User reviews

The episode Fire is a worthwhile episode which is worth watching mainly for two reasons.The villain Cecil L'Ivley and Mulders old flame Phoebe Green.The inclusion of both these characters is the making of this episode.Cecil L'Ivley is a great villain and his ability to conjure up fire for his own wicked needs is superb.The scene in the bar where the woman asks him for a light is fantastic.Trust me you gotta see it!Its interesting to see apparent jealousy from Scully as Phoebe attempts to re-ignite her past with Mulder.A possible love triangle you never seen coming!A skeleton in Mulder's cupboard indeed.It was also interesting to see Mulders fear of fire

Internal combustion or arson? Mulder and Scully are on the case, along with a British Detective from Mulder's past.

It's a more down to Earth case for the pair, an episode I really did enjoy, it exposes a fear.in Mulder, and takes away some of his conceit, leaving him vulnerable, it's an interesting twist.

Phoebe, ttsss what on Earth did he see in her? She's terrible, he wouldn't have gone out with her, never. Absolutely loved Cecil L'Ivley, what a terrific character, Mark Sheppard is always so good.

I love in 80's and 90's shows how every guest British actor sounds so incredibly posh, Phoebe and the chap at the beginning are so plummy, it's amusing.

I thoroughly enjoyed, 8/10.

I didn't know Mark Sheppard was William Morgan Sheppard's son... Learn a new thing every day on IMDb.

At the time this episode was made, Amanda Pays had recently been in the first live action "Flash" TV show with Wesley John Shipp, and she was also in a very interesting movie called "Leviathan" which was like "Underwater Alien". So she is definitely X-Files material and she is definitely Mulder's type- she was a lot like Agent Fowley in some ways.

Which is probably why they never brought Phoebe back, ever. They never brought back Mark Sheppard's character either, and they should have.

Recurring characters, if used correctly, can make interesting sequel episodes like they did with Eugene Victor Tooms and Donnie Pfaster. Ironically, Nick Chinlund who plays Donny, also played a character named "Toombs" in "The chronicles of Riddick", who was very Pfaster-Like. It is not like the characters that these actors have played on the X-Files follow the actors around like albatrosses hung around their necks when they are being cast for new shows...

Later in the series they brought back the recurring characters as part of the show, especially in seasons eight and nine. But they were mostly antagonistic fellow agents and FBI directors. Sometimes they were aliens, like Jeremiah Smith (the appropriately cast Roy Thinnes), sometimes they were Kooks, like Absalom (Justin Scott aka Joachim from The Wrath of Khan) . Sometimes they were even super soldiers, but Xena (Lucy Lawless as Shannon McMahon) was only in two episodes and Adam Baldwin moved over to one season of Firefly where the Canton Mudders created a statue of him.

But this first season episode has some great character actors and it brings in somebody who has the power to start fires. And it definitely opened doors for Mark Sheppard, who has played quite an array of criminals and heroes.

They don't really explain how he does it, or even how he survives later. But the fire aspect not only has to do with the antagonist, but also with with Phoebe, Mulder is obviously disturbed by her presence. And, the first inklings of Skully's actual jealousy, long before the tension between Mulder and Scully even started.

All in all, A great monster of the week episode, we didn't have to worry about shape changing alien bountyhunters, clones of Mulders sister, various types of black oil, or syndicates of evil men... yet.

In a way, I wish they never would have brought the mythos elements into the show because the monster of the week thing worked so well especially in season one. It was good to have almost a whole season where there was no mythos. But then they found that flask filled with "Purity" and that changed everything.

And... really who cares about proper English accents? To complain about Amanda Pay's accent... and she is a British actress even. Wait, what?

Fire is an episode worth watching just to see Phoebe Green of Scotland Yard, Mulder's love from a time long past. It's interesting to see the uncomfortableness that Scully shows around Mulder and Phoebe. It makes you wonder whether Scully was already developing jealousy over Mulder this early in their relationship. But Scully gets the better of Mulder at the end with help of a British accent. It's hard to see what Mulder saw in Phoebe Green when you see what a floozy she is. Fire is one of a few episodes that doesn't begin in the continental United States. The villain Cecil L'Ively is played well by Mark Sheppard. I think he pulls of an American accent well as Bob the caretaker. As in some other episodes, I think the "villain storyline" is secondary to the triangle of Mulder, Scully & Phoebe. The one thing that bugs in this episode is Mulder's fear of fire. It's a plot device that is very contrived just for this episode. It is never mentioned again throughout the course of the series. But that aside, (here comes the cheesy promotion), get hot for Fire!

Fire is a perfect Standalone episode, everything is just si great and straigt to the point.

Every element of an X files Monster of the week, a charismatic villain, some great Mulder Scully moment with Phoebe in there to Make things interesting. You cannot ask more from an hour of TV, and the fact the Xfiles can deliver 10 stars episodes just like that without using all their talent , is the reasons why its an all time great.

9.5/10.

Ive read some UK people reviews not happy about the accent of the brittish characters, you cant judge an episode because the english accent is very strong, i think it was done on purpose, Bob is a caretaker for only rich people, and rich english people talk like this.

And Phoebe actress is english btw so you're point is irrelevant.

Ok I'm not from England, but I have known British people and watch a lot of British TV. I know that at least three of the actors are from England (Amanda Pays and Mark Sheppard are from London and the old man Beatty is from Manchester) so I am struggling with the previous review criticizing the accents, I would have thought if the British actors didn't like the way they were speaking or accents used, they would have spoken up and said something. That said, and that I really enjoy Mark Sheppard's acting, I think this is one of my least favorite episodes.

Man I love the X-Files but this episode stinks. Not "episode 1 of season 10 stinks", but it's circling close by. I haven't seen such terrible stereotypes of British people since Three Men and a Little Lady. As everyone else has pointed out, and no doubt been marked as unhelpful by clueless Americans, the British characters are completely distracting in their inaccuracies. What makes it worse is Gillian Anderson was brought up in England, can accurately carry off the accent but was obviously not consulted whatsoever, it being her first season, so the screenwriters arrogance in "knowing best" makes itself very clear. As boring as blonde = good and brunette = bad, they play into the stereotypes of British people being evil, but Americans are good and wholesome. This episode goes against everything the X-Files stands for. The truth ain't in this episode. Skip it.

Another weak early Chris Carter standalone episode, "Fire" doesn't hold up even if you get past the silly accents and cut straight to the plot. It's just not very good, I'm afraid. The episode holds minor interest for fans as it is the only appearance of an ex-girlfriend of Mulder's, and it's interesting to see Scully's reaction at such an early stage in their relationship, showing that there was some romantic tension from the start.

"Fire" could have been half-decent, but it's just a middling disappointment ultimately. Being a Chris Carter episode you can expect some good character moments and dialogue but other than that it's really just nonsense.

4/10

I don't understand all the hate this episode has gotten, it's crazy. It's really not a bad episode. Maybe it's because I think people can use what ever accent they please, like maybe Mark Sheppard did so well with a Irish accent that they just wanted him for the part. I mean there a lot of actors who have used a different accent then what they are used to such as Mischa Barton in The OC, Hugh Jackman in the X-men franchise, Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones Diary trilogy, ectcetera, ectcetera. Anyways, Phoebe I have to admit I found to be a little annoying, but I loved that this was the first time we see Scully being jealous of another woman around Mulder. And we find out that Mulder has a fear of fire. But all in all, this episode really wasn't that bad. I've seen way worse.

I'm going through the Xfiles and enjoying them. Some more than others, but this episode was just wrong. English people do not talk and act like that. It's like it's the 1940s talking like the bloody queen. I'm English and I found it annoying. Worse episode so far for me.

Jeez-louisse this episode is bad, nonsensical plot, shoddy dialogue. Really poor script and writing. I hope there's no connections to the UK again anytime soon and I'm English!

For some reason I feel compelled to write this review. I'm guessing I'm motivated to do so because I was a big X Files fan (admittedly I stopped watching after season four) and I had the misfortune to be a British person who watched the episode 'Fire'.

I don't know where to start with this episode. In a nutshell, I am staggered that a man as intelligent as Chris Carter could produce such an inaccurate portrayal of British people. In fact, the writing is so cringeworthy, so 'watch behind your fingers' embarrassing, it borders on the xenophobic and jingoistic.

To start with, the way the British people are dressed is bizarre. Phoebe wears clothes Princess Anne wouldn't have touched with a barge pole in the 1970s, and the children of the aristocrats are dressed like William and Harry in the 1980s. If any of the production team had bothered to visit the UK, they'd know that absolutely no one in the UK dresses like this, least of all London police officers.

And then there is the script: 'Some clever bloke has been giving the aristocracy a good scare' and 'bloody little cur, I'll skin you alive' are just a couple of examples where the attempts to sound British are appalling. I have never heard anyone speak like this in Britain, ever. It sounds absolutely weird. If I met a couple of police officers in the UK who spoke like this, they'd be reported for being weird. And Amanda Pay's accent is affected (along with other cast member's accents which are pretty bad). She speaks like a 1940s aristocrat – I have never heard anyone in the UK speak like this.

And then there is the cliché Hollywood story of the British being evil and stupid, and the Americans coming to save the day. Mulder's patronising suggestion of the 'Irish Republican Army' being responsible for the crimes is mind numbing (as if experienced officers and specialised intelligence units in the UK hadn't considered this, you fool).

Phoebe Green is a comic book villain who is deeply unprofessional and acts like a promiscuous airhead on duty, prancing around in an evening dress. It's like British police officers don't work nights, solve modern crimes or face disciplinary procedures.

In contrast, Scully is on the ball, writing profiles despite being untrained in criminal psychology (as though the British don't use profiling), and acts like a saviour. And Mulder saves the day and also British backsides. Basically, the whole thing is designed to flatter the American ego by insulting their friends on the other side of the pond.

I am really surprised this was actually broadcast in the UK, considering 'Fire' is so bad and offensive. Chris Carter seems oblivious to how bad 'Fire' is in subsequent interviews and I wonder how accurately they portray other communities they visit because of this episode. I also wonder about the ethics of hiring British actors when there is such an inherent disrespect for the background they come from.