"The X-Files" was not very popular during season one, and got renewed only based on the cult fanbase which had gathered using newsgroups and due to a noticeable increase in the ratings from the beginning to the end of season one, with "The Erlenmeyer Flask", the season finale, receiving a promising 8.8 million viewers, the highest of the series up to that point.
FOX saw the promise and renewed "The X-Files" and also pushed it and promoted it quite well ahead of the premiere of the second season. As a result of the network expecting many new viewers "Little Green Men", the first episode of season two, actually plays like a pilot for the series, re-introducing many of the key parts of season one, some of this is done in the intro, the key catchphrases are repeated, the mythology is re-introduced, Samantha's abduction is shown in a flashback, etc. A new viewer could definitely begin with "Little Green Men" and not feel lost at all, and I think it actually has more in common with what The X-Files in general feels like and is about than "Pilot" which was obviously the actual pilot. Considering the overall quality of season one, with a few exceptional episodes excepted, a new viewer might actually be quite wise to begin with "Little Green Men" and check out the first season later if they become a fan.
Samantha's abduction in the flashback is fairly corny with the use of slow motion and bad child actors, but it's a key sequence and not terrible overall. It's immediately notable that the visual look of the series is clearly an improvement over season one and although not quite reaching the definitive look that would develop over the course of the next few episodes it is definitely not as dated and cheap as season one looked. What is dated and just plain odd is the score, which sounds really unlike The X-Files and unlike much of the first season's music as well.
Not a great episode, but a good introduction to season two and re-introduction to the series in general.
8/10
