731 (The X-Files)

"731" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on December 1, 1995. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by Frank Spotnitz. "731" featured guest appearances by Stephen McHattie, Steven Williams and Don S. Williams. The episode helps explore the series' overarching mythology. "731" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12, being watched by 17.68 million people in its initial broadcast.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder risks his life infiltrating a train carrying a human-alien hybrid. Meanwhile, Scully tries to uncover the truth about her abduction. "731" is a two-part episode, continuing the plot from the previous episode, "Nisei".

The production of "731" involved several stunts, including the explosion of a retired railway car. The episode's production was successful for two members of the crew—earning director of photography John Bartley an American Society of Cinematographers award nomination for his work, and securing Bowman the job of directing the series' subsequent film adaptation, The X-Files.

The X-Files

The X-Files is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by Chris Carter. The program originally aired from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002, on Fox, spanning nine seasons, with 202 episodes and a feature film of the same name, before returning with a second film in 2008 and a six-episode tenth season in 2016. The series revolves around FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a medical doctor and a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries to debunk his work and thus return him to mainstream cases. Early in the series, both agents become pawns in a larger conflict and come to trust only each other and a very few select people. They develop a close relationship which begins as a platonic friendship, but becomes a romance by the end of the series. In addition to the series-spanning story arc, "Monster-of-the-Week" episodes form roughly two-thirds of all episodes.

The X-Files (film)

The X-Files (also known as The X-Files: Fight the Future) is a 1998 American science fiction thriller film directed by Rob Bowman. Chris Carter wrote the screenplay. The story is by Carter and Frank Spotnitz. It is the first feature film based on Carter's television series The X-Files that revolves around fictional unsolved cases called the X-Files and the characters solving them. Five main characters from the television series appear in the film: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, John Neville, and William B. Davis reprise their respective roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, Well-Manicured Man, and the Cigarette-Smoking Man. The film was promoted with the tagline Fight the Future.

The film takes place between seasons five (episode "The End") and six (episode "The Beginning") of the television series, and is based upon the series' extraterrestrial mythology. The story follows agents Mulder and Scully, removed from their usual jobs on the X-Files, and investigating the bombing of a building and the destruction of criminal evidence. They uncover what appears to be a government conspiracy attempting to hide the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

The X-Files: I Want to Believe is a 2008 American supernatural science fiction film directed by Chris Carter and written by both Carter and Frank Spotnitz. It is the second feature film installment of the The X-Files franchise created by Carter, following the 1998 film. Three main actors from the television series, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, and Mitch Pileggi, reappear in the film to reprise their respective roles as Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and Walter Skinner.

Unlike the first film, the plot does not focus on the series' ongoing extraterrestrial based mytharc themes, but instead works as a standalone thriller horror story, similar to many of the monster-of-the-week episodes that were frequently seen in the TV series. The story follows Mulder and Scully who have been out of the FBI for several years, with Mulder living in isolation as a fugitive from the organization and Scully having become a doctor at a Catholic-run hospital, where she has formed a friendly relationship with a seriously ill patient. When an FBI agent is mysteriously kidnapped, and a former priest who has been convicted of being a child molester claims to be experiencing psychic visions of the endangered agent, Mulder and Scully reluctantly accept the FBI's request for their particular paranormal expertise on the case.

The X-Files (disambiguation)

The X-Files is an American sci-fi/drama television series that aired from 1993 until 2002.

The term X-Files may also refer to several other articles:

Film and TV

Music

The X-Files (composition)

"The X-Files" is a 1996 instrumental recorded by American film and television composer Mark Snow. It is a remixed version of the original theme Snow composed for the science fiction television series The X-Files in 1993. Released in March 1996 in most countries, it achieved a huge success, particularly in France where it reached number-one on the singles chart.

The composition has since been covered by DJ Dado and Mike Oldfield among others. The song was also used as background music for a sketch in the 1998 Alvin and the Chipmunks album The A-Files: Alien Songs where Alvin portrayed "Agent Moldy" and Brittany portrayed "Agent Scuzzy."

Mark Snow version

Song information

"The X-Files" typically used more instrumental music score than most hour-long dramas. According to the "Behind the Truth" segment on the Season 1 DVD, Mark Snow created the echo effect on his famous X-Files theme song by accident. Snow said that he had gone through several revisions, but Chris Carter felt that something was not quite right. Carter walked out of the room and Snow put his hand and forearm on his keyboard in frustration. Snow said, "this sound was in the keyboard. And that was it."

The X-Files (comics)

The X-Files comics was a spin-off from the television series of the same name, originally published by Topps Comics and, most recently, DC Comics imprint Wildstorm.

Publication history

The first series was published by Topps Comics and ran for 41 issues from January 1995 to September 1998, coinciding with the second through fifth seasons of the television program.

In 1996, Topps published X-Files #0, an adaptation of the pilot episode, in order to test the market for a series adapting the episodes of the X-Files TV series. The issue was successful, and X-Files Season One ran for nine issues (August 1997–July 1998). The series's name was provisional, and Topps in fact intended to adapt every episode, but never got as far as season two. The series was written by Roy Thomas, who would create a first draft for each issue by working off of the episode's script, then watch the actual episode and modify his work to account for changes made on the set.

Topps also published Ground Zero, a four-issue mini-series (December 1997–March 1998).