The X-Files is Returning!

The X-Files will be back for a six episode run! Rumors had been going around and some statements were made about a possible return, but now it’s been confirmed by creator Chris Carter.  After a 13 year break David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be back as Mulder and Scully.

I’ve posted before on how much I love The X-Files in my Shows Worth Watching post and now official news that it will be returning is good to hear.  Admittedly, I have some trepidation about a favorite show coming back after such a long time being off the air.  Recently, 24 came back for a successful limited show run but 24 didn’t have the big gap in time that The X-Files has had.  Will Mulder and Scully still be relevant?  How will today’s technology affect the story lines and action of the agents? Will the Lone Gunmen make an appearance (how could they not given today’s plethora of outlets to report conspiracy theories, etc.)?

I’m keeping my hopes up that when the shows do finally air, they are able to please life-long fans as well as attract new ones.  Keeping the main original actors and the creator involved is a good sign but judgment will be held until then.  Are you an X-Files fan?  If so, what are your thoughts of the show returning for a limited run? Do you think this is a good idea? I’d love to hear what others think!

The Martian by Andy Weir

Mark Watney has just realized he’s been stranded on Mars after his crew members, believing he died during a wind storm, left him there.  Stuck on Mars with no way to contact anyone, Mark doesn’t let the bleak odds defeat him.  Mark’s not a pessimistic guy, he’s able to think quickly and his engineering and botanist knowledge are all fortunate features/skills to possess if there is any chance to make it off the red planet alive.

The Martian by Andy Weir is a surprisingly funny, witty, quick paced book.  The main character’s personality is key to his likability as well as the plausibility for the story itself.  The book starts out being told from Watney’s perspective and Weir does a good job of bringing in mission control’s role at the right time.  A book told solely from and about one character could get boring quickly, even if there is a good amount of humor and unexpected situations. Having the mission control side of the story come into play helped keep this book moving and added the extra bits of suspense.

The humor was a favorite part of this book for me.  Giving Mark a wicked sense of humor made for fun reading.  If the main character would have been serious, practical, and regimented, I don’t think it would have been successful.  To be stuck in such a hopeless situation I think you’d have to find a way to keep positive, why continue trying otherwise?  A few parts of the book got a bit too technical for my taste and I found myself skimming a few paragraphs every so often.  The last 100 pages moved very fast and was suspenseful even though I could tell how it would end.  Watney faces success and failure over and over again and finding out how/if he overcomes each circumstance made for an interesting story.

The end of the book featured some background on the author and his insight into his writing, which I thought was a great thing to include.  It provided an extra insight into the author and why he choose to write Mark Watney as he did.  The Martian is an entertaining book that is interesting and suspenseful and a very fun read.