For the first installment, I want to talk about The X-Files because it's my favorite show of all time. It's by far the fandom I read the most fic in. I don't write too much in it because for some reason I struggle to finish ANY of my X-Files fic, like more so than in any other fandom. I don't know why, but the struggle is so real. Although, I am working to remedy this issue, and I do hope to have some more X-Files fic finished and posted here and on Archive of Our Own in the (hopefully near) future.
The X-Files is an American science fiction/procedural drama (excellent mash up of those two genres) that started airing in 1993. Its original series ran for 9 seasons, ending in 2002. There were two movies: The X-Files: Fight the Future, which took place during the original series run and is generally well-regarded by fans of the series, and I Want to Believe, which was released several years after the end of the original series and has a somewhat divided response from fans. In 2013, a comic book series dubbed "Season 10" was released and was supposed to be a canonical season of the show taking place in the present time (that the comics were released that is.) In 2016, a season 10 6-episode mini-series was released, which did not go along with the canon of the comics; I guess that makes that the new canon. Chris Carter and Co. can be kinda screwy like that. A 10 episode 11th season has been officially announced recently and is supposed to air sometime next year.
The long-running and somewhat oft-revived series follows FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they investigate unsolved and unexplained cases in the X-Files of the Bureau. Scully is originally assigned to lend scientific credibility to Mulder's work and serve as something of a skeptic foil to his unchecked belief in the paranormal. Mulder is something of a laughing stock of the bureau, called "Spooky" and mocked for his out there theories and obsessions, but at the same time he has a reputation of being an excellent profiler from his old work with the violent crimes unit. Scully on the other hand, is a scientist, a medical doctor recruited for the FBI out of medical school, and she values hard fact and evidence when coming up with theories or solving cases.
Scully, from Fight the Future looking freakin' killer as usual.
Mulder's obsession with the paranormal comes mostly from the traumatic incident in his childhood where his sister disappeared. He believed her to be abducted by aliens. He is obsessed with finding out the truth about what happened to her and both finding and exposing the truth of the existence of aliens and paranormal phenomenon in general.
Mulder, from season 1, asking Scully if she thinks he's Spooky.
The last two seasons also follow the characters Agent John Doggett and Agent Monica Reyes. Fans are split on opinions of them, but personally I love them. I may not love them as much as Mulder and Scully, but I think they are excellent characters in their own right. I won't get too much into their personal stories here because a) they weren't around for most of the series and b) to do so would reveal some major spoilers and I don't want to do that.
Doggett and Reyes, who I love and will defend to the death.
So... Why do I love this show so much? There are really two main reasons. One is that I love sci-fi and monsters and things like that. The X-Files is a great for anyone with those interests! There are all kinds of episodes dealing with all sorts of paranormal phenomena, ranging from, of course, aliens and alien abduction to poltergeists to mutants to psychic kids and men who can control the weather (and much much more!)
A fetus possibly belonging to either an alien or alien-human hybrid (I forget which. lol)
The other reason I love The X-Files is actually maybe an even bigger reason: the characters. Of course, mainly this means Mulder and Scully and their relationship. The show is surprisingly character driven. We get to know the characters, especially the two main characters really well, and I, like most fans, got very attached to them. Mulder with his eccentricities and dry, off-the-wall (and sometimes dumb) humor. Scully with her principles and her remarkable ability to put up with Mulder on a regular basis for years. Both of them, both individually and together, show such strength and determination through all kinds of adversity and messed up stuff that it's hard not to root for them!
A particular joy of the show is watching Mulder and Scully's relationship develop. Even if you are one of the rare breed of fans known as "no romos" who do not ship Mulder and Scully (Sidenote: The X-Files fandom back in the day actually invented the term "shipper", no really, look it up!) you can still watch them grow closer and closer as friends (although some of the later series might not be to your taste because it does get more blatantly shippy later on!) In fact, part of why I ship them so hard is exactly because of that! They are partners and friends first and foremost! They respect and care for each other in a profound way because they are friends and colleagues as well as eventual lovers. (And when I say "eventual", BELIEVE ME, I mean eventual!)
Mulder, lying.
Scully, holding Mulder in her lap like a giant lap dog because he got hurt and they are lost in the wilderness and cold.
Gazing into each others eyes in a ~totally platonic~ way, as they will. lol
So, yeah, if you are a fan of character driven works, you might also appreciate The X-Files, and if you are a fan of slow burn romantic pairings then you definitely should check out The X-Files because holy cow! MSR (Mulder-Scully-Relationship, this is the name of the ship as named back in the olden days of TXF fandom and still used as the ship name today) is, like, the ultimate Unresolved Sexual Tension, Friends to Lovers, SLOW BURN!
This is getting really long, and I still could keep going. I haven't even gotten into the awesome recurring villians (like the infamous Cigarette Smoking Man) or the awesome recurring side characters (like Assistant Director Walter Skinner or the Lone Gunmen!) I've barely even scratched the surface of all the awesome monster-of-the-week episodes. Heck! I've barely even scratched the surface on talking about Mulder and Scully! And I didn't even get into how awesome the fandom is (for the most part) and all the tremendous wealth of both old and new fanfiction there is (as well as fan art and all sorts of other content!)
But I think, I will stop here before this gets any longer! I hope this blog gave you a better idea of what The X-Files is about, why it is an awesome show, and why I love it so much. I hope anyone reading who has never seen it before is inspired to maybe check it out because it really is such a great show, like all of my rambling here cannot do it justice. Like I said, I've barely scratched the surface. I could do an entire blog series just on The X-Files alone!! I won't, but I could!
Remember, kids. The truth is out there (but so are lies!)
