The X-Files have been reopened...
...And so far at least, it is a glorious, nostalgic, perfectly imperfect delight.
I had read some reviews that basically said, "If you liked this show before, you'll like it now. It hasn't changed much." Same good parts, same bad parts as in its original run. That was both all right and worrisome to me. Obviously I loved it the first time around, but I was also sort of hoping for some growth. That remains to be seen, I suppose.
But as for the first episode: oh man. You guys, when Mulder's voice started up, and then those opening credits - and Mark Snow's music, and that same font that they always used...!!!! Nostalgia rush. <3 <3 <3
As for the episode itself, it had good things and annoying things. Good things: Mulder and Scully are back, and they do feel true to their characters and where they might be at this point in their lives. Yes, M&S have broken up, but they very obviously still care about each other and are still involved in each other's lives. Scully still cares deeply about people, still works to heal them (at the same hospital from IWTB). Mulder still makes wisecracks, some of which are funny and some of which just make Scully roll her eyes, as we all do. Skinner still rules. Very happy to see Mitch Pileggi in the opening credits, and hoping to see plenty more of him in the next eps. I loved the scene where Mulder sees the alien spacecraft and just beams like an excited kid. Aww, Mulder.
Both the two main guest stars - Joel McHale and Annett Mahendru - played their roles well. I liked Scully's interactions with both of them, especially. Beautifully done. That scene between Scully and Sveta in the hospital room was fantastic. On that note, continuity seems pretty good so far, especially for this show. They acknowledged Scully's abductions and the possible consequences of them. M&S had a conversation that brought up William (and the show said straight-out that he's their child, again, which is always nice) in a way that felt real. Scully's motivations for joining Mulder on this new crazy quest feel real, as well. And of course Mulder would take about five minutes to decide he needed to do this. That's Mulder.
Annoying things: well, I've never been that much of a fan of the mytharc, so all the blather about conspiracies wasn't that interesting to me. I get it - we're now saying that while aliens are real and have been to Earth, all the abductions since Roswell at least have been orchestrated by a shadowy group of powerful men wanting to control the world. Got it. Good enough. But since it was a mytharc ep, it had to be pretty exposition-heavy in parts. And of course, since it was written by Chris Carter, the exposition had to be clunky and ridiculous and pompous-sounding. And on that note, speaking of ridiculous writing, really, CC? You actually had Mulder say, "The truth is out there, Scully!"? So much love/hate, as usual. Heh.
Overall, though I might have been more annoyed at the subpar dialogue/conspiracy blather without the extreme nostalgic squee factor, I enjoyed it a lot. I'm very much looking forward to my beloved characters continuing to appear in more new episodes(!) as the revival continues to air.
I had read some reviews that basically said, "If you liked this show before, you'll like it now. It hasn't changed much." Same good parts, same bad parts as in its original run. That was both all right and worrisome to me. Obviously I loved it the first time around, but I was also sort of hoping for some growth. That remains to be seen, I suppose.
But as for the first episode: oh man. You guys, when Mulder's voice started up, and then those opening credits - and Mark Snow's music, and that same font that they always used...!!!! Nostalgia rush. <3 <3 <3
As for the episode itself, it had good things and annoying things. Good things: Mulder and Scully are back, and they do feel true to their characters and where they might be at this point in their lives. Yes, M&S have broken up, but they very obviously still care about each other and are still involved in each other's lives. Scully still cares deeply about people, still works to heal them (at the same hospital from IWTB). Mulder still makes wisecracks, some of which are funny and some of which just make Scully roll her eyes, as we all do. Skinner still rules. Very happy to see Mitch Pileggi in the opening credits, and hoping to see plenty more of him in the next eps. I loved the scene where Mulder sees the alien spacecraft and just beams like an excited kid. Aww, Mulder.
Both the two main guest stars - Joel McHale and Annett Mahendru - played their roles well. I liked Scully's interactions with both of them, especially. Beautifully done. That scene between Scully and Sveta in the hospital room was fantastic. On that note, continuity seems pretty good so far, especially for this show. They acknowledged Scully's abductions and the possible consequences of them. M&S had a conversation that brought up William (and the show said straight-out that he's their child, again, which is always nice) in a way that felt real. Scully's motivations for joining Mulder on this new crazy quest feel real, as well. And of course Mulder would take about five minutes to decide he needed to do this. That's Mulder.
Annoying things: well, I've never been that much of a fan of the mytharc, so all the blather about conspiracies wasn't that interesting to me. I get it - we're now saying that while aliens are real and have been to Earth, all the abductions since Roswell at least have been orchestrated by a shadowy group of powerful men wanting to control the world. Got it. Good enough. But since it was a mytharc ep, it had to be pretty exposition-heavy in parts. And of course, since it was written by Chris Carter, the exposition had to be clunky and ridiculous and pompous-sounding. And on that note, speaking of ridiculous writing, really, CC? You actually had Mulder say, "The truth is out there, Scully!"? So much love/hate, as usual. Heh.
Overall, though I might have been more annoyed at the subpar dialogue/conspiracy blather without the extreme nostalgic squee factor, I enjoyed it a lot. I'm very much looking forward to my beloved characters continuing to appear in more new episodes(!) as the revival continues to air.