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The X-Files

March 09, 2023

This article is about the television series. For the franchise, see The X-Files (franchise). For other uses, see The X-Files (disambiguation).

The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. The original television series aired from September 1993 to May 2002 on Fox. The program spanned nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A short tenth season consisting of six episodes ran from January to February 2016. Following the ratings success of this revival, The X-Files returned for an eleventh season of ten episodes, which ran from January to March 2018. In addition to the television series, two feature films have been released: The 1998 film The X-Files, which took place as part of the TV series continuity, and the stand-alone film The X-Files: I Want to Believe, released in 2008, six years after the original television run had ended.

The X-Files
Genre
Created byChris Carter
Starring
Music byMark Snow
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons11
No. of episodes218 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Production locations
CinematographyJohn Bartley
Bill Roe
Joel Ransom
Jon Joffin
Craig Wrobleski
Ron Stannett
Thomas Del Ruth
Running time43–46 minutes
Production companies
Distributor20th Television
Release
Original networkFox
Picture format
Audio format
Original releaseSeptember 10, 1993 (1993-09-10) –
  • May 19, 2002 (2002-05-19)
    (original series)
  • January 24, 2016 (2016-01-24) – March 21, 2018 (2018-03-21)
    (revival)
Chronology
Related

At the start of their investigations, Mulder, a conspiracy theorist, believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal, while Scully, a medical doctor and a skeptic, is assigned to scientifically analyze Mulder's discoveries, offer alternate rational theories to his work, and thus return him to mainstream cases. Early in the series, both agents become pawns in a larger conflict and come to trust only each other and a few select people. The agents also discover an agenda of the government to keep secret the existence of extraterrestrial life. They develop a close relationship which begins as a platonic friendship but becomes a romance by the end of the series. In addition to the series-spanning story arc, "monster of the week" episodes form roughly two-thirds of all episodes.

The X-Files was inspired by earlier television series which featured elements of suspense and speculative fiction, including The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Tales from the Darkside, Twin Peaks, and especially Kolchak: The Night Stalker. When creating the main characters, Carter sought to reverse gender stereotypes by making Mulder a believer and Scully a skeptic. The first seven seasons featured Duchovny and Anderson equally. In the eighth and ninth seasons, Anderson took precedence while Duchovny appeared intermittently. New main characters were introduced: FBI agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish). Mulder and Scully's boss, Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), also became a main character. The first five seasons of The X-Files were filmed and produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, before production eventually moved to Los Angeles to accommodate Duchovny. The series later returned to Vancouver to film The X-Files: I Want to Believe as well as the tenth and eleventh seasons of the series.

The X-Files was a hit for the Fox network and received largely positive reviews, although its long-term story arc was criticized near the conclusion. Initially considered a cult series, it turned into a pop culture touchstone that tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions and embraced conspiracy theories and spirituality. Both the series itself and lead actors Duchovny and Anderson received multiple awards and nominations, and by its conclusion the show was the longest-running science fiction series in U.S. television history. The series also spawned a franchise that includes Millennium and The Lone Gunmen spin-offs, two theatrical films, and accompanying merchandise.

Premise

General

The X-Files follows the careers and personal lives of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Mulder is a talented profiler, conspiracy theorist, and strong believer in the supernatural. He is also adamant about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and its presence on Earth. This set of beliefs earns him the nickname "Spooky Mulder" and an assignment to a little-known department that deals with unsolved cases, the X-Files. His belief in the paranormal springs from the claimed abduction of his sister Samantha Mulder by extraterrestrials when Mulder was 12. Her abduction drives Mulder throughout most of the series. Because of this, as well as more nebulous desires for vindication and the revelation of truths kept hidden by human authorities, Mulder struggles to maintain objectivity in his investigations.[5]

Special Agent Scully is a foil for Mulder in this regard. As a medical doctor and natural skeptic, Scully approaches cases with complete detachment, even when Mulder, despite his considerable training, loses his objectivity.[6] She is partnered with Mulder initially so that she can debunk Mulder's nonconforming theories, often supplying logical, scientific explanations for the cases' apparently unexplainable phenomena. Although she is frequently able to offer scientific alternatives to Mulder's deductions, she is rarely able to refute them completely. Over the course of the series, she becomes increasingly dissatisfied with her own ability to approach the cases scientifically.[7] After Mulder's abduction at the hands of aliens in the seventh season finale "Requiem", Scully becomes a "reluctant believer" who manages to explain the paranormal with science.[8]

Various episodes also deal with the relationship between Mulder and Scully, originally platonic, but that later develops romantically.[9] Mulder and Scully are joined by John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) late in the series, after Mulder is abducted. Doggett replaces him as Scully's partner and helps her search for him, later involving Reyes, of whom Doggett had professional knowledge.[10][11] The initial run of The X-Files ends when Mulder is secretly subjected to a military tribunal for breaking into a top secret military facility and viewing plans for alien invasion and colonization of Earth. He is found guilty and sentenced to death but escapes punishment with the help of the other agents, and he and Scully become fugitives.[12]

Mythology

Main articles: Mythology of The X-Files, X-files unit, Syndicate (The X-Files), and Colonist (The X-Files)

As the show progressed, key episodes, called parts of the "Mytharc", were recognized as the "mythology" of the series canon; these episodes carried the extraterrestrial/conspiracy storyline that evolved throughout the series. "Monster of the week"—often abbreviated as "MOTW" or "MoW"—came to denote the remainder of The X-Files episodes. These episodes, forming the majority of the series, dealt with paranormal phenomena, including: cryptids, mutants, science fiction technology, horror monsters, and religious phenomena. Some of the Monster-of-the-Week episodes even featured satiric elements and comedic story lines.[13] The main story arc involves the agents' efforts to uncover a government conspiracy that covers up the existence of extraterrestrials and their sinister collaboration with said government. Mysterious men constituting a shadow element within the U.S. government, known as "The Syndicate", are the major villains in the series; late in the series it is revealed that The Syndicate acts as the only liaison between mankind and a group of extraterrestrials that intends to destroy the human species. They are usually represented by Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis), a ruthless killer, masterful politician, negotiator, failed novelist, and the series' principal antagonist.[14]

As the series goes along, Mulder and Scully learn about evidence of the alien invasion piece by piece. It is revealed that the extraterrestrials plan on using a sentient virus, known as the black oil (also known as "Purity"), to infect mankind and turn the population of the world into a slave race. The Syndicate—having made a deal to be spared by the aliens—have been working to develop an alien-human hybrid that will be able to withstand the effects of the black oil. The group has also been secretly working on a vaccine to overcome the black oil; this vaccine is revealed in the latter parts of season five, as well as the 1998 film. Counter to the alien colonization effort, another faction of aliens, the faceless rebels, are working to stop alien colonization. Eventually, in the season six episodes "Two Fathers"/"One Son", the rebels manage to destroy the Syndicate. The colonists, now without human liaisons, dispatch the "Super Soldiers": beings that resemble humans, but are biologically alien. In the latter parts of season eight, and the whole of season nine, the Super Soldiers manage to replace key individuals in the government, forcing Mulder and Scully to go into hiding.[14]

Cast and characters

Main article: List of The X-Files characters

Starring

  • Fox Mulder is portrayed by David Duchovny:
    Mulder is an Oxford-educated FBI special agent who believes in the existence of extraterrestrials and a government conspiracy to hide the truth regarding them. He works in the X-Files office, which is concerned with cases marked as unsolvable; most involve supernatural/mysterious circumstances. Mulder considers the X-Files so important that he has made their study his life's main purpose.[15] After his abduction by aliens at the end of season seven, his role in the show diminishes and much of his work is taken on by Agent John Doggett.[16] He appears in an episode of The Lone Gunmen and in both the 1998 film The X-Files and the 2008 film The X-Files: I Want to Believe.[17][18][19]
  • Dana Scully is portrayed by Gillian Anderson:
    Scully is an FBI special agent, a medical doctor, and scientist who is Mulder's partner. In contrast to his credulity, Scully is a skeptic, basing her beliefs on scientific explanations.[7] However, despite her otherwise rigid skepticism, she is a Catholic, and her faith plays an important role in several episodes.[20] As the series progresses, she becomes more open to the possibility of paranormal happenings.[21] In the latter part of the eighth season, her position in the X-Files office is taken by Agent Monica Reyes, and Scully moves to Quantico to teach new FBI agents.[22] She appears in both The X-Files feature films.[18][19]
  • John Doggett is portrayed by Robert Patrick (seasons 8–9):
    Doggett is an FBI special agent who makes his first appearance in the season eight episode "Within". Doggett served in the United States Marine Corps from the 1970s to the 1980s. Later, he started to work with the New York City Police Department, reaching the rank of detective.[23] After his son's death, he joined the FBI's Criminal Investigations Division.[24] In 2000, Alvin Kersh assigned him to the X-files unit as Scully's partner after an unsuccessful task force attempt to find Mulder.[23] He does not appear in The X-Files feature films.
  • Monica Reyes is portrayed by Annabeth Gish (season 9; also starring season 8; guest seasons 10–11):
    Reyes is an FBI special agent who was born and raised in Mexico City.[25] She majored in folklore and mythology at Brown University and earned a master's degree in religious studies. Her first FBI assignment was serving on a special task force investigating satanic rituals.[26] She is a longtime friend of Doggett's and becomes his partner after Scully's departure.[22][26] She did not appear in The X-Files feature films.
  • Walter Skinner is portrayed by Mitch Pileggi (season 9–11; also starring seasons 3–8; recurring season 2; guest season 1):
    Skinner is an FBI assistant director who served in the United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War. During this time, he shot and killed a young boy carrying explosives, an incident which scarred him for life.[27] Skinner is originally Mulder and Scully's direct supervisor.[28] He later serves the same position for Doggett and Reyes.[23] Although he is originally portrayed as somewhat antagonistic, he eventually becomes a close friend of Mulder and Scully.[23][29] He appeared in an episode of The Lone Gunmen and in both The X-Files feature films.[19][30]

Also starring

  • Cigarette Smoking Man is portrayed by William B. Davis (seasons 4–7, 9; recurring seasons 1–3, 10–11):
    The Cigarette Smoking Man is the series' primary villain. In the ninth-season episodes "William" and "The Truth", it is suggested that he is Mulder's biological father.[31][32] In the seventh-season episode "Requiem", he is believed to have been killed after being pushed down a flight of stairs by Alex Krycek until the ninth-season finale "The Truth", in which Mulder and Scully travel through remote New Mexico and reach a pueblo where a "wise man" reputedly lives, who is revealed to be Cigarette Smoking Man.[12][29] He also appears in the 1998 feature film.[33]
  • Alex Krycek is portrayed by Nicholas Lea (seasons 5–9; recurring seasons 2–3; guest season 4):
    Krycek is a Russian-American, the son of Cold War immigrants, and first introduced as an FBI Special Agent assigned as a temporary investigation partner to Fox Mulder.[34][35] Krycek proceeds to work with Mulder and attempts to gain his trust. However, it later becomes evident that Krycek is actually an undercover agent working for Cigarette Smoking Man. Krycek plays an important part in several events that are harmful to Mulder and Scully.[35][36][37][38][39]
  • Jeffrey Spender is portrayed by Chris Owens (season 6; recurring season 5; guest seasons 9, 11):
    Spender is a skeptic who is assigned to The X-Files after Fox Mulder's forced leave.[40] He is the son of Cigarette Smoking Man and his ex-wife, multiple abductee Cassandra Spender,[41] as well as possibly being the half-brother of Mulder.[31][32] Initially thought to have been murdered by Cigarette Smoking Man, Spender returns, horribly disfigured, in the ninth season and helps Scully's son William.[31]
  • Alvin Kersh is portrayed by James Pickens Jr. (season 9; recurring seasons 6, 8; guest season 11):
    As an assistant director (and later deputy director), he temporarily becomes supervisor to Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully when they are assigned away from the X-Files division.[40] During this time, Cigarette Smoking Man often visits him in his office.[42] Kersh assigns Mulder and Scully mostly to menial tasks, such as terrorist details and Federal background checks.[43] Kersh is largely antagonistic to Mulder and Scully but in "The Truth" somewhat redeems himself by helping Mulder escape capital punishment.[32]

Production

Conception

See also: The X-Files (season 1) and Pilot (The X-Files)

Mulder and Scully came right out of my head. A dichotomy. They are the equal parts of my desire to believe in something and my inability to believe in something. My skepticism and my faith. And the writing of the characters came very easily to me. I want, like a lot of people do, to have the experience of witnessing a paranormal phenomenon. At the same time I want not to accept it, but to question it. I think those characters and those voices came out of that duality.

—Chris Carter on creating the characters of Mulder and Scully.[44]

 
Chris Carter created The X-Files and wrote the series pilot, along with several other episodes.

California native Chris Carter was given the opportunity to produce new shows for the Fox network in the early 1990s. As Carter was tired of the comedies he had been working on for Walt Disney Pictures,[45] a report that 3.7 million Americans may have been abducted by aliens, the Watergate scandal and the 1970s horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker all contributed to trigger the idea for The X-Files. He wrote the pilot episode in 1992.[46]

Carter's initial pitch for The X-Files was rejected by Fox executives. He fleshed out the concept and returned a few weeks later, whereupon they commissioned the pilot. Carter worked with NYPD Blue producer Daniel Sackheim to further develop the pilot, drawing stylistic inspiration from the 1988 documentary The Thin Blue Line and the British television series Prime Suspect.[47] Inspiration also came from Carter's memories of The Twilight Zone as well as from The Silence of the Lambs, which provided the impetus for framing the series around agents from the FBI, in order to provide the characters with a more plausible reason for being involved in each case than Carter believed was present in Kolchak.[48] Carter was determined to keep the relationship between the two leads strictly platonic, basing their interactions on the characters of Emma Peel and John Steed in The Avengers series.[49][50]

The early 1990s series Twin Peaks was a major influence on the show's dark atmosphere and its often surreal blend of drama and irony. Duchovny had appeared as a transgender DEA agent in Twin Peaks and the Mulder character was seen as a parallel to that show's FBI Agent Dale Cooper.[51] The producers and writers cited All the President's Men, Three Days of the Condor, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rashomon, The Thing, The Boys from Brazil, The Silence of the Lambs and JFK as other influences.[52] In addition, episodes written by Darin Morgan often referred to or referenced other films.[53]

Casting

 
Duchovny portrays Fox Mulder as a main character for season 1–7, 10 and 11 of the series, as well as an intermittent lead in the eighth and ninth.
 
Anderson portrays Dana Scully for the entire eleven seasons of the series; she also made The X-Files history in 2000 by becoming the first female writer and director of an episode.[54]

Duchovny had worked in Los Angeles for three years prior to The X-Files; at first he wanted to focus on feature films. In 1993, his manager, Melanie Green, gave him the script for the pilot episode of The X-Files. Green and Duchovny were both convinced it was a good script, so he auditioned for the lead.[55] Duchovny's audition was "terrific", though he talked rather slowly. While the casting director of the show was very positive toward him, Carter thought that he was not particularly intelligent. He asked Duchovny if he could "please" imagine himself as an FBI agent in "future" episodes. Duchovny, however, turned out to be one of the best-read people that Carter knew.[56]

Anderson auditioned for the role of Scully in 1993. "I couldn't put the script down", she recalled.[54] The network wanted either a more established or a "taller, leggier, blonder and breastier" actress for Scully than the 24-year-old Anderson, a theater veteran with minor film experience. After auditions, Carter felt she was the only choice.[57][58][59] Carter insisted that Anderson had the kind of "no-nonsense integrity that the role required." For portraying Scully, Anderson won numerous major awards: the Screen Actors Guild Award in 1996 and 1997, an Emmy Award in 1997, and a Golden Globe Award 1997.[54]

The character Walter Skinner was played by actor Mitch Pileggi, who had unsuccessfully auditioned for the roles of two or three other characters on The X-Files before getting the part. At first, the fact that he was asked back to audition for the recurring role slightly puzzled him, until he discovered the reason he had not previously been cast in those roles—Carter had been unable to envision Pileggi as any of those characters, because the actor had been shaving his head. When Pileggi auditioned for Walter Skinner, he had been in a grumpy mood and had allowed his small amount of hair to grow. His attitude fit well with Skinner's character, causing Carter to assume that the actor was only pretending to be grumpy. Pileggi later realized he had been lucky that he had not been cast in one of the earlier roles, as he believed he would have appeared in only a single episode and would have missed the opportunity to play the recurring role.[60]

Before the seventh season aired, Duchovny filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox, claiming that Fox had undersold the rights to its own affiliates, thereby costing him huge sums of money. Eventually, the lawsuit was settled, and Duchovny was awarded a settlement of about $20 million, but the lawsuit put strain on Duchovny's professional relationships. Neither Carter nor Duchovny was contracted to work on the series beyond the seventh season; however, Fox entered into negotiations near the end of that season in order to bring the two on board for an eighth season.[61] After settling his contract dispute, Duchovny quit full-time participation in the show after the seventh season.[62] This contributed to uncertainties over the likelihood of an eighth season.[63] Carter and most fans felt the show was at its natural endpoint with Duchovny's departure, but it was decided that Mulder would be abducted at the end of the seventh season and would return in 12 episodes the following year.[64] The producers then announced that a new character, John Doggett, would fill Mulder's role.[65]

More than 100 actors auditioned for the role of Doggett, but only about ten were seriously considered. Lou Diamond Phillips, Hart Bochner, and Bruce Campbell were among the ten. The producers chose Robert Patrick.[10] Carter believed that the series could continue for another ten years with new leads, and the opening credits were accordingly redesigned in both seasons eight and nine to emphasize the new actors (along with Pileggi, who was finally listed as a main character).[11] Doggett's presence did not give the series the ratings boost the network executives were hoping for.[16] The eighth-season episode "This is Not Happening" marked the first appearance of Monica Reyes, played by Gish, who became a main character in season nine. Her character was developed and introduced due to Anderson's possible departure at the end of the eighth season. Although Anderson stayed until the end, Gish became a series regular.[66]

Minor recurring characters

Glen Morgan and James Wong's early influence on The X-Files mythology led to their introduction of popular secondary characters who continued for years in episodes written by others: Scully's father, William (Don S. Davis); her mother, Margaret (Sheila Larken); and her sister, Melissa (Melinda McGraw). The conspiracy-inspired trio The Lone Gunmen were also secondary characters.[67] The trio was introduced in the first-season episode "E.B.E." as a way to make Mulder appear more credible. They were originally meant to appear in only that episode, but due to their popularity, they returned in the second-season episode "Blood" and became recurring characters.[68] Cigarette Smoking Man, portrayed by William B. Davis, was initially cast as an extra in the pilot episode. His character, however, grew into the main antagonist.[69]

Filming

 
"The End", the season five finale (1998), was the last episode to be filmed in Vancouver until the revival in 2016.

During the early stages of production, Carter founded Ten Thirteen Productions and began to plan for filming the pilot in Los Angeles. However, unable to find suitable locations for many scenes, he decided to "go where the good forests are" and moved production to Vancouver.[70] It was soon realized by the production crew that since so much of the first season would require filming on location, rather than on sound stages, a second location manager would be needed.[71] The show remained in Vancouver for the first five seasons; production then shifted to Los Angeles beginning with the sixth season.[72] Duchovny was unhappy over his geographical separation from his wife, Téa Leoni, although his discontent was popularly attributed to frustration with Vancouver's persistent rain.[73] Anderson also wanted to return to the United States, and Carter relented following the fifth season. The season ended in May 1998 with "The End", the final episode shot in Vancouver and the final episode with the involvement of many of the original crew members, including director and producer R.W. Goodwin and his wife Sheila Larken, who played Margaret Scully and would later return briefly.[74][75]

With the move to Los Angeles, many changes behind the scenes occurred, as much of the original The X-Files crew was gone. New production designer Corey Kaplan, editor Lynne Willingham, writer David Amann and director and producer Michael Watkins joined and stayed for several years. Bill Roe became the show's new director of photography and episodes generally had a drier, brighter look due to California's sunshine and climate, as compared with Vancouver's rain, fog and temperate forests. Early in the sixth season, the producers took advantage of the new location, setting the show in new parts of the country.[76] For example, Vince Gilligan's "Drive", about a man subject to an unexplained illness, was a frenetic action episode, unusual for The X-Files largely because it was set in Nevada's stark desert roads.[74] The "Dreamland" two-part episode was also set in Nevada, this time in Area 51. The episode was largely filmed at "Club Ed", a movie ranch located on the outskirts of Lancaster, California.[74][77][78]

Although the sixth through ninth seasons were filmed in Los Angeles, the series' second movie, The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), was filmed in Vancouver,[79] According to Spotnitz, the film script was written for the city and surrounding areas.[79] The 2016 revival was also shot there.[80][81]

Music

Main article: Music of The X-Files

The music was composed by Mark Snow, who got involved with The X-Files through his friendship with executive producer Goodwin. Initially Carter had no candidates. A little over a dozen people were considered, but Goodwin continued to press for Snow, who auditioned around three times with no sign from the production staff as to whether they wanted him. One day, however, Snow's agent called him, talking about the "pilot episode" and hinting that he had got the job.[82]

 
"The X-Files" (sample)
"The X-Files", the theme from the television series, as performed by Mark Snow. The sample illustrates the noted whistle and echo effects.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The theme, "The X-Files", used more instrumental sections than most dramas.[83] The theme song's famous whistle effect was inspired by the track "How Soon Is Now?" from the US edition of The Smiths' 1985 album Meat Is Murder. After attempting to craft the theme with different sound effects, Snow used a Proteus 2 rackmount sound module with a preset sound called "Whistling Joe". After hearing this sound, Carter was "taken aback" and noted it was "going to be good".[84] According to the "Behind the Truth" segment on the first season DVD, Snow created the echo effect on the track by accident. He felt that after several revisions, something still was not right. Carter walked out of the room and Snow put his hand and forearm on his keyboard in frustration. By doing so, he accidentally activated an echo effect setting. The resulting riff pleased Carter; Snow said, "this sound was in the keyboard. And that was it."[83] The second episode, "Deep Throat", marked Snow's debut as solo composer for an entire episode. The production crew was determined to limit the music in the early episodes.[85] Likewise, the theme song itself first appeared in "Deep Throat".[84]

Snow was tasked with composing the score for both The X-Files films. The films marked the first appearance of real orchestral instruments; previous music had been crafted by Snow using digitally sampled instrument sounds.[84][86] Snow's soundtrack for the first film, The X-Files: Original Motion Picture Score, was released in 1998.[87] For the second film, Snow recorded with the Hollywood Studio Symphony in May 2008 at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox in Century City.[88] UNKLE recorded a new version of the theme music for the end credits.[89] Some of the unusual sounds were created by a variation of silly putty and dimes tucked into piano strings. Snow commented that the fast percussion featured in some tracks was inspired by the track "Prospectors Quartet" from the There Will Be Blood soundtrack.[90] The soundtrack score, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, was released in 2008.[91]

Opening sequence

 
Shots from the show's original and current opening credit sequence

The opening sequence was made in 1993 for the first season, and remained unchanged until Duchovny left the show.[11][83] Carter sought to make the title an "impactful opening" with "supernatural images".[92] These scenes notably include a split-screen image of a seed germinating as well as a "terror-filled, warped face".[92] The latter was created when Carter found a video operator who was able to create the effect. The sequence was extremely popular and won the show its first Emmy Award, which was for Outstanding Graphic Design and Title Sequences. Producer Paul Rabwin was particularly pleased with the sequence, and felt that it was something that had "never [been] seen on television before".[83] In 2017, James Charisma of Paste ranked the show's opening sequence #8 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time.[93]

The premiere episode of season eight, "Within", revealed the first major change to the opening credits. Along with Patrick, the sequence used new images and updated photos for Duchovny and Anderson, although Duchovny only appears in the opening credits when he appears in an episode. Carter and the production staff saw Duchovny's departure as a chance to change things. The replacement shows various pictures of Scully's pregnancy. According to executive producer Frank Spotnitz, the sequence also features an "abstract" way of showing Mulder's absence in the eighth season: he falls into an eye.[11] Season nine featured an entirely new sequence. Since Anderson wanted to move on, the sequence featured Reyes and Skinner. Duchovny's return to the show for the ninth-season finale, "The Truth" marked the largest number of cast members to be featured in the opening credits, with five.[94] The revival seasons use the series' original opening credits sequence.[95]

The sequence ends with the tagline "The Truth Is Out There", which is used for the majority of the episodes.[92] The tagline changes in specific episodes to slogans that are relevant to that episode.

The following episodes received alternate taglines:

Broadcast and release

Episodes

Main article: List of The X-Files episodes

Nielsen ratings

Viewership and ratings per season of The X-Files
Season Timeslot (ET) Episodes First aired Last aired TV season Viewership
rank		 Avg. viewers
(millions)
Date Viewers
(millions) 		Date Viewers
(millions)
1 Friday 9:00 p.m. 24 September 10, 1993 (1993-09-10) 12.00[126] May 13, 1994 (1994-05-13) 14.00[127] 1993–94 105[128] 11.21[128]
2 25 September 16, 1994 (1994-09-16) 16.10[129] May 19, 1995 (1995-05-19) 16.60[130] 1994–95 63[128] 14.50[131]
3 24 September 22, 1995 (1995-09-22) 19.94[132] May 17, 1996 (1996-05-17) 17.86[132] 1995–96 55[133] 15.40[131]
4 Friday 9:00 p.m. (1–3)
Sunday 9:00 p.m. (4–24)		 24 October 4, 1996 (1996-10-04) 21.11[134] May 18, 1997 (1997-05-18) 19.85[134] 1996–97 12[135] 19.20[136]
5 Sunday 9:00 p.m. 20 November 2, 1997 (1997-11-02) 27.34[137] May 17, 1998 (1998-05-17) 18.76[137] 1997–98 11[135] 19.80[136]
6 22 November 8, 1998 (1998-11-08) 20.24[138] May 16, 1999 (1999-05-16) 15.86[138] 1998–99 12[139] 17.20[136]
7 22 November 7, 1999 (1999-11-07) 17.82[140] May 21, 2000 (2000-05-21) 15.26[140] 1999–2000 29[141] 14.20[142]
8 21 November 5, 2000 (2000-11-05) 15.87[143] May 20, 2001 (2001-05-20) 14.00[144] 2000–01 31[145] 13.93[142]
9 20 November 11, 2001 (2001-11-11) 10.60[146] May 19, 2002 (2002-05-19) 13.25[147] 2001–02 63[146] 9.10[148]
10 Sunday 10:30 p.m. (Premiere)
Monday 8:00 p.m.[149]		 6 January 24, 2016 (2016-01-24) 16.19[150] February 22, 2016 (2016-02-22) 7.60[151] 2015–16 7[152] 13.60[152]
11 Wednesday 8:00 p.m. 10 January 3, 2018 (2018-01-03) 5.15[153] March 21, 2018 (2018-03-21) 3.43[154] 2017–18 91[155] 5.34[155]

The pilot premiered on September 10, 1993, and reached 12 million viewers.[126] As the season progressed, ratings began to increase and the season finale garnered 14 million viewers.[127] The first season ranked 105th out of 128 shows during the 1993–94 television season.[128] The series' second season increased in ratings—a trend that would continue for the next three seasons—and finished 63rd out of 141 shows.[128] These ratings were not spectacular, but the series had attracted enough fans to receive the label "cult hit", particularly by Fox standards. Most importantly, it made great gains among the 18-to-49 age demographic sought by advertisers.[128][156] During its third year, the series ranked 55th[133] and was viewed by an average of 15.40 million viewers, an increase of almost seven percent over the second season, making it Fox's top-rated program in the 18–49-year-old demographic.[157] Although the first three episodes of the fourth season aired on Friday night, the fourth episode "Unruhe" aired on Sunday night. The show remained on Sunday until its end.[157] The season hit a high with its twelfth episode, "Leonard Betts", which was chosen as the lead-out program following Super Bowl XXXI. The episode was viewed by 29.1 million viewers, the series' highest-rated episode.[134] The fifth season debuted with "Redux I" on November 2, 1997, and was viewed by 27.34 million people, making it the highest-rated non-special broadcast episode of the series.[137] The season ranked as the eleventh-most watched series during the 1997–98 year, with an average of 19.8 million viewers. It was the series' highest-rated season as well as Fox' highest-rated program during the 1997–98 season.[136][135]

The sixth season premiered with "The Beginning", watched by 20.24 million viewers.[138] The show ended season six with lower numbers than the previous season, beginning a decline that would continue for the show's final three years.[139][141][145][148] The X-Files was nevertheless Fox's highest-rated show that year.[158] The seventh season, originally intended as the show's last, ranked as the 29th most-watched show for the 1999–2000 year, with 14.20 million viewers.[141] This made it, at the time, the lowest-rated year of the show since the third season.[131][141] The first episode of season eight, "Within", was viewed by 15.87 million viewers.[143] The episode marked an 11% decrease from the seventh season opener, "The Sixth Extinction".[159] The first part of the ninth season opener, "Nothing Important Happened Today", only attracted 10.6 million viewers, the series' lowest-rated season premiere.[146]

The original series finale, "The Truth", attracted 13.25 million viewers, the series' lowest rated season finale.[147] The ninth season was the 63rd most-watched show for the 2001–02 season, tying its season two rank.[128][148] On May 19, 2002, the finale aired and the Fox network confirmed that The X-Files was over.[94] When talking about the beginning of the ninth season, Carter said, "We lost our audience on the first episode. It's like the audience had gone away and I didn't know how to find them. I didn't want to work to get them back because I believed what we are doing deserved to have them back."[160] While news outlets cited declining ratings because of lackluster stories and poor writing,[9] The X-Files production crew blamed September 11 terrorist attacks as the main factor.[161] At the end of 2002, The X-Files had become the longest-running consecutive science fiction series ever on U.S. broadcast television. This record was later surpassed by Stargate SG-1 in 2007[162] and Smallville in 2011.[163]

The debut episode of the 2016 revival, "My Struggle", first aired on January 24, 2016, and was watched by 16.19 million viewers.[150] In terms of viewers, this made it the highest-rated episode of The X-Files to air since the eighth-season episode "This Is Not Happening" in 2001, which was watched by 16.9 million viewers.[164] When DVR and streaming are taken into account, "My Struggle" was seen by 21.4 million viewers, scoring a 7.1 Nielsen rating.[165] The season ended with "My Struggle II", which was viewed by 7.60 million viewers.[151] In total, the season was viewed by an average of 13.6 million viewers; it ranked as the seventh most-watched television series of the 2015–16 year, making it the highest-ranked season of The X-Files to ever air.[152] A few years later, the premiere episode of the eleventh season, "My Struggle III", was watched by 5.15 million viewers.[153] This was a decrease from the previous season's debut; it was also the lowest-rated premiere for any season of the show.[150] The season concluded with "My Struggle IV", which was seen by 3.43 million viewers, which was also a decrease from the previous season.[154][151] "My Struggle IV", which became the de facto finale for the series, was also the show's lowest-rated finale. In total, the season was viewed by an average of 5.34 million viewers, and it ranked as the 91st most-watched television series of the 2018–19 year.[155]

SVOD viewership

According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, The X-Files was the ninth most streamed television series across all platforms in the United States, during the week ending November 7, 2021.[166]

Films

Main articles: The X-Files (film) and The X-Files: I Want to Believe

After several successful seasons, Carter wanted to tell the story of the series on a wider scale, which ultimately turned into a feature film. He later explained that the main problem was to create a story that would not require the viewer to be familiar with the broadcast series.[167] The movie was filmed in the hiatus between the show's fourth and fifth seasons and re-shoots were conducted during the filming of the show's fifth season. Due to the demands on the actors' schedules, some episodes of the fifth season focused on just one of the two leads.[168] On June 19, 1998, the eponymous The X-Files, also known as The X-Files: Fight the Future was released. The crew intended the movie to be a continuation of the season five finale "The End", but it was also meant to stand on its own. The season six premiere, "The Beginning", began where the film ended.[169]

The film was written by Carter and Spotnitz and directed by series regular Rob Bowman. In addition to Mulder, Scully, Skinner and Cigarette Smoking Man, it featured guest appearances by Martin Landau, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Blythe Danner, who appeared only in the film. It also featured the last appearance of John Neville as the Well-Manicured Man. Jeffrey Spender, Diana Fowley, Alex Krycek and Gibson Praise—characters who had been introduced in the fifth-season finale and/or were integral to the television series—do not appear in the film. Although the film had a strong domestic opening and received mostly positive reviews from critics, attendance dropped sharply after the first weekend.[170] Although it failed to make a profit during its theatrical release—due in part to its large promotional budget—The X-Files film was more successful internationally. Eventually, the worldwide theatrical box office total reached $189 million. The film's production cost and ad budgets were each close to $66 million.[171] Unlike in the series, Anderson and Duchovny received equal pay for the film.[169]

In November 2001, Carter decided to pursue a second film adaptation. Production was slated to begin after the ninth season, with a projected release in December 2003.[172] In April 2002, Carter reiterated his desire and the studio's desire to do a sequel film. He planned to write the script over the summer and begin production in spring or summer 2003 for a 2004 release.[173] Carter described the film as independent of the series, saying, "We're looking at the movies as stand-alones. They're not necessarily going to have to deal with the mythology."[174] Bowman, who had directed various episodes of The X-Files in the past as well as the 1998 film, expressed an interest in the sequel, but Carter took the job. Spotnitz co-authored the script with Carter.[79][175] The X-Files: I Want to Believe became the second film based on the series, after 1998's The X-Files: Fight the Future. Filming began in December 2007 in Vancouver and finished on March 11, 2008.[79][176][177]

The film was released in the United States on July 25, 2008. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Carter said that if I Want to Believe proved successful, he would propose a third movie that would return to the television series' mythology and focus on the alien invasion foretold within the series, due to occur in December 2012.[178] The film grossed $4 million on its opening day in the United States.[179] It opened fourth on the U.S. weekend box office chart, with a gross of $10.2 million.[180] By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed $20,982,478 domestically and an additional $47,373,805 internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $68,369,434.[181] Among 2008 domestic releases, it finished in 114th place.[182] The film's stars both claimed that the timing of the movie's release, a week after the highly popular Batman film The Dark Knight, negatively affected its success.[183][184] The film received mixed to negative reviews. Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream film critics, reported "mixed or average" reviews, with an average score of 47 based on 33 reviews.[185] Rotten Tomatoes reported that 32% of 160 listed film critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 10. The website wrote of the critics' consensus, stating, "The chemistry between leads David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson do live [sic] up to The X-Files' televised legacy, but the roving plot and droning routines make it hard to identify just what we're meant to believe in."[186]

Revival

Main articles: The X-Files (season 10) and The X-Files (season 11)

In several interviews around the release, Carter said that if the X-Files: I Want to Believe film proved successful at the box office, a third installment would be made going back to the TV series' mythology, focusing specifically on the alien invasion and colonization of Earth foretold in the ninth-season finale, due to occur on December 22, 2012.[178][187] In an October 2009 interview, David Duchovny likewise said he wanted to do a 2012 X-Files movie, but did not know if he would get the chance.[188][189] Anderson stated in August 2012 that a third X-Files film is "looking pretty good".[190] As of July 2013, Fox had not approved the movie, although Carter, Spotnitz, Duchovny and Anderson expressed interest.[191][192] At the New York Comic Con held October 10–13, 2013, Duchovny and Anderson reaffirmed that they and Carter were interested in making a third film, with Anderson saying, "If it takes fan encouragement to get Fox interested in that, then I guess that's what it would be."[193]

On January 17, 2015, Fox confirmed that they were looking at the possibility of bringing The X-Files back, not as a movie, but as a limited run television season. Fox chairman Dana Walden told reporters that "conversations so far have only been logistical and are in very early stages", and that the series would only go forward if Carter, Anderson, and Duchovny were all on board, and that it was a matter of ensuring all of their timetables are open.[194] On March 24, 2015, it was confirmed the series would return with series creator Chris Carter and lead actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.[195][196] It premiered on January 24, 2016.[149] A year later, on April 20, 2017, Fox officially announced that The X-Files would be returning for an eleventh season of ten episodes,[197] which premiered on January 3, 2018.[198]

Future

In January 2018, Gillian Anderson confirmed that season 11 would be her final season of The X-Files.[199] The following month, Carter stated in an interview that he could see the show continuing without Anderson.[200] In May 2018, Fox's co-CEO Gary Newman commented that "there are no plans to do another season at the moment."[201]

In October 2020, Chris Carter said: "I always thought there would be even more X-Files." He admitted that continuing the series at this point with Duchovny and Anderson is unlikely, but has plans to continue the franchise with an upcoming animated spinoff. "Being that Gillian has decided to move on with her career, we certainly couldn't do Mulder and Scully again. But that's not to say there isn't another way to do The X-Files. And so right now I think the future is unwritten." The rights are now owned by Disney.[202]

Home media

Further information: The X-Files merchandise

On September 24, 1996, the first "wave" set of The X-Files VHS tapes were released. Wave sets were released covering the first through fourth seasons.[203][204] Each "wave" was three VHS tapes, each containing two episodes, for a total of six episodes per wave and two waves per season.[205][206] For example, the home video release of wave one drew from the first half of the first season: "Pilot"/"Deep Throat", "Conduit"/"Ice" and "Fallen Angel"/"Eve".[205] Each wave was also available in a boxed set.[203] Unlike later DVD season releases, the tapes did not include every episode from the seasons. Ultimately twelve episodes—approximately half the total number aired—were selected by Carter to represent each season, including nearly all "mythology arc" episodes and selected standalone episodes.[205][206] Carter briefly introduced each episode with an explanation of why the episode was chosen and anecdotes from the set. These clips were later included on the full season DVDs.[205] Wave eight, covering the last part of the fourth season, was the last to be released. No Carter interviews appeared on DVDs for later seasons. Many of the waves had collectible cards for each episode.[207]

All nine seasons were released on DVD along with the two films.[208][209] The entire series was re-released on DVD in early 2006, in a "slimmer" package. The first five slim case versions did not come with some bonus materials that were featured in the original fold-out versions. However, seasons six, seven, eight and nine all contained the bonus materials found in the original versions.[210] Episodic DVDs have also been released in Region 2, such as "Deadalive", "Existence", "Nothing Important Happened Today", "Providence" and "The Truth".[211] Various other episodes were released on DVD and VHS. In 2005, four DVD sets were released containing the main story arc episodes of The X-Files. The four being Volume 1 – Abduction, Volume 2 – Black Oil, Volume 3 – Colonization and Volume 4 – Super Soldiers.[212] A boxed set containing all nine seasons and the first film was made available in 2007, which contains all of the special features from the initial releases. The set also includes an additional disc of new bonus features and various collectibles, including a poster for the first film, a comic book, a set of collector cards and a guide to all 202 episodes across all nine seasons and the first film. Due to the fact that the set was released in 2007, the second film, which was released in 2008, is not included.[208]

Release of The X-Files' seasons on Blu-ray, restored in high-definition, was rumored to begin in late 2013.[213] The German TV channel ProSieben Maxx began airing first-season episodes reformatted in widescreen and in high-definition on January 20, 2014.[214] On April 23, 2015, Netflix began streaming episodes of The X-Files in high definition, marking the first time that the series has been made available in the high resolution format in North America.[215] In October 2015, it was confirmed that the complete series would be reissued on Blu-ray, and the full set was released on December 8, 2015.[216] The set was criticized for using the wrong fonts for the title sequence and season 8 was affected by color balance issues making the picture appear darker in most episodes (an issue known as "black crush"). These issues led to Fox offering corrected discs and eventually issuing new sets with the correct color balance.[217][218]

Spin-offs

The Lone Gunmen

The Lone Gunmen is an American science fiction television series created by Carter and broadcast on Fox and was crafted as a more humorous spin-off of The X-Files. The series starred the eponymous Lone Gunmen and was first broadcast in March 2001, during The X-Files's month-long hiatus.[68] Although the debut episode garnered 13.23 million viewers, its ratings began to steadily drop.[219] The program was cancelled after thirteen episodes.[220] The last episode was broadcast in June 2001 and ended on a cliffhanger which was partially resolved in a ninth-season episode of The X-Files titled "Jump the Shark", included in the DVD release of the series.[221]

The X-Files: Albuquerque

In August 2020, Fox announced that an animated comedy spin-off series was in development.[222]

Comic books

Main articles: The X-Files (comics), The X-Files Season 10 (comics), and The X-Files Season 11 (comics)

The X-Files was converted into a comic book series published by Topps Comics during the show's third and fourth seasons. The initial comic books were written solely by Stefan Petrucha. According to Petrucha, there were three types of stories: "those that dealt with the characters, those that dealt with the conspiracy, and the monster-of-the-week sort of stuff".[223] Petrucha cited the latter as the easiest to write. Petrucha saw Scully as a "scientist [...] with real world faith", and that the difference between [Mulder and Scully] is not that Mulder believes and Scully doesn't; it's more a difference in procedure."[223] In this manner, Mulder's viewpoint was often written to be just as valid as Scully's, and Scully's science was often portrayed to be just as convincing as Mulder's more outlandish ideas.[223] Petrucha was eventually fired and various other authors took up the job.[223] Topps published 41 regular issues of The X-Files from 1995–98.

A 30 Days of Night/The X-Files cross-over graphic novel was published by WildStorm in 2010. It follows Mulder and Scully to Alaska as they investigate a series of murders that may be linked to vampires.[224]

In 2013, it was announced that The X-Files would return to comic book form with "Season 10", now published by IDW. The series, which follows Mulder and Scully after the events of The X-Files: I Want to Believe, was released in June 2013. Joe Harris wrote the series, and Michael Walsh and Jordie Bellaire provided the artwork. It was later announced that Carter himself would be the executive producer for the series and would be "providing feedback to the creative team regarding scripts and outlines to keep the new stories in line with existing and on-going canon."[225] The series restarted the series' mythology, and the first arc of the story focused on "seek[ing] to bring the mythology of the Alien Conspiracy back up to date in a more paranoid, post-terror, post-WikiLeaks society."[225] In addition, sequels to popular Monster-of-the-Week episodes were made.[225] The X-Files Season 10 concluded on July 1, 2015, after 25 issues.[226]

In August 2015, The X-Files Season 11 comic book began, also published by IDW. The 8-issue series served as a continuation of the TV show. Chris Carter was the Executive Producer of the comic book series, while the issues were written by Joe Harris and illustrated by Matthew Dow Smith and Jordie Bellaire.[227]

Influence

Critical reception

Overall

The X-Files received positive reviews from television critics, with many calling it one of the best series that aired on American television in the 1990s. Ian Burrell from the British newspaper The Independent called the show "one of the greatest cult shows in modern television".[228] Richard Corliss from Time magazine called the show the "cultural touchstone of" the 1990s.[229] Hal Boedeker from the Orlando Sentinel said in 1996 that the series had grown from a cult favorite to a television "classic".[230] The Evening Herald said the show had "overwhelming influence" on television, in front of such shows as The Simpsons.[231] In 2012, Entertainment Weekly listed the show at #4 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years", describing it as "a paean to oddballs, sci-fi fans, conspiracy theorists and Area 51 pilgrims everywhere. Ratings improved every year for the first five seasons, while Mulder and Scully's believer-versus-skeptic dynamic created a TV template that's still in heavy use today."[232]

In 2004 and 2007, The X-Files ranked #2 on TV Guide's "Top Cult Shows Ever".[233] In 2002, the show ranked as the 37th best television show of all time.[234] In 1997, the episodes "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Small Potatoes" respectively ranked #10 and #72 on "TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time".[235] In 2013, TV Guide included it in its list of the "60 Greatest Dramas of All Time"[236] and ranked it as the #4 science fiction show[237] and the #25 best series of all time.[238] In 2007, Time included it on a list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".[239] In 2008, Entertainment Weekly named it the fourth-best piece of science fiction media,[240] the fourth best TV show in the last 25 years[241] and in 2009, named it the fourth-best piece of science fiction, in their list of the "20 Greatest Sci-fi TV Shows" in history.[242] Empire magazine ranked The X-Files ninth best TV show in history, further claiming that the best episode was the third season entry "Jose Chung's From Outer Space".[243] In 2015, on The Hollywood Reporter's entertainment-industry ranked TV list "Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows", The X-Files appeared at #3.[244] According to The Guardian, MediaDNA research discovered that The X-Files was on top of the list of the most innovative TV brands.[245] In 2009, it was announced that the show's catchphrase "The Truth Is Out There" was among Britain's top 60 best-known slogans and quotes.[246]

The X-Files has been criticized for being unscientific and privileging paranormal and supernatural ideas (e.g. the hypotheses made by Mulder). For instance, in 1998, Richard Dawkins wrote that "The X-Files systematically purveys an anti-rational view of the world which, by virtue of its recurrent persistence, is insidious."[247]

First seven seasons

The pilot episode was generally well received by fans and critics. Variety criticized the episode for "using reworked concepts", but praised the production and noted its potential. Of the acting, Variety said "Duchovny's delineation of a serious scientist with a sense of humor should win him partisans and Anderson's wavering doubter connects well. They're a solid team..." Variety praised the writing and direction: "Mandel's cool direction of Carter's ingenious script and the artful presentation itself give TV sci-fi a boost." The magazine concluded, "Carter's dialogue is fresh without being self-conscious and the characters are involving. Series kicks off with drive and imagination, both innovative in recent TV."[248] Entertainment Weekly said that Scully "was set up as a scoffing skeptic" in the pilot but progressed toward belief throughout the season.[249] After the airing of four episodes, the magazine called The X-Files "the most paranoid, subversive show on TV", noting the "marvelous tension between Anderson—who is dubious about these events—and Duchovny, who has the haunted, imploring look of a true believer".[250] Virgin Media said the most memorable "Monster-of-the-Week" was Eugene Tooms from "Squeeze" and "Tooms".[251]

The following four seasons received similar praise. During the show's second season, Entertainment Weekly named The X-Files the "Program of the Year" for 1994, stating "no other show on television gives off the vibe that The X-Files does".[252] The DVD Journal gave the second season four out of four stars, calling it a "memorable season". The review highlighted "The Host", "Duane Barry" and "Ascension", the cliffhanger finale "Anasazi", the "unforgettable" "Humbug" and meeting Mulder and Scully's families in "Colony" and "One Breath".[253] IGN gave the season a rating of 9 out of 10, with the reviewer noting it was an improvement upon the first as it had "started to explore a little" and the "evolution of the characters makes the product shine even though the plotlines have begun to seem familiar".[254] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club argued that the third season of The X-Files was the show's "best season and maybe one of the greatest TV seasons of all time", noting it was consistent and "[swung] from strength to strength" between mythology and stand-alone episodes.[255] Michael Sauter of Entertainment Weekly gave the fifth season an "A–", writing that it "proves the show was—even then—still at its creative peak (if only for another year or so) and full of surprises".[256] He praised the new additions to the series' mythology and concluded that "many stand-alone episodes now look like classics".[256] Francis Dass, writing for the New Straits Times, noted that the season was "very interesting" and possessed "some [...] truly inspiring and hilarious" episodes.[257]

After the 1998 film, the show began to receive increasingly critical reviews. Some longtime fans became alienated during the show's sixth season, due to the different tone taken by most stand-alone episodes after the move to Los Angeles.[258] Rather than adhering to the "Monsters-of-the-Week" style, they were often romantic or humorous or both, such as "Arcadia" or "Terms of Endearment". Some fans felt there was no coherent plan to the main storyline and that Carter was "making it all up as he goes along".[258] As for the seventh season, The A.V. Club noted that while most of the first eight seasons of The X-Files were "good-to-great", the seventh season of the show was "flagging" and possessed "significant problems".[259] Despite this, seasons six and seven included several episodes that were lauded by critics, including the sixth season entries "Triangle" and "The Unnatural",[260][261] as well as the seventh season installment "X-Cops".[262]

Eighth and ninth seasons

The show's eighth season received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The A.V. Club noted that the eighth season was "revitalized by the new 'search for Mulder' story-arc".[259] Amy H. Sturgis commended the eighth season, praising Anderson's performance as Scully as "excellence" and positively wrote that Doggett was "non-Mulderish".[263] Collin Polonowonski from DVD Times said that the season included "more hits than misses overall" but offered a negative word about the mythology episodes, claiming that they were the "weakest" episodes in the season.[264] Jesse Hassenger from PopMatters, however, criticized the new season, claiming that Patrick was miscast and calling Duchovny's appearances as Mulder shallow.[265]

The ninth season received mixed to negative reviews by critics, and garnered negative reaction from many long-time fans and viewers. Sabadino Parker from PopMatters, called the show "a pale reflection of the show it once was".[266] Elizabeth Weinbloom from The New York Times concluded, "shoddy writing notwithstanding, it was this halfhearted culmination of what was once a beautifully complicated friendship", between Mulder and Scully that ended remaining interest in what was a "waning phenomenon".[9] Another The New York Times review stated, "The most imaginative show on television has finally reached the limits of its imagination."[267] The A.V. Club listed the ninth season and the 2008 film The X-Files: I Want to Believe as the "bad apple" of The X-Files franchise, describing the ninth season as "clumsy mish-mash of stuff that had once worked and new serialized storylines about so-called 'super soldiers'".[259] Brian Linder from IGN, on the other hand, was more positive toward the ninth season, saying that the series could still have aired if the writers created a new storyline for Patrick and Gish's characters.[268]

Tenth and eleventh seasons

The 2016 revival of the show was met with mixed reviews; the first and last episodes were met with lukewarm to negative reviews from critics, whereas episodes two through five were generally well received.[269] The third episode in particular, named "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster", was praised by critics, with Alex McCown of The A.V. Club calling it an "instant classic".[270] Overall, the review aggregator Metacritic gave the season a score of 60 out of 100 based on 35 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[271] Likewise, Rotten Tomatoes gave the revival a 64% approval rating with an average score of 6.58 out of 10 based on 53 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny's chemistry remains intact, but overall, The X-Files revival lacks the creative spark necessary to sustain the initial rush of nostalgia."[269]

The eleventh season received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Metacritic gave the season a score of 67 out of 100 based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[272] Rotten Tomatoes gave the season a "Certified Fresh" rating of 78%, with an average score of 6.89 out of 10 based on 39 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Though it may not make many new believers, The X-Files return to business as usual is a refreshing upgrade from the show's underwhelming previous outing".[273] Episodes "The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat", "Ghouli", "Rm9sbG93ZXJz" and "Nothing Lasts Forever" were praised, receiving a 100% approval rating on the website.[273]

Accolades

Main article: List of accolades received by The X-Files

The X-Files received prestigious awards over its nine-year run, totaling 62 Emmy nominations and 16 awards.[274][275] Capping its successful first season, The X-Files crew members James Castle, Bruce Bryant and Carol Johnsen won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences in 1994.[275] In 1995, the show was nominated for seven Emmy Awards with one win. The following year, the show won five Emmys out of eight nominations, including Darin Morgan for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series. In 1997, The X-Files won three awards out of twelve, including Gillian Anderson for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 1998, the show won one of fifteen. In 1999, it won one out of eight in the category for Outstanding Makeup for a Series. Season seven won three Emmys from six nominations. The following season would not be as successful, catching only two nominations and winning again in the Makeup category for "Deadalive". The ninth season received one nomination in Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore).[274][275]

The show was nominated for 12 Golden Globe Awards overall, winning five.[275][276] The first nomination came in 1994, when the show won Best Series – Drama.[275] The following year, Anderson and Duchovny were nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role, respectively.[275][276] In 1996, the series won three awards; Anderson and Duchovny for Best Actress and Actor and for Best Series – Drama.[275] In 1997 and 1998, the show received the same three nominations. In 1997, however, the series won Best Series – Drama".[275][276] In 1998, the series won no award and received no nominations thereafter.[276]

The show was nominated for 14 SAG Awards overall, winning twice. In 1996 and 1997, Anderson won for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. In 1996, the show won a Peabody Award for being able "to convey ideas that are both entertaining and thought-provoking".[277] The show has also been nominated for: two American Cinema Editors awards, three Directors Guild of America Awards, nine Television Critics Association Awards and two Writers Guild of American Awards. The X-Files was also nominated for nine Satellite Awards, managing to win two of them; and two Young Artist Awards, winning one.[278]

Fandom

 
A fan cosplaying as Agent Scully.

As The X-Files saw its viewership expand from a "small, but devoted" group of fans to a worldwide mass cult audience,[279][280] digital telecommunications were becoming mainstream. According to The New York Times, "this may have been the first show to find its audience growth tied to the growth of the Internet".[281] The X-Files incorporated new technologies into storylines beginning in the early seasons: Mulder and Scully communicated on cellular phones, e-mail contact with secret informants provided plot points in episodes such as "Colony" and "Anasazi", while The Lone Gunmen were portrayed as Internet aficionados as early as 1994.[282] Many X-Files fans also had online access. Fans of the show became commonly known as "X-Philes", a term coined from the Greek root "-phil-" meaning love or obsession.[281] In addition to watching the show, X-Philes reviewed episodes themselves on unofficial websites, formed communities with other fans through Usenet newsgroups and listservs,[283] and wrote their own fan fiction.[284]

The X-Files also "caught on with viewers who wouldn't ordinarily consider themselves sci-fi fans".[279] While Carter argued that the show was plot-driven, many fans saw it as character-driven.[284] Duchovny and Anderson were characterized as "Internet sex symbols".[281] As the show grew in popularity, subgroups of fans developed, such as "shippers", hoping for a romantic or sexual partnership between Mulder and Scully, or those who already perceived one between the lines.[284] Other groups arose to pay tribute to the stars[283] or their characters,[285] while others joined the subculture of "slash" fiction.[284] In the summer of 1996, a journalist wrote, "There are entire forums online devoted to the 'M/S' [Mulder and Scully] relationship."[283] In addition to "MOTW", Internet fans invented acronyms such as "UST", meaning "unresolved sexual tension", and "COTR", standing for "conversation on the rock"—referencing a popular scene in the third-season episode "Quagmire"—to aid in their discussions of the agents' relationship, which was itself identified as the "MSR".[286]

The producers did not endorse some fans' readings, according to a study on the subject: "Not content to allow Shippers to perceive what they wish, Carter has consistently reassured NoRomos [those against the idea of a Mulder/Scully romance] that theirs is the preferred reading. This allows him the plausible deniability to credit the show's success to his original plan even though many watched in anticipation of a romance, thanks, in part, to his strategic polysemy. He can deny that these fans had reason to do so, however, since he has repeatedly stated that a romance was not and would never be." The Scully-obsessed writer in Carter's 1999 episode "Milagro" was read by some as his alter ego, realizing that by this point "she has fallen for Mulder despite his authorial intent".[284] The writers sometimes paid tribute to the more visible fans by naming minor characters after them. The best example is Leyla Harrison. Played by Jolie Jenkins and introduced in the eighth-season episode "Alone", Harrison, was created and named in memory of an Internet fan and prolific writer of fan fiction of the same name, who died of cancer on February 10, 2001.[11]

Merchandise

Main articles: The X-Files merchandise and The X-Files literature

The X-Files spawned an industry of spin-off products. In 2004, U.S.-based Topps Comics, and[223][287] most recently DC Comics imprint Wildstorm, launched a new series of licensed tie-in comics.[288] During the series run, the Fox Broadcasting Company published the official The X-Files Magazine.[289] The X-Files Collectible Card Game was released in 1996, and an expansion set was released in 1997.[290] The X-Files has inspired four video games. In 1997, Fox Interactive released The X-Files: Unrestricted Access, a game-style database for Windows and Mac, which allowed users access to every case file.[291] In 1998, The X-Files Game was released for the PC and Macintosh and a year later for the PlayStation. This game is set within the timeline of the second or third season and follows an Agent Craig Willmore in his search for the missing Mulder and Scully.[292] Then, in 2004, The X-Files: Resist or Serve was released. The game is a survival-horror game released for the PlayStation 2 and is an original story set in the seventh season. It allows the player control of both Mulder and Scully. Both games feature acting and voice work from members of the series' cast.[293] In February 2018, a mobile mystery investigation game The X-Files: Deep State was released on iOS, Android and Facebook. The story of the game takes place between seasons 9 and 10 of the show and follows two FBI agents, Casey Winter and Garret Dale, as they investigate a sinister conspiracy.[294] A 6-player pinball game, called The X-Files, was produced by Sega in 1997.[295][296]

Legacy

See also: The X-Files (franchise)
 
The set for Mulder's office.

The X-Files directly inspired other TV series, including Strange World,[279][297] The Burning Zone,[298] Special Unit 2,[299] Mysterious Ways,[300] Lost,[301] Dark Skies,[299][302] The Visitor,[279] Fringe,[299][303] Warehouse 13,[299] Supernatural,[299][304] and Gravity Falls,[305] with key aspects carried over to more standard crime dramas, such as Eleventh Hour[299][306] and Bones.[307] The influence can be seen on other levels: television series such as Lost developed their own complex mythologies.[301] In terms of characterization, the role of Dana Scully was seen as innovative, changing "how women [on television] were not just perceived but behaved" and perhaps influencing the portrayal of other "strong women" investigators.[59] Russell T Davies said The X-Files had been an inspiration on his series Torchwood, describing it as "dark, wild and sexy... The X-Files meets This Life".[308][309] Other shows have been influenced by the tone and mood of The X-Files. For example, Buffy the Vampire Slayer drew from the mood and coloring of The X-Files, as well as from its occasional blend of horror and humor; creator Joss Whedon described his show as "a cross between The X-Files and My So-Called Life".[310] It also inspired themes in video games Deus Ex[311] and Perfect Dark.[312]

The show's popularity led it to become a major aspect of popular culture. The show is parodied in The Simpsons season eight episode "The Springfield Files", which aired on January 12, 1997. In it, Mulder and Scully—voiced by Duchovny and Anderson—are sent to Springfield to investigate an alien sighting by Homer Simpson, but end up finding no evidence other than Homer's word and depart. Cigarette Smoking Man appears in the background when Homer is interviewed, and the show's theme plays during one particular scene.[313] Nathan Ditum from Total Film ranked Duchovny and Anderson's performances as the fourth-best guest appearances in The Simpsons history.[314] In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations", Benjamin Sisko is interviewed by Federation Department of Temporal Investigations agents Dulmer and Lucsly, anagrams of Mulder and Scully, respectively.[315] The pair were later expanded upon in Christopher L. Bennett's book Watching the Clock.[316] The X-Files has also been parodied or referenced in countless other shows, such as 3rd Rock from the Sun, Archer, NewsRadio, American Horror Story, The Big Bang Theory, Bones, Breaking Bad, Californication (which stars David Duchovny), Supernatural, Castle, Family Guy, Hey Arnold!, King of the Hill, South Park, and Two and a Half Men.[317] Welsh music act Catatonia released the 1998 single "Mulder and Scully", which became a hit in the United Kingdom.[318] American singer and songwriter Bree Sharp wrote a song in 1999 called "David Duchovny" about the actor that heavily references the show and its characters. Although never a mainstream hit, the song became popular underground and gained a cult following.[319][320][321] Finnish band Sonata Arctica released, in 1999, the song "Letter to Dana", in which the title character, Dana O'Hara, is named after Scully.[322] The series has also been referenced in songs such as "The Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang, "A Change" by Sheryl Crow, "Year 2000" by Xzibit, and "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies.[317]

Carter, Duchovny and Anderson celebrated the 20th anniversary of the series at a July 18, 2013, panel at the San Diego Comic-Con hosted by TV Guide. During the discussion, Anderson discussed Scully's influence on female fans, relating that a number of women have informed her that they entered into careers in physics because of the character. Anderson also indicated that she was not in favor of an X-Files miniseries, and Duchovny ruled out working with her on an unrelated project, but both expressed willingness to do a third feature film. Carter was more reserved at the idea, stating, "You need a reason to get excited about going on and doing it again."[323] The series attained a degree of historical importance, as well. On July 16, 2008, Carter and Spotnitz donated several props from the series and new film to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Some of the items included the original pilot script and the "I Want to Believe" poster from Mulder's office.[324]

Some of the show's writer-producers have acknowledged that the show likely played a role in bringing conspiracy theories to a mainstream audience and possibly to the erosion of trust in public institutions.[325]

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Bibliography

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External links

  • Official website  
  • official site (Syfy). Archived from the original on June 4, 2003.
  • The X-Files at IMDb
  • The X-Files at epguides.com
  • YouTube channel
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Super Bowl lead-out program
1997 		Succeeded by
March 09, 2023
files, this, article, about, television, series, franchise, franchise, other, uses, disambiguation, american, science, fiction, drama, television, series, created, chris, carter, series, revolves, around, federal, bureau, investigation, special, agents, mulder. This article is about the television series For the franchise see The X Files franchise For other uses see The X Files disambiguation The X Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI special agents Fox Mulder David Duchovny and Dana Scully Gillian Anderson who investigate X Files marginalized unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena The original television series aired from September 1993 to May 2002 on Fox The program spanned nine seasons with 202 episodes A short tenth season consisting of six episodes ran from January to February 2016 Following the ratings success of this revival The X Files returned for an eleventh season of ten episodes which ran from January to March 2018 In addition to the television series two feature films have been released The 1998 film The X Files which took place as part of the TV series continuity and the stand alone film The X Files I Want to Believe released in 2008 six years after the original television run had ended The X FilesGenreScience fiction 1 Horror 1 Mystery 2 Thriller 3 Supernatural fiction 4 Created byChris CarterStarringDavid Duchovny Gillian Anderson Robert Patrick Annabeth Gish Mitch PileggiMusic byMark SnowCountry of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo of seasons11No of episodes218 list of episodes ProductionExecutive producersChris Carter R W Goodwin Howard Gordon Frank Spotnitz Vince Gilligan John Shiban Kim Manners Glen Morgan James Wong Michelle MacLaren Michael W Watkins David GreenwaltProduction locationsVancouver seasons 1 5 10 11 Los Angeles seasons 6 9 CinematographyJohn BartleyBill RoeJoel RansomJon JoffinCraig WrobleskiRon StannettThomas Del RuthRunning time43 46 minutesProduction companiesTen Thirteen Productions 20th Century Fox TelevisionDistributor20th TelevisionReleaseOriginal networkFoxPicture formatNTSC 1993 2002 HDTV 720p 2016 2018 Audio formatDolby Surround 2 0 1993 2002 5 1 surround sound 2016 2018 Original releaseSeptember 10 1993 1993 09 10 May 19 2002 2002 05 19 original series January 24 2016 2016 01 24 March 21 2018 2018 03 21 revival ChronologyRelatedMillennium 1996 1999 The Lone Gunmen 2001 At the start of their investigations Mulder a conspiracy theorist believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully a medical doctor and a skeptic is assigned to scientifically analyze Mulder s discoveries offer alternate rational theories to his work and thus return him to mainstream cases Early in the series both agents become pawns in a larger conflict and come to trust only each other and a few select people The agents also discover an agenda of the government to keep secret the existence of extraterrestrial life They develop a close relationship which begins as a platonic friendship but becomes a romance by the end of the series In addition to the series spanning story arc monster of the week episodes form roughly two thirds of all episodes The X Files was inspired by earlier television series which featured elements of suspense and speculative fiction including The Twilight Zone Night Gallery Tales from the Darkside Twin Peaks and especially Kolchak The Night Stalker When creating the main characters Carter sought to reverse gender stereotypes by making Mulder a believer and Scully a skeptic The first seven seasons featured Duchovny and Anderson equally In the eighth and ninth seasons Anderson took precedence while Duchovny appeared intermittently New main characters were introduced FBI agents John Doggett Robert Patrick and Monica Reyes Annabeth Gish Mulder and Scully s boss Assistant Director Walter Skinner Mitch Pileggi also became a main character The first five seasons of The X Files were filmed and produced in Vancouver British Columbia before production eventually moved to Los Angeles to accommodate Duchovny The series later returned to Vancouver to film The X Files I Want to Believe as well as the tenth and eleventh seasons of the series The X Files was a hit for the Fox network and received largely positive reviews although its long term story arc was criticized near the conclusion Initially considered a cult series it turned into a pop culture touchstone that tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions and embraced conspiracy theories and spirituality Both the series itself and lead actors Duchovny and Anderson received multiple awards and nominations and by its conclusion the show was the longest running science fiction series in U S television history The series also spawned a franchise that includes Millennium and The Lone Gunmen spin offs two theatrical films and accompanying merchandise Contents 1 Premise 1 1 General 1 2 Mythology 2 Cast and characters 2 1 Starring 2 2 Also starring 3 Production 3 1 Conception 3 2 Casting 3 2 1 Minor recurring characters 3 3 Filming 3 4 Music 3 5 Opening sequence 4 Broadcast and release 4 1 Episodes 4 2 Nielsen ratings 4 2 1 SVOD viewership 4 3 Films 4 4 Revival 4 5 Future 5 Home media 6 Spin offs 6 1 The Lone Gunmen 6 2 The X Files Albuquerque 6 3 Comic books 7 Influence 7 1 Critical reception 7 1 1 Overall 7 1 2 First seven seasons 7 1 3 Eighth and ninth seasons 7 1 4 Tenth and eleventh seasons 7 2 Accolades 7 3 Fandom 7 4 Merchandise 7 5 Legacy 8 References 8 1 Bibliography 9 External linksPremise EditGeneral Edit The X Files follows the careers and personal lives of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder David Duchovny and Dana Scully Gillian Anderson Mulder is a talented profiler conspiracy theorist and strong believer in the supernatural He is also adamant about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and its presence on Earth This set of beliefs earns him the nickname Spooky Mulder and an assignment to a little known department that deals with unsolved cases the X Files His belief in the paranormal springs from the claimed abduction of his sister Samantha Mulder by extraterrestrials when Mulder was 12 Her abduction drives Mulder throughout most of the series Because of this as well as more nebulous desires for vindication and the revelation of truths kept hidden by human authorities Mulder struggles to maintain objectivity in his investigations 5 Special Agent Scully is a foil for Mulder in this regard As a medical doctor and natural skeptic Scully approaches cases with complete detachment even when Mulder despite his considerable training loses his objectivity 6 She is partnered with Mulder initially so that she can debunk Mulder s nonconforming theories often supplying logical scientific explanations for the cases apparently unexplainable phenomena Although she is frequently able to offer scientific alternatives to Mulder s deductions she is rarely able to refute them completely Over the course of the series she becomes increasingly dissatisfied with her own ability to approach the cases scientifically 7 After Mulder s abduction at the hands of aliens in the seventh season finale Requiem Scully becomes a reluctant believer who manages to explain the paranormal with science 8 Various episodes also deal with the relationship between Mulder and Scully originally platonic but that later develops romantically 9 Mulder and Scully are joined by John Doggett Robert Patrick and Monica Reyes Annabeth Gish late in the series after Mulder is abducted Doggett replaces him as Scully s partner and helps her search for him later involving Reyes of whom Doggett had professional knowledge 10 11 The initial run of The X Files ends when Mulder is secretly subjected to a military tribunal for breaking into a top secret military facility and viewing plans for alien invasion and colonization of Earth He is found guilty and sentenced to death but escapes punishment with the help of the other agents and he and Scully become fugitives 12 Mythology Edit Main articles Mythology of The X Files X files unit Syndicate The X Files and Colonist The X Files As the show progressed key episodes called parts of the Mytharc were recognized as the mythology of the series canon these episodes carried the extraterrestrial conspiracy storyline that evolved throughout the series Monster of the week often abbreviated as MOTW or MoW came to denote the remainder of The X Files episodes These episodes forming the majority of the series dealt with paranormal phenomena including cryptids mutants science fiction technology horror monsters and religious phenomena Some of the Monster of the Week episodes even featured satiric elements and comedic story lines 13 The main story arc involves the agents efforts to uncover a government conspiracy that covers up the existence of extraterrestrials and their sinister collaboration with said government Mysterious men constituting a shadow element within the U S government known as The Syndicate are the major villains in the series late in the series it is revealed that The Syndicate acts as the only liaison between mankind and a group of extraterrestrials that intends to destroy the human species They are usually represented by Cigarette Smoking Man William B Davis a ruthless killer masterful politician negotiator failed novelist and the series principal antagonist 14 As the series goes along Mulder and Scully learn about evidence of the alien invasion piece by piece It is revealed that the extraterrestrials plan on using a sentient virus known as the black oil also known as Purity to infect mankind and turn the population of the world into a slave race The Syndicate having made a deal to be spared by the aliens have been working to develop an alien human hybrid that will be able to withstand the effects of the black oil The group has also been secretly working on a vaccine to overcome the black oil this vaccine is revealed in the latter parts of season five as well as the 1998 film Counter to the alien colonization effort another faction of aliens the faceless rebels are working to stop alien colonization Eventually in the season six episodes Two Fathers One Son the rebels manage to destroy the Syndicate The colonists now without human liaisons dispatch the Super Soldiers beings that resemble humans but are biologically alien In the latter parts of season eight and the whole of season nine the Super Soldiers manage to replace key individuals in the government forcing Mulder and Scully to go into hiding 14 Cast and characters EditMain article List of The X Files characters Starring Edit Fox Mulder is portrayed by David Duchovny Mulder is an Oxford educated FBI special agent who believes in the existence of extraterrestrials and a government conspiracy to hide the truth regarding them He works in the X Files office which is concerned with cases marked as unsolvable most involve supernatural mysterious circumstances Mulder considers the X Files so important that he has made their study his life s main purpose 15 After his abduction by aliens at the end of season seven his role in the show diminishes and much of his work is taken on by Agent John Doggett 16 He appears in an episode of The Lone Gunmen and in both the 1998 film The X Files and the 2008 film The X Files I Want to Believe 17 18 19 Dana Scully is portrayed by Gillian Anderson Scully is an FBI special agent a medical doctor and scientist who is Mulder s partner In contrast to his credulity Scully is a skeptic basing her beliefs on scientific explanations 7 However despite her otherwise rigid skepticism she is a Catholic and her faith plays an important role in several episodes 20 As the series progresses she becomes more open to the possibility of paranormal happenings 21 In the latter part of the eighth season her position in the X Files office is taken by Agent Monica Reyes and Scully moves to Quantico to teach new FBI agents 22 She appears in both The X Files feature films 18 19 John Doggett is portrayed by Robert Patrick seasons 8 9 Doggett is an FBI special agent who makes his first appearance in the season eight episode Within Doggett served in the United States Marine Corps from the 1970s to the 1980s Later he started to work with the New York City Police Department reaching the rank of detective 23 After his son s death he joined the FBI s Criminal Investigations Division 24 In 2000 Alvin Kersh assigned him to the X files unit as Scully s partner after an unsuccessful task force attempt to find Mulder 23 He does not appear in The X Files feature films Monica Reyes is portrayed by Annabeth Gish season 9 also starring season 8 guest seasons 10 11 Reyes is an FBI special agent who was born and raised in Mexico City 25 She majored in folklore and mythology at Brown University and earned a master s degree in religious studies Her first FBI assignment was serving on a special task force investigating satanic rituals 26 She is a longtime friend of Doggett s and becomes his partner after Scully s departure 22 26 She did not appear in The X Files feature films Walter Skinner is portrayed by Mitch Pileggi season 9 11 also starring seasons 3 8 recurring season 2 guest season 1 Skinner is an FBI assistant director who served in the United States Marine Corps in the Vietnam War During this time he shot and killed a young boy carrying explosives an incident which scarred him for life 27 Skinner is originally Mulder and Scully s direct supervisor 28 He later serves the same position for Doggett and Reyes 23 Although he is originally portrayed as somewhat antagonistic he eventually becomes a close friend of Mulder and Scully 23 29 He appeared in an episode of The Lone Gunmen and in both The X Files feature films 19 30 Also starring Edit Cigarette Smoking Man is portrayed by William B Davis seasons 4 7 9 recurring seasons 1 3 10 11 The Cigarette Smoking Man is the series primary villain In the ninth season episodes William and The Truth it is suggested that he is Mulder s biological father 31 32 In the seventh season episode Requiem he is believed to have been killed after being pushed down a flight of stairs by Alex Krycek until the ninth season finale The Truth in which Mulder and Scully travel through remote New Mexico and reach a pueblo where a wise man reputedly lives who is revealed to be Cigarette Smoking Man 12 29 He also appears in the 1998 feature film 33 Alex Krycek is portrayed by Nicholas Lea seasons 5 9 recurring seasons 2 3 guest season 4 Krycek is a Russian American the son of Cold War immigrants and first introduced as an FBI Special Agent assigned as a temporary investigation partner to Fox Mulder 34 35 Krycek proceeds to work with Mulder and attempts to gain his trust However it later becomes evident that Krycek is actually an undercover agent working for Cigarette Smoking Man Krycek plays an important part in several events that are harmful to Mulder and Scully 35 36 37 38 39 Jeffrey Spender is portrayed by Chris Owens season 6 recurring season 5 guest seasons 9 11 Spender is a skeptic who is assigned to The X Files after Fox Mulder s forced leave 40 He is the son of Cigarette Smoking Man and his ex wife multiple abductee Cassandra Spender 41 as well as possibly being the half brother of Mulder 31 32 Initially thought to have been murdered by Cigarette Smoking Man Spender returns horribly disfigured in the ninth season and helps Scully s son William 31 Alvin Kersh is portrayed by James Pickens Jr season 9 recurring seasons 6 8 guest season 11 As an assistant director and later deputy director he temporarily becomes supervisor to Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully when they are assigned away from the X Files division 40 During this time Cigarette Smoking Man often visits him in his office 42 Kersh assigns Mulder and Scully mostly to menial tasks such as terrorist details and Federal background checks 43 Kersh is largely antagonistic to Mulder and Scully but in The Truth somewhat redeems himself by helping Mulder escape capital punishment 32 Production EditConception Edit See also The X Files season 1 and Pilot The X Files Mulder and Scully came right out of my head A dichotomy They are the equal parts of my desire to believe in something and my inability to believe in something My skepticism and my faith And the writing of the characters came very easily to me I want like a lot of people do to have the experience of witnessing a paranormal phenomenon At the same time I want not to accept it but to question it I think those characters and those voices came out of that duality Chris Carter on creating the characters of Mulder and Scully 44 Chris Carter created The X Files and wrote the series pilot along with several other episodes California native Chris Carter was given the opportunity to produce new shows for the Fox network in the early 1990s As Carter was tired of the comedies he had been working on for Walt Disney Pictures 45 a report that 3 7 million Americans may have been abducted by aliens the Watergate scandal and the 1970s horror series Kolchak The Night Stalker all contributed to trigger the idea for The X Files He wrote the pilot episode in 1992 46 Carter s initial pitch for The X Files was rejected by Fox executives He fleshed out the concept and returned a few weeks later whereupon they commissioned the pilot Carter worked with NYPD Blue producer Daniel Sackheim to further develop the pilot drawing stylistic inspiration from the 1988 documentary The Thin Blue Line and the British television series Prime Suspect 47 Inspiration also came from Carter s memories of The Twilight Zone as well as from The Silence of the Lambs which provided the impetus for framing the series around agents from the FBI in order to provide the characters with a more plausible reason for being involved in each case than Carter believed was present in Kolchak 48 Carter was determined to keep the relationship between the two leads strictly platonic basing their interactions on the characters of Emma Peel and John Steed in The Avengers series 49 50 The early 1990s series Twin Peaks was a major influence on the show s dark atmosphere and its often surreal blend of drama and irony Duchovny had appeared as a transgender DEA agent in Twin Peaks and the Mulder character was seen as a parallel to that show s FBI Agent Dale Cooper 51 The producers and writers cited All the President s Men Three Days of the Condor Close Encounters of the Third Kind Raiders of the Lost Ark Rashomon The Thing The Boys from Brazil The Silence of the Lambs and JFK as other influences 52 In addition episodes written by Darin Morgan often referred to or referenced other films 53 Casting Edit Duchovny portrays Fox Mulder as a main character for season 1 7 10 and 11 of the series as well as an intermittent lead in the eighth and ninth Anderson portrays Dana Scully for the entire eleven seasons of the series she also made The X Files history in 2000 by becoming the first female writer and director of an episode 54 Duchovny had worked in Los Angeles for three years prior to The X Files at first he wanted to focus on feature films In 1993 his manager Melanie Green gave him the script for the pilot episode of The X Files Green and Duchovny were both convinced it was a good script so he auditioned for the lead 55 Duchovny s audition was terrific though he talked rather slowly While the casting director of the show was very positive toward him Carter thought that he was not particularly intelligent He asked Duchovny if he could please imagine himself as an FBI agent in future episodes Duchovny however turned out to be one of the best read people that Carter knew 56 Anderson auditioned for the role of Scully in 1993 I couldn t put the script down she recalled 54 The network wanted either a more established or a taller leggier blonder and breastier actress for Scully than the 24 year old Anderson a theater veteran with minor film experience After auditions Carter felt she was the only choice 57 58 59 Carter insisted that Anderson had the kind of no nonsense integrity that the role required For portraying Scully Anderson won numerous major awards the Screen Actors Guild Award in 1996 and 1997 an Emmy Award in 1997 and a Golden Globe Award 1997 54 The character Walter Skinner was played by actor Mitch Pileggi who had unsuccessfully auditioned for the roles of two or three other characters on The X Files before getting the part At first the fact that he was asked back to audition for the recurring role slightly puzzled him until he discovered the reason he had not previously been cast in those roles Carter had been unable to envision Pileggi as any of those characters because the actor had been shaving his head When Pileggi auditioned for Walter Skinner he had been in a grumpy mood and had allowed his small amount of hair to grow His attitude fit well with Skinner s character causing Carter to assume that the actor was only pretending to be grumpy Pileggi later realized he had been lucky that he had not been cast in one of the earlier roles as he believed he would have appeared in only a single episode and would have missed the opportunity to play the recurring role 60 Before the seventh season aired Duchovny filed a lawsuit against 20th Century Fox claiming that Fox had undersold the rights to its own affiliates thereby costing him huge sums of money Eventually the lawsuit was settled and Duchovny was awarded a settlement of about 20 million but the lawsuit put strain on Duchovny s professional relationships Neither Carter nor Duchovny was contracted to work on the series beyond the seventh season however Fox entered into negotiations near the end of that season in order to bring the two on board for an eighth season 61 After settling his contract dispute Duchovny quit full time participation in the show after the seventh season 62 This contributed to uncertainties over the likelihood of an eighth season 63 Carter and most fans felt the show was at its natural endpoint with Duchovny s departure but it was decided that Mulder would be abducted at the end of the seventh season and would return in 12 episodes the following year 64 The producers then announced that a new character John Doggett would fill Mulder s role 65 More than 100 actors auditioned for the role of Doggett but only about ten were seriously considered Lou Diamond Phillips Hart Bochner and Bruce Campbell were among the ten The producers chose Robert Patrick 10 Carter believed that the series could continue for another ten years with new leads and the opening credits were accordingly redesigned in both seasons eight and nine to emphasize the new actors along with Pileggi who was finally listed as a main character 11 Doggett s presence did not give the series the ratings boost the network executives were hoping for 16 The eighth season episode This is Not Happening marked the first appearance of Monica Reyes played by Gish who became a main character in season nine Her character was developed and introduced due to Anderson s possible departure at the end of the eighth season Although Anderson stayed until the end Gish became a series regular 66 Minor recurring characters Edit Glen Morgan and James Wong s early influence on The X Files mythology led to their introduction of popular secondary characters who continued for years in episodes written by others Scully s father William Don S Davis her mother Margaret Sheila Larken and her sister Melissa Melinda McGraw The conspiracy inspired trio The Lone Gunmen were also secondary characters 67 The trio was introduced in the first season episode E B E as a way to make Mulder appear more credible They were originally meant to appear in only that episode but due to their popularity they returned in the second season episode Blood and became recurring characters 68 Cigarette Smoking Man portrayed by William B Davis was initially cast as an extra in the pilot episode His character however grew into the main antagonist 69 Filming Edit The End the season five finale 1998 was the last episode to be filmed in Vancouver until the revival in 2016 During the early stages of production Carter founded Ten Thirteen Productions and began to plan for filming the pilot in Los Angeles However unable to find suitable locations for many scenes he decided to go where the good forests are and moved production to Vancouver 70 It was soon realized by the production crew that since so much of the first season would require filming on location rather than on sound stages a second location manager would be needed 71 The show remained in Vancouver for the first five seasons production then shifted to Los Angeles beginning with the sixth season 72 Duchovny was unhappy over his geographical separation from his wife Tea Leoni although his discontent was popularly attributed to frustration with Vancouver s persistent rain 73 Anderson also wanted to return to the United States and Carter relented following the fifth season The season ended in May 1998 with The End the final episode shot in Vancouver and the final episode with the involvement of many of the original crew members including director and producer R W Goodwin and his wife Sheila Larken who played Margaret Scully and would later return briefly 74 75 With the move to Los Angeles many changes behind the scenes occurred as much of the original The X Files crew was gone New production designer Corey Kaplan editor Lynne Willingham writer David Amann and director and producer Michael Watkins joined and stayed for several years Bill Roe became the show s new director of photography and episodes generally had a drier brighter look due to California s sunshine and climate as compared with Vancouver s rain fog and temperate forests Early in the sixth season the producers took advantage of the new location setting the show in new parts of the country 76 For example Vince Gilligan s Drive about a man subject to an unexplained illness was a frenetic action episode unusual for The X Files largely because it was set in Nevada s stark desert roads 74 The Dreamland two part episode was also set in Nevada this time in Area 51 The episode was largely filmed at Club Ed a movie ranch located on the outskirts of Lancaster California 74 77 78 Although the sixth through ninth seasons were filmed in Los Angeles the series second movie The X Files I Want to Believe 2008 was filmed in Vancouver 79 According to Spotnitz the film script was written for the city and surrounding areas 79 The 2016 revival was also shot there 80 81 Music Edit Main article Music of The X Files The music was composed by Mark Snow who got involved with The X Files through his friendship with executive producer Goodwin Initially Carter had no candidates A little over a dozen people were considered but Goodwin continued to press for Snow who auditioned around three times with no sign from the production staff as to whether they wanted him One day however Snow s agent called him talking about the pilot episode and hinting that he had got the job 82 The X Files sample source source The X Files the theme from the television series as performed by Mark Snow The sample illustrates the noted whistle and echo effects Problems playing this file See media help The theme The X Files used more instrumental sections than most dramas 83 The theme song s famous whistle effect was inspired by the track How Soon Is Now from the US edition of The Smiths 1985 album Meat Is Murder After attempting to craft the theme with different sound effects Snow used a Proteus 2 rackmount sound module with a preset sound called Whistling Joe After hearing this sound Carter was taken aback and noted it was going to be good 84 According to the Behind the Truth segment on the first season DVD Snow created the echo effect on the track by accident He felt that after several revisions something still was not right Carter walked out of the room and Snow put his hand and forearm on his keyboard in frustration By doing so he accidentally activated an echo effect setting The resulting riff pleased Carter Snow said this sound was in the keyboard And that was it 83 The second episode Deep Throat marked Snow s debut as solo composer for an entire episode The production crew was determined to limit the music in the early episodes 85 Likewise the theme song itself first appeared in Deep Throat 84 Snow was tasked with composing the score for both The X Files films The films marked the first appearance of real orchestral instruments previous music had been crafted by Snow using digitally sampled instrument sounds 84 86 Snow s soundtrack for the first film The X Files Original Motion Picture Score was released in 1998 87 For the second film Snow recorded with the Hollywood Studio Symphony in May 2008 at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox in Century City 88 UNKLE recorded a new version of the theme music for the end credits 89 Some of the unusual sounds were created by a variation of silly putty and dimes tucked into piano strings Snow commented that the fast percussion featured in some tracks was inspired by the track Prospectors Quartet from the There Will Be Blood soundtrack 90 The soundtrack score The X Files I Want to Believe was released in 2008 91 Opening sequence Edit Shots from the show s original and current opening credit sequence The opening sequence was made in 1993 for the first season and remained unchanged until Duchovny left the show 11 83 Carter sought to make the title an impactful opening with supernatural images 92 These scenes notably include a split screen image of a seed germinating as well as a terror filled warped face 92 The latter was created when Carter found a video operator who was able to create the effect The sequence was extremely popular and won the show its first Emmy Award which was for Outstanding Graphic Design and Title Sequences Producer Paul Rabwin was particularly pleased with the sequence and felt that it was something that had never been seen on television before 83 In 2017 James Charisma of Paste ranked the show s opening sequence 8 on a list of The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time 93 The premiere episode of season eight Within revealed the first major change to the opening credits Along with Patrick the sequence used new images and updated photos for Duchovny and Anderson although Duchovny only appears in the opening credits when he appears in an episode Carter and the production staff saw Duchovny s departure as a chance to change things The replacement shows various pictures of Scully s pregnancy According to executive producer Frank Spotnitz the sequence also features an abstract way of showing Mulder s absence in the eighth season he falls into an eye 11 Season nine featured an entirely new sequence Since Anderson wanted to move on the sequence featured Reyes and Skinner Duchovny s return to the show for the ninth season finale The Truth marked the largest number of cast members to be featured in the opening credits with five 94 The revival seasons use the series original opening credits sequence 95 The sequence ends with the tagline The Truth Is Out There which is used for the majority of the episodes 92 The tagline changes in specific episodes to slogans that are relevant to that episode The following episodes received alternate taglines Trust No One The Erlenmeyer Flask 96 Deny Everything Ascension 97 ei aaniigoo ahoot e The truth is far from here in Navajo Anasazi 98 Apology is Policy 731 99 Everything Dies Herrenvolk 100 Deceive Inveigle Obfuscate Teliko 101 E pur si muove And still it moves in Italian a quote attributed to Galileo Terma 102 103 Believe the Lie Gethsemane 104 All Lies Lead to the Truth Redux 105 Resist or Serve The Red and the Black 106 The End The End 107 Die Wahrheit ist irgendwo da draussen The truth is out there somewhere in German Triangle 108 109 In the Big Inning The Unnatural 110 Amor Fati Love of fate in Latin The Sixth Extinction II Amor Fati 111 112 Believe to Understand Closure 113 Nothing Important Happened Today Nothing Important Happened Today II 114 erehT tuO si hturT ehT The Truth is Out There backwards 4 D 115 They re Watching Trust No 1 116 Dio ti ama God loves you in Italian Improbable 117 This Is the End My Struggle II 118 I Want to Believe I Want to Lie My Struggle III 119 Accuse Your Enemies of That Which You are Guilty This 120 You See What I Want You to See Ghouli 121 A War is Never Over Kitten 122 VGhlIFRydXRoIGlzIE91dCBUaGVyZQ The Truth is Out There in base64 Rm9sbG93ZXJz Followers in base64 123 I Want to be Beautiful Nothing Lasts Forever 124 Salvator Mundi Savior of the World in Latin My Struggle IV 125 Broadcast and release EditEpisodes Edit Main article List of The X Files episodes Nielsen ratings Edit Viewership and ratings per season of The X Files Season Timeslot ET Episodes First aired Last aired TV season Viewershiprank Avg viewers millions Date Viewers millions Date Viewers millions 1 Friday 9 00 p m 24 September 10 1993 1993 09 10 12 00 126 May 13 1994 1994 05 13 14 00 127 1993 94 105 128 11 21 128 2 25 September 16 1994 1994 09 16 16 10 129 May 19 1995 1995 05 19 16 60 130 1994 95 63 128 14 50 131 3 24 September 22 1995 1995 09 22 19 94 132 May 17 1996 1996 05 17 17 86 132 1995 96 55 133 15 40 131 4 Friday 9 00 p m 1 3 Sunday 9 00 p m 4 24 24 October 4 1996 1996 10 04 21 11 134 May 18 1997 1997 05 18 19 85 134 1996 97 12 135 19 20 136 5 Sunday 9 00 p m 20 November 2 1997 1997 11 02 27 34 137 May 17 1998 1998 05 17 18 76 137 1997 98 11 135 19 80 136 6 22 November 8 1998 1998 11 08 20 24 138 May 16 1999 1999 05 16 15 86 138 1998 99 12 139 17 20 136 7 22 November 7 1999 1999 11 07 17 82 140 May 21 2000 2000 05 21 15 26 140 1999 2000 29 141 14 20 142 8 21 November 5 2000 2000 11 05 15 87 143 May 20 2001 2001 05 20 14 00 144 2000 01 31 145 13 93 142 9 20 November 11 2001 2001 11 11 10 60 146 May 19 2002 2002 05 19 13 25 147 2001 02 63 146 9 10 148 10 Sunday 10 30 p m Premiere Monday 8 00 p m 149 6 January 24 2016 2016 01 24 16 19 150 February 22 2016 2016 02 22 7 60 151 2015 16 7 152 13 60 152 11 Wednesday 8 00 p m 10 January 3 2018 2018 01 03 5 15 153 March 21 2018 2018 03 21 3 43 154 2017 18 91 155 5 34 155 The pilot premiered on September 10 1993 and reached 12 million viewers 126 As the season progressed ratings began to increase and the season finale garnered 14 million viewers 127 The first season ranked 105th out of 128 shows during the 1993 94 television season 128 The series second season increased in ratings a trend that would continue for the next three seasons and finished 63rd out of 141 shows 128 These ratings were not spectacular but the series had attracted enough fans to receive the label cult hit particularly by Fox standards Most importantly it made great gains among the 18 to 49 age demographic sought by advertisers 128 156 During its third year the series ranked 55th 133 and was viewed by an average of 15 40 million viewers an increase of almost seven percent over the second season making it Fox s top rated program in the 18 49 year old demographic 157 Although the first three episodes of the fourth season aired on Friday night the fourth episode Unruhe aired on Sunday night The show remained on Sunday until its end 157 The season hit a high with its twelfth episode Leonard Betts which was chosen as the lead out program following Super Bowl XXXI The episode was viewed by 29 1 million viewers the series highest rated episode 134 The fifth season debuted with Redux I on November 2 1997 and was viewed by 27 34 million people making it the highest rated non special broadcast episode of the series 137 The season ranked as the eleventh most watched series during the 1997 98 year with an average of 19 8 million viewers It was the series highest rated season as well as Fox highest rated program during the 1997 98 season 136 135 The sixth season premiered with The Beginning watched by 20 24 million viewers 138 The show ended season six with lower numbers than the previous season beginning a decline that would continue for the show s final three years 139 141 145 148 The X Files was nevertheless Fox s highest rated show that year 158 The seventh season originally intended as the show s last ranked as the 29th most watched show for the 1999 2000 year with 14 20 million viewers 141 This made it at the time the lowest rated year of the show since the third season 131 141 The first episode of season eight Within was viewed by 15 87 million viewers 143 The episode marked an 11 decrease from the seventh season opener The Sixth Extinction 159 The first part of the ninth season opener Nothing Important Happened Today only attracted 10 6 million viewers the series lowest rated season premiere 146 The original series finale The Truth attracted 13 25 million viewers the series lowest rated season finale 147 The ninth season was the 63rd most watched show for the 2001 02 season tying its season two rank 128 148 On May 19 2002 the finale aired and the Fox network confirmed that The X Files was over 94 When talking about the beginning of the ninth season Carter said We lost our audience on the first episode It s like the audience had gone away and I didn t know how to find them I didn t want to work to get them back because I believed what we are doing deserved to have them back 160 While news outlets cited declining ratings because of lackluster stories and poor writing 9 The X Files production crew blamed September 11 terrorist attacks as the main factor 161 At the end of 2002 The X Files had become the longest running consecutive science fiction series ever on U S broadcast television This record was later surpassed by Stargate SG 1 in 2007 162 and Smallville in 2011 163 The debut episode of the 2016 revival My Struggle first aired on January 24 2016 and was watched by 16 19 million viewers 150 In terms of viewers this made it the highest rated episode of The X Files to air since the eighth season episode This Is Not Happening in 2001 which was watched by 16 9 million viewers 164 When DVR and streaming are taken into account My Struggle was seen by 21 4 million viewers scoring a 7 1 Nielsen rating 165 The season ended with My Struggle II which was viewed by 7 60 million viewers 151 In total the season was viewed by an average of 13 6 million viewers it ranked as the seventh most watched television series of the 2015 16 year making it the highest ranked season of The X Files to ever air 152 A few years later the premiere episode of the eleventh season My Struggle III was watched by 5 15 million viewers 153 This was a decrease from the previous season s debut it was also the lowest rated premiere for any season of the show 150 The season concluded with My Struggle IV which was seen by 3 43 million viewers which was also a decrease from the previous season 154 151 My Struggle IV which became the de facto finale for the series was also the show s lowest rated finale In total the season was viewed by an average of 5 34 million viewers and it ranked as the 91st most watched television series of the 2018 19 year 155 SVOD viewership Edit According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch The X Files was the ninth most streamed television series across all platforms in the United States during the week ending November 7 2021 166 Films Edit Main articles The X Files film and The X Files I Want to Believe After several successful seasons Carter wanted to tell the story of the series on a wider scale which ultimately turned into a feature film He later explained that the main problem was to create a story that would not require the viewer to be familiar with the broadcast series 167 The movie was filmed in the hiatus between the show s fourth and fifth seasons and re shoots were conducted during the filming of the show s fifth season Due to the demands on the actors schedules some episodes of the fifth season focused on just one of the two leads 168 On June 19 1998 the eponymous The X Files also known as The X Files Fight the Future was released The crew intended the movie to be a continuation of the season five finale The End but it was also meant to stand on its own The season six premiere The Beginning began where the film ended 169 The film was written by Carter and Spotnitz and directed by series regular Rob Bowman In addition to Mulder Scully Skinner and Cigarette Smoking Man it featured guest appearances by Martin Landau Armin Mueller Stahl and Blythe Danner who appeared only in the film It also featured the last appearance of John Neville as the Well Manicured Man Jeffrey Spender Diana Fowley Alex Krycek and Gibson Praise characters who had been introduced in the fifth season finale and or were integral to the television series do not appear in the film Although the film had a strong domestic opening and received mostly positive reviews from critics attendance dropped sharply after the first weekend 170 Although it failed to make a profit during its theatrical release due in part to its large promotional budget The X Files film was more successful internationally Eventually the worldwide theatrical box office total reached 189 million The film s production cost and ad budgets were each close to 66 million 171 Unlike in the series Anderson and Duchovny received equal pay for the film 169 In November 2001 Carter decided to pursue a second film adaptation Production was slated to begin after the ninth season with a projected release in December 2003 172 In April 2002 Carter reiterated his desire and the studio s desire to do a sequel film He planned to write the script over the summer and begin production in spring or summer 2003 for a 2004 release 173 Carter described the film as independent of the series saying We re looking at the movies as stand alones They re not necessarily going to have to deal with the mythology 174 Bowman who had directed various episodes of The X Files in the past as well as the 1998 film expressed an interest in the sequel but Carter took the job Spotnitz co authored the script with Carter 79 175 The X Files I Want to Believe became the second film based on the series after 1998 s The X Files Fight the Future Filming began in December 2007 in Vancouver and finished on March 11 2008 79 176 177 The film was released in the United States on July 25 2008 In an interview with Entertainment Weekly Carter said that if I Want to Believe proved successful he would propose a third movie that would return to the television series mythology and focus on the alien invasion foretold within the series due to occur in December 2012 178 The film grossed 4 million on its opening day in the United States 179 It opened fourth on the U S weekend box office chart with a gross of 10 2 million 180 By the end of its theatrical run it had grossed 20 982 478 domestically and an additional 47 373 805 internationally for a total worldwide gross of 68 369 434 181 Among 2008 domestic releases it finished in 114th place 182 The film s stars both claimed that the timing of the movie s release a week after the highly popular Batman film The Dark Knight negatively affected its success 183 184 The film received mixed to negative reviews Metacritic which assigns a rating out of 100 reviews from mainstream film critics reported mixed or average reviews with an average score of 47 based on 33 reviews 185 Rotten Tomatoes reported that 32 of 160 listed film critics gave the film a positive review with an average rating of 4 9 out of 10 The website wrote of the critics consensus stating The chemistry between leads David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson do live sic up to The X Files televised legacy but the roving plot and droning routines make it hard to identify just what we re meant to believe in 186 Revival Edit Main articles The X Files season 10 and The X Files season 11 In several interviews around the release Carter said that if the X Files I Want to Believe film proved successful at the box office a third installment would be made going back to the TV series mythology focusing specifically on the alien invasion and colonization of Earth foretold in the ninth season finale due to occur on December 22 2012 178 187 In an October 2009 interview David Duchovny likewise said he wanted to do a 2012 X Files movie but did not know if he would get the chance 188 189 Anderson stated in August 2012 that a third X Files film is looking pretty good 190 As of July 2013 Fox had not approved the movie although Carter Spotnitz Duchovny and Anderson expressed interest 191 192 At the New York Comic Con held October 10 13 2013 Duchovny and Anderson reaffirmed that they and Carter were interested in making a third film with Anderson saying If it takes fan encouragement to get Fox interested in that then I guess that s what it would be 193 On January 17 2015 Fox confirmed that they were looking at the possibility of bringing The X Files back not as a movie but as a limited run television season Fox chairman Dana Walden told reporters that conversations so far have only been logistical and are in very early stages and that the series would only go forward if Carter Anderson and Duchovny were all on board and that it was a matter of ensuring all of their timetables are open 194 On March 24 2015 it was confirmed the series would return with series creator Chris Carter and lead actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson 195 196 It premiered on January 24 2016 149 A year later on April 20 2017 Fox officially announced that The X Files would be returning for an eleventh season of ten episodes 197 which premiered on January 3 2018 198 Future Edit In January 2018 Gillian Anderson confirmed that season 11 would be her final season of The X Files 199 The following month Carter stated in an interview that he could see the show continuing without Anderson 200 In May 2018 Fox s co CEO Gary Newman commented that there are no plans to do another season at the moment 201 In October 2020 Chris Carter said I always thought there would be even more X Files He admitted that continuing the series at this point with Duchovny and Anderson is unlikely but has plans to continue the franchise with an upcoming animated spinoff Being that Gillian has decided to move on with her career we certainly couldn t do Mulder and Scully again But that s not to say there isn t another way to do The X Files And so right now I think the future is unwritten The rights are now owned by Disney 202 Home media EditFurther information The X Files merchandise On September 24 1996 the first wave set of The X Files VHS tapes were released Wave sets were released covering the first through fourth seasons 203 204 Each wave was three VHS tapes each containing two episodes for a total of six episodes per wave and two waves per season 205 206 For example the home video release of wave one drew from the first half of the first season Pilot Deep Throat Conduit Ice and Fallen Angel Eve 205 Each wave was also available in a boxed set 203 Unlike later DVD season releases the tapes did not include every episode from the seasons Ultimately twelve episodes approximately half the total number aired were selected by Carter to represent each season including nearly all mythology arc episodes and selected standalone episodes 205 206 Carter briefly introduced each episode with an explanation of why the episode was chosen and anecdotes from the set These clips were later included on the full season DVDs 205 Wave eight covering the last part of the fourth season was the last to be released No Carter interviews appeared on DVDs for later seasons Many of the waves had collectible cards for each episode 207 All nine seasons were released on DVD along with the two films 208 209 The entire series was re released on DVD in early 2006 in a slimmer package The first five slim case versions did not come with some bonus materials that were featured in the original fold out versions However seasons six seven eight and nine all contained the bonus materials found in the original versions 210 Episodic DVDs have also been released in Region 2 such as Deadalive Existence Nothing Important Happened Today Providence and The Truth 211 Various other episodes were released on DVD and VHS In 2005 four DVD sets were released containing the main story arc episodes of The X Files The four being Volume 1 Abduction Volume 2 Black Oil Volume 3 Colonization and Volume 4 Super Soldiers 212 A boxed set containing all nine seasons and the first film was made available in 2007 which contains all of the special features from the initial releases The set also includes an additional disc of new bonus features and various collectibles including a poster for the first film a comic book a set of collector cards and a guide to all 202 episodes across all nine seasons and the first film Due to the fact that the set was released in 2007 the second film which was released in 2008 is not included 208 Release of The X Files seasons on Blu ray restored in high definition was rumored to begin in late 2013 213 The German TV channel ProSieben Maxx began airing first season episodes reformatted in widescreen and in high definition on January 20 2014 214 On April 23 2015 Netflix began streaming episodes of The X Files in high definition marking the first time that the series has been made available in the high resolution format in North America 215 In October 2015 it was confirmed that the complete series would be reissued on Blu ray and the full set was released on December 8 2015 216 The set was criticized for using the wrong fonts for the title sequence and season 8 was affected by color balance issues making the picture appear darker in most episodes an issue known as black crush These issues led to Fox offering corrected discs and eventually issuing new sets with the correct color balance 217 218 Spin offs EditThe Lone Gunmen Edit The Lone Gunmen is an American science fiction television series created by Carter and broadcast on Fox and was crafted as a more humorous spin off of The X Files The series starred the eponymous Lone Gunmen and was first broadcast in March 2001 during The X Files s month long hiatus 68 Although the debut episode garnered 13 23 million viewers its ratings began to steadily drop 219 The program was cancelled after thirteen episodes 220 The last episode was broadcast in June 2001 and ended on a cliffhanger which was partially resolved in a ninth season episode of The X Files titled Jump the Shark included in the DVD release of the series 221 The X Files Albuquerque Edit In August 2020 Fox announced that an animated comedy spin off series was in development 222 Comic books Edit Main articles The X Files comics The X Files Season 10 comics and The X Files Season 11 comics The X Files was converted into a comic book series published by Topps Comics during the show s third and fourth seasons The initial comic books were written solely by Stefan Petrucha According to Petrucha there were three types of stories those that dealt with the characters those that dealt with the conspiracy and the monster of the week sort of stuff 223 Petrucha cited the latter as the easiest to write Petrucha saw Scully as a scientist with real world faith and that the difference between Mulder and Scully is not that Mulder believes and Scully doesn t it s more a difference in procedure 223 In this manner Mulder s viewpoint was often written to be just as valid as Scully s and Scully s science was often portrayed to be just as convincing as Mulder s more outlandish ideas 223 Petrucha was eventually fired and various other authors took up the job 223 Topps published 41 regular issues of The X Files from 1995 98 A 30 Days of Night The X Files cross over graphic novel was published by WildStorm in 2010 It follows Mulder and Scully to Alaska as they investigate a series of murders that may be linked to vampires 224 In 2013 it was announced that The X Files would return to comic book form with Season 10 now published by IDW The series which follows Mulder and Scully after the events of The X Files I Want to Believe was released in June 2013 Joe Harris wrote the series and Michael Walsh and Jordie Bellaire provided the artwork It was later announced that Carter himself would be the executive producer for the series and would be providing feedback to the creative team regarding scripts and outlines to keep the new stories in line with existing and on going canon 225 The series restarted the series mythology and the first arc of the story focused on seek ing to bring the mythology of the Alien Conspiracy back up to date in a more paranoid post terror post WikiLeaks society 225 In addition sequels to popular Monster of the Week episodes were made 225 The X Files Season 10 concluded on July 1 2015 after 25 issues 226 In August 2015 The X Files Season 11 comic book began also published by IDW The 8 issue series served as a continuation of the TV show Chris Carter was the Executive Producer of the comic book series while the issues were written by Joe Harris and illustrated by Matthew Dow Smith and Jordie Bellaire 227 Influence EditCritical reception Edit Overall Edit The X Files received positive reviews from television critics with many calling it one of the best series that aired on American television in the 1990s Ian Burrell from the British newspaper The Independent called the show one of the greatest cult shows in modern television 228 Richard Corliss from Time magazine called the show the cultural touchstone of the 1990s 229 Hal Boedeker from the Orlando Sentinel said in 1996 that the series had grown from a cult favorite to a television classic 230 The Evening Herald said the show had overwhelming influence on television in front of such shows as The Simpsons 231 In 2012 Entertainment Weekly listed the show at 4 in the 25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years describing it as a paean to oddballs sci fi fans conspiracy theorists and Area 51 pilgrims everywhere Ratings improved every year for the first five seasons while Mulder and Scully s believer versus skeptic dynamic created a TV template that s still in heavy use today 232 In 2004 and 2007 The X Files ranked 2 on TV Guide s Top Cult Shows Ever 233 In 2002 the show ranked as the 37th best television show of all time 234 In 1997 the episodes Clyde Bruckman s Final Repose and Small Potatoes respectively ranked 10 and 72 on TV Guide s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time 235 In 2013 TV Guide included it in its list of the 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time 236 and ranked it as the 4 science fiction show 237 and the 25 best series of all time 238 In 2007 Time included it on a list of the 100 Best TV Shows of All Time 239 In 2008 Entertainment Weekly named it the fourth best piece of science fiction media 240 the fourth best TV show in the last 25 years 241 and in 2009 named it the fourth best piece of science fiction in their list of the 20 Greatest Sci fi TV Shows in history 242 Empire magazine ranked The X Files ninth best TV show in history further claiming that the best episode was the third season entry Jose Chung s From Outer Space 243 In 2015 on The Hollywood Reporter s entertainment industry ranked TV list Hollywood s 100 Favorite TV Shows The X Files appeared at 3 244 According to The Guardian MediaDNA research discovered that The X Files was on top of the list of the most innovative TV brands 245 In 2009 it was announced that the show s catchphrase The Truth Is Out There was among Britain s top 60 best known slogans and quotes 246 The X Files has been criticized for being unscientific and privileging paranormal and supernatural ideas e g the hypotheses made by Mulder For instance in 1998 Richard Dawkins wrote that The X Files systematically purveys an anti rational view of the world which by virtue of its recurrent persistence is insidious 247 First seven seasons Edit The pilot episode was generally well received by fans and critics Variety criticized the episode for using reworked concepts but praised the production and noted its potential Of the acting Variety said Duchovny s delineation of a serious scientist with a sense of humor should win him partisans and Anderson s wavering doubter connects well They re a solid team Variety praised the writing and direction Mandel s cool direction of Carter s ingenious script and the artful presentation itself give TV sci fi a boost The magazine concluded Carter s dialogue is fresh without being self conscious and the characters are involving Series kicks off with drive and imagination both innovative in recent TV 248 Entertainment Weekly said that Scully was set up as a scoffing skeptic in the pilot but progressed toward belief throughout the season 249 After the airing of four episodes the magazine called The X Files the most paranoid subversive show on TV noting the marvelous tension between Anderson who is dubious about these events and Duchovny who has the haunted imploring look of a true believer 250 Virgin Media said the most memorable Monster of the Week was Eugene Tooms from Squeeze and Tooms 251 The following four seasons received similar praise During the show s second season Entertainment Weekly named The X Files the Program of the Year for 1994 stating no other show on television gives off the vibe that The X Files does 252 The DVD Journal gave the second season four out of four stars calling it a memorable season The review highlighted The Host Duane Barry and Ascension the cliffhanger finale Anasazi the unforgettable Humbug and meeting Mulder and Scully s families in Colony and One Breath 253 IGN gave the season a rating of 9 out of 10 with the reviewer noting it was an improvement upon the first as it had started to explore a little and the evolution of the characters makes the product shine even though the plotlines have begun to seem familiar 254 Emily VanDerWerff of The A V Club argued that the third season of The X Files was the show s best season and maybe one of the greatest TV seasons of all time noting it was consistent and swung from strength to strength between mythology and stand alone episodes 255 Michael Sauter of Entertainment Weekly gave the fifth season an A writing that it proves the show was even then still at its creative peak if only for another year or so and full of surprises 256 He praised the new additions to the series mythology and concluded that many stand alone episodes now look like classics 256 Francis Dass writing for the New Straits Times noted that the season was very interesting and possessed some truly inspiring and hilarious episodes 257 After the 1998 film the show began to receive increasingly critical reviews Some longtime fans became alienated during the show s sixth season due to the different tone taken by most stand alone episodes after the move to Los Angeles 258 Rather than adhering to the Monsters of the Week style they were often romantic or humorous or both such as Arcadia or Terms of Endearment Some fans felt there was no coherent plan to the main storyline and that Carter was making it all up as he goes along 258 As for the seventh season The A V Club noted that while most of the first eight seasons of The X Files were good to great the seventh season of the show was flagging and possessed significant problems 259 Despite this seasons six and seven included several episodes that were lauded by critics including the sixth season entries Triangle and The Unnatural 260 261 as well as the seventh season installment X Cops 262 Eighth and ninth seasons Edit The show s eighth season received mixed to positive reviews from critics The A V Club noted that the eighth season was revitalized by the new search for Mulder story arc 259 Amy H Sturgis commended the eighth season praising Anderson s performance as Scully as excellence and positively wrote that Doggett was non Mulderish 263 Collin Polonowonski from DVD Times said that the season included more hits than misses overall but offered a negative word about the mythology episodes claiming that they were the weakest episodes in the season 264 Jesse Hassenger from PopMatters however criticized the new season claiming that Patrick was miscast and calling Duchovny s appearances as Mulder shallow 265 The ninth season received mixed to negative reviews by critics and garnered negative reaction from many long time fans and viewers Sabadino Parker from PopMatters called the show a pale reflection of the show it once was 266 Elizabeth Weinbloom from The New York Times concluded shoddy writing notwithstanding it was this halfhearted culmination of what was once a beautifully complicated friendship between Mulder and Scully that ended remaining interest in what was a waning phenomenon 9 Another The New York Times review stated The most imaginative show on television has finally reached the limits of its imagination 267 The A V Club listed the ninth season and the 2008 film The X Files I Want to Believe as the bad apple of The X Files franchise describing the ninth season as clumsy mish mash of stuff that had once worked and new serialized storylines about so called super soldiers 259 Brian Linder from IGN on the other hand was more positive toward the ninth season saying that the series could still have aired if the writers created a new storyline for Patrick and Gish s characters 268 Tenth and eleventh seasons Edit The 2016 revival of the show was met with mixed reviews the first and last episodes were met with lukewarm to negative reviews from critics whereas episodes two through five were generally well received 269 The third episode in particular named Mulder and Scully Meet the Were Monster was praised by critics with Alex McCown of The A V Club calling it an instant classic 270 Overall the review aggregator Metacritic gave the season a score of 60 out of 100 based on 35 reviews indicating mixed or average reviews 271 Likewise Rotten Tomatoes gave the revival a 64 approval rating with an average score of 6 58 out of 10 based on 53 reviews The site s consensus reads Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny s chemistry remains intact but overall The X Files revival lacks the creative spark necessary to sustain the initial rush of nostalgia 269 The eleventh season received positive reviews from critics Review aggregator Metacritic gave the season a score of 67 out of 100 based on 18 reviews indicating generally favorable reviews 272 Rotten Tomatoes gave the season a Certified Fresh rating of 78 with an average score of 6 89 out of 10 based on 39 reviews The site s consensus reads Though it may not make many new believers The X Files return to business as usual is a refreshing upgrade from the show s underwhelming previous outing 273 Episodes The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat Ghouli Rm9sbG93ZXJz and Nothing Lasts Forever were praised receiving a 100 approval rating on the website 273 Accolades Edit Main article List of accolades received by The X Files The X Files received prestigious awards over its nine year run totaling 62 Emmy nominations and 16 awards 274 275 Capping its successful first season The X Files crew members James Castle Bruce Bryant and Carol Johnsen won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Graphic Design and Title Sequences in 1994 275 In 1995 the show was nominated for seven Emmy Awards with one win The following year the show won five Emmys out of eight nominations including Darin Morgan for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series In 1997 The X Files won three awards out of twelve including Gillian Anderson for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series In 1998 the show won one of fifteen In 1999 it won one out of eight in the category for Outstanding Makeup for a Series Season seven won three Emmys from six nominations The following season would not be as successful catching only two nominations and winning again in the Makeup category for Deadalive The ninth season received one nomination in Outstanding Music Composition for a Series Dramatic Underscore 274 275 The show was nominated for 12 Golden Globe Awards overall winning five 275 276 The first nomination came in 1994 when the show won Best Series Drama 275 The following year Anderson and Duchovny were nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role respectively 275 276 In 1996 the series won three awards Anderson and Duchovny for Best Actress and Actor and for Best Series Drama 275 In 1997 and 1998 the show received the same three nominations In 1997 however the series won Best Series Drama 275 276 In 1998 the series won no award and received no nominations thereafter 276 The show was nominated for 14 SAG Awards overall winning twice In 1996 and 1997 Anderson won for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series In 1996 the show won a Peabody Award for being able to convey ideas that are both entertaining and thought provoking 277 The show has also been nominated for two American Cinema Editors awards three Directors Guild of America Awards nine Television Critics Association Awards and two Writers Guild of American Awards The X Files was also nominated for nine Satellite Awards managing to win two of them and two Young Artist Awards winning one 278 Fandom Edit A fan cosplaying as Agent Scully As The X Files saw its viewership expand from a small but devoted group of fans to a worldwide mass cult audience 279 280 digital telecommunications were becoming mainstream According to The New York Times this may have been the first show to find its audience growth tied to the growth of the Internet 281 The X Files incorporated new technologies into storylines beginning in the early seasons Mulder and Scully communicated on cellular phones e mail contact with secret informants provided plot points in episodes such as Colony and Anasazi while The Lone Gunmen were portrayed as Internet aficionados as early as 1994 282 Many X Files fans also had online access Fans of the show became commonly known as X Philes a term coined from the Greek root phil meaning love or obsession 281 In addition to watching the show X Philes reviewed episodes themselves on unofficial websites formed communities with other fans through Usenet newsgroups and listservs 283 and wrote their own fan fiction 284 The X Files also caught on with viewers who wouldn t ordinarily consider themselves sci fi fans 279 While Carter argued that the show was plot driven many fans saw it as character driven 284 Duchovny and Anderson were characterized as Internet sex symbols 281 As the show grew in popularity subgroups of fans developed such as shippers hoping for a romantic or sexual partnership between Mulder and Scully or those who already perceived one between the lines 284 Other groups arose to pay tribute to the stars 283 or their characters 285 while others joined the subculture of slash fiction 284 In the summer of 1996 a journalist wrote There are entire forums online devoted to the M S Mulder and Scully relationship 283 In addition to MOTW Internet fans invented acronyms such as UST meaning unresolved sexual tension and COTR standing for conversation on the rock referencing a popular scene in the third season episode Quagmire to aid in their discussions of the agents relationship which was itself identified as the MSR 286 The producers did not endorse some fans readings according to a study on the subject Not content to allow Shippers to perceive what they wish Carter has consistently reassured NoRomos those against the idea of a Mulder Scully romance that theirs is the preferred reading This allows him the plausible deniability to credit the show s success to his original plan even though many watched in anticipation of a romance thanks in part to his strategic polysemy He can deny that these fans had reason to do so however since he has repeatedly stated that a romance was not and would never be The Scully obsessed writer in Carter s 1999 episode Milagro was read by some as his alter ego realizing that by this point she has fallen for Mulder despite his authorial intent 284 The writers sometimes paid tribute to the more visible fans by naming minor characters after them The best example is Leyla Harrison Played by Jolie Jenkins and introduced in the eighth season episode Alone Harrison was created and named in memory of an Internet fan and prolific writer of fan fiction of the same name who died of cancer on February 10 2001 11 Merchandise Edit Main articles The X Files merchandise and The X Files literature The X Files spawned an industry of spin off products In 2004 U S based Topps Comics and 223 287 most recently DC Comics imprint Wildstorm launched a new series of licensed tie in comics 288 During the series run the Fox Broadcasting Company published the official The X Files Magazine 289 The X Files Collectible Card Game was released in 1996 and an expansion set was released in 1997 290 The X Files has inspired four video games In 1997 Fox Interactive released The X Files Unrestricted Access a game style database for Windows and Mac which allowed users access to every case file 291 In 1998 The X Files Game was released for the PC and Macintosh and a year later for the PlayStation This game is set within the timeline of the second or third season and follows an Agent Craig Willmore in his search for the missing Mulder and Scully 292 Then in 2004 The X Files Resist or Serve was released The game is a survival horror game released for the PlayStation 2 and is an original story set in the seventh season It allows the player control of both Mulder and Scully Both games feature acting and voice work from members of the series cast 293 In February 2018 a mobile mystery investigation game The X Files Deep State was released on iOS Android and Facebook The story of the game takes place between seasons 9 and 10 of the show and follows two FBI agents Casey Winter and Garret Dale as they investigate a sinister conspiracy 294 A 6 player pinball game called The X Files was produced by Sega in 1997 295 296 Legacy Edit See also The X Files franchise The set for Mulder s office The X Files directly inspired other TV series including Strange World 279 297 The Burning Zone 298 Special Unit 2 299 Mysterious Ways 300 Lost 301 Dark Skies 299 302 The Visitor 279 Fringe 299 303 Warehouse 13 299 Supernatural 299 304 and Gravity Falls 305 with key aspects carried over to more standard crime dramas such as Eleventh Hour 299 306 and Bones 307 The influence can be seen on other levels television series such as Lost developed their own complex mythologies 301 In terms of characterization the role of Dana Scully was seen as innovative changing how women on television were not just perceived but behaved and perhaps influencing the portrayal of other strong women investigators 59 Russell T Davies said The X Files had been an inspiration on his series Torchwood describing it as dark wild and sexy The X Files meets This Life 308 309 Other shows have been influenced by the tone and mood of The X Files For example Buffy the Vampire Slayer drew from the mood and coloring of The X Files as well as from its occasional blend of horror and humor creator Joss Whedon described his show as a cross between The X Files and My So Called Life 310 It also inspired themes in video games Deus Ex 311 and Perfect Dark 312 The show s popularity led it to become a major aspect of popular culture The show is parodied in The Simpsons season eight episode The Springfield Files which aired on January 12 1997 In it Mulder and Scully voiced by Duchovny and Anderson are sent to Springfield to investigate an alien sighting by Homer Simpson but end up finding no evidence other than Homer s word and depart Cigarette Smoking Man appears in the background when Homer is interviewed and the show s theme plays during one particular scene 313 Nathan Ditum from Total Film ranked Duchovny and Anderson s performances as the fourth best guest appearances in The Simpsons history 314 In the Star Trek Deep Space Nine episode Trials and Tribble ations Benjamin Sisko is interviewed by Federation Department of Temporal Investigations agents Dulmer and Lucsly anagrams of Mulder and Scully respectively 315 The pair were later expanded upon in Christopher L Bennett s book Watching the Clock 316 The X Files has also been parodied or referenced in countless other shows such as 3rd Rock from the Sun Archer NewsRadio American Horror Story The Big Bang Theory Bones Breaking Bad Californication which stars David Duchovny Supernatural Castle Family Guy Hey Arnold King of the Hill South Park and Two and a Half Men 317 Welsh music act Catatonia released the 1998 single Mulder and Scully which became a hit in the United Kingdom 318 American singer and songwriter Bree Sharp wrote a song in 1999 called David Duchovny about the actor that heavily references the show and its characters Although never a mainstream hit the song became popular underground and gained a cult following 319 320 321 Finnish band Sonata Arctica released in 1999 the song Letter to Dana in which the title character Dana O Hara is named after Scully 322 The series has also been referenced in songs such as The Bad Touch by the Bloodhound Gang A Change by Sheryl Crow Year 2000 by Xzibit and One Week by Barenaked Ladies 317 Carter Duchovny and Anderson celebrated the 20th anniversary of the series at a July 18 2013 panel at the San Diego Comic Con hosted by TV Guide During the discussion Anderson discussed Scully s influence on female fans relating that a number of women have informed her that they entered into careers in physics because of the character Anderson also indicated that she was not in favor of an X Files miniseries and Duchovny ruled out working with her on an unrelated project but both expressed willingness to do a third feature film Carter was more reserved at the idea stating You need a reason to get excited about going on and doing it again 323 The series attained a degree of historical importance as well On July 16 2008 Carter and Spotnitz donated several props from the series and new film to the Smithsonian s National Museum of American History Some of the items included the original pilot script and the I Want to Believe poster from Mulder s office 324 Some of the show s writer producers have acknowledged that the show likely played a role in bringing conspiracy theories to a mainstream audience and possibly to the erosion of trust in public institutions 325 References Edit a b Delsara 2000 p 59 Delsara 2000 p 62 Delsara 2000 p 58 Baugh Lloyd Mazza Giuseppe Srampickal Jacob eds 2006 Cross Connections Pontifical Gregorian University p 201 ISBN 9788878390614 Lowry 1995 pp 99 101 Lowry 1995 pp 99 156 a b Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 p 137 Gross Terry March 1 2001 Interview with Chris Carter Fresh Air from WHYY National Public Radio Retrieved December 3 2012 a b c Weinbloom Elizabeth June 2 2002 The X Files A Botched Romance The New York Times Retrieved July 27 2009 a b Fleming Michael July 20 2000 Patrick Marks X Files Spot Variety Penske Business Media Retrieved July 5 2009 a b c d e Carter Chris et al 2002 The Truth Behind Season 8 The X Files The Complete Eighth Season DVD Fox Home Entertainment a b The Truth Part Two BBC Cult Retrieved May 9 2012 Lavery 1995 p 339 40 a b Kowalski 2007 pp 243 46 Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 p 71 a b Gates Anita February 18 2001 Television Radio Without Mulder Most of the Time The X Files Thrives The New York Times Retrieved July 5 2009 Richmond Alex All About Yves Television Without Pity NBCUniversal Retrieved December 3 2012 a b Duncan 1998 passim a b c Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 pp 221 33 Kowalski 2007 p 50 Gross Terry March 2001 Interview with Chris Carter National Public Radio Retrieved December 3 2012 a b Alone BBC Cult Retrieved March 21 2012 a b c d Kim Manners director Chris Carter writer Within The X Files Season 8 Episode 1 Fox Barry K Thomas director Greg Walker writer Empedocles The X Files Season 8 Episode 17 Fox Michelle Maxwell MacLaren director Vince Gilligan writer January 13 2002 John Doe The X Files Season 9 Episode 7 Fox a b Kim Manners director Chris Carter amp Frank Spotnitz writers February 25 2001 This Is Not Happening The X Files Season 8 Episode 14 Fox R W Goodwin director Glen Morgan amp James Wong writers One Breath The X Files Season 2 Episode 8 Fox David Nutter director Glen Morgan amp James Wong writers Tooms The X Files Season 1 Episode 21 Fox a b Kim Manners director Chris Carter writer Requiem The X Files Season 7 Episode 22 Fox Richmond Alex The Lying Game Television Without Pity NBCUniversal Retrieved December 3 2012 a b c Director David Duchovny Writer s David Duchovny Frank Spotnitz amp Chris Carter William The X Files Season 9 Episode 16 Fox Broadcasting Company a b c Kim Manners director Chris Carter writer May 12 2002 The Truth The X Files Season 9 Episode 19 amp 20 Fox Duncan 1998 passism Kim Manners director Chris Carter amp Frank Spotnitz writers Tunguska The X Files Season 4 Episode 8 FOX a b Rob Bowman director Howard Gordon writer Sleepless The X Files Season 2 Episode 4 FOX R W Goodwin director Chris Carter writer Anasazi The X Files Season 2 Episode 25 FOX Daniel Sackheim director John Shiban writer S R 819 The X Files Season 6 Episode 9 FOX Tony Wharmby director Chris Carter amp Frank Spotnitz writers Deadalive The X Files Season 8 Episode 15 FOX Kim Manners director Chris Carter writer Existence The X Files Season 8 Episode 21 FOX a b Kim Manners director Chris Carter writer November 8 1998 The Beginning The X Files Season 6 Episode 1 Fox Broadcasting Company Director Rob Bowman Writer s Chris Carter amp Frank Spotnitz One Son The X Files Season 6 Episode 12 Fox Broadcasting Company Chris Carter writer amp director November 22 1998 Triangle The X Files Season 6 Episode 3 Fox Broadcasting Company Rob Bowman director Vince Gilligan writer November 15 1998 Drive The X Files Season 6 Episode 2 Fox Broadcasting Company Bischoff David December 1994 Opening the X Files Behind the Scenes of TV s Hottest Show Omni Vol 17 no 3 General Media Inc Edwards 1996 p 9 Apello Tim March 18 1994 X Appeal The X Files Builds a Cult Following by Following the Occult Entertainment Weekly Retrieved September 13 2011 Edwards 1996 p 13 Lowry 1995 pp 10 12 Lovece 1996 pp 3 4 Edwards 1996 p 12 Millman Joyce May 19 2002 Television Radio The X Files Finds the Truth Its Time Is Past The New York Times Retrieved July 9 2009 Aspan Maria January 23 2006 X Files Are Closed a Lawsuit Opens The New York Times Retrieved July 31 2009 Kirby Jonathan October 29 2007 Not Just a Fluke How Darin Morgan Saved The X Files PopMatters Retrieved January 2 2013 a b c Anderson Gillian Biography Official Gillian Anderson Website Retrieved April 10 2011 James Lipton interviewer David Duchovny interviewee April 10 2005 David Duchovny Inside the Actors Studio Season 11 Episode 17 Bravo Carter Chris Casting Mulder BBC News Retrieved July 12 2009 Maher Kevin March 29 2007 Interview with Anderson The Times Retrieved September 13 2011 Lowry 1995 pp 15 16 a b Ryan Maureen January 18 2006 Gillian Anderson hasn t disappeared it just seems like it Chicago Tribune Retrieved June 29 2009 Mayhall Robin M June 1995 Mitch Pileggi interview The X Tapes Retrieved July 10 2009 Kessenich 2002 p 80 Duchovny Quits X Files BBC News May 18 2001 Retrieved July 5 2009 Spencer Russ April 28 2000 A close encounter with Chris Carter Salon Retrieved July 5 2009 Elber Lynn May 18 2000 Fox Mulder Ready to Get Back to Work Associated Press Space Archived from the original on September 24 2004 Retrieved July 5 2009 Shapiro 2001 p 278 Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 p 190 Stark Jeff April 13 2001 Interview with Chris Carter Salon Salon Media Group Retrieved June 29 2009 a b Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 p 49 Spotnitz Frank Carter Chris Shiban John Manners Kim and Gordon Howard among others 2004 Threads of Mythology DVD The X Files Mythology Volume 1 Abduction Fox Home Entertainment a href Template Cite AV media html title Template Cite AV media cite AV media a CS1 maint location link Lowry 1995 p 17 Gradnitzer amp Pittson 1999 p 16 Meisler 2000 pp 18 19 Strachan Alex February 17 1998 The Alienation of David Duchovny Vancouver Sun Retrieved July 27 2009 a b c Carter Chris et al 2000 The Truth About Season Six The X Files The Complete Sixth Season DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Strachan Alex March 30 1998 X Files Creator Bids B C Sad Adieu The Vancouver Sun Retrieved July 27 2009 Hurwitz Matt March 2002 Directing The X Files DGA Monthly Directors Guild of America Archived from the original on March 16 2010 Carter Chris et al 2000 The Truth Behind Season 7 The X Files The Complete Seventh Season DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Meisler 2000 p 65 a b c d Schaefer Glen March 12 2008 Filming of the X Files Sequel Wraps Vancouver Province Archived from the original on August 23 2012 Retrieved September 5 2009 Grainger Peter March 26 2015 New X Files Episodes to Shoot in Vancouver Smoking Man Confirms CTV Vancouver Retrieved March 27 2015 Quijada Avi March 25 2015 XFN Exclusive Chris Carter on XFilesRevival XFilesNews Archived from the original on January 25 2016 Retrieved March 29 2015 The S Files Soundtrack net May 27 1998 Retrieved June 6 2008 a b c d Chris Carter et al 2000 The Truth Behind Season 1 DVD The X Files The Complete First Season 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment a href Template Cite AV media html title Template Cite AV media cite AV media a CS1 maint location link a b c Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 pp 34 35 Carter Chris 2005 Audio Commentary for Deep Throat DVD The X Files The Complete First Season 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment a href Template Cite AV media html title Template Cite AV media cite AV media a CS1 maint location link Larson Randall October 1998 Dark Music From Ambient Sound Design to Mahleresque Melody Cinefantastique Vol 30 no 7 8 pp 47 48 Love Bret X Files Score Mark Snow AllMusic Retrieved December 5 2012 Dan Goldwasser May 30 2008 Mark Snow Scores The X Files I Want to Believe ScoringSessions com Retrieved July 27 2009 X Files Theme Gets a Fresh Spin for Summer Film Reuters June 27 2008 Retrieved July 27 2009 Carter Chris and Snow Mark 2005 Trust No One Documentary DVD The X Files I Want to Believe 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment The X Files I Want to Believe Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Amazon Retrieved December 5 2012 a b c Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 p 35 Charisma James January 4 2017 The 75 Best TV Title Sequences of All Time Paste Retrieved January 16 2017 a b Carter Chris et al 2002 The Truth Behind Season 9 The X Files The Complete Ninth Season DVD Fox Home Entertainment Roxborough Scott October 6 2015 MIPCOM New X Files Wows at World Premiere The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved March 8 2018 Lowry 1995 p 156 Lovece 1996 p 120 Lovece 1996 p 176 731 The X Files December 1 1995 Fox Meisler 1998 p 27 Teliko The X Files October 18 1996 Fox Terma The X Files December 1 1996 Fox Meisler 1998 p 102 Gethsemane The X Files May 18 1997 Fox Redux The X Files November 2 1997 Fox The Red and the Black The X Files March 8 1998 Fox The End The X Files May 17 1998 Fox Triangle The X Files November 22 1998 Fox Meisler 2000 p 41 The Unnatural The X Files April 25 1999 Fox The Sixth Extinction II Amor Fati The X Files November 14 1999 Fox Donaldson 2007 pp 8 9 Shapiro 2001 p 139 Nothing Important Happened Today II The X Files November 18 2001 Fox 4 D The X Files December 9 2001 Fox Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz writers Tony Wharmby director January 6 2002 Trust No 1 The X Files Season 9 Episode 6 Fox Improbable The X Files April 7 2002 Fox Miller Liz Shannon February 23 2016 Review The X Files Season 10 Episode 6 My Struggle II Brings Us a Bitter End Indiewire Retrieved March 10 2016 My Struggle III The X Files January 3 2018 Fox This The X Files January 10 2018 Fox Ghouli The X Files January 31 2018 Fox Kitten The X Files February 7 2018 Fox Miller Liz Shannon February 28 2018 The X Files Review Rm9sbG93ZXJz Keeps It Simple and Silent for a Creatively Daring Episode IndieWire Retrieved March 8 2018 Kitten The X Files March 14 2018 Fox My Struggle IV The X Files March 21 2018 Fox a b Smooth Start for seaQuest DSV Nielsen Ratings USA Today September 15 1993 p 03D a b Nielsen Ratings USA Today May 18 1994 p D3 a b c d e f g ABC Hits a Home Run Entertainment Weekly April 28 1995 Retrieved April 3 2012 Girl Helps ABC Start Fall Season on Top Nielsen Ratings USA Today September 21 1994 p 03D Nielsen Ratings USA Today May 24 1995 p 03 D a b c Lowry 1996 p 249 a b Lowry 1996 p 251 a b Season Winner NBC Coasts While CBS Outrates ABC St Paul Pioneer Press May 30 1996 Retrieved March 18 2012 a b c Meisler 1998 p 298 a b c The Final Countdown Entertainment Weekly No 434 May 29 1998 Retrieved December 2 2010 a b c d Kessenich 2002 p 12 a b c Meisler 1999 p 284 a b c Meisler 2000 p 294 a b TV Winners amp Losers Numbers Racket A Final Tally Of The Season s Shows Entertainment Weekly June 4 1999 a b Shapiro 2001 p 281 a b c d Top TV Shows For 1999 2000 Season Variety Penske Business Media November 4 2007 Retrieved December 2 2010 a b Kessenich 2002 p 146 a b Staff November 8 2000 Campaign Ad Sales Outstrip Last Election s Election 2000 Media The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution p E20 Retrieved March 8 2012 Associated Press May 2001 Season Finales Lift NBC to No 1 The Cincinnati Post p 3C Retrieved January 15 2012 a b The Bitter End Entertainment Weekly June 1 2001 Retrieved December 2 2010 a b c Kessenich 2002 p 193 a b Kissell Rick May 21 2002 Peacock struts its stuff Variety Retrieved March 25 2015 a b c How Did Your Favorite Show Rate USA Today May 28 2002 Retrieved December 2 2010 a b Ausiello Michael May 11 2015 Fox Fall Schedule Scream Queens Takes Tuesday Crown Sleepy Rises on Thursday X Files Held Til January TVLine Retrieved May 11 2015 a b c Porter Rick January 26 2016 Sunday Final Ratings X Files Adjusts Up by a Full Point TV by the Numbers Zap2it Archived from the original on January 27 2016 Retrieved January 26 2016 a b c Porter Rick February 23 2016 Monday Final Ratings Bachelor Adjusts Up Crazy Ex Girlfriend Adjusts Down TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on February 25 2016 Retrieved February 23 2016 a b c Full 2015 16 TV Season Series Rankings Deadline Hollywood May 26 2015 Retrieved May 26 2015 a b Porter Rick January 5 2018 Chicago PD adjusts up The X Files adjusts down Wednesday final ratings TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on January 6 2018 Retrieved January 5 2018 a b Porter Rick March 22 2018 Survivor The Goldbergs and Modern Family adjust up Speechless adjusts down Wednesday final ratings TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on March 23 2018 Retrieved March 22 2018 a b c de Moraes Lisa Hipes Patrick May 22 2018 2017 18 TV Series Ratings Rankings NFL Football Big Bang Top Charts Deadline Hollywood Retrieved September 16 2018 Powers William September 17 1995 X Files Signs of Intelligent Life Cult Favorite Gains a Following Among the Masses The Washington Post Archived from the original on November 5 2013 Retrieved December 1 2012 a b Lowry 1996 p 249 50 Brownfield Paul August 28 1999 Exploring the Unknown X Files Future Los Angeles Times Retrieved December 1 2012 Bauder David November 7 2000 NBC Out to Early Lead in Sweeps Competition Associated Press Archive Retrieved March 8 2012 Goodman Tim January 18 2002 X Files Creator Ends Fox Series San Francisco Chronicle Retrieved July 27 2009 Newitz Annalee February 23 2008 Chris Carter Says 9 11 Killed X Files i09 Gawker Media Retrieved July 22 2012 Dr Who Longest Running Sci fi BBC News September 28 2006 Retrieved July 27 2009 Smallville will break Stargate SG 1 s world record GateWorld March 9 2010 Retrieved May 19 2010 Sepinwall Alan Seitz Matt Zoller March 1 2001 Blame it on Cable The Star Ledger Retrieved September 19 2012 Hibberd James January 29 2016 X Files Return Ratings Grow to Top its own Series Finale Entertainment Weekly Retrieved January 29 2016 Gruenwedel Erik November 8 2021 JustWatch Free Guy Yellowstone Top Weekly Streamed Movie TV Show Media Play News Retrieved October 31 2022 Carter Chris et al 1998 The Making of The X Files Movie DVD Fox Home Entertainment Carter Chris Gilligan Vince Shiban John Haglund Dean Manners Kim Bowman Rob Spotnitz Frank Cartwright Veronica Rabwin Paul Rogers Mimi and Goodwin R W Bob 1998 The Truth Behind Season 5 The X Files The Complete Fifth Season DVD Fox Home Entertainment a b Carter Chris and Bowman Rob 2005 Audio Commentary forThe X Files Fight the Future DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment The X Files 1998 Weekend Box Office Results Box Office Mojo Amazon Retrieved July 2 2012 The X Files Box Office Mojo Amazon Retrieved July 31 2009 X Files Cast and Crew Talk New Movie amp New Season IGN September 10 2001 Retrieved July 27 2009 Smith Christopher April 11 2002 Carter Sheds Light on X Files 2 Cinescape Kuwait National Cinema Company Archived from the original on August 13 2014 Retrieved July 27 2009 Linder Brian May 9 2002 Carter Talks X Files Sequel IGN Retrieved February 9 2011 Bowman Spills It On Reign of Fire X Files 2 Hopes Mania com June 18 2002 Archived from the original on August 13 2014 Retrieved March 17 2012 McClintock Pamela Siegel Tatiana October 31 2007 Fox sets date for X Files sequel Variety Retrieved March 7 2015 Duchovny and Two Co Writers Announce New X Files Feature film Canadian Press March 12 2008 Archived from the original on March 16 2008 Retrieved July 27 2009 a b Clark Collis April 18 2008 X Files Creator Chris Carter Wants to Believe in a Third Movie Featuring Mulder and Scully Entertainment Weekly Retrieved July 27 2009 Finke Nikki July 25 2008 Dark Knight 314 2M In 10 Days Keeps Smashing Record After Record Step Brothers Big X Files 2 Bombs Deadline Hollywood Retrieved September 5 2009 Weekend Box Office Results for July 25 27 2008 Box Office Mojo Amazon Retrieved December 2 2012 The X Files I Want to Believe The Numbers Retrieved December 2 2012 2008 Domestic Gross Box Office Mojo Amazon Retrieved December 2 2012 Goodwin Liam August 1 2008 David Duchovny Blames Disappointing X Files Box Office on The Dark Knight Filmonic com Retrieved December 2 2012 Kilkelly Daniel August 4 2008 X Files Star Reflects On Film s Performance Digital Spy Retrieved December 2 2012 The X Files I Want to Believe Metacritic Retrieved September 11 2009 The X Files I Want to Believe 2008 Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved September 11 2009 Parfitt Orlando July 31 2008 Carter Already Planning X Files 3 IGN Retrieved October 14 2009 Vejvoda Jim October 16 2009 Duchovny on X Files 3 IGN Retrieved October 19 2009 David Duchovny Talks Gay Crushes and a Possible X Files Sequel The Daily Telegraph January 11 2011 Archived from the original on October 27 2015 Retrieved January 11 2011 Marcus Stephanie August 27 2012 Gillian Anderson X Files 3 Movie Is Looking Pretty Good The Huffington Post AOL Retrieved September 4 2012 Radish Christian August 2 2012 Writer Producer Frank Spotnitz Talks His Desire to Make a Third X Files Movie and the Possibility of a Millennium Movie Collider Toplingo Retrieved September 4 2012 X Files Movie David Duchovny Is In The Huffington Post AOL August 12 2012 Retrieved September 4 2012 David Duchovny Gillian Anderson Want to Reunite for Third X Files Movie New York Daily News Associated Press October 14 2013 Retrieved October 14 2013 Andreeva Nellie January 17 2015 Fox Confirms X Files Reboot Talks David Duchovny amp Gillian Anderson To Return Update Deadline Hollywood Retrieved January 18 2015 Andreeva Nellie March 24 2015 The X Files Returns As Fox Event Series With Creator Chris Carter And Stars David Duchovny amp Gillian Anderson Deadline Hollywood com Retrieved March 24 2015 The Next Mind Bending Chapter Is Coming The X Files returns to FOX Fox Broadcasting Company March 24 2015 Archived from the original on March 26 2015 Retrieved March 26 2015 Patten Dominic April 20 2017 The X Files Coming Back Again For New Event Series Next Season Deadline Hollywood Retrieved April 21 2017 Roots Kimberly November 15 2017 The X Files Season 11 Gets January Premiere Date See First Poster TVLine Retrieved November 15 2017 MacDonald Lindsay January 10 2018 Gillian Anderson Confirms She s Leaving The X Files TV Guide Retrieved January 11 2018 Nissim Mayer February 5 2018 X Files Chris Carter interview The X Files has more life in it with or without Gillian Anderson Digital Spy Retrieved February 7 2018 Ausiello Michael May 14 2018 X Files Fox Has No Plans for a Season 12 Following Gillian Anderson Exit TVLine Retrieved June 6 2018 Longo Chris October 16 2020 The X Files Creator Chris Carter Sorry For How Series Ended Den of Geek Retrieved February 20 2021 a b Video amp DVDs 1 X Files Merchandise Archived from the original on November 20 2012 Retrieved December 2 2012 The X Files Wave 8 Triple Pack 1993 ASIN 6305809453 a b c d The X Files Wave 1 Triple Pack 1993 ASIN 6304153791 a b The X Files Wave 2 Triple Pack 1993 ASIN 6304153805 VHS Wave Art Eatthecorn com Retrieved December 2 2012 a b The X Files The Complete Collector s Edition 1998 Amazon Retrieved December 2 2012 The X Files Movie 2 Pack Fight the Future I Want to Believe 2010 Amazon Retrieved December 2 2012 For the various seasons and their special features see Robert Mandel et al 2006 The X Files The Complete First Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment David Nutter et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Second Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment R W Goodwin et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Third Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment R W Goodwin et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Fourth Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment R W Goodwin et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Fifth Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Kim Manners et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Sixth Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Kim Manners et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Seventh Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Kim Manners et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Eighth Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Kim Manners et al 2006 The X Files The Complete Ninth Season Slim case DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment For the episode DVDs see Tony Wharmby 2001 The X Files Deadalive DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Kim Manners 2001 The X Files Existence DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Kim Manners 2001 The X Files Nothing Important Happened Today DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Chris Carter 2002 The X Files Providence DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Kim Manners 2002 The X Files The Truth DVD 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Lacey Gord June 7 2005 The X Files More Mythology sets coming soon TVShowsOnDVD Archived from the original on May 18 2012 Retrieved April 4 2012 Hunt Bill November 12 2012 Is Fox Bringing The X Files to BD in 2013 as Well The Digital Bits Retrieved January 12 2013 Zarges Torsten October 12 2013 Neue US Ware So Sill ProSieben Maxx 2014 Wachsen DWDL de Retrieved February 23 2014 Lopatto Elizabeth April 23 2015 Netflix Begins Streaming The X Files in HD The Verge Retrieved May 8 2015 Lambert David October 6 2015 The X Files Fox Confirms Complete Blu ray Release Provides Package Art TVShowsOnDVD com Archived from the original on October 8 2015 Retrieved October 6 2015 Seibold Witney December 15 2015 Review The X Files The Collector s Set CraveOnline Retrieved February 13 2017 Lambert David January 27 2016 The X Files Exchange Program for Issue with Season 8 Blu ray Discs UPDATED TVShowsOnDVD com Archived from the original on October 4 2016 Retrieved February 13 2017 Kissell Rick March 19 2001 Eye Hoops March On Variety Penske Business Media Retrieved November 29 2012 TV Sound Off Corpus Christi Caller Times The E W Scripps Company March 18 2001 Retrieved March 9 2013 Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 p 206 Otterson Joe August 28 2020 X Files Animated Comedy Series in Development at Fox Variety Retrieved August 28 2020 a b c d e Vitaris Paula October 1997 The X Files Stefan Petrucha on His Struggle to Create a Comic Book Worthy of the Show Cinefantastique Vol 29 no 4 5 Niles amp Jones 2010 pp 1 144 a b c Brown Sophie March 5 2013 The X Files Season 10 What You Need To Know Wired Conde Nast Retrieved March 9 2013 TFAW com Home gt Series gt X Files tfaw com Retrieved November 28 2017 Dietsch TJ June 18 2015 Joe Harris Takes Mulder on the Run in IDW s X Files Season 11 Comic Book Resources Retrieved August 16 2015 Burrell Ian July 17 2007 Ex Files No Longer Partners Once More The Independent London Archived from the original on February 28 2009 Retrieved August 17 2009 Corliss Richard April 7 1997 A Star Trek into the X Files Time Retrieved August 17 2009 Boedeker Hal May 17 1996 Having Grown From a Cult Favorite to a Classic The X Files Wraps Up Its 3rd Season Orlando Sentinel Tribune Company Retrieved August 18 2009 McManus Darragh July 26 2008 X Hits the Spot Evening Herald Independent News amp Media Retrieved August 17 2009 25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years Entertainment Weekly August 3 2012 pp 37 38 TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever TV Guide July 27 1998 Retrieved June 29 2007 TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows CBS News CBS Corporation April 26 2002 Retrieved July 29 2009 Special Collector s Issue 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time TV Guide No June 28 July 4 1997 Roush Matt February 25 2013 Showstoppers The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time TV Guide pp 16 17 TV Guide September 16 22 2013 Fretts Bruce Roush Matt December 23 2013 TV Guide Magazine s 60 Best Series of All Time TV Guide Retrieved October 19 2015 Best TV Shows of All TIME Time September 6 2007 Archived from the original on October 22 2011 Retrieved July 27 2009 Pastorek Whitney 2003 The Sci Fi 25 The Genre s Best Since 1982 Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on December 11 2011 Retrieved July 27 2009 The New Classics TV Entertainment Weekly 2008 Archived from the original on April 24 2012 Retrieved July 27 2009 20 Greatest Sci fi TV Shows Entertainment Weekly September 30 2009 Retrieved October 4 2009 The X Files 1993 2002 Empire Bauer Consumer Media Retrieved August 17 2009 Hollywood s 100 Favorite TV Shows The Hollywood Reporter Billboard Hollywood Reporter Media Group Valence Media September 16 2015 Archived from the original on September 19 2015 Retrieved March 24 2019 What the MediaDNA Research Found The Guardian London March 13 2003 Retrieved July 23 2009 Forsyth s Winning Words BBC October 30 1998 Retrieved August 17 2009 Dawkins Richard 1998 Unweaving the Rainbow p 28 ISBN 9780618056736 Scott Tony September 9 1993 The X Files Fri Variety Retrieved July 27 2009 X Marks What s Hot With a Quirky Sense of Humor and a Generous Helping of the Paranormal Fox s X Files Slyly Alters the Time Tested Recipe for Mystery Solving Entertainment Weekly January 21 1994 Tucker Ken October 8 1993 Alien Nation FBI Agents battle unearthly Boogeymen in The X Files Entertainment Weekly Retrieved July 27 2009 Lifting the lid on the X Files The Herald January 30 2007 Retrieved August 18 2009 Tucker Ken December 30 1994 The Best and Worst 1994 Television Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on February 16 2014 JJB The X Files The Complete Second Season The DVD Journal Retrieved February 12 2012 IGN Staff December 7 2000 X Files Season Two Gift Pack IGN Retrieved April 5 2012 VanDerWerff Emily July 4 2010 The Blessing Way Paper Clip DPO The A V Club Retrieved March 31 2012 a b Sauter Michael May 14 2002 The X Files The Complete Fifth Season Entertainment Weekly Retrieved January 29 2012 Dass Francis April 20 2000 A Late X Files Collection New Straits Times New Straits Times Press Retrieved July 29 2010 a b Parks Jo Ann January 2000 What s Ailing The X Files Space com TechMediaNetwork Archived from the original on September 1 2005 Retrieved July 27 2009 a b c Adams Sam et al May 7 2012 One Bad Apple We Can Live With That 31 Rotten Parts of Otherwise Fantastic Wholes The A V Club The Onion Retrieved May 19 2012 Cressey Earl November 5 2002 X Files Season Six Internet Brands Retrieved March 14 2012 A Look Back on Some of the Best Stand Alone Episodes From the X Files Series Vancouver Sun July 25 2008 Archived from the original on January 18 2012 Retrieved August 9 2009 Mink Eric February 12 2000 X Files Boldy Goes Thru 7th Season New York Daily News Retrieved December 7 2011 H Sturgis Amy The X Files Season 8 Revolution Science Fiction Retrieved July 5 2009 Polonowonski Collin March 25 2004 The X Files Season 8 DVD Times Retrieved July 5 2009 Hassenger Jesse November 4 2003 The X Files The Complete Eight Season PopMatters Retrieved July 5 2009 Parker Sabadino May 15 2002 I Don t Believe It PopMatters Retrieved August 3 2009 The Nearly Ex Files The New York Times October 10 2002 Retrieved August 17 2009 Linder Brian January 18 2001 X Files Exits After 9 Seasons IGN Retrieved August 17 2009 a b The X Files Season 10 Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved January 23 2016 McCown Alex January 18 2016 Meet the New X Files Same as the Old X Files The A V Club Retrieved January 18 2016 The X Files Season 10 Metacritic Retrieved January 23 2016 The X Files Season 11 Reviews Metacritic Retrieved March 25 2019 a b The X Files Season 11 Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved March 25 2019 a b The X Files Emmys com Academy of Television Arts amp Sciences Retrieved February 4 2016 a b c d e f g h Hurwitz amp Knowles 2008 p 241 a b c d X Files The GoldenGlobes com Hollywood Foreign Press Association Retrieved February 4 2016 The X Files Peabody Awards Retrieved October 1 2015 For information regarding show award nominations and wins see Lowry 1995 p 257 Lowry 1996 pp 253 57 Meisler 1998 p 296 Meisler 1999 p 282 Meisler 2000 p 292 Shapiro 2001 p 280 a b c d Millman Joyce March 8 1999 The X E R O X Files Salon Archived from the original on March 15 2009 Retrieved July 27 2009 Gumbel andrew March 28 2008 Mystery Over Big Screen Return of The X Files The Independent London Archived from the original on March 31 2008 Retrieved August 17 2009 a b c Millman Joyce May 19 2005 The Nearly Ex Files The New York Times Whitehead Jayson May 6 2002 Anybody Can Rule Gadfly Online Archived from the original on June 1 2015 Retrieved July 27 2009 a b c Davis Rachel Leibrock July 25 31 1996 The X Phile Facts Metroactive Retrieved July 27 2009 a b c d e Scodari Christine Felder Jenna L 2000 Creating a Pocket Universe Shippers Fan Fiction and The X Files Online Communication Studies Sarah R Wakefield Your Sister in St Scully An Electronic Community of Female Fans of The X Files Critical Essay Journal of Popular Film and Television Fall 2001 Lavery 1995 pp 36 51 Bianculli David March 6 1995 X Hits Spot in Comics Too New York Daily News Retrieved July 27 2009 Renaud Jeffrey June 12 2008 Spotnitz Wants to Believe in Wildstorm s The X Files Special Comic Book Resources Retrieved July 27 2009 O Donnel Maureen June 25 1997 UFO Lore Alive in Chicago Area Chicago Sun Times Retrieved July 27 2009 X Files CCG BoardGameGeek Retrieved March 5 2015 Flaherty Mike April 10 1998 The X Files Unrestricted Access Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on September 25 2009 Retrieved July 27 2009 Baxter Steve June 19 1998 Computer X Files The Game is Out There CNN Turner Broadcasting System Retrieved July 27 2009 McNamara John June 26 2004 X Files Resist or Serve Time London Retrieved July 27 2009 Spangler Todd November 28 2017 X Files Deep State Alien Invasion Mystery Game on Tap for February 2018 Release Variety Retrieved May 14 2018 The X Files The Internet Pinball Database Retrieved January 20 2014 The Tilt Is Out There Electronic Gaming Monthly No 101 Ziff Davis December 1997 p 228 Wertheimer Ron March 8 1999 Television Review Caught in the Trap Of Science Run Amok The New York Times Retrieved July 27 2009 Caryn James September 3 1996 A Virus That Speaks Of a Deadly World Plot The New York Times Retrieved July 27 2009 a b c d e f Moore Trent February 21 2012 13 Supernatural TV Series That Lovingly Ripped Off the X Files Blastr Retrieved December 3 2012 Bonin Liane August 14 2000 NBC s Only New Hit May Go to Another Network Entertainment Weekly Retrieved July 27 2009 a b Throwdown 22 Pop Culture Fights Entertainment Weekly August 9 2008 Retrieved December 3 2012 Faraci Devin January 6 2011 It s Time To Bring Back Dark Skies The X Files Meets Mad Men Show Badass Digest Retrieved December 3 2012 Surette Tim May 12 2009 Fringe vs The X Files vs Reality TV com Archived from the original on July 28 2013 Retrieved January 1 2010 MacKenzie Carina Adly November 17 2010 Supernatural s Very X Files Moment The Truth is in There Zap2it Archived from the original on May 18 2012 Retrieved April 4 2012 Zalben Alex June 15 2012 Interview Alex Hirsch Returns To His Weird Monster Filled Childhood In Disney s Gravity Falls MTV com Archived from the original on September 21 2013 Retrieved March 27 2015 Olechnowicz Katarzyna September 19 2007 Is Eleventh Hour The New X Files AMC Archived from the original on April 3 2015 Retrieved June 4 2020 Rosen Steven September 13 2005 Bones From the Heap of Tired Ideas Media Life Magazine Archived from the original on September 30 2007 Retrieved July 27 2009 Burrell Ian October 17 2005 BBC to Screen Dr Who For Adults as New Spin Off Show The Independent London Archived from the original on June 5 2011 Retrieved August 1 2009 Captain Jack to Get His Own Series in New Russell T Davies Drama for BBC Three BBC November 17 2005 Retrieved August 1 2009 Marshall Rick January 18 2015 7 Things We Should Thank The X Files For Mental Floss Retrieved March 5 2015 Spector Warren November 2000 Postmortem Ion Storm s Deus Ex PDF Game Developer UBM TechWeb p 50 Archived PDF from the original on September 28 2013 Retrieved July 4 2014 Rare Revealed The Making of Perfect Dark Rare December 24 2015 Archived from the original on December 11 2021 Retrieved December 26 2015 Steven Dean Moore director Reid Harrison writer The Springfield Files The Simpsons Season 8 Episode 10 Fox Ditum Nathan March 29 2009 The 20 Best Simpsons Movie Star Guest Spots Total Film Retrieved August 6 2009 Meehan 2005 p 115 Lyons Robert June 24 2011 Book Review Star Trek Department of Temporal Investigations Watching the Clock TrekMovie com Retrieved August 14 2012 a b Gorenstein Colin March 25 2015 The X Files Echo Effect Here s Proof That the Legendary Series Never Actually Left Us Salon com Retrieved March 27 2015 Rawson Jones Ben October 30 2006 Cult Nostalgia The X Files 1993 2002 Digital Spy Retrieved August 18 2009 Freydkin Donna July 27 1999 Sharp Owes Her Fame to a Secret Agent Man CNN Entertainment Archived from the original on January 19 2013 Retrieved October 15 2012 Bree Sharp Taking David Duchovny To Lilith Fair MTV August 6 1999 Retrieved October 15 2012 Roeper Richard August 16 1999 This Musical Confection Holds Your Attention Chicago Sun Times Archived from the original on September 21 2014 Retrieved October 15 2012 EvilG Luxi November 17 2001 Metal Rules Interview with Tony Kakko of Sonata Arctica Metal Rules Retrieved March 12 2021 Keck William July 29 2013 A Very Special X Files Reunion TV Guide p 6 Smithsonian Wants to Believe National Museum of American History Acquires X Files Collection National Museum of American History July 16 2008 Archived from the original on June 30 2011 Retrieved July 27 2009 de Souza Alison January 31 2018 How X Files brought conspiracy theories into mainstream culture The Straits Times Retrieved January 23 2023 Bibliography Edit Delsara Jan 2000 PopLit PopCult and The X Files A Critical Exploration McFarland amp Company ISBN 9780786407897 Donaldson Amy 2007 The Last Temptation of Mulder In Yang Sharon ed The X Files and Literature Unweaving the Story Unraveling the Lie to Find the Truth Cambridge Scholars Publishing ISBN 9781847182395 Duncan Jody 1998 The Making ofThe X FilesMovie HarperPrism ISBN 9780061073168 Edwards Ted 1996 X Files Confidential Little Brown and Company ISBN 9780316218085 Gradnitzer Louisa Pittson Todd 1999 X Marks the Spot On Location with The X Files Arsenal Pulp Press ISBN 9781551520667 Hurwitz Matt Knowles Chris 2008 The Complete X Files Insight Editions ISBN 9781933784724 Kessenich Tom 2002 Examinations An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6 9 of The X Files New York US Trafford Publishing ISBN 9781553698128 Kowalski Dean A 2007 Freedom and Worldviews in The X Files The Philosophy of The X files University Press of Kentucky ISBN 9780813124544 Lavery David 1995 Deny All Knowledge Reading the X Files Syracuse University Press ISBN 9780815604075 Lovece Frank 1996 The X Files Declassified Citadel Press ISBN 9780806517452 Lowry Brian 1995 The Truth is Out There The Official Guide to the X Files Harper Prism ISBN 9780061053306 Lowry Brian 1996 Trust No One The Official Guide to the X Files Harper Prism ISBN 9780061053535 Meehan Eileen R November 3 2005 Why TV Is Not Our Fault Television Programming Viewers and Who s Really in Control Rowman amp Littlefield ISBN 9780742524866 Meisler Andy 2000 The End and the Beginning The Official Guide to the X Files Volume 5 HarperCollins ISBN 9780061075957 Meisler Andy 1999 Resist or Serve The Official Guide to The X Files Vol 4 HarperCollins ISBN 9780061073090 Meisler Andy 1998 I Want to Believe The Official Guide to the X Files Vol 3 Perennial Currents ISBN 9780061053863 Niles Steve Jones Adam 2010 The X Files 30 Days of Night IDW Publishing ISBN 9781401231781 Shapiro Marc 2001 All Things The Official Guide to the X Files Volume 6 Harper Prism ISBN 9780061076114 External links EditThe X Files at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Travel information from Wikivoyage Data from Wikidata Official website The X Files official site Syfy Archived from the original on June 4 2003 The X Files at IMDb The X Files at epguides com YouTube channelAwards and achievementsPreceded byFriends Super Bowl lead out program1997 Succeeded by3rd Rock from the Sun Portals Television United States Science Fiction Speculative fiction Horror span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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