Product description

The X Files : Series 9 Box Set [1994]

Price: £12.99
RRP: £59.99
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5039036011990
Label : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Publisher : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release date : 2003-05-12
Title : The X Files : Series 9 Box Set [1994]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Suitable for 12 years and over
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Original release date : 1994-01-26
Running time : 860
Studio : 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Theatrical releaseDate : 1993-09-10
Number of discs : 5

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
With so many promises to fulfil and questions left unanswered, the ninth and final series of The X-Files was inevitably going to short-change some of its audience. Mulder is missing, Scully is in and out with various baby concerns, Reyes frequently seems like she's only along for the ride and Doggett seems so right in the role that some fans wondered if he should have appeared sooner. Other cult cameos flitted across the screen in an attempt to keep viewers transfixed. Lucy Lawless, Cary Elwes and Robert Patrick's real-life wife were interesting diversions, but when Burt Reynolds appeared to be none other than God himself, it was apparent that nothing at all was sacred in this last year.

Standalone episodes (for example, on Satanic possession and a Brady Bunch psycho) proved to be amongst the least interesting of the show's efforts. No doubt because everyone was focussing on the all-important arc story episodes. Was there more than one alien faction? Were they all in collusion? Who had control of the black oil virus? Who had been in charge of the abductions? More importantly, would Mulder and Scully finally get in bed together? Scattered through the 19 episodes (the fewest of any season), were answers to some of these points. Then as much as possible that remained was packed into the two-hour finale. After 200 episodes, it's just possible that The X-Files overstayed its welcome; nonetheless it will always be remembered for being the most influential TV product of the 1990s. And since this is science-fiction, don't assume it's completely dead either. --Paul Tonks

Customer reviews

review by: George date: 2006-03-03 rating:

Say what?
So you think this is the best season of the X Files, do you? Or perhaps you think it's one of the best? Is that what you think? Really, that's your honest opinion? You've searched deep inside yourself, thought about the quality of the show, the story, the lighting, the intelligence, the intrigue, the mystery, the music of all those fantastic years we all spent, and you feel that season 9 did it for you. Is that what you think?
Well, good for you, because I don't.

review by: kier_gough2 date: 2004-12-03 rating:

Good but not Great ...
Season 9 was certainly not vintage X-Files but nethertheless it was still an interesting and on the whole a good season and far better than Season 8. Reyes and Doggett work well toegther as a partnership, though not a patch on Mulder and Scully, and this makes for some terriffic MOTW episodes: "4-D", "John Doe", "Hellbound", "Improabable" "Release" and "Sunshine Days" being the pick of the bunch. On the other hand "Lord of the Flies" and "Scary Monsters" are dreadful. The mythology episodes are also excellent "Nothing Important Happened Today I and II" gives the show a fresh start and sets up the rest of the season well, "Trust No 1" is a slow starter but has an exciting climax, "Providence and Provenance" are great episodes with an interesting story line, but are let down by the fact that they don't actually provide the viewer with any answers. Ont the other hand "Jump the Shark" is dreadful, "William" is OK but not great and "The Truth" provides a thrilling climax to the series.

review by: chewy_girl date: 2004-11-15 rating:

dont believe the lie
the last season really should have been season 7. all in all 'the truth' was a great episode, all our favourite characters return (even the dead ones ofcourse) but its left more questions unanswered that answered and you would have thought we'd be used to this by now! but no...all i can say is its not really the end as ga and dd are contracted for 2 more movies yet. just please please please no more mopey scully im gettin so tired of it i just wanna shake her!

review by: date: 2004-04-13 rating:

Extravagant season, without a doubt!
Many people choose to hate the last two seasons of the X-Files because of it's new leading ensemble and Duchovny leaving the show. I do not.
Although the show is primarily based on the character of Mulder, there is no reason to end it, just because David Duchovny feels bored. As much as I like him, I have to say that I like Robert Patrick and the character of Doggett just as much if not even more. Annabeth Gish also is brilliant as Reyes, so there's no moaning there, too. Think about this: If things were reversed, and Patrick/Gish had started the show and were now to be replaced by Duchovny/Anderson, I believe that the fans' discomfort could be even greater!
So what you have here is yet another very-well thought-through season with great episodes and a strong leading cast, keeping the integrity of the story (=not getting even more illogic than already at some times...) and delivering a great final year, which honestly deserved another one or two years with the new cast. So I can only hope that Mr Carter also incorporates Doggett and Reyes into the upcoming feature film along with Mulder & Scully, since it would be more than unfair and just plain stupid to leave them out. They were and are great characters and actors, and no bad ratings, no bad reviews and no smart remarks are going to change that!
Every true X-Phile can embrace this season without any hesitation, it marks the end of a TV-legend that the world had not seen before!

review by: date: 2004-03-27 rating:

Final Season of an Oustanding Series
This 7-disc collection, sporting some particularly impressive cover art, marks the end of an era for the first ever show to be released on DVD as a season boxset. Many fans of The X-Files would argue that this ninth and final season was a huge downturn for the series as it slowly faded out, but it is extremely important not to let this highly vocal opinion colour your judgement as the season is not all that bad. It certainly matches if not exceeds the creative level the series began with back in its first year.

The premiere episodes, “Nothing Important Happened Today”, mark the point where David Duchovny left the regular cast, not appearing at all until the finale – barring one uncredited cameo. The series coped very well without him thanks to the fine surrounding cast, but the disappearance of his Mulder character was not quite so straightforward and, in the end, pretty poorly handled – he’s just gone. Yet there is still merit in much of the opening story as with the guest appearance of Lucy Lawless (aka Xena Warrior Princess) as a menacing Super Soldier, as well as the performances of new leads Robert Patrick (Doggett) and Annabeth Gish (Reyes).

This trend is continued in a number of strong episodes in the first half of the season with the eerie “Daemonicus”, gory “Hellbound”, and the definite highlights “Trust No 1” and “4-D” – the latter of which marking the return of Assistant Director Brad Follmer, played by Cary Elwes, who was an intriguing shade-of-grey character but unfortunately under-used. However, later episode “Lord of the Flies” is possibly the worst episode in all nine years, and this is probably why Season 9 is rated so poorly (and more than a little unfairly). Just ignore this episode and put it down to the ineptitude of a certain debutant writer.

The mid-season mythology two-parter “Provenance” and “Providence” expands the ongoing mystery into Scully’s baby, William, and allows Gillian Anderson to pull off some fine acting as the desperately protective mother. Neal McDonough (of “Star Trek: First Contact” and “Minority Report”) makes a good guest appearance as a renegade FBI Agent, and the recurring villain of The Toothpick Man (Alan Dale) makes his debut in a role of little substance beyond his excellent name and enigmatic screen presence.

The second half of the season consists largely of stand-alones, amongst which the best entries have to be “Audrey Pauley”, where Annabeth Gish acts superbly in the region between life and death, and “Improbable” featuring a quirky appearance by Burt Reynolds. Also, the mystery surrounding Scully’s child is almost solved, or at least brought to an end in the strong and emotional “William” which was directed by David Duchovny. This eventually leads to the feature-length series finale which is fittingly titled “The Truth” as the ongoing conspiracy mythology is finally tied together. Unfortunately this doesn’t really give the audience any new information, but there is enough poignancy, spectacular action, and the return of several old faces via an effective plot device to make this a memorable event.

Overall, this is not one of The X-Files’ best seasons, but it is the last one and by no means as bad as the fan community or media make out. However, if you have bought all three feature videos/DVDs from this season you will already own over one third of the episodes anyway, so it may well not be worth the extra expense. But what you don’t own is the unprecedented volume of bonus material spread across two whole discs.

There are the usual documentaries, featurettes, deleted scenes (3 of which come from “The Truth”) and effects walkthroughs that fans have come to expect, but there are also some entirely unexpected features such as a 90-minute documentary devoted to the making of the series finale, two 45-mintute documentaries released several years previously, and an exciting 20-minute “Tribute to The X-Files”. On top of that there are 3 audio commentaries on the episodes “Improbable” (by Chris Carter), “Jump the Shark” (by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, & Frank Spotnitz), and of course “The Truth” (by Kim Manners). These appealing extra special features make this last ever season boxset truly one to be savoured, as if the episodes weren’t enough anyway. Fox Home Entertainment truly deserve some thanks for this superb final release.

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