Few television series have the kind of effect on pop culture and the collective society that we live in like The X-Files. Many aspects of the show have gone on to become pop culture staples definitive of an entire era and, for many viewers, the existence of the paranormal became a bit more difficult to refute. Apart from the television series itself and the numerous slogans associated with it, several movies, including the upcoming X-Files: I Want to Believe, have met with success and expounded upon the events in the series. Throughout the running of the series, the reputation of the main characters Fox Mulder and Dana Scully have become larger than the scope of the television show, taking on a life of their own and truly becoming unmistakably important parts of entertainment history.

The X-Files sprang from the mind of Chris Carter, a television writer who was met with limited success for his efforts, mostly involved with comedies. In the early 90s, Fox Broadcasting Company gave him the opportunity to produce new shows for them, and Chris Carter took it as an opportunity to depart creatively from his previous efforts. Instead of more comedy, he took inspiration from a report that 3.7 million Americans had been abducted by Aliens, as well as from the Watergate scandal and a horror series from the 1970s. Through these inspirations came the idea for The X-Files, for which he wrote the pilot episode in 1992. Although the idea was met with interest on the part of Fox executive, Carter struggled with certain concepts and the casting of the characters. Executives wanted a love interest for character Dana Scully, and they were also unhappy with actor Gillian Anderson because they wanted a tall blonde instead. Nonetheless, Fox Mulder, Scully’s love interest, was successfully cast as David Duchovny, and Carter felt that Anderson was the only choice for the part of Scully after the auditions.

The main concept that Carter wanted to create within The X-Files was the direct conflict between science and the paranormal. Character Dana Scully was to be the one who is firmly rooted in the scientific method of only believing in that which could be explained rationally, while Fox Mulder was to be the one who is open to the idea that extraterrestrials and the like actually exist. Carter felt that Scully’s perspective would be the driving point of the show in order to allow Mulder’s belief in the preternatural to take flight. Several other themes played out throughout the television series as well, including a romantic tension between the two protagonists. They generally maintain professional decorum, but in later episodes, they have brief interludes of matters purely unrelated to their work. Carter generally wanted the show to be plot-driven, rather than focusing on the relationship between Mulder and Scully, and for the most part his desires were met.

Fox Broadcasting Company brought many of its best and most experienced staff members to work on the show from the start. The contributions of many of the writers, most notably Glen Morgan and James Wong, were highly regarded by critics and fans of the show alike. Their work involved fleshing out the story, although they were also responsible for hiring many of the supporting actors throughout the show’s history. Another important part of the show was the dark cinematography, for which Jon Bartley won an Emmy award in 1996. Production for the first five seasons of the show was in Vancouver, which was seen as highly beneficial because of the landscape in and around the city. The temperate rainforest climate had much to do with this, because it allowed for a mysterious foggy aura to be cast on the set without the need for special effects or waiting for certain points in the year. Production moved to Los Angeles for the sixth season, although fans wondered how the gloomy atmosphere of the show could be maintained.

By the end of the fifth season in 1998, it had been decided that a full-feature film would be created. Although it would be able to stand on its own, the film would expand on the events of the finale of the fifth season and also lead in to the sixth season. The movie was a critical success and had a strong domestic box office opening, but it did poorly the following week. Internationally, the movie fared better and allowed the movie to make a profit because of the high promotional budget limiting the profits of the theatrical release. The film came off the back of the all-time peak in viewership that occurred during the fifth season, when the show also garnered sixteen Emmy nominations, winning two, and also won the Golden Globe for best drama series. It is often said that seasons three to five were the heyday of the show because of its critical acclaim and popularity. The movie itself was filmed during the break between seasons four and five, which meant that for several episodes during the filming of the movie, the lead actors were not portrayed because they were unable to film.

Ten years later, the sequel to The X-Files film is about to be released. Entitled The X-Files: I Want to Believe, the film is directed by Chris Carter and written by Carter and Frank Spotnitz. Although the film was slated to be released in 2001 to follow the conclusion of the ninth series, development difficulties pushed the inception of the project all the way to December 2007. These were said to include legal difficulties between Carter and 20th Century Fox, but these had been worked out by 2007 and a script was in the making. Production returned to Vancouver and actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprised their roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. Said to take place six years after the end of the series, the film is a standalone thriller that does not continue or delve into the mythology of the series. Carter has said that the film will remain consistent with the story arc of The X-Files, including such nuances like Scully’s child William. Brief internet rumors circulated about a romantic subplot between Mulder and Scully because of the circulation of a picture of the two kissing, but Duchovny has said that the picture was staged as part of a practical joke.

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are inextricable parts of entertainment history, and if the movie is successful, they will once again find themselves bastions of pop culture. The X-Files, with its disturbing plots that make one question the existence of the paranormal, as well as its theme song which is as eerie as it is catchy. On July 24, 2008, The X-Files: I Want to Believe promises to take us back into the world that is similar to our own, except that paranormal events happen a lot more frequently than we hope. If you want to take another adventure into such a world, you are well-advised to head out to the movie theater and take a look. Otherwise, just keep telling yourself that aliens are not real and you should be just fine.