The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original television series aired from September 1993 to May 2002 on Fox. During its original run, the program spanned nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A short tenth season consisting of six episodes ran from January to February 2016. Following the ratings success of this revival, The X-Files returned for an eleventh season of ten episodes, which ran from January to March 2018. In addition to the television series, two feature films have been released: The 1998 film The X-Files and the stand-alone film The X-Files: I Want to Believe, released in 2008, six years after the original television run had ended.
Fox William Mulder is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series The X-Files, played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterrestrial or paranormal activity as those of a conspiracy theorist and supernaturalist; however, his skeptical but supportive partner, Special Agent Dana Scully, often finds them to be unexpectedly correct. He and Scully work in the X-Files office, concerned with unsolved FBI cases that are often revealed to be supernatural or extraterrestrial in nature. Mulder was a main character for the first seven seasons, but was limited to a recurring character for the following two seasons. He returns as a main character for the tenth and eleventh seasons.
FBI Assistant Director Walter Sergei Skinner is a fictional character portrayed by American actor Mitch Pileggi on The X-Files and its short-lived spin-off The Lone Gunmen, both broadcast on Fox.
The sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on November 8, 1998, concluding on the same channel on May 16, 1999, and consisted of twenty-two episodes. The season continued from the 1998 feature film and focused heavily on FBI federal agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully's separation from the X-Files Division and the demise of the Syndicate—a "shadow government" group attempting to cover up the existence of extraterrestrials—in the two-part episode "Two Fathers" and "One Son".
The seventh season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1999, concluded on May 21, 2000, and consists of twenty-two episodes. Taking place after the destruction of the Syndicate, this season marks the end of various other story lines; during this season, Fox Mulder learned the true fate of his sister, Samantha.
Nicholas Lea is a Canadian actor known for his portrayal of Alex Krycek on The X-Files and of Tom Foss on Kyle XY.
Once a Thief is a remake of a 1991 film of the same name. Both films were directed by John Woo. The film was also made into a 1997 television series also of the same name. The remake aired on the Fox Network and was hoped to be the beginning of a weekly series, but Fox passed on it, and the series aired instead on the CTV Television Network in Canada.
"Sleepless" is the 4th episode of the second season and 28th overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on October 7, 1994. The episode was written by supervising producer Howard Gordon and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Sleepless" earned a Nielsen rating of 8.6 and was viewed by 8.2 million households. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.
"Ascension" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on October 21, 1994. It was written by Paul Brown, directed by Michael Lange, and featured guest appearances by Steve Railsback, Nicholas Lea, Steven Williams and Sheila Larken. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology.
"Apocrypha" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 16, 1996. It was directed by Kim Manners, and written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter. "Apocrypha" included appearances by John Neville, Don S. Williams and Brendan Beiser. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Apocrypha" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.8, being watched by 16.71 million people in its initial broadcast.
"Tunguska" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premièred on the Fox network on November 24, 1996. It was directed by Kim Manners, and written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter. "Tunguska" featured guest appearances by John Neville, Nicholas Lea and Fritz Weaver. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology. "Tunguska" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.2, being watched by 18.85 million people in its initial broadcast.
"Terma" is the ninth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on December 1, 1996. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter. "Terma" featured guest appearances by John Neville, Nicholas Lea and Fritz Weaver. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology. "Terma" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.3, being watched by 17.34 million viewers during its original airing.
Volume 2 of The X-Files Mythology collection is the second DVD release containing selected episodes from the third to the fifth seasons of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episodes collected in the release form the middle of the series' mythology, and are centered on the discovery of a mind-altering extraterrestrial "black oil".
"The Red and the Black" is the fourteenth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by series creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, directed by Carter and aired in the United States on March 8, 1998, on the Fox network. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.0, being watched by 19.98 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received moderately positive reviews from critics.
"S.R. 819" is the ninth episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 17, 1999, in the United States. The episode was written by John Shiban, and directed by Daniel Sackheim. The episode helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. "S.R. 819" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.1, being watched by 15.7 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Two Fathers" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season and the 128th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on February 7, 1999, on the Fox Network and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on Sky1. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.5, a total of 18.81 million viewers. The episode received mostly positive reviews.
"Requiem" is the twenty-second episode and the finale of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files, and the show's 161st episode overall. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on May 21, 2000. The episode was written by Chris Carter, and directed by Kim Manners. The episode helped to explore the series' overarching mythology. "Requiem" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.9, being watched by 15.26 million viewers in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics. Many applauded the way it made the series' increasingly marginalized alien mythology relevant again, although others lamented the partial loss of David Duchovny.
"Essence" is the twentieth and penultimate episode of the eighth season and the 181st episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on May 13, 2001, on Fox, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom. It was written by executive producer Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners. "Essence" earned Nielsen rating of 7.7 and was viewed by 12.8 million viewers. The episode received largely positive reviews from critics.
"Deadalive" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and was directed by Tony Wharmby. It explores the series' alien mythology story arc. Following its North American premiere on April 1, 2001, it received a Nielsen household rating of 7.3 and was watched by 12.4 million viewers. It garnered mixed reviews; while most critics were happy with the return of actor David Duchovny, some criticized the episode's plot holes. It later won the show's last Emmy Award, for Outstanding Makeup.
"Existence" is the twenty-first episode and final episode of the eighth-season of the science fiction television series The X-Files and 182nd episode overall. The episode first premiered on Fox in the United States on May 20, 2001, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on June 28, 2001, on Sky1. It was written by executive producer Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners. "Existence" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.4 and was watched by 8.58 million households and 14 million viewers, overall. The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics.
