When David Lynch’s quirky and often surreal “Twin Peaks” ended after just two seasons in 1991, I didn’t think anything could take its place. But I was wrong. In 1993, Chris Carter unleashed “The X-Files” upon the world. It was the answer to my, and million of others’, prayers. Inspired by the 1970s TV series “The Night Stalker,” Carter placed two very different FBI agents at the center of his creation: Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) is a believer in little green men and things that live under the stairs, because he had witnessed the abduction of his younger sister Samantha by aliens; Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is a skeptic and a woman of science. In the stand-alone episodes, they took on fat, flesh and brain-eating humans, vampires, firestarters, parasitic twins, mutant children, serial killers, and much, much more. In the interconnected stories – these provided the show with its mythology – they confronted government conspiracies and cover-ups, orchestrated and overseen by the Cigarette Smoking Man, the Well-Manicured Man, and Alex Krycek. They were assisted in their search for truth by FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, Deep Throat, the Lone Gunmen, and Mr. X.

As is usually the case, once a TV show becomes popular, the merchandizing machine cranks into high gear. Collectible cards, a plethora of magazine covers, episode guides, the science behind books, Barbie and Ken dressed as Scully and Mulder … all flooded the market. After several years, the workaholic Carter expanded his universe, creating two spin-off series “Millennium” (1996-99) and “The Lone Gunmen” (2001). He also created an independent series “Harsh Realm” (1999-2000), but it was canceled after just nine episodes. 1998 was a busy year for Carter as his empire now included an “X-Files” videogame and a long awaited feature film, titled simply “The X-Files.” Tired of his punishing work schedule and fueled by a desire to make it on the big screen, Duchovny called it quits in 1999, and his character exited at the end of season seven. The show limped along thanks to the infusion of some new blood (Annabeth Gish, Robert Patrick and Cary Elwes), but with Mulder gone, so was the series, and after nine years it bade the world adieu. (Based on the show’s quality, it really should have ended after season five.)

Freed from the show, Duchovny married Tea Leoni, had some kids and starred in, uh, a lot of forgettable films, such as “Evolution,” “Connie and Carla,” and “Trust the Man.” He even directed a film, “House of D.” But like so many TV stars before him - David Caruso springs instantly to mind - Duchovny only managed to restart his career by returning to the small screen in “Californication,” the Golden Globe winning show produced by Showtime. Anderson got married and divorced, twice; had some kids, moved to England, did some theater, starred in some under the radar films, such as “The Mighty Celt,” “Straightheads” and “A Cock and Bull Story;” and played Lady Dedlock in Masterpiece Theatre’s “Bleak House.” As for Carter, he sort of disappeared. In fact, I had been wondering what happened to him, when it was announced that the gang was being reassembled for another “X-Files” film, this time carrying, after the colon, “I Want to Believe.”

My first reaction to the news was “Huh?” My second was “why?” It’s been a decade since the first film and six years since the series ended, so the question lingered: Would he be able to entice the hard core fans back into the cinemas? The box office tells the story. This weekend, it made a respectable $10 million and came in at fourth place. That’s not bad considering that the “Twin Peaks” film came out one year after the show ended and it flopped. “X-Files: I Want to Believe” has to lure people in for a few more weeks, and it might very well make back its $30 million budget. (Interestingly enough, the first “X-Files” movie had a $66 million budget, so I guess the producers had some serious doubts about resurrecting the franchise, too.) Despite some bad reviews, I still think it stands to make a profit, simply because it will open in the United Kingdom on July 30, and those Brits are absolutely crackers for this show.

So what’s this new film all about? It begins with a female FBI agent being kidnapped. The agency hasn’t anything to go on until Father Crissman (Billy Connolly), a pedophile priest, comes forward, claiming to have had visions about the crime. Having looked through Mulder’s case files, FBI agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) believes that Mulder may be able to assist. But since he’s in hiding, she sends agent Drummy (Xzibit) to ask Scully for assistance. Now a physician at a Catholic hospital, she reluctantly agrees to deliver a message to him. Scully may have changed, but Mulder is still Mulder, only perhaps a bit hairier. After hearing the details of the case, he meets with the priest, and becomes increasingly convinced that he may be the real deal. Scully, on the other hand, thinks he’s a charlatan and won’t entertain the idea. Regardless of how they feel about the priest, they soon discover that not only do they have a missing agent on their hands, but she may not be the abductor’s only victim. He may, in fact, be a serial killer.

If you watch the trailer, you might see the priest crying what appears to be “black oil,” and think that “I Want to Believe” builds on the TV series mythology. It does not. Instead, it’s a feature length, stand-alone “episode” that revisits some of the elements already familiar to fans, such as diabolical foreigners, strange medical goings-on, and serial killers. If you know the episodes, it’s as if writers Carter and Frank Spotnitz drew inspiration from “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose,” “The Post-Modern Prometheus,” and “Unruhe,” my personal favorite, and then added a splash of religious debate. Some critics, and my cinemagoing partner, are complaining about the pacing of this new film; I didn’t have a problem with it. I did, however, feel that whereas Duchovny was happy to be back, Anderson wasn’t. In fact, Duchovny and Carter have said that if the film does well, they are eager to make another installment. Anderson has told reporters how difficult it was for her to get back into character, and how much she’s tried to distance herself from the character. Hmmm. Her lack of enthusiasm translates on screen as a Scully who seems really, really tired.

My overall impression of “I Want to Believe” was positive from beginning to end. I’ve been away from “X-Files” mania for so long that the minute I heard the first few bars of Mark Snow’s theme, I got goosebumps. Man, did this film make me feel nostalgic. Watching Mulder and Scully interacting again made me wish that Fox could reboot the series. I know that isn’t going to happen, so I am hopeful for the future. If “I Want to Believe” does well then we can squeeze a few more films out of this duo before they get any older. And really, who wants to see Botoxed FBI agents running after a criminal only to have to stop because they are winded? Not I.

Just an FYI, if you see the film, stay after the credits. It isn’t much, but it left me with a smile.

Chris Carter (director) / Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz (screenplay)
CAST: David Duchovny … Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson … Dana Scully
Amanda Peet … ASAC Dakota Whitney
Billy Connolly … Father Joseph Crissman
Xzibit … Agent Mosley Drummy