When I was younger and the series was being broadcast for the first time, I have to say I enjoyed the mythology more than the stand alones. Although I love many of them, for me they were like little bonuses to go with the meat of the show, which was this wonderful never ending quest to find the truth, the mysteries of the Mulder family and the heart breaking uncertainty about Scully's health, but now that I'm a little older and maybe because we now know the mythology, at least on television, never really had a concrete conclusion, I find myself loving the stand alones more, enjoying their ability to mix and match several genres every week and allowing The X Files to be more than a one note show, I don't think I appreciated that as much as I should have done during the 90s. Where does everybody else's heart lies with this question.

PS-Apologies for all my threads being questions, I really should stop posting questions that could lead to sleepless nights.

See I like Mythology a lot, but I find the stand alone a necessity cause it lets you wind down.

AviQuijada wrote:


The myth eps always had me flailing when I watched them, so I think you're right. I would have just passed out and died without the MOTWs. And then who would be here to nag Blue Samutra?

Some of the mythology. I have a soft spot for the monster of the weeks however.

I think some of the mythology episodes, (especially through seasons 3,4,5,6) are some of the best writing on the show. But the stand alone episodes were usually a bit funner to watch, because the writers could be creative and experiment with ideas, and not have to worry about the episode following a larger arc.
This creativity gave us the great episodes like "Bad Blood" "Drive" and "Jose Chung" (just to name a few)

Pluto wrote:


The mythology was good, meh, up until Dreamland? By the time we get to Two Fathers/One Son its gone nuts. The best of the mytharc for me is Redux I & II and I quote those on a daily basis. My dog Dakota, was named after the episode "Terma" which is in North Dakota, but also includes my fav "scene" fome show ever, the "Answer the question Agent Scully" "What is the question?" moment. Those camera shots, as he walks in. Is FTW.

This is hard because the answer for me is both but I know I wouldn't have enjoyed the show half as much without the mythology mainly because I love a story to unfold and continue and I like to see where the characters go. I loved seeing Mulder & Scully grow and develop and progress in their lives, etc. whether or not they "got together". But then I guess if it was just a show of MOTW then it just would have been a different show and I wouldn't have known any better. ARGH, see? Hard! Hahaha


K....althought some of my fav eps are MOTW....Bad Blood! I'm choosing mythology. Ok...there I did it.


(But I love the MOTW too....)

I have strong biases for sci-fi, scope, serialization and character-driven storytelling, so for me the mythology reaches heights that the standalones couldn't touch. Two of my favorite things about XF are the atmospherics (especially Mark Snow's music) and the acting, and for me those aspects were at their most powerful in the mythology.

The standalones I love most are Darin Morgan's and a lot of the character-driven ones, such as Beyond the Sea and Milagro, but about 80% of the standalones are crime procedurals and to me that's XF at its least interesting. Not that I don't enjoy some of those eps, but they don't hold much rewatch value for me.

When I say mythology, though, I'm referring to the original mythology that imo ended with the resolution of the Samantha arc. What came next I like to pretend is an alternate universe, which isn't that hard considering how distant it is from the original mythology. CC said he wanted to create a new mythology for Doggett and new viewers.

Generally Myth. That being said if I'm in the mood for light and or funny, then it's stand-alone. But since I'm the Queen of Angst, 90% of the time I'm all about the myth.

I definitely prefer the standalone episodes more than the mythology. The monster episodes are great, the humorous ones crack me up (Bad Blood, i think, with Mr. Owen), and those heartwarming episodes like Postmodern Prometheus are just so solid.

The mythology is great though too but the standalones just grab me the most. I also like how little quips and minute details from them end up in the mythology. Maybe I just need to watch the whole mythology alone. I'm currently watching the series again and am about to start season 6.

I never grew up with the X-Files, sadly, but I love it and it is my life now. I wish I got on that train sooner but I was born in '92 so what could I do? haha