Mar-02-2001
Fox & Friends
Interview with Chris Carter
(Interviewed by Steve Doocy and E.D. Donahey about The Lone Gunmen)
ED.: We each got a copy of the first two episodes of the show to take home with us and we both watched it with our kids and it was just great. It’s funny and campy and you get that X-Files feel in there. What made you branch out and decide to do The Lone Gunmen?
CC: They had been on the show as comic relief for 8 years. All of a sudden we did 2 episodes that revolved around them and they worked great . So this became, sort of, our next order of business. We started doing kind of X-Files-like episodes with some drama and some conspiracy and then all of a sudden we realized how funny they were and it just kept pushing further into comedy.
SD: The Lone Gunmen, as is the case with The X-Files, you always get the feeling that you really think there is some huge government conspiracy, some back room government operation. Where does that come from, Mr. Cynical?
CC: There is, you know, probably coming from my growing up during Watergate, the distrust of authority. You pick up the newspaper every day and there’s somebody trying to put something over on us. You know, it’s in that tradition.
SD: Well, you should know. You used to be a reporter, right?
CC: (chokes back a laugh) Yes.
SD: For that hard-hitting investigative report known as…?
CC: Surfing magazine.
SD: Surfing magazine…you’ve got the look.
ED: You also tap into a culture now, the computer hacker culture, without taking it so far into the techie angle that people lose interest. Those of us who can barely turn on our computer and log into AOL can still go, ‘that’s cool technology stuff,’ without you losing us.
CC: That’s the trick. Most people can’t program their VCRs. How do you keep it viewer friendly and still make it cutting edge? It’s a trick.
SD: The X-Files has been humongously, and that’s the technical term, successful. A lot of people are wondering if this is going to be the last season. C’mon, you’re the boss.
CC: I’m wondering myself, to be honest. We really want to go a ninth season. Right now, it’s being negotiated. It looks good. If it doesn’t go a ninth season, I think that it will go right into the movies.
SD: Well, if you want to do it and presumably, the cast wants to do it, what’s holding it up?
CC: You know, just business.
SD: Okay, it’s a money thing.
CC: It’s less a money thing than just making sure all of the pieces are there to do a ninth season.
SD: What about David Duchovny? Every time I turn on FOX, I see a promo and he’s like this (Steve assumes the alien torture chair Mulder position) and he’s naked. He’s not on for very long. Are we going to see more of him? And *NOT* the naked part?
CC: You will see more of him literally and figuratively. He’s back for the rest of the episodes and even though everyone, who is a fan, who watched the show last week, knows he came back dead, he does appear in the rest of the episodes and I’ll leave that to everyone’s imaginations.
SD: Okay. Just like Star Trek there are so many people who are cult followers of this. Are you surprised this show had this reaction?
CC: Every day. It’s like a dream. I still don’t believe it. You know, you can’t predict this kind of popularity, this kind of success.
SD: Because you’re always dealing with unusual phenomena, anyone ever come up to you on the street and say, ‘You know, you’re not going to believe it but I was abducted by space aliens.’?
CC: I’ve had that plenty of times.
ED: So Steve, you’re not going to surprise him later on.
SD: People come up to you and say, ‘I was on another planet.’?
CC: Oh sure.
SD: Good. You’ll get along with our crew.
ED: Well, I love The Lone Gunmen. I really look forward to seeing it.
SD: Premieres Sunday, at 9, on FOX.
ED: You’ll definitely want to watch that with your kids.
CC: Thank you.
Tags: chris carter, lone gunmen, video needed, x-files