The Show:

The seventh season of the X-Files television series was meant to be the last season. Both lead actors had expressed the desire to go off and work on other projects, and David Duchovny's contract was over at the end of the season. The contract of the show's creator (Chris Carter) was ending as well, and he had expressed a desire to "go out on top". Carter, along with his writing staff, wrote the entire season as though it was the last one. Unfortunately, Fox television was not quite ready to let go of the X-Files (which was still its top-rated drama and its cash-cow). Due to ongoing haggling and negotiations between Fox (who wasn't willing to let the show end), Chris Carter, and the actors, the season seven finale was written and filmed without knowing whether or not it was the season-finale or the series-finale -- putting the writers in a very tough spot...

The X-Files television show followed the investigations of FBI Agents Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). The X-Files were cases that could not be solved by conventional means -- cases that the FBI had given up upon. Mulder investigated the cases with a view toward the paranormal, Scully with a view toward the scientific. The writing was clever and intelligent, the characters unique and endearing. The show received mountains of critical acclaim (a first for a show of the "Sci-Fi" genre) and ultimately became part of our pop-culture. The show ultimately lasted for 9 seasons (although it should have ended after season 7 -- but I digress).

The Seventh Season:

Wayne Federman: "You want my advice? You're both crazy."
Mulder: "Well, why do you say that?"
Wayne Federman: [to Mulder] "Well, you're crazy for believing what you believe." [to Scully] "And you're crazy for not believing what he believes. I'll leave you with that."
-- Hollywood A.D.

As I mentioned above, the writers wrote the stories figuring that this would be the last season. As such, they did try to wrap-up some storylines, such as the mystery surrounding Mulder's sister. They also brought back some old favorites, such as bad-guy Donnie Pfaster, or well-liked guest-writer William Gibson. The season finale, "Requiem", was a true tour de force and a fantastic bit of nostalgia for those fans who had been there from the beginning.

I suppose that with the success of David Duchovny's solo-writing and directing debut (season six's "The Unnatural"), Chris Carter felt safe in letting some of his other actors take a stab at writing and directing (Duchovny had been receiving co-writing credits as far back as season two for his plot contributions and story ideas). Three very solid, entertaining episodes were contributed by actors. William B. Davis (the Cigarette Smoking Man) co-wrote "En Ami", which shed some new light on his character. Gillian Anderson wrote and directed "all things", which was not only visually stunning and quite different, but also sent fans into a tizzy over the "naked Mulder leg" scene. And once again David Duchovny showed off his wry humor and proved that he's a top-notch storyteller with his 2nd solo-writing and directing effort, "Hollywood A.D."

Ellen Adderly: "Do you have a... a significant other?"
Mulder: "Um, not in the widely understood definition of that term."
-- Chimera

The relationship between Mulder and Scully continued to grow and mature. Fans had speculated that the whole Fowley debacle from season six had caused a "rift" between the two agents, however in season seven we get to see two people who truly seem to enjoy being around each other. Even mediocre episodes were uplifted by good doses of Mulder/Scully interaction (reminiscent of earlier seasons). They knew each other better than they knew themselves (evidenced by Mulder's careful treatment of Scully in "Orison", and Scully's treatment of Mulder in "Sein Und Zeit/Closure"). Then you throw in cute/cuddly scenes like those found in "Millennium", "all things", "Hollywood A.D.", "Requiem", and the like, and it was pretty clear that Carter & Company finally agreed that perhaps there should be (or there already was) a romance between these two agents.

After 6 long years it is hard to keep the show fresh and new. Even with some great sweeps-episodes, the overall season is somewhat lackluster. There were a lot of solid-but-not-fantastic episodes, but only a few truly "great" episodes.

A lot of people were still rather unhappy with the way the season turned out. With it being the "last season", fans were expecting a season chock-full of mythology episodes ("mythology" episodes were the ones that formed a continuing story-arc that spanned many seasons, as opposed to "stand-alone" episodes which required no knowledge of previous episodes) and answers to the questions we had been asking for years. Sure, Carter & Company threw us a bone or two, but there was anger and even hostility over the high number of mediocre episodes that did not deal at all with aliens or the overriding mythology arc.

Mulder: "There's so much more you need to do with your life. There's so much more than this. There has to be an end, Scully."
-- Requiem

I will always feel somewhat robbed by how season seven went down. How what everyone assumed was the "last season" turned into the 3rd-from-last season. I'm angry with Fox for not "allowing" the series to end where it was meant to end, and for not coming to a final decision with enough time for Carter & Company to craft season seven appropriately. I'm particularly angry that the finale had to be written not knowing whether it was a series or a season finale. I applaud Chris Carter because the finale was so well-crafted that it really could stand as either a season or series finale -- but the fact remains that seasons 8 and 9 could not continue the story appropriately, and I'm left with wondering if those later seasons might have turned out better if the season 7 writers had known that there were going to be other seasons to support -- that they shouldn't wrap everything up too tightly, or that they should add some things to be expounded upon in future seasons, or that they would only have part-time Duchovny from then on, so they needed to lay some groundwork for that. Either that, or Fox should have let the show end with season seven, so that it could truly go out in style and the way Chris Carter originally intended.

From what I understand, Fox basically mandated that the show would continue with or without Carter and Duchovny. Understandably, neither Carter nor Duchovny wanted to see the show wrestled away and run by someone else. Carter said that he would not continue without Duchovny (a nice show of solidarity). Duchovny was pretty angry at Fox, because they had cheated him out of some syndication money (he sued and I believe it was settled out-of-court for a large, undisclosed sum). Ultimately, Duchovny agreed to appear in a limited number of Season 8 episodes, and the show went on...

For the seventh season, The X-Files was nominated for 6 technical Emmys, and won 3 of them (for outstanding makeup, outstanding visual effects, and outstanding sound mixing). David and Gillian were nominated for Screen Actors Guild awards, but they did not win.

DVD Technical Specs:

This set includes 6 single-sided, dual-layered discs.

5 discs contain 4 episodes apiece (along with deleted scenes and international clips) in the original airing order. The 6th disc contains 2 episodes and the bonus features.

The bonus features can also be accessed while watching the episodes they come from by selecting the "X" that appears at the bottom of the screen (like the "Follow the white rabbit" scenes from the Matrix DVD).

The discs run for approximately 1056 minutes (that's 22 episodes at 48 minutes apiece).

The episodes have 15 chapters per episode.

English and French audio tracks are in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo surround. Subtitles are in English and Spanish. The English is also closed captioned.

The video quality is wonderful! Hurray for widescreen! The episodes look great in 16x9, presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The surround sound quality is very good as well.

The packaging is very clever (when introduced with the first-season set it won an award). A slip-cover holds the gate-fold packaging closed, with X-Files images and quotes decorate every available inch of space required to hold all 6 discs. You can see a graphic of the packaging if you follow the official Season 7 DVD Set link at the bottom of this review.

A "collector's edition" booklet is also included with the discs, listing episode titles and chapter stops, as well as titles and air-dates for all nine seasons.

The Discs:

Scully: "Mulder, have you noticed that we're on television?"
Mulder: "I don't think it's live television, Scully. She just said *bleep*."
-- X-Cops

~~Disc One:

The Sixth Extinction (7x03) - Picking up where the season 6 finale left off, Mulder appears to be going insane, and Scully races to find a cure. The plot was a bit disjointed, but it was still a good opener (MizGnomer's Grade: B+)

The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati (7x04) - Comatose Mulder lives a dream while Scully searches for her missing partner. This one upset a lot of people at the time. Many didn't realize that the episode was a take on "The Last Temptation of Christ", except this time it is Mulder who is tempted with a "normal" life. If you view it that way then the episode is pretty cool with its parallels -- if you don't then you can understand why a lot of people got upset at the Mulder/Fowley connection. With its focus on Mulder's dream, a lot of the questions posed in "The Sixth Extinction (part one)" didn't get answered. Although there is some good stuff in there, I was still left unsatisfied with all those dropped plot threads (my grade: B)

Hungry (7x01) - A monster with a taste for human flesh tries to curb his hunger and fit in with society. My heart goes out to writer Vince Gilligan on this one -- he was tasked with writing an X-Files episode with almost no Mulder and Scully (because Duchovny and Anderson were off finishing up other movie projects). Vince still managed to tell an interesting and different story, but it will never be considered one of the "great" X-Files episodes. (my grade: B-)

Millennium (7x05) - Mulder and Scully team up with profiler Frank Black (from the television show "Millennium") to prevent Armageddon as the year switches from 1999 to 2000. This crossover episode was intended to give a proper ending to the X-Files' sister show, Millennium (which was cancelled after its third season by Fox without enough warning to script a series finale). I liked Millennium, and was glad to see Frank Black and his daughter again. This was the first X-Files episode of the 7th season that I fully enjoyed -- I would have liked it even if it didn't have Mulder and Scully's first "real" kiss at the end. (my grade: A)

~~Disc Two:

Rush (7x06) - A teenage killer can move faster than the eye can see. A good, solid episode, but nothing particularly special. (my grade: B-)

The Goldberg Variation (7x02) - An episode involving a real-life Rube Goldberg device (like the MouseTrap game, where you use a big, silly contraption to do something simple). I thought the episode was pretty cute, but it wasn't one of the greats. (my grade: B+)

Orison (7x07) - The death-fetishist who once kidnapped Scully is on the loose. The villain from the enormously popular season 2 episode "Irresistible" is back, and I was worried because the X-Files didn't have the best track record with bringing back favorite bad guys (Squeeze's follow-up, Tooms, was fine, but Pusher-Kitsunegari follow-up was not as good). While I still prefer "Irresistible", "Orison" was quite good, and the last 15 minutes were great (visually stunning with cool character-study and a dilemma to keep you thinking). (my grade: A-)

The Amazing Maleeni (7x08) - Did a magician's trick cause his own death, or was he murdered? A cute episode with some funny lines and more magic than paranormal. Casting magician Ricky Jay was a nice touch. Another good-but-not-fantastic episode. (my grade: B)

~~Disc Three:

Signs & Wonders (7x09) - An odd, snake-loving religion runs rampant in the deep south. I'm just not a big fan of this episode. Not only does it play on every stereotype of Tennesseans/Southerners (something I hate anyway), but the "birthing" scene is one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen. Some decent Mulder/Scully-in-jeopardy scenes and a good scare or two help raise the overall grade a bit. (my grade: B-)

Sein Und Zeit (7x10) - A little girl disappears, and Mulder is reminded of his sister. Lots of Mulder-angst always makes for a great episode. I do have some negatives when put-together with the 2nd half of this two-parter... (my grade: B+)

Closure (7x11) - Mulder's search for clues concerning his sister's abduction finally yield some answers. What an emotional rollercoaster this two-parter was! Looking back now, I'm still somewhat torn and bitter over the whole Samantha storyline. First, I'm glad that we viewers finally got a definitive answer on what really happened to her. Second, I'm glad that Mulder finally did get some closure -- after all, he structured his entire life around finding his sister. Third, overall this episode was really beautifully done. Now, on the down side (big spoilers here -- skip to the next episode if you don't want to know) I still think it is wrong for Samantha to be dead. Down through the years there were so many subtle hints and clues that led you to believe she was still alive (my favorite being in season two's "Anasazi", where Mulder and Scully are looking through secret government files on people who have been abducted -- many files contain "old" tissue sample kits, however Samantha's file contains a "new" tissue sample -- meaning she must have still been alive! It was so cleverly and subtly done.) Now I've lost some respect for the writers because this episode nullifies all of the clever clues that were revealed along the way (back when the show was still in its prime). There were still a lot of unanswered, annoying questions (dealing with timelines and to what degree CSM, Jeffery Spender, and Cassandra Spender were involved in Samantha Mulder's post-abduction life). Still, I have a hard time giving a bad grade to such a beautiful and heart-wrenching episode. (my grade: B+)

X-Cops (7x12) - An X-Files/Cops crossover episode. I think they pulled it off really well. The look & feel was extraordinarily Cops-like, down to the Cops theme music and the shaky, hand-held camera work. Scully's reactions to being on camera are priceless. A different, somewhat light-hearted romp that was a nice break after the "Sein Und Zeit/Closure" two parter. (my grade: A)

~~Disc Four:

First Person Shooter (7x13) - A virtual reality game that can really kill. I'm a computer programmer, thus I have a really, really, really hard time looking beyond all of the technical inaccuracies in this episode. Co-written by famed cyber-punk author William Gibson (who also wrote the well-liked season five episode "Kill Switch"), I tried my darndest to be forgiving but it was just too much for me to take (it makes season one's "Ghost in the Machine" look like a work of genius). Other non-techie people might not be as bothered as I was (the misuse of computer-jargon was really grating to me, so people who don't know the terms to begin with would not be as bothered). The stereotypical "women in a world dominated by testosterone" theme got on my nerves (as a woman who works in a technical job and loves to play videogames, I found some of it downright insulting). Seeing Mulder and Scully decked out in their combat suits was indeed very cool, and there were quite a few visually fantastic shots. The technical aspects of the story, particularly on a show with such a technical fan base, were dismal. (my grade: C+)

Theef (7x14) - A doctor's family appears to be victims of a hex. A good, creepy "monster-of-the-week" type episode that reminded me of the good ole days. Decent plot, detective work, one of our dynamic duo in jeopardy, and some gross-out scenes. (my grade: B-)

En Ami (7x15) - The Cigarette Smoking Man offers to show Scully the cure for cancer, as long as she doesn't tell Mulder where she is going. I'm a rather big fan of this episode. Co-written by the CSM himself (William B. Davis), we get to see a different side of him (or not). There was a lot of enjoy -- lots of references to past episodes, CSM going after Scully rather than Mulder, Scully's attempts to communicate with her partner, Mulder's hurt at being left behind, and CSM's apparent change-of-heart when it came to killing Scully. Very well done (my grade: A).

Chimera (7x16) - Mulder searches for a missing woman and menacing raven, while Scully is forced to stay on stake-out alone. There were definitely some cute Mulder/Scully moments, but they were few and far between. The story was not interesting, and the entire cast of supporting characters was distasteful and annoying (except one woman, who turns out to be not so normal either). (my grade: C+)

~~Disc Five:

all things (7x17) - Surreal and visually stunning, Gillian Anderson's episode was certainly interesting. A series of coincidences brings her back in-touch with a man from her past, and she does a bit of soul-searching. I'm proud of Gillian and am definitely glad that she made this episode, however if I had to grade it against your normal "great" X-Files episode I think it misses the mark a bit. The story is just not quite there -- it was more Scully-introspection. Interesting, but perhaps not the best plot ever. Of course, finding an at-least partially naked Mulder in Scully's bed was certainly enough to set everyone talking... (my grade: I almost want to give it a B, but that just seems like a sacrilege, so I guess I have to say A-)

Brand X (7x19) - A tobacco-industry insider knows a deadly secret. I liked this episode a lot more than I thought I would. It had a decent story, an X-File with a mystery to solve, and one of our heroes in jeopardy. (my grade: B)

Hollywood A.D. (7x18) - An X-File makes it to the big screen, along with Hollywood-ized versions of Mulder and Scully. I'll start by admitting that I didn't like this episode as much as David Duchovny's solo-writing/directing debut (Season 6's "The Unnatural"), but I still think "Hollywood A.D." is one of the high points of season 7. I'm a sucker for inside jokes, and Duchovny's episodes are chock-full of them. This fiction-within-fiction story, with sly comments about Hollywood being told from Mulder & Scully's "innocent" point of view, was really, really clever. I will admit to cringing when I heard that David cast his wife, Tea Leoni, as the Hollywood version of Scully (not because I don't like her, because I do like her, but because that was just too over-the-top in-jokey for me), but she did well in the part and it ended up being quite cute (the running in heels thing slays me). The X-File itself was quite interesting and I wish that they had been able to spend more time on it, but that would have taken away from the "fun", I guess. It wasn't a perfect episode, but it made me laugh out loud like no other episode had made me laugh in a long time. The circular meanings behind everything kept me intrigued -- I think long time fans who know what goes on behind-the-scenes will get more out of this episode than the casual viewer. (my grade: A)

Fight Club (7x20) - An episode dealing with doppelgangers seems like a good idea, but this episode is pretty awful. To make matters worse, when it aired we all thought there were only 3 episodes left in the series, and to waste one of those precious three on this kind of story was just criminal. Sure, there were some cute moments that will keep me from completely panning it, but the rest of the episode was made up of unsavory characters that you couldn't force me to care about, and apparently seeing Mulder and Scully injured is supposed to make me laugh. Kathy Griffin guests stars (and is her usually annoying self). (my grade: C-/D+)

~~Disc Six:

Je Souhaite (7x21) - This episode is an entertaining illustration of the phrase "Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true"... This episode, by one of my favorite writers (Vince Gilligan), had just the right mix of funniness, tenderness, and seriousness. (my grade: A)

Requiem (7x22) - Mulder and Scully return to the scene of the first X-File they investigated together, and Mulder finally gets his proof of UFO existence. This was by far my favorite episode of the seventh season. Continuity galore, Mulder and Scully snuggling and caring about/for each other, recurring characters everywhere, and a decent plot with some good misdirection. The announcement of Scully's pregnancy was nice at the time (albeit a bit too soap-opera-ish), but knowing the debacle they of it in the next two seasons, my enthusiasm is dampened a bit. This episode had everything I loved about the earlier seasons of the X-Files -- angst and aliens and mystery and great supporting characters. There were even some nods to the long-time fan base. It would have been a nice series-ender -- with its wonderful "ending where it all began" feel, and leaving the show in a good place for an X-Files movie franchise to take the baton and run with it. (my grade: A+)

~~ Bonus Features ~~

Documentary - The Truth About Season 7:
A 20 minute featurette including discussions on the overall seasons and deeper looks into many of the episodes. Unlike previous seasons' documentaries, the season seven one includes interviews with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (filmed back when season seven was being filmed). Other interview-ees include Chris Carter and many of the writers and directors. Featured episodes are: The Sixth Extinction I & II, Hungry, Millennium, The Amazing Maleeni, Signs & Wonders, Closure, First Person Shooter, all things, Hollywood A.D., and Requiem.

X-Files Profiles:
The two "profiles" are footage that was included with the international release of "Biogenesis/Sixth Extinction I & II" and "Sein Und Zeit/Closure" (the episodes were edited together and released as dvd-movies overseas). They are profiles of Skinner and of Samantha Mulder, but Skinner's has some excellent behind-the-scenes footage of "Biogenesis" (which was originally a "Behind the Truth" segment on FX) with cast members giggling and acting silly. These are definitely nice additions to the set.

Deleted Scenes:
with optional commentary by Chris Carter
* The Sixth Extinction - Skinner on the stretcher (I found this commentary interesting. Many of us had seen promo-pictures of this scene before the episode aired, and were surprised when the scene never made it to air. Now, due to the commentary, we know that it was cut because the make-up job just didn't work on film).
* Orison - Scully offers her take on prison psychology
* Signs & Wonders - The Reverend addresses his congregation
* Closure - Interrogating Ed Truelove
* Theef - Mr. Peattie gathers tokens
* En Ami - Mulder distrusts Scully (I love this scene, and am glad that I got to see it on this DVD set. I think it really shows how Mulder has grown, and how Scully still cannot lie. Too bad it couldn't make it into the episode)
* En Ami - Scully discusses Marjorie with CSM
* En Ami - Scully & Mulder discuss CSM
* Requiem - Scully is questioned on how she has conducted herself on the X-Files
* Requiem - Mulder reflects/reminisces

Special Effects Clips:
with commentary by producer Paul Rabwin
* The Sixth Extinction - stabilizing the space ship
* The Sixth Extinction II - Armageddon Shot
* Millennium - Times Square 2000
* Rush - Blur effects
* Rush - Bullet time
* The Goldberg Variation - Punk hit by truck (Paul is pretty proud of this one, but I don't think it is one of the effects department's finest moments)
* Signs & Wonders - Cleaning up Michaelangelo's act
* Signs & Wonders - Snake eats mouse
* First Person Shooter - CGI Tank
* all things - Scully's meditation
* Je Souhaite - Inserting Genie in old film
* Je Souhaite - Dusting invisible face
* Requiem - Bounty Hunter morph

43 Television Commercials:
There are two commercials (one promo-spot is 10 seconds long, the other is 20 seconds) for all episodes except "Hollywood A.D., which only had 1 20 second commercial.

X-Files Playstation 2 Game Preview:
I was really looking forward to seeing this (I'm jonesing for some brand-spankin' new X-Files footage), but unfortunately the preview is really short and you don't get to see much at all (just computer-graphic versions of Mulder and Scully silhouetted in a doorway). I'm looking forward to the game, but the preview didn't have any meat to it.

DVD ROM features:
Similar to the games on the previous seasons' DVD Boxed Sets, this time called "Maitreya 2.0". The game is part trivia quiz, part puzzle, and part episode guide. Players can investigate Mulder and Scully's multimedia case files. The game requires a DVD-ROM drive, Shockwave, and Windows 95 or higher.

"International" Clips (available only on the episodic discs):
These are episode clips with the voices dubbed in Japanese, German, Italian, and Castilian Spanish. The featured episodes are The Sixth Extinction II, The Amazing Maleeni, Closure, En Ami, Hollywood A.D., and Requiem.

Optional Commentary Tracks (available only on the episodic discs):
~~ First Person Shooter - commentary by Chris Carter.
~~ all things - commentary by Gillian Anderson.
~~ Je Souhaite - commentary by Vince Gilligan.

Cast/Crew Listings (available only on the episodic discs):
Each disc contains a special listing of the cast and crew for the episodes on that disc.

Final Thoughts:

Mulder: "Crazy people can be very persuasive."
Scully: "Well, yes, I know that. Maybe true faith is really a form of insanity."
Mulder: "Are you directing that at me?"
-- Hollywood A.D.

"The X-Files: The Complete Seventh Season" is a very nice boxed set, with beautifully-looking widescreen episodes and lots of extras. If you are a new-fan or old-fan looking to catch up on all the episodes, I would recommend getting the previous seasons' sets first (you can't count on re-runs, because re-runs on Sci-Fi and TNT cut out scenes so they can show more commercials).

Although it might not be as great as the first 5 seasons, season seven still offers a lot worth watching (and is perhaps a bit better than season 6 -- my opinion wavers). I still think that season seven of The X-Files is better than most other shows on television.


note: I will indeed be purchasing the boxed sets for Seasons 8 and 9 (rabid fan that I am, it only seems right), however they will not be getting positive reviews from me (those should be some fun reviews to write). In my heart, Season 7 will always be the "last" true X-Files season.


Web Sites of Interest:
Official X-Files Website: http://www.thex-files.com
Official Season 7 DVD Website: http://www.foxhome.com/xfiles7/


My Other X-Files DVD Set Reviews:
First Season
Second Season
Third Season
Fourth Season
Fifth Season
Sixth Season
Eighth Season



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD