May-??-2002
USA Today
‘X-Files gives final answers Sunday
Dennis Hunt
“This was such a special series, I didn’t want it to just limp along,” says creator and executive producer Chris Carter about ‘The X-Files’. But limp along it has, at least in the Nielsens during the past two seasons.
So, after nine years and a viewership that reached a lofty 17.9 million a week at its peak, Carter and Fox agreed early this year to pull the plug on the landmark series about a team of FBI agents who investigate eerie cases. David Duchovny, who left after a limited role last season, returns for Sunday’s two-hour finale (8 p.m.ET/PT).
With co-star Gillian Anderson and new cast members Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish, X-Files’ ratings fell this season to 8.6 million weekly. “Duchovny was central to the show,” says David Bushman, curator of the Museum of Television & Radio.” He was really missed.”
Fans loved the interplay between skeptical Dana Scully (Anderson) and the maverick Fox Mulder (Duchovny), says Anderson. “You can’t duplicate it.”
Recent past aside, ‘The X-Files’ spot in TV history is assured. ‘TV Guide’ placed the series 37th on its list of the all-time Top 50 shows.
The series finale may not be the end of the X-Files. The door is open for another X-Files movie. The first, in 1998, made more than $80 million at the box office.
Over the Years, the labyrinthine mysteries of Scully and Mulder have gotten ever more complex, even as fans have left. Have the questions been answered?
-Who was the father of Scully’s baby? “If Scully is barren – and she is in the show – how is it that she could have had a miracle child? We’ve sort of said it’s possible that it’s Mulder’s child,” says Carter.
-What happened to Mulder’s sister? “She’s in the spirit world. But there’s more. It will be clearly defined in the finale episode.”
-What was Cancer Man’s relationship to Mulder? “The sense is that he’s Mulder’s father.”
In short, the truth is still out there – for now.
Tags: chris carter, date undefined, x-files