8. Aliens And Conspiracy Theories Went Mainstream
If
Twin Peaks was a prototype for cult mainstream television, than
The X Files was the mother of all pay offs. It brought aliens, conspiracy theories, demons, monsters and ghostly apparitions to a massive audience, all thanks the compelling performances of it's too leads, David Duchovnys Fox Mulder and Gillian Andersons Dana Scully. Week by week we watched as the two FBI agents investigated every weird and unsolvable case. Inspired by everything from
Kolchak The Night Stalker to
The Thing,
The X Files was gripping television. Classics such as 'Squeeze' introduced to the terrifying Victor Tooms, an unnatural killer who would squeeze through a small vent to rip out your liver, while 'Ice' uncovered an alien life form killing the crew of a scientific expedition to the Arctic. There were numerous tense moments; watching Mulder and Scully consumed by the flesh eating life forms in the 'Darkness Falls' or uncovering the repulsive flukemaneveryone had
that episode that stuck with them forever. And in the first few series, the alien conspiracy was mesmerising. Starting with Mulders informant Deep Throat we watched as the intrepid FBI agent discovered clues to a government conspiracy over an alien presence on Earth, led by the mysterious Smoking Man, a villain who spoke little but whos actions said a lot. It started strong with the mystery over his sisters abduction, but it was Scullys own abduction at the hands of Duane Barry (a brilliant way to write out the actress for a couple of episodes while she had a baby) and Mulders apparent death in Anasazi that skyrocketed the show to become the best thing on TV. Adding in characters like the villainous traitor Krycek and Assistant Director Walter Skinner, whos allegiance we were never certain of for the first couple of series, the show built a world where the only characters we could truly believe in were the leadsand they went though many tragedies in their search for the truth (family members quickly died off as the stakes were raised). And for all the drama, the show also produced some of the funniest episodes on television, from the smoking alien in 'Jose Chungs From Outer Space' to the funniest vampire story ever produced in 'Bad Blood'. Mixing in chilling scares like the aforementioned Tooms and the inbred family in Home (the mother under the bed horrifies me to this very day) and it was a show that had everything you were looking for. I think only
Supernatural comes close now, with its equal mix of horror and comedy, emerging as a natural successor to
The X Files. It should have stopped with season 7the show was never as good once we lost Mulder full time and the main conspiracy plots were resolved in the brilliant and under appreciated season 6 (lets ignore his sister was abducted by fairies two-parter from season 7), though I did enjoy the dynamic Doggett brought to the show and thought there was potential for a Doggett / Reyes continuation / spin off after a return to classic cases in the final season 9. Im still hoping for another film. A lot of people are. We need proper closure after the frankly terrible series finale and a lacklustre second film. But Ill still keep re-watching
The X Files. Because, it truly was one of the best and most successful cult TV shows ever made. And when it was at its best, it was phenomenal.