Basically everything good about the modern television renaissance began with The X-Files. Fox's pioneering sci-fi, conspiracy theory, supernatural drama was a total risk when it began in 1993 - a risk that definitely paid off, as it became a ratings and cultural phenomenon, the latter of which lasts until this day. It also paved the way for more daring, experimental and downright weird TV programmes, the likes of which had never been seen before, and acted as a proving ground for writers who would go on to create and run many hit shows we like to have oh-so-serious discussions about around water coolers and internet forums to this day. Pretty impressive given the show was, more often than not, downright insane. Seriously. You know the episode of The Simpsons where David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson guest star as FBI agents Mulder and Scully? That could practically be considered X-Files canon, because the events of that crossover are pretty tame in comparison to the weirdness they investigate on a weekly basis. Over the course of its nine seasons The X-Files featured evil genetically engineered twins, a running joke about porn addiction, Satanic cults, and a whole lot of alien abductions. Oh and that one time that a guy's shrivelled siamese twin kept detaching from his body and eating people. Despite that mountainous pile of insanity, that's not even the weirdest it could've gotten for Fox and Dana. Because whilst the show did include some of the best writers of their generation, who went on to make some pretty great films and other TV shows (although, really, what's creator Chris Carter been up to since the show ended?), they were quite obviously at the beginning of their careers. Early X-Files is a little rough in places, and they got away with far weirder stuff than they would now, but it could be so much weirder. We know, we have proof; rejected scripts and episode ideas have floated around since the show aired and, honestly, there are some gems in there. Totally bonkers, understandably unproduced gems. These are en of the most insane unmade X-Files episodes.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
