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The X-Files

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I’ve definitely been looking forward to the X-Files revival.

But it wasn’t until this latest trailer that I became STOKED. Anyone else excited?

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 (Edited)

I’m looking forward to it, but I’m not super-excited. I just hope all the loose ends get tied up and Mulder & Scully finally get to live happily ever after.

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DuracellEnergizer said:

I’m looking forward to it, but I’m not super-excited. I just hope all the loose ends get tied up and Mulder & Scully finally get to live happily ever after.

Me too. I remember watching the last few season as they aired(We had just gotten a fox station for the first time in my area)but to be honest I have no memory of how the series ended, I mean at all so I am expecting to be lost.

Is that strange, the fact that I can so clearly remember watching the series final but I can’t remember one thing that happened in it?

Still I wouldn’t expect all the question to be answered since Carter has said he is ready to make more of these if Fox asks, so they can’t close the book on everything with these six episode. Also Fox did cut the original eight episode order down to six, so that may play a role too.

Despite all this I don’t have cable so this is the TV event I am most looking forward to this year.

Oh and with some christmas money I got the X Files season one on Blu ray and if you can put up with the fact that it was cropped to 16x9(and that is a big if)everything else about this set, from the picture, to the sound, to the fact that there is finally a play all option is a huge improvement over the DvD sets. Too bad they didn’t keep the original aspect ratio. Still for $20, they are a good back up set and given that the X-Files is one of those shows that always looked more like a film then most real films the 16x9 crop doesn’t look as bad or out of place as it could.

I am working my way back through the series now and am really looking forward to this mini series and hope it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger.

My ratings for the Star Wars movies. EP1 4.5/10. Ep2 4.0/10. EP3 2.0/10. EP4 9.5/10. EP5 10/10 EP6 8.5/10 EP7 8.3/10.

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I Want to Believe this mini-series will be good, but, damn, that last movie was pretty awful. Still, all the trailers look great.

I also got the BD set, and it looks fantastic! To be honest, the occasional use of edge enhancement and the new fonts bother me more than the cropping. But, man oh man, X-Files looks so much better than it ever did. I couldn’t recommend it more, even if just to see the cinematography that pushed the boundaries for darkness on TV…

Would recommend picking up the seasons individually or, if you want the whole series box set, going for a foreign version: German or France, which, though cheap, contains identical discs.

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The Aluminum Falcon said:

I Want to Believe this mini-series will be good, but, damn, that last movie was pretty awful. Still, all the trailers look great.

I also got the BD set, and it looks fantastic! To be honest, the occasional use of edge enhancement and the new fonts bother me more than the cropping. But, man oh man, X-Files looks so much better than it ever did. I couldn’t recommend it more, even if just to see the cinematography that pushed the boundaries for darkness on TV…

Would recommend picking up the seasons individually or, if you want the whole series box set, going for a foreign version: German or France, which, though cheap, contains identical discs.

Yeah I couldn’t get to the end of the last movie. Still what trailers we have make this look good and I think the X Files always worked better on TV then it did as movies. I mean it’s roots are in TV, with shows like The Twilight Zone and Dragnet, so it feels the most at home on TV.

I really hope there is some kind of recap so I am not completely lost.

I watched the final back when it aired but I can’t remember a thing about it. 😃

Oh yeah if the copping doesn’t bug you then this is the set to get and I intend to pick them up as I get money, they are much cheaper then the old sets and they look and sound amazing, also they finally have Play all button and that is a big deal for me with TV shows, I hate having to select each episode one at a time when I am trying to watch the show while working.

These sets are good and the price is just right for a double dip, $20 for each 24 episode season, that is less then a dollar an episode, that works for me.

My ratings for the Star Wars movies. EP1 4.5/10. Ep2 4.0/10. EP3 2.0/10. EP4 9.5/10. EP5 10/10 EP6 8.5/10 EP7 8.3/10.

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You guys mention cropping but it should be noted that the blu-rays actually expand the image not cut any of it out. The show was shot on film and cropped to fit the standard 4:3 aspect ratio of the time. The Blu-rays went back to the negatives and reveal more of the image than we’ve ever seen before.

Though I do understand the general wish that the show had maintained its original aspect ratio. That was one of the great things about the Twin Peaks HD transfers.

Oh and for anyone that’s interested in checking out these new transfers but doesn’t want to fork out the cash for the boxsets. I just discovered last night that NETFLIX has updated their version of the show with the new High Definition transfers.

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DrCrowTStarwarsreborn said:

I remember watching the last few season as they aired(We had just gotten a fox station for the first time in my area)but to be honest I have no memory of how the series ended, I mean at all so I am expecting to be lost.

Is that strange, the fact that I can so clearly remember watching the series final but I can’t remember one thing that happened in it?

Not too surprising. It was a pretty bland, mediocre finale.

Just to refresh your memory, Mulder was put on trail for killing some guy (who turned out to be an unkillable super-soldier), sentenced to death, then Scully, Doggett, and Reyes helped him escape, with Mulder & Scully both going into hiding at the end.

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Tobar said:

You guys mention cropping but it should be noted that the blu-rays actually expand the image not cut any of it out. The show was shot on film and cropped to fit the standard 4:3 aspect ratio of the time. The Blu-rays went back to the negatives and reveal more of the image than we’ve ever seen before.

Though I do understand the general wish that the show had maintained its original aspect ratio. That was one of the great things about the Twin Peaks HD transfers.

Oh and for anyone that’s interested in checking out these new transfers but doesn’t want to fork out the cash for the boxsets. I just discovered last night that NETFLIX has updated their version of the show with the new High Definition transfers.

Oh, okay! Thanks for the info. So it’s like Babylon 5, I assumed from looking at it that it was Sienfield and some other sitcoms I have been seeing broadcast in HD lately and they were just cropping the 4x3 image.

Well then, that makes these sets a must buy, they are cheap, look amazing, and as far as I can tell they have all the extras from the DvD sets.

Sorry about getting the information wrong, I just thought Babylon 5 was one of only a few TV shows that did this and I didn’t know the X Files had been shot in widescreen before season five.

Thanks a bunch. These boxsets are a great value for $20.

My ratings for the Star Wars movies. EP1 4.5/10. Ep2 4.0/10. EP3 2.0/10. EP4 9.5/10. EP5 10/10 EP6 8.5/10 EP7 8.3/10.

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DuracellEnergizer said:

DrCrowTStarwarsreborn said:

I remember watching the last few season as they aired(We had just gotten a fox station for the first time in my area)but to be honest I have no memory of how the series ended, I mean at all so I am expecting to be lost.

Is that strange, the fact that I can so clearly remember watching the series final but I can’t remember one thing that happened in it?

Not too surprising. It was a pretty bland, mediocre finale.

Just to refresh your memory, Mulder was put on trail for killing some guy (who turned out to be an unkillable super-soldier), sentenced to death, then Scully, Doggett, and Reyes helped him escape, with Mulder & Scully both going into hiding at the end.

Wow, that sounds like the perfect set up for a series of film or mini series. It will be interesting to see where they go from there. Still that seems more like a good season ending cliffhanger then a series final, so yeah I guess that may have something to do with why I don’t remember it.

Well here is hoping we get some answers, I can’t wait. Why does the 24th have to be so far away???! 😃

My ratings for the Star Wars movies. EP1 4.5/10. Ep2 4.0/10. EP3 2.0/10. EP4 9.5/10. EP5 10/10 EP6 8.5/10 EP7 8.3/10.

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DrCrowTStarwarsreborn said:
Wow, that sounds like the perfect set up for a series of film or mini series. It will be interesting to see where they go from there. Still that seems more like a good season ending cliffhanger then a series final, so yeah I guess that may have something to do with why I don’t remember it.

Well here is hoping we get some answers, I can’t wait. Why does the 24th have to be so far away???! 😃

Well, actually the second movie, I Want to Believe, already followed up on that cliffhanger. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that exciting.

Last we saw them, Mulder and Scully were living together, with Scully now practicing medicine at some Christian hospital as a profession. The “in hiding/on the run” aspect, alluded to by the finale, isn’t explored much in the movie, as, less than 30 minutes in, the FBI already pardons Mulder for any previous alleged wrongdoing. Consequently, the movie sees Mulder and Scully working once again within the FBI, albeit as consultants and not full-blown agents.

EDIT: Forgot to say, in an end credits sequence, we see Mulder and Scully vacationing together in some sunny tropic place. Bahamas?

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The Aluminum Falcon said:

DrCrowTStarwarsreborn said:
Wow, that sounds like the perfect set up for a series of film or mini series. It will be interesting to see where they go from there. Still that seems more like a good season ending cliffhanger then a series final, so yeah I guess that may have something to do with why I don’t remember it.

Well here is hoping we get some answers, I can’t wait. Why does the 24th have to be so far away???! 😃

Well, actually the second movie, I Want to Believe, already followed up on that cliffhanger. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all that exciting.

Last we saw them, Mulder and Scully were living together, with Scully now practicing medicine at some Christian hospital as a profession. The “in hiding/on the run” aspect, alluded to by the finale, isn’t explored much in the movie, as, less than 30 minutes in, the FBI already pardons Mulder for any previous alleged wrongdoing. Consequently, the movie sees Mulder and Scully working once again within the FBI, albeit as consultants and not full-blown agents.

EDIT: Forgot to say, in an end credits sequence, we see Mulder and Scully vacationing together in some sunny tropic place. Bahamas?

Wow, they really should have followed up on them being on the run. I fell asleep trying to get through the second movie, and that must be why. At that point I must have remembered the series final, I remember being really mad about something to do with the movie.

Still parts of it sound like how the series should have ended so maybe I will give the movie another go at some future date. Thanks for the info, I never got to the end of the movie.

Now I feel all caught up for the mini series.

My ratings for the Star Wars movies. EP1 4.5/10. Ep2 4.0/10. EP3 2.0/10. EP4 9.5/10. EP5 10/10 EP6 8.5/10 EP7 8.3/10.

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He’s resurrected in the Season 10 comic series as well. The circumstances of which are quite mysterious and intriguing. I’m only a third of the way through the series so far. I’m actually pretty disappointed that it looks like the mini-series disregards the comics. Though I can understand wanting to have the big reveals for the bigger audience. Still, the Season 10 comic series is extremely well done and something I’d definitely recommend.

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TV’s Frink said:

You lost me at “comic.”.

You lost me at unnecessary double period.

Don’t do drugs, unless you’re with me.

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Didn’t the last episode of The X-Files actually show Cigarette Man’s body disintegrating in an explosion? How can he come back from that?

I know he’s been apparently dead before and come back, but seriously.

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Tobar said:

You guys mention cropping but it should be noted that the blu-rays actually expand the image not cut any of it out. The show was shot on film and cropped to fit the standard 4:3 aspect ratio of the time. The Blu-rays went back to the negatives and reveal more of the image than we’ve ever seen before.

Though I do understand the general wish that the show had maintained its original aspect ratio. That was one of the great things about the Twin Peaks HD transfers.

Oh and for anyone that’s interested in checking out these new transfers but doesn’t want to fork out the cash for the boxsets. I just discovered last night that NETFLIX has updated their version of the show with the new High Definition transfers.

Not in all scenes. Some scenes are actually cropped and resized, and it’s they’re clearly recognizable.

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pittrek said:

Tobar said:

You guys mention cropping but it should be noted that the blu-rays actually expand the image not cut any of it out. The show was shot on film and cropped to fit the standard 4:3 aspect ratio of the time. The Blu-rays went back to the negatives and reveal more of the image than we’ve ever seen before.

Though I do understand the general wish that the show had maintained its original aspect ratio. That was one of the great things about the Twin Peaks HD transfers.

Oh and for anyone that’s interested in checking out these new transfers but doesn’t want to fork out the cash for the boxsets. I just discovered last night that NETFLIX has updated their version of the show with the new High Definition transfers.

Not in all scenes. Some scenes are actually cropped and resized, and it’s they’re clearly recognizable.

Ah, that would explain my getting that impression. Also it should be noted that some scenes are clearly video tape broadcast dupes, but so far only like one out of every five episodes has had this problem and the scenes in question never lasted longer then thirty seconds or so.

If I remember correctly B5 had to crop a few scenes here and there for the DvDs, because they had lost the negatives in an earthquake, so sometimes they just didn’t have a widescreen version of the scene. if the The X-Files was done for the same reason I don’t mind. Still in both cases I would rather then shift the aspect ratios, instead of cropping the picture one way or another, still I suppose that would confuse so casual viewers and it’s not like they are charging an arm and a leg for these sets. I see sets from other Networks for newer shows that have shorter seasons and fewer extras on DvD that go for around twice what these Blurays go for, so I still wouldn’t call it a bad deal. The DvD sets still were not very cheap when I checked just before Christmas so these Bluray sets where a nice surprise for me when I spotted them in Moviestop and they seem to be going for the same $20 everywhere.

Now as has been pointed out they are far from being the perfect sets I would like to see and they should not be used to archive the show, but they are better then most boxsets out today. Also I will say that the show’s film like look really comes into it’s own with this set. I mean to me the X-Files was always up there with Twin Peaks and Hornblower, when it comes to TV shows that use lighting and the camera in a way that makes them look more like films then most real films, but the restoration that doesn’t make everything look too clean and that also makes the audio much easier to hear, combined with the widesceen presentation, really does help. Oh and I can not as say enough good things about the audio, I am hearing all sorts of creepy sounds and lines of dialog in the background of scenes that I never heard before. There was about a two year period where because each season of the X-Files cost around $100 on DvD, I only owned season one, so I know each episode pretty well from watching them so many times, and yet this set is bringing out things I had never heard before.

So yes, there a lot of negatives, but there are also a lot of positives to this set, bare that is mind when deciding if to buy it or not.

As for me? I give the set as a whole a 7.5/10

My ratings for the Star Wars movies. EP1 4.5/10. Ep2 4.0/10. EP3 2.0/10. EP4 9.5/10. EP5 10/10 EP6 8.5/10 EP7 8.3/10.

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pittrek said:

Not in all scenes. Some scenes are actually cropped and resized, and it’s they’re clearly recognizable.

It’s a hazard that comes with doing this kind of work on older shows. Most of the negative is there but there are always those troublesome shots every once in a while that go missing. Star Trek: The Next Generation had the same issue. In those situations you just have to make do with what you have. The X-Files has the added complication of using old stock footage. I think the restoration house that handled this did quite the commendable job. The only real issue I have are the fonts but the new ones they used are quite pleasing to the eye and pretty close approximations.

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Watching FOX right now (football!) and just saw an ad for the new show. Looks very interesting.

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Tobar said:

He’s resurrected in the Season 10 comic series as well. The circumstances of which are quite mysterious and intriguing. I’m only a third of the way through the series so far. I’m actually pretty disappointed that it looks like the mini-series disregards the comics. Though I can understand wanting to have the big reveals for the bigger audience. Still, the Season 10 comic series is extremely well done and something I’d definitely recommend.

Eh, I gave 'em a try, they didn’t catch my fancy. Too much of the art was amateurish and I didn’t like how so many dead characters were brought back to life. Plus the writers conflated the alien bounty hunters with the super-soldiers and gave them glowing blue eyes for some reason; that was all just irritating.