The X Files - Season 4

The Fourth Season:

Mulder: 'The only thing that will destroy this man is the truth.'

Krycek: 'The truth, the truth... There is no truth. These men just make it up as they go along.

-........

So what makes the fourth season so special? It continued the excellent story telling from the previous seasons -- managing to seem fresh and entertaining while remaining true to the characters we had grown to love. Many long-time fans consider season four to be the last truly great season of the show's long run (I personally disagree -- I'm in the camp that thinks Season 5 is the last great season).

Season four's 'Mythology' episodes (which make up the continuing storyline that forms the backbone of the show) continued to pose new questions -- something that was starting to upset many long-time fans. What with all the new directions, some of the old questions were being forgotten about, and loose ends were not being tied up. We did get to see some answers though -- such as seeing more of the shape-shifting aliens and more clones. The black-oil aliens (affectionately called 'oiliens') also make an appearance, as does Mulder's old nemesis, Alex Krycek.

The biggest new plot thread in Season Four was Scully's battle with cancer. A side effect of her abduction in Season Two, Scully's fight to survive gave the show's writers plenty of opportunities for angst and soul-searching amongst the show's lead characters.

Although the show lost one of its most beloved writers, Darin Morgan, in season three, other writers stepped up to fill the void and gave us more fantastic and memorable shows. Vince Gilligan, in particular, shone through as a writer who could consistently provide touching and chilling drama (in episodes such as 'Paper Hearts'), as well as fill Darin's comedic shoes with the outstanding 'Small Potatoes' (which featured Darin in a guest-starring role). The writing team of Glen Morgan (yes, Darin's brother) and James Wong returned for a short stint in Season Four. Morgan and Wong had written many of the show's best scripts in seasons One and Two, and are frequently credited with taking creator Chris Carter's characters and shaping them into the Mulder and Scully that everyone loves. They provided one of the most shocking shows ever seen in prime-time television ('Home' - which was ultimately banned by Fox and was not allowed to air during the summer re-runs). Some of Morgan and Wong's experimentation with Mulder and Scully divided the fan base with two 'you either love them or you hate them' episodes ('The Field Where I Died' and 'Never Again').

As with the first 3 seasons, Season Four includes many 'Classic' episodes ('Home', 'Paper Hearts', 'Tunguska/Terma', 'Memento Mori', 'Small Potatoes'), as well as its share of the forgettable (Teliko, Unrequited, Synchrony), and few clunkers ('El Mundo Gira' has been nicknamed 'El Mundo Yukko').