Warning: The following review contains minor spoilers to the first three episodes of the X-Files miniseries.

The first episode of the new X-Files miniseries includes some striking images of aliens and alien spacecraft. We see the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico “UFO crash” (I want to believe), an alien desperately trying to crawl away from some evil humans, and a modern-day alien reproduction vehicle (ARV) that can disappear in a flash. This isn’t unusual for the X-Files, a show about alien government conspiracies and paranormal sightings, but something is different this time. This new series' nature is all stark and obvious—no mystery, no buildup, no real suspense. In the original 1990s series, the audience desperately wanted to see aliens, to have the show confirm their existence, but we were fed teasers and snippets. The plotlines burned slowly (usually). And we hung out (some of us for nine seasons), desperate to find out the truth.

It seems that the truth at the end of this new, six-episode miniseries on Fox is that the X-Files closed a long time ago. It’s apparently painful to try to bring them back. I hope I am proven wrong; I have only seen the first three episodes of the new series, which premieres on Sunday. The next three episodes could very well be mind-blowing television. Again, I want to believe. But if that’s the case, the miniseries has a lot of work to do.

We missed Mitch Pileggi's glasses

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

Ed Araquel/FOX

The first episode, “My Struggle,” quickly rehashes the past for viewers who forgot what happened in the 14 years since we last saw the X-Files on TV. This is done artfully through photographs and a voiceover narration by Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). We see images of some notable monsters from the past and are told that Mulder and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) had a baby named William, whom they gave up for adoption.

“The X-Files ceased, but my personal obsession did not," Mulder declares. Unfortunately, it’s hard to believe him as what follows is Duchovny giving a very unenthusiastic, going-through-the-motions performance. Anderson as Scully also seems noticeably tired, or maybe she is just tired of Mulder and dealing with people less competent than her. Either way, she is still filling the role of skeptic, even though she has been through an abduction and witnessed a whole lot of things that science can’t explain.

The duo reunite early on in the first episode following a call from FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner. Yes, Mitch Pileggi and his glasses are back! Joel McHale, playing conservative show host Tad O'Malley, then joins Mulder and Scully on a trip to visit a woman who says she has been abducted multiple times and was impregnated (maybe with alien material)—and the babies were taken from her after the pregnancies. Mulder tries to put the pieces together on a government conspiracy dating back to Roswell, while Scully sighs and calls him crazy. In other words, they fall into their old roles quickly. Even the dialogue feels old. (Scully: “You are on dangerous ground here." Mulder: “I know what I am doing.”) Series creator Chris Carter wrote and directed the episode, but perhaps a new writer could have made the revival feel fresher. Still, if you’re frustrated or bored by the pilot episode, press on. It gets better.

The miniseries, so far, follows the format of previous seasons in the original series—the first episode was usually about the larger, government conspiracy plot, while the following episodes tracked a monster-of-the-week or smaller case. This is good news if you liked this format, and bad news if you were hoping for something completely different. The monster-of-the-week cases were the bread and butter of the first season of the original series; we met memorable characters who ate people’s livers or haunted sewage systems.

Because I am partial to this format—which has since been popularized by several other TV shows—I mostly enjoyed watching episodes 2 (“Founder's Mutation”) and 3 ("Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster”). “Founder’s Mutation,” written and directed by original series producer James Wong, really feels like an old X-Files episode. There’s a mysterious death, and Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate. The episode includes several creepy moments and some images I still can’t remove from my brain. (To clarify: this is a good thing.)

"Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster” is rather different, but it might be my favorite among the first three episodes. Why? It’s a lot of fun. It seems like the episode is going to follow the monster-of-the-week format again, but then it turns down an unexpected path. The twist is a kind of tongue-in-cheek joke on middle-class American living; some people will think it’s clever, while others will roll their eyes. I liked that the episode tried to do something new in a humorous way. Darin Morgan, another X-Files veteran, wrote and directed the third episode. Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) and Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords) guest star in equally appealing roles.

It's hip if it mentions Edward Snowden, right?

The new X-Files isn’t perfect, but it's worth watching, if only to tag along on adventures with Mulder and Scully again. It’s clear that Carter is basically trying to resurrect the original series, and he’s using nostalgia as bait. He even kept the original opening credit sequence with its awesomely outdated graphics. But why exactly are we reopening the X-Files? Is there actually more to the story of the X-Files, or is this another case of a studio or network trying to bank on a beloved franchise?

Halfway into the miniseries, it’s hard to answer that question. One seemingly obvious reason to bring back the show now is to follow cases in a world where technology affects everything and everyone. But so far, the setting and year do not seem to have much of an impact on the X-Files. The pilot looks at alien technology that has been in development since Roswell, and the second and third episodes could have easily been set in the ‘90s. Even the “jokes” feel outdated and awkward; one character in the third episode makes us cringe when remarking that a transgender woman “hit like a man.” The only way to tell that things have changed are the offhand mentions of Edward Snowden, 9/11, Uber, Google, and aircraft equipped with “dirtboxes." Oh, there are also some great scenes of Mulder trying to figure out how a camera app works on his cell phone (his ignorance helps him figure out a case, naturally). Maybe technology will play a bigger role in the last three episodes, but it doesn’t seem like it’s a priority for the show.

Instead, the miniseries is more focused on being the old X-Files. It could be worse; the show could have gone the Michael Bay route with flashy explosions and the whole world in a panic. I am eager to watch the remaining three episodes, mainly because I want to know how this all ends. It’s also comforting to know what I’m getting myself into: monster-of-the-week cases bookended by a government conspiracy plot about alien technology.

This is a show that doesn’t have many surprises left, and that may work in its favor. Most likely, fans aren’t tuning in to see something new; they’re tuning in to see characters they know and love return to their TV (or laptop/tablet) screens. But frankly, you could also just binge-watch the original series to achieve the same effect.