X-Philes for Mulder!

The net result is that we have a show that now walks through the motions of real character interaction and development. Mulder's return seems to hold little resonance for his partner and best friends. The progress of Scully's pregnancy has developed into perhaps the most irritating tease known to mankind. (tm) Mulder has willingly handed over his life work to a man he hardly knows. He willingly hands over the woman he loves to a man who has killed members of both their families, and who admits to wanting her baby killed. Scully refuses to share any details of her pregnancy with her partner, friends and family (in a laughable attempt on the writers' part to show her as independent) yet allows the men in her life to pass her around like a piece of furniture.

This Sunday, CC and Company have exactly 42 minutes to close the book on the journey these characters and their fans have undertaken for 8 years. It's too bad that they've mucked things up so badly. David Duchovny's return breathed some badly needed life into the show these past few episodes, but it was too little, too late. His absence proved how important Mulder's character was, and how we had come to rely on his very human reactions to make even the most absurd storylines work. By the time Mulder came back to life (another example of poor writing - but don't get me started!) the damage was done.

When I think of the mytharc and the potential for the characters - yes - even after Mulder's abduction at the end of Season 7, I want to cry. No one is treated with dignity on this show anymore - not even the monsters, and least of all the audience.

The only bright spot in all this is that David has exercised his right to retain his dignity, and walk away with his head held high. We can only wish that the other players had shown the same resolve.

This Sunday will mark the last time I watch a first-run X-Files episode. As far as I'm concerned, the show I loved and respected no longer exists.

At this point, my only hope is that FOX and 1013 will have the courtesy to acknowledge David's contribution to the show's success - but I'm not optimistic given their past m.o.

I'll remember the very unique character that was Fox Mulder, and I'll always be thankful to David for giving him to us through his acting, writing and directing. Mulder can live on in videotapes, DVDs, fanfic and our memories. I was and always will be proud to call myself a Fox Mulder/David Duchovny fan.

In reading the news today that Fox has decided to renew the X-Files, and that David has elected to "move on with his life," my feelings are a mixture of anger, frustration, and great relief.

I'm angry at the greed and lack of vision that encourages the return of the show. Season 8 proved beyond a doubt that the creative impetus behind the show is dead. The lack of compelling stories, the complete bastardization of well-loved characters, the clumsy attempt to make a new character the main focus, and the unforgivable treatment of the show's "centre" all combined to show us the show's new truth: that it should have ended last season. Worse was Chris Carter and Company's cavalier lack of respect for the fanbase that made the show a hit, and for the characters that they themselves created.

I'm frustrated because it didn't have to happen. Once upon a time we had a show that challenged viewers and invited conjecture on the world we thought we knew. Once upon a time we had a partnership that was unique for its respect, commitment, intellectualism, and lack of gender stereotypes. Smart WAS Sexy. We were given a man who wasn't afraid to devote his whole life to one quest, and a woman who made the adult decision to support him (while not always agreeing with his methods) because it was the right thing to do. As they grew closer, shared their losses, and faced increasingly difficult challenges, we followed them, because they made us care. Along the way we met other characters, some good, some bad, but all fascinating in their own ways. We laughed, cried, and flinched in horror right along with them. And their fame spread - to the point that even people who didn't watch the show recognized the names "Mulder and Scully."

This season, we were treated to an "absent centre" who was conveniently forgotten by his partner and best friends. We were asked to accept a revisionist view of his character and family history. We witnessed the metamorphosis of a once fearless, bright and loyal woman into a parody of a crying, bitchy, helpless, illogical female - one wholly unrecognizable from her early years. We were introduced to CC's vision of a real "man" - one who expressed disdain and lack of understanding for new ideas, and whose off time seemed to be spent watching car races on TV and cleaning his gun. With no character development, sense of wonder and even less chemistry with his new partner, the viewers were expected to accept him as a worthy new lead. Worst of all, we were asked to believe that a professional woman, aware of impending alien invasion, would suddenly decide she needed to be a mother (because that's what "women do"), ask her partner for his sperm but allow him no place in the child's life, and then when all signs pointed to a possibly contrived, suspect pregnancy, would shut her brain down and insist the child was healthy, human and hers. This ridiculous (and ultimately self-defeating storyline) was foisted on viewers, and we were expected to dismiss the very real scenes of torture inflicted on Mulder during his abduction.