The Nitpicker's Guide for X-Philes
Phil Farrand
Dell Trade Paperback
Nonfiction, Media Reference
*****
Description
The Nitpicker's Guild is an association of fans connected by their ability and willingness to find flaws in the plot and production of their favorite shows. This guide covers the first four seasons of the paranormal TV series The X-Files, with a synopsis for each episode followed by nits, flubs, technical failings and plot holes.
Review
A very fun book for X-philes like myself, Phil covers everything, from mistakes in references to messed-up apartment floor plans (the set guys must not have a map to follow.) Bonuses include toteboards listing such useful statistics as how often someone dies or is found dead during the teaser (54), how often female characters slam into walls (5), and the number of references to Star Trek (3). There are also lists of the Top Ten Oddities of the first four seasons, Phil's picks for Best and Worst episodes, and Triathlon Trivia Challenges to test your viewing skills. It's especially fun if your take on the show is similar to his. Mine is, as evidenced by similar - but not identical - Best and Worst episode lists, but even those X-philes who disagree with his lists should find something to like here. I only wished he'd done a follow-up to include the first movie and the rest of the seasons, though by the end he would've had to resort to an encyclopedia format to accomodate the problems. (Yet another sad example of a show that should've quit while it was ahead, but that's another rant for another time... and that's not even counting the recent reboot efforts on FOX.)