remains of a shaman in deepest Ecuador (Don`t these people know about ancient curses). When scientists and museum workers die in apparent animal attacks, Mulder and Scully investigate. This is definitely an episode for cat lovers.

Hell Money: A brilliant and chillingly plausible episode, with Mulder and Scully investigating deaths by immolation in the Chinese immigrant community. Investigating further, they find a macabre lottery where contestants risk their body organs in the hopes of winning millions.

Jose Chung`s "From Outer Space": One of the "comedy" episodes sees Scully recounting the investigation of a strange abduction to a pulp-fiction author. Seen through the eyes of several participants is the account of an alien abduction gone awry, where the abductors become the abducted.

Avatar: Assistant Director Skinner wakes up next to a corpse and has no recollection of the events. Further attempts to discredit him leave his estranged wife in hospital. Mulder and Scully investigate in an attempt to exonerate him. Is Skinner cursed or does he have a Guardian angel?

Quagmire: The X Files does Jaws. Missing persons reports turn up near a lake and Mulder seizes the opportunity to pursue the Loch Ness monster`s American cousin. Scully meanwhile, finally understands the limitless obsession that drives her partner.

Wetwired: Too much television can rot the brain, or in this case cause extreme paranoia. Motiveless murders attract Mulder and Scully to investigate, but is Mulder being manipulated. One thing`s for sure. Scully has picked a lousy time to start watching daytime TV.

Talitha Cumi: Rounding off Season 3 we have a conspiracy episode with the obligatory cliffhanger. A miracle man interrupts a gunman at a diner and vanishes after healing the injured. Mulder`s mother has a life-threatening stroke after meeting the "Cancer Man". While Scully searches for the mysterious healer, Mulder look`s into his families past and discovers a hidden secret. The stranger can help Mulder but someone wants the miracle man dead.

Video

The series is presented in a 4:3 format as was originally transmitted. All US shows transmitted on UK television are somewhat limited in definition, that`s just the difference in the two systems. I don`t see what can be done to improve the situation. You basically have the show as is. That said, you have to admire the work that goes into the X Files. Quite unlike other television shows, the episodes are more like miniature movies, with cinema quality standards, in terms of number of locations per episode, cinematography and especially lighting. The more recent seasons were filmed in widescreen, one hopes they get the proper DVD treatment.

Audio

Sound is a simple 2.0 stereo soundtrack, again as the shows were transmitted. Perfectly functional and the dialogue is clearly audible throughout. You can tell an X Files episode by the music, if it`s morose, creepy or just plain weird, it`s in. It would be a good idea not to watch all the episodes in one sitting though, if you hear that music a little too often, it begins to get on your nerves.

Features

After 1100 minutes of top-notch TV, you get extras as well. I`ve never been too fond of the X Files extras, as they have never been well presented. Thankfully they`ve dispensed with the naff DVD-Rom game for this release, but the sound bite format for the extras remains the same. You get a documentary on season 3, which is too short at 20 minutes. However this is added to with twelve 90-second clips of Chris Carter talking about his favourite episodes. There are 7 special effects clips with commentary, 17 Behind the Truth spots regarding the show, 46 promotional TV spots and 6 deleted scenes with commentary. You also have the option to re-integrate the deleted scenes into the original episodes. But since they retain the look of rough cuts the insertions aren`t seamless and the video quality worse. Better to watch them separately. I really despise the sound bite format of the info clips. You can watch them separately which means you wear out your remote control, or you can watch them together, which means that every fifty seconds you get a logo and a burst of title music that is bloody irritating. It would have been far better to create a comprehensive documentary or two, lasting an hour or so that could be watched in one sitting. New to this season are episode commentaries. Two in fact, one for "Apocrypha" and one for "Jose Chung`s `From Outer Space`" by the respective writers and directors. They are informative and interesting, and I applaud the fact that they selected the episodes rather than commentate on them all. Finally there is a 24-page booklet that lists the chapter breaks for the episodes and lists the episodes in the entire series so far.

Conclusion

This is excellent television and also excellent value for money. I picked up the DVD box set for less than the price of the equivalent VHS box set when it was released a few years ago. The stories are excellent and varied; from the spoof "Jose Chung`s `From Outer Space`" to the genuinely scary "Hell Money" It`s hard to fault any of the episodes, as they are all compelling viewing. For the same reason it`s hard to choose a favourite, but if one episode does spring to mind, it`s the sublime "Clyde Bruckman`s Final Repose" just for sheer story-telling brilliance. If there is one fly in the ointment it`s "Teso Dos Bichos" which, for me was a little too derivative of B-movie fare. The episode is still enjoyable though. The extras are disappointing again with the exception of the episode commentaries. I am never going to watch 46 ten and twenty-second promotional TV spots and melt my brain. It`s just not going to happen. But for over 18 hours of TV for less than eighty quid, who cares about the extras?

If you`re an X Phile, you already have this, if you are just browsing and have 20 hours to kill, this is the best possible introduction to the series.