Best 30 episodes of The X-Files

By Alex Wiggan

The X-Files made its debut in September 1993, and during its run clocked up 218 episodes and two feature-length movies. This is of course a heck of a lot of time spent investigating the paranormal, but hey, it’s a great pursuit!

To celebrate the sheer brilliance of the show, you may be considering rewatching a few episodes of The X-Files. But how about watching a marathon?

Sound good? Then keep reading.

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30 episodes of The X-Files

If you want to create an X-Files marathon it’s really not that difficult. There are plenty of episodes to choose from, you simply need to whittle down your favourites accordingly.

OK, so that’s a task in itself, as there are so many great episodes to choose from, but for the purpose of this post, I’ve selected 30 episodes for you! These 30 episodes – taken from across all 11 seasons of The X-Files – include many fan-favourite instalments (which should satisfy most fans), as well as one or two less popular choices, to keep things interesting.

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Drive (Season Six)

In Drive, Agent Mulder finds himself in a race against time as he becomes trapped inside a car by a seemingly deranged man. But is the man unbalanced or is he a victim of a government conspiracy?

Beyond the Sea (Season One)

In a role reversal for the show, Agent Scully becomes the ‘believer’ and Mulder becomes the ‘sceptic’ in a case involving a prisoner on death row who claims to have psychic abilities.

F. Emasculata (Season Two)

After several men die in prison from a mystery illness, Scully tries to uncover the cause while Mulder attempts to track down two escapees who could potentially spread the disease.

Oubliette (Season Three)

After a teenager is kidnapped and imprisoned by an unhinged photographer, Mulder discovers a psychic connection between the recently kidnapped victim and another girl who was kidnapped by the same man years before.

Sanguinarium (Season Four)

In Sanguinarium, Mulder and Scully investigate a series of bizarre murders in a hospital’s plastic surgery unit.

Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster (Season Ten)

In this comical episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a series of mysterious killings seemingly perpetrated by a ‘were-monster’.

Paper Hearts (Season Four)

In Paper Hearts, Mulder and Scully uncover a possible link between a serial killer and the disappearance of Mulder’s sister, which suggests aliens may not have been involved in her abduction.

Unruhe (Season Four)

A series of unusual photographs play a key role in this X-File, which focuses on a series of kidnappings and murders.

Chinga (Season Five)

When Scully takes a vacation, her few days of rest and relaxation soon turn into something sinister when she encounters a strange young girl and her doll.

Darkness Falls (Season One)

In this atmospheric X-File, Mulder and Scully investigate when a team of loggers disappear without a trace.

Redrum (Season Eight)

In Redrum, time regresses after an old friend of Agent John Doggett’s attempts to prove himself innocent of a crime he didn’t commit.

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Quagmire (Season Three)

In Quagmire, Mulder and Scully investigate a series of deaths which Mulder believes is the result of monster named ‘Big Blue’.

X-Cops (Season Seven)

Framed as a spoof of the reality television show, Cops, X-Cops sees Mulder and Scully on the trail of a monster that can seemingly change its appearance.

Leonard Betts (Season Four)

In Leonard Betts, Mulder and Scully investigate the supposed death and regeneration of an EMT who can regenerate severed body parts.

Aubrey (Season Two)

In Aubrey, Mulder believes a serial killer from the ‘40s has somehow passed his genetic trait of violence to his grandchild.

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The Postmodern Prometheus (Season Five)

Set in black-and-white, The Postmodern Prometheus follows Mulder and Scully as they investigate reports of a mysterious creature named ‘The Great Mutato’.

Terms of Endearment (Season Six)

In Terms of Endearment, an unborn child is apparently abducted from its mother’s womb by a demon.

Ice (Season One)

A classic from the show’s first season, Ice sees Mulder and Scully investigate a series of deaths at an Alaskan research centre.

Audrey Pauly (Season Nine)

After becoming involved in a devastating car accident, Agent Monica Reyes wakes in a surreal hospital where a mysterious woman called Audrey Pauley resides.

Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose (Season Three)

With tongue firmly in cheek, Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose is a comical episode in which Mulder and Scully investigate a series of murders involving psychics and fortune tellers.

Humbug (Season Two)

In Humbug, Mulder and Scully investigate a series of murders in a community of former circus sideshow performers, which could be connected to the mysterious ‘Fiji mermaid’.

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Die Hand Die Verletzt (Season Two)

Up next, Mulder and Scully investigate the death of a teenager in Milford Haven, New Hampshire, who appears to have died during an occult ritual.

Nothing Lasts Forever (Season Eleven)

In Nothing Lasts Forever Mulder and Scully uncover a mysterious cult while investigating human organ theft.

Arcadia (Season Six)

Following a series of unusual disappearances at an idyllic planned community, Mulder and Scully pose as a married couple as part of an undercover investigation.

Small Potatoes (Season Four)

In Small Potatoes, Mulder and Scully arrive in a small town to investigate the birth of a baby born with a tail.

The Goldberg Variation (Season Seven)

In The Goldberg Variation, Mulder and Scully are on the trail of a mysterious man who appears to be the luckiest person in the world.

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Triangle (Season Six)

In Triangle, Mulder finds himself transported back to 1939, and the outbreak of World War II, after he boards a luxury passenger liner which has mysteriously appeared in the Bermuda Triangle.

Home (Season Four)

In Home, Mulder and Scully uncover something shocking when they investigate the death of a baby born with severe physical defects, in the small town of Home, Pennsylvania.

Squeeze (Season One)

Arguably the most famous episode of The X-Files, Squeeze sees Mulder and Scully investigate a series of ritualistic killings by Eugene Tooms – a man seemingly capable of moving his body through impossibly narrow gaps.

Tooms (Season One)

And finally, in this sequel to Squeeze, Tooms sees Mulder and Scully back on the case after Eugene Tooms is released from prison.

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Now, you could watch the above episodes of The X-Files alone (with the lights off); you could watch them with friends; or you could watch and discuss them on social media. You could also replace whichever episode you want from the list, to insert your own favourites.

The above is merely a guide. You want to dive into The X-Files? Then this is one way to do it.

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Editor/Writer/Paranormal Investigator

Alex Wiggan

Alex is a writer, editor, and blogger specialising in movies, TV, comics, retro toys, and general geekery. He is a championing voice in nerd content, an expert in pop culture, and a trusted movie critic who publishes new reviews on a weekly basis. After graduating with a degree in film & television studies from the University of Derby in the UK, Alex went on to study journalism in Sheffield, before acquiring NCTJ accreditation. Prior to a career in blogging, Alex was a magazine editor, a senior copywriter, a features writer, and a freelancer.

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Thank you for dropping by It’s A Stampede! to check out this post about The X-Files. For more posts, be sure to take a look at the recommended reads below.