It practically launched a genre, paving the way for shows like American Gothic, American Horror Story, Fringe, Supernatural, etc., and helped popularize catchphrases like "I want to believe" and "trust no one." It spawned two movies, and a short-lived spin-off, and was a cultural phenomenon in the 90s that lives on to this day: at the most recent San Diego comic con, The X-Files panel was one of the biggest attractions. Despite this, the show had plenty of drama behind the scenes. First, star David Duchovny was unhappy about being away from his family in California (the show shot in Vancouver, Canada). Married to actress Tea Leoni (they're currently divorced, finalized as of August 2014), he wanted to be closer to home. So the entire production picked up shop and moved to Los Angeles for its final four seasons, at his request. The impact on the show was immediately noticeable, with episodes lacking the dark, spooky quality in sunny L.A. that viewers had come to associate with the show. That wasn't enough for the man who played Mulder, however. After his contract was up following the seventh season, Duchovny - already visibly bored with the show and mailing in lines - demanded a king's ransom to return for an eighth season, and even then only agreed to return part time. A semi-replacement was found in Robert Patrick, who would play John Doggett, a man tasked with finding the missing (an alien abduction, in the series' storyline) Mulder. Patrick was better than many upset fans would give him credit for, but by that point, the writing was on the wall. After forcing the show to move, Duchovny bailed on it, appearing in only two episodes in the ninth season. Co-star Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully) fared a little better: too professional to raise a stink and too nice to ever want to let down fans, she agreed to continue doing the show without much of a fuss the final few seasons, though she did liken the experience negotiating with FOX as similar to being, well - in her words (from an interview posted on her official website) "I was over a barrel and there are no two ways about it. I was over a very large barrel and it was very uncomfortable to be in that position with a company that I had worked so hard for, for so long and put so much time and energy into doing the best work that I could." In essence, in the early seasons Duchovny greatly out-earned her despite them being equals on the show, a huge part of its success. Then when negotiations for another season came along, she had to agree to a ninth season to get the pay she deserved for the eighth. Keep in mind that it is networks, not production companies, who handle these negotiations, which is why the stars returned for a second X-Files movie in 2008, and have been open to doing a third.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
