Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The X-Files: The Complete Season 11 Blu-ray Movie Review

The truth isn't truth is out there.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 17, 2018

Considering the fact that the opening episode of the eleventh season of The X-Files begins with a montage of sorts showing all sorts of people in power, including everyone from one Adolf Hitler to the current occupant of the White House, with a suggestion that the so-called Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis) put them all there, it may not be a stretch to wonder what will become of one of the series’ most (in?)famous tag lines — namely, “The Truth is Out There” — in an era when a spokesperson for the President has recently (in?)famously opined that “truth isn’t truth”. And in fact in a way a lot of the wending tale The X-Files has told over the past several decades is an object lesson in “truth isn’t truth”, since the show’s writers have employed a certain amount of pretzel logic, obfuscation and outright misdirection in order to keep viewers hooked on a story that involves everything from alien DNA to killer bees, not to mention a bevy of “monster of the week” episodes that didn’t explicitly tie into the series’ often labyrinthine mythology. “Truth isn’t truth” may be a subliminal aspect of the show’s “new, improved” tagline in the opening credits sequence, where “I want to believe” is suddenly replaced with a neat little “reveal” of a three letter word housed in the middle of “believe” (I’ll let you figure that one out). As I mentioned in the The X-Files: The Collector's Set Blu-ray review, my wife and I were still dating when we first watched The X-Files on a hotel television at the iconic Harrison Hot Springs resort in British Columbia. That particular episode was “Gender Bender”, and it was an odd enough introduction to the show that we were instantly hooked. We later kind of stumbled on a group of couples in our (then) general age range who actually gathered to watch The X-Files together on a weekly basis so that things could be rehashed afterward, in an introductory season that had its fair share of surprises and, not so coincidentally, hints about how all powerful Cigarette Smoking Man actually was. Perhaps as with other longtime fans, we personally became a little less enchanted with the show as the years wore on, and attempts to weave together completely disparate elements increasingly weighed down already tired seeming storylines, even if individual episodes could be quite thrilling at times. The eleventh season of The X-Files is both completely silly and rather audacious in about equal measure, and reactions may be based as much upon patience and tolerance for more ridiculous aspects than on actual overarching themes, which once again are kinda sorta given explanations while at the same time remaining completely unclear.

For anyone who has inexplicably not been exposed to the adventures of Scully and Mulder, the above linked review for the Collector's Set will provide a bit of background, and further information (such as it ever is with this sometimes mind boggling show) may possibly be gleaned from the following subsequent review:

The X-Files: The Event Series Blu-ray review

Part of that “truth isn’t truth” aspect can be inferred from the title of one of the supplements included with this new release, Implanted Memories, and in fact the whole opening of this season puts the lie (so to speak) to a supposedly devastating cliffhanger that ended season 10. And it’s in moments like these that some fans may be rolling their eyes just a little, since the show seems to trot out apocalyptic pronouncements about either various characters or indeed fates of Mankind, only to later say what amounts to “just kidding”. The upshot of all the shenanigans is that Scully (Gillian Anderson) lies mysteriously ill in a hospital room while Mulder (David Duchovny) is out on at least a couple of quests, first to track down Cigarette Smoking Man (whom some may remember was supposedly dead not so long ago), and to protect William, the offspring whose “real” parentage may still be a question mark for some viewers (an element which is perhaps predictably given different "definitive" answers this season).

As is documented in some of the supplements included with this release, Chris Carter intentionally bookended the season with “mythology” episodes, leaving at least some of the middle section to standalone entries. And once again some of these are the real standouts, as unabashedly silly as some of them are. One of these features an honest to goodness “old style” X-Files setup with a kind of sinister children’s show character named Mister Chuckleteeth who is decidedly more sinister than, say, Howdy Doody. The standout episode for me this season, however, was the very amusing “The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat”, which completely recasts virtually the entire history of Mulder and Scully from the point of view of a supposedly linked (but forgotten) character. This episode in and of itself plays on the whole “truth isn’t truth” aspect in a very whimsical and at times hilarious way.

As is probably well known by X-Files fans, Gillian Anderson has announced she won’t do the show anymore (unless that’s “fake news”), and you can sense Carter struggling with how to bring the Scully and Mulder story to a close, while still keeping enough options open if the show continues in some new form down the line. Interestingly, while there are at least a couple of unexpected demises as the series wraps things up, there’s also the hint of new life — including a potentially disturbing rebirth. As William B. Davis kind of jokingly mentions in a supplement, even Cigarette Smoking Man has been confirmed dead four times over the course of the series, so it’s wise never to count anyone out.

The X-Files: The Complete Season 11 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The X-Files: The Complete Season 11 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is another sharp and generally well detailed set of episodes from the venerable series, though as can perhaps be told by the screenshots accompanying this review, there is quite a bit of pretty dimly lit material this year, along with a certain gauzy look when the two stars are in focus, perhaps to ameliorate any signs of aging. The palette tends to emphasize blues a lot of the time, and there's a kind of gray desaturated look frequently as well. Detail levels still make it through lighting and grading gauntlets very well overall, and fine detail in close-ups is typically excellent. As with previous seasons, some of the CGI is a little hokey looking at times (seemingly intentionally so, as one supplement details).

The X-Files: The Complete Season 11 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Somewhat similarly to The X-Files: The Event Series, the eleventh season's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track tends to offer surround activity in fits and starts, with passing (if exciting) moments like the arrival of a UFO offering sweeping panning noises and fairly aggressive LFE, but lots of other scenes only providing occasional ambient environmental sounds dotting the side and rear channels. Dialogue (and the above average use of voiceover) is always clear and problem free.

The X-Files: The Complete Season 11 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Green Production (1080p; 5:18) documents the show's sensitivity toward sustainability in its production efforts, including the fact that leftover food from craft services is donated to worthwhile organizations.

Disc Two

• Commentary on Kitten by Carol Banker and Gabe Rotter

Disc Three

• Commentary on My Struggle IV by Craig Wrobleski and Eleanor Infante


• Conversation on the Fox Lot (1080p; 14:31) features David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.


• The Scully Effect (1080p; 16:42) is an overview of the character's skeptical ways.


• Solve for X: Constructing Season 11 (1080p; 50:10) is a good if potentially spoiler prone summary of some of the season's ins and outs, with participation by Chris Carter and others on the creative staff. This gets into some of the nuts and bolts of the writing process, as in the use of trendy 3 x 5 cards to summarize scenes, but Carter also explicitly references "fake news" and at least ideas like "truth isn't truth" in how he approached this season. I think it would have been funnier to have called this Solve for XI, but maybe that's just me.


• Implanted Memories: 25 Years of The X-Files (1080p; 44:57) is another good if not overly deep look at the series' long run and impact.


• Gag Reel (1080p; 5:29)

The X-Files: The Complete Season 11 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's a bittersweet feeling as the series ends this season (and, perhaps, its run), one that is anchored wisely in the relationship between Scully and Mulder. There are a lot of bullets as the show comes to a close (as William B. Davis jokes in a supplement), but perhaps surprisingly none of the carnage really provides the same impact as some simple words between the two focal characters. This eleventh season continues to build on an already teetering mythology to questionable effect, but some of the standalone episodes are quite enjoyable on their own merits. Technical aspects are solid, and at least for diehard fans, The X-Files: The Complete Season 11 comes Recommended.