Bringing back the X-Files was great, but it was far from perfect. As a huge X-Files fan, it was hard not to get caught up in the nostalgia of the show and for the first episode, I admit I did. Didn’t we all…come on Mulder and Scully were back. By the end of the six episode mini-season, I had to look at the X-Files logically. It wasn’t a perfect 10…it wasn’t fantastic, but it was fun…enough for me to want it to come back. Why…because we need the X-Files…we need Mulder and Scully ever so present in our nerd universe instead of living some former glory through binge watching on Netflix.
I think the best part of season ten was a new take on the alien conspiracy where everything we thought from the previous nine seasons could be wrong and making Mulder question his own truth. Plus adding the storyline of William, the son they gave up and how he might within the whole story…how important he might be. X-Files was always best with the alien mythology… the epitome of the “truth is out there” and Mulder’s hardcore search for that truth. While I understand that they entire season can’t be about that because X-Files is also great with its monster of the week episodes, it alien story line was too short in this season. And let’s face it, the other thing that made X-Files awesome is the Smoking man so of course you have to have him back in some form because William B. Davis is just plain fucking awesome in the creepy villain sort of way.
Now, I must confess that while the monster of the week episodes were good especially the second episode with the kids and their so called superpowers, I don’t think all of them lived up to some of the best monster of the week episodes like Squeeze with Tombs, or Drive with Bryan Cranston, or Alpha with shapeshifting Chinese dogs with the previous seasons. However, they were fun and reminded us on why we love the creepiness in the X-Files. And it was awesome to have Mulder and Scully like Agents, twenty years their junior playing off our favorite duo. Just like Agent Doggett and Agent Reyes added a nice mix in season eight and nine, Agent Einstein and Agent Miller were a lot of fun and definitely should be back and with a name like Einstein, why shouldn’t she at least be back…ha-ha!
Overall, I can’t complain about bringing back the X-Files and even when I got past my fandom and looked at it logically, it didn’t disappoint, but I have minor issues. First, it was rushed and they crammed a lot into six episodes. Some of the best older episodes where ones with as slower pace that made for a great horror movie slowly drawing you in until they scared the pants off of you. The fourth episode, “Home Again” where Scully’s mother is dying was really the only episode that did that, heightening the emotionality of the X-Files. Second, you didn’t have enough AD Skinner in the series…he really is like the 3rd musketeer in the X-Files. Third, they kept teasing about William and they never try and find him. Maybe that would have been too much for an already crammed six episode season.
These might seem like minor complaints or just plain nerd picking, but I think it demonstrates a bigger problem…we need more X-Files and not just six episodes. The season proved that it can work in the modern world and maybe it’s just as important as ever. And, we need at least ten episodes so we can really dive into the new conspiracy and still have great monster of the week episodes. Hell, we might even get a great triple episode like my all-time favorite episode arc, Anasazi, The Blessing Way, and Paper Clip at the end of the second season and start of the third season. With all the great shows in the nerd universe, why not have the X-Files too because the truth is still out there and we need Mulder and Scully on the case! I’m glad it came back and screw FOX if they leave this season on a cliff hanger. In the end, I rate the return of X-Files…
