★★★★★ 0/5

The X-Files

The truth may still be out there but do our expectations place it out of reach?

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The X-Files-Season 1-Episode1-1

It’s been 14 years since Fox Mulder and Dana Scully closed The X-Files on the small screen. In the world of TV reboots and reprisals, it’s genuinely exciting to think David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are re-uniting with creator Chris Carter for more stories.

Their 2008 movie I Want to Believe was a disappointment. Bringing back such an iconic series and duo is a big risk, but the buzz for this 6 part revival is global. Whether that raises expectations to impossible heights may be too soon to know.

The new-look X-Files opens with a nifty backstory from Mulder (Duchovny) for millenials who are too young to remember the original history. He believes his sister was abducted, Scully (Anderson) is a pathologist and skeptic, they worked on hundreds of cases of the unexplained for the FBI. As any fan will tell you there was also fabulous unresolved sexual tension between the two leads, some trademark flashlights cutting through the dark and that spooky theme music.

All of these are back in 2016 along with contemporary touchstones from Carter: watch for references to Obama, Jimmy Kimmel, Uber, Snowden and more. Much is made of the new threats to the world post 9 / 11 without preachy references to terrorism and the Middle East.

In the first episode FBI boss Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) calls upon Scully to contact the elusive Mulder and meet a brash webcast host Tad O’Malley (Joel McHale), a bearer of all things extra-terrestrial.

Mulder, viewing talk show gags about UFOs tells her, “Our life’s become a punchline. What’s happening out there Scully?”

O’Malley introduces them to a young woman claiming to have experienced alien abductions (fascinatingly, Mulder even references the apparent true-life abduction of Australian Kelly Cahill in Victoria in 1993!).

Skeptic Scully isn’t so keen to resume the work, telling O’Malley, “We’ve moved on with our lives.”

“Yes we have. For better for worse,” laments Mulder.

Naturally our dynamic duo take up the case which eventually leads to some far-fetched conspiracy theories that involve clunky dialogue required of two respectable performers. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s almost as if the episode is trying to justify its return by rooting it into modern-day conspiracy, whereas for faithful fans I suspect the premise of believer + non-believer is enough.

There is also a flashback to 1947 when government officials examined a huge UFO that crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico -this CGI is a visual highlight of the first episode, and is there to mark a technological footprint for the present-day story, I won’t spoil.

There’s a concerted effort to weave the personal lives of our heroes into the jeopardy of the procedural that felt somewhat forced to me.

The second episode steps into the world of mutations, and includes an appearance by Doug Savant. It also highlights personal pain within Scully’s life and reminds us how well Gillian Anderson juggles the emotion with the cool, distant medic. I was enjoying this episode until the preview video came to a dead halt at 33 minutes…. conspiracy theory?

The reunion of Duchovny and Anderson works well and is the best asset here. They still look good (Anderson’s red wig is very convincing), their chemistry is obvious, they take me back to so many wonderful adventures. History will decide whether re-opening that file was worth the ride, not me. It’s possible my expectations were of another world.

Carter has been faithful to the brand with his revival. It’s still possible to believe, so I’m happily down for more.

The X-Files airs 8:30pm Sunday, 9pm Monday on TEN.

19 Responses

    1. Hmmm, have to agree with Tony Bee about the bad acting and unbelievable dialogue and storyline.
      Difference is, I used to like the X Files.
      Now I’m starting to wonder why.
      Mulder’s, (and his male sidekick’s), endless, droning rant about conspiracy theories and the end of the world was ludicrous, to say the least.
      As Davds mentioned ,the chemistry between Mulder and Scully is still compelling though.
      And Scully still looks fantastic..

  2. I liked it, bringing back some good memories. Though I hope the rest of the mini series picks up the game a bit.

    As for TEN, yes it should have been on last week and it should be in HD, just checked the guides and no sign of an encore on ONE.

  3. A silly attempt to reboot the premise, made a worse by having shown the 1st film last night -you know, the one where the whole alien/human conspiracy was laid out with abundant proof…

  4. Back in 94, a new comedy premiered in the US. It was an instant hit, but because of a distribution deal that saw 9 buy the rights for Season 2 and beyond (even though 7 had the rights to Season 1), we had to wait a full two years for the show to premiere in Australia, since 9 contractually weren’t allowed to air Season 2 until Season 1 had been shown by 7. Seven even went as far as not airing one of the Season 1 episodes, claiming that because they hadn’t shown the full season, 9 wasn’t allowed to begin showing Season 2. In spite of legal action, 9 didn’t care and started Season 2 the week after Season 1 finished airing on 7. These days, we’re completely spoilt, since we can all break the law and watch whatever we want whenever we want (if we choose to). I personally don’t have a problem waiting six days to watch an episode of a show. My life isn’t going to end as a result…

    1. Here, here Carta. I too remember the long wait to see the hot new sit-com. But there was also exihileration when when got to see the first three seasons back to back, without a break. I had forgotten about the lost episode, I think it was the birth of Ross’s baby, and I think the second last ep of season one. we did eventully get to see it. can’t remember how it turned up and on which channel though. And it pains me too every time I hear the people complaning about six days. Loved the X Files last night. Glad i watched the reruns shown over summer plus the first movie Saturday night for a refresh and context.

      1. We’re definitely on the same page! I mentioned the three seasons back to back (sheer heaven!) in my original post, but had to edit it down to stick to the 900 character limit :-). Such a classic show!! It was definitely the second last episode of S1. From memory, Channel 9 ended up showing it a fair way down the track, when they finally picked up the rights to Season 1. I’m really excited about X Files! Absolutely loved it back then and it’s just as great now!

  6. So, I am excited for this. Set it to tape on TEN. I don’t care enough that it is 6 days late. However how on earth is Ten not HD? Seriously. I have a nice big projector screen I use for shows I record on Foxtel. Black Sails Season 3! Best show no one watches. Anyway I literally watch no shows on commercial TV on it. SD looks awful.

    So now it’s like, I do the write thing, I don’t care it’s delayed a few days, but it will look like shit because it’ll be SD. Why can this country not get their shit together and have nice things? It’s 2016 and we can only watch it in SD? JB Hifi is selling 4K TV’s now. SD is literally the resolution you would watch something on a phone and complain about it being low quality. SD is what a quarter of the resolution of HD. WTF Australia.

    And people wonder why people pirate. You do the right thing, you watch it on TV. You accept it’s delayed a…

    1. TEN is the only one who hasn’t so far made a public move towards HD for their primary, but I would imagine that once 7 and ABC go HD by June, that would put immense pressure on TEN to also make the jump.

      I am sure they’re working on it currently, but it might just take a little bit to switch all the stuff around.
      We can just only hope it’s in MPEG4.

  7. Seriously 1st world boo hooing about a 6 day wait It’s commercial tv who need to make a profit for shareholders foremost and it needs to be run when it suits the best for ratings and advertising exposure .. but saying that I think it is being sacrificed up against the oz open and cricket .. But the timeshifted total will be interesting .. And looking forward to it

  8. This has to be fast tracked asap. The Network programmers still dont ge it. We want these shows asap the same hours after the US. The people who run these tv networks clearly have never ever watched tv on a consistant basis. One of the essential skills that people in the media need to have at all levels in a media business, is to be able to see their decisions from the audience point of view. they clearly dont. Beverly McGarvey will once again spin doctor her way out of any criticism when it comes to fast tracking and properly scheduling shows. Much like the rest of the elitist business community tv network programmers are no different, they are out of touch.

  9. I still think Ten has missed the boat airing this 6 days after the US. Most people I know have already watched it. I could have, easily, but have chosen to wait for Sunday night. But I doubt I’ll be staying one week behind the US. Too many spoilers on social media and I just don’t see the point. They’ve fast tracked other shows in the past. This is basically a mini series, so it’s not like it’s a long term commitment. Australian TV stations need to get themselves into 2016 and stop making us wait for shows.

  10. “…preview video came to a dead halt at 33 minutes…”
    Have you tried cleaning the pinch-roller on your cassette player?

    Three stars is about right. My expectations were prob higher than warranted. I had forgotten how cheesy (and downright unbelievable) some of the eps could be, esp “monster of the week” ones. As with Lost, it was always about the mythic arc for me, and I found some of the non-myth eps to be nothing more than annoying filler.

    Plus, whenever I see Duchovny these days, I can’t help seeing his fantasy version of himself, Hank Moody.

    1. I got the metho out and did that last month so I could watch Ascension, Tooms and Quagmire. 4/6 of the eps are MOW. The mytharc has to exist for the other eps to play off, but I never took them seriously after the first two season.

      The fact the Lauren Ambrose has been cast as a redhaired FBI agent, alongside Robbie Amell in Babylon has stirred rumours its a backdoor pilot for a reboot (since DD and GA are too busy to permit more eps). But nobody’s actually seen it yet and ti’s probably just some paralleling of Mulder and Scully in that ep.

      1. I think if enough $’s were on offer that DD and GA would be able to become very un-busy!
        No mention of the US ratings…over 20 million for the premiere episode last Sunday night and although less for the follow-up Monday episode, still massive numbers even compared to when it was at its peak back in the 90’s. All bodes well at this early stage for hopefully another season.

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