The X Files was a unit of the FBI headed by two agents, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigated paranormal occurences.
The hugely successful television series The X Files ran for nine seasons and was created by Chris Carter. Focusing on the adventures of two FBI agents, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) the show frequently explored supernatural and unexplained events. Under the close supervision of their boss Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) Mulder and Scully would investigate cases involving genetic mutants, vampires and alien bounty hunters. Humans with abnormal abilities such as telekinesis and the power to appear and disappear at will also contributed to the appeal of the series.
The main focus of the long X Files saga was Mulder searching for iron clad evidence of extraterrestrials. David Duchovny played his role to perfection as a tortured man haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his sister Samantha. Mulder was convinced that alien beings were involved and spent years looking for her, but with limited success. Scully, armed with a medical degree and a strong scientific education was somewhat less accepting of Mulder's far flung theories, and at times showed very little tolerance for his endless crusading.
Not only are they seeking the truth about the strange things they encounter, but their efforts are continually thwarted by men outside the FBI, members of a so-called shadow government who want the X Files shut down permanently. An assortment of characters with peculiar names such as Deep Throat, (Jerry Hardin) Mr. X, (Steven Williams) and the Smoking Man (William B. Davis) have made numerous appearances throughout the series and have given the show a dark, spooky and unsettled feeling as they step out of dark corners unexpectedly, sometimes to help and at other times to do harm. In a fourth season episode viewers were given a more detailed insight into the early life of the Smoking Man, and in a surprising revelation it is learned that as a captain in the U.S. military he is assigned to assassinate President Kennedy in 1963. He moves up the ladder to become a member of a secret group of men who know of the existence of alien beings, who wanted to colonize Earth and get rid of the human race in the process.
Later in the series a new group of FBI investigators are introduced. John Doggett (Robert Patrick) a former U.S. Marine and New York City police detective, joins the FBI to assist in the search for Mulder, who is abducted by an alien craft in Oregon. The few scenes with Mulder are unnerving as his body is held down aboard the alien ship being drilled and sawed with unearthly instruments. Doggett is even more skeptical of the paranormal than Scully, and stumbles awkwardly alongside his new partner with the mindset of a veteran police investigator, and not as a believer in extreme possibilities.
A new deputy director within the FBI, Alvin Kersh, (James Pickens Jr.) made his first appearance while Mulder and Scully were still working together. Kersh made it clear that he had zero tolerance for paranormal investigations and assigned both of them to mundane tasks like background checks. After Mulder was returned Kersh refused to re-instate him into the FBI, and after an unauthorized investigation into the disappearance of oil workers in the Gulf of Mexico, Kersh promptly fired Mulder.
After Mulder's second disappearance Doggett is partnered with Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish). Scully had other concerns now that she had a son to care for, but still made regular appearances in the last season.
The X Files was filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia and in Los Angeles. Many of the actors who made appearances in the series were born in Canada, including William B. Davis, Nicholas Lea and all three members of the Lone Gunmen.
