Talk:The X-Files

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Contents

[edit] The X-Files Magazine

What do you think about creating an article or at least devote some space here to The X-Files Magazine ?

[edit] DVD?

  • Can anybody confirm that X-Files was the first TV series sold as an entire season on DVD. That would be notable for the article if it was true, but I can't confirm it. ~Lyuokdea, 8:43 PM CST August 23,2005
It wasn't, certainly not in the UK at least. The Prisoner was released on DVD in entirety very early. I know because I remember paying an arm and a leg for it. Sjc 01:48, 24 August 2005 (UTC)
But damn, what a fine show. Zepheus 07:40, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

I was almost sure that it was the Simpsons that started the season-by-season series bandwagon. One thing I’m sure we’ll find is true is that whatever the show that started it, it was on Fox. ~PhantomBPR

  • Can anybody update the table with TXF DVD information, with list of extras added to each season ? That would be interesting and helpful for sure, as well as it would complete this part of the article. (83.20.104.54 23:51, 28 October 2006 (UTC))
    • I could try to do this, but how to change the table ? For example by adding an additional columne between "Originally aired" and "DVD release date - Region 1/Region 2" ? (83.20.132.113 18:26, 29 October 2006 (UTC))

[edit] time slot

The first few seasons were broadcast on Friday nights at 9pm before moving to Sundays. If someone can find out (or remember) when the time slot changed this should be added to the article. Shoehorn 22:53, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

it was sometime near the beginning of the fourth season (fall 1996), maybe the very beginning or maybe several episodes into the season. Carter was starting his new show Millennium around that time and I think it may have taken the old X-Files spot on Friday nights. by looking up the original airdates which are easily found in Wiki you should be able to figure out what day they fell on.
I've also heard that Carter initially was very reluctant to change the timeslot and did so only under network pressure, but it did work out for the best ratings-wise, expanding the base beyond the type of people likely to be in on fridays. He had some special attachment to Friday night as it used to be when his inspiration Kolchak: The Night Stalker was on as well. (I can't be absolutely sure of all that, but you should easily be able to find a source.)
According to a feature article in the October 27, 1996 LA Times TV schedule on page 5, the first X-Files episode to air in its permanent Sunday time slot was on October 27. Accordong to the article, Chris Carter said of the move: "I thought it was home, so my resistance was based on pretty much a feeling. Everyone has said that there is a great viewing audience on Sunday night. I've always felt we do the same good cult show, and if it finds a mainstream audience, great. I don't want to go looking for one necessarily. But I know why they made the move. Sunday night was a troubled night for them as far as programming. Programming is a chess game, and they took a strong piece and moved it to a weaker place to shore up the strength there." Franklin Bynum 02:17, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Morgan & Wong

I found a really nice site that's a shrine to Glen Morgan & James Wong (plus Darin Morgan) but has some great interviews with them and anecdotes about the inspiration for various aspects of various scripts they did, plus lost scenes that were cut from "One Breath," "Clyde Bruckman" and others due to time constraints. I haven't seen this information elsewhere so I think it would be a useful link for the article, as these guys did write or oversee many of the series' best and most famous episodes.

For example, has info on Flukeman-- the costume took 6 hours to be put on Darin Morgan, had to be discarded and remade everyday of shooting after being immersed in sewage for the day's shoot, and he was in the thing for 20 hours straight at times basically unable to move (plus with two layers on contact lenses on each eye to tint it properly), so he urinated inside his suit. After a few 20-hour days of that, the guy damn well deserved to be an X-Files writer.

URL is here: http://www.morganandwongonline.com/episodes.html


[edit] What can this possibly mean? Can someone ellaborate?

One pivotal shipper episode was "Triangle" (6x03), in which Mulder and Scully shared their first on-camera kiss - on a ship, in fact - although the episode did not actually take place in reality.

Most of the episode was apparently a dream Mulder had after being involved in a shipwreck in the Bermuda Triangle. Brandon39 03:41, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
Thank you! Trollderella 03:48, 27 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Alienware

The 'fan faire' section seems to be thinly-veiled Alienware marketing added by 209.42.44.132. While it may be true that The X-Files inspired the company's founders, I don't think that deserves an entry in the main X-Files article. Any objections to getting rid of it? Chrismear 00:13, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

I agree. The ufological references used by the Alienware brand are not distinct to the X-Files but are ubiquitous in paranormal culture. Even if the X-Files was a major influence on the development of the company, it is not worth mentioning in this article.

[edit] # of episodes: 201 vs. 202 (or even 203), reality vs. production #

The "X-Files" article incorrectly lists the episode count of the series as 202, and every time I change it, someone incorrectly changes it back. Though "The Truth" was assigned two production codes (9x19 and 9x20) due to it's double-length and has subsequently been split up into two parts for reruns, it originally aired as a single episode, with only one title and end credits sequence. The Season 9 DVD reflects this, it plays as originally aired and it labled as episode #19, and the packaging officially counts 19 episodes on the complete set. In any event, to say that there were 202 episodes has no merit. If one strictly adheres to the production numbers, then one must also accept Episode 3x99, which was the interactive "X-Files" video game. The footage for this game was shot by the "X-Files" crew during the show's third season and was given a production code for internal purposes. The fact that the game is obviously not an "X-Files" episode completely invalidates the production codes as a strict basis for episode count.

Though this is my first venture in this discussion, I agree with you. It would be nice to know who you are, btw. Lady Aleena 08:10, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
Agreed. I've changed the page to say 201, and added a brief comment to explain. chrismear 01:09, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
This really depends on the person. Almost every show now breaks up 2 hour long episodes (or hour long for 30 minute shows) into two seperate episodes. When you buy a DVD of 24 episodes, and two episodes originally aired together and then is made into two episode for subsequent viewing, it's considered 2 seperate episodes. I think this brings up three different words we should consider. It's 201 "Shows", 202 Episodes, 203 productions. But claims about the DVD or such are iffy because DVDs tend not to be produced by people who were even working on the show at time. However the claim about the Video game doesn't really work as meantioned a production code is different than a episode. In addition there's 202 episodes in syndication, not 201, which could lead to some confusion.--Kinglink 04:49, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Fan terminology"

Did the list of fan terms come from a different source/list, and if so, where? Some of them seem needlessly obscure, or have at least fallen out of use. If no one has an issue, I'll pare them down to more commonly-used terms (seeing as they're an anecdotal part of the page, anyway) Frey at last 01:04, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Importance of the show to Fox

Shouldn't the importance of this show to the Fox's emergence as a major player be touched on? Because with all due respect to The Simpsons; The X-Files is the biggest hit the Fox network has ever had. Mattm1138 22:42, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

Considering The Simpsons (continued) run, I would have to respectfully disagree that the X-Files is the biggest hit on Fox. The Simpsons is still going strong, and shows no signs of slowing down. And with the upcoming movie, I think it has clearly surpassed the X-Files. Bytebear 22:42, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Some of the Trivia too trivial

I'm a big X-Files fan, but some of the entries in the Trivia section seem too trivial to me. "Scully was named after sportscaster Vin Scully" is interesting, but "The number of Scully's files (stolen by Duane Barry) is 73317" is not (unless, of course, that number is supposed to be significant.) Anyone object to it being trimmed down? Pelago 14:19, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

From article trivia section about the number 42: "The number is also featured in the plot of the ABC drama series Lost." Is this relevant in any way? 24.81.28.51 21:01, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mythology section

I hope no one minds but I have added and expanded on the "Mythology Section". As a fan of the X-Files (as is usual with everyone - of the main plot rather than the other epidodes) I thought it wise to add this section with the episodes in order, incorporating the movie to make more sense. It takes up little room and is quite significant so thoght It a good idea, hope others do. Maybe it needs tidying up a little but I think it should be kept never the less. :0)

It's a good start, stranger. What I think the page needs (or actually a separate page) is a quick timeline of the X-Files, going over the mythology season by season. It would list things that actually happen in order, and not just episodes. Something like this, but this is WAY too long. Also, I'm not actually a fan of the mythology myself, and much prefer the stand-alone episodes. I find calling these episodes "Monster-of-the-Week" episodes kind of derogatory. I do understand that it's common phraseology and should be mentioned, but feel that it lends a biased attitude on this page. I think that the standalone episodes should be listed simply as stand-alone episodes and not monster of the week episodes. Zepheus 07:25, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
Monster of the week is actually a common term (or at least, not limited to X-Philes). I've got no problem with using it, but we should be clear about what the separation is. -- nae'blis (talk) 17:00, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Someone has removed the breakdown of "mytholology" episodes by season and replaced it with just a list of episodes on the "X-Files Mythology" DVD set. I haven't seen all the episodes mentioned on the by-season list, but I suspect that the DVD set leaves out relevant episodes. Is there a consensus on which episodes are considered part of the mytharc? 70.226.180.159 03:09, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes, you are correct. I suspect in the decision to make the mythology DVD's, they left out some mythology episodes to make the count 60, such as "The Christmas Carol" saga, "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" and "The Unnatural". I don't know why they left out those episodes, but they need to be included in this list. I also believe that episodes such as "Lenord Betts" could also be considered mythology because it is when Scully realizes she has cancer. But that should be decided by everyone here and not just me. Does anyone perhaps have a copy of the old mythology list we were all happy with?--Exer 505 03:04, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Is it in the article history? I don';t edit this page very often so I'm not sure which revision you're saying is the one we were "all happy with". -- nae'blis (talk) 17:00, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

Sorry about that. I believe the one we're all happy with is the one with the mythology episodes broken down by seasons. --Exer 505 19:10, 22 May 2006 (UTC)

I finally figured out how to go into the history of this article and replaced the mythology DVD format with the individual season mythology format. I also added The Unnatural to the list of mythology episodes. I'm sure we can all agree that this is mythology. I sure hope this section isn't changed again.--Exer 505 15:29, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] X-Files Theme Song

Why isn't the catchy and famous X-Files themesong (intro) mentioned in this article? 194.144.242.224 17:06, 29 March 2006

[edit] Do the X-Files really exist?

Can someone clarify whether the X-files really exist within the FBI and add this piece of info to the article? Thanks!

There is no way to confirm if they really exist, and it would not be appropriate for the article anyway. --Charles 04:28, 20 May 2006 (UTC)
If it would be verifiable it absolutely would be appropriate. Just as mentioning the real Judge Advocate General in the JAG article is appropriate. TheDJ (talk • contribs • WikiProject Television) 11:20, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Security Council Resolution 1013

In the Article page it is mentioned under trivia that Security Council Resolution 1013 would state that any government capturing an alien would kill it immediately. I've searched for the text of this resolution, but Resolution 1013 from the UN actually deals with Rwanda. Am I correct in assuming the reference to this resolution is not a piece of trivia but actually a piece of fiction?

Yeah. It's fiction alright. I believe it's from the episode EBE, first season. I'm not quite sure why its trivia. It's also up above in the Mythology section. I recommend deleting it. In fact, I'm going to delete it right now. Zepheus 07:16, 5 May 2006 (UTC)
Yes, 1013 is the name of Chris Carter's production company, that is why they used that number. --Charles 04:29, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Page Structure/Order

Man, this page is such a mess. Looking at the WikiProject page for the correct structure of a TV show page, this one is quite off. I'm thinking that things like the Trivia, Taglines, Fan Terminology and Around the World sections should all be under one section with a number of subsections. Plus, the Character/Cast list needs to be moved up and other things moved around. Oh, what the heck, I'm going to give it a shot. Let me know if I mess this up. Zepheus 07:47, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

It really is a mess - godspeed! Frey 06:13, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wold Newton speculation

Would anyone go up in flames if I included the Wold Newton speculations about character origins at the very end of the various characters' articles, if any? Fox Mulder has a most interesting one, and I would like to add it, but wanted to check with other editors first before getting shot down.
-- Lady Aleena talk/contribs 08:25, 26 May 2006 (UTC)

I would definatly say that that is a bad idea. Speculation of any kind is usually not the kind of material wanted on Wikipedia. --InShaneee 19:00, 26 May 2006 (UTC)
Good thing I asked before I caused flames to rise.
-- Lady Aleena talk/contribs 19:10, 26 May 2006 (UTC)
Careful referencing, supported non-original research, and explanation of why X-Files may be Wold Newton link of importance may merit a brief section. There are certainly Wold Newton speculation sections on other character bios-- it's a particular sort of "speculation" that is well-covered and documented in good Wikipedia articles -- but mostly for key figures like Sherlock Holmes. The trick will be demonstrating importance, and avoiding pure fanfic. Chris Stangl 23:17, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
Here is what I will do, let you decide whether or not it might be worth a mention in the Fox Mulder article. Please see From Russia with Madness where the story of Fox Mulder began according to Wold Newton. Because of that article, Fox Mulder is on the List of Wold Newton Universe characters.
-- Lady Aleena talk/contribs 03:20, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
PS. If not a small section, how about a long link? From Russia with Madness - Wold Newton Universe speculation on Fox Mulder's origins
It's still just speculation, which is the biggest issue. --InShaneee 14:01, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
The problem is that it's all we have now. I don't think that Chris Carter (I hope I got the name right) would be at all interested in giving us a complete biological geneology of Fox Mulder or Dana Scully or anyone else from the shows. It would tear away at the very core of them. He might not even care about this franchise anymore. For all we know, he could have written this off as a job well done and gone onto a new project. I doubt we will ever see anything official again.
-- Lady Aleena talk/contribs 17:27, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
Still, we can't add speculation just because that's all we have to go on. --InShaneee 17:53, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
I don't see this answered, but would there be any objection to just a link that looks like the following
-- Lady Aleena talk/contribs 07:01, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
My guess is this is being voted down by non-Wold Newton "historians". The Wold Newton family is certainly important enough to have hundreds of references throughout Wikipedia, and is slightly different from other forms of crossover fanfic "speculation": the roots are in real, published books by a real, world-famous author. Since the main body of Wold Newtonian writing is in the form of documented articles, while it's not X-Files canon proper, it can still be supported in its own context. I say Be Bold and add some carefully annotated notes to the Mulder biography. If it gets deleted, it just means you need to source it better. Chris Stangl 05:51, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Parodies

Could we perhaps include a list of parodies? About every comedy show in the 90's parodied The X-files. I just though it would be a fun little list to make.--Exer 505 15:33, 27 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't think that would be encyclopedic, though I'm sure one or two that got major exposure could be mentioned. --InShaneee 00:23, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
I agree with InShaneee about that. That kind of thing should be worked into the Legacy section. I also think that a LOT of this trivia needs to be expunged or moved to other parts of the article. Some of it IS useful, but so much is just pointless listing of unimportant facts. I propose a serious cleanup session in order to get this page more in line with Wikipedia standards. In fact, I'd like to spearhead that if anybody is with me. Zepheus 02:00, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup.

I have marked this page for cleanup. You can see my reasons why on the Wikipedia:Cleanup Page. I'm hoping that fans of the show (like myself) and anyone interested in improving Wikipedia can help make this page better. If you are interested in a focused cleanup, please contact me on my X-Files cleanup subpage. Zepheus 05:25, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Hello all. As self-appointed ‘’X-Files Cleanup Task Leader’’, I have created a list of things that I think need to be worked on for this page. Charles has already joined on to the cleanup team. Comments and suggestions are absolutely necessary, so please leave them under the appropriate tab, or make a new subheading if need be.

I've made a subpage on my profile in order to facilitate the cleanup process. Click here to go there. - Zepheus 21:53, 1 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Cast

The cast section is rediciously boring. It would be better to describe some of the characters a bit within the X-Files fictional universe. - TheDJ (talk • contribs • WikiProject Television) 11:18, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Legacy

The X-Files has influenced a large number of television shows (such as Supernatural, which is mentioned), films, and even musicians (Catatonia) since it first aired. This is barely touched upon in the Legacy section, and it mostly just lists a number of similar shows. There were also a number of shows that spoofed The X-Files, including The Simpsons and MadTV. I think that these should be mentioned here.

Mentioned, yes, but we do need to show some discretion when choosing what to mention. Otherwise, this could be ten pages long in itself. --InShaneee 21:13, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Influences

This section needs references and citations. Where did Carter say that Kolchak was the “father of The X-Files?” I know much of this is true, but it needs harder proof.

[edit] Awards

This list only touches upon the many awards the show has won (or been nominated for). I don’t think we need to list them all, but there should be a mention that it won awards from many different agencies and not just Emmys. For example, it won the Environmental Media Award twice during its run. [1]

[edit] History

Early Fan Acclaim This section reads as follows – ‘’“Many fans consider the show's creative peak to have occurred before the fifth season....”’’ Where does this information come from? According to GEOS, the most popular seasons are Seasons 5 and 6 [2]. Also, this section notes that The X-Files won only one Cinematography Emmy. While this is true, the show was nominated for ‘’ Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series’’ by the ASC 10 times, and won the award twice(see link #1). I think words like “legendary” need to be removed; that doesn’t feel like NPOV. We can possibly say “popular” perhaps, but not “legendary.” This section could also possible be reordered. The show underwent a number of changes behind-the-scenes that affected its tone and quality. Perhaps this section could be ordered by “era.” For example, ‘’’Seasons 1-2’’’, ‘’’Seasons 3-4’’’, etc.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Trivia A lot of this information is important and interesting, and needs to be moved to the appropriate category. For example, “When "Requiem" (the season 7 finale) completed shooting, the producers were unsure if they would come back for an eighth season,” could easily be worked into the history section. And a lot of this information is completely unnecessary and unimportant. For example, “Scully's telephone number is 555-3564 and (202) 555-6431 (at home),” can be moved to that character’s page if it isn’t already there. It’s simply not important to the show.

Please see the ideas on Wikipedia:Avoid trivia sections in articles and it's talk page and move quotes to WikiQuote. - TheDJ (talk • contribs • WikiProject Television) 11:15, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Taglines/Fan Terminology/Relationship to other Ten Thirteen Productions shows

Not sure what to do with these.

I suggest shortening the Taglines section to a discussion of how taglines were used (instead of just a list of every one), a complete removal of the Fan Terminology section, and a little bit of cleanup for the Relationship To section. --InShaneee 21:15, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
These changes sound good. A short explanation of fan terminology and any importance might be good, with two examples (CSM and Shipper, the most relevant in my book). The Relationship section needs to be changed into paragraphs, as opposed to a list. - Zepheus 21:21, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
Shipper isn't an X-Files specific term, though. --InShaneee 22:03, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
According to that page, The X-Files newsgroup is probably the first instance of the term in North America, making it notable enough for the X-Files page. - Zepheus 22:34, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
Huh, interesting. Works for me, in that case. --InShaneee 23:29, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Video Games

This could probably be moved to legacy.

[edit] The X-Files around the world

At the very least, this section needs an intro stating how many countries the show has aired in, where it’s most popular, and places where it’s banned (if any). Most of these foreign titles are devastatingly uninteresting and unimportant. Zepheus 23:02, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps where possible try to find a corresponding "interwiki" link for "other languages". It would have the "foreign name" by itself. TheDJ (talk • contribs • WikiProject Television) 11:17, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External Links

This list needs to be shortened significantly. So much of this is junk. - Zepheus 16:29, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] table of contents?

Where did the TOC go? Am I missing something? - Zepheus 02:48, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

Huh...no...that's...odd... --InShaneee 03:10, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm going to try to force a TOC later, when I can do it correctly. - Zepheus 00:27, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] recurring characters.

I made a new page for recurring characters. I moved the whole list to that page. I don't think all of the names on the main page need to be removed, but perhaps half. Any ideas? - Zepheus 00:26, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] removed trivia.

I removed these trivia because I can not see their importance. If they are important, they should be worked into the main article and not simply plopped into trivia. I suggest if you do reincorporate them that you strike it from this list.

  • The number 42 occurs frequently (Mulder lives in Apartment 42, Mulder has seen Plan 9 From Outer Space 42 times, etc.). This is The Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything in Douglas Adams' novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
  • You can identify episodes directed by Kim Manners; he frames the camera so as to show the face, but not the top of the head.
  • From season 2 on, the firearm of choice for most characters is the SIG-Sauer P228.
  • The season 5 episode "Bad Blood" contains a number of references and homages to classic vampire and horror films, one of the most subtle being the name of the town in which the episode takes place. Known as Chaney, Texas, the name is most likely a reference to famous 1940s monster movie actor Lon Chaney.
  • In the season 8 episode "Salvage", Robert Patrick remarks "You only see metal men in movies." In the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Robert Patrick played a metal man.
  • David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson have reprised their roles as Mulder and Scully on numerous other shows, including The Simpsons
  • The number 1121, and especially the time 11:21 PM, appears regularly on The X-Files, particularly in the early seasons. This is a reference by Chris Carter to his wife Dori's birthday, November 21.
  • Bruce Campbell was originally considered for the role of Doggett, but was turned down because he guest starred in an earlier episode.
  • While the show hinted that Skinner had a quiet crush on Scully, in real life, Mitch Pileggi (Skinner) met his wife Arlene Warren on the set of X-Files, while she was Gillian Anderson's (Scully) stand-in. In later episodes, she gets some screen time... as Skinner's secretary, Arlene, credited as Arlene Pileggi.

- Zepheus 03:52, 8 June 2006 (UTC)

I've removed the following pieces of trivia in addition to those already gone:


  • Mulder has been shot 4 times (once in "Beyond the Sea" , once in "Anasazi," via ricochet in "The Goldberg Variation," and once in the film). Scully has been shot twice (in "Young At Heart" 1x15 and "Tithonus" 6x09). Skinner was shot once (in "Piper Maru" 3x15). This is not counting "How The Ghosts Stole Christmas", in which Mulder and Scully were both shot in a hallucination — by each other.
  • Mulder used his gun 16 times, Scully 13.

Thingymajig 11:55, 8 June 2006 (BST)

This was removed from the Fan Terminology section. Couldn't find any official website for it. Doesn't seem notable enough for front page.

  • SPCDD - Society for the the Prevention of Cruelty to David Duchovny - (web-site and group formed after news sources in Canada made "cruel" comments about Duchovny in the news)

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Zepheus (talk • contribs).

[edit] List Of Episodes Of The X-Files

This section also needs quite a lot of work. There is, on the season 2 section, an ideal template which should be replicated for the other 8 seasons. We also need to come up with more concise synopses for all remaining 170+ episodes. It will be worth it in the end however.

Thingymajig 20:49, 8 June 2006 (BST)

[edit] Can Cleanup Sticky Be Removed?

I quote this from the original clean-up marking page:

" Contains way too many lists, which comprise roughly 1/3 to 1/2 of the page. A substantial amount of information on the page is fan speculation rather than sourced references. The show was important in the history of television, but the Wikipedia page has become a collection of fan trivia. Much of the information can be integrated into the rest of the page (with some effort)."

Most of the superfluous trivia has been deleted, making the article much more concise. The speculatory sections of the article have either been sourced, or if they are entirely unnecessary, deleted entirely. I, along with others, especially Zepheus, have endeavoured to make this article fufill the cleanup requirements and I personally believe they have been. Okay, the article can constantly be improved and edited, and I shall continue to do so, but the key cleanup requirements, IMO, are fufilled. Can it be removed from the cleanup section?

Thingymajig 16:44, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

I think that this article looks so much better now. I can't take credit for that much of the work, with all the work Thingymajig, Xfpisher and others did. I think the two areas that still need cleaning are the trivia. I'm going to see if I can move some of the trivia info up into the main article. The work that's been done with the 1013 section looks good, but maybe it could be organized into paragraphs instead of a list? - Zepheus 16:46, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

I've removed it now. It meets the requirements for cleanup sticky to be removed Thingymajig 15:34, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] cast of characters

That Cast section looks great. Who did that? Only one comment, I don't think the years on show section needs parentheses around the years, such as (1995-1997). I think simply 1995-1997 would look better (and be more correct). I'll make this change myself if there are no arguments against it. - Zepheus 21:37, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

'Twas me. Thingymajig 22:47, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

I figured it was you. Awesome work. All the work that you've done on this page is fantastic. Surely more work than I did, and I am thoroughly impressed with the page's improvement. - Zepheus 23:34, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The cleanup.

I would like to semi-officially announce that the X-Files cleanup is complete. A lot of people strived to make this article better, and I would like to thank them for their hard work on this. I would especially like to thank Xfpisher, Thingymajig, InShaneee and Bunbury18. Without them, this article wouldn't have improved from fan-cruft to a quality article.

Let's not let it end here. Everybody keep up the fact-checking, trivia-shortening and grammar-checking. - Zepheus 23:49, 28 June 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Citations

I imagine this is one of the main stumbling blocks that will prevent the article from becoming featured. Overall, this article has a lack of citations, especially in the influences section. But I'm having problems finding half decent interviews with Carter and the ilk. Anyone point some good ones out? Thingymajig 11:27, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

I guess the first ones that I can think of are the interviews that he did for the videocasette box sets. Those are only for the first three seasons. I'm not sure if they are available through other means (such as the DVDs). I would guess that they are. I think these are fairly valuable. He's not hyping up the show as much as in a featurette, because the customer's have already bought the tapes. I have these tapes, by the way. - Zepheus 16:48, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
I'm hoping that can cover the 'influences' section. I'd be willing to bet that those mentions came from either interviews or commentary/behind the scenes. --InShaneee 01:46, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

While we're talking about this, I'd like to bring up the 'Legacy' section. It's completely unsourced, and it seems like the only arguments for it would be original research, as well (barring some citable interviews with writer/producers saying how much they love X-Files). If these can't be found, I think it might just be best to condense it to a single sentence for insertion in the introduction. Thoughts? --InShaneee 01:44, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The push to GA!(Now Accomplished)

Thought I'd bring up a few niggling little concerns I wasn't able to work out on my own with the article since it's now 'crunch time' :) .

  1. In "History" > "Seasons 1-3" > second paragraph, second sentance, aside from it being unwieldly from an english perspective, I can't for the life of me figure out who that "their" is referring to, since a good half a dozen characters were mentioned in the previous sentence.
  2. In "Seasons 4-6", I want to rewrite the first sentence (do we really need to explain Mytharc again?), but I'm not quite sure how to do it so that it still flows with the previous section. Additionally: "...Carter refuses to substantiate whether the two characters ever had sexual intercourse"; is that referencing a specific quote, or can it be rewritten to cover the canonnical ambiguity of their relationship overall?
  3. In the movie section: why should we care what cut the studios got of the film's take? Should we be spending that much of its brief summary discussing budget concerns at all?
  4. In "Seasons 7-9": That external link should probably be converted to a reference (and I really need to learn how to do that myself :P ).
  5. In "Trivia": "As has become commonplace with dramatic TV series in recent years..." Can we narrow down that timeframe a little?
  6. "Fan Terminology": More external links that could probably be refs (I'm pretty sure those are preferred).
  7. "Relationship to other..." > "The Lone Gunmen": I know it makes a lot of sense to put the info here, but this is the second time it's explained that "Jump the Shark" wraps up the spin-off.
  8. Refs: Are all those bulleted refs meant to be formatted differently from the others? Any way we can get those formatted and pointing to specific sections (or are they just general references)?
Here's to hoping, everyone, and keep up the good work. --InShaneee 02:10, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
Thanks for taking a crack at some of those, Thingymajig! --InShaneee 17:05, 1 July 2006 (UTC)
I changed up the movie section. If someone wants to find a source for me, it would be much obliged. I'm having some internet difficulties. - Zepheus 00:34, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
I don't think it was the first movie tie-in to a still running series. Off the top of my head...well, Transformers: The Movie comes to mind. --InShaneee 23:58, 2 July 2006 (UTC)
Hmm... I remember some factoid about the movie being the first something. Now I'm not sure specifically what. I'm deleting the sentence. - Zepheus (ツィフィアス) 22:15, 3 July 2006 (UTC)
Someone readded the blurb about the studio's box office cut, as well as the assertion that this was one of the lowest grossing tv tie-ins. The second part strongly smacks of original research, and the first part I still say doesn't need to be in this article. Thoughts? --InShaneee 16:42, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

There, it's been made a good article. Now there's the push to featured article. Thingymajig 14:42, 8 July 2006 (UTC)

Woo! Good job all, handshakes all around. --InShaneee 17:48, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
Nice! Way to go, guys. - Zepheus (ツィフィアス) 03:01, 9 July 2006 (UTC)
I want to say congratulations to all of those who helped with the great improvement of this article! You should be proud of yourselves. ---Charles 03:08, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image copyright problems

Several of the images currently used in the article are tagged incorrectly, or missing sources or fair use rationales. I uploaded a number of them - using the older copyrighting system - but I'm a little out of my league now. I'm fine, of course, with having them deleted, or deleting them myself, but I didn't want to do that without first seeing if anyone could lend a hand. If not, and we we're infringing on copyrights by using those images here, then by all means let's delete them from the page.

Frey 08:24, 22 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Trimming trivia

Sorry, I wasn't logged in when I made these cuts[3] to the Trivia section.

The section was tagged for cleanup ("This article's trivia section is too large") as of 8-5-06, so I went through and deleted several items that either I knew to be false, needed a citation or more explanation, or didn't seem actually interesting in the way of "trivia." I'll outline my reasoning for most of my deletions:

  • The X files were originally filed under "U" for "Unexplained," until they ran out of room. This isn't exactly trivia, it's just based on a kind of side joke from the flashback episode "Travelers." It doesn't have to do with the actual naming of the show.
  • Duchovny asks for Skinner to play a larger role so he, Duchovny, can get some time off. First off, it needs a citation. Secondly, which point in the series is it referring to? Duchovny always vied for more Skinner screen time (on behalf of Mitch Pileggi), but he did that from season three to season eight, and it's in seasons eight and nine that Skinner actually became a principal character. I think it's a shaky bit of "trivia" at the least.
  • The town from "Humbug" exists. Who cares?
  • Ironically, Duchovny doesn't believe in aliens and Anderson does. It needs a cite in any case, but I think this is based in a very old interview. Overall it smacks of a cheeky magazine headline (which is where it originated), and I don't think it's actually true.
  • Morgan and Wong started the monologues, which became a big part of all the later seasons. True, and an interesting bit of trivia. But maybe it belongs in the "Seasons 1-3"/Morgan & Wong section.
  • Mark Snow fell asleep on his keyboard and created the echo. Not according to commentary *I've* heard. It would need a cite.

Okay, that's about it. If you disagree, feel free to discuss it with me! If I don't hear anything, then I'll delete them/move them again, until asked to do otherwise.

--Frey 21:45, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

"This isn't exactly trivia" <-- since you raise the issue, can you provide an exact definition of "trivia" that we can apply? --JWSchmidt 00:39, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure, but to start, I think we could exclude facts that are revealed within the show itself. For items that we deem significant, we could sort them into the actual text of the article - ex. "Mulder eats sunflower seeds, a habit that he inherited from his father" would do better in the "Personality" section than the "Trivia" section of Mulder's article. --Frey 04:26, 7 August 2006 (UTC)
There's a Wikipedia article on Trivia that might be useful. - Zepheus (ツィフィアス) 19:54, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
I remember the Duchonvy-Anderson alien reversal, it was indeed in a magazine article, I believe. In Scully X-Posed (1997, ISBN 0761511113), it mentions that Scully "remained quite closed to intuition and the paranormal, while Gillian had confidence in both.". Don't have time to find the corresponding quote for Duchovny, but his should be easier. -- nae'blis 02:32, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
Okay, thanks! I think the distinction could still be made between intuition/paranormal and belief in aliens. --Frey 04:26, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

In reference to the Mark Snow creating the x-files theme, it's mentioned in one of the FX:Behind the Truth segments from one of the first three seasons. I think he just said his elbow slipped. I can't remember exactly.Muldernscully 18:57, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Yeah, that's what I remember! We can find a cite, I'm sure... --Frey 20:20, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

I checked my season 1 DVD the other day. It is on XF:Behind the Truth segment called 'Theme'. Mark Snow said that he had gone through several revisions, but CC felt that something was not quite right. Now paraphrasing Snow, "So Chris literally walks out of the room and I did this, (shows him placing his hand and forearm on keyboard *music plays*. I put my hand down on the keyboard and this sound was in the keyboard. And that was it." Muldernscully 19:48, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Good work on that. - Zepheus (ツィフィアス) 19:54, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

Found a secondary reference to a tv guide interview about the mulder/scully belief reversal here. Can't find anything about Final Destination (though if nothing can be found, it should be removed from that film's article, as well), and I'm betting the 'fox' thing is just speculation. --InShaneee 14:53, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gibson?

What's with the kid, "Gibson"? He's obviously psychic and seems to be a recurring character, so I thought I'd find an explanation if I came to Wikipedia. Maybe someone familiar with the show could flesh out the guest cast a bit more...? Cribcage 04:44, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

Hey, good idea. We're still missing a bunch of important mytharc characters. I just created a page for him - Gibson Praise. --Frey 22:24, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fandom needs a mention

I find it hard to believe that this article makes almost no mention of the fandom phenomenon. While it's commonplace for shows to have large online communities these days, complete with shippers of all varieties, The X-Files was surely one of the first (the first?) cross-over hit (Star Trek probably has true first place) to really run with usenet (no mention of ATXF and ATXC?! :o) and develop such a thriving fan community, especially wrt fan fiction. I mean you just don't see things like OBSSE with other shows... compare to Friends or Ally McBeal or... the difference is insane. People were so into it. And Chris Carter & the writers really fed off it. Man, it was only 10-15 years ago! Anyone else here with me? :/ --pfctdayelise (translate?) 12:12, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

Addendum: the major comparison would of course be BtVS, but X-files came first. :P

These references would probably be useful: "DDEB, GATB, MPPB, and Ratboy: The X-Files’ Media Fandom, Online and Off" in Deny All Knowledge: Reading The X-Files (a review is here); "YOUR SISTER IN ST. SCULLY': An Electronic Community of Female Fans of The X-Files" in the Journal of Popular Film and Television Fall 2001. pfctdayelise (translate?) 12:35, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree that it deserves mention. There was a section that had a short list of fan terms that was removed by an anonymous user. See this for the edit. We can put it back in and turn it into paragraphs if we use those books you listed as a basis. Do you want to work on that, pfctdayelise? - Zepheus (ツィフィアス) 20:00, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't think a list of fan acronyms is a good idea (there are dozens if not hundreds, for a start). I mean some discussion of the influence the online fan community had in the show's development and ongoing existence. I believe there was a lot more intense relationship between fans and the show's creators than most shows ever dream of. But I don't have access to the resources I mentioned. My library's catalogue sucks. :P pfctdayelise (translate?) 04:39, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

I wasn't saying that a list of terms/acroynms was a good idea (I don't like lists in general). I was merely showing that the page did at least have some mention of the fans at one point. I thought the information might be a useful starting point. - Zepheus (ツィフィアス) 17:49, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Hyphen?

Where did the hyphen come from? Imdb.com lists the show as "The X Files" and the screen cap from the title screen as depicted on the Wikipedia page does not show a hyphen. In my opinion, for what it's worth, the page should be redirected to "The X Files". 66.184.16.58 17:28, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

Huh. On the other hand, Foxhome.com lists it with the hyphen. I think the title's unusual font/design is the reason it doesn't seem to include the hyphen, but common usage and parent company usage seem to support it. Obviously we can't put the X in a circle, like the logo. Good eye, though. -- nae'blis 17:40, 29 August 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Fire connection

In the season one episode “fire”, is the fire casting entity human or alien? If he is alien, that means he was a member of the resistance that could control fire. I’m not sure if it is really that important, but I think there may be a connection. (Forgive me if I’m totally off, I’ve only just gotten to season 8.) ~PhantomBPR

[edit] GA Re-Review and In-line citations

Note: This article has a small number of in-line citations for an article of its size and subject content. Currently it would not pass criteria 2b.
Members of the Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles are in the process of doing a re-review of current Good Article listings to ensure compliance with the standards of the Good Article Criteria. (Discussion of the changes and re-review can be found here). A significant change to the GA criteria is the mandatory use of some sort of in-line citation (In accordance to WP:CITE) to be used in order for an article to pass the verification and reference criteria. It is recommended that the article's editors take a look at the inclusion of in-line citations as well as how the article stacks up against the rest of the Good Article criteria. GA reviewers will give you at least a week's time from the date of this notice to work on the in-line citations before doing a full re-review and deciding if the article still merits being considered a Good Article or would need to be de-listed. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us on the Good Article project talk page or you may contact me personally. On behalf of the Good Articles Project, I want to thank you for all the time and effort that you have put into working on this article and improving the overall quality of the Wikipedia project. Agne 03:48, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Theme

WOULD ONE CONSIDER X-FILES TO HAVE USED THE SAME INTRODUCTION THEME AND/OR INTRODUCTION SEQUENCE FOR THE LONGEST IN ITS ENTIRE RUN? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 211.28.35.126 (talk • contribs).

  • The Simpsons have been using the same theme for almost twice as many seasons. In fact, that title sequence has remained unchanged, whereas The X-Files sequence had to be changed to accomdate actors joining or leavng the show. -- Kicking222 20:45, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

The Simpsons title sequence is different every week. Bart is always writing something different on the chalkboard and the end sequence of the family plopping down on the sofa is different a lot. The X-Files, however, did not alter a single bit for 7 seasons. I have no idea if that is any kind of record. Shows like Bonanza or Gunsmoke that ran for 20 seasons, could conceivably have had static credit sequences. Muldernscully 15:46, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Not true

"At the time of its final episode, it was the longest running sci-fi show in American television history" - Not true, how about Doctor Who? At that time it 3 times more episodes. Please reference.

...Doctor Who is a british show... --InShaneee 01:59, 2 October 2006 (UTC)
Oh.. right.. Michaelas10 07:27, 3 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] X-Files Mythology DVD sets?

This article does not mention the X-Files Mythology DVD sets, such as this. Perhaps this should go in the DVD section. Should it? BartonM 13:47, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

I believe that would be a valuable addition. --Rob DiLLy 23:22, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

I have added the Mythology sets. It could be improved by creating a table (like the full season sets) and adding DVD box set cover art. BartonM 20:05, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Peer review.

Attention all X-Files editors. Please check out the peer review of this article at Wikipedia:Peer_review/The_X-Files. Let's work on the things that are brought up there. I've archived the automated review on my user subpage. Please check it out there and cross things out as you work on them. - Zepheus <ツィフィアス> 18:25, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] X-Files Vortex Image

If anyone has the first season of The X-Files on DVD, they can take a screencap and upload it over the leaf vortex image, putting in proper image info of course. - Zepheus <ツィフィアス> 05:44, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Though I believe it does now have sufficient info. --InShaneee 14:56, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
Oh. I didn't notice that had happened. Awesome work InShaneee. - Zepheus <ツィフィアス> 17:07, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Simply not true

"The show, perhaps to add to the mystique, never displayed episode titles on screen. It was one of the first TV series whose fans disseminated information such as this strictly via the Internet."

At the very beginning of the article but its not true. I recorded every episode of the first two seasons and got all the episode titles from TV Guide. A mcmurray 07:58, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] WikiProject X-Files

Would anyone be interested joining? I have created another WikiProject for South Park so I know what I'm doing.

Mr. Garrison •my userpage• my talk• my contributions•

[edit] Was vs. Is

What is the big deal of the first line of the article where it says, "The X-Files is/was an ..."? One person writes "is" and the next person comes along and changes it to "was". Is there a way we can resolve this revolving problem? Do the Wikipedia admins have a preference on how to refer to television shows that are no longer in production? The X-Files is still shown in syndication on various networks, but is not making new episodes. Therefore, it's kind of like a dead person whom you refer to in a past tense. I don't think using "was" diminishes the X-Files. What do other defunct televison series use? I personally don't mind either "is" or "was". I just want this constant switching back and forth between tenses to stop. Muldernscully 17:22, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Agreed on the flip-flopping. I have usually seen the tense change from present- to past-tense when production on the series ends. For example, Sons & Daughters (US TV series) uses "was". Happy Days uses "was". However, Frasier uses "is" once and then immediately switches to past tense; same with Arrested Development. If it were up to me, though, I'd change to "was" for anything that is no longer being produced; it just seems proper. I can't find a guideline right now, but there's probably one out there.- (Nuggetboy) (talk) (contribs) 18:04, 28 November 2006 (UTC)
I'm not sure if there's a guideline, but I believe that the preferred method is to use "is". The X-Files is a television show in the same way that Ulysses is a novel and Casablanca is a film. We don't say "Casablanca was a film", simply because it's no longer in cinemas. What's past tense about The X-Files is its original broadcast, not its nature as a TV show.--Nalvage 20:46, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

Good point, Nalvage.Muldernscully 15:06, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

I see your point, but remember that you're talking about a novel and a film, which are only ever "done" once. Perhaps your explanation makes more sense today than it would, say, 10 or 20 years ago when there weren't DVD releases for every series. I don't know, but when a TV show goes off the air, I think of it differently, as though it's "over" and needs to be looked back upon. But I'm sitting here arguing over the philosophy of "Was vs. Is" ... funny. Anyway, unless there's a policy to quote, we should probably leave it as it is. - (Nuggetboy) (talk) (contribs) 17:13, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
Creative works "are" (not "were") unless they have been lost or destroyed. thanks/Fenton, Matthew Lexic Dark 52278 Alpha 771 14:43, 1 December 2006 (UTC)
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