Halloween has come and gone, and now we’re in the truly spooky season when everything goes from sunny days and bright colors to the real dead and dread doldrums of late fall and early winter. The sun is disappearing at 5:30 and the weather is getting colder and stormier everyday. That’s got me feeling all sorts of ways, mostly tired and depressed without the sweet kiss of the sun’s delicious vitamin D. Of course, this state of affairs has me in the mood for two things: re-watching “The X-Files” and thinking about cars.
Have you given “The X-Files” a good re-watch recently? It’s in constant rotation in my house as a comfort watch, right up there with “King of the Hill” and “Star Trek.” But this time of year specifically, it’s “The X-Files” all the way. There’s three things I’ve noticed about the show: the background actors are real rough until about season three (those are really the best takes you could get?), these creepy occurrences always seem to happen on gray days or in gloomy and rainy locales, and someone on the show took a look at the Buicks of the era and said “that’s it, that’s our brand.”
A Buick from the last century
Sure, Buicks from the ’90s are a perfect mix of a G-man’s unassuming ride and something you rent when you’re on trips around the country investigating fluke men and vampires, but even if the Buicks were cast for normal, story-telling reasons, it doesn’t change my impression of old Buicks being the foggy day ride of choice. And don’t get me wrong, there is a parade of boring ’90s GM products on the show. Mulder loves an Oldsmobile Cutlass. But out of all the cars that scream Mulder and Scully the most, it has to be the faithful Buick Century. The Buick Century pops up constantly, and not just as the federal agent’s rental car, but the victims of the ghost/demon/alien/government conspiracy as well.
Having seen these episodes when they first aired as a kid and about a million times since then has only cemented the humble Buick Century in my mind as the gloomy, atmospheric car. But what about you? What car is the best rainy day, Pacific Northwest-style, sad girl/boy ride?
