I’ve been excited since I first heard that The X Files was being revisited this year, in a six episode mini series. I was a huge fan of the show, which originally aired from 1993 – 2002, on the FOX network. In my house, Sunday evening at 8:00 was designated X Files time. I very rarely missed an episode, and my family gathered to watch it with me.
This campy, sci-fi show had an enormous following. Each week viewers tuned in to watch FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate the strange and unexplainable. The cases were dubbed the X Files, and the show was full of government conspiracies, alien technology and the darker side of mankind.
I was sad when this series ended, although there were two movies released in the years following, to keep the mythology alive.
With the “reopening” of the files, and the reunion of Mulder and Scully scheduled to premiere this evening, I made sure I was present, surrendering completely and happily to this continuing story.
As the familiar theme music opened tonight’s episode, I was grinning. It was like welcoming back an old friend…several friends actually. Returning for this series are David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, as Mulder and Scully, Mitch Pileggi as Skinner, and a surprising appearance by William B Davis, as the Smoking Man. I say surprising because this character supposedly died at the end of the series, in 2002.
Being essentially a six part movie, the story will build over the next few weeks. Tonight’s premiere reintroduced Mulder and Scully, who are no longer in a relationship. It is hinted that stress and Mulder’s depression killed the romance between them. The chemistry is still there however, which was and is, an essential part of this show. The child that the couple had together is mentioned, only in passing at this point.
Also present were the usual government conspiracies and connections to alien presences and technologies. Mulder has always believed that “the truth is out there”. But as this episode proves yet again, the truth is slippery and difficult to find and hold on to. “Trust no one”, another of Mulder’s mantras, seems to apply still as well.
I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s X Files opener. All the mysteries and plot twists are there, and the characters behaved in familiar ways and yet appeared to have shifted in ways I would expect, journeying as they have the last 14 years. I both look forward to the next five episodes…and wish there were more than five to enjoy.
Truthfully, I’m just glad the show is back at all. I’m willing to suspend my own beliefs, or find proof for them, as the case might be, following along with the investigations of two of my all time favorite fictional characters. Welcome back X Files. I’ve missed you. I still DO believe.
