TVSquad

The X-Files creator Chris Carter has been hospitalized for exhaustion. This was brought on by "physical exhaustion and an acute sleeping disorder."

The pressure on the man must be enormous. He's working on a new movie Fencewalker and just finished The X-Files: I Want to Believe movie. While reviews of the movie weren't great, it did make $60 million in the worldwide box office (from a $30 million budget). That's not including the inevitable DVD sales (which will probably be strong due to the number of X-Files enthusiasts out there). How much does a movie have to make in order to be considered a success by Hollywood standards?

I admit that I know nothing about Chris Carter, so the skeptic in me can't help but wonder if "exhaustion" is a euphemism for some other addiction. Perhaps he and David Duchovny will run into each other while hospitalized and chat about old times.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S02E20) I was never a regular X-Files viewer, so I can't say that I had a favorite episode, or that I really liked or disliked certain plots or narrative directions taken by the show. For the most part, all of the episodes run together in my head -- with the exception of one.

I saw it only once, when it originally aired back in 1995. I didn't remember the details of the plot. Instead, it was just the images that still randomly come to mind over a decade later. A guy hammering a nail into his face, another covered in tattoos and eating a live fish, and a fetus in fetu that made me terrified of ever having children.

Since this week is X-Files week for Retro Squad, I knew that I had to talk about Humbug. I didn't want to, but I knew it was time to re-confront my nightmares.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

For the most part The X-Files was an intense character study of two FBI agents struggling with their beliefs in the supernatural, in America and in each other. Sometimes, however, it was just a show about cool monsters. Here are some of my favorites.

Eugene Tooms ("Squeeze," "Tooms")
Tooms was so cool and creepy he had to be brought back for another appearance. What I liked best about Tooms was that he was one of the few monsters that looked totally human but was pure monster. Whether he was eating livers or squeezing through an air vent, Tooms was the first threat on the show to make me believe that monsters might actually exist.

I didn't think going into the weekend that the new X-Files movie (see Cinematical's review) had much of a shot at opening at number one. After the opening that the new Batman enjoyed the previous weekend, it was going to be a tough mountain to climb. That being said, I didn't think number two was an overly ambitious goal. And number three would have been a bit surprising. But number four and $10.2 million? Yikes.

As expected, The Dark Knight once again topped the box office with the biggest second weekend on record. Surprisingly though, Mulder and Scully also trailed Step Brothers and the second week of Mama Mia. The B word is already being tossed around, understandably so. Despite that, studio executives are standing by to assure everyone that with foreign box office and DVD the movie will still turn a profit. That's all well and good, but I don't think anyone should be getting their hopes up for round three any time soon.

"We tell the stories others refuse to tell." - Richard "Ringo" Langly

Like many of you, I have a growning collection of DVD sets from shows that left the airwaves too soon. If I had to pick just one to have back, it would probably be Firefly, but The Lone Gunmen would certainly be in the conversation. It was a great example of a spin-off done right. After years of service, fighting the good fight, lending a hand to Mulder, the boys finally got their own gig. Melvin Frohike, Richard Langly, and Johy Byers weren't your typical prime-time, leading man, characters, and The Lone Gunmen wasn't your typical prime-time show.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S01E03 & S01E21) We almost take it for granted these days that a DVD set of our favorite shows will be forthcoming. We might not always agree with the scheduling, but it's a pretty safe bet that most everything we watch in the coming season will be arriving on DVD eventually. It wasn't like that back in the wilds of 1993. But things were about to change.

I'm not sure if The X-Files was the first show to embrace the home video market, but it was the first one that I took notice of. And it was the first one that I actually bought ... on VHS. That gorgeous three tape box set in the picture is one of three that I have, and each of them carry a whopping six episodes on their oh so delicate tapes. For X-Files week, I dusted this one off and fed my VCR the tape containing "Squeeze" and "Tooms," two of my favorite early episodes.

The X-Files was a one-of-a-kind, groundbreaking show. It took the typical FBI detective show and spun it, but good. Add some aliens and government conspiracy and you've done one better than a weekly FBI caper.

And the extraterrestrial and supernatural make for some good quotes, starting with the pilot, when Scully refers to Mulder by his nickname from the academy: "Spooky Mulder."

Or how about Mulder's understatement of the millennium: " ... in most of my work, the laws of physics rarely seems to apply."

Oh, I'll be there, probably on opening weekend, but something about the new X-Files flick makes me nervous as hell.

Maybe it's the fact that it has been ten years since the last movie, and I wonder if people are still interested in it enough to make it a hit (and push another movie into production). I also worry about the plot, since nothing much has been leaked about what the film is about, other than it involves snow, mysterious happenings, and Billy Connolly bleeding from the eyes.

No, the real reason I'm worried is that the movie has a "standalone" plot and is not part of the mythology arc from the show and the first movie. I think this could be a mistake.

Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.

(S05E11) When I heard that we were going to be doing an X-Files week for Retro Squad the first thing that came to mind was "Killswitch." It has long been my favorite episode of the series. Aside from being a great story, it also serves as a marker for where my interest in the series changed.

By the time they made it to "Killswitch," X-Files had started to lose me with the mythology episodes. In the beginning it was almost annoying when there would be a standalone episode. I was so engrossed in the bigger picture story that it was like being forced to take a week off from that which I was really interested in. By season five, though, that interest had waned. Not that the show had gotten bad, just that it was pretty clear that those big answers weren't coming any time soon, so I started looking forward to these episodes more and more. And for me, "Killswitch" is the pinnacle of The X-Files in that form.

If you haven't entered our latest giveaways yet, here's a reminder that two are ending today. You've got until 5PM Eastern today to enter to win:

Stargate: Atlantis - Season Four

The X-Files: Revelations

and until next Monday to enter:

Fastlane - The Complete Series

Just head on over to the post links above, read through the rules, and make the applicable comment there (not here!). We'll notify the winners next week.

Good luck!

Another giveaway today! This time we've got five copies of The X-files: Revelations on DVD for five lucky, random commenters. The DVD is available in stores starting Tuesday.

To enter, leave a comment below before 5:00PM Eastern, Friday, July 11 simply telling us how good you think the new X-Files movie will be. As always, we'll randomly choose five winners amongst the eligible entries. Some other details:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

This latest trailer for The X-Files movie, coming out July 25th, actually has some meat to it. The past teaser-trailers haven't shown much except some snow and a lot of flashes of black. In this trailer, we actually get to see some of Mulder and Scully's co-stars -- namely, Amanda Peet and Billy Connolly. Peet appears to be an FBI agent who is a bit of an outsider because she's a believer in the paranormal, which is why Mulder is brought on to the case. Connolly plays an unusual man, a psychic, who may or may not be nuts.

The "big" shows are over, and now the typically low-key summer TV schedule begins. Oh sure, there are some real gems in there that are still airing or will start soon, but overall the excitement is nothing like the September-through-May period. Maybe people are ... gasp ... going outside to enjoy the sun?

It's been two years since we first delved into the world of Retro Squad, so we're back now with what we believe is a better format. Rather than pick a few shows and only review one season from each throughout the summer, we're doing theme/show weeks. These weeks will not only have standout episode reviews from any past season, but we'll have themed lists, Vs., interviews and videos. There are only so many weeks in the summer, so we can't cover all of your favorites, but I think there's something for just about everyone here. Check out the schedule below, after the jump.

So Isabelle posted a story recently about the new X-Files sequel that is supposed to hit theaters this July 25. The movie has been pretty much under wraps, except for a snippet of film here and some behind the scenes photos there. And the cast and crew certainly aren't saying anything about the movie's plot. The only hint we've received is that this movie has more to do with a standalone mystery than the alien mythology storyline from the show (and the first film).

But now I'm slightly confused, as this press release for a new X-Files DVD set says that the set gives a hint as to what we can expect in the movie.

Make sure you don't miss the first part of the Supernatural set visit.

Smoke effects lazily float across a packed soundstage. Someone calls for quiet. The camera and sound get up to speed, and Kim Manners belts out a loud, "KICK IT IN THE ASS!" Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki power through a page of dialogue ... and a scene for Supernatural is shot. Wahoo!

Kim Manners is one cool dude. When you first meet him, his diminutive frame and long hair make you think "Wow, this guy must be laid back and mellow." Believe you me, he can turn on his drill sergeant voice and snap you in half if you aren't careful. That includes wasting anyone's time or not taking your work seriously. He's a pro and except the same out of the people he works with. But, he's also incredibly nice. He left me remarkably intact.

He's definitely no stranger to the television world, having directed everything from Charlie's Angels, to Mission: Impossible, to Baywatch, to The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. before he landed on the X-Files team and stayed onboard for the long haul. His brother Kelly has also directed episodes of Buffy and Angel, so it looks like their love for the supernatural (get it?) runs in the blood.