Beyond the Sea

I would say this episode is the most intense yet compared to standard x-files episodes one of the most challenging to watch.Different and daring,the usual x-files action and special effects takes a back seat.In it's place is dialogue and drama.The character Luther Boggs is one of the most fascinating ever written in the x-files and high praise must be heaped upon the writers of "Beyond The Sea"Not the most accessible of all the x-files episodes but without a doubt one of the engaging.The actor Brad Dourif who plays Luther Boggs is great and his scenes with Scully are an integral part of this episode.The drama and tension created between the two is brilliant and for once Scully seems to be a believer

Wow! I cant put into words my feelings towards this amazing episode. When i first watched this i had just recently lost a loved one and upon watching this it touched me so deeply. Brad Dourif's performance is at the heart of this episode, it is awe-inspiring. He is such an underrated actor. I don't believe in "channeling" but he certainly made it look real! As a Scully centered episode it serves to showcase Gillian Anderson's talent. She amazed me in this, the emotion she portrays is so real you can almost grasp it. Glenn Morgan and James Wong wrote another masterpiece here.

It is easily the best episode of season one. Heck! One of the best episodes in the entire series run.

Scully: Im afraid to believe...

"Beyond the Sea" was the first episode to center around Scully, as precious little about her life had been known previously, and is arguably the best of the episodes that did so. The frenzied Luther Boggs, played impeccably by Brad Dourif, leaves such an imprint that every monster-of-the-week from this point forward faces the challenge of living up to him. His spotlight is shared by Gillian Anderson's Emmy-warranting performance, that peaks in a confrontation with Boggs shortly after Mulder has been shot ("no one will be able to stop me from being the one that will throw the switch and gas you out of this life for good, you son of a bitch!").

This is easily the best episode of the first season and very likely one of the best of the entire series. David Nutter's directing sheds animation at every angle, with multiple scenes feeling like something out of a David Lynch film. Although numerous episodes would tackle Scully's struggle between belief and denial, "Beyond the Sea" was the first to do so, and the on-screen chemistry between Anderson and Dourif is one of the best pairings on any X-File, if not television. The only negative thing about it is that it made me wish Boggs had been brought back in a future ep! 10/10

James Wong and Glen Morgan wrote some brilliant episodes for "The X-Files", but mostly just straightforward standalone thrillers. "Beyond the Sea" differs in that it is really where Scully's character comes to the forefront and where Gillian Anderson first gets a real chance to shine. It's a wonderful, intelligent, wistful, dramatic, thrilling 45 minutes of television that holds a rare degree of power and resonance.

The complexity and depth of characterization here is especially impressive, as Scully is dealing with her father's death and questioning her skeptical ways as she is confronted with an emotional connection through supposed psychic Luther Lee Boggs, played brilliantly by Brad Dourif. The questions of faith, of life and death, of moral consequences raised by this episode are legitimate and display a surprising amount of depth for a first season episode.

Thank heavens David Nutter got the directing job here. His visuals are excellent as usual and I'm sure he had something to do with Dourif's spectacular performance. What a classic episode, one I never tire of watching, and one that grows in my estimation just about every time I see it. "Ice" may have been a taut thriller of an episode, but this is the first sign of brilliance on "The X-Files".

10/10

Beyond the Sea is arguably the best episode of season one. It's a pity that Morgan & Wong didn't stay with the X-Files throughout its duration. They wrote another masterpiece here. This episode is not about a serial killer named Lucas Henry. It's about Scully and her interactions with Luther Boggs, a death row inmate, who is supposedly channeling her deceased father. This is the first X-Files episode where Mulder and Scully switch the roles of believer and skeptic. Scully is not sure whether to believe Boggs or not. The dialogue between Scully and Boggs is very powerful. Of note is their exchange after Mulder is shot by Lucas Henry. There's not a lot of action in this episode. It is secondary to the drama between Scully and Boggs. Morgan and Wong actually gave up their script writing fees for this episode in order for production to be able to afford Brad Dourif to play Luther Boggs. Brad Dourif is incredible and was worth every cent they payed him. People tell me, "I think of Finding Nemo when I hear the song 'Beyond the Sea'". But for any X-phile, you know exactly what you think of when you hear 'Beyond the Sea'.