It is common among us college folk occasionally to search out ? perhaps in a fit of boredom ? some of the old pastimes that entertained us in our youth. A spontaneous DVD purchase proved that an old family favorite (and by that I only mean to imply my father watched the show religiously every Friday night, and I wish I had done the same) has not lost novelty or prestige since it last appeared on the air. And what could this lovely exhibition of full-frame goodness be, you ask?

?Well, for most, few things come to mind with the mention of David Duchovny. Assuming a somewhat cocky womanizer (i.e., his sexcapades on his new television series ?Californication?) isn?t your first thought, I bet little green men and ?The X-Files? is what you most associate with the middle-aged actor.

The beauty of Fox?s ?90s era sci-fi hit series was that the program was far more than that eerie theme music and mindless action. Watching it today, it becomes obvious that executive producer and writer Chris Carter?s vision of science, culture and the quirks of mankind?s modern existence was ahead of its time. More importantly, Carter knew how to convey that vision artistically with wit and humor via a medium usually plagued by a blockbuster mentality absent of societal relevance or contribution.

This difference is the reason ?The X-Files? is worth watching some 15 years after its (fantastic) debut, whether the viewer is an ?X-Phile? or not. Switching sporadically between independent, episodic plots and an overarching storyline, ?X-Files? has plenty to offer to everyone over the course of its nine seasons, and it can entrance both the casual viewer and dedicated fan. When it comes down to it, who doesn?t love a good monster hunt, alien abduction or killer computer?

And the show?s fantastic cast was just one reason it worked so well. Not only were David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, devoted to their characters with unwavering stylistic approaches, they also allowed the relationship between themselves and other characters to evolve and change, giving the show a feeling of freshness even in its first seasons.

But those two personas masked the surprising list of big names that appeared on the show in individual episodes, cutting their chops before they became the famous stars we know today. Jack Black and Giovanni Ribisi, both having perfected their craft in recent years, carried the excellent third season episode ?D.P.O.? as peculiar teenagers. Tony Shalhoub made an appearance early on, as well as Felicity Huffman and fright-time names Shawnee Smith and Tony Todd (the actor from ?Candyman? everyone recognizes but nobody knows). Even Shai LaBouf (of recent ?Transformers? fame) took a detour through ?The X-Files.? Perhaps even more surprising, gross-out star Ryan Reynolds was provided an early role in the third season?s ?Syzygy? long before ?Waiting? to become famous, dying in the first five minutes of the episode. I bet some wish his roles took that turn today.

This talent provided the dramatic prowess for the show to take on subjects both daring and far more rewarding than that of conventional crime dramas or comedy schlock. Rarely does a television show take on political or religious themes with such brazen regularity. Television shows, fueled and governed by advertising interests, are inherently weary of such poignant topics, and producers are fearful of offending viewers and losing their most integral source of profit. But Mulder and Scully often explored these ideas, reporting at the end of each episode to their superiors about the questions their investigations raised about the beliefs we hold so dear and the culture we take for granted. ?El Mundo Gira? questions the United States? treatment of Mexican immigrants, Scully ponders the beauty of selfless faith and spirituality at the close of ?Revelations,? and ?The Host? and ?Darkness Falls? suggest environmentalism is for our own protection, while providing support for both sides of the issue.

But ?X-Files? wasn?t just about government bashing and creative lectures. In fact, it wouldn?t have been able to make the statements it did without a dash of humor to flavor the show?s main course. Along with the episodic critiques of Mulder?s unfailing willingness to believe in all things unbelievable despite Scully?s obvious or logical objections, the show frequently made fun of itself. ?War of the Caprophages? found a small town reduced to B-movie panic over an invasion of killer cockroaches, and the episode?s creators went so far as to add frequent bad puns and cockroaches crawling across the frame mid-episode. ?X-COPS? combined Carter?s masterpiece with the lovable ?COPS? format, spoofing the conventions of both.
Ultimately, ?The X-Files? was, and continues to be, one of media?s most entertaining attempts to explore the human condition and our relation to the unwavering chaos. Religion, politics, conspiracy, horror stories and folk tales ? all means to cope with and attempt to understand phenomena often beyond our control ? are explored with brutal scrutiny, not shying away from our fears or daring to assume that either science or the paranormal can explain life as we know it completely.

Interestingly, Mulder raises examples of scientific advances and theories to explain the events of the series more often than the cynical Scully, who acts as the voice of reason, bringing Mulder?s extraterrestrial dreams back down to Earth. ?The X-Files? did not ignore the era?s constant scientific advances, but incorporated its answers and the questions it raised into the show. Episodes proposed ideas before they became widely accepted, such as the future of artificial intelligence and contemporary evolutionary theories.

But ?The X-Files? is still relevant because the antics of those two philosophizing FBI agents declared there is inherent truth to the world we live in, though we might not always understand it. What matters is that for nearly a decade Carter and company tried to explore, find or clarify this truth, but in doing so sent the most important message of all. Mulder and Scully experience things they do their best to explain, but realize there are some things in this world we don?t completely understand, and when it comes down to it, that?s okay.

So next time you want to watch a show you consider aged, keep an open mind. ?The X-Files? still delivers.
If you want to defend nerdy TV or talk about aliens, monsters, or ghosts, ?Oh my!? you can e-mail Mike Merline at [email protected].