You’ve been hearing about The X-Files reboot for months now, and the verdict is finally in: “Look, the truth is out there and it is hot garbage,” TV critic Willa Paskin writes in her review of the sci-fi series’ comeback. Or is it? The first episode is painful, but later ones show promise, she concludes: “Yay! The X-Files is back!!”
Speaking of homecomings, novelist Elizabeth McCracken started a Twitter conversation about what people miss about home and wrote in Slate about the moving responses she got.
With Mulder and Scully not on until Sunday night, what will hold you over till then? Browbeat put together a list of the best stuff to stream if you’re snowed in, from The Day After Tomorrow to a classic Simpsons blizzard episode. There’s also Baskets, Zach Galifianakis’ new FX show, but be warned, it’s not as comedic as you might expect for a show about a clown. And London Spy just premiered on the BBC—June Thomas interviewed its creator, and the Culture Gabfest chewed over its first couple episodes.
Or perhaps you want to spend your weekend catching up on the latest Oscar news? As stars such as Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith announced their intention to boycott the ceremony over its all-white acting nominees, Aisha Harris wrote that she would rather see them disrupt the ceremony than skip it altogether. And when Best Actress nominee Charlotte Rampling entered the conversation with an ignorant comment, Harris explained just how wrong she is.
More links from the week:
- China’s highest-grossing film of all time stars a baby vampire radish.
- How The Bachelor comes up with its crazy contestant bios.
- A new book about anti-vaxxers and the history of autism.
- The “supergay significance” of Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly!
- Hamiltines are valentines for Hamilton fans.
- New York Times food critic Pete Wells on the majesty of the Oreo.
- Why are there so many celebrity superheros?
- A lost recording of David Bowie’s impersonations of Springsteen, Lou Reed, and more.
