The X-Files - The Complete Second Season (Slim Set)

This was a very rough season. Very much like the first season of "The X-Files," this second season is made up of a few gems and just as many stinkers. The series suffers from extreme lack of character development and a focus for where they want to take the story. For many of these episodes, Mulder and Scully are used as nothing more than plot devices to drive the story forward and solve the mystery. Another huge problem is, demonstrated most prominently in the episode Excelsis Dei, the story that the writers have come up with is so convoluted that it is simply left up to the audience to guess 90% of why the things that happened did happen.

Gillian Anderson's acting improved immensely throughout the season, but David Duchovny still continues to shine, stealing every scene he's in... Well, that's if the writing is good. Not even a good actor could pull of some of the stuff going on here. William B. Davis is horribly under-used; his character, "The Cigarette Smoking Man," is probably the most interesting threat in the series, and I thought that the second season would have been a perfect time to flesh him out. Turns out, the writer's didn't. He doesn't get much to do until the season finale.

Onto the good. The following episodes met--and sometimes went beyond--my expectations:
5: Duane Barry
6: Ascension
8: One Breath (Until the utter cop out of an ending)
13: Irresistible
16: Colony
18: Fearful Symmetry
19: Død Kalm (The middle through the end was especially good)
20: Humbug (Finally, some comedy. A fresh breath of air)
21: F. Emasculata (Not for those with weak stomachs)
24: Our Town
25: Anasazi

That's 11 episodes out of 25. There a few others that were enjoyable, of course, but simply not interesting enough to make the list. Compared to the first season, I concede that this is a slight improvement, but I want to see more depth and more interesting ideas when I dive into the third season.

6/10

After the first season which there was a certain unease on whether the show would continue, the second season brought on more episodes (this is probably the most prolific season with 25 episodes made) and more ambitious storyline and adding to its continuing mythology arc. However, they haven't quite yet perfected the consistency of the episodes so many of this season has great episodes sandwiched with too many decent or just altogether poor ones.

Little Green Men: Probably one of their best premieres as Mulder heads to Puerto Rico in hopes to make contact and get proof. His night encounter is quite tense. 9/10
The Host: Might make you paranoid about using toilets when a strange mutated creature is found in the city's sewer systems. 8.5/10
Blood: First of many decent episodes when messages encouraging mayhem appear on electronic devices. 6/10
Sleepless: A great standalone idea married with some mythology aspects when soldiers are found that haven't slept in over 20 years. Introduction of X and Alex Krycek. 8.5/10
Duane Barry: A man who believes he was abducted holds hostages and Mulder plays negotiator. Great cliffhanger ending. 9/10
Ascension: With Scully kidnapped by Barry, Mulder goes on an emotional search trying to find her. 9/10
3: Mulder's first official case without Scully and he's chasing vampires and again, it's just simply decent. 6.5/10
One Breath: An amazing episode as Scully unexpectedly returns in severe condition and Mulder does much soul searching in trying to save her. Duchovny's acting in this is spot-on. 9.5/10

Firewalker: With Scully officially back, their first case reunited is a lame redo of the season 1 "Ice" only this time they're stranded near a volcano with a dangerous scientist running loose. 6/10
Red Museum: Ties into the mythology but the episode itself is kind of meh as missing kids have been appearing with the phrase "He/She is One" on them. 7/10
Excelsis Dei: Finally a good ghost episode when they investigate strange occurences in a nursing home. 7.5/10
Aubrey: A surprisingly good episode as a detective finds she's somehow linked with a criminal from the past. 7.5/10
Irresistible: A series classic as Donnie Pfaster, a "death fetishist" preys on the living to extract hair and fingernails, has his eyes set on Scully. Probably the creepiest villain the show has had. 9/10
Die Hand Die Verletzt: Another great episode as they investigate murders ritualistic in nature and the devil-worshipping faculty might have a real demon in their staff. 9/10
Fresh Bones: Another decent episode about voodoo being practiced among a refugee population. Kind of forgettable actually. 5.5/10
Colony: A great mythology episode where an alien bounty hunter arrives killing identical doctors and Mulder receives a surprising visit. Probably the best cliffhanger the show ever had. 9.5/10

End Game: Conclusion to Colony as Mulder finds out more about the work done and travels to Alaska to find the bounty hunter and hopefully the whereabouts of his sister. 9.5/10
Fearful Symmetry: Kind of a silly episode about invisible animals rampaging through town and the safety of a sign language-speaking gorilla. 6/10
Dod Kalm: An interesting episode akin to Darkness Falls or Quagmire where they're found stranded on a shape where they age rapidly. Mulder's reaction to Scully's homemade juice is priceless. 8/10
Humbug: Their first comedic episode finds the agents in circus town where bizarre murders are found with the residents being even stranger. 9/10
The Calusari: More decent as the agents investigate possible demonic possession inside a young boy. 6/10
F. Emasculata: An interesting episode where a highly fatal contagion spreads among prison inmates and Mulder's manhunt for a possible infected convict. 8.5/10
Soft Light: Another late season highlight as a man has a shadow that kills thanks to a physics accident. 8/10
Our Town: Kind of disgusting/meh episode where chickens are fed ground up humans in hopes of longer life.
Anazasi: A great finale centering on 2 events: the downloading of government files and a boxcar unearthed gets Mulder even more proof except he's progressively getting more paranoid and violent. Great cliffhanger. 9.5/10

As you can see, the majority of the season (to me personally) is kind of hit and miss. Now and then they nail it on the head with a great episode but then other times there's others that don't have as much re-watchable value. But season 2 is where they were starting to find their footing and so the consistency started to get better as the show went on.

Really miss this show. This is one of those shows that made you start to question alot of things about how things are. Really glad I be able to have it on DVD now to watch whenever I want.

`X-Files' Season 2, created by Chris Carter and starring David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson is entirely consistent in quality with Season 1, and everything I said about that release is true of this one as well.

One of the most distinguishing features of this season is that Ms. Anderson was pregnant throughout the first third of the season, and an arc of three shows was done to remove her from the scene while she was off on maternity leave. In spite of her delicate condition, the scripts continued to put her character and her costar into mortal danger in virtually every episode.

A second major distinction of this season is fact that `Deep Throat' from season 1 was killed off at the end of that season, to be replaced by a very similar character simply labeled `X'. This character was worked into the episodes when the `X-Files' unit of the FBI was reinstated about a third of the way into the season, just in time for Gillian to get back from her maternity leave.

The order of episode themes in this season is very similar to season 1, in that there is a rough alternation between Alien Visitor and homegrown weirdness. One of the very best episodes, `Humbug', which literally comes off as a comedy, involves virtually no paranormal activity at all. It almost seems like a take-off on the classic cult film `Freaks', made in the 1930s.

My biggest complaint about the premises underlying the entire series is the way in which agents of our government are split in four different antagonistic directions. First, there is the X-Files unit within the FBI, being our heroes, Muldur and Scully. Then there is the FBI hierarchy, represented primarily by Assistant Director Skinner. Then, there is the shadowy conglomerate of some other government agencies, primarily representing `the military', whose figurehead is `the cigarette smoking man'. Last, there is the `X' character, who represents some other shadowy conglomerate of government agencies who are seemingly on Muldur and Scully's side, but seem to offer nothing more than obscure clues and directions, when they feel like it (or more accurately, when the script needs a `deux ex machina' to move it along).

Another thing that tends to spoil things for me in some episodes is the degree to which the stories are stolen from other well-known works, the most common source being recent major films such as `The Exorcist'. I also get a bit antsy when a script misuses some arcane piece of scientific theory, as when `End Game' plays off the notion of `dark matter'. On the other hand, the season closing cliff-hanger episode manages to steal a march on a later film, `The Code Talkers', based on the use of the Navaho language as a code in the Pacific Theatre of Operations, which, according to both dramatic works, the Japanese were never able to crack or translate.

On the other hand, I really enjoy the occasional appearance of some interesting character actors in lead roles now and then. For example, I loved seeing `Mr. Monk' (Tony Shalhoub) in `End Game' and William Sanderson (an important minor character in `Blade Runner' and `Larry' from `Newhart') in the episode, `Blood', just as it was a gas to see Bradley Whitford as the leading guest character in a season 1 show.

Just like most modern dramas, one of the best features is the rapport between the two principal characters. This chemistry is shown in many ways, some quite subtle, as when both characters constantly answer their calls to their partner with the statement `It's me.' They even use this greeting when they meet one another unexpectedly. This rapport is often a major part of episodes, especially since one or both major characters is so often getting into perilous and quite deadly situations.

The extras are not `great', but they are interesting. The best thing about the set is that it is an excellent presentation of episodes from a major TV series. I will reinforce the impressions of other reviewers that this is done well, since they have probably seen more different series than I.

This series has become a minor milestone in TV history. It is not quite as iconic as `The Twilight Zone', but it is stronger than its inspiration, `The Night Stalker'. To my lights, it is also in general superior as Science Fiction than most `Star Trek' episodes from its various incarnations. I think it is more rewatchable than many series, if not quite as addicting for me as `The West Wing'.

Things to consider about this product:
- Image and sound are not so good, especially because it's an old programme.
- It's 2.1 and not 5.1
- The package (the boxes) are too thin.
- It's much cheaper than the collector's edition but it does not include something important for collectors, the 7th CD with the extras!!
- I still do not understand why FOX overprices the collector's edition and makes it impossible for us to buy it. I think it is too expensive!! Besides if they want to save money in packaging, why did they eliminate the 7th cd? How much money can it cost to add that CD? Please!!!
- The series is excellent and worth watching.