Feb-15-2000
The X-Files Magazine [US, #13, Spring 2000]
The Next Files

The X-Files Official Magazine: Is this the final year for the show?

Spotnitz: I still don’t know. I’m waiting to hear. As I’ve said before, we need to act like this is the last year in case it is. If it turns out it’s not, all of us will need to figure out how to adjust. I think about it every day. It’s kind of weird. You don’t know whether this is the end or not. It’s odd.

Magazine: How would you say Season Seven is shaping up so far?

Spotnitz: I think we’ve returned for the most part to the kind of quintessential X-Files type episodes, which are scary, solid paranormal mystery with some humor. That seems to be what we are interested in doing again this year. There have been some departures from that, “The Goldberg Variation” and an episode called “The Amazing Maleeni” are funny and lighter, but I think both of those are very clever. I think “Millennium”, “Rush”, “Signs and Wonders”, “Orison” they’re the kind of episode that won us an audience in the first place.

Magazine: Is it true that episode 12 will be Vince Gilligan’s homage to Cops?

Spotnitz: Vince has been wanting to do that episode for three years and we’re finally doing it. We’re shooting on videotape, which is kind of scary, and it’s going to appear like an episode of Cops. Vince is a big fan of that show and knows it well, so there’s a lot of conventions from Cops that are in this. It’s fun. It’s exciting to do because it’s a real challenge to tell a story that way. David [Duchovny] wanted to direct it, but he ended up being so heavy in the two preceding episodes that we’re filming that there was no time for him to take off as a director. He’s going to direct something later this season. I think something he’ll write.

Magazine: Will there be any mythology episodes before the season finale?

Spotnitz: I think there will be one more more traditional kind of mythology episode. I’m working on the episode with Cigarette Smoking Man [William B. Davis] actually. This is the year of the actors. He had an idea that I think is great, and I think he’s going to write it. We’re trying to work that out now, but it’s got Cigarette Smoking Man and Scully and Mulder and Krycek. It’s really going to be fun. It will be something you’ve never seen before. I can tell you that. [It will air] probably in March or April.

Magazine: Do you have any idea how you will wrap up the year?

Spotnitz: It depends on whether it’s the last year. If it’s the last year I have an idea, otherwise I don’t know.

Tags: frank spotnitz, x-files

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