The X-files Spoiler Alert: The Truth Is Out There

 Truthfully, I'm not sure why I loved the X-files.  It might be that, like most red-blooded humans, I'm a sucker for unresolved sexual tension, and the chemistry between Mulder and Scully was set on a perpetual smolder.  Or it might be that I have no trouble believing that the government would hide what they know of extraterrestrial life from the population, and the ongoing plot arc of revelations entertained the conspiracy theorist in me.  It might have been that the story of a tiny team striving to find the truth against a colossus of lies appealed to my love of the underdog.  Or it might be simply that everyone loves a good ghost story about the things that go bump in the night, and there is no greater night than the vast blackness of space, where anything might be hiding.

Whatever the reason, I was pretty pumped for the new episodes.  There were little joyful butterflies dancing in my heart as I sat down to watch the first one.

Spoiler alert: 

The butterflies are all dead now.

Don't get me wrong, it was a good episode and I'm definitely going to keep watching the show.  But any burbling excitement I had over the return of the X-files has been subdued by the distinctly uneasy feeling I got from watching it.  The show is good, but it's too spot on for comfort.  Chris Carter isn't pulling any punches with the set up for the show arc.  He's referencing actual national shifts in policy and ideology that are all too real--using the thin veneer of "Alien Conspiracy" to show just how creepy things have gotten in our country since 9/11.  And he's showing us what happens to those who search too hard for the truth.  Scully and Mulder are, each in their own way, much more broken people now than when last we saw them.

With the political situation being what it is, it's hard to judge how the show will be received.  Doubtless some people will write it off as a cleverly constructed conspiracy theory--and it is, it certainly is--but seeing it in only that light ignores the obvious warning that Carter is screaming even in this first episode.

As a nation, we have put ourselves in an unenviable position--slowly giving away our freedoms in the name of safety, and polarizing ourselves to the point where our legislature is almost unable to accomplish anything at all.  We seek our news from bastions of entertainment--ratings hawks that care far more about finding something sensational to say than they do about responsible reporting.  It's not fiction--it is fact--and as a backdrop for a story about deception and fear mongering and control by the elite?  It's chilling.

So, I'm going to be watching X-files.  But I can't say for sure if I'll enjoy it.  I'm sure the Aliens will be great.  It's the non-fiction stuff that's going to be terrifying.