My introduction to The X-Files dates back to 1994, when it aired on late Sunday afternoons in my country. At first, I didn’t quite get the appeal. The visuals were gloomy, the pacing slow, and the tone overwhelmingly somber. It didn’t immediately draw me in. If memory serves, my first episode may have been Conduit, but whatever it was, it didn’t leave a strong impression.
Everything changed in 1995 when the show moved to a more fitting Friday night timeslot—10:45 PM. With no school the next morning, I could afford to stay up and pay closer attention. Even then, my interest took time to grow. One vivid memory stands out from that summer: a sweltering evening when my sister and I sat in our backyard, gazing at the stars, talking about light-years and distant worlds. When we went back inside, Born Again was on. Its eerie poltergeist climax lingered in my mind, the first hint of something deeper pulling me in.
Then came October 28, 1995—the night everything clicked. The channel airing The X-Files decided to experiment with a new programming block imported from the U.S.: back-to-back episodes of The X-Files, followed by Tales from the Crypt. That night, they aired Colony and Endgame, and for the first time, I was utterly captivated. The experiment was a hit, and Saturday X-Files became a weekly tradition. As the first three seasons unfolded, the show’s cult status solidified.
My interest quickly turned into obsession. I meticulously wrote out episode guides by hand, eager to keep track of every mystery. I devoured the official magazine, which offered tantalizing glimpses of episodes that had aired in the U.S. but hadn’t yet reached my country.
But by 1998, something shifted. With Season 5’s conclusion and the release of Fight the Future, I felt the show had reached its peak. The move from Vancouver’s moody, rain-soaked atmosphere to California’s brighter, more polished look marked a turning point—one I struggled to embrace. Season 6 introduced a lighter tone, emphasizing humor over the eerie tension I had loved. The shift left me disenchanted. As the show’s mythology became increasingly convoluted and Mulder’s absence loomed, the magic faded.
The 2008 movie only confirmed what I already felt: The X-Files had lost its way. Then, in 2015, the announcement of a revival reignited a glimmer of hope. While the nostalgia was undeniable, the show never fully recaptured what once made it special. Gillian Anderson’s visible lack of enthusiasm and unresolved plotlines only deepened the sense of finality.
Still, those early seasons remain a defining part of my television experience. For a few remarkable years, The X-Files was more than just a show—it was an obsession, a mystery waiting to be unraveled, and a gateway to something larger than life.
My favorite episodes include:
Squeeze 1.3
Ice 1.8
Fallen Angel 1.10
Beyond the Sea 1.13
E.B.E. 1.17
Darkness Falls 1.20
Tooms 1.21
The Erlenmeyer Flask 1.24
Little Green Men 2.1
The Host 2.2
Duane Barry 2.5
Ascension 2.6
Firewalker 2.9
Excelsis Dei 2.11
Aubrey 2.12
Irresistible 2.13
Die Hand die Verletzt 2.14
Colony 2.16
End Game 2.17
The Calusari 2.21
F. Emasculata 2.22
Our Town 2.24
Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose 3.4
Nisei 3.9
731 3.10
War of the Coprophages 3.12
Syzygy 3.13
Grotesque 3.14
Piper Maru 3.15
Apocrypha 3.16
Pusher 3.17
Quagmire 3.22
Wetwired 3.23
Home 4.2
Unruhe 4.4
Tunguska 4.8
Terma 4.9
Paper Hearts 4.10
Leonard Betts 4.12
Tempus Fugit 4.17
Max 4.18
Synchrony 4.19
Elegy 4.22
Demons 4.23
Detour 5.4
Kitsunegari 5.8
Schizogeny 5.9
Kill Switch 5.11
Bad Blood 5.12
Drive 6.2
S.R. 819 6.9
Agua Mala 6.13
Field Trip 6.21
Millennium 7.4
Roadrunners 5.8
Rm9sbG93ZXJz 11.7
Familiar 11.8
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