Entertainment
One of the Most Notorious ‘X-Files’ Episodes Almost Didn’t Make It to Air
To this day, The X-Files is one of the most popular and beloved sci-fi shows ever created, and for good reason. The various adventures of Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) have stood the test of time as not only one of the most influential shows in an era long before streaming, but also one of its most boundary-pushing. It’s a more than fitting legacy considering one of the many big names to work on the series is none other than the legendary Vince Gilligan, who worked on the series as a writer, director, and producer. Gilligan, of course, is now known as the creator of some of the best shows ever made, including Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and, most recently, Pluribus.
After producing 128 episodes of The X-Files, the series is easily what put Gilligan on the map as a major force in the television space, but that’s not to say the series was always smooth sailing. A number of X-Files episodes in its long-running career faced a fair amount of controversy and backlash, with one of the most controversial examples being Season 4’s second episode, “Home.” The infamous episode goes full Texas Chainsaw Massacre as Mulder and Scully go toe-to-toe with inbred farmers, and it’s a story that certainly pushes the limit of what can and can’t be on network television.
In a new conversation with Jenelle Riley hosted by The Paley Center for Media attended by Collider, Gilligan is also dumbfounded by “Home” as an episode, saying he “can’t believe it was on network TV.” However, Gilligan also admits that another episode proved to be even more controversial behind-the-scenes, and the team found a surprisingly simple way to get the story past the censors. Referring to Season 2, Episode 13, titled “Irresistible,” Gilligan said that broadcast standards and practices described the episode with the single note of “This episode is absolutely unacceptable for broadcast.” While that would be a sign to many to just toss the episode outright, creator Chris Carter found a novel solution to the problem:
“Chris Carter, who is this everlasting genius, went through the computer file, and every time the word ‘necrophiliac’ was there, changed it to ‘death fetishist,’ and turned in the same exact script, and they were like ‘yeah okay, this one’s fine.”
The Truth Is Still Out There in Ryan Coogler’s Upcoming ‘X-Files’ Reboot
The X-Files‘ historic TV run is truly something to be studied, but it’s also a story that isn’t over quite yet. Ryan Coogler, the visionary filmmaker behind Creed, Sinners, and the Black Panther movies (including the upcoming third chapter that stars David Jonsson and will be shot on film), is set to reboot the beloved series with a brand-new duo played by Danielle Deadwyler (Rooster) and Himesh Patel (The Odyssey). No word yet on how or if the new show will connect to the original series, but original star Gillian Anderson confirmed she has read a script from the project and has repeatedly praised Coogler as the perfect person for the job, even if she stopped short of confirming a return as Scully.
Ryan Coogler’s X-Files reboot will stream on Hulu at a later date, which is where the original series is currently available. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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1993 – 2018-00-00
- Network
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FOX
- Directors
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Rob Bowman, David Nutter, R. W. Goodwin, Michael W. Watkins, Tony Wharmby, Daniel Sackheim, Michael Lange, Cliff Bole, David Duchovny, Jim Charleston, James Wong, Peter Markle, Rod Hardy, Thomas J. Wright, William A. Graham, Jerrold Freedman, Joe Napolitano, Kevin Hooks, Larry Shaw, Richard Compton, Tucker Gates, Allen Coulter, Barry K. Thomas, Brett Dowler
- Writers
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jeffrey bell, Frank Spotnitz, Howard Gordon, David Amann, Darin Morgan, Steven Maeda, Greg Walker, Chris Ruppenthal, Kim Newton, Paul Brown, Sara B. Cooper, Thomas Schnauz, Tim Minear, William Gibson, Jeff Vlaming, Charles Grant Craig, Chip Johannessen, Chris Brancato, Daniel Arkin, Gillian Anderson, Jessica Scott, Jim Guttridge, Kenneth Biller, Larry Barber
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