The X Files: Nothing Important Happened Today [DVD]

Product Description Starting with the drowning of an Environment Protection Agent at the hands of an unknown, supernatural brunette, played by Lucy Lawless (Xena, Warrior Princess), the X-Files Agents are thrown into a new investigation that could answer long asked questions, including the origins of Scully's baby. After 'something happens' as Willliam is sleeping, Scully fears Doggett's concerns that her baby is not normal could be true and she encourages him to continue his investigation. With a Behind the scenes Special Feature and a Monica Reyes Profile, 'Nothing Important Happened Today' introduces exciting new characters, dynamic new plot lines and concludes with an explosive finale! Product Information Feature running time: 84 mins Language: English Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing, French, Dutch and German Original aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (16 x 9) Sound Quality: 2.0 Surround Special Features: Behind the scenes Documentary, Monica Reyes Profile. Amazon.co.uk Review It has become traditional for The X-Files to kick off each new season with a humourless conspiracy two-parter, and Season 9 is no exception: in The X Files: Nothing Important Happened Today David Duchovny’s Mulder is gone, along with everything in his apartment, and Gillian Anderson’s Scully is mostly at home with her perhaps-telekinetic baby, which leaves the bulk of the investigation to promising new characters Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish). The A-plot features Lucy Lawless as a water-breathing terminatrix who could be an alien, a government experiment or a mermaid without it making any difference, but too much time is spent on impossible-to-follow subplots about internal FBI politics and everyone’s intricate backstory (if ever a release needed a "previously..." prologue, this is it). Usually, the series gets over these heart-sinking openers and livens up a bit, but this time there’s a feeling that this is the end of the line for a thoroughly battered premise. Chris Carter joins Gene Roddenberry in the exclusive category of producer-creators who turn in the worst scripts for their own shows, and all the strengths of The X-Files (shivers, wit, provocative ideas) are missing in action here as the engine grinds on empty. On the DVD: The X-Files: Nothing Important Happened Today on disc arrives with two three-minute filler featurettes, focusing on Gish’s character and the making of this show. The good news is that this anamorphic widescreen release is the best The X-Files has ever looked in a television format, showing that however dramatically exhausted it might be, the show remains technically impressive. --Kim Newman