Bole, Part 6: Recap.

The Next Generation era of Star Trek is not exactly known for its breakthrough directorial choices. Rick Berman operated a very well-oiled machine which was manned by expert craftsmen who knew exactly what was expected of them, and delivered high-quality product week after week. Such is the nature of episodic television. Very few shows allow the director to stretch their legs creatively in such a way as to demonstrate their own personal style. One such show was The X-Files.

Cliff Bole is one of a very few directors to have worked on both franchises, and he is credited with creating some of the very best episodes of each.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Mike and Max recap our look at Bole's work on The X-Files. We discuss all four of his episodes, including "Small Potatoes," "Bad Blood," "Chimera," and "Jump the Shark." We also discuss the talents of Vince Gilligan, and ponder how the producers knew that Bole would be the perfect choice to handle such iconic episodes.

Bole, Part 5: Jump the Shark.

From the beginning, The Lone Gunmen were fan favorites on The X-Files. The trio of characters, Byers, Langley, and Frohike, were conspiracy theorists who published a newspaper aimed at revealing the truth. In 2001, they received their own spinoff series. Also in 2001, that spinoff was cancelled.

Left on a cliffhanger, the story remained unresolved until midway through the following season, when the creators of the series gave it a proper resolution in an episode of The X-Files entitled "Jump the Shark". This was also the final X-File for Cliff Bole. 

This week, Max and Mike discuss The Lone Gunmen's role on The X-Files, how that roll changed on their own show, and how "Jump the Shark" acts as an episode of two series simultaneously.

Bole, Part 4: Chimera.

Not every episode of your favorite television show can be a winner. After two outstanding efforts, Cliff Bole returned to The X-Files during its seventh season to direct "Chimera," a story about a mysterious creature that is killing people in a small community.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Mike and Max take a look at Bole's third X-File. We discuss its "monster of the week" nature, Scully's promising B-story, and why Bole's contribution is not readily apparent. We also explain The Muppet Babies Syndrome.

Bole, Part 3: Bad Blood.

After the success of his first X-Files episode, Cliff Bole returned to the series the following year to direct another comedic script by Vince Gilligan, "Bad Blood." This episode pushed the boundaries of the show even further than "Small Potatoes," and the end result may be the most critically-acclaimed hour in the show's history.  

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Max and Mike take a look at Bole's second X-File. We discuss how the episode gets better with each viewing, how it departs from the tone of the series while still staying inside the basic formula, and how Bole's sense of comic timing is the key to the episode's success. We also take a look at the new Brannon Braga series, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey.

Bole, Part 2: Small Potatoes.

Cliff Bole will always be known first and foremost for his contribution to Star Trek, but he also had a huge impact on another sci-fi series, The X-Files. Four episodes of the '90s cult classic were directed by Bole, including some of the very best. 

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Mike and Max take a look at Bole's first X-Files episode, "Small Potatoes." We discuss the series as a whole, the difficulty of balancing grotesque crimes with humor, and the apparent freedom Bole was given in this series which may have been absent on Trek. We also examine the merits of The X-Files as an educational tool.

Bole, Part 1: Trek.

Last month, the world lost legendary Star Trek director Cliff Bole, who helmed 42 hours of Trek—including 25 episodes of The Next Generation—more than anyone else in the show's history. Among those 25 was "The Best of Both Worlds," commonly considered to be the best TNG episode, and one of the best television episodes, of all time.

In this episode of Commentary: Trek Stars, Mike and Max kick off a new series looking at the work that Bole did in another beloved franchise, The X-Files. But first, we are joined by TNG expert Larry Nemecek to discuss Bole's work in Trek, his industry origins, his hits and misses, and his blue-collar approach to filmmaking. Larry also gives us a taste of what Bole was like as a person.