I watched the pilot episode of “The X-Files” in my dorm room at the University of Maryland the first night it aired, way back in the fall of 1993. I stayed in specifically to watch “The Adventures of Brisco County Junior” which debuted that same distant Friday night. I was a big fan of Bruce Campbell, in no small part due “Army of Darkness,” which I’d dragged some of my college buddies to see the year before, so “Brisco County” was a must see. I watched “The X-Files” simply because it was scifi and on, too. I was moderately impressed by “Brisco County,” but “The X-Files” failed to do anything for me. My initial thought was that the acting was bad, Duchovny clearly didn’t believe in Mulder, and the writers were throwing a lot of alien abduction cliches around because they didn’t know anything about real science fiction. Also, most of the actors were clearly Canadian, which I’ve always found jarring, particularly when Canadians are employed to play American characters. You tend to be pretty good at spotting Canadians when one complete side of your family hails from Buffalo, New York.

However, despite my earlier reservations, I came around to watching “The X-Files” regularly. There was a lot of hype at the time, and I started to “get” what Chris Carter and company were trying to do. In some ways, I think I just submitted and drank the kool aid. The forces in favor of everyone in America watching “The X-Files” were too great to fend off. Ultimately, I would get burned out on the show and by the ninth season, I only really watched the finale. The more convoluted and directionless the mythology became, the more tedious it was to watch.

Recently, I picked up the new “Mythology Collection” DVD’s that only contain episodes relating to the alien abduction story arc. The downside is that these sets don’t include some of the classic standalone episodes, but they do allow you to get a sense of the overall story. Having watched the first set of DVD’s, I find myself at a loss to describe just how disjointed and poorly written this show was. It’s like my years of being an “X-Files” fan were erased, and my initial impression of the show has taken root. A lot of this is probably due to the fact that it hasn’t aged well — in an era with programs like “Battlestar Galactica” and “Lost,” “The X-Files” seems weak and cheap by comparison. Some of its genuine contributions to television — including movie-level cinematography and an ongoing storyline, have been supplanted by newer shows. And moments that moved and excited me back in the mid-1990’s now seem underwhelming. There are so many basic storytelling problems — even in individual episodes — and Duchovny spends so much time hamming it up and phoning it in, that I find it hard to get through the DVD’s.

I can’t attribute all of the problems I have with the show to age, as I’ve also been watching “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” and although there are some rough patches, the two shows are probably better than I remember them. “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” in particular is as great as it was ten years ago and is clearly the progenitor of “Battlestar Galactica.”

Ultimately, I think “The X-Files” failings must be placed at the feet of Chris Carter. Although he came up with a great concept with “The X-Files,” the execution of much of the show was done rather shoddily. Looking back at “Millennium,” Carter’s other major show, I see similar issues. Largest of which is that the police procedural stuff isn’t handled very convincingly. Granted, I hate cop shows, but “Law and Order,” and especially “The Wire,” feel a lot more real to me in regard to the nuances of detective work than “The X-Files.” Dare I say that the police elements of “The X-Files” are genre cliches taken from a lifetime of watching television and not the result of years of painstaking research?

Granted, how much research could Chris Carter and company put into crashed alien spacecraft, UFO abductions, and shapechanging supersoldiers? But the least he could have done is read some literary science fiction and lift from the greats. Instead, he lifts from B-movies and bad television.

Sadly, I must betray my own nostalgia and admit that “The X-Files,” for all the good it did television as a whole, sucks. Big time. There, I said it. Flame away.

Tina and I haven’t stopped podcasting, although several weeks have passed since our last show. We recorded a program last week, but we both agreed that it was not up to par with our past efforts. There will be more in the future, we just want to make sure we produce good material and not just post a show for the sake of it.

In other podcast-related news, I’d like to note that episode 106 was downloaded 755 times this month. This is much, much bigger than our last show, which only received 150 downloads in June. I’m wracking my brain trying to figure out why 106 has been so popular — if anyone out there has an explanation, please let us know in the comments.

Last night, Tina and I rocked the girls to sleep as we always do. Once Rachel stopped fighting, I glanced over to see that Anya was sitting up on Tina’s lap and giggling in my direction. She does this when she wants to get your attention. After awhile, the giggling was continuous, as she smiled and batted her eyes at me, squealing in delight whenever I looked over.

“Well,” Tina said, “it looks like someone wants Daddy.”

So I got up and put Rachel down in her crib. Anya looked up at me and spread out her arms. I picked her up, and went back to my chair, listening to her coo. She rested her head on my shoulder and after a few more smiles, almost immediately went to sleep.

Even now, 10 months after their birth, the fact that I’m their father still amazes me. It’s moments like these when I worry that I can live up to the tremendous responsibility. I know I’ve made my share of mistakes, I just hope I don’t make too many more.