The X-Files return, sans Duchovny

Jacquelene Smith

Daily Arts Writer

If you haven't heard the controversy surrounding "The X-Files"

this season, you must be living on Mars. But even then you still might be better informed. To fill you in, last season, Mulder was abducted like so many others before him. And the other shocker was that Scully, like the Virgin Mother, has become miraculously pregnant.

In its eighth year, this season opens with the hunt for Mulder.

Scully picks up the crusade where Mulder left off, taking up the role of the believer and Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick, a.k.a. the mercury man from "Terminator 2") that of the skeptic. The crucial question to be answered this season is whether or not the show can still fly without Mulder as one of the co-pilots. How ready is the x-phile to accept a new special agent interfering in the relationship that has become sacred over the past seven years?

For those of you who were discouraged by the previous season:

Fear not! Chris Carter seems to have taken better hold of the reins.

This year, not only is there a new special agent on the scene, Scully

emerges as a more assertive, forceful individual and believer. Previously the show had Mulder and Scully running around, doing

investigative work that was of the same caliber as "Charlie's Angels."

The first two episodes of season eight restore the integrity and

seriousness on which we have all come to rely.

Agent Doggett, a former NYPD investigator and US Marine corps sergeant, has been assigned the job of task force leader of the manhunt. The addition of Patrick to the show is bound to raise a few eyebrows. Carter uses this to his advantage however and renders both Scully and Skinner more suspicious of this new agent. If you had doubts as whether Patrick had a place in the show, they were alleviated by the end of the hour. The fact of the matter is that anyone with a vested interest in the show wouldn't be happy with anyone trying to take Mulder's place.

The success of his particular role lies in that he is meant specifically

not to do so. Patrick convincingly and effectively establishes himself

in his own position and it is hinted that he is one who can be trusted. And that's saying a lot if you know anything about the show.

Assistant director Kersh, newly appointed Deputy director, has

immerged as a new opposing force and should be looked on as a

man-with-a-hidden-agenda. The friction between he, Scully and Skinner, heightens the urgency and difficulty of Mulder's recovery. His authoritarian, if not military-like leadership is well portrayed. Carter makes it clear that he will be a force to be reckoned with, undoubtedly throughout the entire season.

Let's see... Who are we forgetting? Ah yes: Mulder. Well, in

case you didn't know, Duchovny is scheduled to appear in only 11 of 22 episodes. If the season premier is any indication as to the screen time he'll be getting on average, be assured that we won't be seeing him much. He appears only three times during the course of the hour. However, each time, he appears in a context that is sure to surprise and hypnotize the viewer. Carter allows us to see things that we'd only seen before in the movie. Watch closely.

Coming from someone who has seen every episode since the

beginning, this episode is not to be missed. The return of intelligent

writing and of focused, intense searching for the truth breathes new

life into the show. This episode is a milestone in the ongoing epic of

good vs. evil, humans vs. aliens. How can you not want to see who wins?