The Truth Is Out There: Things You Never Knew About ‘The X-Files’

For seven awesome seasons (and few others after that), an intrepid and select crew of FBI agents scoured the darkest corners of our imagination to find to the truth. The X-Files, Chris Carter’s seminal science fiction series, is one of the most influential procedurals in television history. Yet, how well-versed are you on Mulder and Scully’s adventures? There’s plenty to be uncovered on both sides of the camera, so, here, for your consideration, are a few things you may not know about The X-Files. The truth is out there…

1. Mulder and Scully Were Based On the Same Person

Which is to say that the show’s creator, Chris Carter, began with the dueling voices inside his own head and formed people around those profound cores. As he said, “They are the equal parts of my desire to believe in something and my inability to believe in something. My skepticism and my faith.”

2. ‘The X-Files’ Initially Got Rejected

When Chris Carter got the opportunity to create shows for Fox (how do you get that job, by the way?), he wanted to do something a little more serious than what was on TV at the time. Fox disagreed, telling him the idea was under-developed. Carter took the project home for the next few weeks, shored it up, and got the tenuous okay to create a pilot.

3. It Definitely Pulled From the Past

The whole reason that Mulder and Scully are FBI agents came from Silence of the Lambs, for one thing. The “Monster of the week” format drew from The Twilight Zone. Plus Mulder and Scully were originally intended to remain platonic, just like the two main characters in The Avengers (the British ones, not the ones with tights).