Only a mother could love him
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is missing and the only people who seem to be worried about it are Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Skinner (Mitch Pileggi). There is a new director (James Pickens, Jr.) and with him, the assignment of Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick). Now Doggett must be initiated to the X-Files while Agent Scully tries to keep secret her mysterious pregnancy.
The eighth season of The X-Files showed a major shift in direction. Duchovny began to phase out his character of Fox Mulder as a regular and Anderson also shortened her season while introducing Agent Monica Reyes (Annabella Gish) in “This Is Not Happening” (#8-14) as a substitute for her. While Patrick serves as a good substitute, Gish never quite works out as an Anderson substitute. Doggett has a different approach to the X-Files which has a bit of a combination of Mulder and Scully. He has a nice brooding past (his child was killed and the story surfaces in “Empedocles” #8-17). He also has a “tough as nails” police officer approach to the cases.
Introducing Super-Scully! Stronger than a car!
Agent Reyes on the other hand comes in as a believer with a bit of a psychic flare. While it makes sense character wise for her to be drawn to the X-Files, she just seems too eager to and forced upon the X-Files. She shows up about halfway through the season and then returns to finish out the season.
The series main storylines (Mulder’s abduction and Scully’s pregnancy) both pan out decently though Scully’s story is a bit harder to follow with ties to The X-Files movie (The X-Files: Fight the Future). With the abduction and pregnancy, this really brings Mulder and Scully together as a couple…something that most critics and fans felt would doom the series.
The X-Files—Season 8 is still quite strong despite the changes. Is it as strong as the earlier seasons? No, but it still has teeth. Doggett’s inclusion allowed a return to “creature of the week” format and that led to some fun episodes. Bottom line is that the series is in a decline. Agent Doggett gets a thumbs up, but Agent Reyes not so much.
The X-Files—Season 8 Complete Episode Guide:
Within
8.1 Within Airdate: 11/05/00
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is missing and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is haunted by dreams of him being experimented on by aliens. Now Scully and Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) are the only ones who can find Mulder, but a new director deputy director named Alvin Kersh (James Pickens, Jr.) has assigned Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick) to locate Fox. Skinner contacts the Lone Gunmen for help and Scully and Skinner realize that evidence of alien visits might be the targets for abduction. When evidence surfaces that Fox might still be active, Doggett and his men race Skinner and Scully to locate Gibson Praise (Jeff Gulka)…but will Mulder or the men holding him find Gibson first?
Without
8.2 Without Airdate: 11/12/00
Agent Doggett finds Fox Mulder holding Gibson Praise hostage, but Fox Mulder escapes by falling off a cliff. The search is on for Mulder and Scully realizes it is the shapeshifting bounty hunter (Brian Thompson) that she’s faced in the past. Realizing the alien could be anyone, Scully and Skinner decide that they have to protect Praise. Plus, Agent Doggett begins to realize that things might not be what he expects when he sees a woman who looks like Scully attack one of his agents.
Patience
8.3 Patience Airdate: 11/19/00
Agent Doggett has been assigned to the X-Files and Scully tries to adjust to her new partner. When town officials report two murders, Scully and Doggett are called in. Now Scully finds herself in the role of the X-Files “expert” and Doggett is the the skeptic. An investigation into the murders finds ties to a bat-creature killed in the 1950s, and Scully and Doggett now must find the killer.
Roadrunners
8.4 Roadrunners Airdate: 11/26/00
A man is picked up by a bus in the desert. The bus stops and the man witnesses a murder. When Scully investigates the body found in the desert, she finds herself trapped in a strange small town. Scully discovers an injured man in the town infected by a strange parasite and she could be the next host.
Invocation
8.5 Invocation Airdate: 12/03/00
A boy disappears from a fair…ten years later he shows up still a seven year old. Scully and Doggett investigate the re-appearance of the boy and find no medical reasons for the occurrence. Now the boy appears and disappears. His brother and father feel threatened. When the boy’s brother disappears in a similar manner, it is up to Doggett and Scully to find out who is responsible.
Redrum
8.6 Redrum Airdate: 12/10/00
Martin Wells (Joe Morton) is murdered by his father-in-law while being transported from jail. Martin wakes up the day before his death and finds he’s going back in time. Martin tries to get Doggett and Scully to try to help him but finds he keeps jumping back before he can prove his innocence in his wife’s murder. Martin questions why he is jumping back in time and realizes his past might have come back to haunt him.
Via Negativa
8.7 Via Negativa Airdate: 12/17/00
Doggett finds himself on an X-File alone when Scully is unable to work and learns he’s investigating a the leader of a cult who is trying to tap into his third eye. As Doggett gets closer to the killer, he discovers that the killer’s might be able to enter victims minds through their dreams. Doggett finds Scully is hospitalized but doesn’t tell Scully that he knows her secret.
Surekill
8.8 Surekill 01/07/01
Scully and Doggett are called in on a mysterious killing in a police headquarters and wonder what ties it to an extermination business. When Doggett and Scully continue the investigation, they realize they may be dealing with an assassin with x-ray vision.
Salvage
8.9 Salvage Airdate: 01/14/01
Scully and Doggett are called in to investigate the possibility of a man who has returned from the dead and is killing the people responsible for his new metallic condition. As his condition continues to deteriorate, Scully and Doggett try to seek out the men behind the treatment that transformed the man before he can kill them.
Baldaa
8.10 Badlaa Airdate: 01/21/01
A business man encounters a strange man in India (Deep Roy) and is killed by him. The man returns to Washington, D. C. where he dies, and Doggett and Scully are called in to investigate. Scully and Doggett realize that something might have come to the United States inside of the man and now is among them. When Scully finds something coming out of a man during autopsy, Scully and Doggett question the ties to Sidee Mystics. Scully and Doggett learn that the killer can make you see what it wants and that he could be anywhere.
The Gift
8.11 The Gift Airdate: 02/04/01
Doggett looks into Mulder’s disappearance by investigating one of Mulder’s secret cases and learns Mulder was interested in a Native American legend. Now Doggett is questioning what the legend has to do with Mulder and his sickness. Doggett finds a creature capable of healing and now he has to try to protect it from the people holding it.
Medusa
8.12 Medusa Airdate: 02/11/01
A Boston transit officer is killed on a subway car and Doggett and Scully are called in to investigate the death before the subway has to be reopened. Doggett is sent into the subway to find the cause of the death while Scully works from a control center, and the clock is ticking as the subway pushes to reopen. Scully discovers that an organism is infecting people in the subway and that she has to find the cure before Doggett becomes another victim.
Per Manum
8.13 Per Manum Airdate: 02/18/01
A woman gives birth to an alien-hybrid and dies. Doggett sees similarities between the stories and Scully’s life and brings the case to Scully’s attention. Scully begins to investigate the birth and grows concerned for her baby. Scully remembers contacting doctors and picking Mulder to father her child. As her concerns grow, Scully is forced to take a leave of absence and Doggett finds himself in charge of the X-Files. While Scully tries to help another pregnant woman, Doggett discovers the man who came to him might not be telling the truth.
This Is Not Happening
8.14 This Is Not Happening Airdate: 02/25/01
A woman reported abducted by aliens is returned barely alive, and Scully, Doggett, and Skinner investigate in the hopes of finding Mulder. Doggett calls in FBI Agent Monica Reyes (Annabella Gish) to help investigate the abductions and if they could be tied to a cult.
Deadalive
8.15 Deadalive Airdate 04/01/01
Mulder is dead and buried…or is he? The discovery of the body of Billy Miles (Zachary Ansley) gives new hope that Mulder could still be alive. Doggett finds his job threatened by Mulder’s return, and how it could reflect on the bureau. Plus Skinner is approached by Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) and told Mulder can be saved for a cost.
Three Words
8.16 Three Words Airdate: 04/08/01
A man breaks into the White House and tries to warn the President about a possible alien invasion. Mulder is back but learns that the bureau is trying to force him out of the X-Files. Absalom (Judson Earney Scott) makes a prison break and goes to Doggett for help with alien invasion. When Absalom is killed, Mulder accuses Doggett of being a pawn of the system…and Doggett decides he has to find out if it is true.
Empedocles
8.17 Empedocles Airdate: 04/22/01
A recently fired man who witnesses a fatal accident following a police chase returns to his office to kill his former employers. Special Agent Reyes is called in to investigate the murders and contacts Mulder when she realizes the murders could be connected to death of Doggett’s son. Scully suffers a setback with her pregnancy and is forced into the hospital.
Vienen
8.18 Vienen Airdate: 04/29/01
An oil worker is killed on a rig and Mulder finds there is evidence of the black oil infection linked to the case. Doggett finds Mulder is trying to get involved in the case despite being off of the X-Files. Scully finds evidence in the body that something killed the virus and Doggett and Mulder find themselves trapped on the oil rig as they face a cover-up and quarantine.
Alone
8.19 Alone Airdate: 05/06/01
Mulder is officially off the X-Files and out of the FBI, and Scully has been ordered on maternity leave. Doggett is assigned an agent named Leyla Harrison (Jolie Jenkins) as his new partner and they head to New York to investigate a death of an old man and his missing son. Doggett disappears into underground caves, and Scully returns to active duty to try to find him. Now Doggett, Harrison, and the son of the murder victim find themselves facing a creature with blinding chemical and fighting for survival.
Essence
8.20 Essence Airdate: 05/13/01
Scully prepares for the birth of her child and finds Billy Miles is coming after doctors secretly working on her birth. When Mulder learns that Scully might be in danger, Mulder goes to Doggett for help. Mulder and Doggett race to find who is killing the doctors without knowing that agents are already watching Scully.
Existence
8.21 Existence Airdate: 05/20/01
Billy Miles has been killed, and Scully is on the run to give birth to her child. When Billy Miles is reborn, the threat against Scully returns. Doggett is warned that everyone who knows where Scully is could be in danger, and Mulder and Doggett find Skinner has been attacked. Knowle Rohrer (Adam Baldwin) tells Doggett that Billy Miles is a super-soldier and that Sully’s pregnancy was triggered by what happened to her in the Arctic.
Related Links:
The X-Files—Season 1 Review and Complete Episode Guide
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: Fight the Future (1998)
The X-Files—Season 6 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
