You might recall some time ago, I wrote episode write ups for "The X-Files" on Reviewstream. Much like with "Breaking Bad", the plan was to go through and do the whole series, but said plan was brought to a halt around the time I hit the middle of season 3, when the site stopped taking episode reviews. Unlike "Breaking Bad", however, I likely won't go back and write up the remaining episodes. I hadn't seen "Breaking Bad" yet, so it was on my to-watch list anyway. It also took a lot less time. While I could potentially give the show a re-watch once my Netflix queue and to-read piles clear out, that's years off in the distance.
However, this 6 episode relaunch presented me with a chance to revisit the franchise while still covering something more current. As such, I figured, what the heck?
Truth be told, this series was fighting an uphill battle. As any X-Files fan would tell you, the last two seasons were less than stellar. They later tried to revive interest in the franchise with another cinematic outing, which SUUUCKED. Add to that the amount of time that has passed, and you have to wonder if people would even care.
Still, hope springs eternal and I wanted to believe that the series would reclaim its former glory. So far, though, it hasn't.
You'd think that the show would come out swinging, but it doesn't really bring a whole lot to the table. The big mystery that brings the two agents back together is really flat and there isn't much in the way of tension.
It isn't helped by the acting, which is really lackluster. The actress who plays Sveta, a young woman who claims to have been abducted and impregnated by aliens like Scully, is the only one who seems to put any effort into it. Everyone else is just kind of there with no feeling behind it. Even when emotions do try to come into it, it doesn't work. That "argument" between Mulder and Scully on the porch was groan inducing. It suffers from stilted performances and another problem: the dialogue itself.
The writing here doesn't fare much better. It's clear that Carter has no idea where he wanted the story to go as the episode tosses its own myth arc under the bus to try to pitch the inane idea that it was all an elaborate hoax. This came up back in the original show and it didn't stick, so one wonders why they thought it would be a good idea to rehash it.
Attempts are made to "modernize" the franchise by injecting current event based social commentary into the equation. This might shock you, but it doesn't work. I'm sorry, I don't buy that we had free energy since the 50's, but the mean ol' oil companies buried it. Mulder's theory about how the government is trying to take over the world is an even tougher pill to swallow. Credit to Scully for listing all the reasons his idea is stupid. Considering how most X-Files episodes ended up having Mulder be right, it was nice to see her put one in her win column.
Of course, it all turns out to be moot as the original story seems to reassert itself at the episode's end, both with Sveta's death and the return of (SPOILER ALERT!) the smoking man.
I'm sorry, this reveal was meh. He was a great character and William B. Davis was always fun to watch, but the guy took a sidewinder missile point blank to the face. I know he's cheated death before, but that seemed pretty definitive.
There are still 5 episodes left, so the return might still prove worthwhile. I'm not sure how much the myth arc will advance since I hear that half of the episodes will be stand alone "monster of the week" episodes. Honestly, that's not a bad thing since both have their place in the series and both have their supporters. Nevertheless, if this episode is any indicator, it seems like "The X-Files" is going to be a franchise best left in the past.
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