I may be a little late to the party, but this past week I have become obsessed with The X Files. No doubt you have heard of this show, either because of it's spooky plots, recent revival or the scintillating chemistry between its two leads, Mulder and Scully. Gillian Anderson plays sceptical FBI Agent Dana Scully who is assigned to 'The X Files', whose current sole caretaker is the believer Fox Mulder (played by David Duchovny). What I love most about this show can be summed up in two points.
Firstly, as much as I love the 'golden age' of television, it is great to see a show that has kitsch production values and builds upon its own mythology. An episode that particularly encapsulated this is S02 E21 'The Calusari'. This episode included everything from creepy Romanian chanting, evil twin ghosts and an atmospheric bell toll on nearly every hard cut - I loved it! Then there are the mythology-heavy episodes which tend to have multi-episodic arcs dealing with the government cover-up of extra-terrestrial life. As someone who is a sceptic, I am truly shocked by how charmed I am by this show. I think the key to this is the humour between Mulder and Scully. For as much as the plots can be...out of this world (ha!) unbelievable, sometimes the characters really bring a knowing humour. For example, one episode has Mulder saying he believes a victim suffered spontaneous human combustion to a green NYPD detective. As they walk away Scully asks, "Having a bit of fun?". Or Scully's quips and sarcastic comments, like "Oh so now you're psychic?".
