DVD FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigate the X-Files, a collection of unexplained and unsolved cases that bring them face-to-face with everything from mutants and monsters to the ultimate conspiracy theory - that aliens are already here on Earth.
Details
FBI Special Agent Fox "Spooky" Mulder works on the X-Files, a collection of unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena, unexplained deaths and assorted incidents that the Bureau would probably rather forget. An Oxford-educated psychologist with a reputation for pursuing some rather unconventional theories, Mulder is a firm believer in the existence of extraterrestrial life and the paranormal.
His obsession is driven by the childhood disappearance of his younger sister Samantha, who Mulder believes was abducted by aliens. Convinced that the truth surrounding her disappearance has been deliberately concealed, he continues to investigate cases that other agents have dismissed as impossible or inexplicable.
Enter Special Agent Dana Scully, a serious-minded medical doctor and scientist assigned to work alongside Mulder. Officially she's there to apply scientific reasoning to his investigations, although it rapidly becomes apparent that her superiors are also expecting her to debunk his work and report back on his activities.
Unfortunately for Scully's sceptical outlook, her new partner has an annoying habit of finding cases that aren't particularly easy to explain. Their investigations take them across America and bring them into contact with alien abductions, genetically altered humans, mysterious creatures, psychic phenomena, government conspiracies and enough unexplained deaths to keep the FBI's paperwork department busy for years.
Whilst Mulder is usually willing to accept the most extraordinary explanation available, Scully continually searches for a rational scientific answer. This difference in outlook forms the basis of their relationship: Mulder wants to believe, whilst Scully needs evidence. Yet as the cases accumulate, even she begins to realise that not everything they encounter can be conveniently explained away by conventional science.
The twenty-four episodes in this first season establish both the programme's developing alien mythology and its standalone "monster of the week" format. From the alien conspiracy of the Pilot, Deep Throat and The Erlenmeyer Flask to creatures and killers encountered in episodes such as Squeeze, Ice and Tooms, Mulder and Scully rapidly discover that the truth really is out there - although finding it is another matter entirely.
Picture & Sound
Created for television broadcast rather than the rapidly developing DVD market, the picture and sound were hardly designed to give your expensive home cinema system a workout. Nevertheless, compared with the VHS editions we've previously had to put up with, the improvement in picture quality is immediately noticeable.
Presented in the programme's original 4:3 television aspect ratio, the image is generally brighter and clearer than its video counterpart and, thankfully, free from the analogue picture noise associated with VHS. Detail is reasonable for television material of this age and colours are generally convincing, although the deliberately dark and gloomy photography means that some scenes inevitably look rather murky.
The average bitrate is perfectly adequate and there are no major compression problems to spoil proceedings. It's certainly not going to compete with a modern feature film transfer, but considering the source material and the sheer number of episodes spread across the set, there's very little to complain about.
In fact, the slightly grainy and subdued appearance often complements the programme rather well. One of the strengths of the early X-Files episodes is their dark, atmospheric look and the frequently damp Vancouver locations certainly help give the series its distinctive appearance.
Sound is presented in humble stereo rather than the increasingly common Dolby Digital 5.1 format. However, dialogue remains clear throughout and Mark Snow's wonderfully atmospheric score comes across nicely. Feed the soundtrack through a suitable surround decoder and you should also be able to extract a little more atmosphere from proceedings.
It's hardly spectacular, but then neither does it need to be. At least later seasons should offer a little more in the sound department as the production values continue to improve.
Menu & Extras
The extras from the American edition of the box set appear to have survived intact for this Region 2 release. Most of the substantial material is concentrated on the seventh disc, although the occasional extra can also be found alongside episodes on the other discs.
The most substantial inclusion is The Truth Behind the X-Files, which provides a welcome look behind the scenes of the programme, whilst the Chris Carter Interview sees the series creator discussing twelve of his favourite episodes. Some of this material may already be familiar to anyone who bought the feature-length VHS releases, but it's still useful to have everything gathered together in one place.
There's also the Behind the Truth material, two deleted scenes from the Pilot, an original effects sequence from Fallen Angel, the Roots of Conspiracy, an episode guide and various case files taken from Jane Goldman's Book of the Unexplained. DVD-ROM material provides a little additional value for anyone with a suitably equipped PC.
Less exciting are the seemingly endless ten and twenty-second television trailers supplied for each episode. It's nice to see this sort of promotional material preserved, but watching them one after another rapidly becomes rather irritating. They're probably best sampled occasionally rather than tackled in a single sitting unless you have a particularly high tolerance for television advertising.
The seven discs themselves are presented in an attractive fold-out box set which certainly looks impressive on the shelf. However, I can't help wondering how well the paper and cardboard construction will survive repeated use. Those exposed spines look as though they could become damaged over time, particularly if you're regularly removing discs to revisit favourite episodes.
A booklet is also included and proves genuinely useful, providing episode and chapter listings which make navigating such a large collection considerably easier. The subsequent listings for later seasons are rather less useful, but at least they give you some idea of just how much money Fox are presumably hoping to extract from us over the coming years.
Overall
Unless you've been living on another planet for the past six years, there's probably very little I need to say about the success of The X-Files. The series has become a genuine television phenomenon, turning David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson into household names and ensuring that the phrase "The truth is out there" is recognised by people who probably couldn't tell a Grey alien from a weather balloon.
However, out of all the seasons produced so far, the first remains my favourite. There's a rawness to these early episodes that I don't think the later series ever completely recaptured. The production may be less polished and the special effects considerably cheaper, but the writers frequently use those limitations to their advantage.
After all, you don't need millions of dollars of computer-generated effects to create something creepy. Sometimes a bright light moving through the night sky, a strange noise in the woods or a shadow disappearing around a corner can be considerably more effective. Your imagination does the rest and, at its best, the first season understands that perfectly.
The relationship between Mulder and Scully is also particularly enjoyable at this stage. Mulder is already prepared to believe almost anything whilst Scully remains genuinely sceptical, constantly challenging his theories and attempting to provide a rational explanation for whatever bizarre event they've just witnessed. We know she's gradually going to encounter things that test those beliefs, but at this point their opposing viewpoints are still clearly defined.
There are some cracking episodes too. Squeeze introduces the wonderfully unpleasant Eugene Victor Tooms, whilst Ice is both scary and gripping throughout. Okay, it's also a fairly blatant rip-off of The Thing, but when the result is this effective I'm prepared to forgive them. The claustrophobic location, paranoia and uncertainty over who has become infected make it one of the highlights of the entire season.
The mixture of standalone science-fiction and horror stories is another reason I prefer these early episodes. There's an alien conspiracy developing in the background, but it hasn't yet become so complicated that you need a flowchart, several notebooks and direct access to Chris Carter's brain to understand what's going on.
Compare these episodes with some of the later seasons and, for me at least, you can see how far The X-Files has gone downhill. The increasingly ridiculous comedy episodes and seemingly endless government conspiracy begin to become rather tiresome. Give me Mulder and Scully wandering around a dark forest with a couple of torches and something horrible hiding behind a tree any day.
Of course, none of that means every episode here is a classic. As with virtually every television series there are a few weaker stories amongst the gems and the programme is still finding its feet in places. But when Season One gets things right, it demonstrates exactly why The X-Files went on to become such a huge success.
As for the DVD release itself, this is exactly the sort of package fans have been waiting for. Having an entire season collected across seven shiny discs is considerably more convenient than a shelf full of bulky VHS tapes, and the ability to jump directly to an individual episode - complete with chapter stops - feels like a luxury after years of fast-forwarding and rewinding videotapes.
The value proposition becomes slightly more complicated if you've already spent a small fortune collecting the relatively expensive season video box sets and feature-length episodes. Replacing material you already own isn't particularly easy to justify, especially when the DVD format is still comparatively new and nobody really knows how many times the studios intend to persuade us to buy the same programmes again.
Nevertheless, if you're an X-Files fan coming to the series fresh on DVD, this box set is a real must-purchase. The presentation may not stretch the format technically, but the convenience, improved picture quality, supplementary material and sheer quantity of content make it a substantial improvement over the VHS alternatives.
Twenty-four episodes, more than seventeen hours of Mulder and Scully, a decent collection of extras and no rewinding the tape when you've finished. What more could an X-Phile ask for?
X-cellent!
Special features
- The Truth Behind the X-Files Featurette
- Chris Carter Interview About His 12 Favourite Episodes
- Behind the Truth Making-of Featurette
- Two Deleted Scenes from Pilot
- Original FX Scene from Fallen Angel
- 10 and 20 Second TV Trailers for Each Episode
- DVD-ROM Features
- Roots of Conspiracy
- Episode Guide
- Case Files from Jane Goldman's Book of the Unexplained, Volume 1
