Richard Briggs

rbriggs@thespectrum.com

If you loved "The X-Files," which aired from 1993-2002, then you'll love the six-episode mini-series that brings back Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) to tie up loose ends from the show's nine-season run and tackle the world's biggest conspiracy yet.

And if you were a little too young to appreciate "The X-Files" when it was on (I was almost 15 when "The X-Files" went off the air), then prepare yourself to learn the truth that's out there — "The X-Files" is cool.

Fox and Hulu Plus are doing everything in their power to create new fans of the pop culture phenomenon by not only airing this new six-episode "X-Files" event, but also making the entire series available to Hulu Plus subscribers (the same monthly price as a Netflix subscription).

So if the first two episodes of the six-episode 10th season tickled your fancy like they did mine, hop onto Hulu Plus and start from 1993's Season 1 when Mulder and Scully first begin their investigations into the paranormal. Treat yourself to a brand new binge-watching extravaganza.

The first two episodes of the six-episode event aired Sunday and Monday. The final four episodes air the next four Mondays at 7 p.m. on Fox.

Mulder and Scully re-unite after 14 years apart to solve a government conspiracy surrounding the Roswell, New Mexico, UFO crash. They're brought together by a conspiracy theorist (Joel McHale, "Community") who has his own television show. When the people central to the conspiracy go missing, Mulder and Scully take it upon themselves to solve the problem and save the world.

Let's call the first episode the re-pilot. The writers don't waste any time re-introducing Mulder and Scully, but they're aware that people who may never have watched "The X-Files" are watching this mini-series. So there are certain plot points introduced from the nine-season run that newbies aren't familiar. And that's fine — enough is explained to understand Mulder and Scully's tumultuous relationship.

The entire stage for the conspiracy is set up in the first episode, and it's scary. I found myself immediately invested in Mulder and Scully returning to the FBI and re-opening the X-Files.

Once the over-arcing plot is introduced in the first episode, it's the second episode where the show returns to its traditional weekly procedural with Mulder and Scully skulking in dark places and rifling for clues. If you've never seen "The X-Files," the second episode is more in line with what the old show was like.

A huge plus with a mini-series like this is that ratings aren't important. The showrunners have a long leash to tell the story they want to tell, and that's something that lets loyal fans of "The X-Files" relax. This is the ending you wanted.

For someone like me who never watched the show, it's fun to see an old take on extra-terrestrial life. We live in a world where blockbuster movies about aliens destroying entire solar systems are the norm. I like kicking back and watching a show that returns to a time when the question "Are we alone in the universe?" gave us goosebumps.

Follow Richard Briggs on Twitter, @BriggsRich.

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