At this point, Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, and the Fox network are all on board to bring The X-Files
back to television. But after going off the air 12 years ago, fans
(specifically us) have a lot of feelings about reviving the once-great
sci-fi series. Is it actually a bad idea — or is it the best idea? Let’s
dig in.
Pro: Mulder and Scully’s chemistry.
Have you seen TV now? It’s a lot more
naked and humpier than it was 12 years ago. The best part of that series — and life, really — was their
insane chemistry on screen. Don’t you miss it?
Con: Literally nothing.
Their chemistry is, simply, everything.
Pro: When it was creepy, The X-Files was one of TV’s best.
The most memorable X-Files episodes are the ones that unnerved
you and got under your skin. Iconic episodes like “Home” with inbred
killers, “Irresistible” with a fingernail- and hair-collecting serial
killer, and “Field Trip” with suffocatingly poisonous mushrooms have
fueled nightmares for over two decades.
Con: When it was tech-y, The X-Files was one of TV’s worst.
Series like Black Mirror have delved into the horrors of technology, an increasing concern in modern society. So, there’s a huge chance that The X-Files will try to tackle similar topics, which could literally be the worst thing since Freakylinks.
“First Person Shooter,” “Kill Switch,” and “Ghost in the Machine” are
not just the worst episodes of the series, but some of the worst
television of the ‘90s.
Pro: A short run of episodes could highlight the show’s strengths.
How a television show comes back to life is, in many ways, the most important element of reviving a series. The X-Files routinely triumphed with quicker, self-contained arcs, so a short run of episodes would maximize the mystery.
Con: A longer run of episodes could highlight the show’s weaknesses.
Nine years of increasingly complex (read: convoluted) alien conspiracy
theories was basically too much for fans, the writers, and — clearly —
the actors.
Pro: Scully’s clothes.
First of all, Gillian made pantsuits
look hot, and that was hard to do because they were ‘90s pantsuits. Now
she’d be in some fierce-as-fuck House of Cards-level look.
Con: Mulder’s Speedo.
Remember the red Speedo in Season 2? Well, David Duchovony is 54 years
old now and he can’t wear that red Speedo. It wouldn’t be the same.
Pro: The show had amazing villains.
Eugene Tooms (Doug Hutchison), Robert Patrick Modell (Robert Wisden),
and Donnie Pfaster (Nick Chinlund) were only a few members of The X-Files’
stellar rogues gallery. The reason the “monster of the week” episodes
were so memorable was not just because of how scary they were, but
because of how fleshed out the monsters were.
Con: The show ruined its amazing villains.
We will need an entire new batch of villains, because, aside from Tooms’
return in the first-season episode “Tooms,” each repeat appearance by a
villain fell flat on its face. Pusher’s motivations in his first
appearance were invalidated by “Kitsunegari,” and Pfaster’s return in
“Orison” was a by-the-numbers mess.
Pro: That theme song is still amazing.
Con: They’d probably ask Will.i.am for a techno remix.
Pro: The first movie was so good.
It was exactly what we needed to soothe the fact that the show was off
the air. It was scary, fun, about aliens, and had Scully next to Mulder. That film was iconic and gave us hope.
Con: The second movie was so bad.
What even happened in the second film? There was a wolf attack? And Amanda Peet?
Pro: We’ll find out what happened to Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Reyes (Annabeth Gish).
Con: We’ll find out what happened to Doggett and Reyes.
Pro: It could be everything our hearts desire.
Even after Seasons 8, 9, and the second movie, we still have nothing but boundless affection for The X Files,
and if the reboot could tap into what made those first seven years so
incredibly awesome it could, quite literally, be the biggest TV moment
of the millennium.
Con: It could ruin everything.
Or… as the recent Arrested Development reboot sadly proved, not everything gets better with age. In fact, some things are better left in the annals of TV history.
More details on BuzzFeed