Somewhere in the Skies - BONUS EPISODE - The X-Files: Season 11 Listener Reviews

Episode Date: April 4, 2018

On a very special BONUS EPISODE of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, listeners from all over the world call in to voice their thoughts and opinions on the very divisive season eleven of The X-Files. How was it overall? How did the finale stack up? Should the show have ever come back after it's original series finale? And just exactly where may it be heading in the always uncertain future for Mulder and Scully? Thank you to everyone who contributed to this episode. It was an immense pleasure and honor to hear from all of you. Special thanks goes out to Tony Black of The X-Cast for his amazing X-Files community and their contributions to this discussion. To listen to in-depth analysis' of every episode, and to hear from some of the most popular actors, writers, and directors of X-Files, give the show a listen on all major podcast apps, and be sure to join the incredible Facebook Group. Podcast:CLICK HERE Facebook Group: CLICK HERE The Truth Is Out There! Patreon: www.patreon.com/somewhereskies Official Store: CLICK HERE Website: www.somewhereintheskies.com Order Ryan's Book by CLICKING HERE Twitter: @SomewhereSkies Instagram: @SomewhereSkiesPod Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES is produced by Third Kind Productions, in association with eOne Entertainment   Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is somewhere in the skies with Ryan's bread. I'm going to our son. And I failed. I don't know if any God is listening, but I am standing right here. I promise you a global contagion, Mr. Skinner. I'm about to deliver on that promise. Why does everybody want my son?

You still don't understand you. Let's Mulder. He needs your help. He's been told to shut you down. What if this is our last good chance? My name is Mulder. I'm your father. Welcome to a very special bonus episode of Somewhere in the Skies. I'm your host, Ryan Sprang.

When I was 13 years old, I was left home alone for the very first time. Wanting to not miss a dinner reservation, my parents entrusted me to wait patiently for my friend's parents to come pick me up for a weekly Friday night ritual of roller skating at the Skate-in-place in Syracuse, New York. Well, I waited. and waited and waited, and waited. And they never showed up. Either they didn't want me to go,

or they simply forgot me. Either way, I felt dejected and more alone than ever. I slumped down on the couch and flipped the TV on. I began channel surfing when the image of a decapitated head floated and bobbed on top of the surface of a lake. I remember screaming in terror, as I'd never seen something like that, I was scared, but intrigued. I knew whatever this was, my parents surely wouldn't have let me watch it if they were home, but I did.

The episode was titled Quackmire, and these two FBI agents were sent out to investigate a possible lake monster that was eating people. And that's when I found my new Friday night ritual. Mulder and Scully replaced my roller skates, and from there, I was hooked on the X-Files. The X-Files has played a very big role in my life, both as a writer of television in movies and as a UFO researcher. It was a melding of passions that came in the form of some of the greatest television of the 90s. When the show wrapped up in 2002, I felt content with that part of my life coming to an end and having a bow tied tightly around this X-Files universe. But just like real life, things never end so neatly. We received another X-Files movie, a season 10 miniseries, and a full season 11, which is rumored to be the last. So, how did this season 11 stack up?

What did X-Files fans who dedicated half their lives to this franchise, just like I did? What did they think? Was it worth revisiting old wounds and creating new ones? Is this truly the end? Or is the truth still? out there. I posed these very questions and more to listeners, both of the Somewhere in the Skies podcast and the Xcast podcast. And I was blown away by the passionate responses I received. So, right here, right now, let's hear just exactly how season 11 was received and where the fans

think we're heading in the always uncertain future of the X-Files. My name is Carl and I'm from England and the UK. Overall, I thought season 11 was very good indeed and what was so great about it was that it felt like a proper X-Files season. Having 10 episodes to play with meant that 1013 could really offer an exciting, wide range of stories

and I can't imagine someone who likes the series not finding something from season 11 that speaks to their interests. I liked a lot of stuff this season. I go back and forth really on my favourite episode. I really enjoyed episode 2, which was Glenn Morgan's Viss. I really liked

googly, followers and nothing lasts forever. At the moment, though, I'm going to go for Darren Morgan's The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat, which I thought was just like a dazzling, inventive, touching, frequently hilarious look at

like nostalgia, the post-truth age, and a lot, lot more besides. And I really do think it's an episode that I can see featuring on a lot of fans' lists of favourites in years to come. I think my least favourite episode of the season was the season opener really

Chris Carter's My Struggle 3 and you know don't get me wrong it has aspects I like, got some scenes I really enjoyed and I don't consider it a write-off like a lot of other people do nonetheless I don't think there's any getting away from the fact that was a cluttered, overwritten premiere that didn't present the series in its best light but then again as any fan knows

in different season openers are nothing new for the X-Files really. So, but in any case, I'm going to go for Chris Carter's My Struggle 3, as my least favorite episode. As regards to finale, My Struggle 4, I actually liked this one quite a bit. I thought that for the most part, the episode was exciting and propulsive. I really enjoyed Mulder's search for William, and I thought that was by far the episode's strongest suit. I thought the episode was well directed, well shot, and I thought the action sequences of which there were a few, I thought they all did the trick.

And there were some surprising scenes as well. You know, Barbara Hershey's character, her head exploded, and there were a few things in there that caught me off guard. I think the episode was much less impressive as Scully's Last Torado. Gillian Anderson didn't get a huge amount to do in My Struggle 4. And I think this really is regrettable, especially if this does turn out to be the series finale. If the series continues, and this was the last time we ever saw Scully,

I don't think it's fitting for such a great character, really. And sadly, I found a final Mulder-Skully exchange on the pier to be pretty unconvincing this being the scene where Mulder talks about not being a father anymore and Scully reveals that she is pregnant once again. I thought it was one of the weakest moments of the entire season, actually. On the whole, though, I felt, so I thought my struggle for was a mixed bag, but there was more in it that I liked than I disliked. I have no idea whatsoever if we're getting more X-Files.

I mean, we have to take Julian Anderson that whole word, I think. So if the series does return without her, it'll be a very different show. Personally, I'm not sure if I would want that to be the case. I wouldn't necessarily want to see the X-Files continue with Mulder, but without Scully. But I would reserve judgment in that instance. I would keep watching and see how they handled it. I mean, I did enjoy the characterization of William in season 11 in Gully. and my struggle for.

So, I don't know, I can see some spin-off potential there, but whether there's enough interest to make that viable, I can't say, and whether it'd be any good if it did transpire. Who knows? If season 11 is the end, though, I mean, I'm happy, I think. The show's going out on a strong season, which I don't think it did the first time round with season 9 in 2002. I think the revival has been a mixed bag overall.

But as I said, season 11 was much stronger than 10, and I think a lot of good stuff came out of this revival, so I don't regret the fact that the series came back at all. The X-Files was the first TV series I ever became passionately interested in, so it'll always have a special place in my heart. I think it's undoubtedly, you know, as well as being a cultural phenomenon and everything else, I think it's undoubtedly one of the greatest shows of all time,

I doubt I'll ever think differently about that, to be honest. Hello, my name is Sabrina and I'm from Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The season as a whole had some great episodes. My favorite part would be that Mulder and Scully are finally together after so many years. They also kicked ass and had some great fight scenes. There were some really amazing lines like when Mulder says, I was just out squatching. And when he calls Scully his homie,

I also thought Scully gave such an amazing speech to William in Gully. Aside from Mulder and Scully, my favorite characters in the series are the lone gunmen, so I was excited when they brought back Langley, even for a moment. I found William to be a very unlikable character until the end of the last episode. It was hard to believe that Foxy and Sculls would create such a self-absorbed kid. Overall, it was a good season, but I only had a couple favorite episodes. My favorite episode was familiar, which was all about witchcraft. It was super creepy and dark and reminded me of a classic early X-Files episode.

It was very suspenseful. Don't follow creepy dolls and things into the woods. You'll die. A close second would be the lost art of forehead sweat. It was a funny one. I didn't find Kidin the AI episode or nothing lasts forever anything special. However, it was fun to see Dana and Fox eating something. sushi and finding out Scully has a personal massager.

Hmm. In the final episode My Struggle 4, we learned that Scully is pregnant. I mean, it gives me a really warm and fuzzy feeling, but how can it even be possible? The woman is in her 50s. I don't get it. Anyways, I like how David's daughter had a cameo in the episode. That was neat. I think the acting was excellent in the episode when Mulder.

meets William and says, I've been looking for you forever and hugs him. And when Scully is speaking to William, who is disguised as Mulder, and he says, he knows that you love him. That was also very intense. I was also very satisfied when the real Mulder shot cigarettes, Monkey Man. Finally, a lot of fans were pissed off about how the season wrapped up, but I think it was okay. I want to believe that there will be more X-Files, but I have a sinking suspicion that's not going to happen. Jillian already said she is done, so I think that's it. It's been neat following a show from start to finish. I would watch X-Files on Sunday nights back in the 7th grade, and I was very excited to talk about what happened the next day at school. Now the fan base is far more connected. It's fun to be a part of the X-Files basement Facebook group and read all through the theories and opinions, and see Jillian's Instagram posts.

I think even though the show is over, it will. live on with the fans and we will continue to re-watch the episodes and buy neat art and repeat Mulder and Scully quotes. The best part is being a part of a community that loves the ex-wives. Lots of places can expose you to identity theft. Oh no. That's why LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points a second for threats to your identity, which is way more than anyone can do on their own. If we find anything suspicious, like new loans or changes to your financial accounts, we alert you right away all through text, phone, email, or the LifeLock app. Get the alerts that could make all the difference.

Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash special offer. Terms apply. Hi, my name is Andrew from Indianapolis, Indiana. Season 11 of the X-Files had some great moments. It was certainly an improvement over season 10, a pretty dramatic improvement, but it is a little bit of a mixed bag for me. On the whole, the return of the series, the 10th, the 11th. seasons have been disappointing for me.

The most frustrating aspect for sure is Chris Carter, who openly acknowledges and has for many years that he's making up the story as he goes along, and it's really starting to show. Now, continuity in the show has, you know, always been a bit

sketchy, but when you compare the original series, seasons 1 through 9, the two movies, when you compare that to these revival seasons, the continuity is just really off. And it's frustrating because what Chris Carter calls creativity, his choices to retcon so much of the established mythology and create seemingly new motives for characters out of nowhere and turn

certain characters who are good into evil and play with established, you know, canon, what he calls creativity is just sloppiness to me, and it almost feels like he's mocking. I feel that his writing has suffered since the original run. While he certainly needed as a showrunner, he should have allowed some fresh talent when it comes to writing the myth arc that we have in seasons 10 and 11. We did get some good standalone investigations,

and we did get some good Mulder-Skully interactions. So for that, I'm grateful. I would say my favorite episode of season 11 is this, a bit uncharacteristic for Mulder and Scully. It's very action-oriented and almost doesn't feel in some respects like a traditional X-Files episode, but it was very nostalgic of some of the great myth arc elements back in the 90s, and it really did feel like, you know, we're back in the running, and I remember feeling so excited by what that episode brought us. My Least Favorite would have to be the premiere My Struggle 3. It's certainly an improvement over the My Strugals of Season 2. but it's chock full of exposition and really does nothing to advance the narrative. One episode that I would like to mention is Kitten, because I think that that is unfairly panned. I think it was a mistake to label it as Skinner's backstory because fan expectations were high, and we really did not learn anything new about Skinner.

I see it as a solid Monster of the Week case that delves into his past, the traumatic effects of the Vietnam War, and even some myth arc, you know, paranoia elements that the show has always done, it recalled some earlier episodes such as Wet Wired Season 2's Blood, and I really feel like this episode gets some negative reaction that kind of surprises me because I really enjoyed it. My struggle for the season 11 finale, possibly series finale, could have been worse, and that's really, that's a small amount of praise, and that's about all I can say. for it. My expectations were very low. Starting a whole new myth arcs, you know, Chris Carter seemingly to retcon, so much of the original mythology of the show is a mistake. You have a very

limited nature with revivals. You don't know how long you're going to go. And very little about how they introduced William, I think, happened in the way a lot of fans thought it would. And of course, you're not going to please everybody. And that, you know, certainly it's a personal issue there. But there's a lot in my struggle for that just doesn't quite land. You know, for me, it's very rushed. There are a lot of frustrating aspects to Chris Carter's writing that comes to a head here. Is it the end that Mulder and Scully deserve? Absolutely not. But the fact is, they should have been granted their ending some time ago. I am perfectly content imagining I want to believe is the end for Mulder and Scully because I think that

film is truer to the characters and truer to their journey and where they are in life than anything that we've had since then. So for me, I hope this is the end for the show. This ending will have to do. While it's pretty implausible to have Scully become pregnant and there's a lot of fan reaction to that, it does provide some degree of closure for her if this is the last we will see of Gillian Anderson. And I wasn't surprised by it, because I saw some aspects of season 11 building toward that big finale reveal. But I think we should let the show rest. We have over 200 episodes, the majority of which are strong episodes that we can rewatch,

you know, for all of eternity. And I feel like the show has really gone past its prime, and any more would further tarnish the great legacy of the show. It is my favorite show, and I am grateful for so many of the episodes that we have gotten. one that I love to just plug in my Blu-rays and watch, revisit some old episodes, and I'll be able to do that. Season 10, season 11 does not change that for me at all. And some of those episodes may be ones that I return to as well, mostly the standalone monster of the week episodes. And I think modern series TV owes so much to the X-Files, and, you know, we're all the better for

it having existed. And I think the best thing. that we can do at this point is to enjoy the show for what we have and there's always going to be new comics and games and things coming up and that is great. I think for it being on television I think we should let it rest where it is and we should enjoy what we have

and not risk any further tarnishment of the show's legacy. My name is Bethany and I'm from Scully's home state of Maryland. I felt the season 11 was a solid season from start to finish. In my opinion, this season was made for the fans. It had all the classic types of ex-files, mythology, dark comedy, experimental, classic procedural, creepy, and body horror. Mulder and Scully seemed like themselves this season, and I felt that their characterization and chemistry was on point. My favorite episode was plus one because it was

strange, kooky, and romantic. I loved Mulder and Scully's chemistry here. because it felt old school, but also in keeping with who they are now. I'm a shipper, so the final scene is maybe one of my favorites from the whole series. My least favorite episode was My Struggle Three. The voiceovers were awkward, as were the car chases and the dialogue. The reveal about William being cigarette-smoking man's son was difficult to stomach. After 17 years of believing that William was Mulder and Scully's child, many fans had become a most invested in this idea, and it felt like just another way to shock us and pull the rug out from under us.

I believe that what CSM did was medical rape, and it could have been handled more delicately. I had hoped that this plot point would be revealed to be one of CSM's lies. I actually quite liked the finale. I thought it was exciting, tense, and full of action. I love to see Mulder kicking ass and taking names while expertly tracking William. it was like a tense action filler reminiscent of the Jason Bourne or Taken movies. I wasn't too thrilled about Scully's pregnancy reveal. It felt like a story that had already been seen on this show with William.

It made me wonder if we are meant to become emotionally invested in this new miracle child only to have the rug pulled out from under us in season 12 when it is revealed that Miracle Baby No. 2 is actually Mr. Wise Child. That being said, I think. it can be viewed as a new start for Mulder and Scully so that they can finally have the family that they always wanted. Did Scully get back her fertility that was stolen from her so many years ago? I had hoped that Scully would get back some of her agency by being the one to kill CSM after she learned of Williams' origins. But seeing Mulder finally blow him away was more than earned,

and I really enjoyed seeing it. At least our final scene is of Mulder and Scully holding each other and looking towards the future. If you view all of the My Struggles as one unit or miniseries, they all connect to each other, with My Struggle 4 being the best of the bunch. My Struggle 1 is from Mulder's point of view. My struggle 2 is from Scullies. My Struggle 3 is from cigarette smoking man's,

and my struggle 4 is from Williams. Each episode is told in a style that fits that character's point of view. I absolutely think that we are getting more. more X-Files, I just don't know what form they're going to be in. I still think this property makes money for Fox, so it will be brought back. The X-Files contains an expansive universe of all things paranormal, so I can see that there are more stories to tell. Though, Mulder and Scully have always been the heart of the show for me, so I don't know if I will be watching the next iteration that this show takes. I have been a fan of the X-Files since 1997.

I went through great pains to try and convince my parents to let me watch it every Sunday night. My mom hated the dark and creepy stories, but I finally got my dad invested in the show. It became our weekly father and daughter time. So in that way, it has always been very special to me. I found the fan forums and was able to connect with other passionate files. The character of Scully was very influential to me as a young girl, and she encouraged me to never be afraid to challenge the status quo or to speak up and be heard. The X-Files has always had a way of inspiring me by continuing to tell unique stories that are at times thought-provoking

and philosophical. I love how the X-Files stimulates my brain with strands of narrative that I am meant to connect. I love coming up with theories, and I love Mulder and Scully, and their relationship continues to be one of the most interesting on television. I never imagine. that 20 years on, we would get more episodes and that they would continue to entertain and inspire me. This is Bruce from the podcast Unfathomable. I am a diehard X-Files fan. To say I love this show is an understatement.

I rewatch the entire series every year or so, and we'll always watch reruns like Hatch on TV. At the risk of betraying my age and my boyish good looks, the show started when I was a soft in high school, and it blew my mind. Immediately, I decided I wouldn't be an FBI special agent and a behavioral analyst like Mulder. I started sleeping on the couch exclusively. In college, I put a duct tape X in my window, and my friends started calling me spooky bruce after Molder. I wanted to be Molder so bad, and yes, I admit it it was a bit sad. To this day, I still collect X-Files merchandise, like the IWD.

comic book series, and I'm trying to complete a collection of an X-Files card game that came out in the late 90s. To ramp up this nerdiness to 11, since I'm a big fan of tabletop role-playing games, I've even tried to make an X-Files RPG. I swear I do have a somewhat normal life, and I've actually managed to maintain a relationship with a woman. She's real, I swear, we went as Mulder and Scully to a party this last Halloween. So take that for what you will with anything I have to say after this. Overall, taking each individual episode by itself, I really enjoyed season 11. I felt it was superior to the previous season, but I also enjoyed that one. I think season 10 tried to be too hard like the original series, and as a result, the production felt a bit dated.

But the new season, in terms of both writing and production, felt more modern and had a an almost feature film quality. In fact, it was a bit reminiscent of 24, for better or worse at times. And the individual episodes of season 11 were stronger in terms of story than season 10, I believe. The updated mythology of either season doesn't quite make sense given what came before. However, I do appreciate it. The new mythology better represents how conspiracy culture is shifted since the original run of the series. There are a lot of episodes to love in season 11.

But picking my favorite is easy. It's the episode Kitten that focused on Skinner, his experiences in Vietnam, and the fallout from it. It's somewhat personal because it's the first episode set in my home state of Kentucky. And for a bit of trivia, it's set in the hometown of WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Hillbilly Gym. Beyond that, it's from this underappreciated category of X-Files episodes. It wasn't a mythology episode. It wasn't a monster of the week. episode. It's one of those in-between episodes focusing on a government conspiracy. I love

those episodes. An example of this is wet-wired from season three, where Mulder and Scully discover a government mind-control experiment using cable signals to trigger murderous impulses in otherwise normal people. And we also find out in that episode that Mulder is red-green colorblind. So we finally got another Skinner-focused episode. I think throughout the series we only got a handful. But all of them were strong, and Kitten is no exception. It gives us an insight as to why Skinder was so willing to sacrifice for Mulder and Scully without changing his fundamental character or anything we knew about him before. He's as distrustful of government power as Mulder and Scully, but he doesn't buck the system

like them. He rather uses it against itself. And they feature the conspiracy theory that they had never touched on before, Kimtrails. The episode doesn't make complete sense at times, but the Kimtrell revelation at the end is a fun one and helps bring the entire episode together. Beyond that, I think the episodes Lost Art of Forehead Sweat, followers, and Familiers, will be

considered classics. I've never been a particular fan of the occult-centered cases, but Familiar is already one of my all-time favorite episodes. But there were clunkers in this season. Plus one, with the psychic twins playing

Hangman made no sense whatsoever and fell flat for me. At least in terms of the case, the parts exploring Mulder and Scully's relationship were excellent. And Nothing Lass Forever is one of the worst episodes of the X-Files ever. It was boring, dumb, and the whole thing felt like a script for another TV series with Mulder and Scully lazily tacked on.

However, my least favorite episode of the season was the finale. It felt like a collection of missed opportunities. The alternative three-slash-breakaway civilization plot, the series once again, seeming the crib from madman conspiracy theorist Bill Cooper as it did many times was intriguing but it went nowhere we didn't learn anything more about Mr. Y who he was

or his role in the syndicate before he was dispatched which by the way was the negative influence of 24 Mulder acted more like Jack Bauer during that scene than he did Molder we didn't learn why the syndicate was so interested in finding William all of a sudden yeah Scully knew

that he was a key to stopping the coming pathological apocalypse. But did the syndicate know? How did they know if he's been hidden away? And what was the point of the experiment to implant him inside of Scully? And there was nothing to tie the various conspiracy theories and truths we've learned throughout the series. The episode was not as epic as it needed to be to complete the series, if it is indeed the end. The fate of the world came down to a confrontation at a dockside warehouse.

That just doesn't feel right. It wasn't an ending that the series deserved. That may have actually happened in the sixth season. And it didn't live up to the Savior of the World title card. And Scully's revelation to Mulder at the end was just goofy. I will say, though, Mulder's execution of the Cancer Man was badass. Much more satisfying than him being blown up in a Pueblo. And the manifestation of William's Powers was a nice nod to legends of the grades

exploding people's heads at Area 51, which may be another Bill Cooper story, I think. So while the individual episodes of season 11 were strong, the culmination of the finale put a pallor of the whole thing. I can't help but to walk away disappointed. They're devastated, disappointed. I don't know where the series is going from here. I don't want a William spin-off. I'd like to see the mistakes of this finale corrected, but we've given Carter way too many opportunities for that. I find myself as a 25-year X-Files fan not craving more. And maybe, hopefully, I'll change my mind on that. But hey, agree with me or not, I thank you for this opportunity, Ryan, and look forward to discussing X-Files with you more in the future.

Hi, this is Carolyn, one half of Not Another X-Files podcast podcast. Overall, I was very impressed was season 11. I was so happy that we got another season, especially one that had so many fun episodes, especially the Monster of the Week episodes. My favorite episodes of the season, oh my gosh, I'm going to tell you two, sorry, and I'm breaking the rules. My favorite scary one was familiar. I just love how the character of Mr. Chuckle Teeth was so terrifying, and I feel like he's going to be one of those characters that we bring up in conversation a lot, like the Fluke Man or like the Garbage Monster. Also, my 13-year-old sister, like, really enjoys singing that song to me at times,

like in the dark room and I'm just like, don't do that. My favorite funny comedic episode was The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat. I thought that was hilarious. And I just love when X-Files pokes fun at itself because they do it so well. Also, like the Morgan brothers are my spirit animal. They are both so amazing. My opinions of the finale, I was not that impressed. I feel like if it's the last episode of the season or the series in general,

we could have gotten so much of a better episode. We could have really done a lot better than that. I was so sad that this is where they left our characters, just sort of hanging out there when they could have really closed the season in a more final and satisfying way for the viewers. But, you know, also maybe this is part of the life of a file. My hope is that maybe we could possibly get more ex-file stories. I wouldn't mind if they were even Monster of the Week ones.

I'm not sure what we hope it had in the mythology. You know, but I'm okay if it's not like through the TV show anymore. You know, there's a lot more venues which they can tell X-Files-like stories, so I'd be okay with that. And, you know, this show has been a part of my life for so long. I'm sad to see it go, but I'm also feeling that it is okay to say goodbye to good things sometimes. I overall was just really happy we got a season 11. I know that there's some things I didn't like about it,

but overall it was a really fun and, you know, kind of exciting way to give us a little bit more of these characters who we love and seeing them in a whole new light. So thanks again, Ryan. And the truth is out there. Bye. Hi, my name is Adam Silva. I've been, I'm from Denton.

Texas and I've been a X-Files fan since I was 8 years old and saw the pilot episode from when it debuted. My overall thoughts on season 11 is that it was a good season. I think it was

an improvement over season 10, probably the best season since season 8. It had a good mix of different kinds of episodes. My least favorite episodes would be kitten.

I just didn't think we saw anything new in that. It was kind of a waste of an opportunity to do a Skinner episode. We got some flashbacks to Vietnam, but there really wasn't anything we hadn't already been told, and honestly it was more effective

being conveyed with those his speech in one-breath to Mulder than actually seeing some of that in the episode. But that's, said Haley Joel Osmond was good in it and Mitch Pillage did get a chance to shine with his speech at the end. So it did have at least a couple of bright spots in it. My absolute favorite episode of the season was Microstrugl 4. I thought it was just an amazing episode in all ways. It was just

really thrilling and stunning in a way that I don't think the, you know, I've enjoyed the other episodes of the season, but this was just sort of a thrill ride that we hadn't seen from the show in a pretty long time. It was definitely the best of the My Struggle Arts, probably because it was streamlined a bit into a more personal family drama, a chase, you know, to get William Carter's directing was just fantastic. here, top of his game. I mean, again, it was just sort of a thrill ride. As far as acting, David Coveney did an amazing job as Mulder here.

I think he's done a great job of Mulder all season. And, you know, Jillian Anderson, I mean, of course, there's some flaws. Jillian Anderson, if this is their final episode, she didn't get a lot to do. But, you know, it was what the story demanded. I didn't like race's death or her whole arc. I mean, it just really was a unceremonious death. Same with Skinner. And the fact that we don't know if they're dead or not,

we may never know is frustrating. And of course, cigarette smoking man was killed again, but we also don't know if he's really dead or, you know, he survived a missile to the face. He can probably survive being shot and drowned. So, but I thought, you know, again, I just thought it was great. I thought the, you know, William was really interesting. Carrie is really interesting what they did with him.

And, you know, the ending really set up, you know, both was a good ending to the series with, you know, Mulder and Scully. I mean, with, you know, there's with the pregnancy, there's a little bit of, happiness amongst all the tragedy, you know, and I think we can safely leave the characters there. I don't, you know, if there's no more, we can, we can leave them there, and that's okay. And that's really all we could ask for. And with the final shot of William, having survived, of coming up from the water, I mean, that sets up for a continuation if there is one. So I think Chris really did a fantastic job making this both a great season finale and also an

acceptable series finale. I don't know if we're getting any more X-Files or not. I think that, you know, it's very much up in the air. Obviously, Jillian Anderson says she doesn't ever want to do it again. I believe that's true. So I don't know if we'll see a continuation of the show as it is now, or if we won't see something until years later when, you know, there's a reboot or whatever is eventually going to be.

done. As I said, I think, you know, I can be a piece with this as an ending after these, you know, these 25 years have been quite a ride. And, you know, if there's more, that's great. If there's not, then that's fine too. And again, that's really all we can ask for as fans. So I think I'll I'll end it there. I want to thank Ryan for giving me this opportunity to give my opinions

on the show. And I look forward to hearing it. Thanks. Yes, so my name is Sarah. I live in Paris, in France. I have been watching

the X-Y for, I don't know, forever since it started to show in France. My thoughts on season 11, actually, I think it was a very

good season. Overall, it reached up to the original series tone and atmosphere. The Monster of the Week episode were so good. I don't know. There was just

what there was in the original series, like irony, the characterization, the humor through the characterization of the characters, the chemistry between murder and scully hasn't moved. It just didn't change or it evolved in a way like more mature,

but I don't know everything about it was pretty good if you put the struggles on the side, obviously. My favorite episode, I actually have to. So first of one, I loved so much at the last heart of forehead sweat. So yeah, I'm trying to pronounce you. shit very well but it's art so anyway my favorite i ate my favorite episode was the last art of feroa's world i really enjoyed the irony and the way it made fun of the whole series actually um i love i don't know there is i love the kind of humor the way like models face on the on his own kid's body sitting on the couch watching a tv show and he was a kid. It was very funny. I loved so hard. I think I watched the episode like three times and I loved

every time. I loved the end, obviously, with the Yanian, giving him the book of the truth and model crying and Reggie saying that it was all about the journey and I don't know. It was so funny. And he has a whole meaning actually about, you know, false information. The Trump-like alien I don't know, the way it was directed, it was so funny, I just enjoyed the whole series, the whole episode, actually. It was so funny. And anyway, that was my favorite episode. I also enjoyed the followers one because I just loved the way it was directed, like almost silent, very well acted, very well directed. Everything was perfect. I don't know what it said about communication.

I think it was actually, and I love black mirror, but it was actually better than black mirror in saying what is communication and how we... There is a sentence in the episode when Mordor says that we are not actually good teachers, and I think it says it all, like robots and technology is just a mirror of who we are. so yes I really love the the meaning of it so yeah

my least favorite episode was struggleful obviously it was well directed and everything very well acted by

by very well acted by David Dikovny and Julian Anderson but the plot and the writing and the dialogue was so bad

like to me it made no sense at all no sense it was just I think the first time I just laughed at it because I better laugh at it than cry at it. It was so just, I don't know, it made no sense.

I used to play Mulder and Scully at school at recess with a guy, a boy actually named David. I was 8 years old. I just remembered the episode of Tumes and being able since then to walk up escalators since he just was crashed, you know, underneath it. So I had a lot of traumas. So that's how he played a big role in my life.

But it played in a way. It nourished some of my questions and some of my reflections about relationships and life and gender. And I love that actually I think Chris Carter did a thing very good in a way that he didn't put more during his colleagues. in a normative relationship. I think it's a good thing it did. Not that people would not watch it, not watch the show if Malthor and Scalia had a normative TV show, but I think it made more sense with their characterization.

I think it made more sense because we were in the 90s and we were starting to ask question and wonder about gender and about gender stereotypes and about, I don't know, norms, relationship norms. Are they a couple? or are they not a couple? I don't care. What I care most about is that they love each other, whatever ways they do love each other. I am very big shipper of their relationship, but not in the widely known, in the not, in the widely known of that term, if you see what I'm saying,

because their relationships, their relationship doesn't need to have to handle in the marriage. or having a kid, even though they have one, but anyways. But I don't know. Their relationship is way beyond anything that is normative, I guess. I have to say, that's the right word for me. There are way beyond any levels, anything that you want to put couples in. And it's what I like about it. I can actually identify myself with it.

So, yes. and I really love the character of Moldos. Obviously, I love Scali, but I really identified with Maltors with his male collies, his search for the truth, his need for justice. I don't know. And it really resonated in me. And it's nice to have finally a character, like a male character playing a character that has all the qualities that the women who have, like, believing in stuff, being, like,

being guided by his emotion and stuff like that. And I think both characters really evolved pretty well. They are not very binary in a way because they do evolve and they nourish each other. So yes, it's not that binary. It's not that gendered. So that's why I guess it played a big part in my life because I don't see life in a binary way.

So anyway, that's it. Hey guys, I'm Vance, somewhere outside of Chicago, Illinois. So here's the overall of X-Files, Season 11. You know, I was rather happy to find out the fact that, hey, the same secret ingredients that was used in all the years past was definitely used again in season 11. So therefore, that made me happy. I was a bit skeptical at first, but overall it made me very happy, and I was quite satisfied with my fix of the X-Files.

My favorite episode happened to be the last episode titled My Struggle Number Four. And I thought it just brought the relationship between the characters Mulder and Scully to fruition. And, of course, there was that coagulation between the audience as well. It led to the fact of what my struggle meant in searching for the truth. truth. And it did wrap up a lot of loose ends. Not all, but it did wrap up quite a few loose ends. My least favorite, ironically, happened to be the very first episode of season 11. That too was titled My Struggle Number 3. Actually, it should have been retitled my Mustang because I felt like I spent 60 minutes watching David DeCovine in his 2018 Ford

Mustang and its performance level. I was left rather confused in a very dark film state and not understanding exactly where things are going. I understood the premise, but it just kind of threw me around left and right and left and right, and it just was not my favorite episode. But where I think the X-Files is going, well, without any kind of spoiler alerts,

and of course if you haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil anything for you. but the last frame of the last episode was the emergence of the character William, and I think probably the perspective of the show will be taken from his point of view, since it was announced in that specific episode that the X-Files itself is being shut down. So it'll probably be a spinoff series from William's point of view in seeking of the truth, but we'll see. Last but not least, how did the X-Files affect me in my part of my life or as part of my life?

Well, you know what? I was a new dad when the X-Files first aired and played that infamous song that we are all listening to, the Illuminati song. And, of course, to watch a live-action comic book series for 60 minutes once a week was absolutely fantastic. and of course it leads you into that fantasy of what if. And of course you wanted to play the roles in your head yourself. But I absolutely thought that the casting for Mulder and Scully was so spot on and fantastic that the two of them have such wonderful chemistry that that just cannot be replaced. And when they did replace characters in the X-Files,

yeah, it just didn't hold water the same way as it did to see the two. two originals come back and do the wonderful job that they did. So that's my opinion. You can take it. You can leave it. But thank you, Ryan, for asking me to do this. Hello, my name is Anna and I'm from Southern California. My overall thoughts on season 11 was that it was really good.

I really love it. It was very interesting. It had very current information about the X-Files and the world and how it relates to the world. It had interesting twist. It had a wonderful choreography and in the fights we have, a more action-oriented season. We had a lot of interesting new characters. We met William finally, and we saw how his life was.

It was a really good season, you know, from beginning to end. I have problems with some episodes. But overall, I think it's probably one of the best seasons of the entire round of the show, including the 90s. My favorite episode of the season was my struggle for. I think the way we finally meet William and see how his life has been since he found out about his mother and also how he's dealing with all these new powers he has, how he dealt with him when he was growing up. The way the episodes was edited, the shots, the chasing, it was very exhilarating. It was very good.

I really, really didn't expect anything that happened in it, but I was pleasantly surprised. I also like that it came for circle to the early mayor flask with the fetus and the first hybrid we met Dr. Cicari. So I think it was really well done. I still thinking about it. I still find connections to all episodes and to the show's overall mythology. and I finally was a molder shooting the smoking man

which was something coming for many years and it was very satisfactory the way he finally felt fear before he died so it was really good I really like it and my least favorite episode will be my struggle dream I think the way it solved the crisis

was a little bit of a cheat and I didn't like the pacing and some of the situations were a little bit more confusing that they should be, and I really didn't like the loan drive Mulder was doing, speaking to himself, thinking to himself.

There were also some other situations and choices that I didn't understood and I didn't like, so yeah, I was, you know, my favorite episode was the last one, and my least favorite was the first one, both written by Chris Carter. Not sure what that says about me as a fan, but

yeah, that's the truth. So I already answered this question about my brutally honest opinion, and it is that I love the finale. I think it was very good. I know it ended or sort of set fire to use a word to the original mythology, but I think it did in a way that it's been consistent to what the show has been doing in the revival, which is simplifying the mythology, and it ended up with William. William is the mythology now, and I think that's fitting in so many ways and so many levels. I do understand. that some people didn't like the way Scully reacted to the news.

We kind of didn't have a chance to see her react to Skinner and to the shock of the news. But I think the intention by Carter was for her to save that moment to fall Mulder when he would need to hear this words the most because he just lost his son and he was feeling hopeless. So I think she was trying to give him more hope. And also to hold herself because at this point, William has met her twice.

and he has chosen to tell her to let him go. He has chosen to use a fake face. So I think at that moment, she realized that William didn't want a relationship with her as a mother, and she needed to make peace with it, and she needed to respect his choice. So it was, I think, symbolically well done. I don't think she's over it. I think she's just processing it, and she's worried about him and worried about the baby, the new baby, I'm worried about Mulder.

And I think Molder, too, they are both mourning the loss of their son or the idea of their son, but also knowing that this is what he wants. And also, I think it's also a new beginning for them, and it's very, you know, fitting the bittersweet of this particular revelation about their family. I think it was really good, and I understand some fans have a problem with it, but I'm not one of those fans. Do I think we'll get Mok's X-Files? I think we will.

Carter is pretty hopeful about it, and he's been right so many times before that I would bet against him. I remember watching this documentary about the Green Initiative in the show, and he said that he's hoping that next time they will be zero waste. So he's obviously thinking about going back to this universe and tell more stories there. I know that it's complications with Gillian not coming back. But, you know, we have had the show before, without David. So I think he probably would find a way to work around it. I hope it works.

And we'll see if we like it or not. But I think that if Carter is confident and confident on his confidence. I'm actually going to say that I really enjoy the revival, regardless of how many episodes I love and how many episodes I have some problems with. I never was completely happy with the original run of the show. There were episodes I didn't like and there were choices that I didn't understand, I still enjoy it. I'm a firm believer in that don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This show is not perfect, but it's good, and I enjoy good things.

And I'm happy that this time I have the chance to be online and to have a forum and to meet other fans and discuss at large and obsessed about it because the first time around I was in Dominican Republic, my home country, and I didn't have a computer, didn't have internet. I only had the VCR tapes that I could rent in the video. Club because the shows was canceled in the original channel. So for me, this has been a wonderful experience, and I can't wait to have more. I'm Andrew from Indiana. Overall, I really enjoyed season 11.

It's probably my favorite since season 5. We had just a consistent batch of bold episodes that really bore the creative stamp of its producers. Nothing this season ever really fell into wrote procedural storytelling, and there really weren't any outright disasters like Excelsus die either. My favorite episode in season 11 was Goolie. I've always had a soft spot, you could say,

for episodes that start as Monster of the Week episodes before becoming part of the myth arc, like Red Museum or Sign and Zite. Gooly does this very well, on top of being an insightful story about teenage life, and the episode is just filled with beautiful and poetic

imagery. James Wong did a great job shooting this episode. I also enjoy the portrait ghouly paints of William as a character. He's essentially a smart but confused kid with real flaws. He feels like a real teenager instead of just an idea of one. And it's really more honest that Mulder and Scully would love him warts and all than to portray him as some kind of perfect, you know, Stepford smiling son, so to speak.

I know his reception has been somewhat mixed among fans, but I think it's great. The X-Files has always zigged when you expect it to zag. And the fact that season 11 continues its tradition so effectively is to its credit. My least favorite episode of season 11 is Kitten. It has some interesting ideas, some good direction from Carol Banker, a fun guest spot from Haley Joe Osmond, which kind of is in keeping with the series or this season's doppelganger motif, and great sound design, especially in the teaser.

But it doesn't really come together as a story as well as it might. Plus, chemtrails are probably too goofy even for the X-Files, especially when you shove it into the tail end of an episode that really felt more like wrong-turned-style exploitation. Skinner's scene with Mulder and Scully at the end was great, though. My Struggle 4 was flawed but interesting, like the rest of the My Struggle episodes. The decision to structure it like an action movie resulted in, you could say, some rushed emotional beats and probably some restless editing.

You can tell certain action beats were stitched together from about a dozen different shots. But it is pretty solid visually, despite that. Chris Carter has a great eye as a director, and Craig Grableski is a very good cinematographer. And the second half, I would say, was just largely effective. And introduced a slate of fascinating new directions for the mythology to go. Ideas that are really new to the X-Files and can potentially feel, quite different from what's come before. Each My Struggle felt like a summation of the different aspects of the currently existing X-Files mythology,

with the end of four acting as a branching off point for a new story. And I think when viewed in that context, now that all four are released, the My Struggle episodes will make more sense, you know, despite the various flaws in execution. I'm not really sure if the show will continue. My Struggle 4 ended in such a way where there are definitely more stories that could be told, but it also left Mulder and Scully in a decent place, kind of like how existence ended in season 8, with Mulder and Scully caring for William, but still an intimation of more. My Struggle 4's ideas about the human colonization of space,

how the world will react to the potential for immortality, and the syndicate's Malthusian scheme is way more interesting to me than Doggett and Reyes looking into the Super Soldiers, though. I'm pretty satisfied with it on the whole. It's better than the truth as a finale at the very least, and probably about even with existence, I would say. The X-Files was one of the first stories I really fell in love with. I have great memories watching it on Friday and then Sunday nights with my dad. It's been a huge influence on me as both a writer and a fan of the sci-fi and horror genres, and Chris Carter's mythology really sparked my love affair with ambiguous and highly thematic storytelling.

Thank you very much for asking me to take part. So, I guess I should give my two cents on all of this too. Hi, Ryan Sprague from New York. My overall thoughts on season 11 were pretty positive, actually. As a whole, I thought it was extremely ambitious and unique. The writers and directors really put their necks out and tried new things. Some of it paid off, and some of it was, well, to be honest, pretty damn bad. But that has always been a part of the X-Files.

If you were to go back over the original nine seasons, there have been plenty of delicious hours of television, and some rotten eggs that just couldn't be saved. Teso dos bitros and genderbender, I'm looking your way. Anyway, here were my favorite and least favorite of season 11. My least favorite was My Struggle Three. I loved the cold open with a young cigarette smoking man being a part of one of the greatest lies of all time, the first moon landing.

We knew we were in for an episode full of deceit, and it didn't end there. We were left hanging in season 10 with a plague occurring to humanity and a possible alien invasion. We find out in this episode it was all a dream, or premonition, by Scully. We then watch Mulder become a drag racer and action star, and then we learned something about cigarette smoking men that we hope against hope is not true, and is nothing more than one of his many lies. He is the father of Scully's son, William. This plot line is so asinine and unbelievably shoehorned in,

that it A, makes me truly believe that Chris Carter is making this shit up as he goes, and B, that he sees no difference between scientific impregnation and medical rape. In such a sensitive time in both Hollywood, and America in general. This was a risky move, no matter his intentions with this storyline. And while one part of me thinks he knew that, another part of me thinks he was completely blind and naive to it.

And nobody stood in his way. That being said, we wished, hoped, and prayed it wasn't true as we headed through season 11. Would we keep that hope? We'll get to that. My favorite episode of the season was the lost art of forehead sweat. it was Darren Morgan at his prime, tackling current events, a fascinating phenomenon of the Mandela effect, or the mingle effect, as Reggie Something states in the episode.

And it gave us some of the best nostalgic moments of the entire series, with Reggie included. Speaking of which, if you haven't already, please check out episode 42 of the Somewhere in the Sky's podcast, where I interview Reggie something, Mr. Brian Husky. we go into great depth of the episode, what it was like being a part of the X-Files and everything in between. Anywho, this episode touched on many social issues, including fake news, the Trump era, malleable truth,

and where we all fit in the greater picture of a cosmic agenda. It was hilarious, and I loved it. Humor always makes us think and leaves a strong impression, and that's exactly what I took from this episode. In fact, it's the only one I still think about from season 11 today. My thoughts on season 11 overall. Here we go. I was left feeling cold, empty, and extremely let down.

After hearing that we were getting a season 11 after the extremely disjointed season 10 miniseries, I was excited. I thought they would correct their mistakes. Du Covington and Anderson would get more comfortable in their shoes again and we'd get some classic X-Files episodes. And to be honest, we did. We got the return of Langley from the lone gunman in an episode called This.

Again, go back to podcast episode 39 to hear Dean Haglet talk all about it. We got plus one, which was fun, goofy, and steamy for the shippers out there. We got followers, which was incredible television and acting by David Dukovny and Jillian Anderson.

And we even got a paint-by-the-y-y-ympy numbers witchcraft episode, which emulated the monster of the week's structure to the very last beat. But then we were brought back to reality that Chris Carter is the X-Files, and his bookend episodes both end and propel each season. So many of us

were not looking forward to my struggle for, stating that Lost Art of Forehead Sweat or even Nothing lasts forever were our finale. But as much as we want to believe, that, it's simply not the case. Carter is God when it comes to this universe, and you have to let him create and destroy his worlds. In an all brutal honesty, with this finale, he destroyed it. In a way, I just felt so let down by.

It was rushed, poorly edited, poorly written, and seen through the eyes of a character we never truly got to know, like, or even really understand. William is a dick. There, I said it. And though many argue he's a teen with superpowers and he has angst and this and that, the things he's doing are beyond teen angst. They're pure evil. And although he uses his powers towards the end to save his father and mother and kills his actual father,

yes, turns out that CSM is his real father, disgusting, no matter how you look at it. I just don't care about William at all. Mulder is left reeling, suddenly feeling empty in life after learning he isn't William's father, even though he never really felt a connection to the kid to begin with, and then Scully tells him she's pregnant at age 50 with Mulder's actual child, and thus the Carter cycle begins again, with our female protagonists serving very little purpose than pumping out alien and human babies to appease Mulder's wanting to be a father syndrome.

It just doesn't click. No wonder Jillian Anderson wants out so bad. She's never been given a fair shake throughout the entire series. There's been some agency sprinkled throughout, but not enough, in my opinion. Now we're left with an image of a distraught molder and scully with an unknown future, and William still alive, perhaps carrying on the X-Files legacy in the form of a spin-off show or movie. Maybe, maybe not. We never know with the X-Files.

and in a way I respect that. But I also feel like it's time to close those files forever, which they supposedly did in this episode with one line by Kirsch. What else is new? Look, I am happy we got more episodes. Don't get me wrong. But I would have been perfectly satisfied if we didn't get a season 10 miniseries or a full season 11. And while many of those episodes catered to true fans,

the reality is that we don't own this world. We don't own molder, scully, skinner, or even the Morley-smoking dickhead that never dies. Carter does. And while he let us give our two cents every now and again, this entire series was, and always will, be his. And let's be honest, no matter where it's heading next and in what form I'm going to watch or listen or read. Because I honestly believe that somewhere deep down, Carter also wants to believe that his truth is still out there. I hope you enjoyed this X-Files Season 11 episode. I have to thank each and every person who contributed their time, thoughts, and opinions.

It's so incredible to know that something you grew up loving in your heart was attached to so many other hearts throughout the world. We all loved and hated this show for our own reasons. The X-Files community is so strong and patient and funny and warm. For those who follow X-Files in not my UFO work, maybe you'll find something interesting within my past and future episodes to glean in terms of your interests in the unknown. And, for my UFO listeners, perhaps you'll find that the X-Files played such a large role

in the UFO topic throughout the last few decades and vice versa. It truly was a marriage made in euphological heaven. Either way, remember, the truth is... out there. So keep your feet on the ground, but never stop searching somewhere in the skies. Somewhere in the Skies is produced by Third Kind Productions in association with the Entertainment One Podcast Network. To learn more, visit Entertainment Onepodcast.com.