5 Best-Rated X-Files Episodes That Raised The Bar for the Genre
Missed The X-Files? How about a trip down the memory lane?
The X-Files has been a huge success largely due to its diversity of genres. Science fiction, horror, comedy, detective, mystery, drama – almost everything got added into the mix.
In general, there was something for everyone. But which episodes have become the most beloved by loyal fans?
5. Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man – 9.0
William B. Davis has been a part of The X-Files since the pilot episode, when the Smoking Man appeared in the background at the meeting where Scully first met Mulder, but until this episode, viewers knew almost nothing about his history.
The Smoking Man uses a listening device and takes cover with a sniper rifle. He listens as The Lone Gunman talks to the agents. They are discussing the Smoking Man's biography, which causes his mind to travel back in time.
4. The Erlenmeyer Flask – 9.0
The X-Files was by no means an overnight hit, and the first season had some disappointing flops. However, it definitely ended on an epic note.
Scully holding an alien embryo, the X-Files division being shut down, Deep Throat dying – such unexpected plot twists could not leave anyone indifferent.
3. Anasazi – 9.1
There's nothing more disappointing to TV viewers than a season finale that ends on a cliffhanger, and for X-Files fans, this was perhaps the show's most frustrating season finale yet, as it meant the longest summer of waiting for season three to begin. Still, its IMDb rate is pretty high.
In this episode, Mulder and Scully receive a tape containing material encoded in the Navajo language that confirms the authorities' knowledge of aliens. The tape leads the agents to the Navajo Indian Reservation, where a tribal elder helps the agents transcribe the tape's material.
2. Bad Blood – 9.2
The best example of the show's comedic potential, as well as brilliant performances from David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Luke Wilson.
What could be funnier than watching Mulder and Scully's opposing points of view on the same incident in a small vampire town? We have never seen them like this before, which adds to the impact of the episode.
1. Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose – 9.2
Every episode Darin Morgan has written for The X-Files is memorable, but this is the only one that can bring tears to your eyes before the credits roll.
That's certainly a credit to the writing, but a lot of honor also goes to Emmy Award winner Peter Boyle as Clyde Bruckman, a middle-aged man who reminds viewers throughout the episode that the ability to predict the future is not always a blessing — sometimes, it's more of a curse.
