User reviews

An interesting example of a TV series that fails on a number of counts.

It tries to hit all the notes, and subsequently sounds like wind chimes in a gale. It tries to be funny, campy, dramatic, sexy. In the end, I sort of see it as a TV snack that strains to be seen as "smart". The problem is that it's not really that smart; the stories are larded with disconnected bits of sloppily presented sci-tech stuff, straight from the kitchen sink and loosely anchored. One gets the feeling that the producers figured that if they bound the loose bits together with a pudding of over-the-top characterization, the mess would hold together. Well, it doesn't.

Hey! Vince Gilligan is the "Breaking Bad" guy, right? A good way to highlight the shortcomings of Gunmen is to compare it against BB. Breaking Bad does it right: Tho occasionally marred by over-the-top direction, BB is anchored by an abiding interest in keeping it real, warm, human... plausible. Would it even be possible to tell a story of storybook geek/misfits teaming up to crack conspiracies, while "keeping it real"? Interesting question. At any rate, Gunmen feels like a puerile geek fantasy, in the sense of being rather cheap, in the sense in which Breaking Bad is *not* cheap.

That the Pilot neatly foreshadowed 9/11 *is* kinda spooky: I'll give 'em that.

A series with an interesting idea - self-proclaimed investigators reveal the truth in marginal and bizarre cases that the police do not address - which would not be adequately portrayed on the screen. This is despite the fact that it boasts experienced screenwriters from The X-Files, three sympathetic distinctive main characters and the irresistible Miss Robinson. The episodes suffer from maladies like plot holes, plots sometimes too bizarre or weak, and unrealistic hacking or make-up skills of the heroes. The focus is therefore mostly on the parody side, which rarely succeeds, however.

The watchword of The X-Files may be "trust no one", but we can trust Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz to do right by that series, as well as this, its spinoff. I should have known better than to be skeptical of the team that brings out the best episodes of The X-Files. This show quickly put to rest my fears that it wouldn't work--it does, and in original and inventive ways.

(Contrary to popular belief, Chris Carter is NOT the only person who runs The X-Files or The Lone Gunmen, and certainly isn't the only genius behind either show's greatness!)

The pilot left something to be desired, and the first six episodes, while often better, were still trying to find the series' groove. Starting with "Planet of the Frohikes", though, the series experienced a renaissance, putting out fantastic episode after fantastic episode. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried after "Tango de los Pistoleros" because it was so sad and sweet. "All About Yves", the season finale, also made me cry, but because I was laughing SO HARD. If you gave up after the pilot, believe me, you have missed a LOT.

The prospect of never getting a resolution to that cliffhanger sickens me. I will not settle for a resolution through The X-Files. For anyone else who is upset about the show's cancellation, please make sure you watch it if it gets reruns, and write to the FOX network and tell them that you want it back. This show is too wonderful to let go.

The Lone Gunmen was a great fun spin-off of that science fiction series that was rather popular in the 1990s. My favourite of the three main characters is Frohike, as he is the most amusing/tragic/interesting of the three.

Byers is the most restrained and paradoxically the most passionate, but his finest hours were in the X-Files episodes involving him and the blonde woman whose name escapes me at this moment - the actress was Signy Coleman - ah yes...Suzanne Modeski? Another X-Files link I Recommend you take up is Millennium - be warned, a lot darker than the X-Files, its nearest relations are the ones involving Donnie Pfaster, and Lance Henriksen is not a happy man - but if dark psychological drama is your bag, check it out.

In The X-Files the three Lone Gunmen are intelligent and doesn't screw up their missions. The lame comedy part and their sudden stupidity just wasn't the right path to go with this show. And the Jimmy character was just soooo annoying.

I love The X-Files but this spin off is just way to embarrassing and is one of a few tv shows that FOX did the right thing when they cancelled it.

In the X-Files the Lone Gunmen really walked a fine line of believability and because of the great writing it worked really well. The problem with this show was they added a character like Jimmy Bond and all of a sudden it turned really silly . Some glimpses of good writing couldn't save it after that.

I have to admit, I didn't have very positive expectations with the LGM, the 3 characters everyone knows from "TXF", going on their own for some odd reason, but after I saw the first few episodes, I am definitely a bigger LGM fan than I was when they appeared on "TXF". This is a great comedy/drama/action series that I think will go on because of its support from philes, and may even attract a few non-philes. I especially think that the episode aired this Friday (3/23) was hilarious -- yeah, I know I am a sucker for sight-gags, bathroom humor, and the like, but hey, I'm 15 and that's just me. I also like the addition of new characters, like Zuleikha Robinson as Yves Adele Harlow (a tasty treat, mmm-wah) and Stephen Snedden as Jimmy Bond, the LGM tag-along. CC did a great job making Byers, Frohike, and Langly shine in the spotlight in their own series because they did such a good job with LGM episodes on "TXF". If "TXF" is cancelled, "LGM" will most definitely uphold a room temperature, albeit tasty, piece of the "phile pie".

Chris Carter created this direct spin-off of "The X-Files" that stars supporting actors Bruce Harwood(John Fitzgerald Byers) Tom Braidwood(Melvin Frohike) & Dean Haglund(Richard 'Ringo' Langly) as their familiar characters, three conspiracy theorists and government watchdogs who try(over the course of the 13 episodes) to uncover the truth, and fight crime, but often do so in a bumbling fashion. They are financed by good-hearted Jimmy Bond(played by Stephen Snedden) and uneasy allies with mercenary Yves Adele Harlow(played by Zuleikha Robinson) Short-lived show failed to catch on with viewers, but remains reasonably entertaining today, though our three unsung heroes would have a heroic yet tragic end in the last season of "The X-Files".

Ironically the very Lone Gunmen episode was not part of this series - it was The X-Files season 5 episode 3 "Unusual Suspects". I think this series failed largely because it tried to be too different to the show that gave birth to it. Whereas Millennium was created separately and only merged into The X-Files universe for it's finale, The Lone Gunmen were created solely for the purposes of The X-Files and they fitted in perfectly.

Alas with their spin-off series, the producers decided to make it far more silly and incompetent. They created the perfect recipe, but decided to change it with the spin-off. If they had kept the edgy tone of The X-Files and called it The X-Files: Lone Gunmen, we might have had quite a few more seasons to enjoy.

I thought that the 2000-2001 TV season would be a blah year for science fiction after watching the pilot of James Cameron's "Dark Angel." I now see the error of my ways thanks to the Johnny-come-lately superhit "The Lone Gunmen." If I had to sum this show up in a few words, they would be "a futuristic version of 'The A-Team.'" I say that not only because the series follows the extraordinary adventures of four men and one woman who drive around in a van, but also due to the artful mix of adventure, humor, and intrigue that one can look forward to every Friday night with this show. A lot of the pleasure of watching "The Lone Gunmen" derives from the entertaining chemistry among the five main characters (four journalists and a secret agent), all of whom have distinct personalities that transcend stereotype and reveal the best and worst of human nature.

Byers - The straight man. Psychologically, he's the least developed of the five. Cool and professional, he pretty much runs things in the Gunmen's underground newspaper office. Like Fox Mulder from "The X-Files" (the show from which this one was spun off), he wants the truth and nothing but. He's convinced that the U.S. government has countless skeletons in its closet, and he wants to see justice done on behalf of his fellow citizenry. All very admirable, but he doesn't exactly get a lot of yuks.

Frohike - My favorite character on the show. Short, balding, and homely, he nevertheless displays the most humanity of all of them. He's not perfect, and he's often the butt of jokes. Yet even as you laugh at him, you feel for him. He's always ready for action, but his courage is tempered by a somewhat painful realization of the fact that he's hardly flashy and dynamic. Perhaps it's this lack of cockiness that guides Frohike's moral compass; he never fails to help anyone in need. Funny, decent, and eternally sympathetic, Frohike truly is a nice guy who finishes last - but he'll always be first in my book.

Langley - The smarty-pants of the bunch. Nothing out of the ordinary can ever happen without Langley making some sardonic comment about it. With his greasy blond hair, elitist spectacles, and superciliously aquiline nose, Langley would be pretty hard to like if his withering remarks weren't so darn funny. I'd say that roughly 50 percent of the laughs on "The Lone Gunmen" come from Langley's bon mots.

Jimmy - All you really need to know about Jimmy Bond is that he was formerly the coach of a football team composed entirely of blind players. Jimmy is a robust idealist, his eyes so full of stars that one could almost call them galaxies. He can be mind-numbingly naive at times, but his sense of integrity never lets him rest when injustice is done. Don't be fooled by his valley-boy, surfer-dude inflection; Jimmy's more than just another dumb blond.

Eve - This shadowy operative looks and dresses like a grown-up version of Jessica Alba's character from "Angel," and has much of her attitude to boot. Though a casual acquaintance of The Lone Gunmen, Eve is ultimately a tough loner whose penchant for amorality is backed up by a British accent that fairly drips with condescension. Not somebody you'd want to cross, she is. And yet, like all of us, deep down inside all she probably really wants is a few friends. She does manage to help the Gunmen out of many a scrape, and there have been hints that her relationship with Jimmy is not as platonic as it first appears; stay tuned.

Five personalities, all of them strikingly different. Yet when they get together, magic inevitably accompanies the fireworks. It's brilliant ensemble playing like this that puts "The Lone Gunmen" a few notches above the other run-of-the-mill sci-fi shows. On second thought, maybe it's unfair to call it a sci-fi show. I enjoy it simply because it's a humorous, thought-provoking exploration of human nature.

It's just too bad that the studio's can't see it. The Lone Gunmen complete series is the short lived TV series spin off from the X-files by our lovable counter culture heroes "The Lone Gunmen." No super stud, soap opera models here, just common guys with a flair for conspiracy theories and intrigue, not to mention some just darned funny moments.

The series tackles many issues from your favorite childhood TV star, to "Blind Football" to the old urban legend of "The Water Powered Automobile." If you don't find yourself identifying with the three geeks in a personal way, you need to go back to watching Law & Order. They are just like us, which is probably why the money folks couldn't see past it.

It's a true shame this show never got the chance to grow an audience.. But in true to Hollywood form if something isn't an instant hit it gets axed This show has since grown a huge fan base on DVD I think Seinfeld is the best example of that... Was set to be axed after the first season and again after the second but was giving a chance and look what happened.. I'm not saying this could of been as big but it's clear it could of lasted a few seasons if giving the chance.. It's funny it's interesting it was a great show

I can sum up what I want to say about this show in one word Ace! That should be the way it should be remembered. Most people can't understand why this show was cancelled as it was so good, so why are good shows cancelled who knows.

I bought the DVDs last week and watched all episodes one after the other. The Lone Gunmen TV show has depressed me. The 3 main characters were always broke, complete outcasts and in immediate danger. I am a fellow geek and seeing them in such a condition (and what eventually happened to them at the end) is breaking my heart. However, this condition only empowers what they stand for by showing to the viewer what price they have to pay for what they believe in. The introduction of Jimmy Bond and Yves was a clever addition to the character set, in order to attract more viewers who don't necessarily care a lot about the technical sides of things -- although I found Yves' character annoying at times.

To be honest, the Lone Gunmen show was just above average. It didn't excel compared to X-Files or other shows of its time. This doesn't mean that it was a bad show, but simply not as good as it could have been. I am pretty sure that their budget was quite tight, judging from the limiting sets that each episode featured. However, each episode had its moments, especially when humor was involved. My favorite episode is "All about Yves" and the worst is "Tango de los Pistoleros".

I definitely suggest geek viewers to buy the DVD. I am not sure that less geeky viewers would enjoy it as much though.

Rating: 7/10

It is difficult to overstate the sheer artistic failure that "The Lone Gunmen" represents. If I didn't know any better I'd say that the writers behind this show had no idea what the characters were all about. But that is clearly not true since they were all X-files veterans who had already written for the Lone Gunmen characters ("The Lone Gunmen" is an "X-files" spin-off). Vince Gilligan, one of the co-creators and main writers (and who would go on to create "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul") had in fact written or co-written the two (very cool and enjoyable) X-files episodes centering on the characters.

Whatever the reason, it is an inescapable fact of Nature that "The Lone Gunmen" sucks, big time. Whoever made the decision to make this show into "Mission Impossible with Geeks" doomed it to become a forced, vaguely slapstick comedy which is anything but funny (how many times can we see Frohike comically falling to the ground??). It becomes painfully obvious very early on that this show has nothing to say, no central (or peripheral at that) theme, and that the conspiracy theories these characters are known for are only treated as comic fodder of the lamest kind. Initially the three lone gunmen were a fascinating insight into the mentality and lifestyle of the conspiracy-obsessed crowd, who seem to have only gained in prominence as the years went by. Building a show around them was a perfect opportunity to dwell deeper into that side of things and know more about Flat Earthers and their ilk. Instead, the writers decided they wanted to see Frohike wear lederhosen and be a tango dancer, because that's funny, right??

Clearly out of ideas even though the show is barely getting started, the writers just decide to parody movies or other TV series, inserting jokes involving people farting, doing a rectal exam on a cow or a baby pissing on somebody. It never gets much higher than that, and in fact "The Lone Gunmen" is remarkable for how fast (episode 2 or 3) it becomes idiotic and appalling. If I didn't know any better I'd say FOX forced our unenthused writers to create that TV series. Alas, they seem to have actually volunteered out of sincere enthusiasm at the idea.

The two new characters, Jimmy Bond (his name is meant to be a joke I guess) and Yves Harlow bring absolutely nothing to the show except sex appeal, and the attraction between the two might be the lamest appealing element in a show that absolutely insists on relying on every conceivable cliché imaginable. Worse, they steal valuable screen time and have narrative roles that could easily have been taken up by one of our lone gunmen. The episode built around Jimmy is perhaps the lamest of the series, which is saying a lot. Absurdist, nonsensical humor is an art unto itself, and maybe they should show "The Lone Gunmen" in film school to show how it's NOT done.

It's a shame we never get to see the geek world they're supposed to evolve in (the way we did in the X-files episode "Unusual Suspects"), no Star Trek conventions, Dungeons & Dragons games, etc. It's a shame we never really see them doing their investigative work as reporters, instead focusing on their super spy antics. It's a shame we never get to see what their private lives look like, what they do at night, the kind of friends they hang out with, the movies they like to watch, etc. No, let's do instead an episode with chimps, lots of 'em! Chimps are so funny, right??

The later success of a show like "The Big Bang Theory" proves that focusing on ultra geek characters has vast potential. But that means you must treat them as geeks, not as super operatives with the latest tech who chase after the bad guys (including a poacher??). Otherwise you just end up with an idiotic and lame show that has the vibe of a Stephen J. Cannell series from the 80s (and not the best kind). In "The A Team" at least they spare us (most of the time) the slapstick pseudo-humor.

Amusing, enjoyable, interesting and doesn't insult the intelligence of the viewer? That makes it basically deadmeat as far as US TV executives are concerned. It's really depressing sometimes. We've finally got this ace show in the UK, and I come to IMDB to find out that it's been cancelled.

The Lone Gunmen is a spin-off from the X-Files - but don't let that put you off. This isn't the same kind of po-faced, labyrinthine nonsense that plagues the later years of the parent show. It's fun... and it's about a bunch of people who are individually very good at one thing, suck at everything else. Put them together as a group, and they somehow bungle their way through with amusing results.

It's class, and it's got characters you can identify with and like despite their flaws.

Although Scully avoids these guys like a PIII avoids 70ns RAM, or like Beowulf avoids a hot bath, you'll love the weekly madcap hijinks of this zany crew. Stay tuned each week to see the surprise guest stars like the opening episode's appearance of Betty White and Stephen Hawking as late-night drive-thru fast-food workers (did you spot Hawking's "Black Holes Suck" t-shirt???)--you'll larf and larf.

Being a major fan of The X Files ,the "Lone Gunmen: (always my favorite characters)was a show to bring delight with every episode.Watching it recently the last episode titled "All About Yves" said 'to be continued'.Was this the last episode of the then current season,and did they intend to continue the episode in the next season?On the DVD the last episode on the disc was taken from the X Files episodes which didn't follow on from how the previous episode ended.Can anyone explain to me what happened?I presume that the DVD released after the show had ended tried to,wrap up the series on a understandable note. They failed because it made no sense.