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From the Houston Chronicle:
'The X-Files' is 20 years old, and now you feel ancient
Twenty years ao on this date, the long-running Fox sci-fi series The X-Files premiered. Debuting on Sept. 10, 1993, the show would see a gradual rise in popularity, transitioning from cult joy to bona fide pop-culture hit. There were magazine covers, books, fan sites on an infant Internet, all culminating in 1998's big-screen event.
Through The X-Files, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson became sex symbols, and the show's plots about conspiracy theories, alien intruders, and paranormal phenomena made it must-see TV.
Plenty of shows tried to replicate the magic, but they mostly failed. Remember NBC's Dark Skies?
Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan cut his teeth on The X-Files, writing and producing dozens of episodes. You can see more than a glimmer of the Fox show in the misadventures of Walter White and the gang too. All the major players on Breaking Bad also had small turns on The X-Files, including Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Dean Norris.
X-Files was a HUGE fannish thing for me. It was probably where I first began reading fanfic. It's still the fandom where I wrote most of my fanfic and the one where I wrote my longest fanfic.
"Shipper" was a new thing and I remember the constant - CONSTANT -- "Shipper"/"Noromo" wars (Noromo = no romance). Arguments over what exactly the realtionship between Mulder and Scully was and what it should be.
And Scully?
She still kicks major ass as a heroine.
Seriously, to this day I believe she tops most show heroines. She was a smart. She was educated. She was COMPETENT (which shouldn't be so rare, but totally is). She could confront authority. She could question. She could think or be skeptical. She could believe. She could take care of herself (and usually rescued herself) and she could rescue Mulder too when necessary. The woman had nerves of steel, never freaking out when I would've done so a thousand times. She was never prone to melodrama or histrionics, but underneath was a strong, loyal, determined heart.
Scully rocks and always will.
And I'll always love the competitive, squabbling equals who would walk through hell for each other that was the Mulder/Scully ship.
Oh yeah, they were awesome. :)
(And a tiny bit of my heart still slashes Skinner/Doggett just a little bit. :)
