The X-Files Season 9 Episode 13

This was a really bad episode that never went anywhere. A quirky attempt to recapture the humor of Darin Morgan, and failing. The actors are trying: the stories just aren't there anymore. And what was up with that fake Little Italy and all the lip synching numbers? Are people giving 9s and 10s actually fans of the show?

There's silly, there's SILLY, and there's this. Yikes. Burt Reynolds as God...okay, I'll roll with that. Numerology would be a new topic, and a natural one, for the show. But handled in the slipshod, arbitrary way it is here, I'd rather they didn't bother. Golden spiral math is a cool concept, but there is nothing here that wasn't done better in the movie PI. And if there's one thing the X-Files did NOT need, it's another dance number. Painful. And worse...pointless.

Like much too many other episodes of season 9, "Improbabel" is all but thrilling. Reyes pulls a Mulder by going out on a limb, but is off course unable to pull it off in any way that is even close to her predecessor. Dogget impersonates a caricature of his well known disbelief, as well as his here comes the cavalry-act. Scully comes off a bit better in her role. Anyhows, it's a warm and at times amusing attempt to recreate the glory of such nuggets as The Amazing Maleeni and other funny and charming flirts with times and sceneries that in reality belongs to a gravely romanticized past. Well, despite the harsh words, a funny episode.

As the final season limps to the end of its run, I imagine that Carter intended this episode to be his last great attempt to make an episode THAT MATTERS. This is a well-thought out and well-written (for the most part) episode with great production values, a novel theme and groovy music. Unfortunately, Carter chooses Reyes as his muse and, well, it all goes to hell....





Reyes is unrelentingly and annoyingly kooky, which is exactly what is NOT needed to sustain any sense of drama in what is basically an X-Files Lite episode. The episode needs a strong lead with a serious purpose to complement the otherwise breezy tone of the episode. Reyes just serves to weigh down the episode with unnecessary goopiness.





And then there is the whole X-Files Lite issue. Some like them, others hate them. My feeling is that this late in Season Nine, with Mulder still missing and presumed dead and with Scully's worries about baby William, it's not appropriate to toss in a "gimmick" episode. It just doesn't ring true given all the pathos of the last few episodes.





The music is great, for a comedy or lighthearted romance movie, but it seems incongruous for an X-File, even an X-Files Lite, with everyone (including Scully) bopping along to that "crazee" samba beat. It's undeniably groovy, though, and who could have predicted back in Season One that the series could do groovy?





Burt Reynolds joins the ranks of Victoria Jackson, Kathy Griffin, Nora Dunn, Michael McKean, Gary Shandling, a Cher lookalike, Ed Asner, Lily Tomlin and Jesse Ventura in the "unnecessary has-been celebrity guest" category. He gives a fine performance as, um, well as Burt Reynolds playing God.





Then there is the final scene, which is terribly misguided and a huge wart on the posterior of the episode. Really, what was Carter thinking? I understand that he fancies this episode a sort of homage to Italian operas but did he have to film an ENTIRE scene with two guys singing entirely in Italian and without a single X-File regular to be seen? It's mind-boggling in its utter irrelevance and conceit.

number one: cool storyline that breaks away from the mythology that is dominating the 9th season. sometimes an episode that is a departure from the mythology can be nice.


number two: great use of burt reynolds in this epi. never thought i'd see him in anything sci-fi related. just shows what a great and versitile actor he really is. even if its not his best role or work he still makes it look fun.


and the part with doggett noticing the 6 on the map, and when that 'genius' tells him the killer's description [wets bed, white, average build and looks]; doggett's response? "you've just summed up every serial killer the fbi has on file!"

man this one is so random and crazy. burt reynolds dances around and scully looks at him weird and then just resigns herself to playing checkers in a parking garage since she\'s looked in there with burt and monica. the music is really good too, even though you can\'t find it anywhere really. at least i couldn\'t. it\'s karl zero in case you were wondering. i actually haven\'t seen this in a month or two but burt reynolds is really great in it. you can tell he\'s really into the role and thinks it\'s hilarious, which it is. if mulder was in this epsiode instead of monica it would probably be a 10.

FINALLY! All was going to hell in season nine and then Chris Carter swoops in and delivers us with (what I presume to be) one last fine example of his writing skills.





Certainly after all this dark mythology business over the end of the world and a weak to month old savior of the human race one might not expect such a light, funny episode.


After all these badly written episode that were directed and acted out even worse (excempting Robert Patrick and Gillian Anderson) one might not expect such a well written whole.





There is no X-File per se here. Numerology is much like astrology not exactly paranormal. But the dialogue is funny and my favourite scene in the entire series takes place in this parking garage. GA facial expressions are hilarious and Burt Reynolds obviously does great.





The last scene though was overdone and basically useless. Shame not to end on a pun.





Overall a light hearted, funny episode with a positive ring to it one could enjoy more than once (which I definitly will). Something that is saying a lot given that we're in season 9!

I like the episodes that make me to a double take and leave me pondering long after the show is over. I loved this episode because it made me take a step back and consider the possibilities. Could life be based on numbers? Probably. Numerology? Less likely.





I enjoyed Burt R as God, he painted an interesting picture of a fun, spunky, all loving entity that just wants us to get it right.





The strange manner in which it was filmed and put together, in my opinion, only adds to its charm.





I highly recommend watching it with commentary from CC, it explains a lot (including the music).

I really truly didn't see this one coming. As someone who definitely has gone through the gamut of ups and downs with X-files episodes, this entry really blew me away and surprised me. I thought I had covered all the silly, fun, yet engrossing episodes, and this one blindsided me. I have shy'd away from all of Season 9, other than the finale and nothing important happened today entry.





I mean Burt Reynolds! The second I saw him I had to do a double take. The dialogue in this episode is fantastic; humorous, intelligent, and still a little out there. The numerology plot was totally new to me, I'd never even heard of it before. Burt playing a "number god" so to speak...flawless. I have never much liked Reyes character, but even she had me believing her theories right off the bat. The yin and yang of good and evil swings back and forth perfectly, and this episode shows that even though things were on the way out, Chris Carter still had his heart in it, and wasn't letting up.





I recommend this episode to anyone who hasn't seen it and needs something refreshing. When Doggett has his numerology read to him, he goes "Yeah, but that can describe anybody..."





Its true, but I bet you look yours up after this episode :)

Improbable was a superb and very entertaining episode of The X-Files. I really enjoyed watching because Reyes uses Numerology to track a killer and it was great watching how Doggett and Scully interacted with this information. The story was well written and full of action, intrigue and suspense. It was great seeing Burt Reynolds and I liked the Italian men who sang at the end. There was a lot of character and plot development. I liked the ending and look forward to watching what happens next!!!!!!!

This was one of a kind. I really enjoyed this episode a lot. The X File in itself was a good one. Dealing with the balance of good and evil. I like the way that it does not state , but implies that Burt Reynolds and that other guy are God and the Devil. Also I like the cleverness of the murders in the way people were murdered. The way every thing fits together is good, and the best part is how it is solved. Another thing I really enjoyed about this episode was the music. It was fun to listen to the italian and the upbeat tempo of it.

I think I was most impressed by Annabeth Gish's ability to remember all the numerology stuff. It's complicated and interesting and this really makes for a good episode that is totally silly, very well acted and puts characters in situations that they wouldn't normally be.





Burt Reynolds is fine as the game player and dealer of advice that makes little sense. The scene between him, Scully and Reyes is so X Files - very funny and then suddenly turns to have a reason that's far from fun.





I couldn't quite work out whether the serial killer was using numbers or whether they were in some way choosing him. But hey, he liked killing people, so I'm not going to go into his motives that much.





The music was very different in this episode too, as were some of the settings. I almost found the music annoying in parts, but I think it really did add something to the flavour of the whole thing.





Another welcome 'lighter' addition to season 9 (if stories about serial killers can be light!)

I'd say this is a sucessful musical, with a smart plot and clever writting!


The music is extremely funny and enjoyable for everyone- cha cha cha- LOL! The music, and even the camera angle, were diferent from the standard episode, which makes it very original!


Monica investigates several cases based in numbers and how they are all connected. As she says: eveyone and everything has a number, forming a net!


Scully and Monica are hilarious in this episode, and the character played by Burt Reynolds is brilliant! And i must mention the great use of checkers in this story!


The final scenes are really sweet: we see Scully saying good-night to william and then she calls Monica to ask her about her number which is 9 and Monica says:


'Nine is completion. You've evolved through the experiences of all the other numbers to a spiritual realisation that this life is only part of a larger whole.' Which, refers to Mulder's influence on Scully, and how she grew up, over the years!


A weird X-file in the weirdness of X-Files! I loved it!

ok so these are the reasons i loved this episode:


1. it was one of the silly, funny episodes. those are deff my favorite episodes to watch.


2. it made me think. i thought all that numerology stuff was pretty interesting. and i thought the whole hair color pattern thing was pretty neat (yeah, thats right. take out the blondes first. just kiddingg.)


3. less doggett, more reyes. nuff said.


4. two words. burt reynolds. he's like god out here in redneck country.


so if your like me and you think these are good reasons to watch, then watch out for the next time this episode is on. i reallly liked it :]

Burt Reynolds was just wonderful here, a combination of mysterious, charming and entertaining. This is one of those cases where I think it might not have worked had another actor been cast. The local FBI office was hilarious in itself and the girls sitting around playing checkers while they should be hunting the serial killer.





Best quote: "Go to Hell." "Are the reservations in your name?" followed by Scully's demand that Burt Reynolds keep his hands up and he asks why and Scully whines "I don't know."





I completely didn't understand the musical at the end but hey, I still enjoyed it. Very cute.

Most of the time X-Files is serious, but then there are those rare episodes (Jose Chung, Humbug) that are just out there and silly, this is one of them. At first I didn't really like it because they kept going on about this plus this plus this and this, and so on, it was just maiking my brain hurt, but then after a while and after the damn Saba Saba (sp?) song, I started to like it. It's not one of your typical X-Files episodes and it strays from the norm, but in all it's just a funny, weird, silly episode that made me laugh.

I am aware that many people thought that he X Files went downhill when Mulder left. Personally, the feeling couldn't be further from the truth (no pun intended). His departure was a godsend as it was obvious he was just walking through his part during th majority of season seven and a show can suffer when the actors become restless. Season eight and nine were reinvigorated thanks to the addition of Doggett and Reyes. Both characters could have continued on in the series for at least another three seasons if you ask me.





Anyway, this episode was a delight in it's quirky nature. I adored the use of Karl Zero's album 'Songs for Cabriolets' throughout and, although initially I was worried about the guest star, I was very pleased with Burt Reynolds' performance - his charm oozed out of him and his rapport with Scully and Reyes was superb.





The story may have been a little "Out There" but no more so than most other episodes.





Beautifully choreographed to and the production design was impeccable.

This episode my friends told me they hated it, but I love this episode it's my favourite one best in the series and Chris Carter wrote this episode so great it makes it fantastic. Love all the number/numerology things in it eg-Scully's autopsy, the pairs of three in the street when Burt Reynolds is singing to the song,the number six comes up a lot-the windows, dominos etc. Plus the music I love as well I admit I sing to this episode when I watch it the music is so nice that it gets stuck in your head and has a good beat A big 10! YAY! for this episode don't care if people hate it, I love it number 1 in my vote

My favorite episode of all time, 'Improbable'!


It's just fantastic, and besides it shows that maths it's not always boring!


To start i'd like to say that is one of the funniest X Files episode ever, Burt Reynolds it's just hilarious!


A serial killer file goes to Monica's hands and she thinks that he kills the victims because of their numerology!


She and Scully end up trapped inside a garage with a guy that wants to play checkers, and from a simple game of checkers Monica reaches incredible conclusions!


It's just a perfect episode, the music, the storyline, the funny moments...One of the reasons why I love the X Files!!!!!