With its nostalgia factor, the skit is entertaining for both X-Files diehards and non-fans alike. After all, it makes reference to everything from giant cellphones and dial-up Internet to pogs and Beanie Babies. Hootie & the Blowfish even gets a shoutout. Nonetheless, loyalists of the Fox series will definitely get the biggest thrill.
The skit, which stars Kimmel as an FBI agent alongside Mulder and Scully, is a hilarious parody of the sci-fi TV series. In it, the two original stars enter an abandoned government lab in New Mexico, where they discover an alien and find out that the FBI has assigned them a new partner to help them get “back in the swing of things.” They’re not enthusiastic about the prospect, but Kimmel’s character ends up providing them with some key information about how the world has changed since the ’90s.
As Mulder and Scully hear about everything that has been left behind, Scully worries that people won’t like them anymore. Kimmel’s character is quick to reassure her that people loved them then and will now. “Even if coming back turns out to be a bad idea, like a really, really bad idea that makes everyone hate you, we’ll still always have the ’90s,” he says.
The comical but poignant moment quickly takes another turn, though: Kimmel’s character tells them to just “do it already,” arguing, “it’s been like 23 years. Everybody already knows.” It doesn’t take much convincing for the scene to take a romantic turn, complete with Hootie & the Blowfish playing in the background. Of course.
The X-Files revival series’ two-night premiere airs on Sunday, January 24, and Monday, January 25.
