Yay or Nay: The X-Files Reboot

Yay or Nay: The X-Files Reboot

Posted by Allison Cianci on 24th Jan 2018

Whether you watched The X-Files back during its original run in the 90's or not, you've definitely heard about it.  It was one of those shows that kind of defined that point in time.  People would gather around at work the next day and talk about the case Mulder and Scully had been investigating.  And of course there is the theme song/music.

The show ended in 2002 but continued to be a big part of pop culture.  People who had never even seen an episode of the show at least could name the two main characters or tell you a bit of what it was about.  But then, a couple years ago, they announced a reboot and The X-Files was back in 2016.  But was it worth it?

Just based on the fact that Gillian Anderson's just announced that she is completely done with playing Scully and the reboot isn't going to continue without her, I would say no. Of course, this is coming from someone who was too young to have watched the show live from 1993-2002, so I don't have that nostalgia for the world and the characters.

The reboot seems like a decent show so far, but compared to the really awesome shows and mini series that are out now, maybe not so much?  Where as the premise was different and exciting in the 90's, today it's just something that has been done before.  New viewers, which is something reboots need to survive, didn't turn out for the series s much as the network would've hoped.  And then there are the long time viewers who might've started watching last season, but didn't stick around when it came back this year, leaving the show with so-so ratings.

Early reviews weren't great and after the initial publicity from the show coming back, I didn't really hear much about it.  The comeback was no Stranger Things or Orange is the New Black, or even the early days of The X-Files where everyone was asking if you'd watched the latest season/episode yet.

Long story short, I would say except maybe for die-hard fans, the reboot really wasn't worth it.  The actors probably would've been better off working on something else (Gillian Anderson in The Fall anyone?  Watch it if you haven't!)  Let me know in the comments if you've watched the series and agree or disagree.