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2/1/99
Some interesting season 6 news.... Apparently, "Arcadia" came very close to being shelved and not aired--just like "Nessie." The blame is being put on Michael Watkins, the director, not to mention Daniel Arkin, the writer, for screwups in the special effects and a weak script, respectively. But it is being rewritten and redone and will air. Another tidbit is that Chris Owens has apparently moved back to Vancouver. This, some think, means that Spender is dead, but it seems to me like Owens will return when the character is resurrected. And I have to mention the season finale, which I already said will be in three parts all in season 6--but apparently the entire arc will be four episodes, including the season 7 premiere. Wow!! The Bounty Hunter will return, when his rumored death will probably occur. Expect more action-oriented episodes now that we will have known the truth. And here's a rumor that I really don't believe and I don't know where it came from, but an episode might reveal that CSM killed Kurt Cobain. And, the schedule has been juggled around again--and it seems that Duchovny's episode is in fact 6X19.
Wave 7 will be released April 27. Oh yeah, this is a picture of another header card for the video.
Sources: eBay, The X-Files Information Complex, The PA X-Files, and Cinescape Online.
1/29/99
I have plenty of upcoming episode news today. But first, if you saw the update yesterday you might want to check again, because I was adding things throughout the day. Episode 19 is now episode 18, David Duchovny's baseball episode. It is a flashback episode with Arthur Dales, about the Negro leagues and an alien in love with baseball. Hmm.... The sequel to "Unusual Suspects" is 6X19. And, the season finale will be a three-part episode, with all three parts being in this season! Cool! And, there have been more rumors of death in "Two Fathers," and also some info on Samantha's family relations, so check out Season 6 Spoilers. And, it seems that 6X15 is now called "Monday." Some of that info was from SpoilerVille, namely GF2020 and also an Entertainment Weekly article transcribed to the newsgroup by ALFORNOS.
And finally, there were lobby cards made for Spain, a set of 6 (25x17.5"): The Lone Gunmen, Mulder and Kurtzweil, CSM, WMM, Strughold and CSM, and Mulder and Scully.
Sources: eBay and Helix Online.
1/28/99 *Updated*
OOPS! Sorry about not updating in more than a week, but my computer crashed, forcing me to reinstall Windows 98, and for some reason not allowing me to go online. So here I am on the old computer, running Netscape 2 (because IE3 won't upload files to GeoCities). Well anyway, my computer still won't connect, but hopefully that'll be fixed soon. For now, I'll be updating from the old one.
"Tithonus" was definitely a classic. I liked it as a good stand-alone and there was a lot of Scully character development. I wonder if the new agent will make another appearance....
Anyway, I've been keeping up with the news on this computer, along with 14! new pictures, so here it all is.... First, The X-Files won no Golden Globes, but it was nominated for a Golden Reel sound-effects editing award. Also, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny were nominated for the Screen Actors Guild award (and they plus Chris Owens and James Pickens, Jr. were nominated for best drama ensemble), and Chris Carter and R.W. Goodwin were nominated for Golden Laurel awards for Producer of the Year (season 5). And, Joel Ransom ("Travelers") and Bill Roe ("Drive") were nominated by the American Society of Cinematographers for an award. Strangely enough, the president of the ASC is named Victor Kemper. Coincidence? By the way, here is the ad for the X-Files movie's Oscar submission. Thanks to ALFORNOS on the newsgroup for that information.
In season 6 news, the "Two Fathers"/"One Son" 2-parter is being called "Full Disclosure" in the TV spots. I hope there will be ads during the Super Bowl, like for "Leonard Betts"!! In fact, there were two print ads for the episodes, and here they both are. Also, it appears that Daniel Arkin (along with Jeffrey Bell and David Amann) is still on the writing staff, and wasn't sacked. "Mobius" is being filmed now, and it involves a bank heist. Here is the first picture off the set of "Arcadia." Maybe it won't be so bad after all.
Anyway, I have a ton of merchandise info. In Spain (and most likely other countries as well), lobby posters were made which have white borders and blank tops where theaters write the playing times. The dimensions are 27.5x13". Speaking of dimensions, the British quad-size posters are 40x30". The mini size is 16x12". Anyway...I figured I'd put a listing in the Media section for the ad that appears in the official magazines for back issues. The movie magazine is included in the ad. Scan, anyone? Moving right along, there were some promotional items made for the French postal service's movie postcards: a poster and a standee. Also, I found a fifth keychain, and this looks like the nicest one so far. And remember that t-shirt I mentioned so long ago that I had no picture for? The one that said "The X-Files" on the front and "Fight the Future" on the back? Here it is. This is a picture of the "One" by Filter single from the album. I think it's different than the "One" promo single, which is already listed in the Merchandise section. I don't have a picture, but there is a magnet set (2 2x3.5" magnets) featuring the poster A artwork. Both are put together to reveal the entire picture. Room for one more? This is a picture of the 7x11" shelf rider, already listed. I have two pictures of items already listed, but they're cool anyway: The movie standee (from the blueprints on the instructions) and the promo strip of pictures. I also have a picture of the tag which comes on Signature Group's movie t-shirts. And finally, here is a picture of the cover of a French magazine, Poster Attitude, which came with a movie poster. But before I end this update, some more merchandise information from Guy Jackson! Here is a picture of another movie postcard that looks just like one of the shirts. There are 2 more postcards featuring Mulder and Scully, and one each with WMM, Skinner, and the Lone Gunmen. This series of postcards is made by ClassiCo. Also, the "Mulder and Scully" t-shirt exists in two other incarnations. There is an exclusive version only sold at Suncoast that is exactly the same except that it has silk on the back. The front is embroidered and it is made by Signature Group, just like the regular version. The second version has no silk or embroidery at all in the front or back, and is made by another company, Alstyle Apparel and Activewear. Finally, the watches come not only in the metal cases (which you get if you order them), but also in plastic white cases if you buy them at a store.
Sources: eBay, Haven for the FBI's Most Unwanted, The PA X-Files, Central Kentucky X-Files Clan, and The Gillian Anderson Web Site.
1/20/99
The Active Worlds world for the X-Files movie that I described a few weeks ago isn't alone. There is a second movie world, X_Files2 (as opposed to X_Files). It's basically an endless series of underground caverns, like in the Texas cave during the ice age. Once you've downloaded the browser, go to the Worlds tab on the left and select X_Files2. See you there!
And here's something REALLY cool. I found out about the official movie alien mask a while ago. It turns out that there are 3 different types, all different sizes. The manufacturer is Don Post Studios. The 13" mask is the main one. The 15" mask is the "custom" version. And the 18" mask (the one I was talking about a while ago) includes the shoulders. In fact, all three are custom-made when you order them from places like Entertainment Earth.
1/19/99
I have a lot of things to update on today. First, The X-Files is up to $109.9 million overseas, with a worldwide sales total of $193.8 million. Thanks to ALFORNOS on the newsgroup. Anyway, I have pictures of two cool merchandise/promotional items. This is a French magazine ad for the soundtrack, and this is the second Australian promo card from Target stores. These cards were sent out on a Target mailing list only, and are very rare. The front is an ad for the episode videos, and the back is an ad for the movie release on video in Australia--February 17. The first Target promo card only advertised episode videos.
Anyway, I have fixed up the Season 6 Spoilers episode schedule. "Agua Mala" is in fact 6X14 (Bowman/Amann) and the Gilligan/Shiban episode is 6X15. I found out myself that the title is "Mobius." That is the time-loop episode, and it also apparently has something to do with Groundhog Day. ??? Here's plot info on 6X14 courtesy of TomBli on Cinescape Online:
"...Agents Mulder and Scully, aided by geriatric ex-G-man Arthur Dales (guest star Darren McGavin of Kolchak: The Night Stalker fame), travel to Florida. There they investigate some strange goings-on in a storm-ravaged community and encounter a sea monster. 'Agua Mala' (Spanish for 'bad water') is not only a most fitting title for this episode but also is an appropriate description of the monster. It's comprised of water."
Anyway, two-parter news. Fowley is revealed to have been searching all the MUFON chapters in Europe while she was there, gathering info on female abductees. She kisses Mulder in "One Son." YUCK! And here's a cool thing: The tagline will be changed to "Trust No Truth" in "Two Fathers."
Oh yeah. "S.R. 819" kicked ass! I loved it, there were trench coats, dark parking garage scenes, gunfights, and chases. And a good plot that makes you think. See the Mythology section for some added info on the episode. One thing though: Mark Snow hardly wrote any music at all for the episode. It was almost all movie score, and even one scene (the shot from above of a street in Bethesda, Maryland) was taken from the movie! Hmm....
Sources: The X-Files Total Resource, eBay, and Cinescape Online.
1/17/99
Can't wait till "S.R. 819"!! I have a bunch of spoilers and stuff, but I'll just direct you to the Season 6 Spoilers page because they are mostly little things except something about Krycek. Look under the "What to Expect" and "New/Returning Characters" headings. I also have juggled around the schedule and episode numbers for episodes 14 on, thanks to the new reopening of GF2020's Consortium. Now, I've heard that "Tithonus" will be airing both next week and February 7. That's bizarre, so I'm sticking with GF2020's version of the schedule, which has all the episodes moving up one week, starting with "Two Fathers" on the 7th.
Anyway, I found some more promotional materials for the movie.... First, here's the evidence bag given out as a prize for contests and at promotional events. It contained the album and the plain grey t-shirt I have listed in the Merchandise section. Speaking of plain shirts, this is a plain black shirt with only the logo embroidered on the front. Finally, this is an 8 1/2x11" promo for the video on card stock. There is also another one which is bigger, already listed.
Sources: GF2020's Consortium and eBay.
1/16/99
What do you think of my new design for this page? I think it's better than the old one, and the text is easier to read. I should be converting all the pages on the site in the next few weeks. Anyway, there's been a lot of spoilers and rumors floating around on SpoilerVille, so here they are. First, episode 14 (Bowman/Amann) is called "Agua Mala" (anyone who's taken a month of Spanish knows it's "Bad Water," but in Mexico it means "Jellyfish"). This episode features a sea monster, a big storm, and our good friend Arthur Dales from "Travelers." I'm pretty sure it's 6X14, otherwise it's the next one. Episode 15 is written by John Shiban and Vince Gilligan, and has to do with time repeating itself (ST:TNG's "Cause and Effect"). Not a typical script, but "cool" in the words of JanaScully, who saw it. Here's another tidbit that could very likely be false: Mulder and Scully's relationship will be taking off in March (rumors are that they will kiss; this is the "March Madness" rumor), and James Wong will return as senior producer and writer. This has been reported in the British magazines Now and DeluX, and will be reprinted in March's Details. Now here's another strange rumor that I've heard before: One of the Lone Gunmen will be revealed as having connections with the Syndicate (or being otherwise "bad"), and Bill Scully, Jr. will be revealed as also having such connections and having to do with hybridization.
Finally, I have a picture of the X-Files movie as submitted for Oscar consideration.
Source: eBay
1/14/99
Got some international dates here. March 7 is the U.K. premiere of season 6 (Sky One), March 29 is the video release in U.K., and February 10 is the Australian premiere of season 6.
Source: Helix Online
1/13/99
I have those pictures I promised!!! HUGE thanks to Guy J. Jackson for the following 11 pictures. First I have 4 flyers of events for the movie's release. This one is a flyer for the Rob Bowman/Dean Haglund signing to promote the movie in October. I have pictures of two flyers for this signing up already, but this is a third. This one is for the Mark Snow event at the Santa Barbara Metro Comics in June. Here is a flyer for Chris Carter's soundtrack promo appearance at Virgin Megastore. And this is for William B. Davis's Metro Comics appearance in October. Next, I have pictures of 4 promo postcards found at the EXPO's VIP sections. This is a postcard that looks just like one of the cards, but it's not; here's another one. This is an Oldsmobile Intrigue promotional postcard featuring poster A artwork. Finally, this one isn't movie-related, here is an Intrigue postcard from the EXPO, given out in the evidence bags. Finally, I have three miscellaneous pictures. This is the travel tumbler for the movie. And here's the front and back cover of the Foo Fighters U.K. single. I think I promised a picture of this back in August. Well here it is. Thanks again Guy!
I also have some other news from SpoilerVille. First, Terry O'Quinn will have a recurring role (the third X-Files actor so far) in Chris Carter's Harsh Realm. He seems to be the only actor who's been on all three of his series plus the movie. Second, "Tithonus" is airing opposite the Golden Globes January 24th. It doesn't look good for this hyped episode's ratings. I assume that either "Mind's Eye" will be rerun February 7 (because the Super Bowl is on the 31st), or it will be skipped and everything will be moved up a week. Anyway, the official site has added the "Terms of Endearment" "summary," and the Upcoming Episodes page has been removed. Somebody is very lazy over there.... Also, the DVD is definitely coming April 20th. Dealer preorders were due yesterday. Now, here's an interesting video promotional item:
"Huge plastic X-Files poster (scarce! not available to the public) measures 38x25". Displays the X-Files movie poster and the Small Soldiers & Armageddon video covers. Very colorful! A very unique X-Files item."
I still don't get the part about those other two movies, I'll see what I can find out. And finally, here's information on the soundtrack sampler (that is already listed in the Merchandise section):
"The X-Files--The Sampler. Special promo CD for the 20th Century Fox movie. There are three songs on this sampler, 'Threnody in X,' Better Than Ezra's 'One More Murder,' and Ween's 'Beacon Light.'"
Sources: Image Entertainment and eBay.
1/11/99
"The Rain King"? Good idea, but too much like a soap opera. Some good one-liners, and an interesting subplot about Mulder's dating advice, but not much more. WHY must an episode about the weather suddenly turn into insinuations about Mulder and Scully's relationship? WHY must a perfectly good ending have added computer-generated butterflies and rainbows? WHY?? Just a little too much for me. But "S.R. 819"'s gonna kick some ass!!! I got a lot of news today, so I'll start out with the movie merchandise stuff. There was a sticker made for the movie, different from the bookplates. Here's a description:
"Eerie-looking X-Files movie sticker. It has a ghostly image of Mulder and Scully gazing upward, with a glowing red 'X' projected over their faces. Has the X-Files 'Fight The Future' logo in the center. Sticker measures 7.5x5"."
Anyway, here's a picture of the Japanese version of poster D (20x28"). Another Japanese item is this movie program which has info and pictures from the movie. And finally, I found out that the Italian movie posters came in a larger 40x48" size.
This is genuinely interesting. It is from an article posted by ALFORNOS on the newsgroup, an interview with Rob Bowman. Here is an excerpt where he is discussing the ending of the movie (the original and final ones):
"As for the sequence that had to be redone? It involved the scene at the movie's end, with Mulder and Scully talking in the park. 'Right now, it's David and Gillian resolving their relationship. It used to begin with the Cigarette-Smoking Man [William B. Davis] reading a newspaper article about the hantavirus. Mulder showed up and started talking to him as though they know each other, with Mulder reciting things he heard in the alley from Kurtzweil [Martin Landau] about there being a date set, probably on a holiday,' Bowman explains. 'CSM's eyes just opened up as if he were saying, "How do you know this?" Well, the problem was that Mulder walked up to him and said, "Hey buddy, how you doing?" They were just talking. That might have been OK on the series, but in the test screenings, non-fans said, "Well, wait a minute, who is
this guy? And now he and Mulder are chatting like friends?" It annoyed them.
"'So we re-shot it and focused more on the resolution of Mulder and Scully's relationship,' he continues. 'We then put CSM up on a hill, watching them. It poisoned the scene. Mulder and Scully were left there standing, wondering what's going to happen next, and we cut to CSM. It was a bit like a
sledgehammer to the head, so we cut that out, too. At points, it became too great a burden for the audience to take everything in and figure out what it meant. It was actually a more fan-specific movie than it is now because we started talking about things that, if you didn't know the series intimately, you wouldn't know what the heck these people were talking about--and they were talking about it with such great magnitude and weight. There's a lot of information in the movie and, like the show, you HAVE to pay attention.'"
Hmm. So that's what happened to the ending! Anyway, the last two bits are short: First, Dean Haglund's site has updated yet again, refining the new look so it isn't as sloppy as it was before. Check it out. And finally, and this is disheartening, Frank Spotnitz is leaving the show after this season. Damn.... I got that last bit from SpoilerVille.
Source: eBay
1/8/99
A bunch of stuff to catch up on. In a day or two I should be getting in some really cool scans of items in the Media section that don't have pictures. Meanwhile I have plenty of spoilers from SpoilerVille. In "One Son" Mulder and Scully have to take a decon shower for some reason under Fowley's orders. They are naked, and some funny lines were cut: Scully: "My my...." Mulder: "Right back at ya, red." Hee heee! Too bad, but they probably would have ruined the seriousness of the episode. Apparently neither actor was naked while filming the scene, sorry guys. Here's another interesting spoiler:
"In the February mythology episodes, things look bad for our girl Marita. Let me rephrase that, Marita is looking bad. Seems her time in the tender care of the bad guys has been, well, nasty. She is covered with scars and looks like a drug addict after being experiment girl. Things are really bad...how bad? Blackened teeth bad. So bad that Mulder doesn't recognize her at first. She is also a real shadow of herself personality wise--frightened to be seen with Mulder, frightened by Krycek. Things are so bad she hopes for help from, gasp, Spender."
Thanks to Stacey W. for the last two tidbits. Also, the "Two Fathers" 2-parter will have the Lone Gunmen. Everyone, in fact, will be in it except Scully's family. And here's some "Arcadia" info: The "garbage monster" is actually a tulpa. What's that? "Tulpas are beings created by Tibetan monks who have learned to master their minds. They created servants, molecule by molecule by thinking them into existence." So that means it's not actually Oscar the Grouch! The Homeowners Association of the town created it, apparently.
Well anyway, the Dust Brothers' rendition of the X-Files theme on the movie soundtrack gained a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. Speaking of music, has anyone noticed that Mark Snow is still using the movie score in new episodes? "Terms of Endearment" even had some parts of the score incorporated into the music. I think it's about time for some original music. Hopefully the upcoming mytharc will have some of that. Oh yeah, "Terms of Endearment" made the top ten (#9) in Sunday's ratings. Finally!
Sources: Yahoo! News, The Recording Academy, and Haven for the FBI's Most Unwanted.
1/5/99
I've been busy lately so I haven't had much time for updates. "Terms of Endearment" was pretty cool...the Garbage song was an interesting touch. Amann and Bowman did a great job, so I have high hopes for episode 14, which both of them are doing. Michael Watkins is directing "Arcadia." Kim Manners directed "Two Fathers." Rob Bowman also directed "One Son"!! I'm so psyched about "S.R. 819," "Two Fathers," and "One Son." I'm hoping for the kind of directing he showed off in "731." It is rumored that we won't get anything more from Bowman this season because he is now in preproduction of a movie for Warner Brothers, I Am Legend. In fact, we won't have to wait as long for episode 10 because it switched places (apparently) in the schedule with "Tithonus." More rumors from SpoilerVille: Some are saying that the script for the sequel has already been written. Sounds implausible. There are conflicting rumors, also, that David Fincher (Seven, Alien3, The Game) or Steven Spielberg may direct it. Anyway, the release date for the DTS LaserDisc version of the movie has been moved up a week to January 12. Also, The X-Files was nominated for Favorite Drama in the TV Guide Awards. DD and GA were also nominated.
Sources: Image Entertainment and Yahoo! News.
1/1/99
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Since I listed the EXPO CD with the movie trailer on it, I'm adding the EXPO flyer with the movie article in it to the Merchandise section. Australian fans: Season 6 starts on February 10, and the movie comes out on video February 17. Also, Mulder and Scully's pseudonyms (they are undercover) in "Arcadia" are Rob and Laura...apparently a tribute to the Dick Van Dyke Show (this info from SpoilerVille).
Source: Dark Horizons
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