Admit it Scully, you dig my sweet specs
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) has been assigned to the X-Files. She’s going to be working an agent everyone calls Spooky Mulder. Together she and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) are going to set out to explore and expose the unexplained. While Scully finds herself taking the path of reason, Mulder’s over-the-top belief needs to be kept in check. Together they will find if the truth is out there.
The first season of X-Files starts out a bit rocky, but the seeds of what made The X-Files a great show are there. The X-Files works because of its characters. Both Anderson and Duchovny are very dead-pan, but there is some sense of realism in this portrayal. Chris Carter did to make the roles stand out was give them little quirks that consistent viewers soon figured out. Mulder’s got a thing for porn and sunflower seeds. Scully has a strong sense of faith and a Moby Dick obsession. It is little character quirks that help make the show more than just a creature-of-the-week show.
Seems what we’ve got here is a little stand off
It is the creature-of-the-week factor that does hurt this season a bit. It just seems there are very little core episodes that go to the greater mythos of The X-Files. There were also too many possessed character episodes. “Conduit”, “Space”, “Fallen Angel”, “Beyond the Sea”, “Lazarus”, “Born Again”, and “Roland” all have an aspect of possession, and it just seems like overload. In later season the creature-of-the-week episodes provide a nice break to the sometimes heavy plots.
There are a number of good episodes in this season. Good episodes often involve when the stories were switch finding Scully as the believer (such as “Beyond the Sea” in this season) and Mulder as the skeptic and the Tooms episodes are fun. “Fallen Angel”, “E.B.E.”, and “Deep Throat” were good alien mythos stories. I always enjoyed the “Darkness Falls” episodes for its change of pacing, and “Miracle Man” for going in the direction you don’t expect it to go.
Crap, why does Scully miss everything?
This season also slyly introduced the Smoking Man (William B. Davis), The Lone Gunmen (Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, Bruce Harwood), and Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi). The characters rather understated debuts lead to more and more appearances as the series goes on…something else The X-Files did well.
The first season of The X-Files is somewhat hit-or-miss but mostly hit. It was a great a show in general and it is fun to see its low budget beginnings. Chris Carter was a big fan of Kolchak: The Night Stalker and used a similar “don’t show the creature” approach (he also had Kolchak actor Darren McGavin guest-star in The X-Files–Season 5). It is just the start of a big journey…but as Deep Throat warns, “Trust no one”.
The X-Files—Season 1 Complete Episode Guide:
Pilot
1.0 Pilot Airdate: 09/10/93
Agent Dana Sculley (Gillian Anderson) is assigned to the FBI branch called the X-Files and meets her new partner Fox “Spooky” Mulder (David Duchovny). Mulder reveals to Scully his belief in UFOs and extra terrestrial life and takes Scully on her first X-File assignment to investigate the deaths of teenagers. When Mulder and Scully find opposition from the local authorities, Mulder question if strange lights in the forest and the condition of a teenager named Billy Miles (Zachary Ansley) could be the answer.
Deep Throat
1.1 Deep Throat Airdate: 09/17/93
Mulder and Sculy investigate the disappearance of an air force officer in Idaho after a breakdown and wonder if reports of UFOs from a nearby base could be connected. Mulder finds itself being warned to stay away from the case from a government man (Jerry Hardin) offering Mulder aid on cases. When Mulder and Scully see something that they should see, both of their lives could be in danger. Also features a cameo by Seth Green.
Squeeze
1.2 Squeeze Airdate: 09/24/93
Dana is called into by a former classmate to help with a series of impossible murders. When Dana tells Mulder about the cases, he finds a connection to a man named Eugene Tooms (Doug Hutchison) and a series of murders that stretch back almost a hundred years.
Conduit
1.3 Conduit Airdate: 10/01/93
A girl’s abduction brings back Mulder’s memories of his sister’s abduction. As Mulder and Scully look into the missing girl’s disappearance, reports of UFOs and psychic abilities presented by her brother lead Mulder to question if the girl could still be alive.
The Jersey Devil
1.4 The Jersey Devil Airdate: 10/08/93
A cannibalized body found in New Jersey brings back rumors of the Jersey Devil’s return. As Scully tries her hand at a normal life, Mulder fights the police in Atlantic City want the event covered up.
Shadows
1.5 Shadows Airdate: 10/22/93
A woman working for a government agency is saved by muggers from a mysterious force. When Mulder and Scully are called in, they find themselves in conflict with an ongoing government investigation into the woman’s company. Mulder and Scully discover the woman’s ties to her former boss might have gone beyond the grave.
The Ghost in the Machine
1.6 Ghost in the Machine Airdate: 10/29//93
The head of a company is killed in his executive office and the recently fired design of the smart building’s office is accused of his murder. Mulder’s former associate contacts Mulder for help and Mulder and Scully learn that the smart building might be smarter than its designer thought.
Ice
1.7 Ice Airdate: 11/05/93
An Arctic drilling team goes crazy after digging to new depths, and Mulder, Scully, and a team of scientists are called in to investigate the deaths. When the team shows signs of infection, the race is on to find the diseased and a cure before everyone dies and the parasite can spread.
Space
1.8 Space Airdate: 11/12/93
The leader of NASA finds himself under possession of a spirit resembling the face on Mars and Mulder and Scully are called in when a NASA worker suspects that there could be a saboteur could be inside the program. After the launch of the space shuttle, Mulder and Scully must find a way to bring back the astronauts safely to protect the space program.
Fallen Angel
1.9 Fallen Angel Airdate: 11/19/93
Reports of a U. F. O. crash gets Mulder arrested and introduces him to another U. F. O. enthusiast. When Mulder begins to question the man’s interest in U. F. O.’s, he realizes that man my be an abduction victim. Now Mulder must save him before he is found by the entity from the crash.
Eve
1.10 Eve Airdate: 12/10/93
Two girls fathers are killed in the same manner, thousands of miles apart. Mulder and Scully investigate to find the girls are identical and seem to have some tie to a fertilization clinic and a rogue doctor. When the girls are kidnapped, Mulder and Scully must find them before time runs out.
Fire
1.11 Fire Airdate: 12/17/93
An arsonist is picking off members of the British upper class and Mulder’s former lover calls Mulder and Scully in to help her. When the killer tracks his victim to America, Scully and Mulder must find him before he kills agains with his powers. Mulder is forced to confront his fear of fire and his past in order to face the killer.
Beyond the Sea
1.12 Beyond the Sea Airdate: 01/07/94
Dana faces the death of her father (Don S. Davis) and begins seeing him everywhere. The most disturbing place is in a serial killer named Luther Lee Boggs (Brad Dourif). While Mulder tells Scully that Boggs is a liar, Scully begins to believe Boggs and if he can provide a location to kidnapped victims before his execution.
Gender Bender
1.13 Gender Bender Airdate: 01/21/94
Mulder and Scully are drawn into a strange isolated religious sect when murders tied to them begin occurring. Mulder and Scully question what the cult is hiding and why the killer sometimes sees to be a man and sometimes seems to be a woman.
Lazarus
1.14 Lazarus Airdate: 02/04/94
Scully goes on a mission with a former partner Jack Willis (Christopher Allport). When Jack and the suspect are shot, Jack is brought back from the dead…or is it really Jack at all?
Young at Heart
1.15 Young at Heart Airdate: 02/11/94
Mulder begins to get letters from the first man he put away…but questions how since he was reported dead. When a scientist surfaces that reports experiments of life extending abilities, Mulder must find the killer before he kills him and his friends.
E.B.E.
1.16 E. B. E. Airdate: 02/18/94
A possible UFO crash leads Mulder on a chase to find the evidence before it can be destroyed. Now Mulder finds himself risking his life and job to uncover the truth and his ally Deep Throat might not really be on his side. The episode also features the appeance of Mulder’s “friends” the Lone Gunmen (Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, Bruce Harwood).
Miracle Man
1.17 Miracle Man Airdate: 03/18/94
The FBI is called in on a local faith healer named Samuel Hartley (Scott Bairstow) when his attempts to heal begin to kill. Mulder and Scully must uncover is Samuel is behind the deaths or if someone is trying to frame him.
Shapes
1.18 Shapes Airdate: 04/01/94
Mulder and Scully are called to investigate a shooting near an Native American reservation when they discover ties to the first X-File and learn that legends of a shapeshifting creature could be involved.
Darkness Falls
1.19 Darkness Falls Airdate: 04/15/94
A group of loggers disappear and Mulder and Scully find ties to other disappearances. Mulder, Scully, the logging owner, and a sheriff become trapped by sabotage from environmentalists and learn that the loggers might have unleashed an unstoppable insect.
Tooms
1.20 Tooms Airdate: 04/22/94
Eugene Tooms is back and is being released on good behavior. While Mulder tracks Tooms, Scully tries to tie Tooms to the decades old murders that could put him away forever. The episode also features the first appearance of Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi).
Born Again
1.21 Born Again Airdate: 04/29/94
A little girl’s appearance at an officer’s death bring Mulder and Scully in to investigate what the girl’s tie to the officer is. When Mulder and Scully begin to investigate the strange deaths surrounding a big bust in Chinatown, they learn that that there could be more to the girl than meets the eye.
Roland
1.22 Roland Airdate: 05/06/94
A man with a disability (Zeljko Ivanek) is the only tie to a group of murders occurring at a jet engine testing site, and Mulder and Scully uncover that Roland’s past might be the reason behind an unusual surge of intelligence.
The Erlenmeyer Flask
1.23 The Erlenmeyer Flask Airdate: 05/13/94
When Deep Throat cues Mulder in on an attempted police arrest, Mulder learns that he is closer than ever to having the evidence he needs to prove the government’s involvement with alien existence. Mulder’s attempts to uncover the truth about hybrid humans could threaten the X-Files and cost him his life.
Related Links:
The X-Files—Season 2 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 3 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 4 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 5 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files—Season 6 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998)
The X-Files—Season 8 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008)
The X-Files—Season 10 Review and Complete Episode Guide
The Lone Gunmen—The Complete Series Review and Complete Episode Guide
