The X-Files (TV Series) Field Trip (1999) User Reviews

Best X-File episode and most realistic hallucinogenic experience

[ljlemer · 10/10 · 13 December 2006]

"Field Trip" has always been my favorite X-Files episode and repeated viewings over the years have only confirmed my high estimation of this episode. First and foremost, this is the ONLY film reenactment anywhere of a drug-induced hallucinogenic experience that is 100% accurate, in my informed opinion. Specifically, the experience portrayed most resembles the effects of a moderately toxic dose of belladonna alkaloids, which are also a very plausible ingredient to be causing the effects shown in the episode, since they are fairly common toxins in the plant world. In real life, the "figuring out" that Mulder experiences would be an expected part of the belladonna wearing off.

The plot keeps us guessing the first time we see it and I'd agree with the other reviewer that there was no time budgeted to document how they were rescued, given the fact that Mulder's "figuring out" what was going on was all in his head, and possibly Scully's, and was not and could not be communicated to the FBI.

It's still a classic.

Best Stand-Alone Episode of Season Six

[andyetris · 10/10 · 24 October 2006]

A hiker (Robyn Lively) has disturbing hallucinations after a trip to a Virginia state park. When her remains and those of her husband are found mysteriously skeletonized, Mulder suspects alien influence. When Mulder investigates he encounters inconsistencies and begins to suspect that his expectations may be determining his interpretation of events. When Scully follows Mulder to the scene of the incident she finds it increasingly difficult to tell fact from fantasy!

This has always been one of my favorite X-Files! The themes of reality and illusion, of expectations determining perception, and the promptings of our own inner sense of truth are enjoyably handled here. The development of the plot is good and the clues that force the viewer to pay attention to the consistency of the storyline are cleverly handled. My only complaint has to do with how the agents are ultimately found. A little more digging for the truth would really have been necessary!

It's also worth noting that the way the agents perceive each other's opinions has obviously changed dramatically from the Rashomon-esquire season 5 comedy, "Bad Blood!"

Sounds like crap when you say it.

[Muldernscully · 10/10 · 30 March 2007]

Field Trip is an episode that catches you by surprise. I remember seeing the preview for it back when it originally aired, advertising that Scully would finally see an alien for the first time. And that's what you think is happening as you progress through the episode as Mulder and Scully are investigating the bizarre deaths of Wallace and Angela Schiff. Surprisingly, Mulder finds them alive in a cave, where they tell him they've been abducted by aliens. The aliens come, and Mulder takes the Schiffs AND an alien back with him to his apartment. Scully is dumbfounded, and so are we the audience. But, lo and behold, this isn't really happening, and apparently Mulder is caught in this Venus Human Trap. We think it's only Mulder, but later we find out Scully is caught as well. The plant shows some intelligence as it adjusts the hallucinations when the person catches on. However, its intelligence is limited as it repeats things previously said by others, allowing Mulder and Scully to realize their predicament. Here are some other random thoughts. Mulder finding the alien has a very unique scene transition as the light in the cave turns into the 42 on his apartment door. Very cool. Whenever I watch this, David Denman, who plays Wallace Schiff, always reminds me of Nicholas Lea(Alex Krycek) with his lines and mannerisms. Field Trip is a great episode that keeps you guessing, not knowing what is reality and what is hallucination. 98.9% of this episode is excellent.

Talk about a bad trip

[fazeelashraf · 10/10 · 3 September 2015]

Brilliant simply brilliant, like many other reviewers saying this was the best Xfiles episode, i agree, hands down. The teaser was quite suspenseful with the goo flashes and when we see the couple's skeletal remains as the camera zooms out (brilliant cinematography) the viewer is left wondering how did we get here.

Later we find out that its the couple's bodies found only 3 days later. Mulder comes up with the theory that it might be a close encounter of the third kind scenario, where aliens are involved, initially i thought it was another alien episode but with a plot like this and superb execution I'm glad it wasn't. Not to mention the goo flashes were absolutely spine tingling.

Throughout the episode there's an air of unease and paranoia, i was expecting that the Wallace's might turn out to be aliens but boy was i wrong. The scene where the "alien" is hiding and Scully tears up when she finds him gave me goosebumps, quite literally. The funeral scene where everybody acts nervous especially Frohike when Scully loses it was brilliantly acted all around.

When Scully and Mulder are having a talk that it might be an hallucination and then they dig out from under the ground, only to realize that it was another hallucination after Mulder shoots Skinner made my jaw drop. Simply brilliant acting by David Duchovny as i had never seen Fox as paranoid as he was during the whole episode. The explanation he gave as to why this was another hallucination was spot on, one cannot consciously stop hallucinating once he realizes that he actually is.

At last we see that a search team is called and Fox and Scully are rescued, from the clutches of the plant, for real this time, which makes this episode all the more enjoyable, because of the realism of the hallucinogenic plant, and makes the episode far more realistic than an alien takeover.

This episode was a moment of television brilliance. Don't miss it for the world.

Among the Best Stand Alone Episodes

[mattressman_pdl · 9/10 · 10 July 2008]

Two skeletons have been unearthed, seemingly of two missing hikers. But as Mulder and Scully try to comprehend what force is behind their deaths...something far more sinister is at work already. And the force that claimed the hikers may already affecting the agents themselves...

The episode, cleverly titled, is among this reviewer's favorites. After the first viewing, one has the tendency to feel cheated. But after repeat viewings, it gets better and better as one realizes that the episode is doing it's honest best to make sure that the viewer never knows quite what is going on.

A pure mind trip of the highest order, this episode delivers the goods. A nicely layered psychological puzzle that will remind the viewer what the unexplained is truly about...and why X-Files is at the top of the class.

Take a Field Trip With Mulder and Scully, for the Time of Your Lives !

[fshep-1 · 10/10 · 25 March 2010]

Field Trip, one of the best X-Files ever ! Creepy and Erie out of sync story telling with strange results.The late Kim Manners directs with Great Skill, a Mulder and Scully investigation in North Carolina where a married couple's skeletons have been found. Clothesless and left in a field, with no identifying marks for cause of death. Mysterious to say the least.

Beware the mushrooms and goo that have disastrous consequences. Almost a stream of consciousness episode, but just bizarre, and a great concept ! It really tests your concept of reality, similar to a dream within a dream, just when you think you have an answer, reality changes, wow, really keeps you on your toes. Enjoy, Sci-Fi at its Best!

perhaps the best episode of the whole series

[mrdonleone · 10/10 · 29 May 2009]

probably, this is one of the best X-Files episodes ever made. really! just when you start to think all inspiration is gone like the pencil from the Joker in The Dark Knight, suddenly something fantastic appears on the 9 months long life of The X-Files. so okay, you don't know what this one is about and why this is so good... for me, that was. well, let me tell you, maybe you've read Stephen King's Everything's Eventual? or maybe you've seen 1408 (that great horror movie with John Cusack)? well, forget it all, because here, you find the basic ingredient: something isn't okay with the way everything happens... but exactly WHAT is not okay? is it Mulder, who behaves strangely? is it Scully, who seems to believe everything? is it the others? or is it something else? hahaha, just when you start to understand the whole thing a bit, everything changes and it seems you were wrong from the beginning. but don't get accustomed, because everything remains wrong! or does it end all well? a must-see for the whole family!

My Favorite Episode

[dtrekrules · 10/10 · 23 October 2009]

I always explain to people that there are three types of X-Files episodes: You have the central story arcs, i.e. Mulder's search for his sister, the alien conspiracy/cover-up, black oil, super soldiers, etc. Then you have the non-story serious episodes, like the old people eating pills that let them leave their bodies, or the Mulder falls in love with a vampire chick. Then you have the fun/monster type episodes, like this one. These episodes are the ones that made the series so great. In "Field Trip" the viewer is constantly going "what is going on here?" Melting shower walls, tiny aliens in Mulders apartment, skeletons on the ground, they even shoot Skinner who then melts... It certainly is a "trip" if you know what I mean... Like I said this episode is one of the fun ones that true fans get a kick out of, and it is my favorite. However if you don't know the show very well, then I'd suggest you start from the beginning and remember: The Truth is Out There.

An incredible, cleverly written episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 18 September 2022]

The bodies of a young couple are found buried in the ground, covered in a very bizarre slime.

Such a creative, imaginative episode, there are some genuinely incredible ideas throughout this one, terrific production values, it's genuinely unique. Those visuals, incredibly creative.

It's one of those that leaves its mark on you, once seen, you won't forget the events here in a hurry.

The way this episode made me feel, imagine being directly involved in a Murder mystery, but you're so tired that you're in a state of semi consciousness, your eyes are half seeing what's going on, but your brain is trying hard to fill in the blanks, I know that may seem like a vague description, but the storyline is fairly trippy.

Some genuinely awesome scenes between Mulder and Scully, the pair were at their best.

Terrific, 9/10.

"Mulder, what if we're being digested?"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 31 July 2017]

I guess I'll be going against the grain here, but unlike most of the reviewers for this episode, I couldn't really warm up to the premise of the story, even if it was quite creatively done. I have to admit, upon a first viewing, one is really puzzled by the odd sequence of events, but the couple of scenes that focus almost too intensely on the hallucinogenic mushrooms pretty much gives it away that Scully and Mulder are under the influence of some hallucinatory substance like LSD. Then, when they have that conversation about having the same hallucination at the same time, I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that that was even remotely possible.

I'll say this though, both agents earned their pay with this one. Especially Mulder, having to dig his way out of the dirt more than once, and getting slimed in the cave scene along with Scully. I can't imagine that those scenes would have been too much fun for either of them, unless I'm missing something. They almost made me want to take a shower right after the story was over.

One thing I did get a kick out of occurred early in the show when Scully and Mulder were discussing the Brown Mountain lights, and the agents once again took up their usual positions when it came to investigating the paranormal. Mulder pontificated about being right regarding his theories 98.9% of the time, while Scully reduces his argument to her normally rational point of view. Upon reflection, Mulder analyzes the impact of her statement, and comes back with his usual sarcastic rejoinder - "Sounds like crap when YOU say it!"

Who turns out to be right like 98.9% of the time?

[Sanpaco13 · 8/10 · 24 September 2007]

In order to review this episode completely I need to actually write two perspectives: my perspective of when I first saw the episode and my perspective of it now having seen it a number of times. The first time I saw this episode I have to admit that all the twists and turns threw me off completely. At first I thought that Mulder really had found a little green man and then that Scully and Mulder really did figure it out and escape etc. I really enjoyed it because these things did keep throwing me off and I really had no idea what was going on.

Now on rewatching this I still like this episode even though I now know what happens. I think that this episode is very well written even though there are a few loopholes that don't quite make sense. In order to enjoy the writing I have to pay attention to the fact that pretty much everything we see after Mulder goes into the cave is the hallucination of the 'shroom trying trick Mulder and Scully into a passive state so that it will be easier to digest them. I think maybe we should start at the beginning after the credits where we see the usual Mulder and Scully fighting about how Mulder's theory doesn't make any sense. Mulder comes out with what no doubt every viewer has thought at least once by this point in the series that whether his theories are crazy or make sense or not the fact is that he is right 98.9% of the time and wishes Scully could just give him the benefit of the doubt for once. On the other hand Scully wishes that Mulder would come up with the most likely conclusion for once instead of trying to tie everything to the paranormal. At this point I think would be a good time to mention that I have figured out the main difference between Mulder and Reyes that makes Reyes so annoying and that is that Mulder chooses the cases he does based on the fact that he thinks something paranormal is going on where Reyes seems to just take normal cases and then try and explain them using paranormal phenomena. Its a slight and subtle difference.

Anyway back to the 'shroom. We then see throughout the episode that the hallucinations try and trick both Mulder and Scully into receiving the things that they both expressed previously. Mulder finds proof finally of alien existence and Scully blindly accepts that Mulder was right all along. Scully finds Mulder dead and everyone around her jumps to the most likely conclusion to explain his death. Mulder realizes that Scully is acting strange and starts to think something is up when everyone melts away. Then Scully gets upset at Mulder's wake and demanding to know where Mulder is when he shows up at the door and everyone at the wake disappears. This is of course the hallucination doing its job and adapting to show the agents what they want which will pacify them. The most interesting twist is after Mulder and Scully solve the case and seemingly escape we realize that the 'shroom was one step ahead of them and only made them hallucinate the escape. Of course as we know very well Mulder always gets the last laugh and he realizes that even now they haven't escaped which is when they finally are found and rescued by Skinner and his task force. I love how frantic Skinner is at this point yelling at them to "get 'em out of there!" and then rushing them off to the hospital.

Some thoughts I had while watching this episode were: - The position that the couple were found in was the same position Mulder and Scully are in in the series finale... coincidence? - It is hard to tell who is in who's hallucination or are we seeing different hallucination's from different viewpoints and if so which one's are Mulder's and which ones are Scully's. Some of them seem to be Mulder and some seem to be Scully and then some seem to be both. I guess you could probably reason out which is which but it isn't made too clear in the episode. - One support for Mulder and Scully being in the same hallucination is at the end they share a moment in the ambulance which at least for me seems to imply they were in the hallucination together and not necessarily just the 'shroom. But then again one could also say that they are just such good partners that they are able to both solve the case in the same way in their hallucinations because they know how the other think.

I think I've said enough. 8/10

I spins around and around

[hrkepler · 8/10 · 24 June 2018]

'Field Trip' is the trippidest episode of 'The X-Files' and it is cleverly titled. After the skeletons of two missing hikers are discovered in the area of known UFO activity, Mulder and Scully arrive to investigate. 'Filed Trip' is stand alone episoode, but it playes little bit with the arch of the show's story. It is well written and tight episode that keeps the viewer guessing what is going on without turning into confusing mess. Also it has one of the most unnerving endings, as we have seen the characters waking up and up again into new realities, we quite can't be sure that when the 'trip' begun and when it ended.

Nice one, reccomended to even non fans.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

[arbrown1781 · 9/10 · 11 August 2014]

Although I am a huge fan of the original "Twilight Zone", I never really paid much attention to "The X-Files". It was one of those shows that took-off rather quickly, and since everyone was watching, I didn't want to be a joiner... In any case, I have started watching the show on Netflix, and this is probably my favorite episode yet. Imagine if some of the greatest mystery and science fiction films of our time gave birth to an "X-files" episode- This would be it! Without giving anything more away than the previous reviewers, the episode is completely non- linear, trippy, and so much fun. I suggest grabbing a glass of wine and strapping yourself in for one excellent and bumpy stand-alone episode!

Oh my god!

[koalablue_1993 · 10/10 · 14 August 2008]

This episode probably has the biggest twist in "X-Files" history ever! This episode is different and surprising to say the least. Its better if you don't know any plot details before watching it. The plot twists and turns endlessly. I like the green fungus goo effect i think its cool. The scene where Scully sees the alien shocked me when i first saw it. I thought she would finally believe. The ending felt a little rushed i have to say. But besides that the episode is an absolute classic. The final scene with Mulder and Scully holding hands in the ambulance was very "cute" i have to admit. Nice moment for shippers. Not to be missed.

Dream trap

[ionut-91824 · 18 November 2018]

A good episode in my opinion. In fact, each episode in the x files deserves a comment. Episode 21 of season 6 is one of the most successful. Keep the viewer in suspense and make him a kind of witness of the dream that happens in the dream. I talked metaphorically. Not all episodes of this series are based only on psychological dramas, but this episode does it. Episode 21 is very similar to successful psychological films and if in just 45 minutes of view I liked, I think if it had a 2 hour stretch it would have been a successful movie.