Volume 1 of The X-Files Mythology collection is a DVD release containing selected episodes from the first to the third seasons of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episodes collected in the release form the beginning of the series' mythology, and are centred on alien abduction at the hands of "colonists". Several of the elements introduced in the collected episodes arose through necessity during production, as working around the pregnancy of lead actress Gillian Anderson led to both the creation of unifying plot thread and the introduction of several recurring characters. The episodes in the collection follow the investigations of paranormal-related cases, or X-Files, by FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson). Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. Events covered in the episodes include the meeting of Mulder and Scully, the introduction and assassination of a secretive informant, the apparent return of Mulder's lost sister, and the abduction and return of Scully. The collection contains the first episodes in the series' mythology, or fictional story arcs. When the series began, Chris Carter did not think of creating a "mythology" for the episodes focusing on extraterrestrial life, because he felt that "they were just stories we wanted to tell". Eventually, however, the writers saw that the most "personal" episodes were those based on the government conspiracy, and, as such, developed more stories based around the conceit. Jerry Hardin, William B. Davis, Mitch Pileggi, Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund and Bruce Harwood all play supporting roles in the collection. Released on June 7, 2005, the collection received generally positive reviews from critics.
Plot summary FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) has made a name for himself working on X-Files—unexplained cases which may be paranormal in origin. He is appointed a partner in these investigations—Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson)—with his superiors hoping that she will be able to debunk and discredit his work. Their first case together is the investigation of possible abductions in Oregon, which falters when their evidence is destroyed in a fire. A later case, involving the disappearance of a United States Air Force test pilot, sees the introduction of secretive informant Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin), who continues to provide the agents sensitive information. This help is supplemented by conspiracy theorist group The Lone Gunmen, who are contacted for help in a further abduction case. Deep Throat is soon killed, however, when he helps the agents uncover details of a government human cloning program, and the X-Files unit is closed shortly thereafter. Unable to continue his work with Scully, Mulder obtains information about possible extraterrestrial contact in Puerto Rico, finding that the SETI program at the Arecibo Observatory is being forcibly closed. Although the pair are later allowed to resume their work, Scully is later kidnapped by an unhinged multiple alien abductee, Duane Barry. Barry takes Scully to a hilltop where she is then abducted, presumably by aliens. She is found comatose at a later date, having mysteriously arrived at a hospital, and recovers several days later. Mulder receives a call from his father, finding out that his sister Samantha (Megan Leitch), who had been abducted as a child, has returned. Samantha is being pursued by a shapeshifting bounty hunter, who is assassinating human clones. Samantha is killed, although it is revealed that she was simply one of a number of clones, produced using alien tissue to create an alien-human hybrid. The Lone Gunmen contact Mulder and Scully about a successful attempt by a friend of theirs to hack the United States Department of Defense computer system. The hacker, Kenneth Soona (Bernie Coulson), is able to give Mulder the downloaded information on a digital cassette. However, Soona is later assassinated, and the downloaded files are found to be written in Navajo. Contacting Albert Hosteen (Floyd Red Crow Westerman)—a Navajo man capable of translating the files—Mulder is shown a box-car full of what appear to be alien corpses. He is trapped in the box-car by the series' antagonist, The Smoking Man (William B. Davis), and left for dead after it is destroyed. He is later found and nursed back to health by Hosteen. Meanwhile, Scully investigates the possible involvement of the smallpox eradication program in human genetic experimentation, discovering that a Nazi scientist who defected during Operation Paperclip has been conducting human experimentation to create alien-human hybrids. Her sister Melissa (Melinda McGraw), however, is shot by assassins who mistake her for Dana, and dies in hospital that night.
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