Fox in the Hell House

Oh, you didn't know? Last week was the Season Finale, because the actual X-Files season finale is part 1 of 3, and frankly, we need a break. So instead, we're doing one of Bill's favorite films: The Lion in Winter! Henry II invites the family for a wholesome Christmas holiday in France, and you know, normal family stuff happens. A bit of skullduggery, backbiting, court intrigue, and of...

Ah, at long last, we come to the close of our journey through The Satanic Schoolboard Episode. This time, it's Bill's turn to grasp ahold of the devil's horns and shake loose a few insights. Mae also offers a few insights, primarily about comedy, horror, and feminist perspectives. John is also here, bouncing all these ideas around for your audio pleasure. Cohosts: Bill Eldridge (he/him...

We finally got here, folks! We made it through two necessary weeks of historical foregrounding, and now we are FINALLY talking about the Satanic Panic episode! This week, John takes us through the episode and explains why all that historical background was necessary. Mysterious deaths and occult shenanigans happen in a small town, and our favorite agents are there to uncover the devilish mystery....

Oh, don't even get me STARTED. You aren't ready. We weren't ready! You ever lift up a concrete slab, and find a bunch of bugs skittering in the dirt? It's kind of like that, except instead of bugs, it's the horrors of American Evangelicalism and the American childcare system. Cohosts: John Watson (they/them) Bill Eldridge (he/him) Mae Barnes (she/her)

In preparation for our discussion about the episode "Die Hand die Verletzt," aka "The Satanic School Board Episode," we have some necessary background to cover regarding the history of what is known as the Satanic Panic in the US. Therefore, we have made this episode for one person in particular: Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. Listen to us as we tell our friend Steve about...

CW: Elder abuse and sexual assault Welcome back to part two of our discussion about Excelsis Dei! More wine is consumed, more absolute nonsense is discussed, and revelations about the likely racist naming convention used on a particular member of the cast that sends our poor cohosts into despair. Also, of course, the villain has always been Capitalism. Cohosts: Bill Eldridge (he/him) Mae Barnes (s...

CW: discussion about sexual assault and elder abuse That's right. We are starting with a CW, because that is just how this episode is. Mulder and Scully investigate a sexual assault upon a nurse at an nursing home--one performed by an invisible assailant. Curious goings on have been happening at Excelsis Dei, the most disturbing of which involve elder abuse and a mysterious cure for dementia t...

Chris Carter saw a cool volcano roving robot, and thought, you know what would make a good episode? A cross between The Thing and Apocalypse Now! Bradley Whitford guest stars in an episode that has Mulder and Scully head to a volcanic research lab, only to discover a parasitic fungus outbreak that results in some truly grisly body horror. We talk about the overall unevenness of the episode, alongs...

You know what? We had too much to say about this absolute trashfire of an episode of primetime 90's television, so we decided to just record us doing just that. Now eat your peas, dammit! You're gonna hear us talk about weird death fetishism, and you're going to LIKE IT. Cohosts: John Watson (they/them) Bill Eldridge (he/him) Mae Barnes (she/her)

What could be better than spooky Romanian folk religious practices and les enfant terribles? Mulder and Scully investigate the death of a young child of a state department worker, and the supernatural phenomenon surrounding his older brother Charlie. Wacky Romanian Grandmas, family secrets, and improper ritual sanitary practices abound. Cohosts: Bill Eldridge (he/him) Mae Barnes (she/her) John Wat...

In the final part of John's 3-part analysis on modern profiling and serialized/mass violence, we finally come to their favorite episode. A spate of strange necrophilic activity catches the attention of Mulder and Scully, and this hits Scully particularly close to home due to her recent abduction and resultant PTSD. Probably one of the darkest episodes of the season, but also it is X-Files at i...

We are BACK in the good old Aubrey, Missouri! That is probably the first time anyone has ever thought that particular idea. Anyways, this is part 2 of our conversation about this car crash of an episode, in which we talk more about serial killers, genetic memory, and the eugenics of it all. I know it's probably a bit predictable -- take a drink every time we mention eugenics on the show!-- but...

You smell that, boy? That's the smell of Midwestern Gothic. It smells of cornfields, rusted farmhouses, and psychosexual trauma. Mulder and Scully are called in because the body of an FBI agent from the 30's is found, unraveling a mysterious cold case involving a serial murderer... and a pregnant cop with visions? Let's add in a bit of the spice melange to that mix, while we're at...

This week, Mae is at the helm for a not-quite-Syndicate arc two-parter! A shapeshifting alien bounty hunter is after a mysteriously identical cadre of doctors... and oh right, SAMANTHA MULDER IS BACK?? OR IS SHE??? She emerges out of nowhere, and Mulder is on the warpath to figure out just what the hell is going on. We have clones. We have family trauma. We have Skinner being a badass. What more c...

Wait a minute. Small town? Meat-processing factory floor? Creepy cult? No, this is not a repost or a rerun; it is in fact a completely different episode from Our Town! Indeed, it is a far BETTER episode, because it doesn't have a lot of the racism that made that episode so terrible. Join Mulder and Scully as they investigate a town with a big secret, and a surprise callback to the season final...

Welcome to the second half of our episode on One Breath! This time we go deeper into the conspiracy of the syndicate, the grim reality of what the Cancer Man's life is like, what Skinner's whole deal is about, and the rich vein of Catholicism in Scully's resurrection. It's a good talk, come hang with us! Cohosts: Bill Eldridge (he/him) John Watson (they/them) Mae Barnes (she/her)

Scully is found alive in a hospital, and nobody-- not even hospital staff-- knows why. Mulder crashes out, and there is a lot of meditation on the metaphysical nature of life and death. This is the first half of our exploration of this episode--more next week!

Who ordered all these vampires, because dude, these vampires SUCK. No, really. Mulder, missing his one true bestie Scully, is really sad and decides to go hunt vampires in LA for a bit. Nothing of substance occurs, least of all the X-Files's exploration of the subject of vampirism. There is so much meat left on that bone, and we are SALTY about it. So come listen to 3 weirdos talk about the wa...

We got us a heap of trouble with this one: Mulder and Scully are called into a Haitian refugee camp to investigate some mysterious shenanigans... which means that we need to talk about Haitian Voudon. To do that, we needed some help from someone who knows what he's talking about. We have special guest Medene Presley on to investigate the history and culturally prescient aspects of this bizarre...

This is the second half of the Duane Barrie saga in a nutshell: Scully gets abducted by Duane, and then Duane lets the aliens abduct Scully for like, another episode. Meanwhile we investigate the meaning of art criticism, interrogate the thesis of this show, and also make jokes about what a demon twink Krycek is. We dub Skinner "The People's Daddy," too. Cohosts: John Watson (they/th...

Oh, Duane, you poor guy. Getting abducted will ruin your life, apparently, and then one day, you get fed up and start a hostage situation in a travel agency so your psychiatrist will FINALLY listen. #relateable. Anyways, this is the first of a two parter, very plot heavy, so we just kind of roll with it and enjoy the ride. Your hosts: John Watson (they/them) Bill Eldridge (he/him) Mae Barnes (she/...

Oh boy, another day, another deceptively dark episode of the X-files... this time guest starring Tony Todd of Candyman fame! A string of murders with unusual circumstances leads to Mulder and new """friend""" Alex Krycek to uncover a Vietnam-era experimental program to eliminate soldiers' ability to sleep, leading to Todd as a kind of psychic Freddy Krueger, or pe...

X-Files sure is a show, huh? Because you can go from a campy, monster-filled romp in the sewers with a worm mutant one week... and then a harrowing, poorly handled, and frankly disturbing take on American mass shootings the next. The gang tries to take it more seriously this week, because this is some heavy content. CW for anyone with trauma involving mass shootings, because this episode really di...

THE EPISODE YOU (HAVEN'T) BEEN WAITING FOR IS HERE! That's right, we're talking about the infamous episode with hideous, mind-scarring FlukeMan! There's some weird stuff going on in the sewers, and Mulder is sent to scenic New Jersey to investigate. What follows is a disgusting and visceral experience that warped our fair hosts into the people they are today. Enjoy! Cohosts: Mae Ba...

While Mae is gone, Bill takes the helm this week as we venture forth into the Ozarks for a real hootenanny of an episode. I say "hootennanny," because what I really mean is "an extremely racist piece of hot garbage." Bill and John go down the rabbithole of Arkansan lore, unnecessary orientalism and racism against Polynesian peoples, and some finger-licking good cannibalism. You...