The Y Files

If you are one of those people who grew up in a cave and generally stay clear of television shows and tv for that matter, then you may have not heard of the show X files. It aired from 1993 to 2002 and spanned an impressive 9 seasons composed of between 22 – 25 episodes. Well now it's back! A new season is to hit the screens from February 2016, and this is imminent. So, it's only fair to recap on the television season to date and about why it worked as an award winning show.

In the early 1990s, Chris Carter; who had been working on children's programs through Disney was tired of doing it, and was given an opportunity by Fox network to create a new show. Inspired by Alfred Hitchcock presents, The Twilight show, Kolchack; the Night Stalker, Carter took a different and more unsettling path than Fox were expecting. He had recently read a statistic that 3.7 million Americans had claimed to have been abducted by aliens, the watergate scandal and other conspiracies, and set to work to compose a pilot episode incorporating that kind of world. It seemed only natural to centre it directly in the middle of it all behind the eyes of FBI agents. Furthermore, Carter decided to change the stereotypes and had the male lead be the believer and the female being the sceptic. It was essential to have a partner which rationalises the data to make the events more conceivable than if both were onboard from the get go.

The casting lead to David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson to take on the two lead roles of

Mulder and Scully. At first, Carter thought David wasn't smart enough despite the terrific audition, but later found him to be one of the best read people he knew. Gillian was fresh to the acting world, and only being 24, and not being the 'perfect shape', she wasn't sure she'd get the part, but Carter felt that she was their only choice and she was cast as Scully as she had a kind of 'no nonsense integrity'.

The first five seasons were shot in Vancouver Canada, then moved to Los Angeles from the 6th season onwards, where they believed that the 7th would be the last because of contract disputes and a pretty decent ending. Fox didn't want to let it go though and recommissioned for an 8th, though David Duchovney was not a permanent fixture and was scripted into being taken by aliens. The 9th season finale featured on May 19th 2002 where it was said that the case was closed. But where there's a will there's a way...

The series features heavily in the world of the inexplicable, where tenuous evidence is wrapped up in an enigma. There are conspiracies inside conspiracies, and despite being high within the sensitive field of intelligence gathering of strange phenomena, the protagonists are still left mostly in the dark. Trusting comes with great difficulty as time and again, those around them either die or are conspiring against them. The dark world we see when we watch the series draws us in completely, as the danger is enveloped around Mulder and Scully at all times and nothing is to be taken for granted. The viewer watches not only to see through how their relationship evolves over time, but also to see what next remarkable thing they discover; be it terrestrial or alien. They may have their badge which grants them power within the scope of the layman, but within the bureau they find themselves up against bigger foe, and no-one but themselves can they trust and their strength comes from this – this partnership. It's a series which is impossible to not get under your skin; either in the subject matter making it crawl, or simply the striking manner in its visual production and the utter ignorance we, as laymen, truly have in our understanding of the world. We watch in the hope, but expectation that through Mulder and Scully we will find out more of the world and our place in it. Sure, it might not be all that romantic in the conventional sense, but the essence comes down to strength of wills, determination and trust in themselves to work it out. And through that, we are looking at two heroes battling through darkness to shed light on the truth. Depicted often in the dark rooms they enter and the torches they wield in them, searching for answers.

What makes the series work is the realtionship between the two protagonists. There are of course other characters which have plenty of sway in the realm of drama, but it is their attitudal changes, their conceptual understanding and their strength through each other which is truly the glue of the series. Mulder is sometimes too quick to postulate the unconventional; as he feeds off the slogan of 'i want to believe' and doesn't care who he pisses off to prove his already manufactured theories. He is ultimately far more right than wrong, but the approach is toward an addictive-style personality whereby the more strange it is, the more likely it would lead towards the avenue he seeks - answers of his daughters abduction, and the conspiracy of the government around it. Skully on the other-hand can be annoying reluctant to say anything regarding a case to lead to an idea which might present a situation which is beyond the understanding of the science of the time. It can be very frustrating to watch (in the first two or three seasons at least) her reluctance to accept the 'real truth' over the 'conventional truth' despite what she had seen. Though as we follow their journey, it's easy to see how the two become awfully muddled, and previous resolute comprehension gets turned on its head.

Their search leads them head on with danger, and it is fascinating to watch their story unfold under the blanket of abscurity and deceit that hovers over their world. I stay up late with my legs and arms sprawled over furniture and eyes glued to the screen as the answers slowly emerge. Even the most ridiculous concepts become believable in the X Files universe, and that's the beauty of it. Truly, it is the searching for answers, regardless of what they might be, that makes this series insatiable. A perfect example of suspense, impecible scripting and mood mastery there is. Another episode finishes and i'm still hungry for more. The kettle goes on again.

Watch them on Amazon Prime for free.