Ending with not a bang but a whimper as the plots became less intense, Duchovny left (to be replaced by Robert "Doggett" Patrick) and the mythological arc of the series lost direction, The X-Files appeared destined to be confined to the archives of screen history.
Defying unbelievers, the quirky team of Mulder and Scully is due to return to the big screen tomorrow in The X Files: I Want to Believe, the sequel to 1998's, Fight for the Future.
Despite being gone from our television screens for six years, bookmakers are betting this film will more than recoup its expenses in its opening weekend.
So what is it about a TV show that, admittedly, generated a great deal of gossip, turned its leading actors into stars and made conspiracy theories "sexy", that allows it to defy the odds and make a comeback?
