The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning American science fiction television series, created by Chris Carter, which first aired in 1993 and ended in 2002. The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans (e.g., The Truth Is Out Ther, Trust No One, I Want to Believe) became pop culture touchstones in the 1990s. Seen as a defining series of its era, The X-Files tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions, and embraced conspiracy theories and spirituality, as it centered on efforts to uncover the existence of extraterrestrial life. The X-Files also spawned two theatrical movies, and one TV spin-off, The Lone Gunmen.
In the series, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are the investigators of "X-Files": marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder is a "believer" in the existence of aliens and the paranormal, while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned by powerful forces to debunk and control Mulder's unorthodox work. In fact, early in the series both agents turn into pawns in a larger conflict (termed the "mythology" or "mytharc" by the producers), and come to trust only each other, a close relationship which was interpreted by viewers as either platonic or romantic. As a counterpart to the long-term story arc, "monster of the week" episodes, ranging in tone from horror to comedy, made up roughly two-thirds of the series. In such stand-alone X-Files episodes, Mulder and Scully investigated bizarre crimes with fewer long-term implications on the storyline. |
