Musings from a 10-Year Anniversary

I re-released a PDF copy of my fanfic ebook in 2010, as a "10 year anniversary" commemoration. Here is the copy of the additional "Afterword" from that volume...

... and Beyond...

When I wrote the original “beginning” and “ending” notes in late 2001, The X-Files and my association with them in the fanfic world were still fairly vivid memories. While I was no longer involved in an active sense as either a watcher of the show or a writer of stories, I still had a clear sense of what it felt like to be an X-Files fan.

Fast forward six plus years later and apparently an X-Files movie sequel is being filmed in Vancouver as I type this. My first reaction upon hearing this news was, “Who is still interested in this show?” It’s a fair question, isn’t it?

My own interest is pretty well non-existent. Over the past couple of years, I’ve added the “required” sets of X-Files DVDs to complete my collection, but have not watched many episodes. Not only that, I have surprisingly not even followed the career of the person who used to be my main reason for watching. It’s not as though any other obsession has replaced this one. Rather, the challenges and obligations of real life gradually regained centre stage. As time passed, the fact that I did and do have a life beyond the X-Files became apparent again.

So the question is: will I go out and spend whatever it is that people spend these days to watch a first run movie when the TXF movie is released this summer? Don’t think so. I’ll admit to having a certain curiosity right now, but I doubt I’ll end up in the theatre watching Mulder & Scully’s latest adventure. I’m one of the few X-Files fans who knows very little about how the series ended on TV. I watched twelve episodes out of season eight once each and did not see any of season nine’s action. Despite Ten Thirteen’s historical lack of respect for continuity, I would assume that whatever new big screen adventure they dream up will somehow address the series’ ending. With that in mind, the thought of an X-Files flick along the lines of the sequel to The Mummy – and just to be clear, I have nothing against the sequel to The Mummy – just makes me shudder. (Even though I do have some second-hand knowledge about the fact that the special kid from outer space was given up for adoption “way back when”, who knows what CC and Co. might want to reverse engineer from the past.) Moreover, the Mulder and Scully that I prefer to remember don’t deserve to be on the lam or some such nonsense. At this point, there are two scenarios that might prompt me to walk into that theatre: 1) the movie takes place prior to Requiem, or 2) everything in Requiem and beyond was a big “Bobby Ewing style” dream. As much as the latter would be offensive, it’s still preferable to what we were offered up in seasons eight and nine – and yes, I say that without having seen a microsecond of season nine.

Hell, I’m not afraid to own up to the truth: I still feel the sting of the slap in the face from CC and his gang. Whatever his reasons for wanting to drag the ‘Files beyond their optimal end date – especially by inserting ridiculous new back stories that presumably seemed logical to him – the move damaged the franchise irreparably. It’s kind of funny how we’re able to suspend our disbelief for a monster who comes out every sixty years or so to squeeze through air vents in search of its latest victim, but when we’re fed a story about Mulder hiding the fact that he was somehow dying of a mysterious disease… well, let’s stop right there.

Still, it’s interesting how the passing of time refocuses our attention on things. What I mean is that I may eventually be curious enough to watch the movie at some point. It’ll all depend on how vindictive I may or may not be feeling. Generally speaking, I’m a “never say never” kind of person. I can see it being the result of the same type of curiosity that made me open up my collection of fan fiction for the first time in many years and reread the stuff… and then decide to create a ten year anniversary collection with new comments for re-release.

One might say that’s an incredibly ego-stroking thing to do, and one would be right in that assessment. It is. However, a couple of incredible incidents have occurred in the past six years that have also encouraged me to update my status, so to speak...

To be continued tomorrow with "My Strange Russian Fanfic Adventure"!