There’s a definite wave of nostalgia that’s swept over television and film that’s led to the revival and reboot of plenty of properties, many of which should have probably remained dead. It’s been interesting to track how this trend has evolved in recent years and how there’s been a sudden interest in animated spin-offs of established properties. The newest example of this is the freshly announced animated X-Files spin-off, X-Files: Albuquerque, which is set to chronicle the X-Files’ “B-Team” as they investigate particularly irrelevant supernatural phenomena. It’s hard to not think that this year’s Star Trek: Lower Decks, which utilizes what’s essentially the same premise, didn’t have an influence on the pitch of X-Files: Albuquerque. The only problem with X-Files: Albuquerque is that this premise is completely antithetical to what the series stands for.
In The X-Files, the titular department of the FBI were the B-Team. They were given the strange cases that nobody else would look at, so the idea of a lesser version of that is just redundant. Furthermore, the entire ethos of Mulder’s character is that nothing was too small or ridiculous for him to look into, which is why The X-Files was so entertaining in the first place. Evil trees, Cher-loving monsters, or sinister video games were all fair game and as important to Mulder and Scully as an alien invasion. It’s understandable why an X-Files spin-off of this nature would try to concoct an angle that doesn’t involve Mulder and Scully, but in the process they’ve completely undermined the power of the original series and already written themselves into a bit of a problem before the show has even started. A lighter and “animated” version of The X-Files was even attempted to some degree in the X-Files: Origins comics, which were basically “X-Files Babies,” but those failed to catch on.
In reality, X-Files: Albuquerque likely came to be, not because someone thought that there needed to be an animated version of The X-Files, but more so that parent conglomerates are dusting off their libraries of intellectual properties and seeing what could mesh with this new fad. X-Files: Albuquerque might seem harmless, but it’s such a misguided proposition that it’s worth highlighting a number of other FOX live-action drama series that wouldn’t just also benefit from animated spin-offs, but would be actively better ideas than X-Files: Albuquerque.
Fringe
Fringe is really the ultimate answer here and in terms of storytelling there really wouldn’t be much of a difference between an animated version of Fringe and The X-Files. Both deal with the investigation of supernatural events and creatures, but Fringe arguably perfected The X-Files’ science and found a way to brilliantly pair together “monster of the week” stories with the series’ larger mythology. The major difference here is that Fringe didn’t outstay its welcome and is ideal for a return, but with a project like this not being as disruptive as a reboot of the series. Much like with The X-Files, the Fringe Division usually saw no case as being too small, but it’s not as ingrained in the premise and characters as it is with The X-Files.
Additionally, Fringe’s whole multiple timeline angle offers even more potential. The show could even be set on an Earth that’s full of benign Fringe cases. Fringe’s weird science looked incredible in live-action, but the advent of animation could help them explore a level of oddities that were previously impossible. In a perfect world, instead of X-Files: Albuquerque we’d be getting Fringe: Earth 521 or something to that effect. Fringe even had an episode that was partially animated, so it’s not even that crazy of a transition.
24
24 may not be the first project that comes to mind in terms of live-action dramas from FOX that could benefit from a lower stakes animated spin-off. However, it’s easy to forget that 24 crossed over with The Simpsons and gave audiences a taste of an animated Jack Bauer. Considering that the CTU division of the CIA is entrusted with the safety of the country, the idea of their B-Team that’s stuck with the lowest grade suspicions of terrorism could really go in some ridiculous directions.
An animated 24 could also really lean into the real-time angle and construct a number of humorous situations that embrace the ticking clock aspect of storytelling like waiting for a meeting or arguing over paperwork. That angle alone makes this hypothetical series a more unique prospect than X-Files: Albuquerque. They’d have to pull some strings with the runtime, but 24 in this case could even refer to the 24 minutes in every episode. With the world being in the state that it’s currently in, a show that finds humor in the subject of terrorism and national security could be a risky gamble, but it’s far from an impossible idea. It’s not as if CTU’s B-team would even be trusted with the heavy-duty torture devices anyway.
Sliders
Sliders is another FOX drama from the ‘90s that it’s honestly surprising hasn’t been rebooted or turned out into its own franchise, a la Stargate. The show’s premise is very simple and each episode features the efforts of a team of lost travelers as they cross over through a wormhole into a different version of Earth, with the hopes that it’s the Prime Earth that they’ve come from. Sliders could feature the original team of characters, but it could also embrace the B-Team angle and be centered around a team of less competent individuals who have been sent to locate the missing team. This is a series, much like with Star Trek: Lower Decks, where ineptitude works especially well. Making a Sliders spin-off animated also allows the show’s premise to truly not hold back and they can visit weird and wild versions of Earth that would be too elaborate for the ‘90s series. The animated angle could even be justified in the series by saying that the new Earths that they visit are a part of a universe that’s actually animated. The success of an animated Sliders could also be the push that the series has needed to help it get a proper revival
Sleepy Hollow
FOX’s Sleepy Hollow initially seems like a ridiculous premise for a police procedural that might feel more at place as a joke in 30 Rock. However, Sleepy Hollow managed to combine the supernatural with a cop show. Sleepy Hollow didn’t end that long ago, but its final season unceremoniously went out with an embarrassing whimper and a series like this could help remove that sour last impression. Sleepy Hollow was always more invested in the police angle than getting deep into monsters and demons, but the show still featured witches, supernatural entities, and harbingers of the End of Times.
Ichabod Crane and Abbie Mills were the shows heroes, but they worked amongst a much larger department in the FBI. An animated take on these types of stories that perhaps pairs together another time-displaced supernatural character from the times of the American Revolutionary War with a straight-laced FBI agent could recapture the show’s original magic, albeit in a more comedic way. It will be difficult for X-Files: Albuquerque to actually be more humorous than The X-Files’ comedic entries, but that gives an animated Sleepy Hollow spin-off even more appeal since its episodes had a lot less levity in comparison.
Dollhouse
Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse is a very mixed bag that a lot of audiences tried to convince themselves that they loved. Admittedly, a lot of the show’s problems were the result of network interference, but when the show got going it really worked and it features some of Eliza Dushku’s best work. The idea of special agents known as “actives” who get their memories erased so they can “become” new individuals never found the right balance in the live-action series, but it’s something that could flourish within an animated context.
Dollhouse is another series wherein the idea of focusing on the B-Team not only makes more sense than X-Files: Albuquerque, but it opens itself up to more humorous situations. Echo is the best of her kind, but the exploits of a borderline dysfunctional “active” that gets sent out on more pedantic missions, only to find danger come their way, is a fresh angle for this series that would actually be a lot of fun. Taking an idea like Dollhouse and turning it into an animated series even allows it to evolve the themes that are in play and help it turn into a deeper vehicle, like Ghost in the Shell, which would be pretty incredible.
Millennium
Millennium was always looked at as a moodier and more existential version of The X-Files that never gained the same level of mainstream appeal, but there are some genuinely incredible episodes within the series. When Millennium worked, it really worked and there’s still something very powerful in the idea of a shadow organization and evil acts that are tied to the turning in the millennium. It may just be the hardcore Millennium fans that are asking for a reboot, but an animated and more light-hearted Millennium spin-off would sort of be amazing. The show could explore cases and stories that aren’t that dissimilar from The X-Files, but there’s something even more hilarious and depressing about people hunting for connections to the millennium, but two decades after it’s passed. It’d be like having a cyber crimes series that’s exclusively trying to prevent Y2K from happening. The B-Team angle can also be fulfilled, with new recruits—perhaps even devoted followers of Frank Black—who are either obsessed with the millennium or fail to see the importance of it. It may sound like blasphemy, but somehow an animated Millennium spin-off is a much better idea than one for The X-Files. Hell, even find a way to bring in the Lune Gunmen.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
The Terminator franchise has struggled for decades to figure out what its fans want and even constant appearance from Arnold Schwarzenegger, flashy reboots, and legacy sequels can’t seem to crack the formula. That being said, a lot of people consider the short-lived Sarah Connor Chronicles series to feature some of the most elegant and respectful storytelling of the entire franchise. Animating the Terminator, let alone with a comedic slant, is definitely a bold pivot, but the same is said for Star Trek and The X-Files. The Terminator series is able to add over the top action sequences to the mix and mine humor from the many tropes that fill up not just the Terminator franchise, but also dystopia sci-fi and the action genre in general. The series could have a lot of fun by having an inexperienced fighter from the future, as well as a defective Terminator model, getting displaced back in time and always being a few steps behind Sarah and John. It can’t tarnish the Terminator name any more than the most recent projects.
Bones
The world absolutely does not need an animated Bones spin-off, but it’s for that reason that such a thing would lead to something special. After 12 seasons and nearly 250 episodes, it stands to reason that Bones said everything that it needed to on the topic of zany anthropology-based crimes. However, an animated series that borderline mocks the formula of police procedurals of this nature could be fun. This prospective idea has fewer possibilities than the other ideas here, but Bones turned into such comfort food for audiences that there would definitely be a crowd that would tune in. New and inexperienced forensic anthropologists in the FBI that are forced to deal with bone-related mysteries could be a weird fit that works if it’s approached with a Scooby Doo mentality.
Firefly
Audiences have been debating over the utility of more Firefly far before retro revivals were in vogue. Firefly has gotten plenty of opportunities to extend its story, whether it’s been a feature film or series of comics, but the success of Star Trek: Lower Decks means that an animated Firefly with a similar point of view could be the right angle that’s yet to be considered. An animated version of Firefly could lampoon the science fiction genre in a way that’s not possible in any of these series.
There’s a certain humor to be found in cartoon versions of secret agents in suits, but that’s hard to compare with an intergalactic crew and a whole ‘verse of planets to visit. Sure, the crew of the Firefly were so scrappy that they’d never have the resources for a B-Team to handle their dirty work, but the show found ways around larger problems. There’s no reason that Mal couldn’t have won a crew of lowly workers in a game of Tall Card and then immediately put them to use.
House, M.D.
Medical dramas have a tendency to shift into soap opera territory, but House tried to stick to its initial premise that it was supposed to be a modern, medical update to Sherlock Holmes and his methodology. House’s rule at FOX lasted for a while and the doctor’s ornery attitude, but medical insight kept a lot of people entertained. This may seem somewhat regressive now in live-action, but there’s something exciting to the prospect of a bunch of fresh recruits getting their heads bitten off by House while they try to diagnosis mundane medical oddities. It’s a formula that’s not really present in any other animated series. Some people might argue that there’s a reason that there’s never been any animated medical dramas before, but something like this could open the floodgates and prove that it’s an angle that’s crazy enough to work. And nobody loves crazy more than Dr. House.