The X-Files

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Season 5
  • Network: FOX
  • Series Premiere Date: Sep 10, 1993
Season #: 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
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User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 76 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 71 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 76
  3. Negative: 1 out of 76
  1. ForReals13
    Apr 7, 2018
    10
    Redux A. Redux II A. Unusual Suspects A-. Detour B+.
    The Post Modern Prometheus A. Christmas Carol B. Emily B.
    Kitsunegari B. Schizogeny C+.    Redux A. Redux II A. Unusual Suspects A-. Detour B+.
    The Post Modern Prometheus A. Christmas Carol B. Emily B.
    Kitsunegari B. Schizogeny C+. Chinga B. Kill Switch B+.
    Bad Blood A. Patient X A-. The Red And The Black A-.
    Travelers B-. Mind's Eye B. All Souls B-.
    The Pine Bluff Variant B+. Folie A Deux A. The End A.    … Full Review »
  2. drlowdon
    Dec 24, 2016
    9
    With the big-screen movie in production season five saw The X-Files at the height of its popularity and delivered another very good season ofWith the big-screen movie in production season five saw The X-Files at the height of its popularity and delivered another very good season of sci-fi. It could be argued that the mythology had started to become a little too complicated for its own good at this point but it remained an important aspect of the show and continued to provide enough intrigue that fans remained invested. As ever there were also plenty entertaining stand-alone episodes such as “Bad Blood”, which is one of my all-time favourite X-Files episodes.… Full Review »
  3. MovieMasterEd
    Mar 22, 2016
    8
    The fifth season of The X-Files represents the height of the show’s popularity.

    Bookended by the production and release of the motion    The fifth season of The X-Files represents the height of the show’s popularity.

    Bookended by the production and release of the motion picture, the fifth season also earned the highest overall Neilsen ratings of any of the show’s nine seasons. The X-Files was a cultural force to be reckoned with, and had come a long way from its origins as little-seen cult television show. In the late nineties, it seemed like it wasn’t just aliens conspiring to colonise the planet; Chris Carter and his team were doing a pretty good job of it themselves. The fifth season has all the swagger and confidence of a show enjoying the view as it stands on top of the world.

    The fifth season might not be able to match the third season for consistency from episode to episode. The fifth season might also struggle to match the breathless ambition of the fourth season’s best (and wildest) episodes. However, it is a highly enjoyable season of television on its own terms. The season feels a little more relaxed and organised than the fourth season, and more confident in itself than the third. The fifth season even makes better use of its own internal themes and motifs than any of the previous seasons, with most of the staff seemingly on the same page.

    Oddly enough, this thematic consistency does not translate into clear or fully-formed arcs. Unlike the second season of Millennium, it seems like the fifth season of The X-Files has no real idea of where it is going or how it wants to get there. This is slight problem when the fifth season needs to build to a feature film that was shot in the gap between the fourth and fifth seasons. The X-Files gets a lot of credit for popularising serialised storytelling on prime-time television, but the fifth season demonstrates just how sloppy the show could sometimes be in that regard.

    Still, this is a minor problem. With only twenty episodes, the fifth season is the shortest season of The X-Files produced at this point in the show’s history. The ninth season would run the same length, but there is an argument to be made that it is technically the shorter season; The Truth was written and broadcast as a single feature-length episode rather than two individual episodes. However, production necessities required a lot of innovation and experimentation in the fifth season, leading to a very playful and very off-format season of television.

    While it is probably very difficult to argue that the fifth season of The X-Files was the show’s best run of episodes, it is a highly enjoyable collection of shows that brings together a lot of what was so much fun about The X-Files. The last season to be filmed in Vancouver, and the season that moves us closer to the end of the series than the beginning. Although certain segments of fandom would argue that it is the last truly great season of The X-Files, that feels unduly harsh to both the sixth and eighth seasons. Nevertheless, it is thrilling to watch a show so thoroughly enjoying its moment in the sun.

    The fifth season seemed to allow Carter a lot more freedom and space than he had enjoyed the previous year. It is hard to imagine Carter having the time or energy to shape something as experimental or playful as The Post-Modern Prometheus with all his obligations during the fourth season of The X-Files. However, the show even manages to take advantage of awkward production realities. The absence of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson allows the writers to do off-format episodes like Unusual Suspects or Travelers.

    The fifth season is the point at which The X-Files ceases to be a show building momentum. This is the peak of the bell curve. The carriage has reached the top of the roller coaster. The view is spectacular. While there are some great episodes (and even seasons) ahead, the ride is about to get a lot more turbulent. So let’s enjoy this while we can.    … Full Review »
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