The X-Files Has Made Me Nostalgic for a Time I Never Experienced
Key takeaways
- Midnight Murmurations Apr 19, 2026612Share Driving in a Buick Century through a rural town in middle America, pulling a Motorola brick cellphone from their suit jackets;
- I have had a vague cultural awareness of The X-Files since childhood.
- It took only three episodes for my brain to rewire, and I just got it.
Midnight Murmurations Apr 19, 2026612Share Driving in a Buick Century through a rural town in middle America, pulling a Motorola brick cellphone from their suit jackets; Mulder and Scully have pulled me into their world, and I think I want to be there, even with the supernatural baggage.
I have had a vague cultural awareness of The X-Files since childhood. It was a show before my time, but one with enough staying power in the cultural zeitgeist, and my mum’s taste in television, that I knew of its popularity. I can’t pinpoint why, but I felt an urge to finally watch it this year, maybe as a show to fill the Doctor Who-shaped void in my nerd heart as of late. Needless to say it’s been a ride.
It took only three episodes for my brain to rewire, and I just got it. The stories are interesting, a series ‘mythology’ is developing, the cinematography is gorgeous, all tied together with incredible casting. Oops, I might have a new obsession for the first time in years. At the time of writing this, I have just started season 4, and I’m all in. I know that later seasons (and movies) are controversial and probably don’t hold a candle to the golden age of the show that I am currently experiencing for the first time, but I don’t care. I’m a whovian - do you really think I could ever possibly complain about The X-Files with the current state of humiliation that Doctor Who is in? I will make fair observations as I go, but I think I can handle just about any disappointment imaginable. Except Scully and Mulder never getting together. Come on, that’s gonna happen right? This much tension can’t last forever. Seeing them briefly hold hands makes me feel like a Victorian man seeing a woman’s ankle.