"When are they gonna get to the fireworks factory?" ~ Milhouse

You remember that episode of The Simpsons where the producers of Itchy and Scratchy thought that the show needed a new character, so they came up with Poochie the Rockin' Dog, and the first episode with Poochie totally sucked, so they killed him in the next one? Yeah...

Anyway, NIHT wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it didn't really seem like The X-Files either.  It just seemed that I was watching random TV drama #46-- nothing special to really keep me watching week after week, yet nothing so horrible that I wouldn't watch it again if I was bored and had nothing better to do.

I guess my big complaint stems from Doggett's comment about how he didn't want to be on The X-Files, that Kersh just stuck him down there.  Well, great, leading man 1 has no interest in his job-- I'm sure it'll be exciting to watch him stagger through this maze of paranormal experiences week after week.  At least Reyes said she has her "dream assignment," although I don't really think she's qualified to be our Mulder-equivalent with her masters in ritualistic crimes and such. Remember (probably not) in my review for Three Words, I said that Doggett didn't want anything-- he had no goal-- so how could I get emotionally attached to him? Yeah, well I stand by that claim, just add Reyes' name in their and change singulars to plurals.

As for Scully and offspring-- nothing much to say. She wasn't decidedly not in character, but she wasn't our normal Special Agent either. And I wonder how old William is supposed to be-- he doesn't look like a newborn.

Skinner was confusing-- they're still pulling this "is-he-good-or-is-he-bad" stunt, and frankly Im a bit tired of it.  The Gunman provided some necessary comic relief, although given how paranoid and reclusive they used to be, I kinda doubt they would be so willing to help people they barely know.

And how come Langley's still blue and Byers and Frohike aren't?

Yeah, Mulder was sorely lacking, and his disappearance makes no sense, but maybe that'll be cleared up next week. Not bloody likely.

I don't like the new credits.

Other than that, I'd say this is just another typical episode of random TV drama #46, complete with big-name special guests stars and old romances worthy of a soap opera.

So, nothing important happened yesterday, and next week doesn't look too promising either, but it wasn't *that* bad... as bad as I expected.

Rating: 1.5 lounge chairs out of 5