Episode Types

Mythology

mythology episodes explore the show's overall story arc - the existence of extraterrestrial life on earth. These are typically in the form of:

• Government/Syndicate conspiracy to hide the truth from the American public
• Cloning/Colonization
• Hybrid
• Super-soldiers.

Every season begins and ends with a Mythology episode, although they appear far less frequently than Monster of the week episodes throughout the course of a season. Mythology episodes roughly make up one third of all episodes.

Monster of the Week Episodes

Monster of the Week episodes deal with some type of supernatural or paranormal creature/phenomena or sometimes a simple criminal with a unique gift. They are usually separate from mythology episodes, although some MOTW storylines/elements can overlap with the mythology arc.

Crossovers

As the first series created byChris Carter,The X-Files is considered to be the central series of the fictional universe which also includesMillennium andThe Lone Gunmen (TV series), and there are several crossovers seen throughout the series.

A character who appeared in bothThe X-Files andMillennium was fictional novelistJosé Chung. Chung, first created by writerDarin Morgan forThe X-Files episode "José Chung'sFrom Outer Space", was also the focus of theMillennium episode "José Chung's Doomsday Defense". The only specific crossover featuring regular cast, however, wasThe X-Files episode "Millennium", in which the story arc ofMillennium was finally resolved, following that series' cancellation. The episode featuredFrank Black and his daughter,Jordan.

First appearing inThe X-Files episode "E.B.E.", the characters of the Lone Gunmen were later given their own spin-off series,The Lone Gunmen. Featuring appearances from Fox Mulder, Walter Skinner andMorris Fletcher, the series lasted only one season. Like "Millennium" before it, the resolution for the series finale cliffhanger was later shown in the episode "Jump the Shark", featuring "The Lone Gunmen" characters ofJimmy Bond,Yves Adele Harlow andKimmy Belmont.

Theseason five episode "Unusual Suspects" also features the character of DetectiveJohn Munch. Portrayed byRichard Belzer, the character of Munch is also a regular character of bothHomicide: Life on the Street andLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit. Following this connection further, all three series ofThe X-Files,Millennium andThe Lone Gunmen are considered to be part of the "Tommy Westphall Universe".

AlthoughThe Simpsons was featured in a fictional sense inThe X-Files episode "The End", an episode of that animated series, entitled "The Springfield Files", included appearances by Agents Mulder and Scully as well asaliens, theCigarette Smoking Man andFBIHeadquarters.

The X-Files featured many other references to films and television series, includingHarsh Realm, the only other series created by Chris Carter'sTen Thirteen Productions. LikeThe Lone Gunmen,Harsh Realm also lasted only one season. Although it did not include any direct references toThe X-Files, a scene from the series can briefly be seen playing on a television screen inThe X-Files episode "Sein Und Zeit", watched byBud LaPierre, who exclaims while watching the scene, "This is great!" and later recalls, while being interviewed by Mulder, that he had never before heard of the series but that it had been good. The character of Bud Lapierre was portrayed byMark Rolston, who appeared inHarsh Realm's second episode as a bounty hunter. Furthermore, the movieThe X-Files: I Want to Believe includes cameo appearances bySarah-Jane Redmond, whose character introduces herself asSpecial Agent in ChargeFossa; the same actress played a recurring character called Inga Fossa onHarsh Realm.

Morley cigarettes, a brand depicted inThe X-Files andMillennium, have also appeared in many different films and television series, includingBuffy The Vampire Slayer.

Main Cast

• David Duchovny asFox Mulder (1993-2000,2016-2018)
• Gillian Anderson asDana Scully (1993-2002,2016-2018)
• Mitch Pileggi asWalter Skinner (1994 -2002,2016-2018)
• Robert Patrick asJohn Doggett (2000 -2002)
• Annabeth Gish asMonica Reyes (2001 -2002,2016-2018)

Episode List

Note: Episodes highlighted in yellow and marked with a double-dagger (‡) are episodes in the series' alien mythology arc. For a more detailed episode list, visitList of The X-Files episodes.

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Feature Film

• The X-Files Movie

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Feature Film

• The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Season 10

Season 11

Background Terminology

Legends

Legends are explanatory pieces of information accompanying illustrations, maps or charts. Many legends appear in episodes ofThe X-Files, usually including information such as time or setting over the events of a scene.

Although a notice preceding the series'pilot is described in the episode's script as a legend, the first regular legend appears later in the same episode and reads, "COLLUM NATIONAL FOREST; NORTHWESTOREGON". The television series' final legend appears in "The Truth" and reads, "ROSWELL;NEW MEXICO".

Legends were also used in episodes ofMillennium. The term "legend" was never used on-screen in either series, but originates from terminology used by production personnel, and can be found in scripts for the series.

Taglines

Taglines were a feature ofThe X-Files episodes. Although the series' opening credits sequences usually ended with "The Truth is Out There", other lines occasionally replaced it. The following is a list of other taglines used in episodes of the series.

Executive ProducerR.W. Goodwin recalled, "Every episode of the first season had the same tagline, except the last one, 'The Erlenmeyer Flask,' in which we killedDeep Throat. As Deep Throat lay dying, the last thing he said was, 'Trust no one.' That became the tagline. WhenChris [Carter] feels that it is necessary, he will change the tagline to relate to the episode."

According to Producer and DirectorRob Bowman, "They don't change very often, but when they do, they pertain to the episode. Like 'Apology is Policy,' you know, 'Oh, we're sorry about the POWs,' as though that exonerates them."

Several taglines were used to advertiseThe X-Files: Fight the Future, most frequently including "Fight the Future". However, unlike those used in episodes of the series, most of the movie taglines were never seen or heard in the film and only appeared on posters and other promotional products.

It should be noted that some of the episodes that had a replacement tagline when they originally aired on TV have the regular "The Truth is Out There" tagline on theDVD release.

• Fantasy
• Horror
• Sci-fi