Editing The X-Files (section)

=== First seven seasons ===
The [[Pilot (The X-Files)|pilot episode]] was generally well received by fans and critics. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' criticized the episode for "using reworked concepts", but praised the production and noted its potential. Of the acting, ''Variety'' said "Duchovny's delineation of a serious scientist with a sense of humor should win him partisans and Anderson's wavering doubter connects well. They're a solid team..." ''Variety'' praised the writing and direction: "Mandel's cool direction of Carter's ingenious script and the artful presentation itself give TV sci-fi a boost." The magazine concluded, "Carter's dialogue is fresh without being self-conscious and the characters are involving. Series kicks off with drive and imagination, both innovative in recent TV."<ref name="variety">{{cite news |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117901226 |title=The X-Files Fri. |work=Variety |date=September 9, 1993 |access-date=July 27, 2009 |first=Tony |last=Scott}}</ref> ''Entertainment Weekly'' said that Scully "was set up as a scoffing skeptic" in the pilot but progressed toward belief throughout the season.<ref name="alien">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,300862,00.html |title='X' Marks What's Hot: With a Quirky Sense of Humor and a Generous Helping of the Paranormal, Fox's 'X-Files' Slyly Alters the Time-Tested Recipe for Mystery-Solving |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=January 21, 1994 |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=September 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924120954/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,300862,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> After the airing of four episodes, the magazine called ''The X-Files'' "the most paranoid, subversive show on TV", noting the "marvelous tension between Anderson—who is dubious about these events—and Duchovny, who has the haunted, imploring look of a true believer".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308321,00.html |title=Alien Nation: FBI Agents battle unearthly Boogeymen in 'The X-Files' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |first=Ken |last=Tucker |date=October 8, 1993 |access-date=July 27, 2009 |archive-date=April 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425205155/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,308321,00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Virgin Media]]'' said the most memorable "Monster-of-the-Week" was Eugene Tooms from "[[Squeeze (The X-Files)|Squeeze]]" and "[[Tooms]]".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/film-cinema/x-hits-the-spot-1441514.html |title=Lifting the lid on the X-Files |website=The Herald |date=January 30, 2007 |access-date=August 18, 2009}}</ref>

The following four seasons received similar praise. During the show's second season, ''Entertainment Weekly'' named ''The X-Files'' the "Program of the Year" for 1994, stating "no other show on television gives off the vibe that ''The X-Files'' does".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/12/30/best-and-worst-1994television/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216205342/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C305104%2C00.html |title=The Best and Worst 1994/Television |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |author=Tucker, Ken |date=December 30, 1994 |archive-date=February 16, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The DVD Journal'' gave the second season four out of four stars, calling it a "memorable season". The review highlighted "[[The Host (The X-Files)|The Host]]", "[[Duane Barry]]" and "[[Ascension (The X-Files)|Ascension]]", the [[cliffhanger]] finale "[[Anasazi (The X-Files)|Anasazi]]", the "unforgettable" "[[Humbug (The X-Files)|Humbug]]" and meeting Mulder and Scully's families in "[[Colony (The X-Files)|Colony]]" and "[[One Breath (The X-Files)|One Breath]]".<ref>{{cite web |author=JJB |url=http://www.dvdjournal.com/quickreviews/x/xfiles.season2.q.shtml |title=The X-Files: The Complete Second Season |work=The DVD Journal |access-date=February 12, 2012}}</ref> [[IGN]] gave the season a rating of 9 out of 10, with the reviewer noting it was an improvement upon the first as it had "started to explore a little" and the "evolution of the characters makes the product shine even though the plotlines have begun to seem familiar".<ref>{{cite web |author=IGN Staff |url=http://dvd.ign.com/articles/037/037474p1.html |title=X-Files Season Two Gift Pack |work=[[IGN]] |date=December 7, 2000 |access-date=April 5, 2012}}</ref> Emily VanDerWerff of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' argued that the third season of ''The X-Files'' was the show's "best season and maybe one of the greatest TV seasons of all time", noting it was consistent and "[swung] from strength to strength" between mythology and stand-alone episodes.<ref>{{cite web |first=Emily |last=VanDerWerff |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-x-files-the-blessing-way-paper-clip-dpo-1798165404 |title=The Blessing Way/Paper Clip/DPO |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=July 4, 2010 |access-date=March 31, 2012}}</ref> Michael Sauter of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the fifth season an "A{{en dash}}", writing that it "proves the show was—even then—still at its creative peak (if only for another year or so) and full of surprises".<ref name=ewreview/> He praised the new additions to the series' mythology and concluded that "many stand-alone episodes now look like classics".<ref name=ewreview>{{cite magazine |first=Michael |last=Sauter |url=https://ew.com/article/2002/05/14/x-files-complete-fifth-season/ |title=The X-Files: The Complete Fifth Season |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=May 14, 2002 |access-date=January 29, 2012 |archive-date=June 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607002129/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,237552,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Francis Dass, writing for the ''[[New Straits Times]]'', noted that the season was "very interesting" and included "truly inspiring and hilarious" episodes.<ref name=Dass>{{Cite news |last=Dass |first=Francis |title=A Late 'X-Files' Collection |work=[[New Straits Times]] |publisher=[[New Straits Times Press]] |date=April 20, 2000 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LdIVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3817,882603 |access-date=July 29, 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

After the 1998 film, the show began to receive increasingly critical reviews. Some longtime fans became alienated during the show's sixth season, due to the different tone taken by most stand-alone episodes after the move to Los Angeles.<ref name="alienated">{{cite news |author=Parks, Jo-Ann |url=http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/ailing_xfiles_000120.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050901021930/http://www.space.com/sciencefiction/tv/ailing_xfiles_000120.html |title=What's Ailing The X-Files |work=[[Space.com]] |publisher=TechMediaNetwork |date=January 2000 |access-date=July 27, 2009 |archive-date=September 1, 2005}}</ref> Rather than adhering to the "Monsters-of-the-Week" style, they were often romantic or humorous or both, such as "[[Arcadia (The X-Files)|Arcadia]]" or "[[Terms of Endearment (The X-Files)|Terms of Endearment]]". Some fans felt there was no coherent plan to the main storyline and that Carter was "making it all up as he goes along".<ref name="alienated"/> As for the seventh season, ''The A.V. Club'' noted that while most of the first eight seasons of ''The X-Files'' were "good-to-great", the seventh season of the show was "flagging" and possessed "significant problems".<ref name=avclubbadapple>{{cite web |author=Adams, Sam |url=https://www.avclub.com/one-bad-apple-we-can-live-with-that-31-rotten-parts-o-1798231327 |title=One Bad Apple... We Can Live With That: 31 Rotten Parts of Otherwise Fantastic Wholes |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |publisher=[[The Onion]] |date=May 7, 2012 |access-date=May 19, 2012 |display-authors=etal |archive-date=May 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525000838/http://www.avclub.com/articles/one-bad-apple-we-can-live-with-that-31-rotten-part%2C73536/2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite this, seasons six and seven included several episodes that were lauded by critics, including the sixth season entries "Triangle" and "[[The Unnatural (The X-Files)|The Unnatural]]",<ref name=dvdtalk>{{cite web |last=Cressey |first=Earl |title=X-Files: Season Six |url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/4819/x-files-season-six/ |publisher=[[Internet Brands]] |access-date=March 14, 2012 |date=November 5, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=9b11fe77-0be1-445f-ae1f-f06571fba743 |title=A Look Back on Some of the Best Stand-Alone Episodes From the X-Files Series |newspaper=[[Vancouver Sun]] |access-date=August 9, 2009 |date=July 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118173322/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=9b11fe77-0be1-445f-ae1f-f06571fba743 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 }}</ref> as well as the seventh season installment "[[X-Cops (The X-Files)|X-Cops]]".<ref name=nydn>{{cite news |last=Mink |first=Eric |title='X Files' Boldy Goes Thru 7th Season |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/x-files-boldy-7th-season-article-1.858462 |access-date=December 7, 2011 |newspaper=[[New York Daily News]] |date=February 12, 2000}}</ref>