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X-Files intro from first 8 seasons The X-Files was a popular American television
series created by Chris Carter. It ran for nine seasons, from 1993 to 2002,
spawning a feature film in 1998, with first-run episodes airing on the FOX
network. It was a critical and commercial success, due in part to its stars,
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Duchovny played Fox Mulder and The series popularized the catch-phrases
"Trust No One," "The Truth Is Out There," and "I
Want to Believe" and fostered a substantial fan following. Fans commonly
divide X-Files stories into "Mytharc" ("mythology") episodes, which
concerned the ongoing tale of an impending alien invasion, and stand-alone
"Monster-of-the-Week" episodes, which dealt with strange, other-wordly creatures and situations relating to the
paranormal. Several episodes also explored the relationship between Mulder
and Scully. A separate fan base evolved,
referred to as "Shippers" (relationshippers),
which chronicled and relished the sexual tension between Mulder and Scully;
the term subsequently entered the fan lexicon, as "Shipping".
One pivotal shipper episode was "Triangle" (6x03), in which Mulder
and Scully shared their first on-camera kiss - on a ship, in fact - although
the episode did not actually take place in reality. The X-Files was declared by TV Guide to be one of
the greatest television shows of all time, and the second greatest cult TV
show of all time, behind Star Trek.
Chris Carter used The X-Files as a springboard for two spin-off shows
in the same universe, Millennium and The Lone Gunmen, and the
apparently unrelated Harsh Realm. These did not capture the public or
critical attention to the same degree as The X-Files, however. Early
fan acclaim
Many fans consider the show's
creative peak to have occurred before the fifth season due to the presence of
Glen Morgan and James Wong, whose contribution to the first two seasons was
as great (some would say greater) than Chris Carter's, and who returned for
the first half of the fourth season. Hired by Peter Roth, Chris Carter's boss
at 20th Television, after the show's pilot had been shot, their considerably
greater production experience (Carter had never produced a drama before,
having helmed a series of unsuccessful light comedy shows for Disney in the
1980s) made them an invaluable addition to the show. In particular, their
experience with the In the second and third
seasons, Glen Morgan's younger brother Darin, hired thanks to his sibling's
influence, wrote four legendary episodes, which gave the show greater
critical respect than ever before, culminating in the only writing Emmy the
show ever received, for "Clyde Bruckman's
Final Repose" (3x04) in 1996, as well as a guest actor Emmy for Peter
Boyle in the titular role of that episode. These were the only non-technical
Emmys the show ever received, excluding Gillian Anderson's win for best
actress in 1998. The
X-Files: Fight the Future
In 1998 the series produced a
motion picture, The X-Files: Fight
the Future. It was intended as a continuation of the season five
finale, "The End" (5x20), but was also meant to stand on its own.
The film was a commercial success. However, it attracted generally muted
reviews from many major critics and, although the worldwide popularity of the
show helped the movie's intake, the domestic box office was substantially
less than what the studio had spent on producing and promoting the film. The
movie, like much of what followed it on the series, remains a point of
contention among fans - some of whom appreciate its place in the narrative,
others deploring it for being the beginning of an unwieldy narrative
structure which continued throughout the series. The movie's opening sequence
featured a bomb attack on a Federal office building in Change
Over the course of the final
few years, the show underwent several changes by way of both character growth
and plot direction. One of the central mythologies of the show, Mulder's search for his sister, would finally be
resolved, as well as a few turns of events involving the ever-deepening bond
between Mulder and Scully and the dynamic between the two characters. Whether
they "should" or "shouldn't" consummate their
relationship was the subject of great debate among the fan community for many
years, and is still subject to scrutiny, since even after numerous hints,
Carter refuses to confirm whether the two characters ever had sex. Even after
the show's cancellation it retains a fan following. It can be said, however,
that The X-Files had two audiences - one composed of early fans, some
of whom lost interest halfway through the series, and a new, enthusiastic fanbase who were enamoured of
the show's mainstream popularity. The Lone Gunmen, a trio of nerdish government
watchdogs who occasionally assisted Mulder and Scully, had their own
short-lived TV series. Its cancellation left its storyline unresolved, but
all the characters from the series returned in the X-Files episode
"Jump the Shark" (9x15) which served as a final Lone Gunmen
episode. The trio also made a short appearance, as ghosts or memories
appearing to Mulder, in The X-Files' final episode, "The
Truth" (9x19 & 9x20). Influence
Chris Carter listed Alfred
Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, and Kolchak: The Night Stalker as his major
influences for the show. Actor Darren McGavin who
played Carl Kolchak in Kolchak:
The Night Stalker appeared in two episodes of The X-Files as Agent
Arthur Dales, a character who is described as the "father of the
X-Files." The X-Files inspired numerous other TV series,
including Strange World, Burning Zone, Special Unit 2, Fox also screened a companion
series based upon The X-Files entitled Millennium, also
produced by Chris Carter. The storylines of Millennium and The
X-Files occasionally crossed over, with Scully and Mulder making cameo
appearances - albeit on an overhead television - in at least one episode of Millennium.
Frank Black, the protagonist of Millennium, eventually appeared in The
X-Files to tie up loose ends after Millennium was abruptly
cancelled. Duchovny
leaves
Hoping to capitalize on his
small-screen popularity and make more movies, David Duchovny
ceased to be a regular on The X-Files after the seventh season. His
leaving made for some interesting plot twists. The Season 7 finale found
Mulder abducted by aliens and Scully pregnant. At the very end of the Season
8 finale, Scully asks Mulder how this could have happened, and he responds by
saying "I think we both know" and proceeds to kiss her. (What is
unclear is whether she is referring to her supposed infertility or the
possibility that she had not been with a man recently [although the
proceeding kiss makes things a little less vague]) Having supposedly been
rendered infertile during her abduction in Season 2, a fact first revealed
during "Memento Mori" (4x14) in Season 4, this was indeed a shock
to both Scully and the show's fan base. As far as the paternity of the
child was concerned, there were scattered hints that Mulder could be the
father. One of the biggest hints came in the Season 9 episode "Trust No 1."
In this episode, a government agent who had been spying on Scully known as
the "Shadow Man" tells Scully that: "I know your blood type,
resting heart rate and your childhood fear of clowns. I know the name of your
college boyfriend, your true hair color, your ATM PIN number, favorite
charity and pet peeves. I know you spend too much time alone, and I know one
lonely night you invited Mulder into your bed. (cut to Scully) I was as
surprised as you are." The fact that Scully doesn't
vehemently deny this statement (as would be in her personality to do so)
lends credence to his claim. In the series finale "The
Truth," Mulder also refers to William as "my son" when
questioned by a military officer and "our son" when speaking to
Scully. Season
8 and beyond
Duchovny returned for brief stints in seasons
eight and nine. In season eight, Mulder reappeared as a corpse, was buried
for several months (of the story's time frame), and then later revived. With
both Duchovny and
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson filming the finale episode
in 2002 The show completed its ninth
and final season with the two-hour episode "The Truth", which first
aired on Trivia
Taglines
Fox Mulder in
his basement office, now on display at the The phrase "The Truth is
Out There" is usually shown on screen at the end of the opening credits
sequence. However, over the course of the series, this phrase would
occasionally be replaced with something else.
Main cast
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Mulder and Scully
Regular
guest cast
Episode information
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