The X-Files, Channel 5 - TV review: Mulder and Scully still have chemistry but the files didn’t need to be reopened

Anyone who watched any television in the nineties will remember sharply dressed FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) running around in the dark with torches (Scandi noir before its time?) trying to work out if the truth was indeed out there. Now the Chris Carter-created duo are back after 14 years– not counting the rubbish 2008 film–for a six-episode run, with better hair (Scully), more wrinkles (Mulder), more expensive special effects and smart phones, still trying to explain the alien thing and/or mind-boggling conspiracy theories.

From the retro opening credits to the return of other regulars like FBI chief Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) then Cigarette Smoking Man (William B Davis) at the end, it felt like the same old show – with an emphasis on the old. I’m not convinced the X-Files needed to be reopened but they’re still good fun, if aliens and nostalgia are your thing.

What always made it watchable was the chemistry between Mulder and Scully and the intricately woven back story or “mythology”. Both of those were in evidence and there was some decent steely eyed flirting for old times’ sake. Traditionally, Mulder was the “believer”, whereas Scully, the medical professional was the sceptic. As the series went on and increasingly bonkers things happened to her – including kidnap by aliens, probably – she started to come around to Mulder’s way of thinking.

By the end of this episode, it was Mulder who was questioning his whole belief system. Again. As with back in the day, the alien theories were hard to keep up with for this cynic. But, it was quickly apparent that despite the fact that both stars have been very busy over the last decade – notably Californication (Duchovny), The Fall (Anderson) –they slipped straight back into the roles and seemed comfortable in them.

The old story lines were picked up, too, like Scully’s alien abduction and the pair’s baby that they gave up for adoption. That led to some necessary but overly clunky exposition, not least when an alien abductee, who could rather helpfully read minds, filled us in on Scully’s back story. Likewise some of the very 2016 references–Uber, YouTube conspiracy theorists– felt a bit shoe-horned in. And would Scully really be such a Luddite?

That said, I think it’s easy to look back at the franchise with rose-tinted glasses. It was always silly but watchable, mostly, and this was no different. By all accounts, the new episodes get better as they go on, so if it’s paranormal and powersuits you’re hankering after, this will hit the spot.