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List Price: $39.98 | | Label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 18427
Released: June 7, 2005 |
| Our Price: $8.65 |
| Used Price: $7.99 |
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MPAA Rating:
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
For nine seasons, fans of ?The X Files? watched and waited for an ultimate explanation of the complex web of alien conspiracy theories, government cover-ups and shadow organizations woven by series creator Chris Carter. Now, for the first time, viewers can follow every twist and turn of the complete mythology story arc beginning with THE X FILES MYTHOLOGY: ABDUCTION. ABDUCTION consists of 16 episodes from seasons 1-3, and presents the government conspiracy episodes in order, beginning with the series pilot. The set also features commentary on selected episodes and part one of Chris Carter?s all-new documentary ?Threads Of Mythology,? which explains the meaning of ?The X Files? and how all lies lead to the truth.
Description of The X-Files Mythology, Vol. 1 - Abduction:
The X-Files Mythology series consists of collections of episodes grouped around certain themes that were central to Chris Carter's gripping, funny, and sometimes impenetrable sci-fi/suspense/horror series. The 15 episodes in the first volume, Abduction, are culled from the first three seasons of the show, and they introduce FBI agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who has been assigned to keep tabs on her new partner, the eccentric Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Mulder's specialty is those cases that can't seem to be solved on normal parameters--the "X-Files"--because he believes that many years ago his sister was abducted by aliens. We meet a dizzying cast of supporting characters: FBI assistant director Skinner (Mitch Pileggi); a government informant, code-named "Deep Throat," who offers to get Mulder closer to the truth than he's ever imagined; apparent abductee Duane Barry (Steve Railsback); a trio of conspiracy theorists called the Lone Gunmen (Dean Haglund, Tom Braidwood, and Bruce Harwood); the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis); and suspicious agent Krycek (Nicholas Lea). And the theme of alien abduction leads to deeper threads involving experiments with alien DNA, cloning, alien bounty hunters, and more. These early episodes are some of the best the series ever had to offer, and the reasonably priced Mythology sets might be enticing for novices who would like to get a feel for the series without having to wade through all the story arcs and concepts that wandered through the nine seasons. (They're also conveniently packaged, with four discs in two Thinpaks.) X-philes, of course, would prefer the complete seasons, with the multiple arcs as well as the numerous excellent standalone (a.k.a. "creature feature") episodes. The discs include new commentary tracks on five of the episodes by Chris Carter, writer Frank Spotnitz, or director R.W. Goodwin, and there's a new 28-minute documentary that provides an overview of the series and the pertinent episodes that's well suited to novices. --David Horiuchi
The X-Files Mythology, Vol. 1 - Abduction Reviews:
Simply amazing! 
2008-02-22 - First volume of the truth about aliens and the government cover up!! (At least part of...)!
Nice to view without the Twilight Zone interludes....
2007-07-23 - Which I know had a major effect on tuning out and turning off the series for many of us out there. This is a chance for us to get thru the central theme of a cabal of aliens and human conspirators without timeouts for weird creatures or the like. This is not to say a lot of them were not good stories or creepy. But for many of us the sizzle was in the conspiracy and not the inbetweens.
Revisiting old friends
2007-02-20 - Contrary to what others have said, the Abduction series lacks nothing from not having "Conduit" in the package.
inevitable repackaging of the brilliant television series 
2006-01-04 - This repackaging of THE X FILES according to the mythology arc has, no doubt, long been expected by most diehard fans of the now legendary television series. Having received the 4 volumes as a Christmas gift, this grateful recipient has not had time to peruse all 60 episodes + extras; however, a few observations do come to mind.
RE: THE X FILE MYTHOLOGY, VOL 1-4 ("Abduction"; "Black Oil"; "Colonization"; "Super Soldier"):
Recommendations, divided into 4 categories of prospective buyers, are as follows:
1) FANATICS/COLLECTORS:
True fanatics or obsessive collectors will, irrespective of whether they own all 9 complete seasons, want to add these 4 volumes to their shelves. That there exists only a small amount of new material ( in terms of extras: audio commentary + documentary ) is really irrelevant to those who fall into this category. 5 STARS in terms of its appeal for this group of people.
2) "REGULAR" FANS:
"X-Philes" who exist on a lesser ( if saner ) plane of dedication may want to consider whether, possessing some ( if not, perhaps, all ) of the complete DVD sets, these repackaged sets actually add to their enjoyment. It seems indisputable that THE X FILES will never be understood on an aesthetic level by solely watching the myth arc episodes; therefore, it begs the question of why one would purchase the "complete" myth arc when it's possible to go the way the series did when it originally aired- i.e., by alternating between mythology and stand alone episodes. 2 STARS in terms of its appeal for this group of people.
3) CONFUSED BUT INTERESTED VIEWERS:
People with some familiarity with the show but who never quite watched with enough regularity ( or intensity ) to follow the intricacies of the mythology arc, may well consider purchasing these volumes. Presumably, those who fall ( more or less ) into this category will not have purchased the complete DVD seasons ( or at least not *all* of them ). It may well be financially (1/5 cost of 9 complete seasons) and aesthetically satisfying to purchase these 4 repackaged volumes and supplement ( by renting or borrowing ) selected stand alone ( "monster of the week" ) episodes. 4 STARS in terms of its appeal for this group of people.
4) NOVICES
For those who truly haven't watched THE X FILES, or at most, a few episodes, it seems a toss-up as to whether these sets are the right way to go. It is this reviewers suggestion that those in this category rent some episodes; specifically, the first 4 episodes of SEASON ONE (Pilot, Deep Throat, Squeeze, Conduit ) in order to establish whether they find the show appealing. If they're hooked, and have the willingness to invest money through purchasing DVD's outright, it might be better to start purchasing all nine complete seasons over time ( most definitely *in order* ). The other option for beginners would be to purchase the 4 repackaged myth arc volumes ( again, paying attention to proper order ) and renting select stand alone episodes ( there are numerous books and websites which can guide one to the very best episodes ). 3 STARS in terms of its appeal for this group of people.
NOTE: The X FILES MOVIE ( "Fight the Future" ) is *not* included in this repackaging release. After viewing the first 3 episodes of Vol 3: "Colonization" (Patient X, The Red and the Black, The End), it is extremely advisable, for the sake of continuity and understanding, to buy ( or at least, watch ) the film *before* continuing with the remaining (Vol 3) episodes.
RE: THE X FILES MYTHOLOGY, VOL 1: "Abduction":
Of the 15 episodes selected ( which span Season 1 thru start of Season 3), it seems to this reviewer debatable whether Season 2 episode titled "Red Museum" should have been included when Season 1 "Conduit" was not. Furthermore, if the latter episode was not deemed (for whatever reason) to be up to standard, Season 2 "Sleepless" would have had the virtue of introducing a key character (Alex Krycek), with the episode plot having at least as much pertinence to the myth arc as the comparatively inferior "Red Museum". Just two cents from a faithful X-Phile.
IMPORTANT: for those who are new to THE X FILES, the documentary ("Threads of Mythology" ) for Volume 1 contains an unfortunate (completely inappropriate) spoiler. Without elaborating, I can only implore beginners ( few as they may be ) to stay away from this documentary until after finishing either Complete Season 7 or Volume 3 ("Colonization")
CONCLUSION:
With regard to THE X FILES myth arc as a totality; those looking for airtight plot development and perfectly logically explanations as the storyline developed over the course of nine grueling seasons, are truly barking up the wrong tree. Chris Carter and his collaborators, while having a vague idea of where the specifics of the storyline could go, never had every detail planned out, and thank goodness for that! If 1013 Productions had applied such a misguided notion of continuity, many of the surprising twists and turns that characterized the myth arc would have never materialized.
If Fox squeezing us? 
2005-12-13 - Add me to the list of disgruntled fans who have loyally bought the full season sets, which are expensive, and then are asked to shell out more for extra features. I agree that Fox should just offer the features on a dvd for those who have already contributed to the Fox coffers.
