UNCUT - The X-Files S1E12 - Fire

A few times Sherlock Holmes would say something took three pipes to smoke to give enough thoughts to in order to solve

Credit to this show for actually showing how hard a burning room is to move through. Years ago another apartment in my building caught fire and I was shocked just how thick the smoke was.

Keep the mysteries coming

Everything changed when the fire bender attacked

as I mentioned elsewhere, the mystery is rarely "who", but more often "how". Fingers crossed that it's financially viable, I think the XF fan base is "enthusiastic, but niche" I'm doing as much as I currently can to support but here's hoping there's enough out there to keep it going, as it really is a great series. There's always gonna be some ok ones, but the ratio is pretty damn good overall.

x-files really isn't a mystery type show they usually show the villian or monster right off the bat

kinda a flat episode ok but nothing more

I'm here for it!!!

This is just the "Beyond The Sea" waiting room.

Lackluster episode overall, but there was still some good moments in it.

As an Xphile of over 30 years I’m here for it with knobs on !!

I really think Alex nailed a certain portion of it to me. I didn’t find the backstory of the pyromaniac to be much of interest. It was too confused. It was cool with the lower dumps in the expansion of the background of the characters, but it really wasn’t the best episode of the season and I mark it pretty far down the list but there’s still a lot of good episodes

This episode is ok. I hope you guys keep up your X-FILES journey. This was one of Fox's top show for a long time.

Well, Alex, unfortunately you didn't get Clue, but you did get an Inspector Green, so that's something! Seriously, this episode is fine but as an adolescent I didn't like it because the fire effects did actually scare me a bit, and I did not care for Green that much (which was probably the point admittedly). Scully practically solved the case (with help from the sketch Mulder got the witness to do) and Phoebe didn't even realize the culprit had set a fire in a trap that she herself suggested. Ouch. And I did pick up on most of the ADR this time (you guys have trained me well!)

Yeah I forget this one exists. Still interested in watching you dumbasses journey through X-Files

I prefer when episodes don't reveal who the antagonist is early on too, but it doesn't bother me as much as Alex if they do, provided the overall pacing and content of the episode is still interesting. Trying to piece together if this guy is supernatural, what his motives are, etc... and all the Mulder backstory, good stuff. Middle of the road indeed.

I'll bet Alex LOVES Columbo!

Of course I'm here for it. If I was not here for it, why would I be watching it in the first place? And the people who are NOT here for it, never see you ask the question whether they're here for it, so they never get to tell you they're not here for it. See the problem?

I'm guessing Alex wouldn't like Cardassian mystery novels either where the reader knows right from the beginning that all of the characters are guilty, but the point is to figure out exactly who is guilty of what.

The Episode is mostly okay but I absolutely hate Phoebe. She‘s just so insufferable.

I've never had an issue with episodes like this where we know who the bad guy is upfront. Both here and on TNG, it's not always setup as a mystery. For me at least, part of the fun is seeing how our heroes unravel the mystery even though we know the answer. Overall I always enjoyed this episode. The fire guy does come off a bit campy though.

I think in this case, intent is important. It was not intended to be a mystery so I don't think it's fair to judge it negatively because it's not a mystery. Its like slasher movies. In some cases like Scream or any Italian giallo slasher...they are intended to be a mystery and we can judge it based on the fact if it's a good one or not. Now a slasher lile Friday the 13th or Halloween, these are not meant to be mysteries so we can't really judge these negatively for not being mysteries. If that makes sense. Of course one could have a preference of generally liking the mystery episodes better than the non-mysteries. That's totally fair! That being said....this is one of the seasons weaker episodes for me simply because it doesn't really grab me, and while it's not bad TV, when comparing it to so many other season 1 episodes, well....there's way better out there. :)

Also this was the perfect opportunity to let Gillian Anderson code-switch into her British accent and I’m so glad they (very briefly) took it.

I don't tend to revisit this one on my re-watch of favorites. The fire work is cool and I like the Mulder backstory from Oxford. Keep going, I upgraded my Patreon for this and DS9. I can imagine in about a year, you two will be freaking out because both series are hitting stride and the excellence will be unbearable. Let's go.

I do hope you all continue this journey with the X-Files. I am here for this and also Trek too. This was not a great one and just did not care for all the spelling out. I did like that we got a little more of Mulder back story and to see a bit of how Scully reacts to a woman from his past shows up.

I get Alex's point of view, but I don't see this one as a mystery. Or rather, the mystery is, "Since we know this guy is Magic Fire Man, what's he going to get away with before Mulder and Scully catch him?" I particularly liked that they established his personality issues beyond just being a human torch. The scenes where he gave cigarettes to the kids and spied on the wife genuinely felt creepy and gross. I do agree that they spelled out the details way too much, which is disappointing on a show that's previously seemed to assume its viewers are smart people. Maybe it was just Chris Carter wanting to make sure everyone understood his story.

The best thing about watching your X-Files reactions is that you both have more opposite reviews on the episode ( Also I'm from England, Josh's English accent is S tier ). If I'm right, next episode Alex is gonna love.

I'm with Alex on this one. Lots of potential that doesn't come together well. But I'm here for it!

Josh, Alex, I tell you every week that I am here for it (and DS9)! And I will keep hoping you stick with it. Not so much for the engagement but that I feel you would be missing out on a great show if you don't simply due to metrics. Honestly, I believe that you will have such a great time if you continue to watch it. The question is, do you believe? ;) Really enjoy this episode with our main antagonist being a well travelled and talented TV actor and from my side of the Atlantic. He's also featured in some of my favourite Sci-Fi shows Doctor Who. BSG (2004) and Firefly. Look forward to hearing your thoughts at the end, as always.

I’ll be back to watch this one later this afternoon