Return of the X-Phile

You might know that I was an X-Files devotee during my teenage years. But I’m not sure you appreciate just how into the show I was.
(I can’t believe I’m about to start a paragraph this way, but here it goes…)
Ten years ago (shudder), my dear friend Christine (amazingly, yes, we’re still close friends despite me putting her through this embarrassment) and I went to see the X-Files’ silver screen premiere on opening day. I dressed up in a white shirt and the closest thing I had to a suit at the time: black pants and a black blazer from Charlotte Russe (this was before CR went slutty). My hair was (by design) bobbed and I wore a gold cross necklace quite similar to the one that made a frequent appearance on the show. In short, I was the very picture of a teenaged, brunette Dana Scully.
But that was a special occasion. This was the norm: every Sunday night, Mom made a batch of seasoned popcorn, Dad spent the whole hour making fun of the show, and I shushed him while drinking in every plot twist, every moment of romantic tension, and every appearance of Nicholas Lea.
In short, the X-Files was a big deal in my young life.
I lost track of the show during college, partially for lack of time and feeling like I would be the only person on campus watching it. (I later found out Michaela would have gladly joined me, but at the time I was probably still afraid of her :-P). When I heard early this year that a new movie was coming out for sure (rumors have been circulating for years), I was skeptical. It had been a long time, and I heard the show really ran out of steam at the end. But I started reading up on the new movie.
Big mistake. I got excited.
I spent part of last Saturday evening getting geeked up on the show again by perusing some You Tube clips of old episodes, both old favorites and ones I’ve never seen. Viewing some of the episodes I missed during the venerable series’ final season, I realized at least one thing: I missed a lot. As in, I had no idea Mulder and Scully actually ended up together. After rooting for them for so many years I was dismayed that no one bothered to send me the memo. In any event, apparently they rode off into the sunset in the finale. Who knew?
In any event, regardless of how good or bad it is, I’m stoked to see I Want to Believe. Sure, they could’ve done better on the title, but the sleek poster has improved leaps and bounds since 1998 (that’s not to say the red-and-black didn’t grace the wall of my bedroom for years), and I have hope that putting the creative team back together after a few years of furlough may just result in a thoroughly enjoyable full-length product. Of course, they’ll also have to explain (1) how Mulder got out of trouble with the law considering he was about to be executed by the Marines in the last episode of the series and broke out [making pretty much EVERYONE else in the series an accomplice], (2) what the nature of Mulder and Scully’s relationship has been for the last decade, and (3) whatever did happen to William?
And of course I’ll have to go opening day. Tradition is tradition. Maybe I’ll cut my hair and wear a suit, too.
78 days…