The X Files

Guide Note

The X Files was a popular science fiction TV series starring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi and Robert Patrick. The show hit the big screen in 1998.

Fast Facts

1. Created by: Chris Carter
2. Premiered: September 10, 1993
3. Final episode: May 19, 2002
4. Network: FOX
5. Emmys: 16
6. First film release: June 19, 1998
7. July 25, 2008: The X-Files: I Want to Believe
8. Spinoffs: The Lone Gunmen, Millenium

Special Agent Dana Sculley (Gillian Anderson) is assigned to a small division of the FBI called the X-Files. Her partner, who is the other half of the division, is Special Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), who has a reputation as a difficult-to-work-with eccentric within the Bureau. She's told to ride herd on Mulder, and balance out his belief in extraterrestrial and supernatural phenomena with her own skepticism. The two uncover many unusual things that cannot be explained away, and eventually reveal a large government conspiracy.

In 1998, a feature film of The X-Files, with the same title, was released. The events in the film take place between season 5 and season 6 of the series, and the movie is heavily dependent on the ongoing plot of the series. A second film, titled The X-Files: I Want to Believe, has a release date of July 25, 2008. Creator Chris Carter has said that the adventure in this film is designed to stand on its own.

Vancouver, where The X Files was filmed, is a hotbed for production of science fiction and fantasy televisions. If you watch more than one, you may see some familiar faces. X Files actors who've made the rounds include:

1. Mitch Pileggi (Stargate Atlantis, Reaper)
2. Robert Patrick (Stargate Atlantis)
3. Nicholas Lea (Kyle XY)
4. William B. Davis (Stargate SG-1, Smallville)
5. Bruce Harwood (Stargate SG-1, The Dead Zone)
6. Bill Dow (Stargate SG-1, Kyle XY)
7. Steven Williams (Stargate SG-1)
8. Steve Bacic (Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, Andromeda)