5. Other TV Shows
Early in 2001 the most loved recurring characters of The X-Files, conspiracy theory journalists The Lone Gunmen, were given their own spin-off series. In late 2001, it was cancelled. Substituting the fantastical for the technological, the series followed Byers, Frohike, and Langley as they hacked their way through government, corporate, and historical conspiracies. Although the show would be lighter in tone than The X-Files, the original pilot episode featured people working for the US Government conspiring to crash a commercial passenger aircraft into the World Trade Centre. This was considered too dark even before the tragic events that would occur mere months later (needless to say a TV show featuring the greatest conspiracy theory since JFK was an actual theorist's dream come ture), and even though the character of Jimmy Bond was introduced as their naive but big hearted benefactor for the not so computer literate in the audience to relate to, only one season was ever produced. As if this wasn't enough, the final episode, All About Yves, ended on a cliffhanger. The Lone Gunmen, along with enigmatic nemesis/ally Yves Adele Harlow are captured by Morris Fletcher, and all appears lost. As the X-Files was continuing for one more season however, all wasn't lost, and the episode Jump The Shark continued the story. Sort of. Although concluding the overall storyline between the Gunmen, Yves, and Fletcher, this episode wasn't their first appearance after the cancellation of their own show, and no explanation was given as to how they escaped. Despite this, Jump The Shark reintroduced Fletcher (who had already appeared in season six) as well as Jimmy and Yves, and despite not picking up where All About Yves Left off, did at least give the characters a sense of closure. The fact that Jimmy had been tracking Yves around the globe explained their absences from earlier appearances, and allows for the mystery of Yves' true identity to be uncovered. More than this however, the continuing theme of Byers, Frohike, and Langley fighting the good fight often without having anything to show for it is dealt with once and for all as the three of them selflessly give their lives for the cause. Before moving on, I should probably add that this wasn't the first TV show The X-Files rescued either. Although developed as an independent series, Chris Carter's Millennium was also cancelled prematurely, and so the decision was made that the two shows actually inhabit the same fictional universe. The crossover episode, imaginatively called Millennium, was produced so that the series based on the premise of 1st January 2000, didn't just finish rather abruptly in 1999.