Throughout my college years, X-Files was my Sunday religion. Shaking off a hangover with a dozen of my fraternity brothers, we watched the Simpsons, Futurama (or whatever came next), and the adventures of Mulder and Scully like clockwork every weekend. I was, and am, a Super-Fan.
So when the show came back, original cast in tact, for a 6-episode revival, I set my DVR instantly. So far, I’m only through four of six episodes but I’m hooked. I love it and I want more.
But not everyone seems to agree. Five minutes searching the X-Files hashtag on Twitter and you’ll find plenty of people who’ve lost the faith. They think the show has run its course. Or, in response to episode 5, which I’m told had some underlying themes about terrorism and Muslims, people were flat out offended.
With the final episode airing last night, I wanted to see if we could get an objective measure of the show and its future. Ten hours of data collection later and here’s what we got:
Clearly, the largest group had never watched The X-Files and has no intention of ever doing so. Their loss.
Of the 15 percent who’ve watched at least some of the revival, opinion are mixed but with a solid majority falling in the positive “Bring it back!” camp.
But what really stands out is the huge number of people who haven’t completed the full new season yet and still haven’t made up their minds about  the show’s future. The days of linear TV appear to be waning fast. Far more people are time shifting (like me) and watching at their own pace. If I’m the show’s producers, this worries me somewhat. My guess is the 9% of proponents are the show’s biggest zealots, who watched every episode as it aired. The 21% remaining may not be so unforgiving of of any missteps in the show’s writing, plots, or execution.
I for one hope they love the show as much as I have so far. I need more X-Files.
