Say No to Season 8
What about Season 8?

What about it? The TV show known as The X-Files ran for 7 years, from Sep. 10, 1993 to May 21, 2000.

On Nov. 5, 2000, a show that looked a lot like The X-Files (on the surface) aired. Some people think this is the same show. The producers seem to think so, too.

Others and I do not agree. For one thing, one of the two main characters is missing. Thus, the relationship between those two characters is also missing. This was the heart of the X-Files for those seven years, so all we have left is a shell.

Actually, it's worse than that. There were shameless attempts at replacing that main character. Some people will deny this, but the evidence is overwhelming.

Those tuning in expecting to see The X-Files found someone who looks and sounds like Scully, but quickly became an insulting, pathetic shadow of the Scully we knew between 1993 and 2000. The old Scully was a role model. She was strong, intelligent and feminine. The new Scully was dumb as a brick.

The new Scully also had a new partner, and quickly gave up searching for the old partner. The opening sequence--the award-winning signature of the X-Files, 1993-2000--was also changed. The old partner was almost completely removed, and new elements were added.

We (the audience) were told the show was being reinvented. In reality, it was being smashed to pieces, and some of those pieces are being put together, sloppily, with some new pieces.

None of this was necessary. The X-Files should have ended with some dignity, at the end of Season 7.

For more detailed criticism, see alt.tv.x-files


P.S. You can image what I think about "Season 9"


Nov. 29, 2000
Minor revisions on Feb. 4, 2001 and July 15, 2001



A number of people asked me to add "season 8" to the episode listings, so the listings would be complete, regardless of how pathetic "season 8" was. I cannot consider "season 8" part of the X-Files, but here is the info:
==============================================================================================================
  #     Aired     Rating           Title                    Story             Writers           Director
==============================================================================================================

 8.01 2000-Nov-05  9.5 Within                                              Chris Carter       Kim Manners
 8.02 2001-Nov-12  9.0 Without                                             Chris Carter       Kim Manners
 8.04 2000-Nov-19  8.2 Patience                                            Chris Carter       Chris Carter
 8.05 2000-Nov-26  8.3 Roadrunners                                         Vince Gilligan     Rod Hardy
 8.06 2000-Dec-03  8.2 Invocation                                          David Amann        Richard Compton
 8.03 2000-Dec-10  8.1 Redrum                             Steven Maeda     Steven Maeda       Peter Markle
                                                          Daniel Arkin
 8.07 2000-Dec-17  7.3 Via Negativa                                        Frank Spotnitz     Tony Wharmby
 8.09 2001-Jan-07  8.0 Surekill                                            Greg Walker        Terrence O'Hara
 8.10 2001-Jan-14  7.1 Salvage                                             Jeffrey Bell       Rod Hardy
 8.12 2001-Jan-21  7.3 Badlaa                                              John Shiban        Tony Wharmby
 8.11 2001-Feb-04  9.4 The Gift                                            Frank Spotnitz     Kim Manners
 8.13 2001-Feb-11  8.2 Medusa                                              Frank Spotnitz     Richard Compton
 8.08 2001-Feb-18  9.4 Per Manum                                           Frank Spotnitz     Kim Manners
                                                                           Chris Carter
 8.14 2001-Feb-25 10.6 This is not Happening                               Frank Spotnitz     Kim Manners
                                                                           Chris Carter
 8.15 2001-Apr-01  8.6 DeadAlive                                           Frank Spotnitz     Tony Wharmby
                                                                           Chris Carter
 8.18 2001-Apr-08  7.5 Three Words                                         Frank Spotnitz     Tony Whamby
                                                                           Chris Carter
 8.17 2001-Apr-22  8.2 Empedocles                                          Greg Walker        Barry K. Thomas
 8.16 2001-Apr-29  8.3 Vienen                                              Steven Maeda       Rod Hardy
 8.19 2001-May-06  8.2 Alone                                               Frank Spotnitz     Frank Spotnitz
 8.20 2001-May-13  9.0 Essence                                             Chris Carter       Kim Manners
 8.21 2001-May-20 10.2 Existence                                           Chris Carter       Kim Manners

 9.01 2001-Nov-11  7.0 Nothing Important Happened Today                    Chris Carter       Kim Manners
                                                                           Frank Spotnitz
 9.02 2001-Nov-18  5.9 Nothing Important Happened Today II                 Chris Carter       Tom Wharmby
                                                                           Frank Spotnitz
 9.03 2001-Dec-02  5.5 Daemonicus                                          Frank Spotnitz     Frank Spotnitz
 9.05 2001-Dec-09  5.1 4-D                                                 Steven Maeda       Tom Wharmby
 9.06 2001-Dec-16  6.2 Lord of the Flies                                   Thomas Schnauz     Kim Manners
 9.08 2002-Jan-06  5.1 Trust No1                                           Chris Carter       Tom Wharmby
                                                                           Frank Spotnitz
 9.07 2002-Jan-13  5.0 John Doe                                            Vince Gilligan     Michelle MacLaren
 9.04 2002-Jan-27  5.1 Hellbound                                           David Amann        Kim Manners
 9.10 2002-Mar-03  5.5 Provenance                                          Chris Carter       Kim Manners
                                                                           Frank Spotnitz
 9.11 2002-Mar-10  5.2 Providence                                          Chris Carter       Chris Carter
                                                                           Frank Spotnitz
 9.13 2002-Mar-17  4.8 Audrey Pauley                                       Steve Maeda        Kim Manners
 9.09 2002-Mar-31  4.4 Underneath                                                             John Shiban
 9.14 2002-Apr-07  5.2 Improbable                                          Chris Carter       Chris Carter
 9.12 2002-Apr-14  5.1 Scary Monsters                                      Tom Schnauz        Dwight Little
 9.15 2002-Apr-21  5.1 Jump the Shark                                      Vince Gilligan     Cliff Bole
                                                                           John Shiban
                                                                           Frank Spotnitz
 9.17 2002-Apr-28  5.8 William                            David Duchovny   Chris Carter       David Duchovny
                                                          Chris Carter
                                                          Frank Spotnitz
 9.16 2002-May-05  5.1 Release                            David Amann      David Amann        Kim Manners
                                                          John Shiban
 9.18 2002-May-12  6.2 Sunshine Days                                       Vince Gilligan     Vince Gilligan
 9.19 2002-May-19  7.5 The Truth (1/2)                                     Chris Carter       Kim Manners
 9.20 2002-May-19  7.5 The Truth (2/2)                                     Chris Carter       Kim Manners

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