May-19-2002
The Boston Globe
‘X-Files’ to mark the final spot
Erin Meister
For nearly a decade, aliens, mutants, crooked government officials, and other monsters have run amok, terrorizing and generally grossing out millions of people in America and abroad, thanks to the cult hit series “The X-Files”. Since the show’s creation in 1993, loyal X-philes have tuned in weekly to watch the trials and tribulations of their favorite FBI agents – Mulder and Scully – in hopes that with each episode they come closer to the truth they relentlessly pursue. The long-awaited series finale (airing tonight from 8 to 10 on WFXT, Channel 25), promises to close some of the agents’ case files – but not to answer all the questions.
Chris Carter, the show’s creator, says that solving the mysteries woven into the show’s nine years would be untrue to the series. In a recent telephone interview, Carter said, “There’s a huge, complicated mythology to the show, and everybody’s asked, ‘Are you going to answer the questions?’ We’re going to make it come together in a way that makes sense, but we’re not going to answer everything.”
Although the final details of the last show are clouded in characteristic mystery, Carter promises a return appearance by David Duchovny’s character, Fox Mulder, who has been in hiding from supposed governmental conspirators. Many fans have been wondering if Duchovny, who has been working behind the scenes on the show but no longer appears weekly, would return for the finale and shed some light on the relationship between him and his partner, Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully.
Carter hints that things will become clearer during the reunion of the two agents. “This should be a satisfying episode for anyone who’s wondered where that relationship is going,” he said.
Of course, with this show, that could mean anything.
“The last episode is called ‘The Truth’,” Carter said, “and it deals with what [Mulder] has been searching for, and a truth that he’s found that he can’t even tell Scully.”
Though the television series will end, Carter says that there are “X-Files” film projects in the works, and he said that future movies “won’t continue where the series left off. They won’t have to be a part of the mythology.”
During its run, the show has dealt with alien visitors, clones, FBI cover-ups, and any number of phenomena ranging from the supernatural to the superficial. Early on it blossomed into a cult hit, making it one of Fox’s longest-running and most popular series. “I’m so thankful for the fan base,” Carter said. “I’ve gotten to do exactly what I’ve wanted to do over the last 10 years. It was a miracle.”
At the same time, he said he is “looking forward to a life of anonymity. The real luxury is that I’ll be able to stop and think, because I’ve been on the run like a wanted man for the last 10 years.”
When asked if he believes in the little green men Mulder and Scully have been chasing all these years, Carter said, “I don’t believe in them, but I want to believe. It’s the desire to believe these things, to have my faith confirmed – I think that’s really what the show is based on. There are more ‘X-Files’ stories to tell, and I’m sorry to see [the series] go.”
Tags: chris carter, x-files, xf2