The X Files
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
"The X Files" is an American sci-fi/drama series that was incredibly popular when it was first released. At that time, 1993, it sparked tremendous curiosity throughout the world for all things supernatural. Suddenly the market in novelty items was flooded with U.F.O. books, t-shirts, models, toys etc.
The programme tells of a couple of F.B.I. agents investigating "the X files"; a filing cabinet's worth of casefiles about unsolved incidents involving seemingly paranormal phenomena; as is explained to use in the episode "Travelers" they should be under "U" for "Unsolved", but there just wasn't room there - "X" was less popular, so that's where they were moved, and that's where they have stayed.
Of the two agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, Mulder is the one with the real belief in the paranormal; sparked when, as he believed, his sister was abducted by aliens at the age of around 9. Mulder discovered the X Files in 1991 with his then partner, Diana Fowley. Since then, Diana has left him (and eventually returned, but as an enemy rather than an ally). In 1993 Agent Scully was assigned to the X files, mainly for the purpose of debunking Agent Mulder's work, and the series has run from there.
Now in its seventh season (in America), The X Files has only slightly lost its appeal. A bunch of hardcore fans watch it without fail all over the world, although people who perhaps originally watched it out of curiosity have been sickened by the tacky junk its popularity has inspired various novelty toy companies to launch (despite this, actual official X Files merchandise is hard to find - its creator, Chris Carter, apparently prefers that it should by quality, not quantity, for X Files merchandise, and who can blame him?)
Agents Muldre and Scully have, over the years, chased everything from vampires to werewolves, to aliens, to people whose thouch means instant fungal death (not a particularly pretty sight!) and have uncovered - at least partly - a massive conspiracy involving the existence of extraterrestrials which "reaches down in to the lives of every man, woman and child on this planet", and they're still going!
Although season seven promises to be the last of The X Files on T.V., it is still intended that feature films will follow, so the X Files isn't done filling us with fear and suspense yet!
The programme tells of a couple of F.B.I. agents investigating "the X files"; a filing cabinet's worth of casefiles about unsolved incidents involving seemingly paranormal phenomena; as is explained to use in the episode "Travelers" they should be under "U" for "Unsolved", but there just wasn't room there - "X" was less popular, so that's where they were moved, and that's where they have stayed.
Of the two agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, Mulder is the one with the real belief in the paranormal; sparked when, as he believed, his sister was abducted by aliens at the age of around 9. Mulder discovered the X Files in 1991 with his then partner, Diana Fowley. Since then, Diana has left him (and eventually returned, but as an enemy rather than an ally). In 1993 Agent Scully was assigned to the X files, mainly for the purpose of debunking Agent Mulder's work, and the series has run from there.
Now in its seventh season (in America), The X Files has only slightly lost its appeal. A bunch of hardcore fans watch it without fail all over the world, although people who perhaps originally watched it out of curiosity have been sickened by the tacky junk its popularity has inspired various novelty toy companies to launch (despite this, actual official X Files merchandise is hard to find - its creator, Chris Carter, apparently prefers that it should by quality, not quantity, for X Files merchandise, and who can blame him?)
Agents Muldre and Scully have, over the years, chased everything from vampires to werewolves, to aliens, to people whose thouch means instant fungal death (not a particularly pretty sight!) and have uncovered - at least partly - a massive conspiracy involving the existence of extraterrestrials which "reaches down in to the lives of every man, woman and child on this planet", and they're still going!
Although season seven promises to be the last of The X Files on T.V., it is still intended that feature films will follow, so the X Files isn't done filling us with fear and suspense yet!
