Region 2 title: The X-Files: Essentials
DVD review (region 1 & 2)
Starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson
Release date Out now

A selection of significant X-Files episodes…

The eight episodes here have been handpicked by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz to act as an intro for those poor souls who have never seen The X-Files before. The pair have done a pretty good job, not only in picking good standalone outings that’ll prepare newbies for I Want to Believe, but also in choosing a ‘Best of The X-Files’ selection for those fans who don’t want to fork out for the entire nine-season box set (though there will always be quibbles over choices: what, no Humbug?).

Certain episodes have obviously partly been chosen because of their direct correlation to the new movie, such as the creepy Silence of the Lambs-influenced 'Beyond the Sea', which sees an apparently psychic murderer play mind games with Scully. It’s a flawless episode that, in its examination of Scully’s repressed grief over the death of her father (played by the late, great Don S. Davis), highlights the emotional complexity that lifted The X-Files above lesser shows.

The pilot episode is also included, which offers newcomers an introduction to both the characters and the essence of the show. For those who perhaps haven't seen the episode in a few years, it serves as a nice reminder of how these enduring characters first met, and it's interesting to ruminate on much slicker TV drama has become since this first aired 15 years ago.

Other episodes, such as 'The Host' and 'Bad Blood', are exceptionally well made monster-of-the-week shenanigans that have helped to influence many subsequent shows such as Supernatural and Torchwood. Best of all are the knowing comic instalments. The Emmy award-winning 'Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose' has Peter Boyle’s weary psychic reluctantly helping Mulder and Scully to catch an offbeat killer (an episode which again shares many themes with the latest movie) and 'The Post-Modern Prometheus', a take on the Frankenstein story, is a black-and-white joy.

Of course, these episodes only scratch the surface of an extremely diverse show, and they mostly sidestep the convoluted alien abduction narrative that took up much of Mulder and Scully’s time (that storyline is the subject of the previous DVD collection The X-Files Mythology: Abduction). But as a cross-selection of great standalone episodes, this release certainly does the trick.

All episodes come with brief introductions by Carter and Spotnitz who explain the rationale behind their choices. There’s also footage from a Comic Con panel in which the creators and cast talk about the new movie, and Anderson is particularly candid about the initial difficulty in reprising her role (“I sucked for the first couple of days!”). Matt McAllister

VERDICT: 8/10
Obviously this is one to skip if you own the box sets, but Revelations acts as a pretty decent ‘best of’ collection.

Click here to buy The X-Files: Essentials at Forbidden Planet (forbiddenplanet.com)