X-Files: The Reboot

[Dogs of Winter]

The only point in rebooting a show is if you have a fresh spin on it. I am fine with a more diverse cast but if that is the only thing worth mentioning then it sounds like it is just a chance to cash in.

It was an influential show in its time in bringing sci fi into the mainstream, mixing standalones with long running arcs, its use of comedy eps, and also in terms of production techniques and making TV shows actually look good.

But it has been so hit and miss quality wise for so long that I think the only brand loyalty it has now is in Mulder and Scully, and what else is left for them to do? and if they are not going to be in it then whats the point of a reboot.

At best fans are gonna give it a couple of eps before judging it on its own merits, and I think most will probably just wait and see how it is received first.

Its not even like it is a high concept idea that cannot be replicated without it being called the X-Files. As @Cohen said just do your own take on it like Fringe did

 

[Cohen]

only brand loyalty it has now is in Mulder and Scully, and what else is left for them to do? and if they are not going to be in it then whats the point of a reboot.

Its not even like it is a high concept idea that cannot be replicated without it being called the X-Files. As @Cohen said just do your own take on it like Fringe did

Yes, this. If they are just going to recast Mulder and Scully as "diverse" choices, just to say it's diverse... it's not a new concept and it's kind of a salty taste.

You don't need to call it X-Files to make it a story about FBI agents solving weird cases. Fringe did this really well, and created its own mythology, and is critically revered for it.

24:Legacy tried to cash in on the brand and concept of 24, and it failed without Kiefer. Heroes: Reborn suffered a similar fate. Rebooting a name for a cash-grab just never works.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

24:Legacy tried to cash in on the brand and concept of 24, and it failed without Kiefer.

I also think it failed simply because people were tired of it. It had a long run and ended. That was enough for fans. I suspect X-Files will be the same way.

But I struggle to see the plot. The original was about proving to the government that UFOS were real. Well the government announced they are. I could see the show really having to go down a fantastical rabbit hole to sort make it work... and I am not sure that would work either.

 

[Cohen]

But I struggle to see the plot. The original was about proving to the government that UFOS were real. Well the government announced they are. I could see the show really having to go down a fantastical rabbit hole to sort make it work... and I am not sure that would work either.

I was just thinking about Fringe and how instead of focusing on UFOs, it focused on fringe theories like alternate dimensions. A new show could also look outside of the UFO realm and into other fringe science theories. That would make it interesting. But also, don't try to re-do Fringe either. Make it original, but with homage to the past.

And in casting, if you want to be culturally diverse, then do it the Grey's way and don't cast with race in mind. Write a character, and look for someone who embodies that character the best. Grey's did that with the initial cast, and it worked really well and felt organic. When people cast for diversity, it just feels inauthentic.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

The problem I would have with a diverse cast, is that they tend to be ensemble casts, as given Mulder a "Team" or "Fam," if you will, destroys a lot of the paranoia and isolation of the original. Mulder never fully trusted Scully in the early seasons, and wandering around the woods in the dark isn't quite as scary when five nerds are watching you from a command center. It could work that way, of course, but it would be a significant change from Mulder and his handler.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

The first two seasons of X-Files were shot in the forests of British Columbia. The later seasons were all shot on a sound stage and they lost all the foreboding quality of the forest. It wasn't as good after that.

 

[Kendar]

For an X-Files reboot to work you need to have good stories that aren't just copies of the original one. X-files is solid through season 5. By 6 it's apparent that Carter was just pulling stuff out of his ass at random, and it should have ended with 7. 8-9 are almost unwatchable, and 10-11 only had 1-2 good episodes.

To have a great show you need great writing, a great cast, and great directing. It only takes one not measuring up to sink a show. I'm skeptical that a reboot could pull off all three.

 

[famicommander]

I'm still mad how the Lone Gunmen ended up (the characters, not the short lived spinoff)

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

The X-Files work best when you are 11, living in the late Atomic Age, and all the stuff you just read in a book of unsolved mysteries seems absolutely real.

But yeah, after the Movie failed to pay anything off, and the move to Sunny California, it lost a lot of it's charm. Then the contract negotiations, et alt, and it was clear the show wasn't going to have a satisfying conclusion, and frankly, couldn't. After 9/11, we had real enemies and real conspiracies to deal with, time's up.

 

[Angelkiss]

I don't know about a reboot for this show and others that have been done. I'm kind of partial to the original casts of this show and others. As well as being iconic and having the series reruns airing somewhere always seems like. I did like several episodes in this show although I admit Millennium I give the edge to in being my favorite between the two.