The first episode of the new "The X-Files" will grace our television screens on Jan. 24 and excitement for the six-episode special continues to build up as the day gets nearer.
Critics who have been given the honor of watching the first episode ahead of everyone, however, did not like what they have seen and gave discouraging comments about the new series. But as fans of the cult science fiction television series, we choose to believe... in "The X-Files," that is.
Why would we even choose the side of "The X-Files" when many critics have already agreed that, judging by the first episode, it just isn't that good?
Perhaps it's an unfair assumption to make considering the comparison is being made between the first new episode and the original series – composed of nine seasons and 202 episodes we've already seen in the show's 10 years of airing with two full-feature films to boot.
Critics Versus Fans
"The X-Files" series in the 1990s was critically acclaimed. That's one thing nobody has to argue about, which means that both critics and fans were on the same side when it comes to seeing the value of the show. Critics have a certain set of expectations when evaluating a show, especially one as brilliant as "The X-Files," and it may not necessarily coincide with how fans evaluate, well, anything.
Take the revamping of the show itself, for instance. Critic Brian Lowry claimed that based on the first episode of the new "The X-Files," creator Chris Carter and his colleagues have settled for commercialism and forgot why people liked the show.
"[The] logical move, in terms of investing the franchise with greater longevity, would have been to start from scratch, with new FBI agents delving into the strange and paranormal," Lowry said.
However, isn't it also true that one of the main reasons why people like watching "The X-Files" is the dynamics of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who are thrust in the midst of whatever paranormal case is at hand?
Perhaps Carter may have been influenced by commercialism to a certain degree, but to simply change the cast may not really be the most logical move. There is, after all, a reason why agents Mulder and Scully are the first characters most people remember at the mere mention of "X-Files," regardless of whether they followed the series religiously or are just casual viewers.
A Case For The New Season
The first minute of the show, which was released for the public, was mostly storytelling by an exhausted sounding agent Mulder, and this has somehow been translated to the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the actors themselves. Don't give up hope, X-Philes, as there is still something to believe in.
"What we're left with is a very underwhelming hour that will force even diehard fans... to consider whether pushing onward is really worth the time," Tim Goodman said of the first episode.
However, let us all remember that some of the best narratives have a slow start. Even J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy has a slow start but it's one of the best epic fantasies to date.
Critics are concerned with how the series would turn out since they're usually sent more than one episode for review but were only sent the first episode for the new "The X-Files" series. FOX and Carter's move does seem questionable, but it's also possible that sending more episodes would already spoil the surprises they wanted to keep.
After all, the new series is only composed of six episodes whereas the original has 19 or more episodes per season. In comparison, this first episode alone is already roughly 17% of the new series as opposed to one out of 20 episodes of season 9. FOX and Carter could send three more episodes and still be giving away only 16% of the season.
The Strength Of Each Player
Joanna Robinson makes a good point in her review:
"Chris Carter's strength as a writer was always in crafting larger mythological arcs ... But if it was one-off episodes of 'The X-Files' that would send a chill down your spine and put a song in your heart, then the Morgan brothers and James Wong are who you should be most excited to see return," she said.
Carter wrote the first episode of this six-episode arc but the Morgan brothers and James Wong are the ones penning some of the stand-alone episodes. For now, that is enough reason to believe that things will get better.
