Now I know why so many reviewers find the ** 1/2 rating irresistible. I, you will note, did resist. The X-Files movie is worth seeing. But disappointing. Like most mega-budget movies, it played it safe. Playing it safe is not the way to satisfy a fan of The X-Files.

Movies are usually better than television. Television has yet to produce anything as good as Gone With the Wind or Lawrence of Arabia. But that may be changing, because television is becoming more daring, even as movies become more conservative. One thing is certain. Movies made from television shows are almost never as good as the show on which they are based. No Star Trek movie has been as thought provoking as "Amok Time" (****), "Measure of a Man" (****), or "Far Beyond the Stars" (****). There were dozens of Twilight Zone episodes better than Twilight Zone -- the Movie (**). The one movie I can think of that was better than the series is The Fugitive (****).

Why is this? Well, if you are producing 20 or more episodes a year, you can afford to make a few shows that are totally over the top. "War of the Coprophages" (****), "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" (****), and "The Unusual Suspects" (****), for example. If they flop, a more conventional episode will come along next week. But if a movie flops, heads will roll, and one of them may be your own. So you rely on the tried and true. Explosions. Nobody ever lost money by putting too many explosions into a summer movie.

But The X-Files isn't about explosions, it's about paranoia. And it's about Mulder and Scully. The scenes in the movie that satisfied me the most were small moments: the eerie playground in the desert, the corn field, the railroad crossing. And, most of all, the personal interaction between the lead characters. The picture is worth seeing, yes. But with more strangeness it might have been as good as the series.

This is the season finale and includes one of the best Star Trek space battles of all time, as the Federation and their allies finally launch their invasion into Cardassian space. There is also a major event in the life of one of the characters which has almost certainly been spoiled for you by someone else, but which will not be mentioned here, just in case you have considerate friends (and don't read TV Guide). Given that said "major event" was forced by factors external to the story, it is handled with great aplomb, far better than other such "events" in Star Trek history. The episode brings in many of the supporting characters, combines personal moments with large scale action, and does not end the way you expect.

Some people whom I've chatted with about this episode were confused about just what an invasion of Cardassian space meant. The Cardassian Empire includes many star systems. The difference between invading Cardassian space and reaching Cardassia Prime is as large as the difference between the landing at Normandy on D-Day and reaching Berlin. Another question I've heard raised is how Gul Dukat gets aboard Deep Space Nine. By that point, he has attained powers that are undefined, but certainly immense.

This episode is not quite one of the all time greats, but, even in a season with many great episodes, it stands out as much better than we had any reason to expect.