Is the Return of The X-Files a Good Thing?

I was a huge fan of The X-Files when it premiered in 1993. There was just no other show like it on television at the time. I was shipping Mulder and Scully before “shipping” was even a thing!

So I, like many others, was excited to hear the original cast would return for a six-episode limited series run of the show. As I watched the first episode at the show’s premiere party at the California Science Center this week I wondered if all the hype was for naught. Over a decade has passed and our two favorite FBI agents have gone their separate ways. Scully has returned to her medical roots while Mulder spends his days surfing the net, it seems. Will the chemistry still be there?

The answer to that is yes. “Not only do they have chemistry, they now have history,” David Duchovny said during The X-Files panel at TCA recently.

“They both just lit up and it was the same ever since,” said Chris Carter of the time Duchovny and Anderson filmed their very first scene together.

Admittedly, my attraction to the show is not because of the mythology that is at its core but instead it’s the one-off episodes that I enjoy the most. Episodes like “Squeeze” about a liver-eating mutant who could fit through impossibly small spaces and “The Unnatural” about a baseball loving alien, a nod to creator Chris Carter’s love of baseball (Scully is named after longtime Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully) were my favorites.

I felt a little indifferent about the return after seeing the premiere but then I previewed the episode, “Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster” and was reminded why I had loved the show so much. This episode embodies the things I love about The X-Files—the monster-of-the-week aspect, the humor—subtle and not-so-subtle, the quirkiness that made the show so beloved by fans—it’s all there. While pivotal mythology episodes will bookend the series, I’m sure I’ll enjoy these one-off episodes the best.

After seeing the “Were-Monster” episode I was disappointed that there would only be six episodes, but Duchovny said, “Think of it as a bento box of X-Files.” Yes, a little smattering of what we enjoyed about The X-Files to satisfy your appetite.

The X-Files debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, January 24 (10 p.m. ET, 7 p.m. PT) following the NFC Championship game and continues in its regular time slot Monday, January 25 at 8/7c.