I have always been absolutely crazy about the X-Files. To this day, I believe it is still one of the best shows ever to be broadcast on television (yes even seasons 8 and 9...don't hate!). I recently finished a watch-through of all nine seasons AND the two movies (that's over two-hundred episodes!) and when I got to the end I was ready to watch it again! I had unknowingly re-stoked the fires of a mania that is rarely experienced in this day and age of ho-hum television.
As I just mentioned, I have just finished a complete rewatch. This came about when I noticed that the entire show had been made available on Netflix instant watch. I jumped on the opportunity because for some reason that I really have yet to understand, I have never owned the X-Files on DVD or any other format. It was my first time seeing the show since the frequent reruns that used to air on FX. I fell in love with the show all over again, and I fell HARD. My immediate resolution after this rewatch was to own the entirety of the X-Files on some kind of physical media. Such was my re-ignited passion for this amazing show, that I could not trust it to the whims of Netflix licensing. Oh no that would not do at all.
I should preface this next part of the story by relating that, while I did not own the X-Files, the complete series set HAS been sitting on my Amazon wish list for ages...I just couldn't afford them. I was in grave danger of succumbing anyway after my Netflix rewatch. One day I was out shopping and to my surprise discovered the season 1 and 2 DVD sets for a mere $12 each! YES! I snatched them up and like a good little addict holed up and proceeded to watch the entire show over yet again. The deal I've made with myself is that every month I will buy one season set until I FINALLY own all nine! This deal has worked out fantastically, as the price of these sets has finally come down to a reasonable level.
As of right now I have been in somewhat of a budgetary holding pattern. I was nearly finished with season 7 when the need to use some money for GRID Autosport came along, and so I forfeited my purchase of season 8 this last month and reached the end of season 7 all too quickly. This holding pattern could have been agonizing, but it actually forced me into the discovery of something super awesome, which brings me to the real purpose of this post.
Something that I really enjoy is listening to podcasts about shows and subjects that I am interested in. While I wait to purchase my season 8 set and get on with my watch-a-thon, I thought to myself
I wonder if there are any good X-Files podcasts out there? This was quickly followed by the thought
Hey, wouldn't it be fun to go back to the beginning of the show and listen to a bunch of great podcasts about each episode as I watch along? It has been a wonderfully rewarding epiphany!
This is the ritual that I have developed as I go through the show yet again, this time absorbing all the musings of other Philes from all over the internet. I wanted to share with all of the you the blogs and podcast that I have found. Hopefully they will heighten your enjoyment the same way they have for me.
1. Listen to my favorite review/recap podcasts about the given episode
2.Watch the episode
3. Read the blog entry about the episode
4. Listen two a couple of hilarious recap podcasts about the given episode
In a nutshell, I'm reviewing what the episode is about and marking off in my mind the cool little things to watch for or see what people like/don't like about an episode so I can watch for it. Then I watch the episode with the info from the recaps and reviews in mind. I read the blogs for more insights and info with the hindsight of having watched the episode and then I cleanse my palette with the humor found in the other two podcasts, because the jokes are even funnier after the episode is fresh in your mind from having just watched it!
Unfortunately some of these great sources seem to have been abandoned. Musings of an X-Phile sadly stops after the first couple episodes of season 7 (the last post was in 2012) and Re-Opening the X-Files stops at the episode Anasazi (last podcast was February of 2012). The good news is that the others are currently active, and brand new in the case of the X-Files Files podcast, which just got underway last month.
Of course when I get my season 8 set I will be busy with marathoning my way through it, but I will also be able to look forward to going back to my methodical rewatch that follows along with these great podcasts until I can get season 9. It will also be there to console me when its all over and I've read the last page of my X-Files Season 10 comics.
If you're wondering, I am downloading and saving all these podcasts so that when I'm ready, I can do this whole process all over again someday. I never get tired of following Mulder and Scully, watching their journey together, and digging into the minutiae of the show. Definitely one of my all time favorite shows, and two of my all time favorite characters, EVER. I highly recommend that you give this new viewing ritual that I've discovered a try.
The truth is out there...
