science

The X-Files

The X-Files is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand The X-Files rather than just read about it. In short: The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002, on Fox, spanning nine seasons, with 202 episodes.

Key takeaways

The X-Files belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect The X-Files to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of The X-Files from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002, on Fox, spanning nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A tenth season 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 ended. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who investigate the eponymous "X-Files": marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder is a skilled criminal profiler, an ardent supernaturalist, and a conspiracy theorist who believes in the existence of the paranormal, whereas Scully is a medical doctor and skeptic who has been assigned to scientifically analyze Mulder's case files. Early in the series, both agents apparently become pawns in a much larger conflict and come to trust only each other and select others. The agents discover what appears to be a governmental agenda to hide evidence of extraterrestrial life. Mulder and Scully's shared adventures initially lead them to develop a close platonic bond, which develops into a complex romantic relationship. Roughly one third of the series' episodes follow a complicated mythopoeia-driven story arc about a planned alien invasion, whereas the other two-thirds may be described as "monster of the week" episodes that focus on a single villain, mutant, or monster. The X-Files was inspired by earlier television series featuring elements of suspense, horror, and speculative science fiction, including The Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Tales from the Darkside, Twin Peaks, and especially Kolchak: The Night Stalker. When creating the main characters, Carter sought to reverse gender stereotypes by making Mulder a believer and Scully a skeptic. The first seven seasons featured Duchovny and Anderson relatively equally. In the eighth and ninth seasons, Anderson took precedence while Duchovny appeared intermittently. New main characters were introduced: FBI Special Agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), among others. Mulder and Scully's immediate superior, Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), began to appear regularly. The first five seasons of The X-Files were filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, before production eventually moved to Los Angeles, apparently to accommodate Duchovny's schedule. However, the series later returned to Vancouver with the filming of The X-Files: I Want to Believe as well as the tenth and eleventh seasons. The X-Files was a hit for the Fox network and received largely positive reviews, although its long-term story arc was criticized near the conclusion. Initially considered a cult series, it turned into a pop culture touchstone that tapped into public mistrust of governments and large institutions and embraced conspiracy theories and spirituality. Both the series and lead actors Duchovny and Anderson received multiple awards and nominations, and by its conclusion the show was the longest-running science fiction series in American television history. The series also spawned a franchise that includes spin-offs Millennium and The Lone Gunmen, the aforementioned two theatrical films, and accompanying merchandise.

Premise

General The X-Files follows Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Special Agent Mulder is a talented profiler and conspiracy theorist, and an ardent supernaturalist. He is also adamant about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and its presence on Earth. These beliefs earn him the nickname "Spooky Mulder" and an assignment to a little-known department that deals with unsolved cases, the X-Files. His belief in the paranormal springs from the claimed alien abduction of his sister Samantha Mulder when Mulder was 12. Her abduction drives Mulder throughout most of the series. Because of this, as well as more nebulous desires for vindication and the revelation of truths kept hidden by human authorities, Mulder struggles to maintain objectivity in his investigations. Special Agent Scully is a foil for Mulder in this regard. As a medical doctor and natural skeptic, Scully approaches cases with detachment, even when Mulder, despite his considerable training, loses his objectivity. She is partnered with Mulder initially so that she can debunk Mulder's nonconforming theories, often supplying logical, scientific explanations for the cases' apparently unexplainable phenomena. Although she is frequently able to offer scientific alternatives to Mulder's deductions, she is rarely able to refute them completely. Over the course of the series, she becomes increasingly dissatisfied with her own ability to approach the cases scientifically. After Mulder's abduction at the hands of aliens in the seventh season finale "Requiem", Scully becomes a "reluctant believer" who explains the paranormal with science. Various episodes also deal with the relationship between Mulder and Scully, originally platonic, but that later develops romantically. Mulder and Scully are joined by John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) late in the series, after Mulder is abducted. Doggett replaces him as Scully's partner and helps her search for him, later involving Reyes, of whom Doggett had professional knowledge. The initial run of The X-Files ends when Mulder is secretly subjected to a military tribunal for breaking into the top-secret Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center and viewing plans for alien invasion and colonization of Earth. He is found guilty and sentenced to death but escapes punishment with the help of the other agents, and he and Scully become fugitives.

Mythology

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with The X-Files

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what The X-Files claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to The X-Files before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about The X-Files ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of The X-Files

In research: The X-Files appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses The X-Files in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: The X-Files is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1990s American drama television series, 1990s American horror television series, 1990s American mystery television series, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for The X-Files outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “The X-Files” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study The X-Files in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what The X-Files means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain The X-Files out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is The X-Files in simple terms?

Why does The X-Files matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study The X-Files?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on The X-Files.