Overall Rating: 2.17 out of 4 (circa 2003)
Worst / Best
It's actually not fair that I have to pick out the worst because I don't think I even saw the worst of the bunch, given what I've heard. Out of the twelve episodes that I did see, however, I may as well go with my ratings and choose Alone as the worst. The x-file component of it was pointless, the tribute part of it came off like a back-handed compliment, and for what seems like the thousandth time in the past couple of years, the Dana Scully that I saw cheesed me off in a big way. (I'll never be able to watch Tempus Fugit in the same way again.) That said, I have no fond feelings for any of the following, either: The Gift, Per Manum, This is Not Happening, and Empedocles.
If the first question of identifying the worst episode wasn't fair, the next task of identifying the best is damn near impossible. Again, I'll just go with my ratings and choose what I recall made me feel the best at the time that I saw it, which would be DeadAlive. Totally unbelievable in any context, but it had enough action and "edge of your seat" pacing to make me forget its shortcomings when I originally watched it.
Most Disappointing / Most Surprising
Did I have enough high hopes for anything this season to have found any one episode disappointing? I think I'll answer this one in a slightly different manner and expound on all the reasons why I found this entire season disappointing. When Mulder got sucked up into the alien ship last year, I knew that things would never be the same again. An era on TXF ended right there, no mistake about it. At that point in time, however, it was not apparent to me that any "next generation" type of folks would be introduced to the show. My guess was that Skinner would get demoted for his role in the "loss" of Mulder and that he would welcome the temporary re-assignment to field agent status to help Scully search for Mulder. It wasn't my naive belief that episode after episode until David Duchovny's return would focus on this search, but it was definitely my expectation that the show would take on a new respect for continuity and include a scene or two every week where we would get a status report showing their progress. That this could have been so easily accommodated but was ignored, was truly disappointing.
The characterization of Dana Scully — one that had long ago reached the point of irritation for at least two viewers that I know — was a further disappointment. I've been on her case since the "hold on" speech at the beginning of season seven, but this year took the proverbial cake. I'm not going to fan the flames by going into any great detail, but suffice it to say that whatever understanding that I used to feel for this character simply died over the course of season eight. It got to the point where I rolled my eyes at her distress because I didn't find her actions/reactions believable or even worthy of my concern.
My last big disappointment concerning season eight was the way in which they ended up using David Duchovny's services. So much potential ended up being so seriously wasted on trivial material. I must admit to having had expectations that Mulder's return would be a temporary revival of the "old X-Files". Mind you, I must also confess that I didn't think the ridiculous pregnancy storyline would be carried out to its "fullest" so that by Mulder's return, Scully would be as big as a house and not much good as a field agent anyway. Again, it wasn't anything that a decent attempt at realistic story-telling wouldn't have fixed, but I got the distinct impression that Chris Carter and his cronies didn't want any realism to interfere with their particular brand of story-telling this year. And that has to be the biggest disappointment to this fan.
So do I have a pick for most surprising? Once again, I'll tackle it from a slightly different perspective. My reaction to this entire season has been the most surprising part of it. In my wildest dreams (even after I sat in front of the TV moaning, "no, no, no" at the end of Requiem last year), it never occurred to me that by the time another May rolled around, I would care so little about this show and about what future Mulder and Scully might have. Which leads me to the closing scene in Existence... I think it's sad that some of us have cared so much and been so thoroughly ignored that those two minutes were enough to satisfy. In the context of what I've seen on the show the past couple of years, that ending just didn't fit. It may have been what many of us wanted after investing up to eight years of our lives, but CC had done the MSR some major damage over the past two seasons. In the end, what I saw were two characters who have behaved in aggravatingly stupid ways and who now think that a baby is going to assure them of "happily ever after". Sure. Fine. Whatever.
I don't know what Fox/Chris Carter has in mind after season twenty-seven or whatever, but I do wish that they'll all keep something in mind for the next big "hit" project: "Always leave your audience wanting more." The wisdom of the person who originated that saying can't be disputed.
Since I chose not to re-watch any of the episodes in S8, I have no changes to make to any of the individual reviews or ratings. The part of me that still cares about TXF is ultra sensitive to the incredible frustration that arises whenever I think about anything beyond the second last scene of Requiem. In revisiting my personal history with this show, it occurs to me that the worst trends in fan fiction seemed to have pervaded the series in its final two seasons. The creators of the show — ever the fierce protectors of the "relationship" and where it could or could not go — totally botched it. In the end, only those that I would describe as "shippers beyond all reason" would think that the Mulder and Scully story ended up anywhere near realistic or satisfying. I mean, my God, a baby! (How many discussions about bad fanfic did we have on the old discussion boards about "M&S with kids" stories??) And Mulder was actually dead and buried for how long? And how long was Scully's pregnancy? Oh, I forgot, I shouldn't ask such questions...
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