Cannot believe this is the only recommendation I’m seeing for x-files.
And same, there’s just something about TV written or directed by Vince Gilligan. He just gets it. Like he makes TV with an audience experience in mind more than just wanting to tell a story. Also recommend giving Pluribus a go if you haven’t already.
If you played FMK when it comes to TV writers/directors Vince Gilligan would be marriage material.
His style is familiar and comforting, but aways original and intriguing. Dark but hilarious. Super genuine, but it’s definitely meant to get in your head and tickle your brain. Like he wants the audience to really feel something and leave a lasting impression.
Probably the most obvious example and the one that always gets brought up (but fuck it I’m fangirling) is the episode of the X-files with Bryan Cranston long before breaking bad (Drive, season 6), when he was mainly just known for being Malcolm’s dad.
Cranston starts out as a very unlikable bigot, but the goal was to have the audience go from seeing him as this one-dimensional guy you hate, to somebody you wind up having some empathy for, seeing as a victim of an injustice, and rooting for him to make it by the end of a single episode.
Then the reverse over several seasons of Breaking Bad. Have him go from being the down on his luck underdog who’s been screwed over by life, then eventually recognizing he’s the villain responsible for the injustices of so many people, and wanting him to fail.
Also, with Breaking bad and better call Saul, he seemed to always use a perfect soundtrack. I know he has music directors, but I always felt (even back to some of his x-files episodes) he has music vibes in mind when he writes or directs that set the tone of the story. I especially associate him with the really dark/eerie scenes of the x-files set to some really upbeat cheery song that completely contradicts what’s occurring, but creates the feeling of the entire scene.
Or the way he plants little Easter eggs/subtle nods to other media he wants to pay homage to. Like there’s this one scene in better call Saul where Chuck, (after making a point earlier in the episode about not wanting to give Saul/Jimmy the kind of theatrical Perry Mason style dramatic moment on the witness stand that he’s hoping for), gets triggered on the witness stand and just flies off the handle.
The lighting suddenly darkens around him, and he just completely loses control. Suddenly, he’s going into this very stereotypical and very dramatic Perry Mason style monologue that he wanted to avoid. In Perry Mason style, it winds up making Saul’s case for him, because he starts ranting and admits he’s always resented Saul, even back when they were kids. He says something like “‘No, not our Jimmy! Always with his hand in the till!’”
The first time I saw that scene, it literally had me doubled over laughing. It was somehow such a subtle but absurd reference. It’s hard to convey, but I honestly think that was my favorite moment in television history, and it still makes me chuckle just thinking about it.
My husband, (who grew up with cable), never had to watch black and white Perry Mason episodes at 3 am as a kid, had no idea it was supposed to be a reference, and definitely did not get why I reacted to it the way I did. But he loves Better Call Saul for his own reasons. That’s true art.
He’s also been building this whole subtle alternate universe by planting references in all of his projects that make you think maybe all of these stories (X-Files, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and to a lesser extent Pluribus, but it’s only 1 season so far) are happening in the same universe.
Vince’s x-files episodes will always be my childhood nostalgia/comfort go to. I used to record them on VHS, and watch them over and over when I needed a pick me up. To me they feel like being in a cozy safe place and getting to relax while enjoying the sound of rain. Once streaming became a thing, and I could watch them whenever it was a feeling of “mind blown! who needs flying cars?! the future is now!”
Top X-files Vince Gilligan recommendations:
Small Potatoes
Bad Blood
Pusher and the follow up episode Kitsunegari
Dreamland I and II
Drive
Anyway, sorry to rant. Point is, I just really can’t say enough good things about TV made by Vince Gilligan.
X-files has been my favorite since I was around 8 years old, so I kind of love everything (up until the end of season 7) equally. It’s hard to pick, but if I was picking favorites to recommend to anyone looking to just casually pick a few episodes to view in addition to the Vince episodes:
Clyde Bruckman’s final repose (imo the embodiment of the whole show)
Syzygy
Killswitch (best dystopian tech episode for the modern world)
Home (best dark episode)
The Great Mutato (best light hearted(ish?) episode)
Je Souhaite (second best light hearted episode)
Most of the Darrin Morgan and James Wong episodes are great too. It’s all great really (almost universally agreed up to season 6, and through season 7 imo). Just go watch the show that raised me into the Scully skeptic scientist/conspiracy fueled Mulder weirdo I grew up to be.
Better call Saul X-Files Breaking bad
Vince knows how to tickle my brain
Cannot believe this is the only recommendation I’m seeing for x-files.
And same, there’s just something about TV written or directed by Vince Gilligan. He just gets it. Like he makes TV with an audience experience in mind more than just wanting to tell a story. Also recommend giving Pluribus a go if you haven’t already.
If you played FMK when it comes to TV writers/directors Vince Gilligan would be marriage material.
His style is familiar and comforting, but aways original and intriguing. Dark but hilarious. Super genuine, but it’s definitely meant to get in your head and tickle your brain. Like he wants the audience to really feel something and leave a lasting impression.
Probably the most obvious example and the one that always gets brought up (but fuck it I’m fangirling) is the episode of the X-files with Bryan Cranston long before breaking bad (Drive, season 6), when he was mainly just known for being Malcolm’s dad.
Cranston starts out as a very unlikable bigot, but the goal was to have the audience go from seeing him as this one-dimensional guy you hate, to somebody you wind up having some empathy for, seeing as a victim of an injustice, and rooting for him to make it by the end of a single episode.
Then the reverse over several seasons of Breaking Bad. Have him go from being the down on his luck underdog who’s been screwed over by life, then eventually recognizing he’s the villain responsible for the injustices of so many people, and wanting him to fail.
Also, with Breaking bad and better call Saul, he seemed to always use a perfect soundtrack. I know he has music directors, but I always felt (even back to some of his x-files episodes) he has music vibes in mind when he writes or directs that set the tone of the story. I especially associate him with the really dark/eerie scenes of the x-files set to some really upbeat cheery song that completely contradicts what’s occurring, but creates the feeling of the entire scene.
Or the way he plants little Easter eggs/subtle nods to other media he wants to pay homage to. Like there’s this one scene in better call Saul where Chuck, (after making a point earlier in the episode about not wanting to give Saul/Jimmy the kind of theatrical Perry Mason style dramatic moment on the witness stand that he’s hoping for), gets triggered on the witness stand and just flies off the handle.
The lighting suddenly darkens around him, and he just completely loses control. Suddenly, he’s going into this very stereotypical and very dramatic Perry Mason style monologue that he wanted to avoid. In Perry Mason style, it winds up making Saul’s case for him, because he starts ranting and admits he’s always resented Saul, even back when they were kids. He says something like “‘No, not our Jimmy! Always with his hand in the till!’”
The first time I saw that scene, it literally had me doubled over laughing. It was somehow such a subtle but absurd reference. It’s hard to convey, but I honestly think that was my favorite moment in television history, and it still makes me chuckle just thinking about it.
My husband, (who grew up with cable), never had to watch black and white Perry Mason episodes at 3 am as a kid, had no idea it was supposed to be a reference, and definitely did not get why I reacted to it the way I did. But he loves Better Call Saul for his own reasons. That’s true art.
He’s also been building this whole subtle alternate universe by planting references in all of his projects that make you think maybe all of these stories (X-Files, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and to a lesser extent Pluribus, but it’s only 1 season so far) are happening in the same universe.
Vince’s x-files episodes will always be my childhood nostalgia/comfort go to. I used to record them on VHS, and watch them over and over when I needed a pick me up. To me they feel like being in a cozy safe place and getting to relax while enjoying the sound of rain. Once streaming became a thing, and I could watch them whenever it was a feeling of “mind blown! who needs flying cars?! the future is now!”
Top X-files Vince Gilligan recommendations:
Anyway, sorry to rant. Point is, I just really can’t say enough good things about TV made by Vince Gilligan.
Also most of the episodes directed by Rob Bowman
X-files has been my favorite since I was around 8 years old, so I kind of love everything (up until the end of season 7) equally. It’s hard to pick, but if I was picking favorites to recommend to anyone looking to just casually pick a few episodes to view in addition to the Vince episodes:
Most of the Darrin Morgan and James Wong episodes are great too. It’s all great really (almost universally agreed up to season 6, and through season 7 imo). Just go watch the show that raised me into the Scully skeptic scientist/conspiracy fueled Mulder weirdo I grew up to be.