"Actor: David Duchovny"

• The X Files: Providence | DVD | (16/09/2002) from £7.86   |  Saving you £8.13 (103.44%)   |  RRP £15.99

  As with earlier releases, The X-Files: Providence splices together two episodes, "Provenance" and "Providence", into a pseudo-movie. Again, the results fall way below the series average as the long-dead alien conspiracy business is flogged, with a lot of running around and ominous rumbling still not adding up to anything like an actual story. FBI agent Neal McDonaugh (of Minority Report) inexplicably survives a flaming motorcycle crash, leaving behind brass rubbings taken from an alien spaceship, then shows up and tries to murder Scully's psychokinetic baby, who is promptly kidnapped by a UFO cult. In Part 2, Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish) fend off enemies and friends within the bureau as they track down the cultists, who are having trouble with a spaceship they've dug up, and a typical pointless climax has things happen without the characters doing anything to contribute. Even at this late, post-Duchovny stage in the game, The X-Files has turned out some fine stand-alone episodes, but these dreary wallowings go a long way towards explaining why only diehards are still watching. After the child says "I made this" at the end of the credits, it's becoming very hard not to shout "well, clean it up then". On the DVD: The X-Files: Providence, as with Nothing Important Happened Today, arrives in a great-looking anamorphic widescreen transfer. There are two slight promotional "featurettes"--three-minute clips/talking heads promos focusing on the episode "Providence" and actor Cary Elwes' character. --Kim Newman

• The X Files: Season 8 | DVD | (15/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £79.99

  The eighth series of The X-Files was a year of brave decisions. David Duchovny's increasing dissatisfaction with the role meant he only appeared in a few episodes. The solution: enter Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick) who basically stole the show within his first two minutes of screen time (and watch out for several Terminator 2 in-jokes too). Scully switched roles to being the believer alongside Doggett's sceptic in a year that was more reliant on the background story arc than ever before. Her pregnancy remained at the foreground, while a more prominent Skinner joined in a hunt for the abducted Mulder that drew upon the black oil, cloning and bounty hunting aspects of the convoluted alien conspiracy story. A distinct lack of guest stars or writers indicated maturity beyond the need for ratings stunts: dedicated fans were pleased to see cameos from sinister Krycek, the reliable Lone Gunmen and the return of the show's very first abductee. The real strengths of the series came from new characters, including alternative female role model Special Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and some terrific standalone episodes. Investigations covered a man going backwards in time, deaths aboard an oil rig, a contagion in the Boston subway tunnels and creatures resembling bats and slugs. Agent Leyla Harrison (named after an X-Files fan who died of cancer) got to ask all the petty questions regular viewers want to know themselves. This year turned out to be a remarkable achievement so late in the show's life. On the DVD: The X-Files, Series 8 is a six-disc box set with all the episodes presented in anamorphic 16:9 format with Dolby 2.0 sound. The extras are mainly confined to the final disc, though there are selected deleted scenes and "international" clips from the dubbed German, Japanese and Italian versions of the show on the other discs. Two audio commentaries for the episodes "Alone" (from director Frank Spotnitz) and "Existence" (from director Kim Manners) are supplemented by a routine 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, more deleted scenes (with optional commentary), character profiles and special effects clips. --Paul Tonks

• Aquarius: The Complete First Season | Blu Ray | (02/11/2015) from £20.98   |  Saving you £11.00 (57.93%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Los Angeles, 1967. Welcome to the Summer of Love. Aquarius stars David Duchovny (The X Files; Californication) as Sam Hodiak, a seasoned homicide detective whose investigations dovetail with the activities of real-life cult leader Charles Manson in the years before he masterminded the most notorious killings of a generation, the Tate-LaBianca murders. A small-time but charismatic leader with big plans, Manson has begun to build up his family, recruiting vulnerable young men and women to join his cause. Teaming up with a young cop who will help him infiltrate Manson's circle, Hodiak is forced to see things through the questioning eyes of someone who came of age amongst the current anti-establishment counterculture. Edgy, addictive and visually stunning, the Age of Aquarius is here.

• Kalifornia | Blu Ray | (19/03/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Excitement, adventure...and unimaginable terror await on the road to Kalifornia. Brad Pitt is outstanding and Juliette Lewis is utterly, heartbreakingly convincing in this chilling psychological thriller co-starring David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes. When urban intellectuals Brian (Duchovny) and Carrie (Forbes) set out on a cross-country trip to research a book about serial killers, they share the ride with a couple they barely know - Early Grayce (Pitt) and his girlfriend Adele (Lewis). Locked in a car hurtling westward, the four travellers struggle to find some common ground. But when they finally do connect, Early's violent nature abruptly emerges, and the terrified Brian and Carrie realize that they don't need to go very far to learn about ruthless killers...because they're already face-to-face with one.

• The X Files Movie/The X Files: I Want To Believe | Blu Ray | (02/09/2013) from £26.98   |  Saving you £21.64 (86.59%)   |  RRP £46.63

  The X Files: Fight the FutureBuried beneath the FBI's countless case files lie mysteries so strange so impenetrable that only two agents would ever dare confront them - Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Based on the hugely popular award-winning television phenomenon that ran nine seasons and in response to a worldwide demand from millions of devoted fans these thrill-packed films take The X-Files' inventive blend of paranoia horror and suspense to a whole new level! The X Files: I Want to BelieveIn The X-Files: Fight The Future Mulder and Scully risk their careers-and their lives-to hunt down a deadly virus that may be extra-terrestrial in origin and could ultimately destroy all mankind. Then when a fellow agent mysteriously disappears in The X-Files: I Want To Believe the pair enlist help from a priest with a questionable past...and a startling vision of the future. As sparks ignite between Scully and Mulder paranormal realities rise up to confound their work at every turn as the quest for truth continues.

• The X-Files - Essentials | DVD | (14/07/2008) from £5.82   |  Saving you £14.17 (243.47%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The X-Files Essentials is an exclusive insider's pass to the science-fiction television phenomenon! Selected by eight-time Emmy Award nominated series creator Chris Carter himself this DVD features eight essential episodes which include special on-camera introductions by Carter and producer Frank Spotnitz revealing why each were chosen. These eight essential episodes span seasons 1-6 and cover a variety of paranormal and unexplained cases centering on alien abductions psychic phenomenon and life forms not quite human that set the stage for the eagerly anticipated sequel. Also featured on the collection is the February 2008 WonderCon panel session with Carter and Spotnitz as well as series stars David Duchovny (Mulder) and Gillian Anderson (Scully) making their first fan convention appearance together in several years and taking questions from fans in an interview spanning over 38 minutes. Episodes Comprise: 1. Pilot 2. Beyond the Sea 3. The Host 4. Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose 5. Memento Mori 6. The Post-Modern Prometheus 7. Bad Blood 8. Milagro

• The X Files: Season 3 | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Focused lightning bolts, stigmata, possession, and ancient curses become secondary in Season 3 of The X-Files as more episodes are devoted to pursuing the increasingly complex story threads. "The Blessing Way" is an explosive start, introducing the Syndicate's well-manicured man (John Neville), while Scully's sister Melissa is shot and Mulder experiences Twin-Peaks-like prophetic visions. We learn of medical records of millions, including Scully, who have been experimented upon ("Paper Clip"): the fast-paced train-bound two-parter "Nisei" and "731" suggests the experiments are about alien hybridisation. Krycek turns out to be hosting an alien in the next double-act, "Piper Maru" and "Apocrypha", in which Skinner is shot by Melissa's killer. Two great one-offs outside the arc are "Clyde Bruckman's "Final Repose", a bittersweet tale of foreseeing death (featuring an Emmy-winning performance from Peter Boyle) and Jose Chung's " From Outer Space", a spoof of alien conspiracy theories through an author's investigations into abductees. --Paul Tonks

• Trust The Man | DVD | (05/03/2007) from £4.96   |  Saving you £1.03 (20.77%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Four New Yorkers search for love in the midst of careers, family, infidelity and Manhattan street parking.

• Playing God | DVD | (12/04/2005) from £6.82   |  Saving you £-0.83 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  From the outset, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was about conflict. Producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller challenged the utopian ideals of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek universe to create something totally different from its predecessors. That meant no familial camaraderie, squeaky-clean Federation diplomacy, or beige décor. Instead they wanted interpersonal friction, ruthless enemies (Gamma Quadrant Imperialists--The Dominion) and rebellion at every turn. The DS9 concept was originally facilitated by introducing the Cardassian/Bajoran war during The Next Generation's final days. After a muted first reception fans gradually came to accept the new look, but no one liked Star Trek without a starship and eventually the producers capitulated to viewers' wishes by introducing the USS Defiant (an apt name) in Season 3. Relying far less on technobabble than TNG, DS9 was unafraid to focus on matters of the spirit instead, demonstrating a ballsy independence from its parent shows. Taking up the gauntlet thrown down by Babylon 5, improved CGI space battles also became a fan favourite. Throughout the increasingly serialised story arc there were rebellious factions within the different establishments: Kira had belonged to the Shakaar resistance cell; the Maquis was Starfleet vs Cardassians; section 31 was a secret Starfleet group; the True Way was a Bajoran group opposed to peace; the Cardassians had their Obsidian Order and the Romulans their Gestapo-like Tal Shiar. Yet for all its constant bickering and espionage (even Bashir got to be James Bond), there was always some contemporary social commentary lurking: the Ferengi were used as a comedic foil to frown on materialistic greed; drugs were looked at via the Jem'Hadar foot soldiers' addiction to Ketracel White. Perhaps Sisko summed up the real heart of things: "Bajor doesn't need a man, it needs a legend". A future vision that retains a place for religion and spirituality turned out to be Deep Space Nine's first best destiny. --Paul Tonks

• Baby Snatcher (Re Release) | DVD | (07/04/2008) from £10.95   |  Saving you £-5.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Baby Snatcher

• Beethoven | DVD | (08/09/2014) from £4.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (100.60%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The head of the family is the one with the tail. Fall in love with the big-hearted wet-nosed star of this outrageous comedy hit from producer Ivan Reitman. With evil dognappers hot on his heels an adorable puppy named Beethoven adopts the unsuspecting Newton family - and promptly grows up into 185 pounds of romping drooling disaster-prone St. Bernard! Charles Grodin is George the none-too-thrilled father whose disdain for the cuddly canine turns to loyalty after Beethoven becomes the target of unspeakable animal experimentation. Now it's up to George to save the day in their fetching adventure.

• The X Files: I Want To Believe (1 Disc Edition with Exclusive Free X Files Poster) | DVD | (24/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a satisfying if unspectacular installment in the X-Files series, taking place an unspecified time after the show's nine-year television run. Former agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is now a doctor, while Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is being hunted by his former agency and living in seclusion. He and Scully are summoned back by a case involving a missing agent and a former priest (Billy Connolly) who claims to be able to see clues to the agent's whereabouts psychically, though his initial search turns up only a severed limb. Don't expect the usual cast of characters; the FBI has completely turned over (except for the George W. Bush portrait), and the only reason Scully and Mulder are back is because agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) remembers his success on similar cases involving the inexplicable. Don't expect the same rogues' gallery either; unlike the previous X-Files feature film, which was inextricably linked to the series' convoluted mythology arc (and served as a bridge between the fifth and sixth seasons), I Want to Believe is a stand-alone piece that makes use of the series' roots in horror/sci-fi and moody Vancouver, B.C., locales. Also unlike the previous film, which was almost self-consciously shot for the big screen, this film is on a smaller scale, like a double-length episode of the series. But it's still a good reminder of the creepy vibe that hooked fans for years. And the relationship between Mulder and Scully? It seems to have resumed pretty much where it left off, at least when you take into account the long period of separation. But stick around for the end-credit sequence to take in all the possibilities for the future. --David Horiuchi, Amazon.com

• Odyssey True Stories (Box Set) | DVD | (13/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  This box set contains the following four titles: Fifteen And Pregnant: At 14 Tina's a happy care free kid. By the time she's 15 she's pregnant and faces life as a lonely single parent. A searing true story of teen parenthood. Baby Snatcher: A woman desperate to have a child hatches a sinister plan to steal someone else's baby. David's Mother: An outspoken single mother's life is dominated by her brain damaged son. No One Could Protect Her: Jessica is raped and almost killed in her own home by an intruder... and he's coming back. But this time she will be waiting for him.

• X-Files 1 / X | DVD | (04/08/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  The X-Files Movie: When a terrorist bomb destroys a building in dallas Texas FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy surpassing anything they've ever encountered. With the dubious assistance of a paranoid doctor (Prior Academy Award winner Martin Landau) Mulder and Scully risk their careers and their lives to hunt down a deadly virus which may be extraterestrial in origin - and could destroy all life on earth. Their pursuit of truth pits them against the mysterious Syndicate powerful men who will stop at nothing to keep their secret safe leading the agents from a cave in Texas to the halls of the FBI and finally to a secret installation in Antarctica which holds the greatest secret of all. The X-Files: I Want To Believe: The supernatural thriller is a stand-alone story in the tradition of some of the show's most acclaimed and beloved episodes and takes the always-complicated relationship between Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) in unexpected directions. Mulder continues his unshakable quest for the truth and Scully the passionate ferociously intelligent physician remains inextricably tied to Mulder's pursuits.

• The X Files: Season 6 | DVD | (17/03/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The sixth series of The X-Files picks up after the events of the big-screen movie. So it is that "The Beginning" attempts to fit the film into the TV chronology before moving on to tackle plot points left dangling from series five's "The End" (note the guard asleep at the nuclear power plant console is named Homer!). Between story arc threads are several pleasing one-off excursions: time travel to a Bermuda Triangle boatload of Nazis ("Triangle"); further temporal escapades akin to Groundhog Day ("Monday"); a demonic baby case featuring genre stalwart Bruce Campbell ("Terms of Endearment"); and "The Dreamland, Parts 1 and 2", in which David Duchovny gets to play someone else via personality switching. Back in the conspiracy scheme of things, Mulder chases "S.R. 819", a Senate resolution tying conspiracies together; "Two Fathers" and "One Son" indicates that the abductee experiments are intended to cure the black oil disease; and the year finishes with "BioGenesis", in which a beach-buried UFO has Scully and the audience wondering if we are from Mars. --Paul Tonks

• Goats | DVD | (03/02/2014) from £10.88   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Coming-of-age comedy drama directed by Christopher Neil and starring Graham Phillips and David Duchovny. Young intelligent stoner, Ellis (Phillips) moves to the East coast to attend the prep school his dad went to, leaving his New Age mother, Wendy (Vera Farmiga), and goat herder father-figure 'Goat Man' (Duchovny) behind in Tucson. Struggling to adapt to his new surroundings but excelling in all aspects of his school work, he begins to reassess his situation and learns some lessons about lov...

• The X Files: Existence | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £6.55   |  Saving you £9.44 (59.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The pretentiously titled Existence is another two-part X-Files yarn glued together to make a feature-length episode. Here the story concerns the birth of Scully's perhaps-alien-tinged child and proves the old maxim that you should stop watching any series when the characters start having babies. By now, newbie Robert Patrick is settled into the role of Agent Doggett, Scully's new partner on the X-Files, but David Duchovny's contract negotiations have enabled Fox Mulder, no longer in the FBI, to come back and hang about the delivery, clashing and then bonding with his replacement. The action content comes from a mild-mannered alien abductee transformed into an unstoppable killing machine, ripping through everything as he tries to prevent the upcoming nativity for reasons that (as ever) don't quite become clear. Also in the support cast are semi-regular Nicholas Lea as lurking plot-explaining conspirator Alex Krycek, and the more welcome Annabeth Gish, whose interestingly spiritual Agent Monica Reyes is being worked up as a replacement for Scully when Gillian Anderson gets out of her contract. Weirdly, The X-Files is in pretty good shape for a show that's been running this long--the performances and the direction are still strong, and outside the "continuing story" shows individual episodes hold up well. But this dreary muddle of running about (plus the odd decapitation) and agonised rumination (blathery philosophical musings about the miracle of life and childbirth) does not represent the series' strengths, suggesting that the best thing that could happen would be to get shot of the long-time stars and their played-out characters to make room for a revitalised show starring Patrick and Gish. On the DVD: The full-screen print, with the extra detail of the DVD image and Dolby Digital, allow you to pick up a lot more than from the murky telecasts. "Alex Krycek Revealed" Parts 1 and 2, a couple of character profiles, turn out to be very snippet-like Fox TV promo pieces, with some interview footage and behind-the-scenes stuff amid the usual teaser clips.--Kim Newman

• Evolution | Blu Ray | (23/11/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The X-Files: The Truth | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-5.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The guest cast list for The X-Files: The Truth runs almost to the first commercial break, suggesting how many plot strands this season-and-series finale needs to make room for, with many old characters (including ghostly appearances for the dead ones) popping up. Mulder (David Duchovny), teasingly absent for the final season, is suddenly back, accused of murdering a super-soldier who isn't supposed to be able to die. He faces a military tribunal, defended by AD Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), as guest stars trot out testimony that fills the double-length episode with explanations recapping nine years of confusion as creator Chris Carter tries to spatchcock his impromptu conspiracy theories into a real plot. Last-season regulars Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish are shunted aside as Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder get to dodge a last-scene explosion and wind up in a pretty silly clinch-with-philosophy in the face of vaguely imminent apocalypse. Seriously, if the franchise is to continue on the big screen, how about ditching the embarrassing alien conspiracy mess and doing a monster story? On the DVD: The X-Files: The Truth comes to disc with a lovely widescreen transfer, a 13-minute "Reflections on the Truth" featurette that, though it hits the self-congratulation button a couple too many times, has a little more meat than the puff pieces included on previous releases, and a bonus episode ("William") that is unfortunately another of the maudlin ones, this time resolving the plotline about Scully's super-baby. --Kim Newman

• The X Files: Season 5 | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £22.98   |  Saving you £12.01 (34.30%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The fifth season of The X-Files is the one in which the ongoing alien conspiracy arc really takes over, building towards box-office glory for the inevitable cinematic leap in The X-Files Movie (1998). The series opener "Redux" begins with Mulder having been framed for everything going. Scully finally sees a UFO ("The Red and the Black") before being presented with a potential daughter (the two-part "Christmas Carol" and "Emily"). By "The End", there's an enormous tangle of threads for the big-screen adaptation to unravel (or not, as it turned out). Cigarette Smoking Man is being hunted, playing every side against the middle, as well as chasing after information on Mulder's sister. Krycek is back, too, as is an old flame for Mulder in the shape of Agent Diana Fowley. If that wasn't enough to goad viewers into the cinema, there was the Lone Gunmen's 1989-set back story ("Unusual Suspects", with Richard Belzer playing his Homicide: Life on the Streets character), a musical number in the black and white Frankenstein homage "Post Modern Prometheus", and scripts co-written by Stephen King ("Chinga"), William Gibson ("Kill Switch"), and even Darren McGavin (who had inspired the show as Kolchak: The Night Stalker) in "Travellers". On the DVD: The X-Files, Season 5 extras include Chris Carter's commentary over "Post Modern Prometheus", which reveals the decision making behind shooting in black and white as well as the problems it caused. A second commentary is from writer/coproducer John Shiban on "Pine Bluff Variant", where he openly admits the influence of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Across the six discs (only 20 episodes because of the movie of course) you get credits for every episode, their TV promo spots, deleted and international versions of several scenes (some with commentary from Carter), and a couple of TV featurettes. The best of these is "The Truth About Season 5", talking to an excited Dean Haglund (Langly) amongst other crew members.--Paul Tonks