I’ve never been the biggest fan of “The X-Files” (I continue to consider it a low-wattage rip-off of “Twin Peaks”), but tonight’s Chris Carter-scripted season premiere is the worst “X-Files” episode I’ve ever seen. Unfurling like a parody of “The X-Files,” it looks like it cost a dollar, it features a crazy dull car chase, and there’s extra gibberish about conspiracies that sounds exactly like the conspiracy babble that hobbled prior seasons.
And you're not going to believe how Carter resolves last season's cliffhanger.
The critics like some season-11 episodes better than others, but tonight’s premiere, “My Struggle III,” appears to be the least-loved of the first five.
... Things do not get off to a promising start with “My Struggle III,” a continuation of the new, “everything you thought you understood was wrong” mythology that Carter introduced in the 2016 episodes. It is both stilted and incoherent, and the only reason I might advise against skipping it is that the new season is slightly more serialized than The X-Files used to be, with the conspiracy bleeding into several of the largely-standalone Monster of the Week outings …
... A disheartening and sluggish start with the Chris Carter-written and -directed premiere … Once again, the series returns with a disappointing mythology episode written and directed by Carter. Make that "a frustratingly disappointing mythology episode," given how the cliffhangers of the last finale are resolved.
... feels more formulaic than ever. “X-Files” episodes come in three varieties — mythology, monster and mixed — and their order is predictable. Mr. Carter takes on the obligatory season-opening story that extends the series-spanning mythology, which ran out of gas back in 1999 and now revolves tepidly around the Cigarette Smoking Man and William, Mulder and Scully’s missing son.….
Premiering tonight:
The Amazing Race (CBS) Jan. 3
American Housewife (ABC) Jan. 3
Billion Dollar Buyer (CNBC) Jan. 3
Blacklist (NBC) Jan. 3
Catfish (MTV) Jan. 3
Chicago PD (NBC) Jan. 3
Criminal Minds (CBS) Jan. 3
Goldbergs (ABC) Jan. 3
grown-ish (Freeform) Jan. 3
Laff Mobb’s Laugh Tracks (Tru) Jan. 3
Law & Order SVU (NBC) Jan. 3
Man Fire Food (Cooking) Jan. 3
Match Game (ABC) Jan. 3
Modern Family (ABC) Jan. 3
9-1-1 (Fox) Jan. 3
SEAL Team (CBS) Jan. 3
Speechless (ABC) Jan. 3
WAGS Atlanta (E!) Jan. 3
The X-Files (Fox) Jan. 3
College football and “The Wall” are what dominated TV last Wednesday:
Wednesdays, Nov. 1-Dec. 27, 2017
(adults 18-49; older weeks in parentheses; repeats in gray)
1.0 (0.4) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) College Football
1.0 (---) (0.8) (---) (---) (0.9) (---) (---) (---) The Wall
0.8 (0.7) (1.6) (1.5) (1.4) (---) (1.5) (---) (1.3) The Goldbergs
0.7 (0.6) (0.6) (0.8) (0.5) (0.5) (0.5) (0.5) (0.6) Black Ink Crew
0.7 (0.7) (1.7) (1.7) (1.6) (1.2) (1.7) (---) (1.5) Modern Family
0.7 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Parton Christmas
0.6 (0.6) (1.3) (1.2) (1.0) (0.8) (1.3) (---) (1.2) American Housewife
0.6 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Carol Burnett 50
0.6 (0.7) (1.2) (1.1) (1.1) (---) (1.1) (---) (1.0) Speechless
0.6 (0.3) (0.4) (0.3) (0.4) (0.5) (0.5) (0.5) (---) SportsCenter
0.5 (0.4) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Match Game
0.4 (0.3) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Librarians
0.4 (0.4) (0.3) (0.3) (0.4) (---) (---) (---) (---) Murder in the Heartland
0.4 (0.3) (0.4) (0.4) (0.4) (0.3) (---) (---) (0.4) Property Bros
0.4 (---) (0.7) (1.1) (---) (1.1) (1.1) (0.9) (0.6) SEAL Team
0.4 (0.5) (0.5) (0.6) (0.6) (---) (---) (---) (---) Vikings
0.3 (---) (---) (---) (---) (0.3) (0.3) (0.4) (0.4) Fool Us
0.3 (0.3) (0.3) (---) (0.3) (---) (0.3) (---) (---) Homestead Rescue
0.3 (---) (---) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (---) (0.3) House Hunters
0.3 (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) House Hunters Intl
0.3 (---) (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Iron Chef
0.3 (0.3) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Little Women Atl
0.3 (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (---) (0.3) (0.3) (0.3) (---) Unusual Suspects
0.2 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) CW Madden
0.2 (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) (---) Terra’s Big House
