What remains of “The X-Files” after 30 years? An unbelievable amount

The first episode of The X-Files It aired 30 years ago. Anyone watching the series now (on Disney+) will come back immediately. It remains one of the most innovative, radical, and influential series in television history.

Two pieces of news from the last few weeks. Once again, research has been conducted in Scotland’s Loch Ness about the mythical animal that supposedly lives there. With hundreds of observers along both banks, and drones equipped with thermal scanners and underwater microphones. The research leader cited “distinctive sounds” as the main takeaway. But this could also be ducks.

At the end of July, three witnesses were heard in the US Congress regarding the UFO file. This included a former US Air Force officer who stated that he was aware of a program run by the US government many decades ago to research and reuse technology aboard crashed alien spaceships for military purposes. The existence of this investigation would also signal the largest cover-up in American history.

Thirty years (on September 10) after the first broadcast of The X-FilesIt is a series consisting of 218 episodes in eleven seasons. We feel that we are living in the head of the main character, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), an FBI agent who was responsible for cases of a supernatural nature in the basement of the series. Headquarters. Who was always looking for evidence that the American government was lying to its citizens about everything. But mainly about the presence of aliens on Earth.

Do not trust one

In response to renewed interest in UFOs in American politics The X-FilesCreator Chris Carter recently wrote an article New York times, Where he mentioned somewhat guiltily that the series’ famous slogans, The truth is there And Do not trust one, It is now common. His character Fox Mulder emerged from a deep distrust of the government. “Do I think the government is lying to us? Absolutely. I’m a son of Watergate.” But Carter also points out that in 1993 (when this first season aired) there was still a relatively “common truth.”

In Mulder’s office hangs a poster designed by Carter, now in the American History Museum, part of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, with a faded image of a flying saucer, and the text I want to believe (I want to believe). This is what we all wanted as fans The X-Files, only to discover thirty years later that the slogan appears to have been replaced with “I Believe.” Just ask the Air Force officer who testified before Congress, he had one Unidentified filesIt could be a character.

Before Carter goes The X-Files The film is always about the tension between faith and science, perfectly embodied by Fox Mulder (an FBI analyst) and his partner Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), a doctor, who are skeptical of any irrational explanation for the mystery. Let’s just say that Scully in particular had difficulty representing reason consistently in this classic duo. With her professional experience and emotional turmoil, Scully is almost a mother figure to all the female detectives who came after her, starting with Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes in homeland) to Saga Noreen (Sofia Helene V the bridge).

VHS boxes from the video store

Personal note. The X-Filespretty much years before the period in which it began The soprano In 1999 which is now referred to as Prime TVIt was my favourite. It was one of the first series that could also be viewed via the video library, from 1996 on VHS boxes, for evening viewing. Gluttony Before the message. VHS: How ’90s do you like it? In the endless maze of popular culture, many threads come together The X-Filesif only because a whole generation of screenwriters started here and continued in series like homeland, 24 And Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Here was a young Vince Gilligan (creator of modern classics such as… Too bad And Better Call Saul) had the opportunity to write his first screenplays, where humor and drama could perfectly coincide and where outrageous ideas were encouraged.

And also The X-Files It didn’t come out of the blue. especially Twin Peaks By David Lynch, its exciting first season was broadcast in 1990, with Special policeman Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) represents the same integrity in the most bizarre circumstances. He was the model for Fox Mulder’s character. We watched it again thirty years later, all over again (the entire series is on Disney+).

A few things about it Unidentified filesUniverse: The original show consisted of nine seasons (1993–2002), with an apparent thematic break when, after five seasons, the Canadian location of British Columbia (and Vancouver) was replaced by Los Angeles. The reboot debuted in 2016 (with Mulder and a middle-aged Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson), and eventually concluded with a ten-episode eleventh season in 2018. Then there are the two feature films, The X-Files From 1998 and The X-Files: I Want to Believe From 2008, and several spin-offs (series Millennium And The Lone Gunmen).

It was objective The X-Files Always divided into episodes that investigated a single case (quickly labeled by fans as “monster of the week” episodes), and episodes that slowly dissect the central mythology, the plot revolves around keeping the role of alien technology hidden. With Mulder’s sister who disappeared or was kidnapped at the age of 12 as a driving force. Since the 1990s, we mainly remember the thrills of complex stories, a legendary approach that viewers embraced and eventually had a profound impact on series like Lost (Six seasons from 2004).

Radical TV

First of all: Looking back (thirty years later!), the series is still one of the most innovative and radical series in television history. This is from the first meeting between Mulder and Scully, in a scene that immediately depicts the relationship with intensity and full of expectations. Looking back, the “monster of the week” episodes worked better than the mythology segment, an aspect the series never quite explored in the end. It’s also clear that the love lies mainly in those first five seasons, the part in Vancouver, where many episodes take place in a dark, often dripping landscape or in colorless neighbourhoods, seemingly neutral facades for horrific things.

the Unidentified files The writers haven’t completely backed down. Many years later, we are curious about an episode like “Home” (the second episode of the fourth season in 1996), the only episode Unidentified filesAn episode that was never repeated because it was said to be too dark. It’s now back on Disney+. It’s still an extraordinarily brutal story about a family terrorizing the town of Home after generations of inbreeding. The writers have to go The Texas Chainsaw Massacre I looked and thought: we can overcome this. And true.

On many lists, “The Final Rest of Clyde Brockman” from Season 3 is considered the best episode. It earned the first of two of the most important Emmy Awards, one for Darin Morgan’s screenplay and the other for the guest role of Peter Boyle, a man with the gift of being able to predict the time and circumstances of everyone’s death. This fact gave rise to a black comedy around the central mystery that contributed to its continued popularity The X-Files is about. We love a life full of mysteries, but we’re not eager to answer them. The truth is thereThe truth lies outside. And we want to keep it that way.

Season eleven of The X-Files It can be watched on Disney+.