(#8) 3
- November 4, 1994
Synopsis: Scully is still missing, so Mulder begins an investigation into vampires in Los Angeles. Throughout his journey, he becomes involved with a female vampire who wants to escape her lifestyle.
Why it falls short: Scully's completely gone from this episode, which makes it suffer significantly. Additionally, it tries to go for an erotic thriller vibe and just falls short. "3" is a good example of one reason the show worked so well was due to the chemistry between Mulder and Scully. With half of that missing, the show feels, well, half empty.
(#2) Fight Club
- May 7, 2000
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully track down two doppelgangers who don't actually know each other but cause everyone around them to become increasingly violent every time they come into contact. Mulder and Scully are called in to solve the mystery of the connection between the women and the violence. They eventually discover that the two women are, in fact, related.
Why it falls short: Consistently ranked among the top 10 worst X-Files episodes of all time, the series was nearing the end of its initial run when this clunker came out, and you get the sense they were running out of ideas. The premise is silly and uninteresting for an hour-long episode. Everything just feels off from the acting to the music. The episode never takes itself seriously, which would've been fine had it not been an X-Files episode.
(#13) Fire
- December 17, 1993
Synopsis: Mulder and Scully work alongside an inspector from Scotland Yard to investigate Cecil L'Ively, a man with pyrokinetic powers. Turns out, L'Ively is using those powers to stalk members of the British aristocracy, and they have to stop him before he strikes.
Why it falls short: If the accents in this episode had been halfway decent, it may be more fondly remembered. As it stands, it's tough to get past the accents on display. It has some moments, particularly in establishing a romantic subplot between Mulder and Scully, but the pieces just don't add up to anything substantial.
(#10) Alpha
- March 28, 1999
Synopsis: Several killings occur in a town that are blamed on the Wanshang Dhole, an Asian dog that was thought to be extinct. Mulder and Scully team up with the sheriff, who also happens to be a canine expert and eccentric hunter.
Why it falls short: A big shift occurred in the show when the series moved to Los Angeles. Many of the episodes became more lighthearted, including "Alpha." The episode basically utilizes puns nonstop, and the friction caused when Karin Berquist develops a crush on Mulder is eye-rolling at best. Sure, parts of this episode were fun — scary even — but whatever interesting and macabre thematic elements that were present were instantly washed away with the ending.
(#1) Teso Dos Bichos
- March 8, 1996
Synopsis: Several individuals from an archeological team from Ecuador go missing after excavating an ancient burial site that was allegedly protected by the spirit of a jaguar. The spirit, angry at being disturbed, unleashes a wave of feral cats that wreak havoc around the nearby museum.
Why it falls short: This episode lacks any kind of coherency. It's basically one tangent after the next, which makes it incredibly hard to build up any kind of tension or suspense. The tone is undermined even more due to a silly monster (in this case a pack of rabid cats). It could have been played for a comedy, but since everything is played straight, it just comes across as weird and disconcerting. Not surprisingly, this was one of the only episodes both the cast and crew strongly disliked. In fact, it went through so many rewrites that it's no surprise the whole thing just kind of feels pushed together haphazardly.
(#9) Chinga
- February 8, 1998
Synopsis: Rumors of sorcery and witchcraft surround a small fishing town. A strange murder occurs at the local supermarket, and Scully ends up finding a little girl with a cursed doll that may hold vital clues into the killing.
Why it falls short: "Chinga" feels like it was a disjointed idea they tried to put together into a cohesive episode. Another problem is that the idea of a haunted doll was already pretty played out by the '90s. It's not scary. It's not funny. It's definitely not scary. In fact, it's not really anything. Stephen King actually co-wrote this episode (along with Chris Carter), which is surprising. Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club summed it up perfectly when we said, "[it] seems like one of those ideas that sounds really, really great until someone thinks about for more than a minute."
New Random Displays Display All By Ranking
About This Tool
In the 10 seasons, "X-Files" led the audience to explore the dark and mysterious unknown world in the world and beyond. The FBI agent Fox Mulder has a firm belief in supernatural phenomena and unsolved mysteries, which led him to question everything. Although the main storyline of the series involves events, including the kidnapping of Sister Mudd, who is related to aliens, government conspiracies, and human trials, many cases have different horrors.
The X-Files series achieve success with attractive mystery, horror, and occasional comedy. Unfortunately, not every episode is a gem. The random tool lists 13 of the worst X-Files episodes most people think.
Our data comes from Ranker, If you want to participate in the ranking of items displayed on this page, please click here.