Twenty Years On: The X-Files Premier September 10, 1993

Self ^ | 9/10/13 | Joe 6-pack

[Joe 6-pack]

Twenty years ago tonight, I sat down on the couch in my little apartment in Ogden, KS, and flipped on the TV to watch the debut of a new show. The promotion blitz for the show had been dark and mysterious, and apart from some vague references to UFOs and the FBI, gave little idea as to what the show was actually going to be about. It had piqued my interest, as it was no doubt intended to do, and I figured with much of my life still ahead of me, I could spare an hour to check it out. At the end of that hour, as the eerie theme whistled the credits away, I sat there. Hooked.

The premiere of the show could not have been timed more perfectly. About a year before the show premiered, there had been a bloody standoff at Ruby Ridge, and that very spring, the siege at Waco. Institutions and organizations that had long been highly regarded by most Americans had shown a darker, seamier side, and now there was a show that pitted two young, idealistic agents working from inside the system, taking a stand against internal conspiracies and unknown forces. On the entertainment scene, the quirky “Twin Peaks,” had established a niche with most Gen Xers a few years earlier, and nothing had come to fill the vacuum left when it went off the air. The X-Files stood perfectly poised to become something of an enigma if the writers and actors could deliver, and they did.

During the next nine years, faithful followers (“X-philes”) followed the exploits of Scully and Mulder as they investigated fluke men, aliens, conspiracies dating back to the cold war, and the mysterious “Cigarette Smoking Man.” The pairing of Scully and Mulder was an act of genius. While most people at a gut level tend to regard the notions of faith and science as competing interests, Mulder and Scully demonstrated ultimately, the inseparable nature of the two, and how they complement one another. The show did not shy from objective morality and pointed out that sometimes evil just is. It cannot be understood, reasoned with or de-escalated, only dealt with head on. The show was not without humor, and the protagonists were at times all too human and vulnerable to the forces around them.

Many critics came down hard on the show in its later years. Admittedly, one of the strengths of earlier seasons was that in spite of the fantastic plot lines, they seemed all too real. In the last few years, some episodes pushed the bounds of credibility, but having said that, some of the very best episodes were in the final few seasons. Upon David Duchovny’s departure, it was a little hard to get used to Special Agent John Doggett. Nonetheless, Robert Patrick, no doubt aware of the shoes he was going to have to fill, rose to the challenge, and became an incredibly sympathetic character.

As a conservative, I often wondered why the show appealed to me so much - it seemed ideologically neutral, but in fact, it had its subtle conservative and libertarian messages. In 2008, at the release of the second X-Files feature film, I found the following article which smartly articulates the show's appeal to the right:

The Truth About "The X-Files"
Tom Piatak

[yarddog]

One of the better episodes was when Ponce de Leon’s men had found the fountain of youth but it changed them.

It was supposedly set the the Appalachicola national Forest, which is S/W of Tallahassee. I remember thinking that the area didn’t look that much like NW Florida. Probably filmed in BC.

[Joe 6-pack]

I think that’s one thing that contributed to the show’s appeal. Because they were able to set the episodes all over the country, people would say, “Hey, this episode is just a few counties over.” While it was not obviously shot on all those locations, it still played into local folklore and struck a chord with viewers all around the country.

[LiberConservative]

One of my favorite shows. Loved it. It may have had conservative/libertarian ideas but I loved screaming at Mulder/Skully “NO YOU CANNOT COME IN! YOU DON’T HAVE A WARRANT YOU F#CKING FEDS!” :)

[Joe 6-pack]

I'm originally from Indiana, PA (Jimmy Stewart's hometown). During my summers in High School I worked construction, and after my senior year we began building a house in Home. It was on a secluded piece of land. My very last night at home, before I left for college, me and some friends knew that this would be our last night all together with our youth, friendship and camaraderie as it was, and that as we all drifted off to college, our lives would never be the same. We were kind of restless and I said, "Let's walk to Home." Somehow it seemed like a good idea, and we all just started walking...about 9 miles out. We got to the construction site in the middle of the night, went into the woods built a little campfire, slept about an hour or two and walked the 9 miles back...finished packing then went off to college.

Of course we were right...things never were the same after that, in regards to those youthful bonds and friendships we'd built all those years, but when I was in Korea, and the X-Files was on AFN, I watched it every week. When that episode came on, and it scrolled "Home, PA" on the screen, I was right back there in my mind :-)

[Joe 6-pack]

Yep...I was in law enforcement at the time and would trouble shoot some of their procedures. I chalked it up to artistic license...but then again, do monsters have Constitutional rights?

[floralamiss]

You and me, both, yarddog.

[jodyel]

And that is exactly the kind of chemistry I think we all want with another person in real life. Am I right?

Long live Mulder and Scully!

[Joe 6-pack]

Possibility of a third movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz3AzOxMvX8

[Riley]

In the episode somebody mentions, “the 119,” which is a very west coast way of identifying a roadway. Nobody in PA would say, “The 119.”

Southern California thing. It sounds weird to us Bay Area natives, too. It may have migrated up and down the coast by now, though.

[Joe 6-pack]

I heard the, “the,” used a few times during a brief stay in the Portland/Astoria, OR area, as well as in and around LA. I just assumed it was an entire west coast thing. Must have been a few transplants I ran into up in OR.

[Riley]

Probably the Locusts. They descended on my home state, voted to screw it all up, wondered why things got so out of hand, and now they’re moving up to Oregon and Washington to do the same there. Been going on for a long time now.

[Yorlik803]

the first 5 seasons rocked...but then it got goofy. Thank heavens Scully stayed stunning.

[floralamiss]

That’s wonderful! I do hope they pursue the project, something to look forward to!

[trisham]

I particularly like this quote from the article:

“And almost every episode featured the tagline “The Truth Is Out There,” meaning not only that the truth might be found in unusual places but that there was in fact an objective truth that could be found, despite what the postmodernists want us to believe.”

There’s so much more in this review, that I must urge everyone who has ever had an interest in “The X Files” to read it. Thanks, Joe.

http://takimag.com/article/the_truth_about_the_x-files/print#ixzz2edNz3ojF

[Joe 6-pack]

Rush Limbaugh often explains the early popularity of his show relating that all he was doing was saying the things people were already thinking.

That kind of sums up how I felt when I read that article...There was always something I liked about the X-Files, but just couldn’t put my finger on. When I read that, I kept thinking, “yeah, that’s right! I noticed that, but never thought of it in those terms.”

[trisham]

Rush Limbaugh often explains the early popularity of his show relating that all he was doing was saying the things people were already thinking.

That kind of sums up how I felt when I read that article...There was always something I liked about the X-Files, but just couldn’t put my finger on. When I read that, I kept thinking, “yeah, that’s right! I noticed that, but never thought of it in those terms.”

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I guess that's the definition of a gifted communicator. It's a rare talent.

[Joe 6-pack]

"I guess that's the definition of a gifted communicator. It's a rare talent."

Actually it's CS Lewis's definition of friendship:

""Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

[trisham]

Actually it's CS Lewis's definition of friendship:

""Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

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I love that.

[Joe 6-pack]

30 Year Bump!