The File Room
An X Files rewatch podcast with Edwin Davies and Michaela Livingstone-Banks. Watch along as we delve into the dark heart of the American psyche via a TV show from the 90s. We’ll look at history, science, and maybe a bit of our own nostalgia. Whether this is your first time watching, or your tenth time watching, grab your flashlight, trust no one and strap in for the ride.
Episodes
Mulder and Scully get to live an idyllic* life as a married* couple in this fan-favourite episode, but could the squeaky clean facade of suburbia hide darker forces? Surely not! Michaela and Ed dig into a broadly satirical episode, while also talking about meatballs with arms, and utterly failing to mention the extremely obvious allusion to The Dick Van Dyke Show that is central to "Arcadia."
Ed and Michaela go around in circles in this one, plus chat about the clepto sea and meta movies.
Did we manage to record a perfect podcast episode? You'll have to listen to the very end to find out. Don't skip. We'll know.
The X-Files goes back to Florida as Mulder and Scully battle a...jelly fish? Agua Mala has a reputation for being one of the worst episodes of the entire show, so Michaela and Ed have to ask, is it really that bad? Is it completely without redeeming features? Did they use enough water? All will be answered in this podcast!
Michaela and Ed share stories of controlled explosions, and this episode, which closes the original Mythology Arc. Neatly?
The X-Files finally starts wrapping things up with The Syndicate by having a lot of people talk about how they are wrapping things up with The Syndicate. Michaela and Ed struggle through a very exposition-heavy episode, but also chat about birthdays, camping and Joan of Arc.
All hot streaks end eventually, and after a season of nothing but great, really good and pretty good episodes, Season 6 hits a hard stop with this one, which squanders a good premise and typically strong technical work with murky plotting and sedate performances. Michaela and Ed dig into it, while also finding time to talk about the World Cup and The Odyssey, which were both extremely fresh topics when they recorded this a month ag...
Every Brit's favourite topic: The Weather.
PLUS we meditate on taste, high school drama for the middle-aged, and more weather.
It's a real testament to The X-Files writers' command of tone at this point in the show's run that they manage to craft a very entertaining and at times moving episode out of a story which involves a frankly excessive amount of child death. Michaela and Ed talk about that, as well as guest star Bruce Campbell's excellent work as the episode's monster, the best things about America, and some '90s bands with Scottish singers.
Michaela explains how heat delays trains, Ed explains the disgrace of Gijón, and then we discuss the small but perfectly formed cast in this episode, that mashes up Christmas and Halloween for a bit of apparition fun.
Mulder is still trapped in another man's body and The X-Files continues to find fun ways to mess with him. Michaela and Ed round out this very entertaining two-parter, and also find time to talk about their recent trip to London, DIY and waterbeds.
Michaela's living her best middle aged life, Ed shares his bag-flotsam triggered Proustian rush, and then we have some thoughts about this surprisingly divisive episode.
Mulder gets sent back in time to 1939 (or does he?!?) in a technically remarkable episode, which utilizes both long takes and split-screen to dazzling effect. Michaela and Ed delve into the many impressive visual elements of this episode, as well talk about how good the current series of Taskmaster has been.
Ed drives almost as much as Mulder in one of the most consequential episode of TV of all time... while Michaela floats with some Jelly fish, and fan-girls.
The X-Files has to deal with the aftermath of the movie and the consequences of moving to Hollywood after five years in Vancouver. Michaela and Ed discuss how the change in location affected the mood of the show, how its moments of self-awareness make the mythology go down a little smoother, and Ed's latest injury.
Also, apologies for the slightly rougher audio this week - Ed's microphone did not work, so had to resort to using the...
This week, The File Room goes to the cinema to watch Independence Day... Just kidding, it's time to watch The X Files Movie - complete with corn fields, Antarctica, a ticking biological clock for all of humanity, and The Near Kiss. Michaela and Ed discuss whether Fight the Future is a triumphant big-screen reward for five years of loyalty, or just a very expensive mythology episode with a better coat budget. PLUS Michaela mourns th...
What a season, what a season. As The X-Files prepares to head to Hollywood - both literally and metaphorically - Michaela and Ed look back on the fifth season and talk about their favourite episodes and guest performances, and try to determine whether the demands of the movie ultimately hurt the season leading up to it.
This week, The X-Files tries to pull off a grand pseudo-series finale involving a mind-reading chess prodigy and a literal fire in the basement, but the real tension might just be Scully's reaction to Mulder's ex. Michaela and Ed discuss whether 'The End' actually works as an ending, while also catching up on expensive car repairs, Morris dancing, Bob Odenkirk's action movie chops, and a Studio Ghibli film featuring a cat in a tuxe...
Mulder's seeing a giant bug man in an episode that is surprisingly tense and paranoiac, even more so when you learn about the troubled production. Michaela and Ed discuss how The X-Files crew managed to turn disaster into victory in post-production, and also talk about the novel Klara and the Sun for arguably too long.
This week Michaela reveals a big life change ahead, AI tries to turn Ed's D&D campaign into a business memo, and we discuss 'The Pine Bluff Variant', an episode of The X-Files with more double-agent turns than the last series of The Traitors*.
*or what I'd assume. Paul only made me watch the last episode.
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