"Thanks for your concern"

For the better part of my high school life I had one show to turn to. One show that put my fear of the government and its many conspiracies was the The X-files. Ok, so I didn't really believe that there were government cover up about event that may or may not have happened. For sure, it's fun to pretend, but at the end of the day, there is nothing there. Or is there? Ok, so maybe there are some things that I believe in, but not as many as I used to.

It definitely had one of the best theme songs ever. The moment I heard this, goosebumps would begin:

Fox and Dana: My Heroes! 

So, The X-files were a big influence on me, taking sci-fi and mixing it with paranoia and mystery, enough so that it kept me hooked from week to week. Fox Mulder was my hero. Deadpan and sarcastic to the end, he was me, in a long coat. He did believe that there were aliens and that there was something bigger out there in the great big universe. His belief and paranoid personality made his character fascinating to watch. Sure, he didn't change often, but when he did, things were about to go crazy.

 Dana Scully was the yin to his yang. She did not believe. She was there to keep him in line, to help him make the right decision,  or to back him up when the time came. In any case, she helped him out of a lot of dumb situations that he got himself into. And yet, she wasn't the typical heroin in need of saving. She was strong willed and able to stand up for herself. In short: she kicked ass!

So here we have a show that combined aliens and monsters, taking two FBI agents and putting them in danger and it was sweet. Of course the show was a mainstay during the time that I went through the rest of high school, through graduation, and beyond. It grew and grew. Somehow, during this time, the show stayed fresher than most would have under the same circumstances. Thank goodness I met a woman who would sit there and watch it with me. I can only think of how a person would react to my semi-obsession with this show. They might see it as unhealthy or that I was just plain silly for watching. Who knows.

I have recently started watching this show again. Call it nostalgia, call it curiosity. Either way, starting from the beginning has been a welcome surprise. It turns out, with the exception of some of the storytelling, the costumes, and the effects, this show is still as powerful and as relevant as most shows still on to this day. It has aged, but gracefully. There are still stories that are really chilling, like the "Tooms" episodes or the Flukeman. There are still some that I can't wait to see again, "Jose Chung's From Outer Space," and "Home." There was so many times good episodes, but with the good come the bad. As of this writing, "Jersey Devil" and "Space," are high on that list. However, this is me restarting the series, so don't judge that outlook too much. Yes, there will be others to list, but, luckily, not at this time.

I love this show. It's got everything that I love about television. It also would spawn two movies, one in 1998 and one in 2008. My wife and I watched the first in a theater that summer and it wasn't bad. I actually liked it and enjoyed seeing it on the big screen. It had just the right amount of scares and action. It was great. The second movie, well, the less said about it the better. Still, the show kept going.  And, yes, I am well aware that the show went on for too long and spiraled out of control. It also never solved a ton of the questions that it posed. Still, it was a great show in its heyday, and it still holds up great in this persons opinion. Plus, you can't deny that its influence is still felt today, from the mysteries on Lost, to the even more hard edged Torchwood, this is an important television in history. It should always be remembered that way.

The truth IS out there. And I, for one, want to believe.

---MGS

p.s. I am going to update as I see fit.