User Reviews

After two lack-luster episodes, the third Season is back into shape creating one of the best episodes of the show, and quite possibly the best of the Season.

The dialog is hysterical, so many memorable scenes and humorous dialog. Darin Morgan was fantastic, unfortunately this was his last work on the X-Files.

Both Duchovny and Anderson delivered their lines perfectly. They were both at their best and deserve a nice shout-out.

And then we have Charles Nelson who gave one of the best guest-performances on the X-Files as Jose Chung and later reprized his role on MillenniuM

I love how the writers tried to reinvent the series by adding so much to the mythology, and by complicating it. So, what really happened? My guess is that the government was going to abduct the kids, but then they got abducted by the real thing. Lord Kimbote.

The episode wasn't just plain fun, but it also had a message, and it came through with that beautiful voice-over at the end of the episode.

FIVE stars for this one, SIX if that were possible.

Jose Chung's "From Outer Space" is the episode that got me watching the X-Files regularly. I loved how they used humor to tell the story and I loved the comic book cartoony feeling of the alien story with men in black and all. One thing that I really like about this which is also present in the other great episode "Bad Blood" is that you get to watch the episode as a part of someone's side of events which allows for easy comic moments. Like when Mulder yelps when he sees the dead alien body and the sheriff constantly saying blankety bleep for everything. I really like the story with the greys being airforce in costumes and the double twist with the real alien showing up. I mean seriously that is a GREAT idea. I also love the way the story is told with revisiting certain scenes in different ways with different characters. I mean there are literally scenes with the exact same lines but with different characters saying them. The interrogation scene, the hypnosis scene, and others. And the Jose Chung character is wonderfully acted by Charles Nelson Reilly. I give the episode a 10.

There are so many great things about this episode: 1. Charles Nelson Reilly steals the show. He is a comic genius. 2. The show highlights many of the urban legends, myths, and nomenclature used in UFOlogy. 3. All of the acting is fine. 4. Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebeck as MIB. 5. Are the government agents really aliens? 6. Great lines, such as: "I read it because I wanted to, not because I had to." "Crazy?!(underline)" "I'm making a whole new genre." 'I know how that is." 7. Is Scully actually a man in drag? 8. Did Mulder really eat a hole pie? The list could go on forever. This is quintessential X files, a must-see if you see even one of the show's episodes.

Warning do not read unless seen episode.

This is one of my favorate episodes of the show, it's another one of the lighthearted ones. The story kinda reminds me a bit of a Bret Ealton Ellis novel as each of those stories, despite starting out simple become a bit complicated as we see somethings in the narative and viewpoints of characters differenciate from each other.

There are a lot of humorous moments from Mulder and Skully questioning one of the witnesses whom is clearly a kook. From some two hundred page manuscript he's written and it's context which is ridiculous and the stop motion aliens he clams talked to him. I'll admit from the amount of stories being told it was both interesting and confusing to the point where I honestly have no idea what the hell happened, heck even in the end Fox say's it himself "How the hell should I know."

Other than the discrepencies and inconsistances of each of their stories, the author himself is also a contributor to this. From some of his narrative, I can't help but sense some cynicism in him, he clearly doesn't have a high opinion about most people, not to say he's totally wrong about Mulder and Skully in their personas but he's not totally right either.

Even near the end I'm not sure if the author really met up with Mulder or if he just made that up in his mind. It's almost a bit too couencidental that the meeting would happen near the end of the author final chapter he's writing; you could say in that moment the author had a small crisis of consciousness, over what he was writing and about the publish.

However there is one stand out moment which I really like when we see Mulder eating a sweet potato pie while questioning and the clock is on a specific time. It then flips back to that scene where it's the same time but Mulder has eaten the whole pie and the time on the clock is different. I found this scene interesting because it really gets at not just differenciation in perception but the physics in storytelling as there is really no sense of time, it's only though their actions and converstations we assume time is moving. This also address how perception gets distorted, we can't always remember the specific time certain things happened which is why we tend to fill in the blanks with our imaginations or assumptions.

I really like the themes of the episodes, as it shows the reality of how hard it is to find the truth and our perception of it. But mainly it's deals with the issue of alienation, as we see each of the characters including Mulder and Skully and the author himself are all somewhat isolated people and all have trouble connecting with anyone and the world around them.

In the last minutes which reflect the alienation theme, we see the aftermath of the experience and how it's affected them. The final minutes with the boy and girl I'll admit are really sad, we see how the girl has changed significantly from posters like Greenpeace she's contributed and participated in good causes but then we see a moment when the boyfriend visits her window and he says "I love you" she then retorts in a very cold manner; at that moment we see she hasn't changed for the better she's became frigid and antisocial; despite the causes she's joined she not truly connected to anyone. The look on the boy I'll admit was just sad because you see in his eyes when he confessed he really ment it, once she's closed that window from that sad look you knew what both had together was gone forever.

Even though were all living on the same planet, we're still so far away.

Rating: 4 stars

This is easily the funniest "X-Files" episode I have seen so far, even surpassing the witty "War of the Coprophages." It's simultaneously a tribute to and a mockery of die-hard sci-fi that comes with hilariously random and unexpected dialogue, such as this gem:

Jose Chung: I don't know which was more disturbing, his description of the inner core reincarnated souls' sex orgy, or the fact that the whole thing was written in screenplay format.

I love it! The episode as a whole is extremely unpredictable, which adds to its hilarity. Other amazing moments include Mulder's "girly scream" as described by an eyewitness, Alex Trebek as a Man in Black, and every swear being replaced by a straight-faced "bleep." It's honestly hard not to love this episode. There is still a decently intriguing plot for those who are paying attention, so the episode is definitely much more than a gag. Overall, this is one of if not my favorite "X-Files" episode that I have seen thus far.

Not only was this episode a terrific parody of the entire concept of the X-Files, but also a perfect metaphor for the era. With the entire nation riveted by a scandal involving a sitting President of the United States and his secretary, it wouldn't be long before that same President would challenge a grand jury, and by association, the American public, to define what the definition of 'is' is. Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday.

I almost can't begin to explain how brilliant this story is. It references classic sci-fi films that have gone before, like "Star Wars" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and is built around the theme of alien abductions in such a way as to both affirm and deny the existence of extraterrestrials. And who better to perform in the role of the protagonist than Charles Nelson Reilly, a ubiquitous presence on TV programs of the era, with celebrity guest spots on game shows like The Match Game and Hollywood Squares. Which made the appearance of Alex Trebek as one of the Men in Black all that more of a hoot.

Reilly's character is novelist Jose Chung, who sets the tone for his latest project with Agent Scully, who he's interviewing for her insight on a case involving an alien abduction. Or was it an 'experience'? - "Truth is as subjective as reality." By laying the groundwork in this manner, the entire episode winds up taking a dialectical approach to determining what may or may not have happened to a pair of teenage lovers who share a missing time moment, thereby confounding an entire investigative team trying to come up with answers.

The casting here was excellent, with Jesse Ventura as the main Man in Black; his take down of Blaine Faulkner (Allan Zynik) with a knee drop back-breaker was a blast heralding back to his pro wrestling days. Another brilliant move was bringing back the Stupendous Yappi (Jaap Broeker) from the 'Clyde Bruckman" episode for another comic touch. The capper for all this had me roaring when Jose Chung described his novel's character Raynard Muldrake as a 'ticking time bomb of insanity'. That was at least as good as Blaine Faulkner's description of Scully in her feeble attempt to impersonate a woman FBI agent. Look, you have to trust me on this, if you're an X-Files fan, this one's a keeper and definitely a Top Ten candidate. Watch it!

A great realistic episode with witty narration from a story teller.

The story centres around an author that researches abductions using interviews. He goes through all the elaborate stories and alternative viewpoints.

It was great to se show the government fills the UFO space with lots of contradictions and miss information. The truth is mixed with alot of lies. Mulder knows this and calls it, but the boom is released and the military industrial entertainment complex wins again.

Military men disgusting them selfs as aliens was excellent. Even the pilots of experimental craft are messed with, their cover ups are so extensive making it difficult to investigate.

The men in black are hilarious in this episode. They really meet all the story telling requirements I guess the truth is stranger than fiction and we all have different versions of it.

This is not happening. This is not happening. This is lot happening.

Not just my favourite episode of The X-Files, but one of my favourite episodes of any TV show, ever. Just glorious in conception and execution. And, as with all of Darin Morgan's episodes, Gillian Anderson gets all the best scenes and moments. And gets to flex her considerable comedic chops brilliantly. Mulder as sexually ambiguous, weirdo loser? What's not to love! His...er, excitement at watching the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film, at end - topless, hand under the sheets - is one of the great laugh out loud moments the show ever gave us. Unreliable narrators. Stop motion, Shakespearean-speakin' aliens, Jesse Ventura. What more do ya want?

There has been a thought on my mind over my time watching this show, and that is: "when was it that this show became great?" I don't think that there's necessarily an easy answer to this, and a lot of people will probably have different answers, but for me, it's actually an answer that is simpler than you would think. The show has always been great, but it was when it began to fill its writing staff with unique and interesting voices that all had different approaches to their material that it began to really get great. There's no reason for this show to feel like it's the same thing over and over, and with the unique set of writers, it quickly became a show that adhered to the strengths of them all. Darin Morgan, especially, has proven to be one of the show's most unique voices, always sprinkling in his episodes with a level of realism and a big amount of humor. In terms of his fourth overall episode - "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" - he has put the realistic nature of his work in the backseat and has really upped his humoristic tendencies, making for a different, yet remarkably essential piece of "X-Files" history. This episode may be one of the greatest examples of why this show is so unique and why it's able to do what it does so brilliantly, with a storyline that isn't entirely consequential to the overall mythology, but still stays true to the spirit and direction of the show.

This is one of those episodes that is easily skippable, and a lot of smaller "X-Files" fans would probably not watch this on a second watchthrough. But it feels essential in selling the spirit of the show; a show that isn't nailed down to one thing, but has the opportunity to actually spread out its wings and provide an episode that is virtually without consequences and simply based on heavy humor that works. It's nice to see a show take the opportunity for a bit of breathing room and not furiously attach itself to serious and gloomy all the time.

The story is quite interesting though, and the episode utilage of the unreliable narrator is quite fun to try and dissect. If you look too deeply into the episode, it's actually quite confusing and doesn't really leave you with a sense of satisfaction by the end, but that's the exact point of it. It's not based on providing a narrative that has a satisfying conclusion, but rather a setup for this fun bit of banter between Scully and Dr. Jose Chung, who I've gotta say is one of the more fun additions to the show's roster of guest characters.

The writing for this episode is quite brilliant, not just because of the unreliable narrator, but because it so vividly plays to the strengths of the actors. There is such a comedic genius hidden under David Duchovny's layers of seriousness, and the comic bits that he has in this episode are brilliant. The overall execution of the episode is quite brilliant, and the guest stars all have their moments where the audience gets a chance to laugh in happiness or surprise because of what came out. There certainly hasn't been a more entertaining episode in this show so far than this.

And it further adds to the idea that these "monster-of-the-week" episodes are such a great way of levitating between the show's more serious tone in the mythology arcs and having more fun with these monsters. They're mostly serious as well, but Morgan has added a levity to the show that it desperately needed because of its more dreary and upsetting parts. It can get dark and gloomy, but these are spaces where that isn't a necessity to further the story, and Morgan has brilliantly tapped into that and continues to provide some truly great and different episodes of this great show.

"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is not just great because of its levity, but because it flawlessly uses its medium to just have some fun. There's no need to constantly add to the mythology, and even though this episode does deal with aliens, it does it in a very unique and satisfying way.

Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space' is about an author writing about the claimed alien abduction of a young couple investigated by agents Mulder and Scully.

Not a fan. Find it mildly amusing in parts, but more so empty and uninteresting. Scully's expression often fitting. The guest appearances only detract from it.