"Reminder of the old days" is pretty much exactly what we've gotten in this six-episode mini-season. I've seen the first five (the finale is next week), and it feels very much like the writers were aiming primarily to tickle the nostalgia of old-time viewers. The first episode goes right into the conspiracy mythology (and so will the last, judging from the preview teaser). There's a couple of "unexplained phenomenon" mysteries, plenty of Mulder-Scully rapid-fire banter, appearances by a good number of old friends (and enemies), and even a tongue-in-cheek monster mystery reminiscent of 1998's "Bad Blood" episode.
There's also the appearance of other FBI agents who get involved with Mulder and Scully, which is a much less welcome bit of throwback. Using different agents to continue the show didn't work well at all in the last couple of seasons of the original run. These new agents are obviously based on younger versions of our heroes, though, almost to the point of caricature. I'm probably reading too much into it - once bitten, twice shy. Nothing has been said thus far about them supplanting the originals in some sort of continuation of the series, and I hope it stays that way.
It feels like a lot is stuffed into this short mini-season, and with good reason. It's hard to do "big-mystery conspiracy mythology" in just a few episodes, while also accounting for a five-year time gap and doing some character exploration. But although it does feel rushed at times, the feel is still The X-Files, and I'm glad to have this little trip down memory lane.
