I was just a teenager when it first aired and as many other viewers I was mesmerized by its so many brilliant ideas and fascinating elements. Fifteen years have passed since I first saw it and all I can say is that it hasn't aged. But now it's even more interesting because you can relate it to the great productions that haven't been released in the past few years. For example I only discovered Twin Peaks later so watching it I was able to compare their music and visuals for example. The efforts done to make The X-Files fictional world believable is really impressive. But of course all the work would be wasted without the most important and appreciated element in the series, its characters. Dana Scully and Fox Mulder are as charismatic and likable as they used to be. From their very first scenes you can already feel the chemistry between Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Moreover the time has passed but our memories haven't faded as seeing the "I Want To Believe" poster, the X mark and other fan goodies is as delightful as it used to be. The dialogs are also pure candies for viewers interested in decrypting everything single words as they contribute to clearly identify the characters. Scully is the skeptical and rational scientist and Mulder is the freaky but brilliant FBI agent opened to most paranormal and conspiracy theories. In fact they reminded me of the duality between Jack Sheppard and John Locke from Lost, science versus faith. It's quite fascinating as it demonstrates how much influence the series had on a generation of artists, writers and directors for example, eager to develop their creativity and open their mind to new realms of wonders. The contrast between Scully and Mulder is also further developed thanks to the recurring jokes the second always say in the less expected scenes. I also greatly appreciated their investigation as the puzzle to solve didn't seem like it could be. Scully always had a rational theory and was looking for evidences when Mulder kept fast forwarding. However they both walked in the fog and events were so broken that you never knew what would happened next. So even if the story wasn't that original, even back in 1993, I think all these elements greatly contributed to make this pilot a model of its kind. Last but not least you couldn't write such a review without mentioning the Cigarette Smoking Man. From the very first minutes you could feel his dark and enigmatic presence at every corner. Moreover the last scene he's featured in was really a smart move as it opened a book full of myths, driving the experience even further and convincing the few skeptical viewers to stick around a little more.