Whether you call yourself an X-pert, an X-phile, or just an X-cited fan – the time has come to rejoice. There has been a number of teaser trailers, and longer trailers, hinting at what might lie ahead for the beloved partnership of Special Agents Mulder and Scully in their upcoming six episode television event – but they have all centred around the now legendary ‘conspiracy arc’ that meticulously formed the spine of the 9 season original run of The X-Files. Now, we have something different.
The overall ‘conspiracy arc’ is a vital part of The X-Files mythology, creating, as it does, the motivation for Agent Mulder to undertake his specialist, ridiculed study of FBI cases involving unexplained phenomena. Over the course of the show, it also serves to bind together the characters we love (and love to hate) as Scully, Skinner, Krycek, Deep Throat, X and The Smoking Man all lose lives and loved ones in the pursuit of The Truth.
But, compelling as it was, the conspiracy arc was never the greatest strength of The X-Files. That lay in the standalone stories – the ‘monster-of-the-week’ episodes that delivered such glorious tales as the Flukeman, the Fiji Mermaid, and the stretchy eater of human livers – Eugene Tooms. Mulder and Scully investigated ghosts, gollums and psychic phenomena. They crossed paths with the Jersey Devil, vampires, and killer computers – not to mention murderous teenage girls existing at the convergence of planetary energies. Make no mistake – the conspiracy arc was often just background noise to spectacular, inventive narratives about things that go ‘bump’ in the night.
This is why the latest trailer for the new episodes of The X-Files is a wonder to behold, and a gift to celebrate. As David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson effortlessly slip back into their respective characters, we hear the words we have been waiting for from Scully herself.
“We’ve been given another case, Mulder. It has a monster in it.”
Cue 30 seconds of snippets showing everything that The X-Files does best – spooky, creepy stuff – confirming that we’ll re-visit the ‘conspiracy arc,’ but we’ll also get some good, old fashioned monster-of-the-week action. If you had any doubt that writer-directors Chris Carter, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan and James Wong might struggle to re-capture their show’s phenomenal essence after all this time – this trailer will cast out those doubts and restore your peace of mind. January 24th, 2016 cannot arrive soon enough.
