10/13/2023 0 Comments Foxmail index file![]() “The X-Files” largely revolved around FBI agents Mulder and Scully, assigned to the bureau’s … you guessed it, X-Files, the name for unsolved cases involving paranormal activity. In short, I had a front-row seat to the way “The X-Files” shaped internet culture, fandoms, broader pop culture - and even people’s lives. I, myself, am a Phile who watched the entire series, posted to messageboards and dabbled in fanfiction as a teen, eventually co-writing a rewatch blog as an adult. The show’s peak popularity in the mid-to-late ‘90s coincided with the proliferating use of the internet, where fans, self-proclaimed X-Philes, gathered to debate theories and behind-the-scenes gossip, while posting fanfiction, fan art and more. “It’s just become part of the pop culture zeitgeist that you refer to secret documents as X-Files.” “The term ‘X-Files’ itself… I feel like that’s become a ‘ beam me up, Scotty’ or ‘ set phasers to stun,’” said Paul Booth, a professor of media and pop culture at Chicago’s DePaul College of Communication who specializes in fan studies. The lead pair’s will-they-won’t-they chemistry and the debate surrounding their relationship changed the language used by fandoms. What began as a cult favorite became so ubiquitous that the series - along with the iconic duo of Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) - became household names to fans and non-viewers alike. “The X-Files: Fight the Future” hit theaters in 1998 in the middle of the show’s nine-season original run before a second movie (2008) and two revival seasons (in 20) followed. Starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson at the beginning of their careers, the show eventually moved to a Sunday night primetime slot, invading pockets of pop culture as its viewership and budget grew. The series became the subject of a “Simpsons” crossover, while The Barenaked Ladies’ song “One Week” shouted out the ever-ominous villain Cigarette Smoking Man. But “The X-Files” was destined for a higher path. It wasn’t exactly a formula for ratings success. Thirty years ago, on a Friday night in September, a sleepy and modestly budgeted show about a pair of FBI agents investigating the paranormal debuted on a very young Fox network.
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