My son and his girlfriend have recently gotten into "The X-Files." He just texted and asked me for a good standalone episode to watch. I asked him he has seen "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose." Nope. So he's starting that now. What I wouldn't give to watch that one for the first time again.
"The Great Mutato" was sweet. "Home" is definitely the most twisted.
I’d save it until the holidays- but How the Ghosts Stole Christmas is an absolute classic. Also Pusher!
All of the Darin Morgan episodes are great. His work as story editor in season 3 is probably why that’s the best season of the show.
Love The Unnatural
Jose Chung for sure...Home if theyre freaks like I am lol
I’m still shook by Home
It's a wild ride lol
I guess Home would have been a little too intense as an entry point
I always enjoyed "Small Potatoes" as a standalone episode, but that one requires some prior familiarity with the dynamic between Mulder and Scully to really enjoy properly.
Small Potatoes. Bad Blood.
Next, I’d recommend they check out Humbug, War of the Coprophages and Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space” next. Maybe even throw in the new X-Files episodes from Darin Morgan.
My favorites, the creature that attacked people at a lake but it was an alligator, but it wasn't. The episode in Florida with the creepy little forest creatures, the supercomputer that became self aware and committed crimes. Sorry I don't remember their titles, standalones were the best.
100% agree. The “storyline” episodes were boring compared to the “Monster of the Week” episodes.
From the episode's Wikipedia page for Clyde Bruckman: "The titular character . . . was originally written with Bob Newhart in mind, but Peter Boyle was later cast" Boyle was perfection in the role, but man I can totally picture Bob Newhart doing that and it would've been amazing.
Small Potatoes is a good stand alone as well.
Bad Blood! I know you didn’t ask but that’s such a good one too.
He had just watched that one earlier this evening!
I’m going to rewatch the Bruckman one thinking of Newhart in the role with this new knowledge. That would’ve been a funny casting, but in a more frustrating way.
Peacock Brothers and the one with Peterman are also golden.
Boyle's more ascerbic. Newhart would have just been odd and remote.
It is a very Newhart character
I think I remember Boyle saying that he hated the episode, or maybe the show
“I can’t think of a more undignified one than autoerotic asphyxiation”
That episode and Young Frankenstein are my two favorite Peter Boyle performances.
I think the episodes of X-files that examine paranormal with a sense of humor are my favorite. The one with the shapeshifter who plays Mulder for a while is some excellent Duchovny work.
Of course, if you want to freak him out with some truly scary/horrific episodes you go with "Home", "Squeeze", and "Irresistible".
Fluke Man
“The Post-Modern Prometheus”, also an incredible episode
Kill Switch Jose Chung's From Outer Space Rm9sbG93ZXJz Syzygy Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man Drive Ice Bad Blood
Impressed at the restraint you showed by not springing “Home” on him
Yeah, that’s ground zero. If you can handle that, you can handle anything.
Home was the first network TV episode to be rated TV-MA. That still doesn't feel like enough
Nope. Came out a few weeks before.
I guess because it got the MA rating on re-airings
Extremely deservedly so!
didn't know fiction could make me feel full-body physically disgusted before that
Home is 🔥✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨
Intriguing as this post! May I know which site gives the opportunity to watch X-files from the scratch. It would be great if I can get watch it in good or glorious HD version. Thanks in advance lovely BS folks 💙
Perfect answer 🤌🏼
Whatever the freak show episode is from season 1 is a personal favorite
Humbug
One of the greatest episodes of any show ever. Peter Boyle is phenomenal in that too
Clyde Bruckman, Home, Squeeze
Also want to throw "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" out there as definitely the best revival episode and a good example of how funny it could also be in contrast to heavy stuff like Home and Squeeze.
Definitely in my top five! Peter Boyle is magnificent. “Bad Blood” is such a fun one, too. I die laughing every time.
I love how ep 2 is Deep Throat and ep 3 is Squeeze. Two all-timers right off the bat
You are so right. That would’ve been my answer too. Followed close second by the one with The Great Mutato.
Another great standalone episode: Kill Switch.
My favorite!
Im almost done, on the 2nd last season. I think I've seen them all but I really miss that time
I’d be tempted to say “Home,” just to mess with him.
He'd probably fucking love that one.
I’m still horrified, like 30 years later.
Same.
100% sammmmme
Haven't seen all episodes but I loved the one about the baseball player. Don't recall the name.
Jose Chung 😆
I wonder if Fox Mulder has died of ____________________ yet.
X-Files: The stand-alone episodes are the strongest. Fringe: The conspiracy episodes are the strongest.
Love Fringe. Im amazed that show was on TV. By season 3 they gave up trying to appeal to the masses and it got nuts
This one next. War of the Coprophages The X Files: Season 3, Episode 12 Then this one. Folie A Deux S5E19
My favorite show in college. My friends and I would stop everything on Sunday night to watch “foxy” Mulder because we all had a crush on him 😊
I am watching all the X Files episodes now (got the boxed set of DVDs), saw that episode, and was blown away by it. I would have recommended the exact same one.
My nephew has gotten into recently. I never watched it. He is very interested in the aliens stuff and not in the romance stuff.
I think I'm the only person in the universe who has never seen "X Files," and I am older than dirt.
Thanks for the tip! I plan to watch it tonight.
I just rewatched it about a month ago, along with The Lone Gunmen. There is also a book/audiobook series that's fun
The Truth IS out there!
Folie à Deux was prescient. It wasn't until November 8, 2016 that I understood why it creeped me out so much.
Darkness falls was always one of my favorite non alien standalones - maybe because I had it on VHS and watched I so many times 😂
That Jim Rose one hits a lot harder these days. The kids are alright
Post-Modern Prometheus
Chinga is also 💯
I don't remember what the episode is called, but the one with Gary Shandling and Tea Leoni making an movie of the X-Files is pretty great, for this scene alone:
I just noticed that Apple has the X-Files box set on sale for around $45. That comes to around .20 per episode.
Somewhere in a storage unit I have like the first five seasons on VHS collection, lol
What i wouldn't give to be sub 30 again
"How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" is always a good one too.
“3” is one of my favorites, after Clyde’s!
Jose Chung
That's the next one I'm gonna tell him.
Bad Blood is also really good for a Rashomon-style episode
Love that one. Was gonna be my next suggestion.
Sooo good. IIRC the Jose Chung character first appeared on the brilliant s2 episode of Millennium that skewered Scientology. s2 of Millennium is one of the least-remembered great TV seasons.
I loved Millennium. Amazed at how memory-holed it has become.
Chris Carter didn’t do it any favors by caving to Fox after s2 and removing G. Morgan and Wong as showrunners because Fox thought it was “too dark.” Also, I think 80% of my favorite X-Files and Millennium episodes were written by D. Morgan.
Millennium was just so dower. Good, great even, but dower. Remember the Lone Gunmen spinoff? Like how it predicted 9/11?
If there was an FX or a Hulu at the time, it would’ve found its place there.
Layers of meta
The one with Barry Pepper is pretty good, and the one with Charles Nelson Reilly was a lot of fun. Peter Boyle though, about as good as it got
The Peacock Family scarred me for life.
That was a really good one
Home
Yeah, to watch Jose Chung's From Outer Space for the first time again... It was my first X-Files episode....
'Ice' is a good standalone Xfiles episode. One of my favorites.
Beyond the Sea for the incredible performance by Brad Dourif.
Been watching it lately...omg...so many goofy mistakes
I love the call back to this episode in "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster."
I don't have such a good grasp of the actual episode names, but the Rashomon episode with Luke Wilson was a treat.
Bad Blood. My son watched that one earlier tonight!
