Customer Ratings & Reviews

This season really starts showing the series falling off in quality.

It was an alright season. Was not the same without Mulder.

This season had its moments but it was not as good as seasons 1 through 5. Make sure you get the remastered version of this season, the label on top should indicate the discs are remastered.

The last 3 seasons of the show seem to run together for me. When I watched the show when they aired I could feel my interest for the show slowly drain from my mind.

I really love the series, however watching season eight was a big disappointment for me. It's definitely the worst season of the show.

Found in Reviews on AMAZ**, Season 8 has 'crushed black' - darker than usual episodes for all the episodes on this set. Returned season 8 before opening to Best Buy without any problem. This review will probably never be cleared for posting. Waiting for 20th Century Fox to issue a new 'Version 2" hopefully by March 2016.

[MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS] First of all, let me say that I think season 8 is too often automatically dismissed by fans simply because of Mulder not being around so much, and believe me, no one's a bigger Mulder fan than myself, but to be honest, season 7 was stale, and at this point in the show, I would agree with Duchovny's attitude at the time, that there really wasn't much left for the characters to do. All of their major story arcs had been more or less resolved, and while 7 had its highlights, the "magic" was, in a tangible sense, gone. That being said, what better way to totally shake up your show than to have one of the two main characters gone for half of the season?! Even those who ended up hating the result were probably there every week wanting to find out what was going to happen - I know that's the sense I had, and that's one of the best things season 8 has going for it; it broke the mold and took some risks, and I think this alone made it MUCH more interesting than the bulk of the season before it. It starts off, in my opinion, the best way it possibly could - those personal scenes with Scully coming to grips with what has happened while that haunting season 8 music says more about her situation than any dialogue could have. The introduction of John Doggett and the gradual progression of their relationship was expertly done, I thought, and he was the best thing that could have happened to the show, under the circumstances. Robert Patrick's top-notch acting aside, Doggett's character - while a challenge to Scully in their paranormal investigations - almost immediately became one of the pillars propping Scully up during this dark time, a loyal protector when she needed it most in a way that Mulder never really was (his curious wrecklessness put her in harm's way more often than not). It was a very cordial relationship, to be sure (instead of the "Mulder" and "Scully" personal casualness she shared with her old partner, John Doggett was always "Agent Doggett" to Scully, and she was "Agent Scully" to him - there was a clear respect for each other on a deep level (even despite serious differences regarding the work), but they kept their relationship professional and platonic at all times). Gillian Anderson also does a great job, as usual, evolving Scully's character and taking the viewer along on this bizarre journey. Even so, the stories themselves are somewhat hit and miss. I tend to think they "hit" more than they missed in this season (highlights include "Within," "Without," "Patience," "The Gift," "Three Words," and "Essence"/"Existence," which probably should have been the series finale - oh, and the worst of the bunch would have to be "Surekill" and "Salvage"; the rest are somewhere in the middle). But what's strange is that, to me, the writers were doing a much better job in the earlier part of the season, before Mulder returns. As soon as he's back - when we should be cheering contentedly - I find that I cannot help but feel this is not the Mulder we know and love, that even though there are some good bits here and there (the season finale, while I have gripes about parts of the plot, is pretty much the last feeling of "classic X-Files mytharc episode fun" you're going to get for the series, what with all the late nights and parking garages) the soul of the show really is gone, at this point (this is the same problem I have with Scully in season 9 - she's just not herself. She becomes bland and lifeless much of the time, but then, that's pretty much the vibe of the whole ninth season). There's a lot more to talk about (Kersh is back! The only season without Smoking Man, what the heck is the deal with the baby? Why is Reyes so annoying?), but I'll leave the rest up to the viewer. Overall, I recommend this as, if nothing else, a fascinating case study on how a show can try to adapt when the basic formula for its success is drastically altered. You'll see some laudable achievements as well as some staggering examples of lackluster lethargy, but overall, I think this season deserves a lot more credit than it receives. For the most part, it managed to retain that elusive "X-Files" quality that made the show so great, and it as a whole, it's a lot more fun than a show in this tricky situation should be!

Mulder's abducted, but he's still in a pretty decent amount of episodes. Doggett is unlikable at first, so it's a delight to cheer Scully on as she throws her water at him. But, criminey - he does grow on you. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that he's not half as bad as you thought he'd be. He's no replacement for Mulder, but still an awesome character. Scully's pregnant in this season, but that doesn't mean she's taking a backseat. She still kicks butt. Usually pregnancies are the worst thing to happen to a series, but I think the X-Files handled it well. I just didn't like the whole alien baby bit. It seems like it led nowhere in the end. Some familiar characters return, such as Gibson Praise, Jeremiah Smith, the alien bounty hunter, and Krychek. Who will survive...? However, CSM is still missing from this season. "Badlaa" is a seriously creepy episode, where an Indian mystic with amputated legs stalks his victims as he wheels himself on a board with this skin-crawling squeak. That bathroom scene spooked me. There's also an episode that reminds me of "Jeepers Creepers." Scary monsters this season are demon possession, gigantic reptiles, bat boy, alien babies, and Super Soldiers.

In response to complaints, Fox is fixing an issue with the black levels on The X-Files: Complete Season 8. This problem affects all episodes in the set. FOX has stated they’re replacing the entire season set discs, expected ship date in March 2016. If you’ve purchased the set, contact Fox Customer Care at [email protected]. In the subject line - X-Files Season 8 Replacement Program. That's FOX Connect at Order Assistance dot com.

I really think the series should have ended at Season 7. Season 8 has some good episodes, but we know that season 9 will not have Mulder and that spoils our feelings watching this. If you own the previous Blu-ray set then keep it unless you want a better package. There are no new Special Features. What is on the discs is the same. If you don't own this on Blu-ray then BUY IT NOW.

Waited until my Best Buy sold out of Season 8. I was shopping for other box sets on sale and found Season 8 blue ray back in stock. Took the chance and made the purchase (it was reduced on sale from initial release price). I've watched the first 8 episodes of the season and the brightness and the colors look fine. Glad I waited.

Been a big fan of this show, the blu-ray is an improvement of in picture quality. I am enjoying watching the show again.