|
Merchandise related to the American television The X-Files franchise includes VHS and DVD sets, compact discs, video games, t-shirts and a magazine devoted specifically to the show.
Some of composer Mark Snow's music from the first three seasons of The X-Files was released on the album The Truth and the Light - Music from the X-Files, which also included dialogue from the show.
Snow's main X-Files theme was released with other songs used in and inspired by the show (by such artists as Soul Coughing, Nick Cave, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and PM Dawn among others) on the 1996 soundtrack Songs in the Key of X. For the release of the theme as a single a music video was created with clips from the show (this video was not included as bonus features on any DVD/VHS sets). The theme song was remixed by The Dust Brothers on the movie soundtrack The X-Files: The Album, which also included songs by the Foo Fighters, X, Björk, Filter, Sting & Aswad, and others.
Snow also released the score of The X-Files movie.
Many fans yearned for the scoring of various episodes of the show (having been disappointed with the Truth and the Light release). In May 2011 the first of two volumes of Mark Snow's score for the series was release in a very satisfying 4 disc box set. Included here, was some of the music from The Truth and the Light (sans the hokey dialogue). The set came complete with detailed descriptions of each cue. Although it is only the first installment of two volumes, this release includes tracks all the way through to the very end final scene of the series. Somewhat satisfying, it seems much of (or at least half of) the complete score is being left for the final release of Vol 2 in 2012.
The entire series is currently available on DVD by season.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The entire series was re-released on DVD in late 2005-early 2006, in a "slimmer" package, sans some bonus materials that were featured in the original fold out versions. Seasons 6, 7 and 8 contain all of the bonus material found in the original versions. All other seasons in the U.S. region 1 DVDs are missing the additional special features. European editions of the slim sets include all the features of the original packages. In Australia after the original release of the series (each season was a fold out box set), the series was re-repacked where each season was split into two parts (part 1 and part 2) and then on 5 September 2007, the series was re-packed into slimline sets.
These DVD sets contain the episodes related to the conspiracy mythology, and avoids the stand-alone episodes. There are four volumes detailing different storylines.[1][2]
Fox released The X-Files: The Ultimate Collection DVD set in Region 1 on November 6, 2007, which includes all 9 seasons and the first movie. The bonus features are the same as the previous sets, with the addition of the bonus features produced for the mythology box sets and special DVD-Rom games. It also includes a season one comic book and a theatrical poster of the first movie and totals 61 discs.
A Region 2 version, called The X-Files: The Complete Collector's Edition, was released on November 19, 2007, and contained the series (1-9), series guide, the movie and the bonus features disk.
In Australia, the complete series set was released on 25 November 2008. This set contains 61 DVDs. This includes all 9 seasons and the first and second movies. Over 28 hours of special features. Packaged as a beautiful slide out book. The set is called "The X Files: Uncover The Truth Collection."
Frank Spotnitz stated on his blog that there are no current plans to release the show on Blu-ray.[3]
Before the DVD full season releases, The X-Files had its episodes released in VHS season sets in parts of the world, as well as selected single episodes put together. There was other material released on VHS, such as The X Files - Forensic Evidence Box and the X Files Trivia Game.
The original VHS release of The X-Files in North America consisted of selected episodes from each of the first four seasons, which were released on a staggered basis beginning in 1996.
Each "wave" was three VHS tapes, each containing two episodes, for a total of six episodes per wave and two waves per season (for example, the home video release of Wave 1 drew from the first half of the first season: "Pilot"/"Deep Throat", "Conduit"/"Ice" and "Fallen Angel"/"Eve"). Each wave was also available in a boxed set. Ultimately 12 episodes (approximately half the total number aired) were selected by Chris Carter to represent each season, including nearly all "mythology arc" episodes and selected standalone episodes. Carter would briefly introduce each episode on the tape with an explanation of why it was chosen and anecdotes from the set. These same clips were later included on The X-Files full season DVDs. Wave 8 covering the last part of the fourth season was the last to be released. VHS "wave" tapes were not released for the fifth and later seasons, so there are no Carter "interviews" for selected episodes included on those DVDs.
The last wave (wave 8 of the VHS series) did not have collectible cards (one per video tape) as had been included in each of the previous 7 waves /releases.
The X-Files has inspired two and a half video games. In 1998, The X-Files: The Game was released for the PC and Macintosh and a year later for the PlayStation. This game is set within the timeline of the second or third season and follows an Agent Craig Willmore in his search for the missing Mulder and Scully.
In 2000, Fox Interactive released The X-Files: Unrestricted Access, a game-style database for Windows and Mac, which allowed users access to every case file.
Then, in 2004, The X-Files: Resist or Serve was released for the PlayStation 2. This game is an original story set in the seventh season and allows the player control of both Mulder and Scully. Both games feature acting and voice work from members of the series' cast.
The X-Files spawned an official periodical, released monthly by FOX. It included articles about the series, main and guest stars (with interviews), the creators, sets and future episodes.
During the run of the hit TV series The X-Files, many books based on it were released, written, including novels based on episodes, a series of comic books from Topps Comics, and many "official" and "unauthorized" non-fiction books.
Some of the novels, which were published in both hardcover and trade paperback editions, came out as audio books read by two of the series' stars, Gillian Anderson and Mitch Pileggi.
The X-Files has been the basis of a number of comics, notably a series from Topps Comics, with creators like Tony Isabella, Stefan Petrucha and Charlie Adlard.[4] Most recently, Wildstorm has signed Frank Spotnitz to a three comic book deal, the first of which will be released two weeks before the premiere of The X-Files: I Want to Believe.[5]
Publication history
Main series was published by Topps Comics and ran for 41 issues from January 1995 to September 1998.
There were also two limited series: Ground Zero was a four-issue mini-series (December 1997 - March 1998) and Season One which ran for 9 issues (July 1997 - July 1998).
The digest consisted of three issues published twice yearly from December 1995 - December 1996, with separate titles: "Big Foot, Warm Heart," "Dead to the World" and "Scape Goats." The first two also included stories from the Ray Bradbury Comics.
There were also a number of one-offs like the Hero Illustrated Special (March 1995), and graphic novels like Afterflight (August 1997).
Wildstorm are releasing, "The X-Files Special", in August 2008. It will be a one-shot to coincide with the release of the second film written by Frank Spotnitz with art by Brian Denham. The deal Spotnitz signed is for another two comics.
The three digests contained stories on Bigfoot being hunted, the Count of St. Germain and the chupacabra, respectively.
Afterflight dealt with elements of the mystery airship flap.
Fight the Future was the official film adaptation, "Fight the Future" being the films subtitle used to differentiate it from the television series.
Season One adapted some of the episodes from the first season: "Pilot", "Deep Throat", "Squeeze", "Conduit", "Ice", "Space", "Fire", "Beyond the Sea" and "Shadows". Two others, "The Jersey Devil" and "Ghost in the Machine", were solicited but never published.
Despite coinciding with the film, "The X-Files Special" won't be an adaptation but is set in what the writer calls "the classic period of the X-Files" - between Season 2 and Season 5. While this is a stand-alone story he will be writing two more which fit into the broader conspiracy theory that developed, saying "the next ones that I am going to write tie into the mythology of the show not in a way that changes the path but deepens it a little bit."
Tony Isabella reported difficulties with The X-Files creator Chris Carter over the Topps Comics' series:
"[W]hoever was approving the comics over in Chris Carter Land were the poster kids for anal retentiveness. Although it's possible that they were so picky because they never wanted the comics out there in the first place. The main reason the comics fell behind schedule was because it took so long to satisfy the X-Files people. They went over everything with a fine-tooth comb, including the letters columns. ... I rarely ran negative letters in these columns because the [Topps] editors were afraid that the X-Files people would want even more changes in the material. Almost from the start, there were never enough usable letters for our needs. That's why I started including the "Deep Postage" news items — and making up letters completely. I also wrote the Xena letters columns, but those were a lot easier to produce."
The series has been collected into trade paperbacks. In the UK, Titan Books did a near complete run but in the US Topps stopped at #12, but recently Checker Book Publishing started publishing the rest (although they restarted the numbering again).
Other volumes include:
The X-files have spawned a number of popular posters from the series from likenesses of the cast to the I want to believe poster.
The I want to believe poster hanging in Mulder's basement FBI X-Files office was actually changed after the first season. Viewers wanting the poster created quite a demand but the first season version was created by the X-files production team as a one off poster and it couldn't be mass-produced. In season 2 it was switched to another UFO poster that the X-files store could sell.[6]
In 1994, Delphi was the "official" online service of The X-Files. They hosted X-Files chats in a time before the popularity of the World Wide Web.[7]
Several novels based on Millennium episodes have been written:
Some titles were also released as audiobooks read by actor Bill Smitrovitch.
As of 2009, two soundtrack albums by Mark Snow have been released. The first ("The Best Of Millennium") was released in 2003 on iTunes only. It comprised 22 tracks from all three seasons. The second was released in 2008 as a limited edition 2 CD set of 2000 copies by La-La-Land Records.[1] It comprised 51 tracks. Some of the tracks on the two releases are the same.
A 12 inch Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) figurine (ASIN: B0007XOF2O) was issued by Sideshow in the same mold as X-Files Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) figure features over 30 points of articulation and includes a Webley revolver, old school .45 & holster, pager, cell phone, flashlight, Millennium case file with photos, and an X-Files 12-inch figure display base. It can be purchased on most common auction and marketplace websites.
On 28 October 2008, 20th Century Fox released Millennium: The Complete Series - an 18 disc boxset featuring all 68 episodes of the series.
| Season | Nr of episodes |
Extra features | Release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (1996-1997) |
22 | Commentary by Chris Carter on The Pilot, Commentary by director David Nutter on Gehenna, "Order in Chaos: Making Millennium Season One" documentary, "Chasing the Dragon: A Conversation with the Academy Group": a look at real-life profilers, Creating the logo and title sequence, Pilot TV spots. |
July 20, 2004 | |
| 2nd (1997-1998) |
23 | Commentary on two episodes by director Thomas J. Wright and writer Michael R. Perry, "The Turn of the Tide: Making of Season Two" featurette, "Academy Group: Victimology" featurette. |
January 4, 2005 | |
| 3rd (1998-1999) |
22 | Commentary by Lance Henriksen and Klea Scott on The Innocents, Commentary by director Thomas J. Wright on Collateral Damage, Bonus episode: The X-Files season 7 episode "Millennium", "End Game: Making Millennium Season 3" documentary, "Between the Lines" featurette. |
September 6, 2005 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||