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Audiences want to believe

» ‘The X-Files’ offers one more season of conspiracies

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

T*: X-Files was one of the most
influential and popular shows:

of the ’gos. It was the foundation
and primary inspiration for
pretty much every paranormal
investigation show to air. In
many ways, it was responsible for
making the public excited about
horror and science fiction again.
Despite its imitators, there has
never been a show close to its

success level since its cancellation :

in 2002 after nine seasons.

There was much rejoicing
by casual and serious fans
alike when a revival series was
announced, part of a growing
trend of adding one more season
to a show that’s been off the air
for years. Further excitement
came with the decision to film
in the show’s original location of
Vancouver, a city with a gloomy
and rainy atmosphere that added
to the feel of the show. The entire
cast is back: series showrunner
Chris Carter, David Duchovny
and Gillian Anderson as Agents
Mulder and Scully, Mitch
Pileggi as FBI Assistant Director
Skinner, and even William

: B. Davis as the mysterious

: Cigarette Smoking Man.

: The first two episodes of

: the six-part miniseries aired on

: January 24 and 25. Episode one,

: “My Struggle,” serves as a slightly
: confusing and annoying yet

: welcome return to the franchise.
: Mulder and Scully encounter

: a conspiracy-driven talk show

: host (guest star Joel McHale of

: Community fame) who has found
: a secret with global implications.
: After years of Mulder laying low
: and Scully abandoning the FBI

: for a medical career, the two
: are back in action investigating
: the mysterious X-Files.

The episode kicks off the

: driven conflict of the miniseries,
: which will be a mixture of a plot
: arc with standard Monster of the
: Week storylines. It’s absolutely —:
: great to see the iconic duo back in :
: action. Duchovny and Anderson!
: have great chemistry, which

: adds to the excitement of seeing
: them together on screen again.

However, the opening left

: something to be desired: the

This issue:

(¥ Flawed by Design: Bad romance

(¥ Comic Corner: Realistic romance better than fiction
(¥Y Chairman of the Board: But is it art?

And more!

: performances seem boring and
: almost phoned-in for all three

: major actors. It’s as if they’re

: still getting back into their

: character roots. The overall

: storyline seems like something
: from The X-Files’ dull age, from
: aseason of boring plot arcs

and frustrating mythology.
Fortunately, these problems

: are resolved in the second

: episode, “Founder’s Mutation.”
: Aclearer plot is established

: here, with the investigations

: and action much more typical

 

: of The X-Files we know and

: love. The performances are

: much better as well, so perhaps
: the cast just needed to find

: their motivation again. If this

: episode is any indication,

: we're in for a wonderful revival
: over the next month as the

: suspenseful story plays out.

There’s plenty to be found
here for casual and diehard fans
alike. Lots of call-backs to the

: original series are featured. I
: particularly loved a scene of
: Mulder kicking his ripped iconic

“I Want to Believe” UFO poster
in the original X-Files office. Even

: with the call-backs, audiences

: who have never seen the show
: will be able to understand

: what’s going on. There’s some

: real character depth featured

: here, as Mulder and Scully’s

: relationship and history is

: explored thoroughly. There’s a
: lot of development featured in
: sucha short length of time.

The X-Files airs every

Sunday. If the truth is really

: out there, we’re in for another
: short season of greatness.

: And, if we're very lucky, more
: seasons to air in the future.

 

The greatest quest of all

» Games, gamers, and relationships

Josh Visser
Columnist

Gn have you ever died

in a high-intensity scenario

while sending off that “good

night” text to your significant

other? Perhaps you were testing

your charisma with someone

on a social-networking app.

It has probably happened,

and you probably weren't

too stoked about it. I know I

never am when I die “idle.”
Video games have become

very competitive and increasingly

difficult these days, often
without the leisure to pause
the game mid-battle anymore.
Hence, my sleep schedule has
become wrecked now that I
tend to start gaming after my
girlfriend has gone to bed.

I’m lucky, considering my
girlfriend understands that I
can't stop and leave mid-raid.
She does still have trouble telling
her friends why I’m not out with
them on the weekend because

  

>I'm playing Magic the Gathering
: or Dungeons and Dragons.

: I’m finding issues

: introducing my girlfriend into

: my world of gaming. I know

: she’s probably not going to take
: upa deck of cards or create a

: character sheet (however rad

: that would be). I think the best

: situation is to revert back to

: the old games, or at least new

: instalments of them. Mario

: Kart, Super Smash Bros., Fat

: Princess, Champions of Norrath,
: Gauntlet, etc. Something with

: simple mechanics and hopefully
: some aspect of nostalgia.

These games are all good

: to play cooperatively, but some
: games you can simply take

: turns and watch. I remember

: when I ran deep into the

: depths of the Hellmouth on

: the Moon in Destiny and

: gave Jess the controller, and

: then hilarity ensued.

If you want to introduce

Image via thinkstock

: someone to the world of gaming
: like 1am doing, I would definitely
: recommend Naughty Dog games
: like the Uncharted series and

: The Last of Us because of their

: cinematic qualities. For sci-fi

: fans, the puzzle game Portal or

: the WRPG Mass Effect trilogy

: are always safe bets. Try L.A.

: Noire or even Grim Fandango if

: your audience is into mystery

: and intrigue. Establish a time

: moderator and take turns

: working out the puzzles together.
: If you're the gamer introducing

: the gamee and you know the

: answers to puzzles, let them

: figure it out instead of becoming
: impatient. Still, give hints if

: they are stuck and want help.

Games can be used as a way

: to bond with a person even if they
: aren't that into them. Sometimes
: all they will have to do is watch

: for five minutes to get hooked

: into the fantasy of that universe.

Games, like love, are far more

fun when shared with others.