The X-Files: Season 11

"We've come to expect the stand-alone episodes to represent The X-Files at it's most excellent, and that's the case in the first half of this 10-episode season."

"What they've [Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, James Wong and the creator, Chris Carter] produced is intelligent, stylish and always graced by the wonderful performances of Ms. Anderson and Mr. Duchovny. It also feels more formulaic than ever."

"Since the show is Carter's baby and he isn't going anywhere or loosening up on the reins, you either find the bursts of inspiration and spookiness worth the plodding stretches of perfunctory mythology or you don't."

"But these episodes were produced in 2017, a year overflowing with discussions about the manipulation of news and information and all the ways in which far-fetched falsehoods found purchase with a public hooked on echo chambers and siloed into tribes by social media. ... That may be why these new X-Files episodes feel sharper, tighter and smarter than the first attempt at its revival."

"This new batch of episodes is considerably stronger. Even the ones that don't really do much but spin their wheels do so with feeling, and when the show is great--as it is, yet again, in Darin Morgan's episode--it's downright sublime."

"The good news is that a longer season gives other writers more time, and that if anything, leads Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny seem more comfortable this time out as partners in spooky crime fighting and something more than pals. It comes off less as an exercise in brand revival and more a genuine new season of The X-Files."

"Season 11 so far isn't flawless, but it's a lively, character-focused affair that feels far more unified than we'd ever anticipated, a massive improvement over Season 10 that gives us genuine hope for the second half. For the first time in a while, we're truly excited to see more."

"Even when stripped down to its bare bones, The X-Files has plenty to offer its audience."

"What’s striking about watching The X-Files in 2018 is just how rejuvenated it feels. While it’s never going to hit the heights of the third or fourth season from the original series (which aired from 1993 to 2002), the 2018 iteration is a damn sight better than the 2016 one."

"The X-Files is the most paranoid, subversive show on TV right now...Filled with florid dialogue (''You've seen things that weren't meant to be seen!'') and not-bad special effects, X-Files is a hoot about hooey."