The File Room

Michaela's living her best middle aged life, Ed shares his bag-flotsam triggered Proustian rush, and then we have some thoughts about this surprisingly divisive episode.

Mulder gets sent back in time to 1939 (or does he?!?) in a technically remarkable episode, which utilizes both long takes and split-screen to dazzling effect. Michaela and Ed delve into the many impressive visual elements of this episode, as well talk about how good the current series of Taskmaster has been.

Ed drives almost as much as Mulder in one of the most consequential episode of TV of all time... while Michaela floats with some Jelly fish, and fan-girls.

The X-Files has to deal with the aftermath of the movie and the consequences of moving to Hollywood after five years in Vancouver. Michaela and Ed discuss how the change in location affected the mood of the show, how its moments of self-awareness make the mythology go down a little smoother, and Ed's latest injury. Also, apologies for the slightly rougher audio this week - Ed's microphone did not...

This week, The File Room goes to the cinema to watch Independence Day... Just kidding, it's time to watch The X Files Movie - complete with corn fields, Antarctica, a ticking biological clock for all of humanity, and The Near Kiss. Michaela and Ed discuss whether Fight the Future is a triumphant big-screen reward for five years of loyalty, or just a very expensive mythology episode with a better c...

What a season, what a season. As The X-Files prepares to head to Hollywood - both literally and metaphorically - Michaela and Ed look back on the fifth season and talk about their favourite episodes and guest performances, and try to determine whether the demands of the movie ultimately hurt the season leading up to it.

This week, The X-Files tries to pull off a grand pseudo-series finale involving a mind-reading chess prodigy and a literal fire in the basement, but the real tension might just be Scully's reaction to Mulder's ex. Michaela and Ed discuss whether 'The End' actually works as an ending, while also catching up on expensive car repairs, Morris dancing, Bob Odenkirk's action movie chops, and a Studio Gh...

Mulder's seeing a giant bug man in an episode that is surprisingly tense and paranoiac, even more so when you learn about the troubled production. Michaela and Ed discuss how The X-Files crew managed to turn disaster into victory in post-production, and also talk about the novel Klara and the Sun for arguably too long.

This week Michaela reveals a big life change ahead, AI tries to turn Ed's D&D campaign into a business memo, and we discuss 'The Pine Bluff Variant', an episode of The X-Files with more double-agent turns than the last series of The Traitors*.     *or what I'd assume. Paul only made me watch the last episode.

The X-Files abruptly remembers that Scully's daughter died and tries to examine her grief through the prism of a case involving angels, with mixed results. Michaela and Ed try to make sense of it all, while also discussing video stores and spoiling the hell out of the forgotten Robert Pattinson vehicle Remember Me and the novel My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh, so consider this a...

A major milestone in the UK year has been met with celebrations, meanwhile Ed has joined the Flimsy Wrist Brigade... Is this episode of the X Files a blinder? Did we see too much? 

Like R.E.M., The X-Files is exhuming McCarthy this week in an episode that goes back to the 1950s, an era of paranoia and persecution, when absolute psychopaths ran the American government. Hard to imagine such a thing, right? Michaela and Ed also talk about Ed "Velma-ing" on a late night run.

Michaela is mildly annoyed by holiday admin, Ed is uncomfortable about discussing BDSM and Mulder and Scully complete their Freaky Friday plot line. 

The X-Files tries to grapple seriously with Mulder's loss of faith but he just comes off as really moody, and the show introduces a couple of characters who will be important for the mythology. Elsewhere, Michaela goes under the sea and Ed accidentally steals valor.

This week, Michaela recounts her experience of a precarious mix of sound baths, 100 press-ups, and enough high-octane coffee to power a small city. Meanwhile, Ed discusses the entry to his D&D era and the harsh reality that adult friendship is mostly just planning sessions that never actually happen. Then we get on to discuss this week's episode, the undisputed heavyweight champion of X-Files...

Michaela and Ed convene in CYBERSPACE to discuss the first episode of The X-Files written by acclaimed sci-fi authors William Gibson and Tom Maddox. They discuss the episode's place within Gibson's body of work, how its vision of A.I. looks now versus in 1998, and the many ways that The Matrix managed to make cyberpunk cool.

This week, we dive into the uncanny as the legendary Stephen King takes the helm of The X-Files. Ed puts on his surgical gloves to dissect "Chinga," tracing King’s unmistakable fingerprints across every chilling scene to see how the Master of Horror fares in the basement office. But before we face the doll from hell, we navigate the hazards of the real world. Ed prepares for the high-stakes specta...

There's some prime mid-90s pop cultural ephemera in this episode, but what else? Michaela and Ed try to figure out if there's anything worthwhile in an X-File often cited as one of the worst, and if the very title of the episode itself is a typo.

Ed joins Michaela's girl's night in to discuss this episode, featuring the return of persuasive serial killer, Pusher. They also talk about some exciting recent news.

This week The X-Files follows up a nuanced and touching first half of a two-parter with a second part which is only fitfully either of those things. Michaela and Ed discuss what the show could have done to avoid squandering some real potent material, and whether this episode just exists as an emotional Saw trap for Scully.

Time feels different at Christmas... Michaela and Ed discuss a sound character episode, and try not to look too closely at reality. 

Michaela and Ed get to dig into a very strange and meaty episode this week, one which allows them to discuss the intricacies of black and white cinematography, post-modernism as a school of thought, and Cher.  Content warning: Due to the nature of the storyline in this week's episode, there is some discussion of sexual assault early on, which is marked in the timestamps for this episode if you wan...

Michaela and Ed discuss a tingling sense of deja vu, management workshops, and the uncanny resemblance between Florida and Canada.

The X-Files travels back to 1989 this week to explain how The Lone Gunmen came together, how they met Mulder, and how Mulder only believes in aliens because he got gassed? Michaela and Ed discuss whether the episode is a little too neat for its own goods, and talk about their New Year's resolutions for 2026.

The X-Files resolves some long-running plot threads in this emotionally satisfying episode, and Ed and Michaela talk in generally non-spoiler terms about how the first season of Pluribus turned out.