Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 328-344 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Television and New Media |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Early online date | 29 Nov 2017 |
| Publication status | Published - May 2018 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Abstract
This article examines how the 2016 X-Files revival restages the storytelling strategies that defined the show’s original run within the framework of the six-episodes-long event season. It argues that the 2016 iteration of the program adopts the alternation between procedural “Monster-of-the-Week” episodes, parodistic installments, and entries that advance an ongoing conspiracy plot for its own purposes. More specifically, the article suggests that the revival abandons the original series’ emphasis on long-term audience engagement in favor of a retrospective outlook that serves to legitimate the revival’s status as a worthy continuation of the original run—and that this shift is informed by its status as an event series. In doing so, the revival resurrects a mode of television storytelling informed by the demands of television’s multichannel era. To make this argument, the article discusses the storytelling strategies of The X-Files’ original run, and examines their implementation in the revival series.
Keywords
- audience engagement, conspiracy narratives, media events, television storytelling, The X-Files, TV series revivals
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Cultural Studies
- Arts and Humanities(all)
- Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Television and New Media, Vol. 19, No. 4, 05.2018, p. 328-344.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Conspiracy, Procedure, Continuity
T2 - Reopening The X-Files
AU - Brinker, Felix
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2017, © The Author(s) 2017.
PY - 2018/5
Y1 - 2018/5
N2 - This article examines how the 2016 X-Files revival restages the storytelling strategies that defined the show’s original run within the framework of the six-episodes-long event season. It argues that the 2016 iteration of the program adopts the alternation between procedural “Monster-of-the-Week” episodes, parodistic installments, and entries that advance an ongoing conspiracy plot for its own purposes. More specifically, the article suggests that the revival abandons the original series’ emphasis on long-term audience engagement in favor of a retrospective outlook that serves to legitimate the revival’s status as a worthy continuation of the original run—and that this shift is informed by its status as an event series. In doing so, the revival resurrects a mode of television storytelling informed by the demands of television’s multichannel era. To make this argument, the article discusses the storytelling strategies of The X-Files’ original run, and examines their implementation in the revival series.
AB - This article examines how the 2016 X-Files revival restages the storytelling strategies that defined the show’s original run within the framework of the six-episodes-long event season. It argues that the 2016 iteration of the program adopts the alternation between procedural “Monster-of-the-Week” episodes, parodistic installments, and entries that advance an ongoing conspiracy plot for its own purposes. More specifically, the article suggests that the revival abandons the original series’ emphasis on long-term audience engagement in favor of a retrospective outlook that serves to legitimate the revival’s status as a worthy continuation of the original run—and that this shift is informed by its status as an event series. In doing so, the revival resurrects a mode of television storytelling informed by the demands of television’s multichannel era. To make this argument, the article discusses the storytelling strategies of The X-Files’ original run, and examines their implementation in the revival series.
KW - audience engagement
KW - conspiracy narratives
KW - media events
KW - television storytelling
KW - The X-Files
KW - TV series revivals
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045067462&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1527476417742974
DO - 10.1177/1527476417742974
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85045067462
VL - 19
SP - 328
EP - 344
JO - Television and New Media
JF - Television and New Media
SN - 1527-4764
IS - 4
ER -