FoxThe X-Files is going absurdly funny, again, and taking on "fake news."
In "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat," an episode written and directed by Darin Morgan, Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) explore The Mandela Effect.
The Mandela Effect is when large groups of people remember an alternate history. In The X-Files' case, this involves guest star Brian Huskey (as Reggie Something) and the duo exploring the history of their investigations. It's a wonderfully bizarre tale from the man who brought you last season's "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" and classic episodes such as "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Jose Chung's ‘From Outer Space.'"
The episode features Anderson's Scully saying the phrase "leprechaun taint" and the Shaquille O'Neal flick Kazaam gets referenced many times.
When asked what anticipation or reaction Duchovny has when he gets a Darin Morgan script, the actor joked, "Well, usually, I think, ‘Oh, my God. I've got to spend time with Darin now?' which is always nice. No."
"Darin has his own voice. A lot of the writers on our show have particular voices you allude to, and Darin's is very particular. And I find it challenging because I feel like he really, kind of, has it in for my character, and I feel that navigating his episodes are a wonderful challenge because of that," Duchovny said at the 2018 TCA winter press tour. "And I don't say that in any kind of passive aggressive way. I really say it just in a thankful way, that it's really a challenge as an actor to do that within the show that he's subverting. So I'm always excited."
Fans should be excited too. The episode is a total trip, with laugh out loud funny moments and impressive retconning of classic X-Files moments.
You're going to want to watch The X-Files' "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat," Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. on Fox.