Pilot

Synopsis

Special Agent Dana Scully is partnered with Special Agent Fox Mulder to validate his work on a special project called The X-Files. While he is a believer in the paranormal, fuelled by a lost memory where his sister was abducted by aliens; she is a scientist and prefers to look for rational, logical explanations.
Their first case takes them to Oregon, to investigate the unsolved murders of several High School classmates, whom "Spooky" Mulder believes have been experimented on by aliens.

Okay. Seeing as this was my bright idea I'd better get the ball rolling. :rolleyes:

The X Files was my third great culty passion, after Star Wars and Star Trek. It came along at a time when there was a dearth of quality cult television: STTNG had either just ended or was in its final days (can't remember which), B5 was yet to arrive on the scene, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the series, was just a twinkle in its creator's eye.

Bearing all this in mind, and my lack of Sky tv at the time, when the show appeared with very little fanfare on BBC2 it was a breath of fresh air. By the time the closing credits ran on Pilot I was already hooked.

Having just watched the opener again, after not having seen it for quite a long time, the first thing I have to say is how refreshing it is to go back to those days. This, for me, was when The X Files was fun - good, mysterious, quirky, exciting fun. I'll probably upset some people by saying this but, for me at least, once the show's popularity exploded and the third season was out of the way, it never really recaptured the sense of wonder and invention that set it head and shoulders above all competition during the early days. Sure, some of the stand alone episodes still rocked, but the mythology (and it's interesting to go back to where it started and remember how the first episode aroused that sense of addictive curiosity in me - I needed to know more!) became increasingly more and more convoluted and, in the end, it was clear that Carter and Co never really knew where they were going with it.

Back to Pilot, though. I think this is one of the best - if not THE best - opening episodes of any series. It is marvellous. Whilst the characters seem, if anything, a little out of character, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson do more than enough to allow you to identify with Mulder and Scully immediately. Mulder may be a little too spooky, Scully certainly smiles way too much and - God! - even laughs, but you know from the off that he is the one who wants to believe and that she is the sceptic who will believe providing the evidence and the science back him up.

Scully: Time can't just disappear. It's a universal invariant.
Mulder: Not in this zipcode.

So Pilot throws all the hoary old abduction cliches at you thick and fast. Evidence goes missing or is destroyed, locals are hostile to their investigation, the truth is snatched from Mulder's grasp just as he closes his fingers around it, the Cigarette Smoking Man now just seems like some old bloke who's probably very smelly. So what? What now seems like cliche was, at the time, very exciting.

Take the scene where Scully rushes to Mulder's motel room having discovered the marks on her back. Nowadays such a set up would probably be viewed with a "Ho hum" kind of attitude. Back then it was "OMG! What's happened to her?!". The much-lauded sexual tension is there and it's noticeable how Mulder doesn't bat an eyelid when Scully strips in front of him. The scene that follows, where Mulder explains to Scully why he does what he does, is a classic and effortlessly sets up the driving force for the show. It is wonderfully shot and acted and has resonance right to the very end of the series. Even Mark Snow's music is atmospheric and melodic, something which almost went out the window later in the series run.

This is a magnificent start to a wonderful series. And the great part is that some of my favourite episodes will be coming up very soon. Like... next!

9/10

Before I start I should just add that I've long been of the opinion that the PILOT episode shows the XF at it's very best. Havign seen it numerous times now, once more was unlikely to change that opinion and it didn't. I'm one of the people who saw the show from the start when it originally started on Sky with very little fanfare it has to be said, PILOT, along with both DEEP THROAT and SQUEEZE won me over to the series pretty much straight away.

Right from the off we're treated to what will become synonymous with the XF over it's duration in the eerie tone and haunting Mark Snow music.

It's true that both DD and GA come off as a little wooden in their respective roles however their obvious enthusiasm in their roles makes up for it, odd given their at times ambivalence towards the show in later seasons.

PILOT's also one of those rare XFs where both standalone (at the time) and mythology are interwoven to a degree of success.

There's little to criticise about this episode, like WR I happen to believe that PILOT represents one of the best first episodes to a series that I've seen.

Can't really say too much more abouth this one that hasn't been said already so I'll close there and wait for DEEP THROAT :)

Having watched the Pilot monthly for a long time, it should now be getting old like some episodes when repeatedly watched, but it hasn’t. Every single time they lose nine minutes, get out of the car in the rain and see Mulder’s sprayed X in the road, it’s one of those few moments in cult history where you just think “wow”. You can see the enthusiasm in Mulder’s face, the disbelief in Scully’s. It’s from that moment on imo that they become “Mulder and Scully”.

With this only being the pilot in a very long run, it could quite possibly be, the greatest episode of them all. The plot, although done countless times before, is impeccable, and like all things XF, believable. DD and GA’s performances are great, although the characters seem to go a different way later on, you can see that the chemistry’s there from their first scene together.

9.9/10 :)

I haven't watched the Pilot of the X-Files since it was aired the first time on BBC. And reading these reports have brought it all flooding back.

I do remember the hype behind it. When was it first aired? 92? 93? I remember a big group of us from the pub bundled into someones house to watch it. It was a Friday night, right? and I've never seen a group of people sit so quiet and still. It was really something and we all got hooked. B)

Quite a strange contrast. When it first aired on Sky One it was a very lowkey event. Minimal advertising and just "another" new show from across the pond. The Pilot rivetted me, Deep Throat couldn't come soon enough. By the time of Squeeze the show had achieved "Must Watch" status.

I remember reading about it in TV Zone or Starburst when it first started airing in the States, and then when I saw it advertised on the Beeb about a week before it started I knew I had to watch it. Like James I was hooked from the word go.

It was strange though cos, like most things I like, nobody else I knew was watching it. I kind of enjoyed it that way. Like Buffy when it first started, it felt like it was my little secret. :)

Watched this one again last night. Was going to review it afresh, but then I noticed I'd already added my comments to this thread when we originally started the rewatch thread.

Suffice to say, my opinion of this episode hasn't changed, it's still a great start to the series :thumbsup:

:ph43r:

Okay, I watched this last night, might try an episode a night, not promising though. ;)


I'd completely forgotten how good the Pilot ep was :o

Can't add much to what's already mentioned, 'cept Scully's total fear discovering lumps on her back, and rushing round to Mulder to confirm what it is. How much do you love Scully when so relieved, she hugs Mulder, awwhh bless :lol: :lol:

Like to reiterate the 9 mins/red cross scene, that's when I first realised the X Files was going to be huge, outstanding moment :thumbsup:

I'm hard-pressed to think of a better Pilot episode, Serenity maybe ? But that's about it.

Rarely do shows hit the ground running so much as TXF did. Importantly, it then went on to produce another two cornerstone episodes in Deep Throat and Squeeze. That must have gone some way to generating momentum. Other shows, tend to put out a few duffers up front, and end up struggling. Not that TXF didn't struggle in that first year, but those early episodes generated enough fan and critical interest to pull it through into the second season.

The ep for me was brilliant, but I remember how much scope the writers had given for themselves with the final scene of this ep:

I've only seen this ep once. I watched it on BBC2 with me mum. The scene I'm referring to is the Smoking Man taking the evidence in a box and filing it - the camera pans out to identify hundreds of boxes, of what we can assume are similarly suppressed pieces of evidence detailing what is the truth, in a huge warehouse.

That's when I knew that it was going to be huge and equally that I was hooked :)

That's an iconic moment if ever there was one. :thumbsup:

I've started my rewatch. Don't know how long it's going to last but all the good intentions are there at the moment :lol:

Loved this episode again. I still think it's the best pilot episode I've seen. It still manages to create a tingle of excitement when I watch it, especially with scenes like the one Lisa mentioned.

Very special :thumbsup: