The eighth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing in the United States on November 5, 2000, concluded on May 20, 2001, and consisted of twenty-one episodes. Season eight takes place after Fox Mulder's alien abduction in the seventh season. The story arc for the search of Mulder continues until the second half of the season, while a new arc about Dana Scully's pregnancy is formed. This arc would continue, and end, with the next season. The season explores various themes such as life, death, and belief.
The ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing in the United States on November 11, 2001, concluded on May 19, 2002, and consists of twenty episodes. The season takes place after Fox Mulder goes into hiding, following the events of the eighth season finale, "Existence". As such, the main story arc for the season follows Dana Scully, John Doggett, and Monica Reyes on their hunt to reveal a government conspiracy involving the elaborate and malevolent creation of "Super Soldiers".
FBI Special Agent John Jay Doggett is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series The X-Files. With his FBI partners Dana Scully and Monica Reyes, they work on the X-Files together, which is concerned with cases with particularly mysterious or possibly supernatural circumstances that were left unsolved and shelved by the FBI. John Doggett is played by Robert Patrick. Doggett was a main character from the eighth to ninth seasons (2000–2002), replacing David Duchovny's character Fox Mulder. Doggett appeared in the opening credits and every episode from the season eight premiere to the final episode of season 9.
Monica Julieta Reyes is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series The X-Files. She is portrayed by Annabeth Gish. At first a Field Agent before becoming a Special Agent with the FBI, she works with her longtime friend and partner John Doggett in the X-Files office, which is concerned with the investigation of paranormal cases, dubbed "X-Files". Introduced in the series' eighth season, Reyes would become a main character throughout the entirety of its ninth season, before returning for a single-episode guest appearance in the tenth-season finale, and later in a recurring capacity during season eleven.
"Jump the Shark" is the fifteenth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on April 21, 2002 on the Fox network. It was written by executive producers Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Cliff Bole. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode—unconnected to the series' wider mythology—and was created to give closure for The Lone Gunmen television series, which was a spin-off of The X-Files. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 5.1 and was viewed by 8.6 million viewers. The episode received mixed to negative reviews from television critics.
Alvin D. Kersh is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction television series The X-Files, played by James Pickens Jr. He serves as a figure of authority within the series, first introduced as an Assistant Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is later promoted to the post of Deputy Director. Kersh acts as an antagonist who bureaucratically prevents Special Agents Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, John Doggett and Monica Reyes from investigating cases dealing with the paranormal, dubbed X-Files.
The X-Files Mythology – Volume 4 collection is the fourth DVD release containing selected episodes from the eighth to the ninth seasons of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episodes collected in the release form the end of the series' mythology, and are centered on those that involve the alien "Super Soldiers" and Dana Scully's son, William.
"4-D" is the fourth episode of the ninth season and the 186th episode overall of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on December 9, 2001, on the Fox network. It was written by Steven Maeda and directed by Tony Wharmby. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the mythology, or overarching fictional history, of The X-Files. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 5.1 and was viewed by 5.38 million households. It received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
"Nothing Important Happened Today" refers to the two premiere episodes of the ninth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. Part 1 first aired on November 11 and Part 2 aired on November 18, 2001, on Fox in the United States. The episodes were written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz. "Nothing Important Happened Today I" was directed by Kim Manners and "Nothing Important Happened Today II" was directed by Tony Wharmby. The episode helped to explore the series' overarching mythology and earned a Nielsen rating of 6.5 and was viewed by 10.6 million viewers, whereas the second part earned a rating of 5.9 and was viewed by 9.4 million viewers. Critical reception to the episode was largely mixed.
"Dæmonicus" is the third episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files and the show's 185th episode overall. It first premiered on the Fox network in the United States on December 2, 2001. The episode was written and directed by executive producer Frank Spotnitz. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the mythology, or overarching fictional history, of The X-Files. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 5.5 and its premiere was viewed by 5.80 million households. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.
"Providence" is the tenth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on March 10, 2002, and later aired in the United Kingdom on BBC One on January 19, 2003. The episode was written by series creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Carter. "Providence" helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 5.2 and was viewed by 8.4 million viewers. The episode received mixed reviews from critics; some reviewers enjoyed the story and the show's way of integrating an absent Fox Mulder into the storyline, whereas others felt the plot was ludicrous.
"Hellbound" is the eighth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It originally aired on the Fox network on January 27, 2002. It was written by David Amann and directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology, or the overarching fictional history. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 5.1 and was viewed by 7.8 million viewers in its initial broadcast. It received positive reviews from television critics.
"Provenance" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on March 3, 2002. The episode was written by series creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Kim Manners. "Provenance" helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. The episode received a Nielsen household rating of 5.5 and was watched by 5.8 million households and 9.7 million viewers. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Scary Monsters" is the fourteenth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 14, 2002. It was written by Thomas Schnauz and directed by Dwight H. Little. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the mythology, or overarching fictional history, of The X-Files. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 5.1 and was viewed by 8.2 million viewers in its initial broadcast. It received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
"William" is the sixteenth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, which originally aired on the Fox network on April 28, 2002. The teleplay of the episode was written by series creator Chris Carter, from a story by former series star David Duchovny, Carter, and executive producer Frank Spotnitz; the entry was directed by Duchovny. "William" helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. The episode received a Nielsen household rating of 5.8, being watched by 6.1 million households and 9.3 million viewers upon its initial broadcast. It received mixed reviews from television critics, many of whom were unhappy with the episode's conclusion.
"Release" is the seventeenth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode originally aired on the Fox network on May 5, 2002. The teleplay for the episode was written by David Amann, from a story by John Shiban and Amann, and was directed by Kim Manners. The episode helps to explore one of the show's story arcs involving John Doggett finding the truth behind his son's murder. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 5.1, being watched by 5.38 million households, and 7.8 million viewers in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews from critics.
"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.
"This Is Not Happening" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season and the 175th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on February 25, 2001, on the Fox Network, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Kim Manners, and forms part of the series' overarching mythology. The episode received a Nielsen household rating of 9.7 and was watched by 16.9 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the season. "This Is Not Happening" was received positively by television critics.
The mythology of The X-Files, sometimes referred to as its "mytharc" by the show's staff and fans, follows the quest of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder, a believer in supernatural phenomena, and Dana Scully, his skeptical partner. Their boss, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, was also often involved. Beginning with season 8, another skeptic named John Doggett, and Monica Reyes, a believer like Mulder, were also introduced. The overarching story, which spans events as early as the 1940s, is built around a government conspiracy to hide the truth about alien existence and their doomsday plan. Not all episodes advanced the mythology plot, but those that did were often set up by Mulder or Scully via an opening monologue.
