The X Files

[domino harvey]

The X Files is returning to Fox as a six episode limited series with both Duchovny and Anderson starring

[domino harvey]

Promising news for the revival of the series: Glen Morgan and James Wong are coming back too

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I've been wondering if Darin Morgan would contribute but this is the next best scenario!

[domino harvey]

My first response as well. Apparently he's been contributing scripts to the last two Glen Morgan series, neither of which I'd even heard of

[EddieLarkin]

The X-Files

[Minkin]

The X-Files

Awesome! Now just to hope there isn't some idiotic reframing nonsense or other issues arise. Fox seems to be one of the better studios in terms of actual bonus features /image quality / not costing millions for a set with a HotWheels car.

Case in point: Here's the blu-ray.com review for Lost in Space. I'm almost done watching the show (seeing one episode per week for about a year now - as it plays on MeTV), and I'm incredibly excited to pick this one up.

[EddieLarkin]

Sadly, I do expect X-Files to be widescreen. The whole series has been broadcast in HD that way, to a very favourable response amongst fans (unlike Buffy's equivalent remaster, which has been torn to pieces). Even Chris Carter has said he is fine with the entire series being 16:9, because they protected for it (though this is only partly true). Here's the lowdown:

The first 2 or 3 episodes of the show were shot standard 4-perf Academy with little room to allow an acceptable widescreen version; consequently the HD version of these episodes currently available are heavily cropped and zoomed compared to the DVDs. After the first few episodes the show moved to 3 perf Super35, making a widescreen version far more easy to achieve. Despite that though, the rest of season 1, and all the way up to season 4, were composed for 4:3, and this is reflected on the DVDs. The HD version of these seasons is similar to The Wire: for the most part it is opened up, though unlike The Wire, there is some semi-significant cropping throughout.

For seasons 5-9 they started broadcasting in widescreen, and presumably composed that way too, though I'm not 100%. Certainly the DVDs of seasons 5-9 are widescreen. The HD versions basically match these framing wise. So, we're good for these seasons, but Seasons 1-4 will suffer greatly if they're released in widescreen, and the first 2 or 3 episodes will be complete disasters.

[hearthesilence]

A shame, seasons 2-4 are prime years too.

I haven't seen this show in ages, but one thing that stood out was how much better everything got after the first season was packed in, especially the acting - Anderson and Duchovny felt a little dull and even wan at the start, but at some point they just sparked to life, becoming funnier, feistier and just all around more enjoyable.

[domino harvey]

Wow, it's coming out in two months and there were no hints or news of its release? I guess those guys really are good at keeping their conspiratorial actions close to the chest!

[fdm]

I recall rumors from a few years back, but nothing firm until just now. A year prior, for example, Digital Bits was told that they could start appearing in late 2013. (This per a long-running thread at blu-ray.com.)

[EddieLarkin]

There were rumours, but also strict denials. I'm sure Carter or some other show alum, stated only a few months ago that sadly there were no plans for any Blu-ray release.

[Minkin]

TvshowsonDVD casts some doubt on all of this (namely that the seasons will retail at $33 CA each). Its annoying that these shows can't be held consistent and (their aspect ratio) have to be butchered for whatever trend in television dimensions (I still fear the fate of Seinfeld). Its a constant battle for every show, regardless of age it seems. I guess that's what the shame list is for.

[Minkin]

Well, X-files Blu turned out to be real and in Widescreen. Shame list it goes.

I suppose people love widescreen. The comments at Blu-ray.com seem to be all "I hope its in widescreen!" and the few people to voice criticism get down voted. Were people just this same way when it came to P&S?

[Adam Grikepelis]

Unfortunately, yes.
It's what led to articles like this one, along with a pretty concerted campaign to change people's (& the studios) way of thinking. It worked, but seemingly not for very long. It's great to see work being put into older shows but sad to see the same problems recur. Wonder if we'll start seeing dual ratio releases again?

[EddieLarkin]

Here is how the new framing will look: Pilot 1, Pilot 2, Pilot 3

Because this episode was shot Academy, they've had to go into the soundtrack area to find their extra space, meaning everything is now offset to the right.

All other episodes will look like this: Comparison 1, Comparison 2

Extra empty side information isn't as extreme but now we lose a lot more off the top and bottom, particularly the latter. Bye bye Gillian's legs

[solaris72]

Unfortunately, yes.
It's what led to articles like this one, along with a pretty concerted campaign to change people's (& the studios) way of thinking. It worked, but seemingly not for very long. It's great to see work being put into older shows but sad to see the same problems recur. Wonder if we'll start seeing dual ratio releases again?

The 70s version of Battlestar Galactica was recently released on blu in two different ratios.

[domino harvey]

From the disc producer:

.We delivered a full HD maser in both 4:3 and 16:9 for all episodes of Season 1-4, up to Fox if they want to release it. But it does exist.

And the 4:3 is a match of the original framing and not just a crop of the new 16:9 version.

[JamesF]

Outing myself as a huge nerd here, but from the caps I've seen the biggest issue is that they've changed the iconic title and typewriter-style fonts in many of the episodes! I've spent the last few months rewatching the series on DVD (have just started slogging through season nine, much of which I've never seen before) and can't imagine upgrading - the various edited-on-SD-video effects are part of the whole retro aesthetic, surely? (And presumably "X-Cops" is entirely upscaled?)

I loved the series to death as it originally aired (in my early teens) and was amazed how much I remembered of episodes I hadn't seen for nigh-on 17 years, as well as how many of the later ones I'd never seen. My main take-aways from watching it through:

• Yeesh, Mulder is such a douche through most of the series' run. Doggett's warm sincerity is really quite refreshing after Mulder being a diva for seven seasons.
• The hoary voiceovers that open all the mythology episodes are awful.
• I remembered season 6 (and the move to shooting in LA) as really being the beginning of the end but on rewatch found it one of the more consistent and purely enjoyable seasons, with the amped-up comedy working more often than not. Of course that all goes out of the window with season 7 (where Duchovny mainly phones it in and the show just seems tired), but still, nice to be surprised.
• Vince Gilligan was (barring the obvious exception of the great Darin Morgan's all-too-brief reign) the series' MVP and most consistent writer - after a wobbly debut with "Soft Light", pretty much any episode with him writing solo is a highlight of its particular season, or at the very least never dull.

[Cameron Swift]

The wife and I have also been slogging through the final seasons recently. We're a few episodes into season 8 and the switch from Mulder to Doggett has brought a much needed freshness. As you say, season 7 felt tired and had far too many unfunny comedic filler episodes. It really felt like they'd all run out of ideas, made even more clear at the start of one episode ("Fight Club") where Mulder is showing crime scene images on his projector to Scully in the office and Scully basically says (paraphrasing) "This is the part where I'm Watson to your Sherlock and have to figure out what you're showing me. What is it this week? Aliens, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters...?" and so on. Now with Doggett in the mix, there is a different dynamic between the leads and I'm enjoying his no nonsense approach when it comes to questioning the supernatural elements of the show.

[flyonthewall2983]

Blu-ray.com review

[domino harvey]

I picked up the seasons from my childhood and can understand the bitching. I thought it was typical internet bellyaching but the font choices for the episodes are hideous and legit distracting. They're not even close for the final title card "Executive Producer Chris Carter"-- it looks like a bad Times New Roman-y font from someone's Xanga fan art. Also, the individual episode selection is confusing: the default when selecting any episode is... Play all episodes, from the start of the disc. Yeah, that makes sense. And the difference between colors on the option selected is impercievable to the naked eye, making it that much more confusing.

[perkizitore]

That episode selection was really confusing, definitely the most annoying I have ever encountered on any blu-ray.

[vertovfan]

I found it strange that the opening title font is different, as others have noted, yet it's correct (or at least much closer to the original) on the box art!

[domino harvey]

Critical and fan response to the revival is brutal, but it allegedly will get better after the first episode (and to quote a reply I read elsewhere, "It would have to")

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I've been wondering if Darin Morgan would contribute but this is the next best scenario!

It turns out that Morgan did write an episode and it'll be the third one so at least there's that to anticipate.