Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23585 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-08-06
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 85 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
This release consists of two episodes--"This is Not Happening" and "Deadalive"--of the eighth series of The X-Files spliced together into a feature-length story. With David Duchovny contracted only to do a certain percentage of shows this year, Robert Patrick was brought in as Agent John Doggett, partnering Gillian Anderson's Agent Scully while Duchovny's Mulder is off being tortured by alien-abductors in what looks like an industrial dentist's chair. This story comes about two-thirds of the way through the arc and sets up Duchovny's return to the show--though he literally has to die and come back to get back on the case. It's an unfortunate paradox that most X-Files stand-alone releases concentrate on the dreary alien-abduction/conspiracy episodes which carry the greater storyline of the show, giving the misleading impression that the series is a drearily solemn, badly plotted, straight-faced but stupid sci-fi soap opera. Always skipped over are the far more interesting, entertaining and impressive stand-alone supernatural mysteries or strange comic exercises. Though Duchovny is mostly lying in a hospital bed with oatmeal all over his face, Anderson--whose character is pregnant this series, another dull sub-plot--still gives an amazingly committed performance and gets terrific support from Patrick, whose character has shaken up a lot of what was settled or stale about the show, and the always-underrated Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Skinner. The story features several wild-eyed UFO guru types (including Roy Thinnes, once star of The Invaders) and returned abductees transformed into un-killable alien zombies. It's as well made as ever, with ominous shadows and the odd smart line, but you need to have been paying very close attention for seven years to understand what's going on. With Duchovny a potential escapee and Anderson perhaps in line to follow, this episode brings on the excellent Annabeth Gish as Agent Monica Reyes, a specialist in bizarre rituals, who is being effectively set up to partner Patrick in a post-Mulder-and-Scully X-Files that might well keep the franchise going on forever Star Trek-fashion. --Kim Newman

Special Features
4:3
DVD 5
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround English
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Behind The Scenes Footage
Interviews From Members Of The Production Crew
Insights In Agent Doggett
Dutch\French

Synopsis
This X-FILES collection features two pivotal episodes from the eighth season, "This Is Not Happening" and "Deadalive." The night before Agent Mulder (David Duchovny) is discovered near death in a field outside Helena, Montana, the FBI receive a call concerning a young woman's apparent alien abduction. Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Agent Doggett (Robert Patrick) begin an investigation, leading to a meeting with a man who claims to save "returned abductees." But can this mysterious healer save Mulder

Customer Reviews

worth buying for the collection
The first 45 minutes is a top episode of the X-Files with an amazing performance by Gillian Anderson. Not only do we get some great action but some eye-opening stuff towards the end. The second half is a little slower, focusing more on Scully and Mulder's relationship that has remained untouched until now. But since the episodes were in fact a triology on television, the video seems incomplete with an abrupt end.

If you love the X-Files, Mulder and Scully. Go ahead!!!
Many people were waiting for this great moment, the return of Agent Mulder, including me of course. Here you will find the true love of Mulder and Scully. The music that they played is great. If you are a shipper, or you just love the X-Files you better buy this episode.

A good start for the series' first DVD feature film
'Deadalive' is a special feat for two reasons - it is the first X-Files DVD feature video, and more importantly, it marks the return of Mulder to the show, in a shocking two-parter.

An initial criticism to this disc is the fact that it only features two episodes - 'This Is Not Happening' and 'DeadAlive'. A better idea would have been to also include 'Three Words', which follows 'DeadAlive', and really brings Mulder back into the show.

'This Is Not Happening' is one of the better episodes of Season 8, which hasn't been such a bad season. The longly-titled episode involves the finding of a woman abducted the same night as Mulder. This woman, Theresa Hoese, is almost dead. On finding her, Scully's hopes of finding Mulder are raised, but so is the fear of finding him dead. Introduced in this episode is the rather different Agent Monica Reyes, who has an 'open mind' to the paranormal. When Theresa is taken from a hospital by a man Scully recognises as the alien healer Jeremiah Smith, Agent Reyes is able to find the location where Smith took her. The Agents track him down, only to find...Mulder, in a shocking cliffhanger. 'This Is Not Happening' is a great episode, spoiled only by its rather hasty cliffhanger, which ultimately lets down the next episode. Apart from that, this is gripping to watch, and all the actors deliver good performances (although Agent Reyes' double-meaning way of talking is quite annoying. Don't worry, she gets better in later episodes).

'DeadAlive' spends its entirety teasing about how Mulder will come back (the title just about gives away to unsuspecting fans what has happened and what undoubtedly will). And then it gives us a rather substandard explanation for his easy and almost accidental recovery. Gone are the scientific reasons that made the shocking events so believable. It seems like they made up the story simply to get it over with and get onto using David Duchovny again. Of course, not all in this episode is a let down - Gillian Anderson and Robert Patrick evoke some good performances in their limited screen time, good old Krycek makes an appearance (but his motives are unclear), and it marks a clear return of the alien conspiracy. While Mulder's recovery may be dumb, the reasoning behind the alien conspiracy and the new 'alien facsimiles' is rather good, and almost a return to form. Overall, the episode is not one of the best, but it delivers, and the ending is a nice scene between Scully and the newly returned Mulder.

DVD extras include some behind the scenes features on the episodes and John Doggett. Didn't they used to put that stuff on the tapes? So the DVD extras are quite pathetic to be honest. No deleted scenes and none of the extras that come on the mighty X-Files DVD Season collections, which rock supremely.

Although this is not a brilliant DVD that will revolutionalise film distribution forever, and although the number of episodes is appalling (what about 'Three Words', which is basically part three of this story, and 'Per Manum', which is one of the most important mythology episodes to date). This is not a valiant effort by any means, but the episodes are good, and the move to DVD is a good one. And we can't really expect to see much in the way of extras for two episodes of a television series.

So, well done X-Files team for a DVD that's just about good enough to buy. But when you sit down and make the disc for 'Existence', how about using the space provided on the huge format and putting the Season finale two-parter on along with 'Per Manum', 'Three Words' and 'Vienen', all important mythology episodes.

Overall, this is a good two-parter to invest in, and seeing as DVD format beats VHS, I would recommend this title.