Watching television is fun. Watching the reboots of your once-cherished drama series is exhilarating. Some productions have the potential to transcend time. The X-Files was one of them. The adventures of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are an evergreen phenomenon that was way ahead of its time.
Internet and online streaming have redefined the way we consume entertainment. Some cable networks subtly preserve the nostalgia of cable television while providing all the conveniences of the digital age.
Cox Internet provides complete network coverage including Fox. You can be the first to catch the much-anticipated revival of the X-Files.
The X-Files at A Glance
This highly successful and popular ten-season production ran from September 1993 to May 2002. It was one of the longest-running shows of its time. In this series, FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are charged with unusual cases with supernatural and paranormal origins that no one has solved.
Mulder and Scully perfectly complement each other as the former is a conspiracy buff with expertise in psychology and criminal profiling, however, the latter is a doctor and a realist.
In their pursuit of the truth with every case they get (As they often say “The truth is out there”), Fox and Dana move closer to unearthing the government conspiracy to hide the existence of aliens from the masses. This show also hints at conspiracy theories of a highly powerful shadow government called “The Syndicate” that is aiming to preserve its place in the doomsday plan and the new world order.
While Seasons 1 to 9 were smashing hits with a loyal fan-following, season 10 was discontinued after six episodes.
The X-Files Reboot
“On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko” invited the original creator of the show, Chris Carter, for the 30th anniversary of The X-Files. In this eventful show, Carter revealed that a reboot of X-Files is in the pipeline. This news naturally threw every other 80s kid out of their seats.
What is more, is that the director of this revival will be none other than Ryan Coogler. The filmmaker is widely celebrated for his work in the Black Panther and Creed films. Additionally, Coogler received critical acclaim in the feature “Fruitvale Station”.
Carter also expressed that the remount needs an overhaul in terms of cast members. This means that we might not see the original cast with Anderson and Duchovny.
Why Did The X-Files Lose the Touch?
The glue that holds conspiracy shows together is sound mythology. Arguably, the mythology lost its luster towards the final seasons of The X-Files. The convoluted subplots and twists also did not help the critics of the show warm back up to it.
One major setback was when Duchovny left the show at the end of his contract declaring that seven years with the show were quite enough. The sloppy attempts at the hands of the writers to cover up his departure impacted the quality of the show negatively. This threw all of the subplots associated with Mulder into complete disarray.
In the backdrop of this, Duchovny was suing Fox for corporate synergy, claiming that the network swindled him out of millions by underselling the rights and reruns to cable providers and publishers. Thus reducing the royalties by a lot.
Even though Duchovny came back to the show after an out-of-court settlement in 2000, the show never found solid ground again. Season 10 in 2016 was not received well and season 11 was discontinued in 2018.
Additionally, the writers got lazy. To cover the plot lines, characters started revealing the show’s secrets in the most non-creative ways possible, through long and cumbersome monologues that did not fit the tone of the show.
Anticipated Challenges for Coogler
The original X-Files aired while the average viewer had a very different approach toward this mythology. Viewers today have become somewhat cynical towards conspiracy theories. Additionally, the format of serialized story-telling that this show pioneered has over-exhausted itself.
It is a sensitive decision for Coogler whether to go for a similar overarching mythology to base the show on or to modify based on audience preferences these days. Another important aspect is to make sure that the reboot does not seem tired of the old storyline or seem like a derivative of it.
Audiences may view altering the mythology too much like change for the sake of change. It could also open the young filmmaker up to a lot of unfair comparisons. Since the original series addresses the political climate of the 90s, there is a lot that needs to change.
Fake news and conspiracy theories involving the government have gained wider popularity. A popular TV series widely projecting a narrative that maligns the government could pose real-life consequences. The popular idea is that Coogler can benefit from the self-contained, Monster-of-the-week format to write the show.
The Truth is Out There
There is no right or wrong way when it comes to creative liberty. However, one would be too optimistic to expect the lightning of popular acceptance to hit the same show twice with the reincarnation of the same base concept. To really conquer the new generation of TV watchers, the creators will need to make the show their own.
