Tell-Tale TV Series Premiere Panels: The X-Files

This premiere panel is a little bit different because we’re dealing with a revival, and not a brand new series. This means that the stakes are even higher for The X-Files. Was Scully and Mulder’s reunion everything we’ve ever hoped for? Se what our panelists had to say!

Our panelists are:

• Lissete Lanuza Saenz, senior writer for Tell-Tale TV
• Sage Young from Head Over Feels
• Carissa Pavlica from TV Fanatic

Give it to me straight, did you like the premiere?

Carissa: No. All of the excitement went crashing to the ground when I learned the big conspiracy behind everything was going to be big bad America. Or, maybe world powers. Frankly, I got so upset my heart kind of went out it.

Sage: The X-Files is like pizza to me. (Or whiskey, whatever.) Even when it’s bad, it’s still that thing that I love. I’ve been an X-Phile for nigh 18 years now, and the clunky episodes of the original run are just as precious to me as the best, because they’re a part of the show’s history. Network distribution structure in the ‘90s meant that we, as a viewing public, were much more forgiving of filler episodes than we are now. But I digress. Did I like “My Struggle”? Only for being what it was: a reintroduction and an excuse to re-open the division. But “Founder’s Mutation”? That was a good, old-fashioned X-File that fully renewed my faith in the show’s second coming.

Lizzie: Yes. I’m 100% like Sage in that, even when it’s bad, I love The X-Files. That being said, I don’t think “My Struggle” was bad. I think it was clunky at times, it had a little too much exposition, and the mythology was as terribly confusing as always, but …but it had Mulder and Scully. Seeing David and Gillian together on screen is enough to make me forget about the things that my brain can recognize as bad. And, even if I hadn’t liked the first episode, “Founder’s Mutation” would have been enough to forgive and forget. Because THAT was The X-Files I knew and loved: creepy, indescribable at times, with Mulder jumping to conclusions, Scully trying desperately to inject some common sense into their investigation, and Skinner having a very, very bad poker face.

The X-Files Review: My Struggle (Season 10 Episode 1)

What’s the show’s biggest problem?

Carissa: That they sucked the fun out of The X-Files and tried to go political. That’s what it is for me, and isn’t it all about me? No. Oh. Well, I don’t think I can get over it.

Sage: When Chris Carter writes episodes? That’s harsh, I suppose. And he’s penned some classics. But I’ve always thought of Carter as a showrunner who can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes he gets bogged down in his own vision, and doesn’t let his characters breathe. Most of the dialogue in “My Struggle” was preposterous. And the pacing was a mess. The biggest insult to fans, though, was the assassination of both Mulder and Scully’s characters. Would our Mulder be so gullible as to take every word of Sveta’s as gospel without doing his own investigation? Would our Scully fall for Tad O’Malley’s smarmy flattery? And worst of all, would that same Scully diagnose Mulder with clinical depression and then leave him because of it? I think not, my friends. I think not.

Lizzie: I think Carter wanted to take Mulder and Scully to point Z (aka, a couple that broke up and yet still loves each other), so he picked a reason, any reason, and went with it. I understand WHY he did it, Duchovny’s turn as slightly bitter Mulder is fantastic, and the chemistry the actors have makes anything possible, but, but…it just doesn’t make any sense to me. Are you telling me that after nine years of stuff that would have any sane woman running for the hills, Scully finally left Mulder because he was depressed? Are you kidding me, Chris? Are  you? I hope this is a practical joke you’re playing on us. I really, really do.

Who or what do you want to see more of?

Carissa: Good, old-fashioned, non-colluding aliens who drop in from outer space and have no idea government has stolen their technology, or maybe they do, and they blast them to hell. Or a Wendigo or a face eating virus that Scully can’t stop. I’m easy. Just remove the government collusion please.

Sage: I have to disagree with Carissa here. Colluding aliens are the nougat-y center of The X-Files. The shady dealings between our government and alien invaders is the core of the show’s mythology. That mythology tied itself in knots in later seasons, and I hope that this series takes advantage of this new opportunity to unravel it. I’d love to see the agents have a conspiracy revelation that doesn’t leave me shrugging my shoulders. I also want to see more advancement and exploration of the Mulder and Scully relationship. Shippers gotta ship, and they were my first. “Founder’s Mutation” did a nice job of tying their ongoing struggles as parents and exes to an actual case.

Lizzie: I’m with Sage here. Give me the conspiracy, just don’t make it so damn confusing. I’ve watched every episode of this show more than once, and even I have problems understanding what happened. But mostly, I want more episodes like “Founder’s Mutation,” not in regards to the case, but in regards to the Mulder and Scully relationship. You already broke them up, CC. Now fix it. And fix it fast, because as fun as it is to watch earnest Mulder spouting lines like: “You’re never JUST anything to me, Scully,” I’d rather just have them together. And, when they DO get together, DO IT ON SCREEN, PLEASE. I want to see it. I think I deserve to.

Favorite quote/moment from the premiere?

Carissa: The credits, when I squealed with delight that The X-Files, the friggin’ X-Files! was back.

Sage: In “My Struggle,” it was definitely the UFO crash. It’s cool to see what a few years and a bigger budget can do to for the X-Files effects experience. That’s a more difficult question for “Founder’s Mutation,” which had a little bit of everything. Ultimately I have to pick the scene in Skinner’s office, where he plays the by-the-book disciplinarian in front of the nameless Department Of Defense representative who’s auditing their meeting and then puts his (secret) support behind Mulder and Scully once the man is gone. Stand-up guy, that Walter Skinner.

Lizzie: In “My Struggle” I really liked 5-year-old Mulder (what do you mean he isn’t 5?) writing DON’T GIVE UP in Scully’s windshield. In “Founder’s Mutation,” I gotta go with Mulder’s William dream/hallucination. We’ve seen more of Scully’s pain regarding WIlliam than we’ve seen of Mulder, and the fact that they gave us this, now, bodes well for the future of this storyline.

What did you think of the return of The X-Files? Did it live up to your hopes and dreams? Leave your thoughts in a comment below.

The X-Files airs Mondays at 8/7c on FOX.