The X-Files: The Complete Eighth Season [6 Discs]

Now, when Season 8 came out and 1. Mulder was gone, 2. Scully was pregnant with whose baby? 3. They had essentially replaced Mulder with some street smart cop that was excellently portrayed by Robert Patrick but ultimately superfluous (in my opinion), 4. There was no real acknowledgement of a Mulder/Scully relationship prior to the pregnancy (beyond hints in "All Things", "Requiem", and maybe, if you're reaching, "The Goldberg Variation"), and 5., what had bothered me most about the majority of season 8, was that they KEPT INVESTIGATING REGULAR CASES when they should have been out searching for Mulder, I was more than a little wary.

While plot-wise, I thought the standalone eps were pretty good, the context in which they were presented made them unnecessary and distracting. They would have been great if they had happened in the "regular" show, with Mulder and Scully investigating, but with all this other stuff going on, it just seemed like they kept getting sidetracked from the matter at hand: finding Mulder. Not to mention that pregnant Scully was more emotional than ever (and, while understandable given her relationship with Mulder, we've seen her hold it together better than that when her sister and father died, and on the numerous occasions when her mother's life was in jeopardy) and it started to get tedious seeing the amazing Gillian Anderson have to portray such a strong character with such weak characteristics. In addition, it really bothered me how they kept it a secret who Scully's baby's father was when it was so obvious, even without hints from Season 7. I mean, who else has she even DATED, let alone slept with, in the last 7 years? And she hasn't been recently abducted, so the birth couldn't have resulted from that. I mean, c'mon! To keep it a secret, hidden and obscure when it was so blatant was just foolish. It seemed at this point that Chris Carter was trying to keep hidden the fact that these characters were together because it would mean going against his previous adamant statements that that would never happen. So, what? They keep it a secret for at least several months(assuming things started with "All Things") and then Suprise! Not only have they been together all this time, but they have a baby now! I thought that was a betrayal to all the fans who wanted them together because it denied us the opportunity of seeing it, and now that they finally are and are in the open about it, Mulder's gone.

So, anyway. I kind of went off on a mini-rampage, but basically I wanted to say that the lack of the Mulder-Scully dynamic really hurt this show, and while it was a decent television show, it stopped being The X Files as we knew it when Mulder left. Different isn't always better. So, I still haven't made up my mind as to whether or not to buy this set (I own all previous 7), but I wanted people to know that if you watched this show for this relationship, don't even bother. (On a side note, why do these sets continue to be so expensive when you can get the complete seasons of Alias, 24, and West Wing for less than half the price?)

While I agree that the loss of Mulder was somewhat problematic, his and Scully's interaction in Seasons 6 and especially 7 became quite dull, as writers were unable to come up with themes that were different enough or stories that were interesting enough in many cases. The majority of Season 7 episodes were uninspired, though there were some gems, while Season 8 allowed a whole new dynamic.

Robert Patrick brought a great, well-acted character to the show. While Scully's reversal feels forced and while Patrick's character may pale in comparison to Mulder, the latter's seven-year run meant that he had lost steam; in short, Season 8 Doggett (Robert Patrick) was far better and more interesting compared to Season 7 Mulder since he was new, interesting, and hadn't been explored. Sure, there are some stinkers, mostly in the middle of the season. However,
Within/Without,
Invocation,
Redrum,
Via Negativa,
The Gift,
This Is Not Happening/DeadAlive
& Essence are all great, dynamic and interesting -- rivalling most episodes found in Season 4.

Even Empedocles has great subplot interaction between Monica Reyes, Doggett and the returned Mulder character that is exciting and refreshing.

There are some terrible episodes: Roadrunners, Surekill, Savage, Badlaa, but these are no worse than some episodes in Seasons 5 through 7

Middling episodes with nice interaction and dialogue -- even if their overall stories were a bit uninspired -- were:
Patience
Alone

with Per Manum,
Three Words,
Vienen,
and Existence continuing the trend started in Season 6 of drawn-out mythologies, with repeated themes and action-oriented scenes to make up for the lack of dramatic innovation. Still, any episodes featuring Mulder have great appeal if only for the dynamic between Mulder and Doggett, and the romantic angle to his relationship with Scully which is very charming. Overall, if you liked Seasons 5 through 7, and aren't fanatical about seeing Mulder for the sake of Mulder, but like good stories and have an open mind, BUY SEASON EIGHT.

The big talking point of this season was obviously David Duchovny's absence for half of the episodes and the full time inclusion of the wonderful Robert Patrick as Special Agent John Doggett, Scullys new partner.
As far as the show is concerned of the 21 episodes there wasn't a bad one to be found. With Patrick's inclusion the show had very much reverted back to its horror roots and delivered a collection of the greatest stand-alones ever. "Paitence", "Roadrunners", "Invocation", "Redrum", "Badlaa" and "Medusa" are all examples of The X Files at it's terrifing best. Two stand-out episodes this year were both Doggett centric episodes, proving what an incredible asset Robert Patrick was, in "Via Negativa" Doggett and Skinner team up to investigate a series of grusome and unexpained deaths and in "The Gift" Doggett comes across a case that Mulder hid from Scully and the FBI and which may shed light on the reasons for his dissapearance. This episode also marks the return of David Duchovny.

Season 8 was also the most mytholgy laden year of the nine, ranging from the search for Mulder in the incedible two-part season opener "Within/Without" to his return in "This Is Not Happening" (which happens to have the best cliffhanger ever) and "DeadAlive". Mulder's search for answers to his dissapearance in "Three Words", the unexplained death of Doggett's son in "Empedocles", the retun of the black oil in probably the most visually stunning episode ever-"Vienen" to the mysteries of Scullys pregnancy in "Per Manum" and finally her delivery in the brilliant and action packed two-part season finale "Essence/Existence". Amidst all the mytholgy episode towards the end of the season there was room for one fantastic stand-alone episode, "Alone". Written and Directed by Frank Spotnitz this is a must see for any fan.

I really can't begin to say enough about season 8, it was a show very much re-energised and re-focused to doing what The X Files dose best, the acting all round was incredible, Robert Patrick and Gillian Anderson(this was her finest year) were incredible and the two work wonderfully together, and even though I wasn't missing him it was great to see David Duchovny back as Mulder and the chemistry between he and Robert Patrick is something that has to be seen to be believed. One other thing that made this season all the better was the increased inclusion of surrounding characters. A.D. Skinner played brilliantly by Mitch Pileggi had his busiest year, Krycheck was back with a bang, Deputy Director Kersh was back, last seen in season 6, The Lone Gunmen showed up now and again to lend a helping hand to the new guy and finally the introduction of Special Agent Monica Reyes who would be seen alot more in season 9.
Anyway it really dosen't matter how much I write I could never do this season justice or the work of everybody involved so buy it and experience it for yourself, I garauntee you will not be dissapointed.