A Hardcore "X-Files" Fan's Thoughts on the Newly Revealed LEGO Set

I'm usually known as the Star Wars guy around Laughing Place, but something I don't get to talk about nearly enough is how obsessed I was with The X-Files throughout my teenage years. I count myself among the very few alien-fixated nerds who tuned in for the very first episode of the FOX sci-fi series the very first time it aired, and I followed the show all the way through to its bitter end after too many seasons on television and two theatrical films. Now that the LEGO Ideas The X-Files set has been officially revealed, I have some thoughts-- most of them positive-- but some that have me scratching my head. So let's get into it below.

1 - The Good

First of all, I want to say that as an X-Files fanatic for 33 years and a LEGO collector for even longer than that, this will be a day-one purchase for me, even at $200. My two favorite things about it are the level of detail that went into the design of Mulder's office and the fact that they included at least some of the supporting characters from the show. I would not have guessed that they would make room for an Alex Krycek minifigure complete with black-oil eyes, but I'm really really glad they did, as Krycek was always my favorite villain on the show whenever he would pop up. It's also great to see Walter Skinner, Mr. X, and the Cigarette Smoking Man (more on him later). I also agree that this set would have felt lacking without a grey alien, so I'm on board for its inclusion. That little sunflower seed piece in Mulder's hand (pictured above) is another very nice touch.

2 - The Bad

The biggest thing that bothers me right off the bat is the omission of certain other characters, most notably The Lone Gunmen. Frohike, Langly, and Byers would have added three more minifigures to the set-- thus probably making it more expensive-- but they're such an integral part of the show (they even got their own short-lived spinoff) that there's something missing without them. I also would have liked to see Mulder's other informants: Deep Throat and Marita Covarrubias, though Mr. X is the one who ended up with the highest episode count. Two other, admittedly more understandable, omissions are John Doggett and Monica Reyes, who didn't become regulars on the series until seasons 8 and 9, respectively. An outside-the-box choice would be the alien bounty hunter character played by actor Brian Thompson.

Additionally, as other LEGO fans have already pointed out, these minifigures could use more (or any, for that matter) detailing on their legs. It would have been really nice to give Mulder and Scully (and the other suit-wearing characters) "shoes" in the form of dual-molding on their feet. I've also seen people complaining about the faces, but those don't bother me as much. I think LEGO made decent choices there.

3 - The Weird

Okay, back to the Cigarette Smoking Man. I completely get why his minifigure doesn't actually include a cigarette. That would probably be a bridge too far for LEGO, but he was the show's central villain so they couldn't leave him out entirely. What's super bizarre about his inclusion is that in the official description of the minifigures they call him "Carl Busch" which is a name that was not used in the entire original nine-season run of the series from 1993 to 2002. That name first popped up in the second season of the 2016-2018 The X-Files revival series, in mythology episodes that I don't believe have been widely embraced by longtime fans. Why not call him CGB Spender, which is his best-known alias from the 90s run, or even just Smoking Man if LEGO wanted to avoid the word "cigarette"? This is super bizarre to me.

Another strange choice is the inclusion of the Flukeman minifigure, who would have been pretty far down on my list of characters I would like to have seen represented in this set. Thinking about it a bit, I understand why LEGO would want to include a "monster of the week" alongside the grey alien to flesh out the otherworldly aspects of the show, but because of the supporting cast omissions I listed above, his presence feels kind of out of left field, since he only ever showed up in one second-season episode.

4 - The Gift with Purchase

Those (including myself) who purchase LEGO's The X-Files building set within its first ten days of release will receive the above-pictured Scully's Lab mini-set with a different minifigure of Scully in a labcoat included. I think this is a nice addition, but much like the Flukeman there are other things I would have liked to see instead. My choice would have been a small set of The Lone Gunmen's office with all three minifigures included, though my guess as to why they didn't do this is it might have been too close in appearance to Mulder's office. Really any inclusion of The Lone Gunmen probably would have satisfied me quite a bit more, as they definitely feel left out.

'

I do think the gift of a second, alternate Scully minifigure makes sense, as Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully is the character with by far the most screen time in the entire run of The X-Files (she appeared in 218 episodes of the show, as opposed to Mulder's measly 194). I'll be glad to have Labcoat Scully in minifigure form, but I fear that this may very well be the only The X-Files LEGO set ever released, so I just wanted the most well-rounded representation of the show as possible.

5 - Overall

With all of the above having been said, I'm pretty happy with what we're getting from this set. I haven't even talked much about the main build, and that's because I actually think it's a close-to-perfect distillation of what The X-Files is as a concept: Mulder's cluttered underground office at the FBI, and a woodsy area with a UFO hovering above. That all works pretty well for me, and I'm really looking forward to putting it together at the beginning of August. I may also be inspired to try and build out some other locations from the show, like Skinner's office or one of the many other eerie locations that our favorite Special Agents have investigated over the decades. As we anxiously await Sinners filmmaker Ryan Coogler's new take on The X-Files, this set will make for the ideal way to pass the time, and maybe put on a marathon of the original series while we build it.