The Six Best Monsters From The X-Files Season 1

Developing a premiere season is a tough task for any producer but what made Chris Carter and Co. jobs that much harder was the originality of The X-Files, it was experimental broadcasting  with no guide rope they just had their creativity, instincts and penchant for anything spooky, oh and they also had the notorious FOX Network executives to deal with.

The first season of The X-Files was rich in Monster of the Week episodes, in-fact it boasted nineteen in total the highest amount of stand-alones in any of the nine seasons.  Not all were classics mind and some were definitely dud but there was many diamonds amongst the rough.

Some of these monsters make the cut because they are just plain scary especially for the John Doe of 19 years ago some however make us smile and others make us sad.

With so many MoW’s to choose from narrowing them down to a list of six was not easy but here it is, the definitive list of the six best monsters from MoW episodes:

6. Cecil L’Ively, Fire

Possibly a controversial choice, Cecil’s general exclusion from these types of lists can only be merited to the overshadowing hate for Phoebe Green a women equally annoying and fugly. Cecil just makes the cut based on the fact that he should not be underestimated. The highly intelligent psychopaths’ dedication to his killings is unrivalled and his anti-establishment views make him an ideal candidate for world domination. His each and every sanctimonious move derived from pure evil. A wicked black heart gets this pyro-kinetic monster a top six spot.
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5. Roland, Roland

The hapless autistic Roland was an early example of the variety of emotional avenues Chris Carter would be granted to travel down over the course of the next 8 seasons. This X-Files MoW week didn’t scare anybody it may have got a few laughs but in truth they only feeling we were left with was that of sorrow, loneliness and possibly empathy for the most innocent and ill-fated young man. Perhaps that is fear.
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4. The bugs, Darkness Falls

These carnivorous nocturnal bugs cocoon and slowly digested their prey, eating them alive. What makes their fear factor worse is that they are undetectable in daylight. They could be gathering around your bed waiting for darkness to fall. If The X-Files ever gave us a reason to sleep with the lights on this was it.
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3. The Eves, Eve

Creepy test tube twins Cindy Reardon and Teena Simmons both killed the respective adoptive fathers through means of exsanguination at the tender years of eight. These highly intelligent blood thirsty sentence finishers are destined to drive themselves to psychotic madness in later life, just ask their big sis, eye ball biter Eve 6.
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2. Luther Lee Boggs, Beyond the Sea

On death row and desperate for a pardon, Boggs claims he can use psychic channelling to help locate a killer before he kills his kidnap victims. His claims seem to hold up against adverse facts to the matter. Is he to be believed and even if he is; is this a chance for redemption and should his sins be forgiven? A most memorable character responsible for bringing passion to The X-Files, his importance to the show should not be undervalued.
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1.  Eugene Victor Tooms, Squeeze/Tooms

We became acquainted with this bile spewing stretchy odd ball over two episodes that allowed us to get a real insight into his peculiar existence. Tooms appearance was also the first MoW appearance in The X-Files history. We learned early on that behind his jaundice liver hungry eyes laid the brains to challenge Mulder and Scully, he is good at what he does after all he has been doing it over a matter of centuries. His ability to stretch out and squeeze through the tightest of spaces meant that no one was safe from his appetite, his prey seldom escape. He was disgusting, the sneer on his face was unpleasant, his method of sticking his nest together was sickening and his methods of entry repugnant (the sewer especially). It was fitting that Tooms suffered such a gruesome demise at the hands of Mulder and an escalator, an unforgettably brilliant end that he earned and it was no less than he deserved.
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There you have it my definitive list of The X-Files first season best monsters from MoW episodes. Let me know your lists, who would of you include?

FIRE Episode 12 Season 1 of The X-Files

This episode is hot 7/10

Synopsis: An old flame of Mulders asks for his assistance in apprehending a psychopathic pyro-maniac

Another Strong MOW (monster of the week) offering that offers a little more. On top of the Pyro maniac with a demonic ability that is matched only by his demonic view on the world, we have the first exaggerated nod towards Dana’s secret affection towards Fox and Mulders clumsy affection towards Dana. A term X-Philes coined as ‘ship’, Short for relationship. The shippers had X-Philes around the world speculating heavily on forums, blogs and chat rooms and caused a phenomenon in itself possibly the biggest, away from any story arch the series had to offer. It is safe to say that this subject remains the strongest of all topics of conversations on any thing X-Files. Kept stronger by stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson real life will they won’t they relationship. Well, let the shipping continues.

Scully’s instant distain for Mulder’s college year love interest Phoebe Green is instantly recognisable. Phoebe whispers in Mulders ear ‘She hates me’ somewhat blatantly to show of her dominance over Scully for Mulders instant affection. Mulder seems aware of this and immediately deflects the unwanted tension by questioning Phoebe of the reason to her visit.

Phoebe asks Mulder to help in catching a narcissistic pyro maniac who kills members of the upper classes by burning his victims alive. The only lead is a potential target of the attacker, Sir Malcolm. Mulder agrees to assist, upon leaving his office Phoebe turns to Scully rather nonchalantly and says ‘Oh, good bye’ as if she forgot of her presence in the room.

Scully is wary of Phoebes control and possible manipulation over Mulder. She remarks to Mulder how she had just witnessed him drop everything to help Mulder who defends himself by stating ‘I was merely extending her a professional courtesy’ to which Scully quips ‘Oh was that what you were extending?’ A funny line that is rife with jealous undertones. Scully displays further acquisitive emotion as, against Mulders wishes she goes to the hotel to where he and Phoebe are staying.

The role of Phoebe was originally designed to be a recurring role with a view to replacing the enigmatic Dana Scully. Luckily for us this wasn’t the case. I found her simply irritating and I would just like to say we don’t all talk like that!

Our MOW Cecil L’lvely’s awaits the visit of Sir Malcome Marsden and family to the vacation home. He poses as the grounds man for the estate having killed and buried the real one in a shallow grave. Cecil kicks the Marsden’s family dog and threatens to skin it alive. Cecil is not joking he would skin the dog alive he feels no remorse for his actions he is a loaner cold and callous. He is intelligent and has a confident demeanour; he is a psychopath in every sense. He is a psychopath with the penchant for murdering aristocrats, not for political or financial gain. He kills these powerful men to validate his own beliefs that he is all powerful. Cecil is a man that really is geared towards world domination.

He is also a voyeur that spies on the wife of his targets. He watches Mrs Marsden through a window his attention drawn primarily to her body. His affection towards these women is most probably perverse although it is not explored in too finer detail.

His malevolent behaviour is explored brilliantly in one scene where he befriends the two young Marsden boys with magic using cigarettes which he then uses to tempt the boys to smoke as if he were the Devil himself. He also tricks the Marsden’s driver into drinking rocket fuel and sets him alight, so he could assist the Marsden’s more closely. Personally I think this MOW is far too easily overlooked he holds many of the cards over some better established MoW in terms of his evilness, maliciousness, intelligence and all over anti-hero vibe over .

Other noteworthy points to take from this episode are Mulder admitting to having a photographic memory and pyro-phobia. The pyrotechnics used I find impressive to this day. The X-File case number Scully retorts at the end of the show, 11214893 includes the number 1121 the birthday of X-Files creator Chris Carters wife. This number along with 1013, Carters birthday and name of his production company are used with regularity throughout the show. The original script of this episode includes a conversation near the end in which Scully comments, ‘Well, never let it be said that you wouldn't walk through fire for a woman, Mulder’, to which he answers, ‘And never let it be said that I wouldn't do it for you again, Scully’.

I think this episode is overlooked by some and for me I think 7/10 does it justice.