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Television is a powerful medium. For example, a single word – "Flukeman" – can send a chill down the collective spines of an entire generation. If you just shivered, you must be one of the millions who followed the paranoid adventures of Agents Mulder and Scully as they investigated everything from mutant monsters to psychic killers to a global government conspiracy concealing the existence of extraterrestrials. Come along – if you dare – as we delve deeper into the mysteries behind The X-Files, one of the most beloved shows in television history.
The Inspiration
The X-Files was the brainchild of surfer dude turned television producer Chris Carter, who began working for the fledgling Fox Network in 1992 after developing shows for NBC and The Disney Channel in the 1980s. At the time, Fox was primarily known for half-hour comedies like Married...With Children and was looking to expand its line-up with hour-long dramas. So Carter approached them with a show in the same creepy vein as The Twilight Zone and the Kolchak: The Night Stalker made-for-TV movies and spin-off series. Influenced by The Silence of the Lambs' Clarice Starling, Carter made his lead characters FBI agents who investigated cases considered unsolvable because witnesses said they saw a UFO, Bigfoot, or some other unexplained phenomenon. The network greenlighted a pilot episode (above), but they were not expecting it to be picked up for the Fall season.
The Ratings
The X-Files debuted on Friday, September 10, 1993, after The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., which Fox execs saw as their #1 prospect for the Fall 1993 season. Brisco's two-hour premiere was a hit, but the ratings slipped after that, until it came in almost dead last in primetime by the end of its first and only season. The X-Files, however, ended its first season with an 8.8 Nielsen rating, almost a full point stronger than its premiere, which earned a 7.9 rating. The show grew thanks to "X-Philes," dedicated fans who discussed the show in online forums and brought in new, curious viewers. In fact, as the show went into summer reruns, the ratings were often higher than when the same episode premiered because people wanted to catch up thanks to all the online buzz. The season two debut received a 10.3 rating, and continued to grow to a 14.6 average rating while also earning a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Nomination, the first for the Fox Network.
The Writers
Aside from famous guest writers like Stephen King and cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson, some of the cast tried their hand at penning episodes of The X-Files. Gillian Anderson wrote "All Things;" William B. Davis, better known as The Cigarette Smoking Man, wrote "En Ami;" and David Duchovny scripted a total of eight episodes, three of which he also directed. One of the regular writers, Vince Gilligan, who also served as a producer, went on to write and produce the short-lived X-Files spin-off, The Lone Gunmen. But Gilligan is best-known today as the creator of AMC's Breaking Bad. Another writer, David Greenwalt, later teamed up with Joss Whedon to produce Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off, Angel.
The Alien Factor
One of the defining aspects of The X-Files – and easily its biggest influence on television today – was its over-arching mythology regarding the colonization of Earth by alien invaders. This was not originally supposed to be part of the show, but when Gillian Anderson got pregnant during the second season, Carter had to find a way for her to be absent from a few episodes. His solution: Scully was abducted by aliens. Mulder's search for the truth about Scully's abduction turned out to be a huge success, so Carter kept the idea going, sprinkling in unrelated "Monster of the Week" episodes to keep the tension high and help expand the boundaries of The X-Files universe.
Too Disturbing for Reruns
While every X-Phile has their own favorite episode, there's one that didn't go over so well with the general public. The episode "Home," about a violent family of inbred mutants, featured such horrifying moments as a newborn baby getting buried alive, the brutal bludgeoning of a sheriff and his wife, a decapitation, and an image burned into most X-Philes' memories: a deformed, limbless woman, who has been stratpped to a rolling cart and is kept under the bed. After the show aired, Fox received numerous complaints from concerned parents that such a disturbing episode appeared on network TV during primetime. The network apologized and banned the episode from future reruns on Fox, though it has been seen in syndication and on DVD.
X-Philes
The official X-Files website was launched on June 12, 1995. Before then, the online service Delphi was the official internet home of the show, attracting around 25,000 X-Philes every month. Many fans on Delphi were women, who formed an online club called The David Duchovny Estrogen Brigade. Not to be outdone, male fans formed The Gillian Anderson Testosterone Brigade, though their numbers paled in comparison.
The Soundtrack
Almost all of the music for The X-Files, including the iconic theme song, was composed and performed by Mark Snow. The music was extremely popular with fans, especially in Europe, who helped push the 1996 CD single to the #2 spot on the UK Charts and to #1 in France. Just this year, Snow released a limited edition, 4-CD box set of some of the musical score highlights.