He had some kind of screenplay about a guy who thought he was a superhero or something that I haven't heard anything about since he started working on Fringe.

Agreed on all but "Soft Light." Shaloub's character is compelling, as is his performance, but it has an unusually ridiculous premise and laughable special effects. After that misfire, though Gilligan always hits his target. His last ep, "Roadrunners," from s8, is also excellent.

http://www.youtube.com/watc…

I like "The Field Where I Died," but it's pretty off-format and requires extensive knowledge of the characters. I wouldn't recommend any of the eps dealing with Mulder's sister or Scully's abduction/sickness for the same reason. Or the excellent "Never Again."

"Bad Blood" from season 5 is beloved of fans and very accessible. It's a bit of a lark, though. You should probably start with the pilot, as suggested above, and then check out a few of the one-offs listed above.

Just one of the many instances of Morgan mocking the series and its characters to great effect.

And if I laugh at any mortal thing,
'T is that I may not weep; and if I weep,
'T is that our nature cannot always bring
Itself to apathy.

"Some Enchanted Evening" may look like shit, but there's definitely no problem with its script.

Agreed, Cannonfodder. A distinct setting may be explored by a writer or group of writers in much the same way as may a character. LOST was always about developing a comprehensive understanding of The Island, as was Do the Right Thing about Bedford-Stuyvesant.

And, more openly, Eddie Van Blundht in "Small Potatoes."

Like half the characters were black in at least one episode in the first three seasons. Just go with it.

It's like how, you know, Sesame Street is, like, a character itself, man.

Get him, fellas.

Holy Shit!
The Phantom is a ribbed condom!
http://media.comicvine.com/…

Although The X-Files would remain intensely focused on the origins of and interactions in closed communities, from the Air Force base in "Piper Maru" to the gated community in "Arcadia," and even the immigrant community in "The Calusari," "Humbug"'s circus town is likely the best-realized the show would ever feature.…

"Probably Something I Ate."
"Humbug" is the first episode of The X-Files to reveal its potential to tell stories that don't necessarily have anything to do with the show's standard format. If you took the investigation out of it, you'd still have a powerful story of longing, self-destruction, and loss, told through a…

I thought Glory was entertaining enough, but Kramer's performance was all over the place. She had the potential to get the character right- she's great in "The Gift"- but was clearly dependent on her director. Whedon directed "The Gift," and even Ben was pretty good in it. But in the episode immediately prior, the…

It was cool how they produced those few episodes after s6, though, just as fan service- Him, Selfless, Conversation with a Dead Person, Lies My Parents Told Me. That was pretty cool of them.

The Riley plotline you alluded to starts very well.

The notion that Tara's family could somehow convince its offspring that they are demons is strange considering to what degree her family seems to interact with the outside world. It also raises questions about how the supernatural world Buffy typically interacts with spills over into the world the rest of us live in-…