"Actor: William B. Davis"

• The X-Files Complete Series, Seasons 1-11 | DVD | (15/10/2018) from £79.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £79.99

  Embark on the ultimate search for the truth with Seasons 1-11 of the worldwide TV phenomenon known as THE X-FILES. Dive into all 218 episodes spanning a quarter century of mind-bending intrigue that stretches the boundaries of trust, faith and belief. Join FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they investigate unsolved cases that defy explanation, uncovering deadly conspiracies, alien encounters and other paranormal mysteries along the way. The truth may be out there, but the key to unlocking it is here in the definitive collection of THE X-FILES! Features: Audio commentary on selected episodes Deleted scenes Documentaries Featurettes Special effects sequences Interviews with Chris Carter and cast Gag reels Implanted Memories: 25 Years of The X-Files

• The X-Files: Event | DVD | (13/06/2016) from £14.35   |  Saving you £5.64 (39.30%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Thirteen years after the original series run, the next mind-bending chapter of THE X-FILES is a thrilling, six-episode event series from creator/executive producer Chris Carter, with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-inhabiting their roles as iconic FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Mitch Pileggi also returns as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner Mulder and Scully's boss who walks a fine line between loyalty to these investigators and accountability to his superiors. This marks the momentous return of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning pop culture phenomenon, which remains one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network television history. The event series encompasses a mixture of stand-alone episodes and those that further the original show's seminal mythology. In the opening episode, Mulder and Scully take on a case of a possible alien abductee. The all-new episodes feature appearances by guest stars including Joel McHale (Community), Robbie Amell (The Flash), Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Annabeth Gish (The Bridge), Annet Mahendru (The Americans), Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords), Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and William B. Davis, who reprises his role as Cigarette Smoking Man. Three of the episodes are written and directed by Chris Carter, with the remaining new episodes written and directed by original series veterans Glen Morgan, Darin Morgan and James Wong. THE X-FILES originally premiered in September 1993. Over the course of its nine-season run, the influential series went from breakout sci-fi favorite to massive global hit, and became one of the most successful television dramas of all time. The show, which earned 16 Emmy® Awards, five Golden Globes® and a Peabody Award, follows FBI special agents Scully (Anderson) and Mulder (Duchovny), as they investigate unexplained cases X-Files for which the only answers involve paranormal phenomena.

• Heart Of A Child | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £6.44   |  Saving you £-0.45 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  When Karen and Fred Schouten finally conceive a child they feel it is the most important achievement of their lives. But their unborn baby develops a brain defect which means that it will only survive for a few hours after birth. Out of this tragedy however comes a gift of hope and life. For Alice and Gordon Hole whose baby will die unless he receives a heart transplant it could be the answer to a desperate prayer...

• The X-Files: Event | Blu Ray | (13/06/2016) from £12.99   |  Saving you £16.00 (123.17%)   |  RRP £28.99

  Thirteen years after the original series run, the next mind-bending chapter of THE X-FILES is a thrilling, six-episode event series from creator/executive producer Chris Carter, with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-inhabiting their roles as iconic FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Mitch Pileggi also returns as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner Mulder and Scully's boss who walks a fine line between loyalty to these investigators and accountability to his superiors. This marks the momentous return of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning pop culture phenomenon, which remains one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network television history. The event series encompasses a mixture of stand-alone episodes and those that further the original show's seminal mythology. In the opening episode, Mulder and Scully take on a case of a possible alien abductee. The all-new episodes feature appearances by guest stars including Joel McHale (Community), Robbie Amell (The Flash), Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Annabeth Gish (The Bridge), Annet Mahendru (The Americans), Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords), Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and William B. Davis, who reprises his role as Cigarette Smoking Man. Three of the episodes are written and directed by Chris Carter, with the remaining new episodes written and directed by original series veterans Glen Morgan, Darin Morgan and James Wong. THE X-FILES originally premiered in September 1993. Over the course of its nine-season run, the influential series went from breakout sci-fi favorite to massive global hit, and became one of the most successful television dramas of all time. The show, which earned 16 Emmy® Awards, five Golden Globes® and a Peabody Award, follows FBI special agents Scully (Anderson) and Mulder (Duchovny), as they investigate unexplained cases X-Files for which the only answers involve paranormal phenomena.

• The X Files Movie | DVD | (31/01/2000) from £7.49   |  Saving you £6.76 (108.51%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The definitive American television series of the 1990s. The X-Files comes to the big screen with an anticlimactic whimper. And how could it be otherwise? Why should material so perfectly realised in one medium necessarily translate well into another? The series is crisply and thoughtfully executed in just about every detail, but the heart of its appeal lies in the elegant handling of complicated and evolving ongoing story lines, which is not something movies are especially good at. The big-screen drive for closure cramps the creative style, though it may also help nonfans get a grip on the proceedings. We do get some invigorating thrills and chills, however, and a more satisfying sense of the scale of an all-enveloping human-alien conspiracy than ever before, but there's no more plot development here than in an average two-part season-ending. FBI black sheep Mulder and Scully have been temporarily transferred from the X-Files project to an anti-terrorist unit to investigate an Oklahoma City-style bombing. They uncover a new wrinkle in the Syndicate/Cancer Man conspiracy--basically an attempt to help one bunch of (benign?) aliens fight off another bunch who want to colonise Earth. A spectacular, ice-bound finale thrillingly staged by series-veteran director Rob Bowman offers Mulder (but not a conveniently unconscious Scully) his first clear look at a You Know What, which in some quarters qualifies as an epochal event. Martin Landau offers the agents some crucial clues, and several familiar TV faces (including the Lone Gunmen and Mitch Pileggi's indispensable Assistant Director Skinner) turn up briefly to wink knowingly at faithful fans. --David Chute

• The X Files: Season 1 | DVD | (06/11/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  In the first season of The X Files, creator Chris Carter was uncertain of the series' future, so each of the episodes is a self-contained suspense story; they do not delve deep into the ongoing X Files mythology or turn to self-parody and humour as do episodes in later seasons. Yet, these episodes display the elements for which the show would become famous: the cinematic production values and top-notch special effects, the stark lighting of the Vancouver sets, the atmospheric halo of Mark Snow's score, and the clever plots dealing with subjects ranging from the occult, religion, and monsters to urban legends, conspiracy theories and science fiction. Most importantly, Season 1 introduces FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox "Spooky" Mulder (David Duchovny), two of the most attractive government officials around. Scully is the serious-minded medical scientist assigned to join Mulder on the X Files, a division of the FBI dealing with the paranormal. Mulder is the intuitive thinker with a dry wit, a passionate believer in the existence of paranormal phenomena and one of the few characters on television smart enough to figure out who the bad guy is before the audience does. Their muddled relationship, a deep friendship laced with sexual tension, provides the human heart in a world where the bizarre and horrible lurk in everyday society. The materials on the bonus disc provide some interesting trivia and background, but it is the 24 episodes themselves that make this seven-disc boxed set a true find. Those unfamiliar with The X Files often view all the fuss with the same scepticism with which Scully first regards her new partner's ideas. But just as she comes to realise the uncanny accuracy of Mulder's outlandish theories, newcomers to The X Files who sample a few episodes in this boxed set will likely find themselves riveted to their television late into the night. And undoubtedly, the shadows and creaking noises in the house that evening will seem more menacing than usual. --Eugene Wei, Amazon.com

• The X Files: Season 1 | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  In the first season of The X Files, creator Chris Carter was uncertain of the series' future, so each of the episodes is a self-contained suspense story; they do not delve deep into the ongoing X Files mythology or turn to self-parody and humour as do episodes in later seasons. Yet, these episodes display the elements for which the show would become famous: the cinematic production values and top-notch special effects, the stark lighting of the Vancouver sets, the atmospheric halo of Mark Snow's score, and the clever plots dealing with subjects ranging from the occult, religion, and monsters to urban legends, conspiracy theories and science fiction. Most importantly, Season 1 introduces FBI agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox "Spooky" Mulder (David Duchovny), two of the most attractive government officials around. Scully is the serious-minded medical scientist assigned to join Mulder on the X Files, a division of the FBI dealing with the paranormal. Mulder is the intuitive thinker with a dry wit, a passionate believer in the existence of paranormal phenomena and one of the few characters on television smart enough to figure out who the bad guy is before the audience does. Their muddled relationship, a deep friendship laced with sexual tension, provides the human heart in a world where the bizarre and horrible lurk in everyday society. The materials on the bonus disc provide some interesting trivia and background, but it is the 24 episodes themselves that make this seven-disc boxed set a true find. Those unfamiliar with The X Files often view all the fuss with the same scepticism with which Scully first regards her new partner's ideas. But just as she comes to realise the uncanny accuracy of Mulder's outlandish theories, newcomers to The X Files who sample a few episodes in this boxed set will likely find themselves riveted to their television late into the night. And undoubtedly, the shadows and creaking noises in the house that evening will seem more menacing than usual. --Eugene Wei

• The X Files: Season 2 | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £14.93   |  Saving you £20.06 (134.36%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Season Two, the 1994-95 run, of The X Files was the one where creator Chris Carter, having had a surprise hit when he expected a one-season wonder, started trying to make sense of all the storylines he had thrown into the pile in the first year. Moreover, he had to cope with Gillian Anderson's maternity leave by having Scully get abducted by aliens (back then, a pretty fresh device) for a few episodes and come back strangely altered. The season also inaugurated the tradition of opening ("Little Green Men") and closing ("Anasazi") with the show's worst episodes, both pot-boiling attempts to keep the alien infiltration/government conspiracy balls up in the air while seeming to offer narrative forward-thrusts or revelations. But it's also a show noticeably surer of itself than Season One, with its stars reading from the same page in terms of their characters' relationship and attitudes to the wondrous. Scully's no-longer-workable scepticism finally starts to erode in the face of Mulder's increasingly cracked belief. There are fewer marking-time leftover-monster-of-the-week shows--although we do get a human fluke ("The Host"), vampires ("3"), an invisible rapist ("Excelsius Dei") voodoo ("Fresh Bones")--and the flying-saucer stories at last seem to be going somewhere. The powerful two-episode run ("Duane Barry", "Ascension") features Steve Railsback as Mulder's possible future, an FBI agent burned out after a UFO abduction who has become a hostage-taking terrorist, which climaxes with Scully's disappearance into the light. The standout episode is also a stand-alone--"Humbug"--the first and still most successful of the show's self-parodies (written by Darin Morgan, who had played the Flukeman in "The Host"), in which the agents investigate a murder in a circus freakshow, allowing the actors to make fun of the mannerisms they have earnestly built up in a run of solemn, even somnolent, explorations of the murk. Other worthy efforts: "Aubrey", about genetic memory; "Irresistible", a rare (and creepy) straight psycho-chiller with little paranormal content; and "The Calusari", a good ghost/mystery. Rising deputy characters include Nicholas Lea as the perfidious Krycek and Brian Thompson as the shapeshifting alien bounty hunters. Notable guest stars: Charles Martin Smith, C.C.H. Pounder, Leland Orser, Terry O'Quinn, Bruce Weitz, Daniel Benzali, John Savage, Vincent Schiavelli, Tony Shalhoub. --Kim Newman

• The X Files: Season 3 | DVD | (11/10/2004) 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

• The X Files: Complete Seasons 1-9 | Blu Ray | (07/12/2015) from £80.99   |  Saving you £-4.48 (N/A%)   |  RRP £76.51

  Now for the first time on Blu-ray™, the original nine exhilarating, groundbreaking seasons of The X-Files, along with exclusive special features, can be yours to own. Although they begin as reluctant partners, FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (Golden Globe® Winners David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson* ) ultimately form a powerful bond as they struggle to unravel deadly conspiracies and solve paranormal mysteries. With over 23 hours of extras, including documentaries, and commentary by creator Chris Carter and the production team as well as special effects sequences and deleted scenes this collection, which includes space for the upcoming The X-Files Event Series in 2016, is a must-have for any fan of the truth!

• The X Files: Season 2 | DVD | (30/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Season Two, the 1994-95 run, of The X Files was the one where creator Chris Carter, having had a surprise hit when he expected a one-season wonder, started trying to make sense of all the storylines he had thrown into the pile in the first year. Moreover, he had to cope with Gillian Anderson's maternity leave by having Scully get abducted by aliens (back then, a pretty fresh device) for a few episodes and come back strangely altered. The season also inaugurated the tradition of opening ("Little Green Men") and closing ("Anasazi") with the show's worst episodes, both pot-boiling attempts to keep the alien infiltration/government conspiracy balls up in the air while seeming to offer narrative forward-thrusts or revelations.But it's also a show noticeably surer of itself than Season One, with its stars reading from the same page in terms of their characters' relationship and attitudes to the wondrous. Scully's no-longer-workable scepticism finally starts to erode in the face of Mulder's increasingly cracked belief. There are fewer marking-time leftover-monster-of-the-week shows--although we do get a human fluke ("The Host"), vampires ("3"), an invisible rapist ("Excelsius Dei") voodoo ("Fresh Bones")--and the flying-saucer stories at last seem to be going somewhere. The powerful two-episode run ("Duane Barry", "Ascension") features Steve Railsback as Mulder's possible future, an FBI agent burned out after a UFO abduction who has become a hostage-taking terrorist, which climaxes with Scully's disappearance into the light. The standout episode is also a stand-alone--"Humbug"--the first and still most successful of the show's self-parodies (written by Darin Morgan, who had played the Flukeman in "The Host"), in which the agents investigate a murder in a circus freakshow, allowing the actors to make fun of the mannerisms they have earnestly built up in a run of solemn, even somnolent, explorations of the murk. Other worthy efforts: "Aubrey", about genetic memory; "Irresistible", a rare (and creepy) straight psycho-chiller with little paranormal content; and "The Calusari", a good ghost/mystery. Rising deputy characters include Nicholas Lea as the perfidious Krycek and Brian Thompson as the shapeshifting alien bounty hunters. Notable guest stars: Charles Martin Smith, C.C.H. Pounder, Leland Orser, Terry O'Quinn, Bruce Weitz, Daniel Benzali, John Savage, Vincent Schiavelli, Tony Shalhoub. --Kim NewmanOn the DVD: The individual episode discs have a small selection of deleted scenes, foreign language clips and behind-the-scenes footage, but the bulk of the extra material is on the final disc. There's not a lot to get to grips with, but what there is consists of a 14-minute documentary about the making of Season Two, with contributions from Chris Carter, various directors, writers and actors (but not the two principals); Carter talking briefly about each episode in turn; a series of short TV spots and pieces about the show's FX and secondary characters; and three very short behind-the-scenes glimpses, one of which has the self-explanatory title "Gillian eats a cricket". There's also a DVD-ROM utility with Web links and a game. --Mark Walker

• The X Files: Season 5 | DVD | (27/12/2004) from £19.73   |  Saving you £15.26 (77.34%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Mulder continues his search for a cure for Scully's illness even as her genetically altered DNA takes her to the brink of death. Scully's DNA comes into play once again when it proves that she is somehow the mother of a little girl named Emily an incident that could only be related to her abduction years earlier. But in the end it is a young boy named Gibson Praise whose body may actually contain the elusive proof Mulder has been searching for so desperately. Episodes comprise:

• The X Files: Season 4 | DVD | (27/12/2004) from £16.90   |  Saving you £18.09 (107.04%)   |  RRP £34.99

  In Season 4 of The X-Files, Scully is a bit upset by her on-off terminal cancer and Mulder is supposed to shoot himself in the season finale (did anyone believe that?), but in episode after episode the characters still plod dutifully around atrocity sites tossing off wry witticisms in that bland investigative demeanour out of fashion among TV cops since Dragnet. Perhaps the best achievement of this season is "Home", the most unpleasant horror story ever presented on prime-time US TV. It's not a comfortable show--confronted with this ghastly parade of incest, inbreeding, infanticide and mutilation, you'd think M & S would drop the jokes for once--but shows a willingness to expand the envelope. By contrast, ventures into golem, reincarnation, witchcraft and Invisible Man territory throw up run-of-the-mill body counts, spotlighting another recurrent problem. For heroes, M & S rarely do anything positive: they work out what is happening after all the killer's intended victims have been snuffed ("Kaddish"), let the monster get away ("Sanguinarium") and cause tragedies ("The Field Where I Died"). No wonder they're stuck in the FBI basement where they can do the least damage. The series has settled enough to play variations on earlier hits: following the liver vampire, we have a melanin vampire ("Teliko") and a cancer vampire ("Leonard Betts"), and return engagements for the oily contact lens aliens and the weasely ex-Agent Krycek ("Tunguska"/"Terma"). Occasional detours into send-up or post-modernism are indulged, yielding both the season's best episode ("Small Potatoes") and its most disappointing ("Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man"). "Small Potatoes", with the mimic mutant who tries out Mulder's life and realises what a loser he is (how many other pin-up series heroes get answerphone messages from their favourite phone-sex lines?), works as a genuine sci-fi mystery--for once featuring a mutant who doesn't have to kill people to live--and as character insight. --Kim Newman

• The X Files: Season 6 | DVD | (27/12/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Mulder and Scully return from Antarctica to discover they've been reassigned and are no longer a part of The X-Files. Their frustration turns to fear when Cassandra Spender a woman who claims to have been abducted the same night as Mulder's sister reappears with claims of an alien threat. But it is an extraterrestrial artefact found off the coast of Africa which may hold the key to the very origins of life on Earth and which has an unexplained and deadly effect on Mulder. Episod

• The Tall Man | DVD | (18/03/2013) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (160.32%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Mystery thriller written and directed by Pascal Laugier. The small town of Cold Rock has long suffered since the mines which used to supply jobs and prosperity have closed down. With not much hope for the community of Cold Rock anyway matters are only made worse by the disappearance of local children at the hands of local legend 'The Tall Man'. Jessica Biel plays young nurse Julia Dunning whose child is the latest to be abducted and while in pursuit of the 'Tall Man' she brings a host of shocking truths to the fore.

• The Tall Man | Blu Ray | (11/03/2013) from £24.65   |  Saving you £-4.66 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Mystery thriller written and directed by Pascal Laugier. The small town of Cold Rock has long suffered since the mines which used to supply jobs and prosperity have closed down. With not much hope for the community of Cold Rock anyway matters are only made worse by the disappearance of local children at the hands of local legend 'The Tall Man'. Jessica Biel plays young nurse Julia Dunning whose child is the latest to be abducted and while in pursuit of the 'Tall Man' she brings a host of shocking truths to the fore.

• 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

• 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

• 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