10 Most Groundbreaking TV Shows Of The '90s
9. The X-Files
There's little doubt that The X-Files is responsible for a lot of the science fiction shows we have today. Starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in the leading roles, the long-running series revolved around FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who investigate cases involving paranormal phenomena. The series was a massive success, with critics calling it one of the best original shows to have aired during the 1990s.
What made the show groundbreaking was the fact that it generated buzz with an online community - one of the first shows to really do so - and it created what the kids of today might refer to as a fandom. In other words, it appealed to the viewer's inner nerd. And what with all of the sci-fi shows being produced today, it's evident that the TV industry is still targeting that very nerd community. The X-Files made it okay to be nerdy, because if the show's protagonists could celebrate what they considered alien, then surely the viewers could too.
Moreover, the hit series had a pretty unique storytelling method, where it would alternate between a plot-of-the-week (which was, and in many ways still is, the norm for network television), and a season-long arc.
The X-Files was recently revived for two more seasons on Fox, but it failed to have the same impact that it did back in the day.