Like so many other viewers, I could see the problems that “The X Files” developed during its last seasons. But I would still give Season 8 an 8 out of 10, even if that probably does reflect my fanboy bias in the show’s favor.
The obvious criticism of this season would be David Duchovny’s absence and the various character changeups, but I thought the show handled these quite well.
It introduced a great new primary protagonist, beautifully played by Robert Patrick — the hardnosed everyman cop, John Doggett, who was a nice contrast for the Oxford-educated and not-terribly-formidable Fox Mulder. He had great chemistry with Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully, and really was a character you could root for –a former Marine and a likable tough guy. I wanted to see him encounter the same monsters, demons, ghosts and aliens that we’d seen in past seasons — only to kick all their asses.
Our brief time with Agent Monica Reyes (Anderson’s de facto replacement for Season 9) was also promising. Annabeth Gish is a capable actress, and the show’s writers did take time to establish her as a three-dimensional character, as opposed to a plot-convenient Mulder clone. For viewers looking for eye candy, Gish is also drop dead beautiful. I really do think that these new actors and characters could have carried the show for years, as Chris Carter had planned.
The appearance of new major characters (and the phasing out of old ones) was handled well. There’s a contrived conflict between Mulder and Doggett, and some (ugh) heavy-handed symbolism connected with a medallion, but these are forgivable.
I noticed something funny, too. I think there’s a strong resemblance between Gish and Duchovny. Between the hair and the face, they could be fraternal twins. I kept thinking of her as “Chick Mulder,” and I wonder if that was part of the casting decision. If so, it was a fun touch.
There were still problems in evidence here that reflected the long-running relative weaknesses of the show. Old plotlines are abandoned with minimal exposition — then simply recycled. Season 8 begins with the (awesome) alien bounty hunters, then ends with their analogs, the supersoldiers. Instead of Scully’s abduction, we focus on Mulder’s abduction. Gibson Praise reappears and is now important to the show-spanning mythology for an entirely different reason.
The show showed other signs of age. The standalone monster-of-the-week episodes felt recycled too. The writers did seem … fatigued. Sometimes they were clearly reaching. A dead and decomposing Mulder (yuck) is … resurrected? Too weird and unsupported by a justifying back story.
But there were still a lot of great things going on here — most notably in a bitching two-parter that closed the season. It just seems as though the final two episodes here brought back the magic of seasons 4 through 6 — we’ve got a conspiracy, a double-cross, a mystery, a sci-fi backdrop, reluctant allies, terrific superpowered bad guys, action and everything else that made “The X Files” a great show. Parts of the last episode — especially when a baddy clings to the side of a moving car — were damn good and scary. To top it all off, we get a reappearance by the priceless Nicholas Lea as arguably the show’s best villain, Alex Krychek. (And did anyone else catch the references to “Blade Runner?”)
This wasn’t “The X Files” at its best, but it was still decent sci-fi/horror.
Eric Robert Nolan, Author 