Written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Rob Bowman, “Pusher” is one of those so-called “signature episodes” of The X-Files that I discussed a little bit last week, in my review of “Syzygy.” No matter how many times you’ve seen this third season installment a re-watch immediately draws you in, and you find yourself glued to the television through the nail-biting final act. Part of the reason this episode succeeds so splendidly is because it establishes a nasty psychic assassin, Robert Patrick Modell (Robert Wisden) as a dark reflection of the Mulder ... [Continua a leggere]

Although it is not widely considered a signature episode of The X-Files (1993 – 2002) like “The Host,” “Irresistible,” “Home,” “Pusher,” or “Bad Blood,” Chris Carter’s “Syzygy” is nonetheless one of my favorite installments of the two-hundred-plus strong catalog. In part that position of favor arises from the episode’s deliberate and crafty re-purposing of familiar horror tropes. In a very real way, the story is a wicked inversion of Stephen King’s Carrie (1976). Only here, the victimizers and not ... [Continua a leggere]

Writer Darin Morgan returns to The X-Files (1993 - 2002) with "The War of the Coprophages," another humorous installment that gazes at humanity with unblinking and unromantic eyes. In particular, the story involves the “insect mind” as it relates to cockroaches. However, “The War of the Coprophages” also compares the relative purity and simplicity of the insect mind to the “over-developed” human mind, a biological machine which permits for non-useful responses or “reactions” to threats; responses such as paranoia or hysteria, for example. These ... [Continua a leggere]

Few people have as much insight into the rise and run of "The X-Files" as Frank Spotnitz. Spotnitz joined the show as a writer in its second season and worked as a writer/producer until the Fox drama ended its nine-season run. He rose to the level of executive producer, directed episodes of the show and worked on the "X-Files" movies that were released during and after the show's run. None of it was easy. Part of the reason an obscure show that aired on Friday nights rose to such heights of popularity and influence was because Chris Carter, the show's creator and executive producer, was a d ... [Continua a leggere]

“2Shy” is another brilliantly-conceived and executed third season installment of the Chris Carter series The X-Files (1993 – 2002), one that considers 1990s social mores in terms of a then-new technological advance: the Internet. Today, the term “internet predator” is a common one, and it defines a person who utilizes the world-wide web for purposes of unsavory or even illegal activities, usually involving sex. “2Shy” imagines a literal predator of this sort: a genetic mutant, Virgil Incanto (Timothy Carhart) who talks female users of the net into ... [Continua a leggere]

On Sept. 10, 1993, a show called "The X-Files" premiered on Fox, and just over 20 years later "Breaking Bad" will air its series finale on AMC. Those events have a lot more in common than you might think. Vince Gilligan, the creator of "Breaking Bad," got his start in television by writing for "The X-Files." He was toiling away as a film writer and living in Virginia when a meeting with "X-Files" creator Chris Carter changed his life. "I learned everything I pretty much know about TV from 'The X-Files' and from working for Chris, and from working with ['X-Files writer/producers] Fran ... [Continua a leggere]

Il Comic Con 2013 ha deciso di festeggiare il 20esimo anniversario dalla nascita di X-Files con una serie di appuntamenti dedicati alla serie tv sci-fi. Innanzitutto si terrà un panel il 18 luglio, a cui inizialmente avrebbero dovuto partecipare solo il creatore Chris Carter e altri addetti ai lavori. Tuttavia, oggi giunge la conferma che saranno presenti anche i due beniamini del pubblico Mulder e Scully, ovvero David Duchovny e Gillian Anderson. Per quanto riguarda quest’ultima, è stato il suo sito ufficiale a diffondere la lieta novella, specificando che l’attrice ... [Continua a leggere]

[UPDATE 3] We’ve reached out to TV Guide Magazine’s L.A. Bureau Chief Michael Schneider, and moderator of the X-Files 20th Anniversary Reunion Panel, who has confirmed that David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will both be at the panel. Line up now, folks. [UPDATE 2] The Official Gillian Anderson website released a news statement confirming that Gillian Anderson will be at the TV Guide Magazine Celebrates The X-Files 20th Anniversary panel, as well as a panel for an X-Files comic book. [UPDATE] We now have confirmatio ... [Continua a leggere]

“Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” brings a new philosophy to The X-Files, straight from one-of-a-kind writer Darin Morgan (“Humbug.”) Previously, on The X-Files, we have seen commentary about belief vs. skepticism, and religion vs. science. However, this episode introduces to the series the concept of caustic, cynical nihilism; the notion that life is without intrinsic purpose or value, and perhaps even absurd to its core. In a series that often concerns faith, commitment, truth, and “never giving up,” this (brief) turn towards nihilism nonetheless -- ... [Continua a leggere]

In vista del 20esimo anniversario, che cade il 10 settembre 2013, quest’anno anche X-Files avrà un panel al Comic-Con, per l’occasione moderato da TvGuide. L’evento si terrà giovedì 18 luglio e vedrà coinvolti il creatore Chris Carter assieme agli sceneggiatori e produttori David Amann, Vince Gilligan, Howard Gordon, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, John Shiban e Jim Wong. Il sito ufficiale di Gillian Anderson riporta che l’ex protagonista della serie sarà presente, anche se nella lista di TvGuide, al momento, il suo nome e quello di David ... [Continua a leggere]

It’s hard to believe, but The X-Files premiered 20 years ago this September. As it turns out, to celebrate the show reaching this milestone, there will be a big reunion panel next month at San Diego Comic-Con. SDCCBlog.com gave us the heads up about The X-Files reunion, noting that the latest issue of TV Guide Magazine has an ad for the panel, which will take place on Thursday, July 18th and will feature series creator Chris Carter and writer/producers David Amann, Vince Gilligan, Howard Gordon, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, John Shiban and Jim Wong. The X-Files’ writers have been a ... [Continua a leggere]

I’ve written about this idea before in specific relation to an earlier season two entry, “The Host,” but The X-Files strikes me as one of the most potent horror series in television history because it often deals at point-blank range with the underneath “sausage-making” of our industrial, technological, late-20th century culture. In terms of “The Host,” the entire episode spawned an uncomfortable awareness of what happens when you flush the toilet. Where does the waste go? What happens to it? How is it treated? How is it disposed? And finally, what ... [Continua a leggere]

Steely, but with an underlying softness. A woman to make men weak, but also a feminist who values female company. Engaging, but ultimately a little cool and enigmatic. All could apply equally to Gillian Anderson or DSI Stella Gibson, the detective she plays in the BBC2 drama The Fall. If they're a good fit for each other, it's no coincidence. Allan Cubitt, the creator of the series, started writing the screenplay in 2010 with Anderson in mind, long before she had been approached. "I just thought she was the best person to play the part as I had conceived it," he says. He sent her the first ... [Continua a leggere]

If I were compiling my top ten list of X-Files episodes, the second season installment “F. Emasculata” would definitely make the cut. Not coincidentally, it would also take the number one slot for “most disgusting episode” of the long-lived sci-fi/horror series. In this episode, Mulder and Scully battle a deadly, incredibly contagious disease, and most not only stop its transmission, but make some tough choices about how much information the public has a right to know in times of an emergency. What makes this episode by Chris Carter and Howard Gordon such a visceral, ... [Continua a leggere]

Gillian Anderson has been appearing on our TV screens rather a lot of late, turning up in NBC's Hannibal and another serial killer series, The Fall, here in the UK. In the Empire Podcast studio to talk about both those shows - as well as a little phenomenon some like to call "The X-Files" - Anderson is frank, funny and slightly forgetful in our hour-long special as she talks about her pub quiz adventures with Simon Pegg, an upcoming project known as 'The Curse Of The Buxom Strumpet' and what X-memorabilia she stole back in the day... ... [Continua a leggere]