This exclusive #TheXFiles sneak peek teases the first glimpse of William! https://t.co/IBXKNlWeLb pic.twitter.com/yL2bKz1PUv
— TV Guide (@TVGuide) January 2, 2018
The first episode of the new second revival season of the X-Files airs tonight on Fox at 8pm. I’m such a superfan I’m going to watch it live. Admittedly I only watched the last season one time through and there were a few episodes I just did not enjoy. (Lauren Ambrose was miscast, I think.) I’ll keep tuning in though, and I have a lot of friends who will be watching too. Star Gillian Anderson (Scully) has been open about having to fight for pay equity prior to joining the X-Files reboot. She said she was initially only offered half the pay of what her co-star, David Duchovny (Mulder), received for the reboot. She found this shocking because she worked so hard in the past to be paid fairly and to have Scully have a key role. Ultimately she received equitable pay for the reboot. Anderson has also spoken out about the fact that only two out of 207 of the original X-Files series were directed by women. The reboot doesn’t have much gender diversity either. The current season has an all male writing and directing team (although they’re not all white), and only one episode last year has co-writing credits that include women. Regardless Anderson isn’t sticking around to see if anything changes on the X-Files. In an interview with TV Insider, she again reiterated the point that she’s not coming back after this current season. I’m going to excerpt Digital Spy’s coverage of Anderson’s interview, as the original piece in TV Insider has a lot of spoilers for this upcoming season. Check out TV Insider if you would like to learn more about what’s in store for the X-Files and there’s more in The Boston Herald. It sounds promising actually but I’m not going to reveal more.
With the launch of the new episodes only days away, Gillian is doubling down by telling TV Insider that she is now truly hanging up her FBI badge in order to devote more time to other projects, like American Gods and potentially even more of The Fall.
“I’ve said from the beginning, this is it for me,” she said. “I was a bit surprised by people’s [shocked] reaction to my announcement… because my understanding was that this was a single season.”
This sad turn of events brings to mind the latter years of the original X-Files, which broke up the Mulder and Scully team thanks to David Duchovny quitting as a series regular.
Does the departure of Scully mean that The X-Files will be put to rest once again after the 11th season? At least according to creator Chris Carter, probably not.
“There are a lot more X-Files stories to tell,” Chris Carter has teased. “Whether we get to tell them is a question mark. The truth is out there.”
I’m glad DS reminded us that the original X-Files tried to carry on without Mulder, because I would have forgotten about that. A quick glance at wiki reminds me that Robert Patrick (Doggett) tried to step in as a replacement for Mulder in the eighth season, while Mulder appeared in just a few episodes for the eighth and ninth/final season, with the X-Files first ending in May, 2002. This is also when Annabeth Gish came in, and although I liked her quite a bit the show kind of lost the plot. (There was also the Lone Gunmen spinoff in the first part of 2001, remember that?) I’m sure Carter wants to continue churning out this show, he hasn’t branched out from the X-Files and it’s his baby, but it really can’t exist without Anderson as Scully and was hanging by a thread when Duchovny was absent. Also, do you remember the movies? The first one, Fight The Future (1998), was mediocre and the second one, I Want To Believe (2008), was just laughable. It’s a shame because with good writers and a strong director it could have been an incredible movie franchise.
This is how it begins… Do you believe? #TheXFiles returns Wednesday, January 3 on FOX. pic.twitter.com/fFhoQmPbJX
— The X-Files (@thexfiles) December 27, 2017
Excited for the return of #TheXFiles ? Need a refresher? Our beginner-friendly binge guide is here to help! https://t.co/2WqfcaMrtY pic.twitter.com/j14jQs3VRA
— Den of Geek News! (@DenofGeekUS) December 28, 2017
Without a doubt, #TheXFiles has left an enormous impact on television. @DavidDuchovny, @GillianA, and Chris Carter speak about the show's role in pop culture! https://t.co/E491myYJtQ#XFilesBinge pic.twitter.com/0f8Eo0ahuX
— Den of Geek News! (@DenofGeekUS) January 2, 2018
Photos credit: WENN and Twitter/Fox
The season’s storyline will pick up directly after last season’s finale and the search for Mulder and Scully’s son William will be a main story arc for the season. Last season was incredibly uneven. I think the last episode of last season is critical viewing before tonight. My favorite of last season was Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster – fantastic thanks to Rhys Darby.
I want Gillian’s aging secrets now.
I want to know her secrets, too! She looks fabulous. 🙂
I’m a superfan as well and will probably watch, but I really hated the last reboot which felt like a parody and I don’t have much hope for this season.
her secret seems to be getting fillers and botox. her face is alternately puffy and frozen, and it’s a shame.
that was such a good episode!!!
That episode was one of the best TV episodes I have ever seen! I told everyone who would listen that they needed to watch based solely on The Were-person episode. It was great.
Yes! The were-person episode was one of the best bits of TV I’ve seen in ages!
Gillian is a MAGNIFICENT actress….I hope to see her more in OTHER things!!!!
She was incredible in The Fall.
Yes!!!!
I love this series. I should set the theme song as my ringtone as it immediately takes me back to the 90s. I really miss that decade. If I could just recapture those years with today’s tech I’d be a happy oblivious camper lol.
Robert Patrick was actually really good as Doggett. It was the writing (and fan’s attachment to Mulder/Scully) that sank it, unfortunately. They just didn’t know what to do without Duchovney.
The problem with the X-Files reboot is the same thing the new Star Wars films are struggling with – you have to create conflict to get a good story, but in this case, creating that conflict means overriding a satisfying ending for characters that people loved. Not everybody wants to embrace that.
God I hope that Duchovny has the good sense to step away too. Let them find their son, get some peace, the end. I don’t understand these fans who cannot let go. It was a phenomenal series that got desperately mediocre in its final seasons. The actors are back for the money (Good for them!! No shade) and fans need to stop pretending it can be what it once was. Let. Go.
Nostalgia is poison to creativity. We can never recapture that first thrill of discovery or the excitement of youth. I really like new Star Wars but it will never be 1/10 as exciting or extraordinary or effecting as the first trilogy…because I was six years old when I saw them. Sigh…I’m craving new ideas beyond belief.
I am also a super fan and am so excited for tonight. But it needs to end after this. The show has always had notice she wanted this to be the end and they should have responded with a proper ending this season — that is, M & S together and happy, they find their son, and they find some peace. These last two seasons have been a gift. Time to move on. Fingers crossed it ends well.
Oh man. This makes me so sad. Watching the new episodes won’t be as joyful (I love the X-Files!) knowing Gillian Anderson won’t return.
She was great as Scully. This season should wrap up a really great, if uneven, series. In the last season of The Fall I really began to hate her character, or the way she was playing it. Constant smirk drove me crazy. I’m sure as soon as I hear the opening music tonight I’ll forget and she’ll be Scully again.
I agree about her character on The Fall. The husky whisper she adopted for the character DROVE ME NUTS from episode 1. I still liked the show, but it definitely wasn’t for her performance.
Good for her for being in a position to walk away. It was a great role but she works steadily. She doesn’t need this show.
I agree. I think you get to the point on a show when you want to leave on a high note. It’s great that she has found a time with the show to do that.
Nostalgia drives the money machine. I too loved the original show. This reboot was Okay. Hope this is it for Mulder and Scully. They found their Truth.
I was a super fan of the series as a teen. She has said this multiple times. Actually I thought he did a better job getting into the Mulder character in this reboot then she did. In the first episode IMO she seemed way off
I’d be happier with some new episodes of Millennium, frankly.
My fav show EVER! I loved the reboot but I’m happy if they decide to end it here.
I love her. I still can’t believe she was so young when the show started, she always seemed like a “grown up” to me back then. I give her a lot of credit for not just walking away when she wants to, but consistently and publicly pointing out the inequality on the show and in the staff.
It blows my mind that they thought it was ok to offer her 1/2 of his salary, when they truly were equals on the original, and I think she’s had the more interesting post-show career and seems more beloved by the fan base.
I didn’t love the reboot, but I’ll probably still watch this, especially if it truly is the end (and it should be, Chris Carter, enough).
I still would love to see her in a Bond-ish role. I don’t really think they need to make Bond female, as has been suggested, but I don’t see why a spin-off of a similar agent wouldn’t be cool. I think she’d totally nail it.