X-Files fever had dissipated. And it seemed the last glimpse we'd ever have of our intrepid agents would be I Want to Believe's cheeky post-credits dream sequence in which the bathing suit-clad duo waves at the camera while rowing across a tropical ocean. Expect the unexpected: in April , in large part because of fan demand stoked by the show's new life on streaming platforms, it was announced that The X-Files would make a brief return in early When the episodes finally began airing this January, both critical and fan reaction were mixed, though the ratings soared to highs rarely seen these days in the streaming and binge-watching era.
At this point, more episodes in the future are a certainty. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the six new instalments was how, for all the ways in which the show acknowledged that time had passed, it still remained quintessentially itself in terms of structure and approach. And as likely as ever to frustrate, intrigue and inspire because of that.
The X-Files ran for nine years during its original run and produced two spin-off films Credit: Fox. What's the secret to The X-Files' success? Or, at least, its ability to maintain some long-term hold in the zeitgeist? The original series aired during a fascinating transitional period for television. Shows like Miami Vice and Twin Peaks had already laid the foundation for series that were more aesthetically and thematically complex.
The X-Files embraced that new freedom — creator Chris Carter often noted that he and his collaborators aimed to make a mini-movie every week, a tall order in a episode season — while still utilising plenty of television's tried-and-true techniques. There was an ongoing story arc, which was something of a novelty at the time. These instalments, with their labyrinthine plots and rogues gallery of recurring characters like the Cigarette Smoking Man William B Davis , anticipated the strict serialisation of the binge-watch era, though the narrative convolutions frequently tended to the nonsensical.
This was a high-wire act with a fair share of dramaturgical stumbles, but the valleys were rarely dealbreakers because the plateaus were pleasurable enough, and the peaks were resoundingly high. Despite the serial elements, the series still frequently hit the pause or reset button so that Mulder David Duchovny and Scully Gillian Anderson could investigate, in a number of standalone episodes, some cases in which new monsters were presented from week to week such as a man-sized flukeworm that were far removed from any space oddities.
In story terms, there's a stop-start sensation to The X-Files that's very much a product of the era before DVRs, Hulu and Amazon series, when there was no guarantee that episodes of a favourite show would be replayed, or that viewers would keep up week to week.
The goal was to find a simple formula — one easily distilled to an hour-long chunk with commercials — and stick to it. The Mulder-Scully dynamic leant itself to this formula.
He was the believer, she was the sceptic. Just put those personalities in a strange situation and see what happens. Repeat as needed. What couldn't have been anticipated was the very real and mysterious chemistry between both the characters and the actors who played them. Even when the overarching narrative seems like it's going off the rails or is at a standstill, the Mulder-Scully relationship and by extension the Duchovny-Anderson kinship is always developing, always moving forward.
This is one of the great love stories, one where even a sidelong glance or a slight touch feels epochal. Theirs is the kind of magical interplay that happens mainly because of timing and luck. And it gives a series already preoccupied with mysteries of varying sorts its enigmatic heart — one that a rotating group of writers and directors freely interpreted over the course of more than episodes.
So many shows are afflicted by a sameness of tone and approach, even more so in the current moment when a single director or TV executive is often viewed, and acts, as a series' guiding force, sublimating the contributions of others. The X-Files was something of a bridge between eras, utilising what came before while developing new narrative and aesthetic approaches that became de rigeur on programmes like Lost or Breaking Bad, the latter of which was created by the X-Files alumnus Vince Gilligan.
Carter provided the template, but his creation allowed for a number of other distinctive voices to emerge. There were also a few interesting peripheral characters, and the network even attempted an ill-fated spin-off around some of them in Three conspiracy theorists had a minor role in "The X-Files "over the years. Mulder naturally connected with these rabbit-hole dwellers, known as "The Lone Gunmen.
Each of them had a very distinct look, which made them come across like a hacker version of The Village People — and in an increasingly online-relevant society, the famous sidekicks got their own spin-off show. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Aside from the dark-web trio making better sidekicks than leads, "The X-Files" didn't work without Mulder and Scully as the driving force. Those characters with their dynamic and the chemistry between Duchovny and Anderson — at least onscreen are everything that was missing from "The Lone Gunman.
But that doesn't diminish Langly, Byers, and Frohike's impact on the franchise. While they may have worked best in smaller doses, "The X-Files" wouldn't have been the same without the conspiracy-slinging contributions of "The Lone Gunmen.
The Lone Gunmen spinoff was a flop Fox.
0コメント