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

[Joe 6-pack]

[Perdogg]

ping

[GeronL]

The last season was terrible

[Joe 6-pack]

Thanks Perdogg. Any idea who has the “Sci-Fi” Ping list?

[Diogenesis]

"America is being run by an undocumented gangster for al Qaeda."

[Perdogg]

Me, do you want to help out? I am looking for someone who can do cool graphics.

[BamaDi]

My brother’s best friend in HS was Nick Peleggi (Skinner) - they graduated from George C. Marshall HS in Ankara Turkey in 1970. His mother was one of my mother’s best friends. Great family!

[max americana]

Shot in my sh*tty hometown of Vancouver BC. I’m not complaining as my uncle worked on every season it was there on set.

[Joe 6-pack]

Cool...Excellent character. It takes a long time in the series to find out if he’s a good guy and which side he’s really on.

[yarddog]

I was not a fan of “X Files” but would watch it when nothing else was on.

There were some good episodes but normally I thought it was just so-so. I sort of understood it’s popularity as those type shows seem to always appeal to a certain audience.

[Rushmore Rocks]

Time and channel?

I’m sure it will be more entertaining and truthful than Obama’s speech.

[Rushmore Rocks]

Oops, never mind. I just say the date of the premier and that this is the anniversary.

Sorry.

[SilvieWaldorfMD]

That long, huh?

1993 was such a blur — my singlehood days in DC were in full swing.....

[Rushmore Rocks]

Oops agan.

say=saw

[LibertarianLiz]

Clyde Bruckmann’s Final Repose — one of my very favorites of this series.

[Joe 6-pack]

LOL...I graduated from college in ‘91 and was stationed at Ft. Riley. Quality programming was a God send.

[Joe 6-pack]

I believe Peter Boyle won an emmy for that episode...

[Klemper]

Mr. Mulder, “THEY” have been here for a long, long time. I absolutely love this show, still today!

[Axenolith]

I was familiar with all the conspiracy and secret government stuff from being a follower of the HPAV underground bulletin board scene in the bay area when I got out here and I was hooked right off the bat.

About season 2 or 3 I had been pestering my parents to watch the show for quite a while, and they finally tuned in and their first episode was the one with the inbred family with mom on the rollout cart under the bed. I remember watching that and thinking “this might be a bit over the top for mom and dad”, and the next day they called and were all “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT???, OMG, IS IT ALWAYS LIKE THAT!?!?!”

That was truly one of the gnarliest episodes of prime time ever... :-)