The Truth Is Out There…
And FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are back to continue the search for the truth.
That’s right, almost 13 years after the end of The X-Files television series, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will reprise their roles for a 6-episode “event.” Originally premiering in 1993, The X-Files quickly grew into a cult classic and pop culture phenomenon. Spanning 9 sessions and 2 feature films, the show racked up 62 Emmy nominations and 16 wins. OK, so what’s so great about The X-Files?
X-Files was a return to the strengths of quality TV storytelling. Great writing, characters with chemistry, thought-provoking and intriguing storylines defined X-Files. A show that has been this influential in shaping a whole generation of TV shows like Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Lost, Supernatural, Warehouse 13 and Fringe has got to have at least a few things going for it. For starters, the male/female hard cop/soft cop paradigm was reversed with Agent Scully being the strong, no nonsense independent investigator and Agent Mulder being the somewhat naive “seeker” who desperately wants to “believe.”
The X-Files was a show about asking questions, searching for the truth and following the path wherever it might lead you.
Topics regularly covered included faith, religion, destiny, the meaning of life and of death and other somewhat controversial themes for primetime television. The show provoked people to think, to have opinions, raising more questions than it ever attempted to answer. This was a refreshing departure from the typical 90s shows which sought only to entertain viewers rather than challenge them on an intellectual level.
Let’s not forget about The X-Files fandom or the “X-Philes,” as fans were nicknamed and who made a huge contribution to fandom by creating the term “shipping.” Fans who wanted to see Mulder and Scully get together romantically would call themselves “relationshippers,” which later became “R’shippers” and finally “shippers.” In another fandom first, The X-Files was the first show to sustain a fanbase on the Internet where those fans would gather in forums to exchange their feelings about the latest episode and write their own fanfic (fan fiction), something that has now become standard for popular fan-driven TV shows.
The X-Files created a rich and layered mythology, deeper than any other television show at the time.
“Mytharc” was another term that originated with The X-Files to describe the ongoing alien conspiracy story arc in the show. But what really kept viewers tuning in week after week and what is the heart of The X-Files were the creatively original characters like Skinner, The Lone Gunman, The Smoking Man, and of course Mulder and Scully themselves. Mulder and Scully’s dynamic was what powered the show and that influence has carried on in other series which pair male and female investigators in lead roles as evidenced in current mystery dramas such as Bones or Castle.
Even though it’s been years since the show ended, fans still believe and soon they will have what they’ve been wishing for. Not much is known about the plot for the 6 upcoming episodes, but production starts this summer with series creator/executive producer Chris Carter leading the way. In honor of The X-Files’ return we’ve tracked down a gallery of Mulder and Scully approved fan art.
Keep believing: The Truth is still out there…
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Featured Gallery
If he knows, you can know too, but you can’t ask the truth of a man who trades in lies. I won’t let you.”
Trust no one.”
Scully: Mulder, it is such a gorgeous day outside. Have you ever entertained the idea of trying to find life on this planet?”
Mulder: I have seen the life on this planet, Scully, and that is exactly why I am looking elsewhere.”
No matter how paranoid you are, you’re not paranoid enough.”
Life, it’s like a box of chocolates. Cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for. Unreturnable because all you ever get back is another box of chocolates. So you are stuck with this undefinable whipped mint crap that you mindlessly gulp down till there is nothing else left to eat.”
That’s why I like you, Mulder. Your ideas are even weirder than ours.”
Your Thoughts
- Who is your favorite X-Files character and why?
- What would you like to see in future editions of Fan Art Friday?
