The X-Files Had Fun at Philly’s Expense Monday Night

Monday night’s X-Files was set in Philadelphia.

The revival of 1990s hit show The X-Files has been a lot of fun, and Monday night’s episode brought Mulder and Scully to Philadelphia for a classic “monster of the week” adventure.

We’ll try not to spoil the episode if you haven’t seen it yet. Suffice it to say — a monster is killing developers and officials for pushing homeless people off the streets so they can gentrify Philadelphia with a new apartment building. (Just another week around City Hall, right?) But the episode took its time to get in a few digs at Philly while it was on the job.

The three main gags?

1: The droll “oh your city’s nickname is so ironic” gag:

David Duchovny looks awfully pleased with his line delivery in that one, doesn’t he?

2: The usual “Philadelphia’s so hostile! (Poke, poke) Why are you so hostile, Philadelphia?” gag:

A Duchovny line again, and damn if his character doesn’t look exceedingly well-pleased with himself again! Oh well, that leads us to the final masterpiece:

3. The Sam Hinkie memorial “Sixers tank-job is endless and tiring” gag:

Here’s the full episode:

As they might say on The X-Files, I want to believe … that the show’s writers can come up with better Philly jokes than that. The truth is out there.