The X-Files Top 20 Episodes
After re-watching all 9 seasons of the best post Twin peaks television series, it was time to compile my favourite 20 episodes. It was a tough task but i think these 20 showcase all that was great about the adventures of Mulder & Scully.
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- DirectorDavid NutterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonXander BerkeleyMulder and Scully are sent to investigate when a team of geophysicists stationed at a remote Alaskan outpost are killed by a parasitic alien life form.The tag line Trust no one was never more appropriate for this claustrophobic, creepy & superbly written episode from season one. A great paranoid chiller inspired by horror classic 'The Thing' featuring some great guest stars including Xander Berkeley from 24 & CSI.
- DirectorChris CarterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonSteve RailsbackA former FBI agent who claims he was abducted by aliens takes several people hostage. Mulder agrees to be the negotiator.The pre-cursor to Scullys abduction finds Mulder in a tight spot with an alien abductee. Not much action in this episode but tension you can cut your teeth on and top notch performances all round from the supporting cast. Pretty much the talk of the town the day after this episode aired.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonTucker SmallwoodThe remains of a murdered deformed infant lead the agents to a family of murderous, inbred, animal-like brothers living on a secluded farm in a remote section of Pennsylvania.It's all a bit Wrong Turn as a family of in-breds are number one suspects for the death of a new born baby found in the field next door to their house. Shocking and sick in equal measure, one of the reasons why the x-files should have eased a bit on all the ufo stuff and gone a bit more all out horror, we would have ended up with a few more classics like this episode.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonDan ButlerThe agents investigate a murder in a small town populated by devil worshippers.Another reason why the show was so popular was the mixture of really dark subject matter with the sometimes black comedy of the absurd situations the FBI duo found themselves in. This episode starts out like a comedy episode but ends up something altogether much more seedy. Genius.
- DirectorDavid NutterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonPeter BoyleA grumpy old man with psychic powers that show him how someone will die assists the agents with the hunt for a crazed killer who targets psychics. He also cryptically reveals to Mulder and Scully their own ultimate fates.Killer story, killer script & a killer performance from Peter Boyle in this award winning episode. I doubt there was a more original 40 minutes of television in 1995.
- DirectorCliff BoleStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonMitch PileggiScully and Mulder each recount their version of events that led Mulder to drive a stake through the heart of a Texas teenager he claims was a vampire.Luke Wilson guest stars in this comedy episode about a trailer park of vampires. Engaging & hilarious as the story is highlighted from both Mulder & Scully's perspective. Not sure if it was the 1st time that device was used in a prime time TV show but it works a charm.
- DirectorHarry LongstreetStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonDoug HutchisonMulder and Scully search for a humanoid killer whose savage murder spree reoccurs every 30 years.A lot of peoples jump on point for the show 1st time around. The tale of Mr Toombs who eats livers, can contort his body and sleeps in bile was horrible, scary and must watch TV.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonMitch PileggiParanoid telemarketer takes his coworkers and Mulder hostage claiming that their boss is a disguised insectoid monster that's literally turning the workers one by one into his zombie drones.A bizarre almost nightmarish episode. Either a message about working for the man or just a messed up head****, either way it's highly entertaining and just a little bit left field, just what made the show a winner more often than not.
- DirectorBrett DowlerStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonColleen FlynnIn the unexplored woods of Florida's Apalachicola National Forest, Mulder and Scully investigate the disappearances of two land surveyors and a boy's claims that he and his father were attacked by an invisible creature.Another really creepy episode featuring one of those monsters you don't want to meet whilst taking a stroll in the woods. Watch with the lights off alone.
- DirectorR.W. GoodwinStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonPeter DonatMulder receives an encrypted computer tape containing the defense department's top secret files on extraterrestrial life and becomes a target. Scully takes him to a Navajo family that unearthed a buried secret to decipher the files.Easily the best season finale the show ever had and possibly one of the best ever. The show's popularity had hit fever pitch and the UFO conspiracy story line had not yet lost it's way. Mulder's descent into cold war paranoia was neatly sign posted all the way through with clues and by the end fan's were shouting at their TV sets for the next episode.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonSusannah HoffmannRumors of witchcraft and sorcery surrounding a bizarre murder at a supermarket in a small New England fishing town lead Scully, who's on vacation, to a little girl and a cursed doll that may be hiding a murderous presence.The X-files does Twilight Zone with this possessed doll episode co written with Stephen King. Scully goes solo whilst Mulder watches Porn and throws pencils into his ceiling. The scares don't always hit home but for anyone with a phobia of Dolls this is not for you.
- DirectorRob BowmanStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonCaroline KavaReports of foxfire on a field in Dudley, Arkansas lead Mulder and Scully to a bizarre situation regarding the townsfolk. Employees of the Chaco Chicken Corporation are displaying bizarre behavior, and the death rate is slowly increasing.Highly original and rather disgusting episode veering into the cannibal genre with this crazy tale of deaths seemingly related to a chicken factory. KFC didn't look too good after watching this.
- DirectorDaniel SackheimStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonMitch PileggiMulder pursues a humanoid, parasitic organism that uses sewage systems as its home.The consistently excellent second season hit the ground running with this awesome monster on the loose episode, mixing gross-out horror with political subtexts on nuclear fall out, it was a blueprint for a lot of the stand alone episodes to come. Like so many episodes, all killer & no filler.
- DirectorTony WharmbyStarsGillian AndersonRobert PatrickAnnabeth GishAgent Dogget has been shot and hospitalized. The only suspect is his partner. However, she was 14 miles away when the shooting occurred. The team sticks together to solve the case of being in two places at one time.Unlike so many of the later episodes which were tarnished by the absence of Mulder & too many UFO episodes, Agents Doggett & Reyes here shine in this superbly written tale of parallel dimensions. Gives us a brief glimpse of a show that could still have been great and displays the talents of both actors. Still think Robert Patrick is ace.
- DirectorChris CarterStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonJohn O'Hurleyin this surreal, comical take on Frankenstein, Mulder and Scully arrive in a small rural town to investigate claims of a monster obsessed with Cher that's sedating and impregnating the local women.Inventive, witty & full of ideas. this modern take on the Frankenstein story has so many stand out moments as well as Cher (Well, a look alike anyway, she turned down the chance to be in it, silly woman)
- DirectorMichael W. WatkinsStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonPeter WhiteOn their first assignment after being reinstated to the X-Files, Scully and Mulder go undercover as husband and wife in a high-class planned community where several couples have gone missing.Fans of a long running TV show love it when their favourite characters act against type and this episode, another bizarre mixture of monsters, gods & white picket fences, has Mulder & Scully go under cover as newly weds and Mulder's loving it. Good mixture of comedy and tension with a monster straight out of a 50's EC comic, great stuff.
- DirectorRob BowmanStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonJeremy RobertsAs a hurricane bears down on the Florida coast, the agents search for a sea monster that Arthur Dales believes is responsible for the disappearance of a couple and their son.Featuring the original Agent Mulder 'Kolchak' in one of the series nice nods to it's influences. This wet & wild tale of a sea monster causing havoc in an apartment complex in the middle of a raging storm was another high point in the superb season six harking back to the taut, tension packed episodes of season 1 & 2.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonPaul McCraneA headless corpse of a paramedic walks out of the hospital morgue triggering a manhunt for a man with unimaginable regenerative powers, that come at a terrible cost. The case makes Scully realize in shock that she may not be well.The very patchy season 4 had a few stand out episodes and this crazy episode was one of the best, fueling influence from re-animator. this tale of a medic who literally loses his head sounds silly but is another reason why people tuned in week after week, you never knew what they would come up with next.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonMitch PileggiThe skeletal remains of a young couple are found after they have been missing for only three days in an area known for UFO activity. Mulder and Scully have different experiences in the investigation but nothing is quite as it seems.What seems like an alien abduction episode turns into something completely different in this super bizarre drug induced episode with a superb head scratching mystery. The devils in the details.
- DirectorKim MannersStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonTracey EllisA woman experiences a psychic connection with a teenager held captive by a deranged man.Another superbly written episode from season 3. Emotionally involving and rather sad with another great set of stand out performances from the supporting cast.