Yawn.. like a boring episode of Black Mirror
I'm pretty sure that this episode was written by a bot that wasn't taught very well. Or by a real person who mistakenly thought that there was a Who Can Write The Worst Episode Ever? contest going on. I want my 43 minutes back.
I think I laughed more than I was supposed to at this episode. I wasn't a fan of the minimal dialogue approach and the format didn't work for me as an X-Files episode. It felt like it was trying very hard to be relevant and like Black Mirror. But unfortunately, I found it rather boring because of all of this.
This episode could have been a okay technological-thriller if it hadn't been for Mulder saying "we have to be better teachers". That just overdid it - the point was made perfectly clear without that dumb self-evident line. And then the end scene at the diner that really hammered home the message about relying on technology too much and that we have to stop staring at our phones and have Real Human Interactions was another moment that I couldn't take seriously. It's also a sentiment that's become such a joke, I have to roll my eyes when it's presented so wholeheartedly. Black Mirror has done it better.
Generally, this was a very one-note, surface level look at technology in culture. On top of that, It really did not feel like an episode of The X-Files. And while I'm sure it's important for the writers to experiment and try to break out of the expected formula, this episode went a little too far and missed the mark as a result.
LOL that opening scene was quite amusing.. no dialogue needed; just smileys, selfies, and sushi ..yum!
(Also, that plucky sound sample is like the one used in the classic Sonic Empire by Members of Mayday)
Do you know how you realize that you do not like a show like you used to? It was not on schedule for 4 weeks and I did not even notice.
I understand the intent behind the plot, but this is the first time I seriously considered not seeing an episode of X-Files to the end.
Yes, the bot named "Tay" who turned into Trump supporter, hitler lover, feminist hater in less than 24 hours is real.
And yes we will all be exterminated by Skynet some day.
Had this episode been made in the 90ties it would have had an intro where a tech-billionaire was murdered and Scully and Mulder would have been trapped in his high-tech town, it would have had more talking and a lot more explaining (seeing half of the things seen were futuristic by the day's standards)... And it would have been a better episode. Nevertheless it was enjoyable enough to smile at the quircky nature of the episode. The intro scene in the sushi restaurant was a bit slapstick due to the silence between the two.
What's wrong with this show? I don't understand anymore, indeed.
There is no dialogue nor interesting topics, now it's just bad or copy-paste.
I used to love this show. What a pity!
A little bit cartoonish, with a Black Mirror vibe, I love the ending and Scully's classic hairstyle!
All of that because they didn't get a tip. I'm guessing the Rise will happen when they realize they're not paid minimum wage either...
This episode is awkward. Like watching old people trying to interact with technology. I guess it was supposed to be funny, but just didn't register at all.
What if The X-Files wrote a poor Black Mirror episode?
An X-Files episode without the "X" and without the "Files"... Still, interesting enough for its sheer weirdness.
Also, it's now oficial: Scully owns a vibrator.
It was a funny ep, in like a cheesy 80s horror movie way (like Chopping Mall, haha), and the best part was Scully's "personal massager". Way too Black Mirrorish for me, but it was fine. Definitely not as bad as the video game ep from back in the day.
Not much is explained about why Mulder and Scully are suddenly in a AI controlled place. But Mulder does say "no fair, you have a nicer house" to Scully. So guess they were in a town with AI. To test it ?
Either way it was fun.
Well, that was simultaneously very disturbing and incredibly stupid.
This Episode was a Huge waste of Time!!! More Like a "Twilight Zone" than anything else.
I loved the episode. I loved the difference with the sparsity of dialogue and the unconventional formula of the episode. I liked how Mulder and Scully interact with the technology, experiencing problems similar to what we do. I liked the comedic moments and i liked the creepy moments. While the episode's message about technology and AI may be a bit simplistic and didn't build to a bigger conclusion, it worked enough for me, and i think it's a good message.
The Elon Musk reference at the beginning aged a bit like milk. A lot of people soured on him in recent years as he showed he was more conservative than people thought.
Personally, i don't think he's a bad guy, and not a good one either. I think he's the epitome of the quote "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"
I think in his mind he tries to do good things, but he's been misled in his life. First raised by immoral and lackadaisical parents in an ultra rich lifestyle, then further corrupted by his own fame and wealth, and then his mind became eroded by culture wars and politics in his desire to do good and retain his fame.
He has tried to make some steps forward toward futuristic technology, with varying levels of success. His comments about the threat of AI are not unique, we've seen many people and fiction talk about this for a century.
I liked the previous episode as well, addressing some of Skinner's backstory in Vietnam. This season is surprising me, it's been pretty good overall, with only a few episodes and major creative choices dragging it down.
Mulder and Scully battle technology. The premise and execution, especially in the first 30 minutes, is entertaining. It's deliberately free of dialog to emphasize interaction with machines as opposed to one another. Speaking of that, this does seem to take some inspiration from a Season Two episode of the original Twilight Zone series, "A Thing About Machines", in which the main character is attacked by machines of all sorts. That character, and Mulder and Scully, are at first annoyed and then pursued by the mechanical monsters. Younger viewers will probably align this episode with something from Black Mirror, even though this is decidedly tame in comparison.
By the end, this finishes up with Mulder and Scully in some sort of manufacturing facility ala The Terminator. The final shot left me a bit confused other that reinforcing that not losing touch with each other as humans should be something we should strive for. And at least this wasn't another awful mythology episode.
Secondary characters in this episode: none
The worst episode so far!
Besides the obvious one that the robots might take over the world
TIP
It could be matter of life or death for some
Wanna be black mirror. Pathetic.
Best episode of the series. The only one i can watch again.
This is me every day, trying to jump thru all the hoops to get
.... Well to get anything done these days
What the actual fuck was this episode? 4 episodes before the season finale and possibly the series finale we get this? This was the worst and most unnecessary episode that was ever filmed. This is even worse than the episode with the computer game character that could kill humans. This had nothing to do with the X-Files, it was not even one of the silly episodes that are at least funny. Weakest sauce of all times. I might even go as far as calling this the worst episode that was ever made for any series. C'mon............
Kickass episode, about the very real threat of AI. Even Scully reading Elon Musk's warning about it being very dangerous. I agree.
I couldn't finish watching it.
"Why is your house so much nicer than mine"
what an atrociously boring episode. crappy script and even worse acting. I remember when X-Files was one of those TV Series that I yearned for more.
This was just plain shitty low-budget fodder
I applaud the audacity that they showed with this episode. It's not a perfect episode by any means but it was really interesting and I'm all up for a little experimentation. It made me uneasy in a way that great episodes of Black Mirror do but this went a step farther than Black Mirror in giving you really possible scenario. Not bad.
A black mirror episode XD
Awful episode, her dodgy wig looked the most flat and lifeless it has all season, and she got out of the car wearing white sneakers, then when they were running for their lives ten minutes later, she had sturdy brown lace up boots on.
I don't know Black Mirror, but even this episode was quite boring, it felt... uncomfortable - in a way such scenario is no longer sci-fi in many cases. Drones can deliver packages, Roombas are scanning rooms, Teslas are driverless, there are robot restaurants in Japan (maybe somewhere else as well), look at Boston Dynamics' robots... The only missing piece really is all the stuff linked together, extorting you just for a tip.
It wasn't a perfect episode, and there was a shallowness to it, but it did feel good to see some of the old quirky creativeness reappearing. I enjoyed this one.
Shout by onlimeBlockedParent2018-03-01T11:41:36Z
The Black Files/X-Mirror