ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION #2: Who is the best Monster of the Week?

For our next roundtable chat based on a key X-Files question... who is the best Monster of the Week?

TONY: "I honestly can't see past Robert Patrick Modell aka Pusher. I'm biased as it's my favourite episode of the show but he was such an incredible bad guy, played to perfection by Robert Wisden. Less of an outward monster and more a twisted psychological antagonist, he's the Moriarty to Mulder's Sherlock. Forget his anaemic return in 'Kitsunegari', he remains one of the best one-off villains our agents ever faced."

CARL: "I find it difficult to look past Eugene Victor Tooms. 'Squeeze' did a great job of establishing what The X-Files could do when the case didn't concern aliens/UFOs. It works so well even though the concept could easily have been ridiculous if executed poorly. Tooms is probably the monster who got the best sequel episode too. There are a few monsters on the show with faint similarities to Tooms (Virgil Incanto, Samuel Eboah, Leonard Betts), but none as effective."

BAZ: "I second Tooms. The original and the best. But if I was to pick a second, it has to be the Flukeman. Visually, there was no monster as terrifying or gruesome as this creature. Its ability to infect a host with that nasty sucker bite, leading to someone vomiting up a worm and dying... it plays on all our fears of uncleanliness, infection, the idea that what was lurking in our toilet could come and kill us. Pure nastiness and good successor to Tooms in memorable monsters."

CARL: "I think Big Blue from 'Quagmire' deserves a shout-out too, as the only monster to stay completely undetected!"

SAM: "I've got to go for Luther Lee Boggs. That's one of my favourite episodes anyway, and Brad Dourif is incredible! Otherwise, I second Tony re Pusher. Brilliant episode! Great Mulder and Scully moment too."

SARAH: "Seeing as how 'Quagmire' is my all-time favorite episode, I'm going to have to agree with Carl. I'd also like to add that Fear itself is another great monster. It shows up in many different forms throughout the show, whether it's tangible as in "X-Cops," or as mass hysteria in "War of the Coprophages." In a more metaphorical sense, fear of loss and/or failure is what drives Mulder through many episodes."

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? Let us know your choices in the comments below or on social media!