Welcome to the second edition of the 30 Day Film Challenge!

Films based on TV shows are nothing new. In fact, they’re so common you can even find full-on “ouroboros” examples of this trend: The Fugitive originally aired as a TV series in 1963 before being rebooted as the Harrison Ford film thirty years later, only to then return as a TV series twice more – once in 2000 on CBS (canceled after one season) and again starring Kiefer Sutherland in 2020 (canceled because of Quibi). Many of these films are criticized for being transparent cash-grabs trying to capitalize on nostalgia and brand recognition, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be occasionally effective.

Since my all-time favorite show is The X-Files (good thing they never made any more episodes after season 9, amirite?) my answer for this prompt has to be 1998’s The X-Files: Fight the Future. What makes this film somewhat unique is that unlike most other films based on TV shows that tend to be self-contained stories, Fight the Future is set between the events of seasons five and six. The film was released during the summer between those seasons, and is an effective microcosm of the show (for better or worse), albeit with a larger budget. Yes, it’s uneven – I mean, have you seen the show? – but there are a lot of moments that have stuck with me. The opening twenty minutes or so in particular (that building explosion!) are pretty great IMHO.

Prompt: What’s your favorite film based on a TV show?