The Top 10 Episodes of The X-Files

      Simon Thompson shares his choices for the top episodes of The X-Files…

      My connection with The X-Files resembles my admiration for a band that was once outstanding but struggles to recognize when it should end. Regardless of how terrible the I Want To Believe film was, how mixed the reboot seasons turned out, or my deep skepticism about the new reboot that omits Mulder and Scully, the first six seasons (and even some highlights in the seventh) of The X-Files stand out as some of the most ambitious, clever, frightening, humorous, and moving television ever created.

      The chemistry between agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) is captivating, with Mulder being an unconventional thinker and believer in the paranormal, while Scully embodies a tough, logical cynicism. This dynamic resulted in a television duo that many have attempted to duplicate but have never quite matched.

      Narrowing down my ten favorites is quite challenging;, so before I present the Top 10, here are some honorable mentions: X-Cops, Redux I and Redux II, Anasazi, Blessing Man, Paper Clip, Nisei-731, War of the Carphages, The Pine Bluff Variant, How The Ghosts Stole Christmas, D.P.O, Beyond the Sea, Paper Hearts.

      10. Ice/Pusher

      These two episodes are grouped together because they're both so exceptional that I can't bring myself to rank one over the other. They differ significantly in tone and objectives; one is a contained, intimate episode set in a single location, while the other is an extensive cat-and-mouse game.

      “Ice” takes Mulder and Scully to Alaska to investigate the mysterious deaths of several researchers. In a nod to John Carpenter’s The Thing, they encounter an alien parasitic organism that drives its host to madness upon contact. Trapped by a snowstorm, the investigators, overwhelmed by paranoia regarding potential infection, begin to distrust one another.

      “Ice” excels by taking a straightforward premise and a singular setting, extracting every ounce of tension possible. It visually demonstrates that a slow-building story with intelligent character development is far superior to narratives fixated on an unearned explosive climax.

      Written by Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame, “Pusher” stands out as one of the darkest episodes in the series. The agents investigate a sociopath known as Pusher, who seemingly has psychic powers that he employs to coerce his victims into harming themselves or others. Seeing himself as a criminal genius, he concocts a plan to lure Mulder into a direct confrontation.

      A monster-of-the-week episode's quality hinges on the strength of its antagonist, and “Pusher” features a villain so intriguing that he was revisited two seasons later. As someone who appreciates procedural thrillers like Manhunter, Heat, and Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, this episode delighted me immensely.

      The episode’s true enjoyment lies in witnessing Mulder and Scully pool their intellect to profile the villain. Although they grasp his desire for validation and respect from the outset, they remain consistently slightly behind, leading to a climax that is so intense and unsettling that they had to battle the Fox censors fiercely to retain it.

      9. Monday

      Crafting a successful time-based narrative can be quite difficult, as the limitation of a specific timeframe, event, and character set can leave the story on shaky ground if those elements aren't intriguing. “Monday,” however, exemplifies how to create an engaging tale centered around a time loop.

      The story opens in media res, with Scully attending to a collapsed, bleeding Mulder. As the camera pulls back, it reveals that they are being held hostage during a bank robbery. While Scully attempts to reason with the armed robber, the police storm in, prompting the robber to detonate a bomb strapped to him, killing everyone inside.

      In a swift tonal shift, the narrative resets with Mulder waking to discover his water bed has leaked. He must subsequently visit the bank to pay his landlord, which restarts the previous events all over again.

      What’s remarkable about “Monday” is that, much like the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Cause and Effect,” the repetition never grows tiresome. Each cycle increases the characters' awareness of their predicament, and watching two highly competent individuals like Mulder and Scully reach the same conclusions as the audience is perpetually enjoyable.

      Though derived from high-concept science fiction, its conclusion is profoundly sad and human. Despite my disdain for “it was all a dream” endings, I find this episode to be a brilliant showcase of narrative integrity.

      8. Drive

      A common theme among the most effective episodes of this series is that simpler storylines often lead to greater dramatic impact, a philosophy that “Drive” exemplifies. Patrick