Episodes:
“The Beginning,” “Drive,” “Triangle,” “Dreamland,” “Dreamland
II,” “How The Ghost Stole Christmas,” “Terms Of Endearment,” “The
Rain King,” “S. R. 819,” “Tithonus,” “Two Fathers,” “One Son,”
“Ague Mala,” “Monday,” “Arcadia,” “Alpha,” “Trevor,” “Milagro,”
“The Unnatural,” “Three Of A Kind,” “Field Trip,” “Biogenesis”
Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, Nicholas Lea, and William B. Davis
Guest Stars: Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, Bruce Harwood, Veronica Cartwright, James Pickens, Jr., Bryan Cranston, Chris Owens, Mimi Rogers, Wayne Alexander, Jeff Gulka, George Murdock, Arlene Pileggi, Nora Dunn, Michael McKean, Ed Asner, and Lily Tomlin
Created By: Chris Carter
Extras: International Clips, Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary, Commentary On Select Episodes, The Truth About Season Sixth Documentary, Special Effects Clips With Commentary, TV Spots, DVD-ROM Game
Languages: English, Spanish, and French Language Dolby Surround Sound 2.0
Subtitles: English Captions and Closed Captions and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging: Gatefold Within A Glossy Slip Case
# Of Discs: 6
Chapter Stops: 15 Per Episode
Sound: Dolby Stereo Surround Sound
Year of DVD Release: 2002
Home Video Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Picking up where “The X-Files: Fight The Future” and the fifth season cliffhanger “The End” left off, season sixth of “The X-Files” was the first season where the remainder of the series would be shot in Los Angeles. While there are a few standout episodes, there are a few cutesy episodes combined with a two-part episode where viewers were spoon fed explanations that were promised and then cut from the feature film that premiered the summer before. I think these two elements plus the degrading quality of storytelling and the eventual departure of Duchovny, who seems to appear as if he is just going through the motions ultimately had many but the most diehard fans begin to tune out instead of tune in. Yet one has to give credit to “The X-Files” for being the longest running single Sci-Fi series to ever run on American primetime network television with a total of 9 seasons. Not even any of the single “Star Trek” spin-off series can claim to have a 9 season run of first run episodes on primetime network television at the time of this writing, but one could also argue was “The X-Files” on TV too long? I’ll leave that for you all to decide.
Notable episodes include “The Beginning,” “Drive,” which featured a pre-“Malcolm In The Middle” Bryan Cranston, “Dreamland, Parts I & II,” with Michael McKean, “Two Fathers,” “One Son,” which is a two-parter that explained the mythology before it would have to be explained again after season 7, and “Arcadia.” Among the somewhat cutesy episodes that were hyped out before they aired were “Triangle” and “How The Ghost Stole Christmas.”
All of the season six episodes are presented in their anamorphic (1.78:1) aspect ratios to preserve the way they were shot and presented in high definition broadcasts. English, Spanish, and French Language Dolby Surround Soundtracks are included along with English Captions and Closed Captions for the hearing impaired and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded on to each episode on the dual layered discs. The soundtrack is well mixed and free of any distortion or hissing. These episodes are a bit dark and a surprisingly grainy at times despite the fact they are only 4 years old. Chris Carter participates in an episode length audio commentary for “Triangle” on disc one and Kim Manners participates in an episode length audio commentary for “Milagro,” which appears on disc five.
Disc Six has the majority of the extra features, which include an all new documentary entitled “The Truth About Season Six,” which has running time of 30-minutes and features cast and crew members discussing episodes from Season Six. There is also a “Cigarette Smoking Man Profile,” special effects clips with audio commentary, deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by Chris Carter, and 22 20-second and 22 ten-second TV spots.
The deleted scenes and special effects scenes can be viewed individually or as a reel and DVD-ROM users with Windows 95 or higher will have access to a new “X-Files” interactive game entitled “Dream Land.”
If you are an “X-Files” fan and have been collecting the seasons as they have been released to DVD-Video, “The X-Files: The Complete Sixth Season On DVD Collector’s Set” is a must purchase and will debut from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment on Tuesday, November 5, 2002.
©
Copyright 2002 by Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.