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captlychee's review
3.0
This is a competent but not remarkable collection of reviews of every episode of one of the great Tv series of all time. While the criticism is not too academic, they have the same problem has many critical reviews nowadays—they take a cause celebre and try to graft it on to the episode they're talking about. Therefore, you get reviews that talk about race, gender, political correctness, rather than taking the episode or season on its own merits. Sometimes they'll miss the point of an episode simply because they're focussed on whether one of the chracters is the right ethnicity or something.
My other peeves are that they pay almost no attention to Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden) and for some inexplicable reason they think that Vince Gilligan is a good writer. They do that on the strength of Breaking Bad, but then they wax lyrical about some very ordinary episodes.
If you want a politically correct view of one of the great TV series (and one that's thorough enough to cover the revamp in the twenty-teens), knock yourselves out.
My other peeves are that they pay almost no attention to Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden) and for some inexplicable reason they think that Vince Gilligan is a good writer. They do that on the strength of Breaking Bad, but then they wax lyrical about some very ordinary episodes.
If you want a politically correct view of one of the great TV series (and one that's thorough enough to cover the revamp in the twenty-teens), knock yourselves out.
alisdair's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful companion to a rewatch. The authors’ insights and interviews add details to some of my favourite episodes, and also call out the occasional misses in the first few seasons.
ericadeb's review against another edition
4.0
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love The X-Files. While this book was food for my phile soul, what I liked best about it was how well it was written. The analysis of the writing on the show was fantastic. As someone who dreams of being a writer, it was a great time reading about single moments that changed the course of the show, unusual episode structure, the deeper messages in plot lines and the reason why some episodes worked and others didn’t. It took me forever to finish this book, but I loved every minute of it.
jobinsonlis's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not a huge X-Files fan, which makes my rating immediately suspect. However I am interested in the creation and development of this show and I think this book does a fine—if occasionally boring—job of exploring those elements.
noelrk's review against another edition
4.0
Handlen and VanDerWerff (full disclosure: I tweet at both, and have for years) have crafted a really lovely book that is essential for both X-philes and, I think, TV historians.
Running throughout the whole volume is an understanding and championing of The X-Files as THE show of the 1990s, and I think both authors make a really strong and compelling case for that. (The revival seasons help to snap this into focus more, which is great.) It's arguably the most valuable contribution that the book makes. It's also great that they're given the opportunity to make that contribution as well.
(Each review also serves as a good jumping off point for classroom use, if you're teaching an episode here or there. It's good supplemental reading in that instance. Assigning the whole book would be mean, unless you're doing a whole course on the show.)
If there's one thing missing, a ridiculous thing to say after 490 pages of reviews, it's a kind of concluding essay at the end to tie up all the various threads VanDerWerff and Handlen spin. Perhaps it's just greedy to want all this tied together in a unified piece, however, but the book feels weirdly unfinished without it.
Running throughout the whole volume is an understanding and championing of The X-Files as THE show of the 1990s, and I think both authors make a really strong and compelling case for that. (The revival seasons help to snap this into focus more, which is great.) It's arguably the most valuable contribution that the book makes. It's also great that they're given the opportunity to make that contribution as well.
(Each review also serves as a good jumping off point for classroom use, if you're teaching an episode here or there. It's good supplemental reading in that instance. Assigning the whole book would be mean, unless you're doing a whole course on the show.)
If there's one thing missing, a ridiculous thing to say after 490 pages of reviews, it's a kind of concluding essay at the end to tie up all the various threads VanDerWerff and Handlen spin. Perhaps it's just greedy to want all this tied together in a unified piece, however, but the book feels weirdly unfinished without it.
bernardblack's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
a fun read! despite not agreeing with every interpretation I enjoyed it thoroughly
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kac1221's review against another edition
4.0
Tbh, I mostly skimmed through this, seeking out my favorite episodes. This is a great book for fans of the show, full of comprehensive and analytical reviews of every episode (and both movies) as well as behind-the-scenes quotes and input from Chris Carter and writers like Vince Gilligan and James Wong. As a TV nerd and a fan of the show, I’m so glad this book exists.
themidnightbagel's review
I can't really rate this, can I? It's a collection of critical essays examining every single episode of The X-Files, how can you possibly give one quantitative rating to that? If you can, more power to you, but I cannot. Regardless, I did have a very good time with it. Originally, I had picked it up only as something to page through, read the essays only on a couple episodes per season. Instead, once I started I ended up reading every single one. It took me a bit, and I usually would just sit down at the end of the day and read a couple, but I had a damn good time with it. The X-Files is one of my all-time favorite shows, and Emily VanDerWerff is one of my favorite TV critics, so it seemed like a match made in heaven. I was unaware with Zack's work, but I found his writing style just as engaging, and his points just as insightful. While I didn't agree with them on every episode, that wasn't the point of the book. I found what they had to say interesting, the behind the scenes interviews sprinkled throughout added something nice, and reliving a show I love felt like coming home. Needless to say, as I read I kept a running "rewatch list" and I will be starting on that list, immediately. I would definitely recommend this to anybody who also sits at the crossroads of enjoying media criticism and The X-Files.
Note- This is exactly what it says it is, a critical companion to the show, written by two professional critics. This is not a 500 page hug fest, proclaiming every episode a modern masterpiece. Even with the nostalgia glasses on, you have to admit there were some very bad episodes in the bunch. I saw some complaints that the book was too negative at points, but what this book is trying to do is right there in the name, and if you think these two people would go through all of this for a show they didn't, at the end of the day, love very much, then I don't know what to tell you. It's critical yes, but always in a productive way, and never coming from a place of spite or malice. But, I can see how some people may not want to read that in relation to a show they love. Which is perfectly fine, but don't fault the book for doing exactly what it said it was going to do.
Note- This is exactly what it says it is, a critical companion to the show, written by two professional critics. This is not a 500 page hug fest, proclaiming every episode a modern masterpiece. Even with the nostalgia glasses on, you have to admit there were some very bad episodes in the bunch. I saw some complaints that the book was too negative at points, but what this book is trying to do is right there in the name, and if you think these two people would go through all of this for a show they didn't, at the end of the day, love very much, then I don't know what to tell you. It's critical yes, but always in a productive way, and never coming from a place of spite or malice. But, I can see how some people may not want to read that in relation to a show they love. Which is perfectly fine, but don't fault the book for doing exactly what it said it was going to do.
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