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TEST / SEASON 1
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Season 1 of The X-Files premiered on Friday, September 10, 1993 on FOX, amidst some doubt over the viability of series' nature. The show was developed by Chris Carter, who, after becoming interested in stories of purported alien abductions and government coverup-type incidents (such as Watergate), formed the concept of a darker investigative-type show touching on such aspects and other, more supernatural facets, featuring elements from such titles as The Twilight Zone and the recent hit film The Silence of the Lambs. After his first pitch to the network was rejected, he re-worked the pilot into network approval with help from Daniel Sackheim, then a producer for NYPD Blue.
The main stars ultimately chosen were an interesting pairing: David Duchovny - an LA actor more inclined towards feature film work, who, by that time, had appeared in smaller, generally lesser-known parts (his recurring role in Twin Peaks arguably being the sole notable instance), and Gillian Anderson - a then 24-year old actress with considerable theater experience but little familiarity with film or TV productions. Also interesting was their characterization, with Chris Carter opting to go against known typecasts and setting up the male character, Mulder, as the 'believer' and Scully, the female, as the 'skeptic' (Ironically, those qualities are reversed for Duchovny and Anderson in reality). Carter, despite being a California native, opted to have the series filmed on location in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, primarily due to its' considerable amount of surrounding forestry (and the atmosphere it provided).
The first season ran for 24 episodes from September 1993 to May 1994. Though all done in-sequence, the episodes consisted entirely of 'one-and-done' stories, with no real over-arcing storyline(s) nor any long-term story planning. Subsequently, as the show formed a basis for what would be its' main background mythology (regarding a combined government and alien conspiracy) and developed actual 'arcs' pertaining thereto, the show would continue featuring unrelated single-episode stories, which would be known as 'Monster of the Week' episodes. In addition, many guest actors in the first season, intended only for minor characters with few or only even single appearances, would have their characters become recurring roles throughout the rest of the series. Among these would be Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), the administrative head of the X-Files unit (and as such, Mulder and Scully's direct superior), in a major recurring role and ultimately as a starring regular in the ninth season; Mulder's consulting conspiracy-theorist group, 'The Lone Gunmen', who would later be featured in numerous episodes and would also have their own short-lived spin-off series; and most notably, the pilot's considerably minor 'Man #2' character (William B. Davis), who would greatly evolve and expand to become primarily known as 'The Cigarette-Smoking Man', the series' principal antagonist. The setup of much of the show's background and secondary characters in these early years were due to the influence of writing duo Glen Morgan and James Wong, who would go on to develop their own series Space: Above and Beyond.
The following weapons were used in Season 1 of the television series The X-Files:
TEST / SEASON 2
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Season 2 of The X-Files premiered on September 16, 1994 and would conclude the following May with 25 episodes, the most of any season in the show. Like the previous season, S2 was also filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia. Season 2 started strong, but with a bit of a dilemma - Co-star Gillian Anderson had become pregnant towards the end of the first season, meaning her pregnancy and eventual childbirth would occur during shooting of the second season. The question of how the show should handle this, both on-screen and off, came to a head. Series creator Chris Carter, who fought considerably with FOX executives to allow Anderson to be cast in the first place (the network had wanted an actress with a broader reach, either by greater recognition or sex appeal), now had to fight again to keep her role from being re-cast. Subsequently, the show ultimately decided the solution was to operate around her pregnancy. Behind the screen, Anderson would simply be shown in ways that would not easily reveal her physical changes, while in the show's story, she was relocated and split from working with Mulder (allowing her screen appearance to be more limited) and then kidnapped and abducted to explain her absence for when she had to finally leave to have her child.
Writing this portion of the season around her pregnancy would result in the shows' first 'arc', an overreaching story that would span several episodes. This arc would tie in with the already somewhat-established (and fairly popular with viewers) government/extraterrestrial conspiracy and would introduce new details and intricacies to this aspect - Ultimately it would serve as the cornerstone for much of what would become the show's main background mythology going forward. Another side-effect of this process was the inclusion of a new character to partially fill Scully's role as a partner to Mulder, who would subsequently become a turncoat and adversary in the show. This role, Alex Krycek, would be filled by Nicholas Lea, who had previously played an unrelated bit part in Season 1. Krycek, like several otherwise limited roles, would grow to become a prominent secondary character throughout the remainder of the series.
Season 2's production would also introduce into the staff Vince Gilligan, a freelance writer and fan of the show who would become a major series writer and producer and pen many of the show's most notable and highly-rated episodes. Gilligan would eventually develop his own highly-regarded AMC series Breaking Bad, featuring, in starring roles, several noted guest actors from The X-Files.
The following weapons were used in Season 2 of the television series The X-Files:
TEST / SEASON 3
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Season 3 of The X-Files premiered on September 22, 1995 with "The Blessing Way"; the first part of the series' first two-part opener, and middle episode of a three-part story arc, continuing directly from the previous season's finale "Anasazi" and concluding with the following episode "Paper Clip". This would be one of several 'arcs' to the background mythology featured in S3. This arc, and the others shown in Season 3, would feature new aspects to the show's background mythology - The reveal of the alien "black oil" virus (which would play a pivotal role in the show's background going forward, notably in several particular episodes and the 1998 feature film) as well as additional revelations about the consortium of powerful figures behind the 'government' side of the combined government/alien conspiracy (among others), what would eventually come to be known simply as the 'Syndicate'. Several characters involved in the Syndicate were introduced, including 'The Well-Manicured Man' (John Neville) and 'The First Elder' (Don S. Williams) and several other characters were further explored, including Mulder's informant Mr. 'X' (Steven Williams). Of note, the name of one of the mythology episodes, "Piper Maru", shared the first and middle name of Gillian Anderson's daughter, the child Anderson gave birth to during the previous season. "Piper Maru" would also be used as the name of an icebreaking ship in 2004's Alien vs. Predator, as a minor homage to the show.
In addition to expansion of the alien conspiracy mythology, Season 3 would feature numerous highly-regarded and critically acclaimed 'Monster-of-the-Week' stand-alone episodes, several of which widely considered some of the best in the series. Many of these episodes featured deeper and darker elements, while others added certain levels of humor (some of it partially self-deprecating) to the show. Many of these episodes would be written by new writers in S3, who, despite the success, would not return to the show - Most notable being Glen Morgan's brother Darin Morgan, who felt unable to keep up with the pace of a scripted weekly network television program. The third season of The X-Files, like the previous two seasons, was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia and would conclude in May 1996 with 24 episodes.
The following weapons were used in Season 3 of the television series The X-Files: