A Few Thoughts on the Return of "The X-Files"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

It's been quite an interesting time when it comes to television, simply because of the fact that I have never seen such a ravenous demand by fans to resurrect shows that have been cancelled for ages. Nostalgia has been a big boom in the entertainment business as of late and this newfound surge to bring everything back is simply fascinating. 

Now I don't want to sit here and discuss whether or not this is a good or bad idea, that's another blog for another time. But I will say in brief that some of the shows that are returning to the airwaves, probably didn't need their second chance at all since their story came to a logical conclusion. But, one in particular certainly deserves a second chance and on January 24th we all get to see the triumphant return of Agents Mulder and Scully in a six episode revival of The X-Files. 

Now this is a show that I was a huge fan of growing up, and if you ask me...without this series I'm not sure the surge in horror we currently enjoy on television would have been possible. Yes, I fully understand that the show was more science fiction than horror...but let's be honest. Some of the monsters that popped up on this series, and quite frankly the fourth season episode "Home" were enough I think to get people thinking that maybe putting a scary show on the airwaves wasn't that bad of an idea. But my joy over the fact that The X-Files is coming back to Fox goes beyond the potential monsters and terrors that we could be treated to...it's that second chance I mentioned a moment ago, and the shot at closure.

This is a series that quite frankly...never quite received the ending it deserved. Season nine was uneven at best and that series finale left so much on the table. After all, the apocalyptic events that the Smoking Man said would come about on December 22, 2012 clearly never came to pass and well...those final moments just felt so unsatisfying. We wanted better answers from an episode entitled "The Truth", we wanted a grand showdown at last with the forces they had been chasing after all of these years, not seeing them in a hotel room on the run. The bottom line is...we wanted more.  Now, am I expecting these six episodes to wrap everything up for us? Absolutely not.

What I'm hoping for...is that everyone tunes in to see this new set of stories and that the ratings are high enough to bring about a short series order from Fox...to give us that proper finale. But I'm most likely getting ahead of myself, since we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Really, I'm just happy that the show is back. Six episodes may not be enough, but it will have to do and it will be an absolute blast to be reunited with the quirky and suspicious Mulder and the always level headed Scully and I can't wait to see where this new story arc will take us as we resume our quest to find the truth once again...

---