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The X-Files

The X-files, a science fiction television series was created by Chris Carter. It was first telecast on September 10, 1993 and continued to be shown till May19, 2002. It was telecast on American Fox network and proved to be one of its first major hits. The series won the coveted Peabody and Emmy Award. The main characters and slogans of the series such as "The Truth Is Out There," "Trust No One," "I Want to Believe" became the hallmarks of Pop culture. X-files represented the mistrust of the people in the government, the interest in conspiracy theories, the spirituality and the belief in the existence of the extra terrestrial life in the 1990s.

FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson),the main protagonists of the series are asked to investigate the ‘ X-Files’ that contain the marginalized and unresolved cases involving the paranormal phenomena. While Mulder is a strong believer in the existence of the aliens and the supernatural elements, his colleague Scully is a skeptic. She was deployed by her department to debunk the unconventional ideas of Mulder. With the progress of the story, both the investigators get involved in a larger conflict termed as the mythology. They develop an ambiguous relationship which was considered more than platonic by the viewers.

Each episode of the series can be seen independently. They range in tone from horror to comedy showing both Mulder and Scully involved in strange and bizarre cases without having any effect on the story line. The bulk of the series carried the title of the ‘Monster of the Week.’

The popularity of the series reached their peak in the mid-to-late 1990s with a spin off in form of an international hit movie in 1998. Gillian Anderson became the star of the series eclipsing her colleague Duchovny who appeared rarely. Two new central characters FBI Agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) were introduced. X-Files became the longest running sci-fi show ever shown on the American TV. The program was adjudged by the TV Guide to be the second greatest cult television show and the 37th best TV show of all time.