The X-Files is a Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning American science fiction television series created by Chris Carter, which first aired on September 10, 1993, and ended on May 19, 2002. The show was a hit for the Fox Broadcasting Company network, and its main characters and slogans (e.g., "The Truth Is Out There", "Trust No One", "I Want to Believe") became pop culture touchstones. The X-Files is seen as a defining series of the 1990s, coinciding with the era's widespread mistrust of governments, interest in conspiracy theories and spirituality, and the belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life.
In the series, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are tasked with investigating the "X-Files": marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder plays the role of the "believer", having faith in the existence of aliens and the paranormal, while Scully is a skeptic, initially assigned by her departmental superiors to debunk Mulder's unconventional work. As the show progressed, both agents were caught up in a larger conflict, termed "the mythology" or "mytharc" by the show's creators, and developed a close relationship which was often seen as romantic rather than platonic. The complex and more romantic side was explored further in subsequent films years after the series ended. The X-Files also featured stand-alone episodes ranging in tone from horror to comedy, in which Mulder and Scully investigated uniquely bizarre cases without long-term implications on the storyline. These so-called "monster of the week" episodes made up roughly two-thirds of the series.
The show's popularity peaked in the mid-to-late 1990s, leading to a first feature film in 1998, followed by a post-series sequel in 2008. In the last two seasons, Anderson became the star as Duchovny appeared rarely, and new central characters were introduced: FBI Agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish). At the time of its final episode, The X-Files was the longest running sci-fi show ever on American television. The show was declared by TV Guide to be the second greatest cult television show (Star Trek being number one) and the 37th best television show of all time. In 2007, Time magazine included it on a list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time." In 2008, Entertainment Weekly named it the fourth best piece of science fiction media and the fourth best TV show in the last 25 years.
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The X-Files Poster I Want to Believe, 24"x36"ReviewsFan of the x-files and don't have this poster? Really? This is an excellent deal on a great poster. A must-have for any fan of the show. :) The item I received is bent and wrinkled... It looks like a cow chewed it. If you are a fan like me, you must have this, looks great in mi home office! All in all, it's a good representation of the actual poster in Mulder's office. Unlike the official product, this one looks like a still from an old home video, sort of like the "Bigfoot" footage that I'm sure everyone's familiar with. Very nice touch. The official poster looks incredibly fake and is just airbrushed all to hell. In my opinion, this poster is superior. It's a bit more washed out and lighter than the advertised image, and the photography is blurry. Still good for what you pay for, and what X-Files fan hasn't wanted one of these? Average Rating:  |
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New Full Size Poster. High Quality. Suitable for Framing. |
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Johnny Cash - Walk the Line 24"x36" Art Print Poster |
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Johnny Cash - Walk the Line Image Size 24" x 36" Paper Size 24" x 36" Fine Art Reproduction on High Quality Art Paper. Retails for $10.00 or more. |
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Johnny Cash (Middle Finger 2) Music Poster Print - 24" X 36" |
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This poster shows Johnny Cash giving the middle finger at a concert in San Quentin. On the left it says "Cash". This poster measures approx. 24" x 36" Johnny Cash (February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003), born J... |
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File Cabinet / Office Safety Poster (17x22 inch) |
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Improve safety in your workplace with the File Cabinet / Office Safety Poster. Texas America Safety Company has a wide variety of work safety posters. Safety posters provide a friendly reminder to stay aware of potential hazards in the workplace |
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File Cabinet / Office Safety Safety Poster (17x22 inch) - Laminated |
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Improve safety in your workplace with the File Cabinet / Office Safety Poster. Texas America Safety Company has a wide variety of work safety posters. Safety posters provide a friendly reminder to stay aware of potential hazards in the workplace |
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The X-Files Lone Gunmen Mens T-Shirt |
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This t-shirt features the Lone Gunmen from The X-Files. Standard mens size tee. Shoulder-to-shoulder taped, sleeve and bottom hem are double-needled. 100% cotton. Officially licensed. |
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The X-Files X-Glow Mens T-Shirt |
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This cool t-shirt features a large front print of the X-Files X logo glowing in bright green. Standard mens size tee. Shoulder-to-shoulder taped, sleeve and bottom hem are double-needled. 100% cotton. Officially licensed. |
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The X-files The Lone Gunmen Black T-shirt |
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These are mens adult sizes. All sizes that we have in stock are available on this listing. If your size is not listed, I am sorry, we do not have it. Please check the listing often as we are always getting more inventory. |
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Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Secret Files #1 Poster by Ivan Reis 24" x 36" |
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Art by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert. Poster comes rolled. |
Idea and pilot
California native Chris Carter, who had previously met with limited success writing for television,[citation needed] was given the opportunity to produce new shows for the Fox network in the early 1990s. Tired of the comedies he had been working on, inspired by a report that 3.7 million Americans may have been abducted by aliens, and recalling memories of Watergate and the 1970s horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Carter came up with the idea for The X-Files and wrote the pilot episode himself in 1992. He initially struggled over the untested concept—executives wanted a love interest for Scully—and casting. The network wanted either a more established or a "taller, leggier, blonder and breastier" actress for Scully than the 24-year-old Gillian Anderson, a theater veteran with minor film experience, who Carter felt was the only choice after auditions. Nevertheless, the pilot with both Anderson and David Duchovny was successfully shot in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in early 1993, and the show was picked up for the Friday night 9:00 p.m. slot on the American fall TV schedule. Carter started a new company called Ten Thirteen Productions, named after his October 13 birthday, to oversee The X-Files. Carter's idea was to present FBI agents investigating extraterrestrials and paranormal events, but Carter also wanted to deal directly with the characters' beliefs. Carter said, "I think of myself as a non-religious person looking for religious experience, so I think that's what the characters are sort of doing too." Dana Scully, in addition to being the scientific "skeptic" and a trained medical doctor, was open to the Catholic faith in which she was raised; while Fox Mulder, in addition to being an Oxford-educated psychologist and renowned criminal profiler, was the "believer" in space aliens, derisively nicknamed "Spooky Mulder" by his colleagues. Carter said, "Scully's point of view is the point of view of the show. And so the show has to be built on a solid foundation of science, in order to have Mulder take a flight from it... If the science is really good, Scully's got a valid point of view... And Mulder has to then convince her that she's got to throw her arguments out, she's got to accept the unacceptable. And there is the conflict." Carter also felt Scully's role as the more rational partner and Mulder's reliance on guesses and intuition subverted the gender roles usually seen on television.
In the pilot episode, Scully is assigned to the X-Files as Mulder's partner, in order to serve as a scientific check on Mulder's belief in the paranormal. In later episodes, it becomes apparent that she was actually set up in that role so that the government conspirators could contain the implications of Mulder's work, which they viewed as a danger to their devious plans. Notably, the powerful shadow government official known only as the Cigarette Smoking Man, or "Cancer Man", appears without any spoken lines in the first and last scenes of the pilot episode—although at that point his ongoing importance to the series had not yet been established. The "unresolved sexual tension" between Mulder and Scully was also a central underlying theme from the beginning, although they were each given other brief romantic interests in future episodes. Carter thought the show should be "plot-driven", and was quoted as saying, "I didn't want the relationship to come before the cases." For example, throughout the series, Mulder and Scully, with rare exception, refer to each other in a professional manner by using each others' last names, rather than calling each other by their first names, which might seem more personal.
Carter's superior at FOX, Peter Roth, brought on more experienced staff members from the start, many of whom had previously worked with him at Stephen J. Cannell's production company. Two of the most highly-regarded writers were Glen Morgan and James Wong. Their contributions to the first two seasons, such as the episode "Beyond the Sea", were particularly popular among fans, television critics, the show's actors, and even Carter himself. Morgan and Wong also returned for the first half of the fourth season. Prior to their work on The X-Files, Wong and Morgan had worked extensively with David Nutter, Rob Bowman, and Kim Manners on cop dramas such as The Commish and 21 Jump Street. Nutter, Bowman and Manners all became frequent X-Files directors, with Nutter working on many of the darker episodes in the first three seasons. The duo of Wong and Morgan also had an important role in hiring several supporting actors on the show, as well as John Bartley, the cinematographer who gave The X-Files its early dark atmospheric look, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1996.[26] Bartley left after the third season and was replaced by directors of photography Ron Stannett, Jon Joffin, and ultimately Joel Ransom until the end of the fifth season.
The show moved production to Los Angeles beginning with season six. Carter said, "We originally intended to film the pilot in Los Angeles. When we couldn't find a good forest, we made a quick decision to come to Vancouver. As it turned out, it was three weeks that turned into five years. The benefits of being in Vancouver were tremendous." The temperate rainforest climate of Vancouver itself was also seen as crucial to The X-Files, allowing directors to create a mysterious, foggy aura, seen as[citation needed] somewhat similar to that of then-recent TV hit Twin Peaks (in which David Duchovny guest starred as an FBI agent). Responsibility for casting the show fell to Randy Stone, who had first recommended both leads to Carter, and to Rick Millikan, who predominately used local Canadian actors. The move to Los Angeles was controversial among fans, as many wondered how the show could maintain the dark tone and atmosphere that characterized many of the episodes in the first five seasons.[citation needed] One reason the show moved was because David Duchovny wanted to be closer to his wife, actress Téa Leoni, whom he married in 1997
