Sadly, TV has watched the unraveling of the “X-Files,” a sci-fi drama that led millions of viewers to believe geek is chic and obsessive love of paranormal science was once again an accepted thing. That time has past, my friend, and the show is losing its power and cult popularity. Therefore, things must move on. Chris Carter, the creator of the “X-Files,” has finally done something in attempt to recover the dwindling interest of his former sci-fi brilliance. Spun off from three characters of the “X-Files,” “The Lone Gunmen” is a new series that follows John Byers (Bruce Harwood), Melvin Frohike (Tom Braidwood), and Richard Langly (Dean Haglund) into a weekly “search for the truth.”
Joined with two new cast members, Yves Adele Hardlow (Zuleikha Robinson) and Jimmy Bond (Stephen Snedden), the show strays from the darker style of the “X-Files.” The show places a lighter spin on everything and escapes from being the paranormal alien “the truth is out there” type of show “X -Files” was. Instead, it directs itself into the world of conspiracy and technology. “X-Files” fans will recall occasional episodes that were more comical than serious. “The Lone Gunman” attempts to replicate that type of style.
What works for “The Lone Gunmen” is the fact that it will fall back into the basic and successful formula “X-Files” once had. “The Lone Gunmen” will present a new mystery each week that will be solved at the end of the episode. But along with each new story, there will be an underlying plotline running through every show. Arguably the demise of “X-Files” came when the show strayed from its formula and became more involved in revealing exactly what the truth seems to be. Hopefully “The Lone Gunmen” will be able to avoid such a mistake.
The main problem with “The Lone Gunmen” is its tone, which is currently too comically driven. The show should focus more on the seriousness of each week’s whodunit. “X-Files” fans are expecting a sci-fi sleuth, not a sci-fi comedy. In order for “The Lone Gunmen to attain the success the “X-Files” had, it would need to remind viewers of the former glory of its parent show. Because right now its direction is probably heading south of the “X-Files” in attempts to create an identity for itself. This is not wise. Why tell fans to look away at something different, when they so desperately want to see something they truly miss?
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
