Every Thursday, every week, almost every soul I know finds a comfortable chair in front of their TV sets at ten past nine. And there they sit, not moving an inch for the next fifty minutes. For about four years, the X-files has provided the TV event of the week in Swedish homes.

I actually remember the first episode. My parents told me to watch it. The X-files had been compared to Twin Peaks, and if it was supposed to be that good, I'd better check it out. It was good. Not even near Twin Peaks, of course, but good enough. Like everyone else, I was fascinated by the mysticism and the UFO theories.

The X-files can be divided into two kinds of episodes: stand alone episodes and big plot (UFO/abduction) episodes. In the beginning of the series I preferred the stand alone episodes. They seemed more believable. Now I watch the series just in case they're showing a big plot episode. I don't care much for the others.

Over the years I have discovered a repetitive pattern in the series, something I'm sure others have noticed as well. What was once a winning concept has now become a major disadvantage. Instead of providing suspense, horror and science fiction, the X-files has turned into an educational drama, patronizingly teaching us about ancient religious myths and giving life to old (and quite boring) fairytales. We're seldom taught something we didn't already know or haven't heard before. Placing Mulder and Scully in the middle of some ancient fairytale seems rather stale. There must be thousands of writers capable of inventing new original storylines, specifically designed for the X-files.

[sometimes, I suspect Chris Carter to be very influenced by the Disney tradition of stealing storys... ed.]

But the pattern does not stop here. Have you ever seen an episode in which Mulder and Scully don't run around in a remote forest, an attic or an abandoned industrial area in the middle of the night, alone(!), with just flashlights to protect them? Have you ever seen an episode where Scully's around Mulder when he encounters something paranormal? Have you ever seen an episode where Scully's not acted like an encyclopedia, giving strained scientific answers to all the unexplainable questions?

Frankly, am I the only one seriously bothered by Scully's presence in the series? Sure, Mulder needs a rational counterpart, but I think Skinner provides the needs. Even when Scully actually confronts something unexplainable, she accepts it, but in the next episode (or even later in the same episode!), she's forgotten all about it.

Some of the episodes are bad, I mean really bad. If I want to see splatter and gore, I go rent Jason Goes to Hell: Director's cut. How are we expected to take the big plot episodes (the better ones) seriously, if all in between is rubbish? My father said to me the other night: "Let's hope Cancerman wins. He's the only one who can put an end to this pathetic madness." And, of course, I couldn't more than agree.

When "Millennium" started, I missed the X-files. Now, I just want Millennium back.

// Magnus Lekberg, columnist