![]() ![]() The show climbed from 105th position in the Nielsen ratings up to 63rd. The Erlenmeyer Flask had earned “the highest 18-to-49 rating ever for a Friday night Fox series.” During that season, the ratings climbed dramatically. While The X-Files had not been a huge success during its first season, it had been enough of a success to earn a second season. It allows the production team to do that sort of experimentation so they might find their groove. Not all of these elements worked, but that is the luxury of a second season. There are a lot of points in the second season where it feels like The X-Files is experimenting, trying new things that would ultimately become part of the show’s unique identity. However, there are also quite a few misfires like Fearful Symmetry or Excelsis Dei or 3. Even outside of that, there are classics like One Breath or Humbug or The Host or F. Fresh Bones and Our Town stand out as two of the best monster-of-the-week stories that the show had done by this point in its life-cycle. The season provides a wealth of classic stories. There are exceptional episodes in the second season. However, the second season still feels like it’s a learning curve. It climbed rather dramatically in the ratings, and the show would continue that ascent through to the fifth season in the lead-in to the feature film. However, the second season had seen the series become a breakout hit. ![]() The show had been a sleeper hit in its first season, popular enough to secure a second season on Fox. The first two seasons of The X-Files seem like an attempt to map out the show, to mark the boundaries and do some fine calibration. It’s only once you’ve worked with the cast and had a chance to gauge audience response that it is possible to truly understand a television show. After all, a lot of discussion and planning takes place during development, but all of that is on paper. ![]() The first few seasons of a television show are very much about defining the show – figuring out what works and what doesn’t, and what form the show will take. In November, we’ll be looking at the third season. This August (and a little of September), we’re taking a trip back in time to review the second season of The X-Files. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |