Do you remember Muldle? It was an X-Files online game where you get 6 chances to guess the X-Files episode from screen shots. A new puzzle posted every day. After it went through the entire series a Quote puzzle was added, 6 chances to guess the episode from quotes. It was great for X-Files obsessives like me.
I used to stay up until midnight every night so I could play the new Muldle puzzle as soon as it dropped. I did this, instead of waiting until morning to play, so that I could avoid any spoilers that might get tweeted by those in other time zones while I slept. Really. I did.
I remind myself about this often when I’m having trouble falling asleep. I’ll look at the clock, and if it’s not yet midnight, or not long past it, I’ll remember that I used to stay up until midnight every night to play Muldle, so really it’s no big deal that I’m still awake. I’ll get plenty of sleep.
I’m writing this at 11:49 pm.
Thinking about how fun online fandom used to be. But I should probably get to sleep now.
This group includes episodes by people connected with the production, but not previously as writers. They had the advantage of knowing the characters and how the show works, which the Early On one-timers and even some of the Staff Writers lacked. The episodes covered in this post are Wetwired, Demons, Trevor, En Ami, and Rm9. Although all things is part of this category as well, I’m saving that episode for last, and it will be in a separate post.
Wetwired 3×23
First up, Wetwired. Written by Mat Beck, visual effects coordinator on the show. I have the blue revision (4/3/96) and the green revision (4/9/96). The script was heavily rewritten by John Shiban, Vince Gilligan, and Frank Spotnitz. So much so that they worked an amalgamation of their names, “John Gillnitz” into the script. They would do that throughout the series, but this was the first time.
The first thing I noticed was that some of the iconic moments from the episode didn’t seem to be scripted: Mulder flopping down on the sofa in Scully’s motel room while they’re talking about the effects of TV, Mulder riding the exercise bike at the house while they’re investigating, Mulder fiddling with his tie when he tells the Gunmen he’s colorblind. It struck me that these scenes as written were dialogue-heavy with little to no action. These were examples of the director, Rob Bowman, bringing the script to life.
Next, I noticed that the script notes describing the characters’ thoughts and feelings were very emotional, going deeper than I typically see in a script. It was kind of beautiful. The whole thing sort of read like fanfic. So I thought this is either Mat Beck’s writing style, or JS VG FS saw it as an opportunity to let their feelings flow, in a script that doesn’t bear their names.
Demons 4×23
Demons, written by R.W. Goodwin. I read the yellow revision (4/13/97) and the goldenrod (4/17/97). I also have the white shooting schedule (4/10/97). Goodwin was the executive producer during the Vancouver era and usually directed the first and last episodes of the season. But this is the only episode he wrote. When I met him at Philefest, he said he loved getting to do Demons, but trying to write a show that you’re producing is like a doctor trying to operate on himself.
From the shooting schedule I learned that scenes with Amy Cassandra’s sister were deleted. They seem to be part of Scully’s investigation while Mulder was in jail. There was also at least one scene with Scully on her phone while driving. And the final scene would have been Mulder and Scully on a park bench at the Mall in DC, talking about holes in Mulder’s memory. These scenes don’t appear in the yellow revision, dated 4/13/97, so they were cut prior to the first day of shooting, 4/15/97. But the goldenrod revision (4/17/97) was done after shooting started. I would really love to see some earlier versions of this script!
I love this script note: “Mulder comes out of the bathroom (wearing either his pants or a towel, whichever he prefers)”. Knowing the actors as he did, Goodwin must have known David would choose the towel, but it was nice of him to give Mulder options.
And this: “Mulder gets up in gentle defiance of Scully”
I won’t include pictures of all of them but there are a lot of script notes/details that show familiarity with these characters:
Off Scully’s extreme impatience with Mulder…
Mulder and Scully exchange a look, hers a warning…
Off Scully’s fear for her partner, for his condition and possibly his guilt…
Mulder is hip to [Detective] Curtis and his techniques…
Mulder closes his eyes, suffering from his own inability to explain…
Mulder catching sight of something off-screen. Scully is entering the room…
Scully studies Mulder. All the fight is gone from him…
Scully shakes her head, exasperated by Mulder, by her inability to explain more…
Scully nods, reading Mulder’s aching conviction to find the truth…
He is not to be stopped. But Scully inches toward him anyway, against all good judgment…
In the episode Mulder makes an O.J. Simpson joke when he’s listing all the evidence against him. That’s not in either of the scripts I have. It was likely added during filming, quite likely ad-libbed by David.
A scene is added in the goldenrod version showing the officer’s actions right before he shoots himself. It clarifies what was happening somewhat. The officer is named Michael Fazekas. There is a TV writer/producer named Michele Fazekas, who started her career as a production assistant on The X-Files. That’s the name Frank Spotnitz gives to the local PD officer in Detour. Odds are both characters were named after this PA.
This is very interesting. In these versions of the script, when Mulder accuses his mother of betraying his father, she denies it, saying “I was faithful.” When Mulder presses her, she turns to walk away, but he grabs her. She DOES NOT slap him.
I can’t imagine Mulder grabbing his mother without provocation. It would seem out of character, given their previous interactions that we’ve seen and what we know about Mulder. It’s easier to understand after Teena slaps him though, with the heightened emotions. Teena’s slap is believable under the circumstances too. I don’t subscribe to the theory that Teena abused Mulder physically. I think her abuse was more of an emotional abandonment (I’ve written a whole blog post about that https://myxfilesobsession.home.blog/2019/03/30/in-defense-of-teena-mulder/). To me the scene plays out as Mulder finally giving up on getting answers from his mother.
The scripts also contain a deleted scene between Scully and Teena after Mulder ditches Scully at his mother’s house. We would have learned some surprising back story: Mulder had petit mal seizures until about age 12.
Imagine the implications! Was it epilepsy? Or was he being abducted, like Max? Apparently this was a path the mythology creators didn’t want to go down, because the idea was killed here and never revived in any later episode.
In the script, when she confronts him in the Quonochontaug house, Mulder fires the gun toward Scully but into the wall behind her. In the episode we see that he had spun around before shooting, and he emptied the gun into the opposite wall, ensuring that he wouldn’t harm Scully or himself. It’s so much more powerful that way.
Yellow and goldenrod versions end in the Quonochontaug house. Scully’s voice over was added afterwards.
I find it interesting that Scully’s cancer is never referenced or alluded to in the script or episode. Perhaps an indication that Goodwin had been working on the story for a while, before the mid-season addition of the cancer arc.
Trevor 6ABx17
Trevor, written by Ken Hawryliw and Jim Guttridge. Hawryliw was prop master on the show in seasons 1-5, and it looks like this is his only writing credit. Guttridge is a composer and orchestrator, but not on The X-Files. He was a friend of KH’s. Trevor is his only writing credit. I have the blue revision (2/5/99) and the salmon revision (2/18/99).
Hawryliw has said in a recent interview on Sammensværgelsen – en dansk X-Files Podcast that they made 12 or 13 story pitches before landing on the story for Trevor. He said it was difficult to come up with an idea that hadn’t been done before. After the story was approved, they had about a week and a half to deliver the script. I wonder how accurate that is, given the length of time between the revisions I have (which suggests to me there wasn’t as much of a time crunch). Since Hawryliw is describing things that happened 24-25 years earlier, I’m taking his stories with a grain of salt.
He said that Chris Carter didn’t want a purely science fiction story, it needed a human motivation. He said the “beautiful idea” they came up with was that Rawls could have anything in the world (he could break into banks, steal anything) but the one thing he wanted was to hug his child, and he could never have that. It’s very interesting that his description of the ending was that Rawls sacrificed himself to save his son. That’s not at all what I take away from the episode. More on that later.
Hawryliw couldn’t remember who did the rewrites, but he thought it was probably John Shiban, and Vince Gilligan did a polish as well. He said the condom joke seemed like a Vince thing. Hawryliw said Carter’s assistant told him he was rewritten less than Stephen King and William Gibson.
Hawryliw wanted to write an old school episode, with a scary monster like in the early seasons. And he wanted to keep Mulder and Scully together throughout the investigation, which gave lots of opportunity for banter. I think he accomplished this. Although some find the investigation plodding, I think it was an interesting idea, and Pinker Rawls is a truly terrifying villain.
In reading the blue revision, it seemed to me that a lot of the script notes sound like Vince Gilligan, at least in the first two acts. I mean, I never worked on the show and I’ve never met them, and maybe I can’t tell the difference between John Shiban and Vince Gilligan, but I’ve read a lot of X-Files scripts. If you gave me this to read and asked me to guess who wrote it, I’d say Vince Gilligan. For example:
We’re peering into a Southern road farm prison (refer to “Cool Hand Luke”)
Again, no blood or ooze
Redwop dust (anyone with history with the show would know this)
A couple of Skynyrd and ZZ tapes
June watches a lot of Martha Stewart
Robert gooses the volume on the remote
Thrift-T-Mart Mall
The handcuffs shatter like peanut brittle
Rawls wriggles his fingers, voodoo-like
The steel breaks off in Saltine-like shards
The first notable difference I’m seeing between the blue revision and the episode is when Mulder and Scully talk to June, it’s in an interrogation room, instead of her house. So they’re at the police station when they discover Rawls had been in the trunk of their car. Then cut to two state troopers at June’s house, discovering the place has been torn up, and Rawls, who attacks and kills them. By the salmon revision, Mulder and Scully interview June in June’s house, eliminating the transfer to the police station. They discover that Rawls had been in the trunk of their car while still at June’s house. The two troopers take June into protective custody from there, instead of getting killed by Rawls. This is much tidier, saving time and lives!
When Mulder and Scully find June’s medical bills and realize she had a child just months after Rawls went to prison, Scully says “‘I want what’s mine.’ This man is looking for his child, Mulder.” The script continues, “Mulder knows it. Off them, seeing Rawls in a different light…” This suggests we’re supposed to see something noble in Rawls because of this. He’s not just after the money he stole, he wants his son. But I never read Rawls that way. He’s a monster. He sees his son as something to possess. He isn’t motivated by love but by a sense of entitlement. He won’t let anyone else have what belongs to him. That’s why he’s so terrifying. That’s why June did everything she could to keep Trevor from Rawls. It’s not this new power that makes him a monster. He already was one.
To me, this is what makes Trevor such a good episode. It’s so interesting to me that that’s not what the writer intended, and still seems to think. He sees Trevor as Rawls’s soft spot, his redemption. But I don’t think it’s there. More on this later.
Here’s a fun find. In the blue revision, Mulder asks for rubber 9mm bullets “or something to that effect (as per Tommy Day’s research)”
By the later revision, Tommy’s research had determined it should be rubber 12 gauge shotgun slugs.
Here’s a significant change. In the blue revision, Rawls bangs on the phone booth door and is about to reach in to grab Trevor when Mulder shows up and shoots him with the rubber bullets. He staggers away, and that’s when June hits him with the car.
In the later revision, Rawls sees that he has broken a hole in the glass and could reach in to grab Trevor, when he sees how scared the boy is. “It’s not like he’s suddenly a good guy, or that he’s had a big change of heart–he just doesn’t know what the hell to do….He backs off, turns away.” And that’s when he gets hit by the car.
Then we get one final page, the only new page in the salmon revision:
This is how the episode plays out. Mulder suggests that Rawls wanted another chance. But it’s not definitive.
I suppose I can see how Hawryliw could describe this as Rawls sacrificing himself for his son. Maybe. It’s more just a choice to de-escalate in the moment and think about what he’s doing, and then June showed up. He didn’t ever intentionally give anything of himself. Perhaps I’m reading too much into a comment in an interview 25 years after the episode was written. I remain firmly on June’s side, however. Rawls would have hurt the boy and had to be stopped.
En Ami 7ABx15
En Ami, written by William B. Davis, who played the Cigarette Smoking Man from the Pilot through My Struggle IV. I have the gold revision (2/11/00). Production draft was 1/24/00. Here’s another script by someone familiar with the show, or at least with the mythology episodes.
With most of the Syndicate’s key figures killed off in season 6, Davis was needed for fewer episodes in season 7, so he came up with a story for himself. He hadn’t had many scenes with Gillian, so he included her in the story, postulating that CSM could make himself irresistible to Scully and seduce her to his agenda. (Shapiro, Official Guide to The X-Files, vol 6).
Davis presented his idea to Chris Carter, who was intrigued. Carter then had Davis work with Frank Spotnitz to write the first draft of the script. After that, Davis did some intensive rewriting with Spotnitz and John Shiban.
According to Shiban, Davis saw himself as the romantic hero of The X-Files and En Ami as a love story. (Shapiro). I’ve heard Davis say this before and I can never tell if he’s joking, or just horribly mistaken.
Spotnitz said the challenge would be finding a way for the audience to believe Scully would trust this man she’s spent 7 years hating. (Shapiro). I think they came up with a plausible scenario, if not a completely believable one.
With all the help Davis had drafting and revising the script, it’s hard to draw any conclusions about his writing. There are some story beats in the script that are so incongruous that I think they must have been Davis’s ideas.
Act One, in the office, Mulder and Scully are talking about the healing in Goochland, VA. The script includes this description: “MULDER (earnestly, a la Roma Downey, with accent) All you have to do is open your heart. God is always there waiting to answer your prayers.” This line was cut, and Mulder just nods at Scully instead. I kind of wish we got to hear David do the accent. We still get a Touched by an Angel reference, though. As he leaves the office to investigate, Mulder says “I just gotta know if it was Roma Downey or Della Reese.”
CSM to Scully: “I’m not here to dash their illusions. Only to remove yours.” That’s a really good line. Very in character. I bet Spotnitz wrote it.
CSM tells Scully he’s tired of Mulder’s foolish ideas of overthrowing the system. Then the next scene in the script, which was ultimately cut, has Mulder in Skinner’s office demanding a subpoena to confiscate every computer at DARPA to find out who sent him an email. Looking very foolish indeed.
The scene continues with Scully telling Skinner she found no evidence of any government agency involved in healing the boy. She’s obeying CSM’s order to keep information from Mulder. He senses her prevarication, and she looks “deeply uncomfortable with the lie she’s just told.” Mulder confronts Scully after they leave Skinner’s office. When she again says she found nothing, Mulder insinuates that she’s lying and storms off. At that, Scully pulls out the business card left by CSM, making her decision.
This whole scene was cut for good reason. Mulder can’t already be suspicious of Scully when she leaves him a message saying she’ll be out of town attending to a family emergency. And without the scene, Scully doesn’t have to lie to Skinner.
As Scully is driving with CSM, the script has the radio playing “Brahms Cello Sonata No. 1 in F minor (or some other equally beautiful piece), which gives the scene a strange mood. Driving with this man we’ve known and feared for years, to the haunting melodies of Brahms. Scully stares straight ahead, the melody not lost on her.” The production team decided to go with Mark Snow’s score instead.
I feel like telling Davis “stop trying to make fetch happen!” Scully is never going to be persuaded CSM is some misunderstood soul, and neither is the audience. I’ve seen other writers who just didn’t quite get the characters right. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a writer deliberately trying to change who the characters are.
Here’s a silly bit: “The Lone Gunmen. But something’s wrong. They look different. Frohike … dressed like Byers. Langly and Byers are in disguise too. Byers dressed like Langly, … Langly dressed like Frohike.” This made it to the episode, but I didn’t realize they were supposed to be disguised as each other until I read it in the script.
In the script, when Scully confronts CSM asking how she got out of her clothes, CSM responds, “I undressed you in the dark if it makes any difference.”
I guess that was too ick, because it was deleted. In the episode CSM doesn’t answer the question about how she got out of her clothes. He just says he carried her because she was delirious. In the flashback in My Struggle III this was sanitized further, with a CSM voice over added, saying “we carried you, my housekeeper and I…you can ask her.”
Davis said he was basically happy with how the episode came out. He originally pictured CSM as a much better actor at winning Scully’s affection, and Scully was somewhat less resistant, but the episode was restructured. (Shapiro).
When I read this comment I immediately thought of one specific moment in the episode, and an unusual circumstance with the script.
At the end of Act Three, Scully and CSM are in the restaurant. CSM tells her she looks stunning in the dress he picked out for her. Scully tells him she’s still not clear what her role is. It’s at this point in my script that a page is missing. It goes from page 44A to page 46, which is the start of Act Four. I’ve checked with other script collectors I know, and none of them has this missing page or a different version of the script.
In the episode, CSM tells Scully that what they’re being given is the cure for all human disease. Then he says, “I’m a lonely man, Dana.” He steps outside, while Scully looks pensive.
Is he making an “indecent proposal”? And are we to think Scully is considering it? Does the missing page take it further?
In the episode, CSM steps outside to meet with black haired man. While he’s gone, Scully is delivered a note with the meeting location for the next morning.
Did the missing page have something different? And why is it missing? Was it so horrible that it was intentionally destroyed by the powers that be? Is my conspiracy-addled mind just grasping to find meaning in what was probably a photocopy error? We may never know!
Finally, there’s this deleted scene, after Scully leaves the cabin: “The CSM is sitting on the bed where Scully slept, holding the beautiful dress he got for her. Bringing it to his face…he inhales the trace essence of what he’ll never possess. Is it possible to be moved by his sadness?”
I found this tweet from when I first read the script three years ago:
My feelings haven’t changed.
Rm9sbG93ZXJz 2AYW07
Rm9sbG93ZXJz, written by Kristin Cloke & Shannon Hamblin. I have the green revision (11/5/17). Original draft was 10/17/17.
Kristen Cloke is a long time member of the X-Files/1013 family. She played Melissa Rydel in The Field Where I Died, had a recurring role in Millennium, and is married to Glen Morgan, who directed this episode. Cloke told The X-Cast that she had been writing with Morgan for years, but this was her first chance to write something for him to direct.
Hamblin worked as Glen Morgan’s writing assistant on Lore and then season 10 of The X-Files, and Morgan asked if she’d be willing to write an episode with Kristen Cloke for season 11. Hamblin told The X-Cast that Morgan had a basic idea that they started with and some elements he wanted to include, and Cloke & Hamblin came up with a story to go around it. One thing Morgan insisted on was that there be no dialogue in the beginning. As Cloke explained, they wanted to emphasize what it was like to be so engrossed with technology that it’s like there’s no one else in the room.
Hamblin was a longtime fan of the show, but she didn’t go back and watch previous episodes to prepare, because she knew this episode was going to be different from anything else.
Hamblin and Cloke created story notecards for the episode together and then divided up the scenes and wrote them independently. They each worked Scully’s personal massager into a scene without having discussed it! Cloke’s was the one they ended up using because it fit the story better.
The sushi scene plays out a little differently in the episode than in the script. The script doesn’t include any laughter or playfulness. Mulder is in full-on grumpy old man mode. I imagine Glen Morgan and the actors had input on this, making it feel more like the Mulder and Scully we would expect on a date, while still making the point that they’re more focused on their electronics than each other.
Script note gold: “Scully offers him her credit card. Mulder, however, removes his card from his wallet and holds it up, as if to insist on paying. Ever the smart and practical feminist, Scully shrugs and lets him pay.”
In the script, when Scully’s driverless car arrives, “[Mulder] reacts as if ‘You sure?’ She sighs, gives him a hug, and opens the door.”
We were robbed! I’ve long felt that this would have been the perfect place in Season 11 for a kiss. A quick peck goodbye, something you’d expect from a longtime couple. But we didn’t get that, or any other kiss the entire season. I know there were lots of hugs and some other implied activities in the season, but still… There’s BTS footage where Mulder kisses Scully on the top of her head before she gets in the car. That would have been cute! Hmmph.
“Waiting at his phone and hungry from no dinner, he reaches into a box of Pop-Tarts, removes the mylar paper, and eats.”
I’ve noticed over the years that it’s practically a fanfic trope that Mulder loves Pop-Tarts, which is funny because we’ve never seen him eat any until this moment. When I met Kristen Cloke at Philefest, I asked her if she was aware of the fanfic Pop-Tarts trope, and she said yes, that’s exactly why they included it in the episode. She said because there was so little dialogue, they wanted to fill the screen with little touches that would remind the viewers that they were watching Mulder and Scully, as well as honor the very active fandom. You can see this with the way Mulder practices his baseball grip, just like we saw in Home, and with Scully’s use of “Queequeg” as her password. Even the whole premise of the episode plays with the idea that Mulder is a notoriously bad tipper, as seen in Bad Blood and The Unnatural. But the Pop-Tarts reference is my favorite.
The final line of the script: “Their phones ring and beep…but they ignore them and continue looking into each other’s eyes. Much more exciting than an illuminated screen.” So lovely!
I read a review that described the episode as feeling like “a wholly new thing that also understands what makes Mulder and Scully, and The X-Files itself, tick.” Alan Sepinwall, UPROXX. I agree completely.
Up next, I wrap up the series with an in-depth look at all things…
I decided to do a deep dive into scripts written by one-timers, writers who wrote only one episode of The X-Files. My goal was to read as many versions of the script as I could find to see how they progressed and compared to the episodes as they aired. I also looked for any other information I could find about the production of these episodes. I got inspired after acquiring a new batch of scripts, several of which were written by these one-timers. Why do this? Because I just really love studying X-Files scripts! I thought it would be interesting to see if I could draw any conclusions about these episodes and the writers, why they were one-timers. It was also important to me that this is a fairly contained set of episodes, so the project wouldn’t get overwhelming (although I ended up writing so much that I’m breaking this post into installments). This was just going to be for my own enjoyment, but then I decided I’d really like to share these thoughts, and I haven’t posted to my blog in a really long time, so here it is!
One-Timer episodes:
Eve
Gender Bender
Shapes
Fearful Symmetry
Oubliette
Wetwired
Sanguinarium
Demons
Schizogeny
Trevor
Orison
En Ami
all things
Kitten
Rm9sbG93ZXJz
Familiar
Nothing Lasts Forever
I didn’t study/write about these in any particular order, or follow any set format. I just wrote out any thoughts that occurred to me as I studied the scripts. For this series I’ve grouped the episodes into three categories, which I’m calling Early On, The Staff Writers, and Members of the Family.
Part 1: Early On
I’m including Eve, GenderBender, Shapes, Fearful Symmetry, and Sanguinarium in this group. For the most part these episodes aired before The X-Files hit its stride. It wasn’t completely clear what the show would be and what kind of stories would be told. Some of these scripts are well-written, by experienced writers, but they just didn’t hit the right notes as X-Files episodes. Sanguinarium is the outlier of this group, written in Season 4 by inexperienced writers, but I think it fits this category best, so I’m including it here.
Eve 1×10
Eve, written by Kenneth Biller & Chris Brancato. I have the yellow revision (11/4/93) and the shooting schedule. The episode was directed by Fred Gerber, also a one-timer.
From Wikipedia: Biller and Brancato were freelance writers who pitched the idea for the episode to Chris Carter under the title of “The Girls from Greenwich”, with the focus being on genetic experiments conducted on sets of twins. Brancato said the duo decided to do “an X-File with a genetics experiment gone awry” inspired by the film The Boys From Brazil (1978), where Nazi scientists create clones of Adolf Hitler, while finding “our own themes and characterizations to explore”.
Glen Morgan and James Wong rewrote the script after the original draft. Unfortunately, I only have a later revision, so I wasn’t able to compare it to the version actually written by the one-timers.
Teena and Cindy were named after Morgan and Wong’s wives. Maybe this was a way to take credit for uncredited rewrites, like John Shiban, Vince Gilligan, and Frank Spotnitz would later do by inserting “John Gillnitz” into episodes.
There are pages in my copy of the script dated 10/28/93, which is the blue revision. The original draft is 10/25/93. I wonder how early in the process Morgan & Wong were involved. Cattle mutilation is included by this point. Is that a M&W thing? I think of that as an X-Files trope, but this actually may be the first reference to it in the series. By the 10/28/93 revision the names Teena and Cindy were already in use. Also Teena is in Connecticut but Cindy in California, which doesn’t fit with the description of the original pitch for “The Girls From Greenwich”. So I’m going to assume this is a M&W rewrite.
Mulder’s quip “what’s a girl?” isn’t scripted.
All the maneuvering at the truck stop is in the script–getting the bathroom keys, ordering the sodas, one of the girls poisoning the drinks–except Mulder paying for the sodas! They must have realized they’d forgotten that piece and added it later. I’d love to know who came up with Mulder asking the little Eve if she wants to pay. It’s such a sweet moment, which I’ve always thought of as establishing an important piece of Mulder’s character, this early in the show.
That’s something I need to keep in mind for this deep dive. At this point, it can’t really be said that a staff writer knows the characters more than a one-timer, since there’s so little to go on yet. All in all, I haven’t been able to draw any conclusions from this episode, other than it’s a good episode, which is what we expect from Morgan & Wong.
GenderBender 1×13
GenderBender, written by brothers Larry Barber and Paul Barber (I wonder if they’re any relation to Gillian Barber, who appeared in 4 episodes of the show, most notably as Penny Northern in Nisei and Memento Mori). The original draft was dated 11/29/93. I have the pink (12/5/93) and salmon (12/9/93) revisions.
From Wikipedia: The episode was inspired by producer Glen Morgan’s desire for “an episode with more of a sexy edge”. It proved difficult to portray sex as convincingly scary, which caused the producers to introduce the concept of “people like the Amish who are from another planet.” The initial draft focused heavily on the contrast between the farming community of the Kindred and a version of city life “with very sexual connotations”.
In the opening scene of Act One, Mulder pulls a pair of latex gloves from his field kit before touching any evidence. This seems like a perfectly reasonable thing for a law enforcement officer to do, right? But it didn’t carry through to the rest of the series. Mulder never carried a field kit. He rarely used gloves, and when he did they were just pulled from a pocket. These details would become iconic, but everything was still new at this point in the series.
Back in the office, Mulder talks about pheromones strong enough to cause “a coronary.” This immediately makes me think of Maggie telling Scully in Beyond the Sea that her dad died of a coronary. Does that indicate this is a Morgan & Wong rewrite? Or is that term used more than I realized?
Mulder and Scully notice old photos of the Kindred in the general store. Some were taken down to be reframed, and Mulder asks to see them. Here’s a change between the pink version and the salmon. In the pink (earlier) version, Mulder flips through the photos, he stops “on A PHOTO OF A KINDRED MAN. PUSHING IN TIGHT on the photo, as it dissolves into: THAT SAME FACE staring into a mirror” in the dressing room at a trendy boutique. “BUT AS THE CAMERA PULLS BACK we see that the face is not a man’s face but a woman’s face. Marty’s face.”
In the salmon version, the photo Mulder stops on is of a “KINDRED WOMAN”, instead of a Kindred man. So the reveal that it’s Marty doesn’t include the gender swap.
This scene is ultimately not in the episode, probably cut for time, but maybe for content. Was the change from pink revision to salmon because it was too soon to reveal that Marty was swapping genders? Was there some pressure from Standards & Practices? It’s hard to know. The whole episode is very dated.
And really, this episode just doesn’t work. The pieces don’t fit, it’s not very interesting or exciting, and the ending isn’t earned. It’s easy to see why this team didn’t write any further episodes. It seems like maybe they were given direction from Glen Morgan–something sexy and scary and throw in some Amish-y characters–but I don’t think they were the team to pull it off, if anyone even could.
Kudos to Rob Bowman, though, for making it look really good, especially the outdoor scenes. And here’s a fun note. The scene where Mulder and Scully are looking for the Kindred compound, using a map, plays out pretty much as scripted. Mulder crumples up the map and tosses it. But in the episode, Mulder then kicks it in the air, and Scully catches it. That little detail isn’t scripted. So either Bowman or the actors added that delightful little moment.
Here’s a thought I had while reading the script. The episode centers around a group of people who shift genders. And they have this hypnotic power in each form, male and female. Yet when placing one of the FBI agents in danger, the script falls back on old tropes. The defenseless female, placed in danger of sexual violence, being rescued by the male hero. If instead Mulder had been targeted by one of the female Kindred–or, gasp, even Andrew in his male form–and Scully came to his rescue, this would have been more in line with The X-Files storytelling. Not to say that the show never fell back on stereotypical gender tropes. It did. But it very intentionally broke the gender normative mold more often than not. If GenderBender was one of those times, perhaps it would have more to offer.
Shapes 1×18
Shapes, written by Marilyn Osborn. I have the green revision (2/15/94). The original draft is 2/3/94. Osborn’s TV writing career began in 1993, when she wrote for Silk Stalkings and The Commish. Morgan & Wong were writers on The Commish as well. That’s likely how Osborn came to The X-Files.
The network wanted a more conventional monster episode, and Glen Morgan suggested using the Manitou, from Native American mythology.
I haven’t found any information about rewrites of this episode. I’ve read that every episode went through Chris Carter’s typewriter before it was finalized, and Morgan & Wong seem to have done a fair amount of rewriting in general. But Osborn had some TV writing experience. It’s possible that most of the writing and revising was left to her.
What I noticed when reading the script was that it’s very detailed and descriptive in setting the scenes. I know what everything looks like, as well as the thoughts and emotions of the characters, from these script notes. Osborn is a good screen writer. Indeed, she’s had a long career as a TV writer and producer, including writing credit on 22 episodes of Morgan & Wong’s Space: Above and Beyond. She just didn’t quite get The X-Files.
There’s a deleted scene in the first act, as Mulder and Scully are driving away from the Parkers’ ranch, where a cow is standing in the middle of the road. Mulder makes a crack about eating steak, and Scully shouts “baseball glove, leather purse” as she tries to shoo the animal away. I’m not sorry that was cut.
Also in that scene, Mulder tells Scully his mother used to say if you felt a shiver, the devil just touched your spine. He says it’s like “the creeps” Lyle Parker mentioned, a presence you can’t see or hear. Scully is annoyingly dismissive. The whole exchange seems like the Scully we met in the Pilot and Deep Throat, but not the person we’ve gotten to know throughout the season. Again, this was a good scene to cut.
As I read through the script I keep noticing how well written it is:
“Signs of Ish’s occupation as a mechanic and as a productive and positive role model in this great and just land we call America are prevalent. The only working vehicle, an old pickup, sits in the driveway.”
“Ish’s house… reflects the personality of an old hippie pack rat. Cluttered is an understatement. Lots of albums; Neil Young, Cream. Tapestries. Beads. Bongs…. Candles are lit, not for ceremony, but because Ish likes the light they create. This room has a mystic quality, not new age, but eerie and mysterious.”
Osborn knows how to set a mood! I can totally understand why this script was produced. It’s a well-told story, written by someone who knows how to write. She has history with the staff writers/producers. Also, it was late in the season, and they had to get to 24 episodes. Unfortunately, it’s just not a very compelling X-File. It’s not at all surprising that she didn’t write another episode.
Fearful Symmetry 2×18
Fearful Symmetry, written by Steve De Jarnett. I have the white version (1/30/95) and goldenrod (2/7/95). De Jarnett is a film and television director, screenwriter, and short-story author. The director, James Whitmore, Jr., is also a one-timer on the show. Often, early drafts of a script are “Untitled.” For this script, the name of the episode is on the first draft, taken from the Blake poem, clearly a choice by the credited writer.
I’m interested in the small changes between the original and the later revision, often minute details that someone felt the need to clarify. In the teaser, “music echoes off the marble” walls, becomes “music from a ghetto blaster.” “Both men cross themselves” becomes “the younger man crosses himself.” There are other changes–some of the destruction caused by the elephant, the rising sun momentarily blinding the trucker–that were obviously deleted for time/budget/difficulty reasons. But the small ones seem to be story refinement, a focus on details to better convey a mood. Very interesting.
Here’s another change that I find delightful: originally the script says Mulder “steps out of the broken window.” That was changed in the blue revision to Mulder stepping onto the window sill and then hopping down.
This could be what the writer had in mind all along, the revision just specifies. I love this moment, it’s very Mulder, and it’s fun to see it scripted.
A line was added to explain why Mulder and Scully are on the case: “If someone would have seen it, we wouldn’t be here Scully”. There’s also more detail in the later revision about the way Mulder and Scully are interacting, which wasn’t originally specified.
I’m curious whether these changes were the result of notes given to the writer or rewrites done by someone else. Of the principal rewriters (other than Carter), only Frank Spotnitz was on staff at this point. I haven’t found much about the production of this episode, except for the steps needed to care for the animals. But so much of the original script is unchanged that it doesn’t seem like a rewrite was needed.
The script originally had Mulder talking to all three of the Lone Gunmen via video conference. By the blue revision they knew Dean Haglund wasn’t available (he was filming an episode of Sliders that same day) so he was written out, with Frohike explaining that “he has a philosophical issue with having his image bounced off a satellite.” The rest of the dialogue is the same, just redistributed.
This next scene always strikes me as somewhat out of character. I’m fairly certain it’s the only time in the entire series Scully uses the phrase “pisses me off,” and while Mulder often disagrees with Scully, he’s not patronizing.
I know it’s still early on, relatively, but the Mulder/Scully dynamic was pretty well established by mid Season 2 (by mid Season 1 even) and this feels wrong. A case of a writer less familiar with the characters than the regular writers or fans.
There are other minor tweaks in the first three acts, nothing major. Act Four opens differently, making the interrogation of Willa about Kyle’s death a bit more dynamic. A conversation between Mulder and Scully is added, and scenes are rearranged a bit, building the tension. In the end, all the same information is shared, just in a more interesting way. It’s so fun to see how much difference these sometimes small revisions can make.
This isn’t a great episode. I think it pushes credibility a bit too far. And, while it involves aliens, it doesn’t fit within the mythology of the show. If The X-Files were an anthology it might work better. Story issues aside, the script was well-written by someone who knows how to write scripts and didn’t have as many major revisions as I’ve seen in other episodes.
Sanguinarium 4×06
Sanguinarium, by Valerie Mayhew & Vivian Mayhew. I have the writer’s draft (9/5/96) and 2nd blue (9/18/96). This episode started as a spec script by two fans of the show. It was their first script produced for TV. They went on to write several episodes of Charmed.
The writer’s draft starts Act One with a dick joke, which Standards & Practices axed.
The act starts in the X-Files office with Mulder immediately connecting the death we saw in the teaser to a series of deaths in another hospital 5 years earlier and suggesting some sort of paranormal manipulation. Scully looks for a “less exotic alternative” such as Brief Reactive Psychosis, which can be contagious in high pressure environments and horrific working conditions. We then jump to the hospital where we see very plush carpets and luscious flower arrangements etc., cluing us in that Scully’s theory won’t hold up.
Scully is very much leading the investigation, not charmed by the location or staff or the available services, as Mulder appears to be. She sticks to her theory, not swayed by what Mulder sees as symbols used in ritual magic.
By the time we get to the 2nd blue revision (and the episode as it aired) Mulder seems very taken in by appearances, “rubbernecking” at an attractive staff member.
And Scully is focused more on her contempt of the medical practice, thinking the problem is doctors taking on too many procedures out of greed. I think the episode is trying to show why cosmetic surgery is such a money maker, how easy it is to convince people they need it, by having Mulder fall under its spell. He is contemplating a nose job, while Scully barely glances in a mirror. To me, this show of vanity seems very out of character. It seems like Mulder is used as a plot device, similar to his fear of fire in Fire.
The first act changes significantly from first to final revision. It substitutes an investigation into the use of sleeping pills for Scully’s theory of psychosis. And it focuses more on witchcraft symbols and actually shows Nurse Waite practicing witchcraft.
In Act Two of the writer’s draft, Mulder goes to an occult store. The clerk is coming on to him, but he’s oblivious.
It seems odd to me that Mulder refers to Scully as a “fair-haired woman in my life” yet the fact that she calls immediately afterwards, saying “it’s me” makes it pretty clear he was talking about her. In any event, the scene was cut.
The entire script is heavily rewritten. Chris Carter did a lot of the rewriting, focusing on the themes of greed and vanity, while Howard Gordon developed several graphic scenes. In the writer’s draft, the episode seems to follow Mulder and Scully step by step as their investigation unfolds. It’s sort of clunky. This is not surprising, given it’s a spec script from inexperienced writers. The final version spends more time with other characters, especially Nurse Waite, and shows more imagination in the way the story unfolds. The bones of the story are the same, but it’s fleshed out very differently. There’s more awareness of the level of production the show is capable of, more show and less tell.
And that’s it for now. In the next installment I’ll look at scripts written by staff writers who only had the opportunity to write one episode…
My favorite run of episodes in The X-Files is the cancer arc, which I usually think of as Leonard Betts through Detour. I don’t love every episode in that run, but for the most part those are the episodes that move me the most.
I know there’s a bit of controversy about whether Never Again should be considered a cancer arc episode. It was originally produced to air before Leonard Betts, and so arguably Scully’s actions in Never Again were not intended to be a reaction to Betts’ revelation that she has cancer. To my mind, though, the story that’s told on screen is the story. So even if that story changes from what the writers intended because of the order in which the episodes aired, the story ultimately presented to viewers is canon. I’ll draw conclusions from what’s implied within the episodes, but I won’t dismiss any part of the show as it was presented to viewers based on behind the scenes discussions and decisions. Because Leonard Betts aired before Never Again, and there’s nothing within the episodes to indicate they occurred in a different order (as in Unrequited, where the chyron sets the episode in November) then for me, it’s canon that Scully had already encountered Betts by the time she went to Philadelphia in Never Again.
But even without the revelation in Leonard Betts, there were signs in Never Again that Scully was considering her cancer. The episode starts and ends with a focus on the dead rose petal Scully picks up and places on Mulder’s desk. This image can be interpreted as a sign of Scully’s mortality. Scully even picks an argument with Mulder, asking why she doesn’t have a desk, when it’s not really about the desk. She’s asking herself, “Is this all my life has come to? I don’t even have a desk!”
In my opinion, the order of those two episodes doesn’t really change anything. I think Scully already suspected she had cancer before Leonard Betts, and that suspicion colored a lot of the decisions she was making at the time. Yes of course Scully was considering her cancer when she had sex with Ed Jerse, but that would have been true whether she had encountered Leonard Betts or not. While Leonard Betts highlighted this concern, it’s oversimplifying the story to say that the events in NeverAgain were triggered solely by what we saw in Leonard Betts. Scully had been heading toward Ed Jerse or someone like him for a while, but it wasn’t just the cancer diagnosis that led her there.
From the time Scully discovered the chip in her neck in The Blessing Way, we’ve seen Scully struggling with three important issues. First, she’s considering her own mortality and the increasing likelihood that she has or at some point will have cancer. Second, she’s also trying to figure out her relationship with Mulder, whether it’s personal or just professional, whether she wants more than she has, and whether Mulder wants the same thing. And third, she’s bridling at the knowledge that she’s not in control of her life and looking for ways to take back that control. Here’s how I see these issues presented, and why I think Scully would have made the same choices she made in Never Again regardless of when she encountered Leonard Betts.
The Blessing Way
Scully discovers a chip implanted in her neck. She has no recollection of it being placed there, and the reminder that she had no agency unsettles her enough that she follows Melissa’s suggestion to try regression hypnosis. In her session she remembers that she was powerless and afraid she would die, and she calls off the session to avoid dealing with those memories. Toward the end of the episode Scully has a vision of Mulder. He tells her she was looking for a truth that was taken from her, a truth that binds them together in a dangerous purpose. He’s returned from the dead to continue with her, but he feels the danger is close at hand and he may be too late. I think this vision can be seen as Scully’s premonition of her impending death, or at least a sign that she’s subconsciously pondering her mortality. Indeed, this idea is reinforced when she meets the Well Manicured Man, who tells her that someone is going to kill her, that she’s been deemed expendable.
Paper Clip
When Scully learns her sister has been shot, Mulder stops her from going to the hospital. She tells him she has to go, he tells her she can’t, and she accedes. She knows he’s right, they’ll be looking for her at the hospital. Although she’s devastated, she puts aside her personal feelings and needs for the sake of the cause.
After Mulder and Scully find the files, with a recent tissue sample from Scully to reinforce the fact that someone else had taken control of her without her consent, they meet with Skinner. Skinner offers to make a deal, to trade the digital tape to guarantee their safety, and Mulder’s automatic response is to refuse. He wants to search for the truth about what happened to his sister and his father and Scully. But Scully is more focused on the immediate personal impact. She needs to see her sister. Mulder leaves the decision to Scully, and she tells Skinner to make the deal, but not until Mulder agrees. She compromises her personal needs for Mulder’s cause. Only at that point does Mulder say he’s sorry about her sister. He’s been so focused on the search that he hadn’t yet considered what Scully was going through.
Scully arrives at the hospital too late, her sister has already died. She and Mulder both say they need to work, to deal with their personal losses, but they have different motivations. Mulder still sees value in finding the truth about what happened. Scully needs to know why it happened. She and Mulder are on the same quest, even if she doesn’t believe what he believes. This difference is significant. In many respects, the search for the truth is enough for Mulder, it is his life. But Scully needs more. She’s willing to devote her life to it for personal reasons, but it’s always the reasons that matter more than the search. Her personal autonomy, her family, and Mulder will always mean more to her than the abstract truth.
Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose
Scully tells Mulder about The Stupendous Yappi’s prediction, “He said that the killer doesn’t feel in control of his own life. That’s true of everyone at times.” It’s such a revealing little comment. This episode, while comedic in tone, deals with the themes of predetermined death and hopelessness, and it sets up very well the concerns Scully is starting to have. Scully tells Mulder that by thinking he can see the future, Bruckman has taken all the joy out of his life. I think Scully remembers this observation about Bruckman when she starts to believe she has cancer, and when she considers that her fate is in the hands of others. She makes the decision to pursue joy, or at least momentary pleasure.
Oubliette
Scully seems particularly judgmental and lacking in empathy toward Lucy, a woman who was previously abducted and who is now feeling what the victim is feeling. Scully’s attitude seems to be a way of distancing herself from these victims, so as not to have to feel what they’re feeling. She doesn’t want to think of herself as a victim. Scully accuses Mulder of being so close to the case that he doesn’t see his personal identification with it. This is an ironic accusation, as she seems to be distancing herself in order to avoid identifying with the victims. In the end, Scully grabs Mulder, desperately trying to stop his attemp to revive Amy, but he pushes her away. On the surface this is very odd. As a doctor Scully wouldn’t give up so soon. She would know there was a chance Amy could still be revived and Mulder’s efforts were appropriate. But I think this scene is a clue that Scully is now resigned to her own death, and her relationship with Mulder is going to be impacted.
Nisei
When Scully goes to Betsy Hagopian’s house to investigate the MUFON members, they recognize her as one of them. Scully is shocked when they mention her abduction, but as much as she tries to deny the connection, she knows it’s true. Their descriptions of their experiences trigger memories of her own. These women all have implants, and Scully learns that Betsy has cancer, tumors that won’t respond to treatment. Penny tells her they’re all dying because of what was done to them. Scully is not ready to talk about this with them, and she leaves.
The person Scully wants to talk to is Mulder, but when she tries, he shuts her down. It’s not clear whether this is because he’s focused on his part of the investigation or because he just doesn’t want to face the possibility that something could be wrong with Scully. He says, “But you’re fine, aren’t you Scully?” She responds, “Am I? I don’t know Mulder…It was freaky.” Mulder acknowledges the news is disturbing but encourages her not to freak out until she has more information. He’s not exactly dismissive. He’s concerned, but he fails to see how important this is to her. Scully sighs, like she’s not happy with this, like she’s used to it, like she’s ready for a change.
Their continued conversation is very telling. Scully shifts focus from her concerns to Mulder’s, telling him she’s seen Ishimaru, the man in the picture. He does dismiss her this time, relying on what he thinks he knows rather than what she’s telling him. Mulder is looking for proof of a scheme to create alien/human hybrids, but he refuses to listen to what Scully is telling him, when what she’s saying could actually provide the proof he needs. Instead he accuses her of being close-minded, “After all you’ve seen, why do you refuse to believe?” Scully tells him believing is easy, but she needs proof. He’s stunned, “You think believing is easy?” There’s clearly a disconnect here. It’s not just a difference in perspective but a failure to understand, and it’s creating a barrier between them. Mulder tells Scully he’s relying on information from someone like her who wants proof, but who’s also willing to believe. This is such a slap in the face. Scully has made it clear time and again that she is willing to act on his beliefs, even without the proof she needs. His rejection here is painful. She feels it, and she shuts down, not telling him she remembers Ishimaru from her abduction.
Scully is starting to understand that she’s still under the control of those who abducted her. She starts feeling the need to take back control, to rebel against expectations. This feeling of rebellion gets associated with Mulder, not because she blames him for what happened to her. She knows she made the choice to be part of this work, and she doesn’t put that on him. But so often he leads while she follows, she puts aside her theories for his, she does what he wants, and so when she feels the need to push back, it’s against him.
731
Scully is devastated when she learns from Pendrell that the chip could be monitoring thoughts, no doubt remembering all the time it was implanted in her without her knowledge. At the Hanson’s Disease center Scully learns that the same doctor who did tests on her was responsible for hundreds of deaths there. He would round people up in groups, and the ones who were returned always came back worse. This is an obvious parallel to the abductions of the MUFON women, who are dying of cancer, and Scully can’t help but come to the conclusion she faces the same fate. At that point Scully is abducted again and brought to the First Elder. She realizes he knows everything about her and undoubtedly was responsible for the implant in her neck. She struggles against his control over her, demanding answers, but it’s clear she’s still at his mercy. He offers her information. He’s serving his own agenda, but it’s all she has, and she uses it to help Mulder.
Revelations
The divide between Mulder and Scully grows here. Mulder is completely dismissive of Scully’s beliefs because they’re based on faith, and she’s clearly bothered by his dismissal. When she tells him about the signs she’s seeing he actually laughs. She asks, “How is it you’re able to go out on a limb whenever you see a light in the sky, but you’re unwilling to accept the possibility of a miracle?” Mulder responds, “I wait for a miracle every day, but what I’ve seen here has only tested my patience, not my faith.” When Scully asks him, “What about what I’ve seen?”, he has no answer. He completely disregards her question. Scully concludes that Mulder is unable to consider her perspective, even to the detriment of an investigation. Thus, later, when Scully’s intuitive leap proves correct, she can’t talk to Mulder about it and instead talks to a priest. This trip to the confessional could also signify that Scully is returning to her faith in light of her impending death. It’s been six years since her last confession, but she’s seeking comfort from the church now.
War of the Coprophages
The friendly banter, the jokes, the late night confessional phone call all show what Mulder is capable of being to Scully, the potential their relationship has. It’s clearly more than professional. But the episode also shows that Mulder is interested in other women. He sees Scully as a friend. She’s his best friend, a trusted friend, the friend he ditches when the possibility of a little romance turns up. Scully comes off as slightly jealous, and it’s entirely possible she’s realizing she wants more than friendship. She wants some romance herself. At this point she has to be questioning whether she’ll get what she wants from Mulder or will have to look elsewhere.
Syzygy
Again, Scully sees Mulder showing interest in another woman. It’s not completely clear whether he’s actually interested in Detective White, but that’s exactly how Scully sees it. Mulder is a horny beast, and Scully would prefer to be the object of that obsession. There’s obviously some underlying antagonism here as well. Mulder seems to be making light of Scully’s concerns about the investigation, and Scully deliberately ignores evidence that Mulder points out. While the syzygy is the catalyst, the discord is clearly present in their relationship, and they haven’t yet addressed it.
Pusher
In Never Again, Scully tells Mulder they seem to go two steps forward and three steps back. Pusher is one of their steps forward, filled with wonderful relationship moments. But it provides some notable revelations as well. The episode is about people losing control when an outsider pushes his will onto them. We learn that Scully can’t be so easily controlled. She is going to push back. We also see that Mulder cares more about Scully than about himself, when it comes to personal safety. He can be pushed to pull the trigger at his own head but he fights with everything he’s got when Scully is the target. Scully of course notices this. She’s still left wondering whether he cares more about the quest than about her, though.
Quagmire
This episode strikes me as an important turning point for Scully. When they’re on the boat, Mulder tells Scully his philosophy is “seek and ye shall find” and Scully returns that there are monsters in uncharted territory. Is the uncharted territory their personal relationship? It seems that Mulder is comfortable with the idea of facing any obstacles as they arise. Scully, on the other hand, wants some assurances that she won’t get hurt by doing so. Mulder sees hope in the possibilities, but Scully has a death sentence hanging over her and sees the unknown as more ominous. She’s willing to follow Mulder without proof when it comes to their work, but when it’s personal she wants evidence that her faith isn’t misplaced.
That brings us to the Conversation On The Rock. Scully has a sudden realization about Mulder: he’s Ahab. He’s so consumed by his personal vengeance against life that everything takes on a warped significance to fit his megalomaniacal cosmology. Ouch. Scully seems to be weighing whether a personal relationship with her will ever fit into Mulder’s plans, whether she will ever be worth his time. The fact that Mulder responds with “Scully are you coming on to me?” drives home the point that he understands this is personal, this is about them, but he’s not ready to get serious. Scully concludes by telling Mulder that whether the truth or a white whale, both obsessions are impossible to capture “and will only leave you dead along with everyone you bring with you.” Her impending death is never far from her mind these days. This conversation raises issues Mulder and Scully will have to deal with in order to make any progress in a personal relationship. Scully realizes Mulder isn’t ready for that step, he still has other priorities. While she wants a relationship with him, she doesn’t want less than all of him. She doesn’t want to compromise with Mulder, so she might have to settle for meeting her short term needs with someone else.
Wetwired
In this episode we, the viewers, see how much Scully means to Mulder. He’s absolutely devastated when he believes he has to identify her dead body. It’s a heartbreaking moment, made even more heartbreaking by the fact that Scully doesn’t see it. In fact, we learn that Scully is afraid that Mulder doesn’t trust her, that he’s been working behind her back, keeping things from her, lying to her from the beginning. These fears highlight her frustration with what she perceives as Mulder’s unwillingness to include her in his life and in his work. Scully accuses Mulder of being one of the people who abducted her, who put the implant in her neck. She says she thought he was going to kill her. While all these fears and accusations come out when Scully is in an altered state, it’s clear that the implant and its implications are always on her mind.
Talitha Cumi
Scully is shocked when Mulder attempts to connect his mother’s stroke to the case they’re investigating. This is further evidence to her that Mulder is completely focused on the work, the search for the truth, to the detriment of personal relationships. She has to be asking herself, if his mother doesn’t come before the work, can she?
Herrenvolk
Mulder ditches Scully without a second thought, although he did really believe the Bounty Hunter was dead. But he wasn’t, and Scully is once again held captive, with her life threatened, due to Mulder’s quest. When Mulder calls her, she tells him she’s right where he left her because he wouldn’t answer his phone and she didn’t know what to do. Scully is being held hostage by the Bounty Hunter, but she clearly blames Mulder for her situation, for the fact that she has no control over what’s happening to her. This loss of control is further emphasized by Scully’s discovery that people are being inventoried through their small pox vaccines. While this discovery has global implications, Scully makes it by biopsying her own small pox scar. This is personal. Her need to take back control, to rebel against the feeling of helplessness, is growing stronger.
Unruhe
Scully is experiencing unrest in her relationship with Mulder. They’re not on the same page with this case, just as they’re not on the same page with their personal expectations. Mulder wants to know more about Schnauz just for the sake of knowing, it’s his quest for the truth that motivates him. But when they’re too late to save the second victim, Scully is feeling frustrated, uncomfortable, and useless, and she just wants to get out of there. In the same way, Mulder treats his relationship with Scully as a curiosity, willing to let it develop as it will, seemingly unconcerned where it ends up. But Scully is becoming frustrated with the lack of progress, and she might be ready to give up on him.
Scully’s abduction by Schauz is also significant. Once again, Scully’s control is taken from her. Schnauz tells Scully the howlers live inside her head, pointing to the place where her tumor will be found. He tells her she can’t wish them away, she needs help, and this proves to be true. Although Scully shows herself to be strong, intelligent, and resourceful, she’s unable to save herself and needs Mulder to rescue her. This man who doesn’t seem willing to put her first is the one she has to depend on. It doesn’t escape her notice that Mulder is there when she needs him, and he’s able to save her because he’s willing to pursue answers to questions she didn’t want to ask. Scully knows Mulder is the right person for her. She just wants to know that he knows it too.
Leonard Betts
Leonard Betts, the man who needs cancer to survive, tells Scully she has something he needs. This is the first direct reference to Scully’s cancer, and it’s likely that most viewers are taken by surprise by this revelation. But Scully isn’t surprised. She doesn’t tell Mulder what Betts said, but she knows it’s true. She’s resigned. When she experiences the nosebleed later that night, it’s probably the first physical confirmation of her disease. What up to this point has been an ominous consideration is now a confirmed reality.
Never Again
When we first see Scully she is wandering away from Mulder, who is following yet another unlikely lead. Scully approaches the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and picks up a petal from a dying rose. This scene suggests she’s choosing to take control over her life, or what’s left of it, regardless of what Mulder decides to do. When Mulder criticizes her behavior, Scully asks why she doesn’t have a desk. She wants to know that he values her, but he doesn’t seem to understand what she needs. When Scully tells Mulder that his work has become her life, he asks, “You don’t want it to be?” He takes it for granted that they want the same things, but they’ve never really talked about it. Scully is just as guilty of drawing conclusions about what Mulder wants without ever really talking to him about it.
We’ve seen Scully draw the conclusion that she wants more out of their relationship than Mulder is ready to give her. She sees him as a potential life mate, but the problem is she’s running out of life. As Scully sees it, she’s not going to get what she needs from Mulder, so she’s going to pursue what she can get, and Ed Jerse seems like a good substitute. Scully almost accepts Ed’s invitation to dinner, but then she has second thoughts and backs down. But then Mulder calls her, taking for granted that she would be following his instructions, questioning her judgment, and laughing at the idea that she would have a date, and Scully pushes back. She tells Mulder she has everything under control, hangs up, and calls Ed.
Although it’s not directly mentioned in the episode, it’s easy to see Scully’s cancer influencing this choice. Never Again focuses on Scully’s frustration with Mulder and her need to feel in control for a change. But all three of these factors have been at play in Scully’s life for some time, leading her to this moment.
At the end of Never Again Mulder is trying to understand what happened, asking Scully if she did all this because he didn’t get her a desk. Scully tells him not everything is about him, this is her life. Mulder responds, “Yes, but it’s m—.” In his mind, her life is his life too. He can’t imagine one without the other, and he assumed she felt the same way. In fact, she does, but they’ve never talked about what they mean to each other and what they want for their future. I think Scully’s experience in Never Again changes that, if just a little. At the beginning of Memento Mori, Scully tells Mulder about her cancer diagnosis, and she makes sure he knows he’s the only one she’s called. This is a shift, a first step. Scully is sharing something deeply personal with Mulder, the most important person in her life, because she’s the most important person in his. It’s fitting that we see this happen directly after the events in Never Again.
I’ve been doing a complete rewatch of The X-Files, using a spreadsheet to track how often 57 specific details appear in each episode. I wrote about how and why I started the project here: myxfilesobsession.home.blog/2019/12/05/the-spreadsheet/ I’ve finished the first three seasons, and I thought it was a good time to look at the data I’ve gathered and make some observations.
episode scores
I assign a score to every episode by counting one point for each of the details I find. I don’t track when a detail occurs more than once, because that just gets too difficult. The highest score in Season 1 is the Pilot, with 23 points. In fact, that remains the highest scoring episode in the first three seasons. I’m currently in the middle of Season 4 and I haven’t found an episode that scores higher. I’m still blown away by this fact: so many of the details we find iconic were present in the very first episode! Space and Roland both scored 3 points, the lowest for the season. The remaining episodes averaged about 10 points.
In Season 2 End Game, the first episode penned by Frank Spotnitz, takes the high score at 22 points. The lowest score is F. Emasculata, with 3 points. In between there’s a greater range of scores than in Season 1, from 4 to 17 points, but again the average score is 10 points.
Apocrypha scores the highest in Season 3, with 17 points. Three episodes come in a close second with 15 points each: Nisei, War of the Coprophages, and Grotesque. Hell Money scores the lowest, with 5 points. The average score of the remaining episodes is 8.5 points.
Okay, I’m boring myself with these numbers, so let’s talk about the good stuff.
iconic phrases
Scully doesn’t say “Mulder it’s me” even once in the first season, and Mulder says “Scully it’s me” only twice. This trope starts to take off in season 2, though, and we see Scully using it more often than Mulder. Mulder tends to start talking as soon as Scully answers the phone, whereas Scully will occasionally even say “Mulder it’s me” in person. If you throw in the number of times Mulder calls “Scullaayyy!” they’re about even.
agents in peril
I think the show often gets knocked for over-using the “Scully in peril” scenario, so I found the numbers very interesting. In Season 1 Mulder and Scully are each attacked 8 times, Scully saves Mulder 3 times, and Mulder saves Scully 3 times. Mulder is attacked more often than Scully in Season 2, 12 times to her 10, although her abduction is more significant than anything that happens to him in the season. Scully rescues Mulder twice, and he rescues her 4 times. And then in Season 3, Mulder is attacked 9 times and Scully only 3, and they save each other 1 time a piece. I’m just not seeing a trend that places one agent in danger over the other, although that could change moving forward.
clothing, places, and things
Mulder rolls up his sleeves so often that I get distressed in episodes where he wears a jacket or overcoat the whole time. I know he’s got to be uncomfortable! For Scully, there are quite a few episodes in Season 1 that show her in casual wear (10), usually while she’s writing reports in her apartment. As the show moves away from Scully voiceovers, though, we see less of Scully away from the office and therefore less of casual!Scully (5 times each in Seasons 2 and 3).
Aside from the basement office, we see Mulder and Scully most often in rental cars. I had to make a call in tracking this detail. In many episodes you can see the “Lariat” sticker on the car, and so that clearly counts. (Yes, I have been known to freeze the episode, take a screen cap, and enlarge, just to check for that “Lariat” sticker!) In other episodes we see them driving, but there’s no clear indication that the car is a rental. I count that detail if the case is far enough away from Washington D.C. that they wouldn’t have driven but not if they’re within driving distance of their office.
Flashlights appear too often to be interesting, and I’m almost sorry I included that detail in the spreadsheet. Although the count just solidifies why the flashlights make such an iconic image.
last, but not least, the touches
This category held some surprises for me as well. When I think of Mulder and Scully, I think of him placing his hand on her lower back as they walk out of a room or down a hall. I expect to see that in every scene, or at least every episode. So I was really kind of surprised how seldom that actually happens. It’s fairly common in Season 1, occurring in 13 episodes. But it happens only 6 times in Season 2 and only twice in Season 3!
But that’s okay, because we’ve got the random touch. This is by far my favorite detail to track because there are so many variations on this theme, from a shoulder grab, to an arm squeeze, to a cheek tap, and more. Mulder touches Scully, Scully touches Mulder, in almost every episode. These two are just really touchy, and I’m here for it. Moving into Season 4 and beyond, as their relationship grows, we’ll start to see some of the more personal touches, and those are wonderful too. But these little random touches, which often serve no purpose other than a quick connection, are really the heart of the show for me.
Here’s a link to my spreadsheet if you want to follow along:
When I decided to write a series on Mulder’s father figures I knew immediately that I would include Walter Skinner. He is the World’s Best FBI Dad after all (credit goes to Karen@rainknight on Twitter for the moniker). I wrote the first two installments, on Deep Throat and Bill Mulder/CSM, knowing I would conclude the series with a piece about Skinner. But when it came time to write that piece, I was stumped. The idea which seemed such a natural follow up just wasn’t coming together. So I had to re-examine my previous assumption. Did Skinner and Mulder really have a father/son type of relationship?
The fact is, Walter Skinner is an enigma. Not just to us, but to Mulder and Scully as well. We know almost nothing about him. In one episode (Avatar) we find out he has a wife, his marriage is on the brink of ending, they appear to have some sort of reconciliation, he puts his wedding ring back on, and then … nothing. We never see or hear about Sharon Skinner again. And while we learn a little of Skinner’s backstory in One Breath, and it’s expanded upon in Kitten, that’s really all we know. As Scully comments in that latter episode, “even after all these years, we know precious little about Walter Sergei Skinner beyond the professional.”
The last time we see Sharon Skinner, in Avatar
I like to think that Skinner would have been Uncle Walter to William, and in fact we see a deeper connection between Scully and Skinner in Mulder’s absence, but I can’t imagine William growing up thinking of Skinner as Grandpa. Skinner is more that nice man who cares for you and your parents, who shows up on holidays or the to occasional dinner. He’s not the ever present family member, giving 5 dollar bills and unsolicited advice and telling tales from the past, that your father’s father would be.
Skinner’s interactions with Mulder are almost exclusively work related. The closest we get to a personal father/son type interaction is Triangle. Skinner is no longer Mulder’s supervisor at that point, and he’s risking his career to help Mulder (who is definitely not carrying out a work assignment) or even be seen with him. But he does help Mulder, and then he shows up in Mulder’s hospital room with flowers and an offer to kick Mulder’s butt but good. There’s clearly some affection and authority which goes beyond the work realm. Similarly in I Want to Believe, Scully calls on Skinner in his capacity as a bigwig at the FBI, but it’s the personal affection for Mulder that we see as Skinner cradles Mulder to keep him warm.
When you get out of here, I’m gonna kick your butt but good.
-I’m cold. -I know Mulder.
Mulder demonstrates similar affection in Requiem, when he’s sure the X-Files are being shut down and he invites “Walter” to “sit a spell,” and again in The Truth when he wants to greet that “big bald beautiful man” with a kiss. These are rare moments of friendly intimacy in an otherwise professional relationship.
Come in Walter, sit a spell.
Come here you big bald beautiful man.
That’s not to denigrate Skinner’s importance to Mulder. The little we know about Skinner’s background includes the fact that he joined the military as soon as he was old enough. During his time in the service his innate honor and integrity would have been honed to the point that he understood the value of protecting those you serve with. He carried those values with him to the FBI, where his fierce loyalty led him to put himself on the line for Mulder more than once. In Memento Mori he makes a deal with the devil himself (well, CSM) to save Scully’s life so that Mulder won’t have to.
Skinner makes a deal with CSM to save Scully, and Mulder, in Memento Mori
While Skinner and Mulder don’t have much of a personal relationship, Skinner still fills the role of father figure in some respects. Quite often Skinner’s interactions with Mulder in the course of their work take on a fatherly tone. He’s certainly an authority figure. He provides wisdom, guidance, and protection. The scene in Anasazi when Mulder takes a swing at Skinner strikes me as a great example of their on-the-job father/son dynamic. Skinner lets Mulder act out for a while but then reels him in when necessary. When Mulder lashes out, Skinner puts a stop to it but doesn’t hurt him in the process.
Skinner putting Mulder in his place in Anasazi
On the job, Skinner tends to treat Mulder as a father would a son, and Mulder responds to him the way a son would a father. Skinner is on Mulder’s side, and Mulder (almost always) recognizes that, even when he defies protocol or direct orders to get what he wants. In Redux II, although Scully’s almost sure Skinner is working against them and has been from the start, Mulder doesn’t believe that. He trusts Skinner to take care of him, even though he knows Skinner has evidence which could convict him. And, as we see, Mulder’s trust is well-placed. Blevins is the Syndicate’s inside man; Skinner is just trying to help Mulder find the truth.
Mulder’s faith in Skinner proves to be justified in Redux II
This father/son dynamic doesn’t seem to exist outside of work, however. Whereas we saw Mulder seeking a personal connection with Deep Throat, wishing they could take in a ball game together, I think Mulder is always aware that Skinner is his boss, and that keeps their relationship from getting overly personal, despite the affection they feel for each other.
I can’t say Skinner is a true father figure to Mulder. But in the realm of their interactions, he’s certainly the World’s Best FBI Dad. So in his honor, I’ve made him a Father’s Day card, in traditional grade school acrostic format:
World’s Best FBI Dad
Assistant Director for life
Loyal
Trustworthy
Encourager
Role Model
Skinner, still dealing with Mulder’s antics, in Babylon
In this installment I take a look at the two men who claim to be Mulder’s biological father: Bill Mulder and the CSM. What, if anything, did they give him besides DNA? How did their presence in Mulder’s life impact the man he became?
Bill Mulder
Colony opens with a voice-over from Mulder in which he talks about the risks he takes in pursuing the truth about his sister. Once he and Scully start investigating the deaths of identical doctors, they have an argument about the costs of pursing the case, the risks they are taking. Scully asks Mulder whatever happened to Trust No One (the advice Deep Throat gave them as he died)? Mulder quips, “I changed it to Trust Everyone, I didn’t tell you?” This is a cute line, but it’s really very true. Like a neglected child so starved for affection that he lacks appropriate boundaries, Mulder will follow just about anyone. But why? Why is Mulder willing to take these risks, to pay this price?
Enter Bill Mulder. Cold, distant, judgmental Bill Mulder, who deflects Mulder’s attempt to hug him, who withholds any sense of approval by making sure Mulder knows it was his mother who wanted him there. We start to understand Mulder’s motivation for risking everything to find the truth. He’s trying to prove to his father, and to himself, that he’s worthy of love. He wants to make up for something that wasn’t his fault. And Bill Mulder lets him struggle and condemn himself.
After Mulder trades the Samantha clone for Scully in End Game, Mulder has to tell his father what happened. It’s clear what he fears most is rejection, and that’s exactly what he receives. Mulder can’t even face Bill when he says he lost Samantha. Bill responds not with compassion but with a show of authority, demanding that Mulder consider what this will do to his mother. He leaves in disgust, as Mulder falls apart. Even if we don’t yet know the level of Bill’s involvement with Samantha’s abduction, his action here is unpardonable. We see that he long ago rejected Mulder, shifting the blame for the family’s destruction to him. Contrast this with the very next scene, in which Scully tells Mulder he can’t blame himself, and we see just how lacking the relationship between Mulder and his father is. This sort of comfort should have come naturally from father to son. We see that Mulder can go to Skinner, Scully, and X for help, but not to his father. Instead, he again risks his life to try to earn back his father’s love.
As the series continues and we get more glimpses into Mulder’s family of origin, we get the impression that Bill was a good provider in a financial sense. The family had a nice home, they had a summer house. There were some changes after Bill and Teena divorced, but Mulder was probably never left wanting, materially.
We also learn that Bill gave Mulder a sense of security. In Aubrey Mulder tells Scully that he used to have nightmares that he was the only person left in the world, but when he was lying in his bed terrified he would hear his father in his study cracking sunflower seeds. That provided the sense of reassurance Mulder needed, that he wasn’t alone. We also know Mulder has fond memories of sharing activities with Bill. He talks about being in Indian Guides with him in Detour. So, at least until Samantha’s abduction, there was nurture and warmth.
But there were also secrets. There was abuse. In Mulder’s flashback in Demons he sees his parents fighting. They’re both yelling, and Bill gets physical with Teena. Even at that young age Mulder takes it upon himself to protect Samantha.
In Travelers we learn that Mulder and Bill are estranged. There had to be a point where young Mulder rebelled against the strict authoritarian his father had become, the man who made him feel he was to blame for the family’s losses. Because their relationship was dysfunctional, the reconciliation that often comes as a child matures to adulthood was missing, and it was easier to avoid each other.
At the end of his life, Bill Mulder has regrets. Not just about his part in the Conspiracy, but about how he let it impact his relationship with his son. His desire to protect Mulder resurfaces after a confrontation with CSM in Anasazi, and he seeks assurance that CSM won’t harm Mulder. Despite CSM’s threats, Bill calls Mulder, seeking reconciliation, forgiveness, absolution. It’s telling that Mulder drops everything and comes when his father calls, and doing so saves his life, as he’s not in his apartment when a shot is fired through the window. Mulder’s quest to prove himself worthy had him on a path toward destruction, and some fatherly guidance, love, concern provided the necessary course correction.
When Mulder arrives Bill hugs him, the reverse of the situation we saw in Colony. Bill tries to make amends for the past. He starts by offering excuses (it was so complicated then, the choices that had to be made), but then he praises Mulder, assures him he’s smarter than Bill was, he’s his own person. Before he’s able to give Mulder any concrete information, though, he’s shot. With his final breath, he asks Mulder to forgive him. I think Mulder does so immediately. He still needs to find the truth, but he has no desire to hold the past against his father.
We see Bill Mulder once more in The Blessing Way. Bill tells Mulder in his vision/visitation that he is ashamed of the choices he made when Mulder was a boy. He thought he could bury the truth, but now he needs Mulder to uncover it. Bill is shifting the burden to Mulder to set right his wrongs, just as Deep Throat did in EBE. This is the family legacy, Mulder’s destiny regardless of who is playing the role of father, and he gets assurance that he will find the truth if he goes forward.
It seems clear that Bill Mulder saw himself as Mulder’s father. He doesn’t appear to be aware of the possibility that CSM is Mulder’s biological father (he calls Mulder the life to which I gave life in Blessing Way). But regardless of biology, he raised Mulder and provided for him, he loved and nurtured and comforted him, at least for a time. He abdicated his responsibilities when his decisions tore the family apart, doing damage to their relationship and Mulder’s psyche. There was damage, but not destruction. In the end, Bill Mulder sought and received forgiveness. Moving forward, Mulder focused on the good memories whenever possible, while trying to uncover and understand the truth.
CSM
I can’t really write about Mulder’s father figures without discussing CSM. I’m going to keep it brief though, because of all the various roles CSM plays (arch-nemesis, super villain, evil incarnate) the role of “father” is the least convincing. He demonstrates some characteristics of a father, but only on the surface. He’s presented more as a contrast to the other father figures in Mulder’s life.
From the start we see CSM as a vaguely menacing figure. We don’t know much about him, but we can see he’s in a position of authority. Mulder’s not working directly for him, but CSM seems to be calling the shots. In Erlenmeyer Flask, CSM ends up with the alien fetus Scully retrieved to exchange for Mulder, and we understand that he orchestrated Mulder’s kidnapping in the first place. While both Deep Throat and CSM are using Mulder for their own agendas, CSM is ruthless, rather than benevolent.
Skinner provides another contrast. He’s Mulder’s direct supervisor, and he doesn’t hesitate to reign Mulder in and redirect him when necessary. But when he does so it’s understood that he’s acting for Mulder’s own good, or at the very least for the good of the FBI. Time and again Skinner puts his neck on the line to protect Mulder and his search for the truth. CSM seeks to control Mulder as well, to guide him and his work. In Little Green Men we find out he’s been bugging Mulder’s phone, and in Sleepless we learn he’s using Krycek to control Mulder. CSM ostensibly protects Mulder, making the argument that to kill Mulder would risk turning his religion into a crusade. But it’s not fatherly devotion that motivates him. Unlike Skinner, CSM is only trying to further his own ends. He’s using Mulder, plain and simple.
Like Bill Mulder, CSM claims to be Mulder’s biological father, but we know that whatever sense of familial affection he claims to have for Mulder, it isn’t reciprocated. Regardless of any biological connection, Mulder will never see CSM as a father. As starved as Mulder is for paternal affection, he is able to see through CSM’s manipulations. CSM has shown repeatedly (in Duane Barry, Anasazi, Wetwired, One Son, Amor Fati, En Ami, and The Truth for example) that he will deceive and betray Mulder, culminating in their final scene together in My Struggle IV. In the ultimate act of betrayal, CSM shoots the man he claims is his son. Where in the end Bill Mulder was willing to lay down his life to lead Mulder to the truth, CSM shows his true colors by attempting to end Mulder’s life to keep the truth hidden. While Mulder forgives the father who raised him, he kills the father who betrayed him.
I went to Crypticon in Seattle on Friday night, and my experience was both very surreal and very real.
As soon as I learned that some major X-Files players would be at a con so close to my home I made plans to go. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to see Mitch Pileggi, Nicholas Lea, and William B. Davis when they were practically coming to me! (Annabeth Gish was also scheduled to be there but, sadly, had to cancel at the last minute). But then I learned that my son had two short films selected to screen at the Crypticon film festival. There was no way I was going to miss this con!
I got there when the doors opened at 4:00 because I wanted enough time to see the X-Files stars before the film screening at 7:00. Turns out there was plenty of time. This was a much smaller con than the other two I’d been to, with no lines to wait in, and it didn’t really get busy until later. So I got my pictures with Mitch and Nick and WBD.
I also took a few pictures of them talking to other fans.
I was with my friend Dita, the wonderful lady who heads up the Mitch’s Pledgies fan group and coordinates their fund-raising efforts for No Kid Hungry. Dita was catching up with Mitch and taking pics for fans who came to the table. And we just sort of hung out and chatted with Mitch and Nick. Well I actually didn’t do a lot of chatting because I’m awkward AF, but I did manage to ask Mitch and Nick some questions, and I told them both about my son’s films, so I was extremely happy with the experience.
Then Dita told Mitch we were heading to dinner, and he said he’d probably join us in a bit. I thought that was really sweet but it would never happen. But then…it did! Mitch Pileggi and his assistant joined us for dinner!!! We sat and chatted and had dinner together for about a half hour before I had to leave for the film screening.
The conversation was just very real. We talked about families and home renovations and politics and travel. But it was also surreal. I was sitting across the table having dinner with the man whose face was on my shirt! Mitch is a lovely, sweet, funny and kind man, and the dinner was an amazing experience I’ll never forget.
I didn’t realize it, but my son had been in the bar and had seen this play out. As I walked out of the restaurant to head upstairs to the film screening room, my son caught up with me and asked “Did you just skip out on dinner with Mitch Pileggi to watch my film?!!!” I got a big hug and major mom points for that!
I know this is an X-Files blog, but I’m still a proud mom, so I’m including a link to one of my son’s films, Night of the Living Trees. It has a sort of Schizogeny vibe to it, so that’s a bit of an X-Files connection.
I’m a shipper. Die hard, true blue, to the core shipper. I have been since I saw my very first episode of The X-Files in 1994 (The Host). I have always found the Mulder/Scully Relationship to be the most compelling part of the show, the thing that makes everything else about the show more interesting.
Office banter, in Jersey Devil
I knew from the very start that The X-Files appealed to different people for different reasons. My husband started watching early in Season 1, and he kept trying to get me to watch with him, saying it’s this great show about aliens, and the paranormal, and government cover ups…it just didn’t sound like something I needed to watch. I was pregnant, tired, not going to stay awake on a Friday night for that. When I finally gave in and watched with him, I realized the show he had been describing was not the show I was seeing. To be fair, I do love all those elements that appealed to him, but it’s The Ship that drew me in and kept me coming back.
What does the term Shipper mean?
I first heard the term shipper when I started engaging with the fandom prior to the revival in 2016. I wasn’t part of the online fandom during the original run of the show. It just didn’t fit into my life at the time. I was lucky if I got to watch the show as it aired every week. Once I dove into social media fandom, though, I realized that a line had been drawn at some point between shippers and non-shippers. (Even as I write that I understand there are going to be people who want to tell me the correct term is noromo, not non-shipper. I promise, I’ll get there.)
The first definition of shipper I heard was something along the lines of “someone who wants Mulder and Scully to have sex, on screen, and believes they’ve been having sex since day 1.” It was said facetiously, I get that. But I’ve had that definition in the back of my mind ever since. I think it’s what makes a lot of people feel defensive about calling themselves shippers, and what makes other people look down on those of us who identify with that segment of the fandom. But it’s really not what I mean when I say I’m a shipper.
Working together even when they’re not, in The Host
I call myself a shipper because it was the relationship between Mulder and Scully that drew me into the show and made me want to keep watching. As I said, my first episode was The Host. Mulder and Scully were not even working together at the time, but they were so clearly important to each other. They trusted each other, they valued each other, and they liked each other. That’s compelling stuff. I wanted more of that. I wanted to see these two agents solve cases and search for the truth and fight for what’s right, and I wanted to see them do it together. It was a beautiful depiction of a partnership.
That partnership developed into a deep and abiding friendship. In so many of the early episodes we get to see Mulder and Scully having fun together, teasing each other, caring for each other, helping each other. War of the Coprophages to me is a perfect example of the scope of the Mulder/Scully friendship. Mulder calls Scully when he’s in the mood for a philosophical discussion, he calls her when he needs her expert advice, he calls her when he can’t sleep, and he confides in her about an early moment of self-discovery. He also hangs up on her when he thinks there’s a prospect of romance with someone else. Scully spends her night off talking to Mulder, researching the answers he needs. She drops everything when she thinks he’s in danger and drives up to lend a hand. These are things you do with your best friend.
Late night confession, in War of the Coprophages
I remember reading an article about The X-Files some time around early Season 4 with a kind of “will they or won’t they” focus, and I was genuinely surprised. At that point it had never occurred to me that there were romantic possibilities. It’s odd to think about that now, looking back, knowing how the relationship developed, but at the time I saw them as platonic partners and friends. Now, like many shippers I can go back to any episode from any season and point out “shipper moments,” and it’s fun to speculate as to how early Mulder and Scully realized they were in love. But when I’m honest with myself, I don’t think they were aware of any romantic feelings between them until Fight the Future. I think the almost kiss in the hallway came as a surprise to both of them.
The almost kiss, in Fight the Future
Incidentally, I was thrilled with the Fight the Future hallway scene. I was so glad they almost kissed, and so relieved that it was interrupted by that bee. I wanted to see them work through more before they became involved romantically. I’m a huge fan of angst and the slow burn, and we get plenty of that in The X-Files. Fight the Future got them re-evaluating their feelings for each other. After that I can’t help but focus on the romantic nature of the relationship.
How can you not ship them?
It’s easy for me to understand different perspectives among people who consider themselves shippers. There was amazing chemistry between David and Gillian from the start, with looks and touches that could readily be characterized as sexual. And there’s enough ambiguity in the stories that plenty of interpretations are feasible. What was harder for me to understand was how anyone could watch the show and not be a shipper. Did some people think there was never any romance between Mulder and Scully? How could they think that, given what we see in all things, Existence and The Truth (I won’t even get into the flirting in Season 7). It finally occurred to me that I needed to ask people what they mean when they say they’re not shippers. So I did.
The most perfect scene ever, in Requiem
Several people told me they’re just not interested in the relationship. It’s there, but that’s not why they watch the show. My husband is one of these. He loves the stories and the cases and the conspiracies; the rest is unimportant. Among that group there were some who felt that the episodes suffered in quality once the show started exploring the romantic relationship.
Others told me that they wish the relationship had never become romantic. They see Mulder and Scully as partners, friends, and soul mates, with a unique platonic relationship which makes them, and the show, more interesting. The show was different from other shows because of the way the relationship was portrayed, and it moved toward mediocrity when romance was introduced. Interestingly, some in this group expressed that Mulder and Scully should not be involved with anyone else romantically. They seem focused on the artistic impression of the show, and they like the idea that the Mulder/Scully relationship could be an ideal.
The ideal friendship, in Memento Mori
What I didn’t find was any group of people who believed the Mulder/Scully relationship never became romantic, which is what I always thought noromo or non-shipper meant. There were plenty of people who felt the show would have been better without a romantic element, but no one who denied it existed.
Aren’t we all in the same boat?
I’m so glad I engaged in these conversations! I realized that not only does ship mean different things to different shippers, but it means different things to non-shippers. Most of all I was struck, as I often am, with how this show can appeal to so many different people for so many different reasons. I’ve never come across another show like it in that respect. It presents complex ideas with complex characters who don’t fall easily into the stereotypical romantic pairing, and it leaves room for viewers to interpret what we see and gather meaning from it. So I’ve come to terms with the fact that we don’t all ship Mulder and Scully in the same way. And really, that’s one of the great strengths of the show.
Here it is. This is what started it all. My BFF Tami knew how excited I was about The X-Files revival, so she had this amazing cake made for me to celebrate the premiere. Sitting on top were the Mulder and Scully action figures that would become the first pieces in my collection. For a long while they were my only pieces. They were fun. I enjoyed having them in my office. But I didn’t need any more. After all, I’m not a collector.
But then…well there was an eBay auction of X-Files memorabilia for Gillian Anderson Charities. That really appealed to me. I could buy one little piece of the show I loved and benefit a worthy cause at the same time, and that would be enough. I placed the winning bid on this, an autographed call sheet and sides from the last day of shooting on The Truth. I had it framed. It was beautiful.
Suddenly I was off. I bought some Funko Pop figures, some issues of TV Guide featuring The X-Files, J.J.Lendl’s Arcadia poster. I went from having an X-Files Corner in my office, to an X-Files Wall, to needing to rearrange furniture and add shelves.
I started wondering if I was going overboard. Do reasonable people spend money on mementos from a 90s TV show? If not, do I want to be a reasonable person? I did some soul searching, asking myself why I felt the need to build this collection. I knew I wasn’t interested in profit. I had no intention of selling these items that brought me so much joy. Then I finally realized that was the key. Joy. This collection, much like my engagement with the X-Files fandom, was bringing me joy.
What’s more, I was bringing that joy into my work day. I work as an appellate attorney representing people who can’t afford counsel. I spend my days immersed in a lot of miserable situations, and it can get to me. But surrounded by my collection I can pause, look around, and see little reminders of my favorite show. And suddenly my day is a bit brighter and I can carry on.
So I embraced my addiction to collecting, and I went kind of wild. I bought some action figures here, some artwork there, scripts, books, coffee mugs (so many coffee mugs). My friends and family embraced it too, adding to my collection for every occasion, or for no occasion at all but just to make me happy. Along the way I learned a few things.
a few of the treasured gifts I’ve received from loved ones
There’s an amazing amount of talent dedicated to X-Files art
I’m constantly blown away by the gorgeous X-Files art I encounter, by incredibly talented artists using their gifts to create art out of their love for the show. It brings me joy to support this work, and by far my favorite thing to collect is X-Files art, whether posters, hand-lettering designs, comic books, stickers, or buttons. My office is filled with these treasures.
I’ve experienced so much generosity
One thing that has surprised and delighted me is the spirit of giving in the X-Files artistic community. I look at a calendar every day created by fan artists who donated their creations in support of Women for Women International. I have also been gifted with wonderful works by Catherine Nodet, Cortlan Waters Bartley, Alison King, Audrey Loub, and JJ Lendl. This generosity has inspired me to give back. I have no artistic ability. I won’t be creating works of art for anyone. But I give in ways I can, supporting favorite causes of artists associated with The X-Files.
Clockwise from center: silk screen print from Cortlan Waters Bartley, X-Files card from Catherine Nodet, Christmas Fox card from Alison King, Irresistible sketch from Audrey Loub, and Scully portrait from Catherine NodetJ.J. Lendl gifted me with this Paper Hearts poster to complete my mini shrine to my favorite episode
Memorabilia for a cause
A large portion of my collection was acquired through online auctions to support charities. I’m a sucker for eBay charity auctions and will always bid on something. It’s the only way I’ll purchase memorabilia.
Autographed Fight the Future poster, proceeds to the American Cancer Society in memory of Kim Manners
Some things are worth remembering
Last but by no means least, my collection contains photos. To be sure, I’m thrilled I’ve had the opportunity to meet and have photos taken with several X-Files stars, and those photos are featured in my collection. But just as treasured are photos with friends I’ve made through the X-Files fandom and was lucky enough to meet IRL.
So I don’t know if I have anything profound to say to wrap this up. People have asked about what I collect and why, and I’ve tried to answer that here. I guess my takeaway from thinking about this topic is that I feel happy every time I enter my office, and that’s not a bad thing.
My X-Files Obsession 