Walking The X-Files

I Want To Believe... that this is not the end

2008-07-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

At 7pm, July 25th I watched The X-Files the old fashioned way.... sitting down. Popcorn, candy, full fat Coke -- at last an X-File that wasn't good for me.

So that's it, the walk completed and the new movie watched. All that's left is to hope this won't be the last appearance of Mulder and Scully. And, I suppose, that I haven't made my last appearance on a treadmill!

X-Files 3? I want to believe.

It's done!

2008-07-21T06:07:00.000-07:00

And finally, after 7 months, the truth is here.... I've completed Walking The X-Files! I watched the final episode Sunday, completing a 540 mile walk and I'm now 100% caught up on events before the release of the new movie. Take a look at my final stats on the right -- I had a weigh-in after the final walk and to my delight found I'd lost another pound in weight, so it's really true -- watching The X-Files IS good for my health!

Take a look at the video below to see how I marked the occasion.

The unseen X-File

2008-07-20T07:12:00.001-07:00

Even before starting to Walk The X-Files, I'd seen most of the episodes multiple times. Some (like the Darin Morgan episodes) I've seen so often that I can almost recite the dialog. But there's one episode I'd never seen at all. The penultimate episode. I don't remember what happened when this episode orginally aired, I guess I screwed up setting the VCR, and although I've had many chances to watch it since I decided to wait for a special occasion. And today that special occasion arrived - after walking 199 reruns, finally it was time to watch a new episode. It turned out to be about a spooky Brady Bunch house and now, having finally watched it, I'm one episode away from completing my walk.

Walking into the final season

2008-07-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

After a 10-day layoff for vacation, it's into the ninth and final season I go. Plenty has been happening on the walks: the final episodes of the eighth season were corkers, building up to the birth of Scully's (rather spooky) new baby.

Plenty has been happening off the treadmill too, including the first walk ever to be performed on somebody else's treadmill. While staying in Boca Raton I watched an episode at the hotel gym on my PSP. The rest of my vacation was spent on an all-you-can-eat cruise (and you better believe I did!). Fortunately some unrecorded weight loss in the rush of episodes before I left has meant that today, post-cruise, I'm still the same weight as I left - 176 lbs.

So it's into the last season, the last month, and the last 17 episodes. The new movie is in touching distance now!

The big catchup

2008-06-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

With the movie premier fast approaching, and a 10-day vacation just about to start, I was in panic mode. Still in Season 7, with dozens of episodes to go, and running out of time.

When the going gets tough, the tough get walking. This week, it seems I've done nothing but walk on the treadmill and watch TV. On Monday I walked 5 episodes -- that's over 13 miles in a day. The next day I watched another 4. I'm now nearing the end of Season 8 and back on track.

Lots has been happening in that time. Mulder's been abducted, returned dead, and brought back to life. Scully has a new partner in John Doggett. Oh, and she's pregnant. The stories have been told in some cracking mythology episodes, but in between those has been a lot of padding where neither of the star actors appeared much, if at all. Just as well I'm watching those episodes quickly.

So I'm all caught up -- nothing to worry about right? Well.. nothing apart from the fact I'm now going on a cruise and risk putting all my lost weight straight back on. I'll be bringing the X-Files with me, just in case I feel like getting on the treadmill in between meals...

A quick stop at the FBI

2008-06-02T14:56:00.000-07:00

Over the holiday weekend we took a trip up to New York City. To break up the drive home we stayed the night in Washington DC -- giving me just enough time to visit the offices of Mulder and Scully. Well, kinda. I got as far as the employee entrance front door, but alas visitors are still not welcome in the J Edgar Hoover Building since 9/11. Especially foreign immigrants like me!

The holiday weekend meant I walked a poultry 4 episodes this week, but I'm pleased to report the disappearance of another pound. Down to 177 now.

10 pounds lost after six seasons

2008-05-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

The end of season 6 proved to be a landmark - 10 pounds lost on the walk. In some respects this is far from impressive. It's taken an incredible 107 hours on the treadmill spread over nearly five months, walking 377 miles to lose this weight. There are certainly faster, less time consuming ways to lose 10 pounds. But I doubt there are many that are more enjoyable.

My daily 45 minute walks are anything but a chore. I'm walking at a brisk pace (3.5 mph) up a fairly steep incline (6%) which is enough to get me sweating, but not really enough to get uncomfortably out of breath. And its a darn sight easier than jogging -- which I used to do in front of the TV -- where I'd be counting down every minute until it was over. Surprisingly in 5 months I've never woken up and thought "oh no, I've got to get on that treadmill again" because at this pace watching the X-Files episodes is the primary activity, and the walking is something that happens in the background.

Oh, and I should also reiterate that this 10 pound loss can in no way be attributed to a change in diet. I still eat as badly as ever. Yesterday I munched through a large packet of M&Ms, a chocolate bar, and drank two glasses of wine. Burgers, pizza, cheese sandwiches, ice cream -- all the bad habits remain exactly as they have been before.

Watch X-Files. Lose weight. Who knew?!

Movie time

2008-05-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

And so finally, in between seasons 5 and 6, I got to walk The X-Files movie Fight The Future. This marked my longest time on a treadmill -- 2 hours and 4 minutes, where I covered over 7 miles and burned 1,200 calories. Not bad work for a movie watcher. I did take two breaks: one for a water top up, and the second when, after 100 minutes, the threadmill decided I couldn't possibly still be using it, so switched itself off. I nearly flew backwards into the wall behind me.. quite a shock I can tell you.

Speaking of movies, the second X-Files movie (which I'm walking towards) now has a name: I Want To Believe. This is of course a tag line from the famous UFO poster in Mulder's office. I'm trying to avoid all the juicy details about the film, I want my first viewing of it to be a complete surprise. But it sure is tempting to search the internet for the latest movie news!

Falling behind, falling weight

2008-04-24T03:17:00.001-07:00

A succession of trips away has led to a Walking The X-Files feast and famine: several days without a single episode, followed by multi-episode days as I desperately try to catch up. On a recent business trip to Las Vegas I even loaded some episodes onto my PSP so I could continue the walk from the hotel gym, but the $25 gym fee firmly put me off that. So overall I'm a couple of episodes behind, but there's still plenty of time to catch up. And another pound has disappeared too, giving me a total weight loss of 8 pounds so far.

Episode-wise, things are moving along very strongly. A great season four told the story of Scully and her struggle with cancer. I'm now nearing the end of season five, a season in which Mulder no longer believes in aliens from outer space, in contrast to Scully who does become a believer. All good fun, and I'm just a handful of episodes away now from the first X-Files movie.

Season 3 ends; 200 miles walked

2008-03-10T17:39:00.000-07:00

And so with a bang (from a gun in a fast food restaurant) season 3 comes to an end. It's possibly the best X-Files season, certainly the best so far. It has been a Darin Morgan fest with 3 (and a half if you count Quagmire) episodes from my favorite writer. It's also been the season on my favorite informant, X who comes to an sticky demise at the start of season 4.

The best episode of them all was the final Darin Morgan effort, Jose Chung's From Outer Space. It's a confusing episode, and this must be probably my tenth viewing of it. But Jose Chung is very very clever. It's a parody of The X-Files, ridiculing the characters and situations from previous episodes. That was all the more obvious to me as I've been watching the episodes back-to-back. Plenty of shows have parodied The X-Files, but none have done it better than The X-Files itself.

Today marks my 200th mile (well 199.1 so far), and also the loss of another pound. Six pounds lost now from watching 3 seasons -- all without any other changes in diet and exercise.

The missed day

2008-03-03T05:24:00.000-08:00

On February 16, it finally happened. My first day without walking an X-File. In my defence a day off seemed appropriate. Mulder and Scully had just completed their famous three-parter with the Anasazi tribe that saw Mulder locked in a box car and apparently burned alive (only, of course to have escaped somewhere in the summer hiatis between seasons 2 and 3). Since then I've skipped another day too, but I'd doubled up the day before, so guess that's OK.

The last few weeks have seen The X-Files at its peak. Some of it's most celebrated and popular episodes have now come and gone: two more double bill episodes focusing on the mythology (in addition to the three-parter I mentioned earlier), and two more wonderful Darin Morgan episodes. This was the time when everybody was talking about the show, its ratings were sky high, and the characters Mulder and Scully were never more popular. It's great to see it all again.

When writers get it right

2008-02-12T14:31:00.000-08:00

Many X-Files fans have favorite characters, but it's the truely dedicated who have favorite writers. This week saw an episode from the most celebrated X-Files writer of them all -- Darin Morgan. Darin is the brother of Glen Morgan (one part of the Morgan & Wong double act who wrote dozens of X-Files episodes). He wrote only four episodes (and appeared as an actor in two others), but all of them are among the very best standalone episodes the series has to offer. This week's walk saw his first episode: Humbug. This was something of a turning point for the series, as its the first episode to be as much a comedy as a horror. I've seen every Darin Morgan episode at least a half dozen times, but every new viewing is a pleasure. The story is so well written and so beautifully connected that I always spot something new and clever on each viewing. His other episodes are War of the Coprophages, Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, and Jose Chung's From Outer Space. Check them out. Some of my other favorite writers made their first appearance this week too: Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotnitz. An exciting time for fans of the writers :-)

This week also saw another pound dropped in weight. I was beginning to wonder if I'd lose anything at all in Season Two...

100 miles walked; morphing

2008-02-05T05:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend saw me walk my first hundred miles -- all of them in my little home gym glued to the television set.

This week also saw witness to a reminder of the special effect of the 90's -- morphing! You remember morphing, where one person's head morphs into another. A twist of the nose, an adjustment of the eyes, and there you have it, a new face. Morphing was perfect for The X-Files and they certainly made the most of it. Today I watched Mulder throw Scully against a wall, then morph into an alien bounty hunter. What's not to love?!

Darn commercial breaks

2008-01-29T09:18:00.000-08:00

One of the pleasures of watching The X-Files on DVD is the absence of commercial breaks. But that hasn't stopped them interfering with my progress. In season one, an average episode is about 45 minutes. That's enough time to comfortably burn over 400 calories. But season two is averaging a mere 43 minutes per episode -- a change that can only be accounted for in increasingly long commercial breaks for Fox. The reason why remains a mystery. By season 2, The X-Files was a big hit so were Fox cashing in by throwing a few more commericals into the breaks? Regardless, this is screwing with my burned calories total (don't Fox execs think of these things?!). I've been coming in below 400 calories for 43 minute episodes which just doesn't seem sufficient. The solution? Increase the incline so I'm now walking up a 6% hill (previous incline was 5%). Additional commercials -- they really do make things an uphill struggle :-)

PS -- no weight loss this week.

Another week, another pound

2008-01-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

Although not quite up to par with The Biggest Loser, the Walking The X-Files challenge has now seen me lose a "whopping" 3 pounds, with one pound shed this week. Not an amazing total, but remember all I'm doing is walking an extra 45 minutes a day, without any other changes in diet or exercise.

According to the Medical Review Board, a pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. So assuming my current diet keeps my weight stable, if I burn 3,500 additional calories through exercise, I should lose a pound of weight. That's holding true so far: to burn 3 pounds I'd need to expend 10,500 calories. So far I've burned 10,855 and indeed lost 3 pounds. Spooky!

One down, eight to go

2008-01-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

After 18 hours over 19 days, walking 64 miles, and burning 10,000 calories, The X-Files season one concludes. A New Years Resolution lasting into Jan 19th is without doubt a record for me, and so far I've not skipped a day. Up at 6:45am for brekkie then on to the treadmill... and the occasional weekend double bill too. Or have I? As the conclusion to season one states: "trust no one!"

Best and worst

2008-01-14T05:15:00.000-08:00

Eighteen episodes in, and things have really started to pick up in the first season of the X-Files. Some great stories, including the alien abduction of Max Fenig, and the government conspiracy surrounding an EBE. Cell phones have finally made it, and the special effects crew is in full swing. I've had some very pleasurable 45 minute walks. But you have to take the good with the bad, and they don't get much worse than the episode Shapes. A 20-minute story about a shape-shifing man/beast agonisingly stretched over 45. The ending (when it finally mercifully came) suggests that these attacks will happen every eight years. A lead character shouts "Mulder -- see you in eight years". "I hope not" replies Mulder. Thankfully the writers agreed, and I won't be suffering through this again in season eight!

Regarding the Monday weigh-in. I walked 24 miles this week, burning 3,771 calories. Unfortunately that was barely enough to counter the chocolate snacks, beers, and beef as I weighed in at 186lbs -- the same as last week. I'll put that down to an increase in calf muscles or something :-)

The first weigh-in

2008-01-07T07:24:00.001-08:00

Today is Monday, and that means weigh-in day. And I'm pleased to report that after walking the equivalent of a marathon this week, I've got a 2 pound weight loss to report, down to 186 lbs. Not to mention a much better knowledge of alien abductions, parasites buried under ice caps, and the NASA space program. Here's to another good week.

Cheers!

2008-01-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

As any athlete knows, when exercising it is important to replace lost fluids and energy. As you can see, I'm taking this advice very seriously. Cheers to you all :-)

15 years ago

2008-01-04T11:52:00.000-08:00

The X-Files premiered back in 1993. According to my fingers and toes that's an astonishing 15 years ago. It's odd to look back on a show that in the 90s was so modern and groundbreaking, to see it now appear dated. In the first four episodes I've already seen two terrible tweed jackets (which surely were out of fashion even in 93!), not to forget Mulder's super-blow-dried puffy hair, and the lack of almost any special effects (beyond bright lights and lens flare). But the most surprisingly thing of all in these early shows is the lack of cell phones. In later seasons Mulder and Scully are rarely seen without a phone to their ear. Yet 4 episodes in to the first season the lead characters spend half their time tracking down pay phones and working telephones in motels. I wonder what people will be saying about shows like "24" in 15 years time? "Remember when Jack Bauer had to drive places instead of flying in a car-plane"

And here we go....

2008-01-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Jan 1st, a new year, and a whole series of The X-Files ahead of me. My name is Martin Keen, and this is my challenge for 2008. The aim is to watch all 9 seasons (201 episodes) of the show, plus the X-Files movie in time for the big X-Files 2 movie premier in July. And I guess, maybe lose a few Christmas pounds too. Watching the X-Files.... could it actually be good for you?! Here's the setup: a treadmill, a TV, a portable DivX player, and a whole lot of spare time. I'll keep you up to date with how I go -- anyone else crazy/sad enough to do this too?