By its third season, The X-Files had grown from a cult hit
to a global phenomenon, becoming the most popular show in many
countries outside the U.S. Armed with the knowledge that the show
was here to stay, series creator Chris Carter expanded its
mythology, and the 24 episodes in this boxed set represent arguably
the strongest of all the X-Files seasons. As usual,
stand-alone episodes explored the paranormal and sometimes
terrifying possibilities in mythology, pop culture, and religion.
Darin Morgan helps the show to mature by expanding its use of humor,
directing classic episodes such as "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose"
(featuring a fabulous performance from Peter Boyle) and "Jose
Chung's 'From Outer Space.'" Meanwhile, two-part episodes continue
to delve into the X-Files' own mythology, introducing the
alien black oil, the implant in Scully's neck, the mysterious Agent
X, and the shape-shifting Jeremiah Smith. But following the complex
mythology is not crucial to enjoying the show. The strength of the
X-Files lies not in resolution but in feeding the paranoia of
its rabid audience by revealing conspiracies that linger in the mind
as unanswered questions. Series creator Carter realized wisely that
fans did not look to the X-Files to explain the unexplained,
but to question that which they thought they understood. The third
season was effective because it hinted that while the truth was out
there, it was more complex, sinister, and amazing than even Mulder
had imagined. --Eugene Wei
The Cigarette Smoking Man works quickly to
recover the stolen computer files, but finds himself
thwarted by a man whom he hoped was dead. Meanwhile, Scully
finds herself at a loss for her next step and turns to her
family for support, since Mulder is otherwise engaged
fighting for survival.
Mulder and Scully search for answers
regarding the old photograph with his father and other
unnamed men. Their search takes them to the abandoned
Strughold Mining Facility where they uncover a dangerous
secret.
Mulder is skeptical over a coroner’s report
regarding the fifth person to be struck by
lightning in a small
Oklahoma town. Their investigation into the latest death
seems to point to the only person to have survived a
lightning strike, an emotionally-charged youth.
Skeptical of a famous psychic’s predictions
regarding the murder of several prognosticators, Mulder
instead finds someone who he believes truly can predict the
future. Catching the killer could prove difficult, though,
particularly if the murderer can also see into his future.
A
death row inmate makes good on his promise to come back
from the dead and kill the five people involved in his
death. The fear of his retribution has everyone scrambling
to determine if they are on the list, while Mulder and
Scully attempt to determine how he has returned to execute
his tormentors.
Meeting insecure women through an on-line
service, a serial killer seduces his prey with the right
words. However, Mulder and Scully determine these killings
are far from ordinary by the presence of a strange substance
coating the victims, a substance which seems to digest the
fatty acids in flesh.
Another failed suicide attempt by a patient
in a military hospital interests Mulder with the talk of a
“phantom soldier” which has prevented the man’s death. The
general in charge is at first opposed to the FBI’s
involvement until the invisible killer begins stalking him.
But none believe when the primary suspect is a quadruple
amputee.
When a young girl is kidnapped from her home,
a fast food worker miles away collapses on the job,
apparently experiencing exactly what the child is feeling.
When Mulder learns that the woman was kidnapped and held
hostage for years as a child, he begins to believe that she
may be the key to help find the missing girl.
A mail order videotape of an alien autopsy
blossoms into a much more complicated investigation when
Mulder and Scully find the distributor of the tape murdered
in his own home apparently by a high-ranking
Japanese diplomat. While Mulder’s search for the video
leads him to a train car, Scully investigates a
Mutual UFO Network group and discovers several women who
claim to know her.
Scully takes X’s advice to heart and
investigates more into the implant she removed from her
neck. She discovers the chip is Japanese and her search
leads her to a leper colony in West Virginia, where, with
the help of one of the inmates, she finds a pit filled with
dead bodies. Mulder, having ignored the advice given him,
finds himself trapped on the train with a Japanese scientist
and the man sent to kill him.
Mulder tracks a series of religiously
motivated murders. Each of the eleven victims claims to have
been stigmatic but all turned out to be frauds. When Mulder
and Scully discover a little boy displaying inexplicable
wounds of religious significance, they try to protect him
from the killer they know will be coming.
A small town is plagued by deaths in which
the bodies are found covered in
cockroaches. Working from home, Scully has scientific
explanations for all of them but Mulder — at the crime scene
with an attractive bug expert — suspects the insects may not
be organic, or earthly.
Agents Mulder and Scully visit a small town
to investigate a series of bizarre deaths, mainly among high
school teenagers. Evidence points to a Satanic
cult. Moreover, people in this village, including Mulder
and Scully, seem to be changed by the events — the weak and
aggressive features of a person’s character are turned
inside out. Mulder drinks, Scully smokes, a peace-loving
school director becomes leader of the mob. Eventually Mulder
notices some coincidence with strange astrological
phenomena, and two teenaged girls turn out to be main
suspects as a consequence.
Agents Mulder and Scully join Mulder’s former
mentor, the FBI’s chief profiler, on a case involving a
serial killer who claims to be possessed by a demonic force.
The case gets even more mysterious when the suspect is
apprehended and the murders continue. Mulder gets involved
more deeply than expected and Scully as well as Skinner are
deeply concerned.
When a
French salvage ship sends a diving crew to recover a
mysterious wreckage from
World War II, the crew falls prey to a bizarre illness
and Agents Mulder and Scully join the investigation. The
investigation leads to the discovery of a familiar face, and
to Skinner's life being threatened.
While Mulder continues to investigate a
bizarre illness that originated with the discovery of a
mysterious World War II wreckage buried at sea, several
government figures try to thwart their efforts. And as
Skinner recovers from his shooting, Scully discovers that he
is still in danger, from the man who killed her sister.
Agents Mulder and Scully’s assistance is
requested for a case involving a man seemingly capable of
bending people to his will. The suspect uses his mysterious
abilities to manipulate Agent Mulder into a dangerous end
game.
A series of deaths occurs immediately after
an ancient artifact is brought to Boston from an excavation
site in
South America. According to Scully, the deaths appear to
be the result of political terrorism, but Mulder suspects
something more improbable.
A string of mysterious deaths of recent
Chinese immigrants brings Agents Mulder and Scully to
San Francisco’s
Chinatown. The Agents team up with a Chinese-American
detective to better understand the language and customs of
the Chinese culture, but one thing remains frightening clear
— all of the bodies are missing various internal organs.
When a couple claims to have been abducted by
aliens, Agents Mulder and Scully try to get at the truth but
everyone has a different version of the story, including the
“aliens” themselves.
During a difficult time in assistant director
Skinner’s life, he meets a woman in a bar and spends the
night with her. The next morning, the woman is dead and he
is accused of murder. Agents Mulder and Scully join the
investigation to clear their supervisor’s name. As they
unravel the threads of a conspiracy, they also learn more
about Skinner’s personal affairs.
When a series of mysterious deaths and
disappearances are reported near a lake in a small town,
Agents Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate. With
local folklore of a killer sea serpent running rampant
amongst the locals, the agents must take their search for
the truth to the water.
Agents Mulder and Scully uncover a dark
conspiracy behind a bizarre series of seemingly unrelated
murders in a small town. As the extent of the conspiracy is
revealed, Scully's trust in Mulder is put to the test.
Eventually, even Scully shows the symptoms of a severe
psychosis leading to paranoia. She believes Mulder has moved
to “the other side” and betrayed her and may even want to
kill her. In the end, Mulder is led into a conflict between
revealing his “contact” and providing the secret, but
keeping the last murder unrevealed.
Agents Mulder and Scully search for a man who
seems to possess strange powers, which leads to the
discovery of a dangerous secret from Mulder’s past. The
secret could bring Mulder and Scully to the brink of
exposing the truth about alien existence.
