The truth was out there last winter as The X-Files returned to television for the six episode “event series” that essentially served as the tenth season of the series. We covered it during its original airing here, but with the recent run making its way on to a two disc Blu-ray set, and with a few months separated from the thrill of its return, I thought it would be worthwhile to see how the latest season holds up.
There are far more hard core fans of The X-Files than me out there. I haven’t watched every single episode, but I’ve seen my fair share, and I have a decent handle on the mythology. For me, the appeal of the tenth season was seeing two old pros in David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson return to their defining characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. In that way, there was nothing at all disappointing about this latest iteration of The X-Files. Duchovny still has that hound dawg face, and truthfully looks a little bemused that he’s back again wanting to believe. Anderson, meanwhile, continues the strong dramatic work she’s demonstrated over the last few years in shows like Hannibal and The Fall. The duo have always had genuine chemistry, and it remains on display with these new episodes. It’s also worth nothing that Mitch Pileggi is a welcome face as ADA Skinner – he has some great moments with Mulder in Episode 5, “Babylon.”
As far as re-watching the six episodes go, I must admit that I enjoyed them more being able to binge watch rather than doing the whole week to week network viewing. That concept is increasingly becoming outdated, and with a show like The X-Files, which bookended its run with two mythology based episodes, the closer you are to watching them, the better.
As a conspiracy theorist myself (judge away, judge away), I found a lot to enjoy about those particular episodes, but you absolutely have to pay attention, because a lot of information of a “conspiracy of man” and “alien DNA” comes running at you, and if you miss a minute, you run the chance of missing out on what Scully and Mulder are going on about. However, the paranoia that ran through the original series is here in abundance, updated for our 21st century fears. As for that ending, even though there’s no Season 11 on the books at the moment, you’ve got to believe we’re going to get some sort of resolution. Right?
Right?
Whether you’re a casual or hardcore fan of The X-Files, the series looks absolutely stunning in Blu-ray, which made my re-watch that much more enjoyable. With the entire series recently remastered in HD and available in Blu-ray for a decent price, it’s a pretty good time to catch up on one of science fiction’s greatest shows.
