Are Mulder and Scully partners in more than just their FBI work? Why are these people bleeding green acid? And who exactly is this Marlboro-smoking man?
For the novice viewer, "The X-Files" can appear enigmatic and incredible. A cult show that has not only attracted a fervent national following but also garnered several Emmys, "The X-Files" challenges the new viewer with complex, intertwined conspiracy episodes weaving through paranormal excursions and monster investigations.
While deciphering the characters and understanding the extra-scientific explanations can pose a problem to the new X-Phile, the true challenge to "The X-Files" viewer is to buy into the ideas of aliens and conspiracies, and to suspend all disbelief, if only for an hour.
Understanding the characters is crucial to appreciating "The X Files." With criminals and conspirators spanning seasons but resurfacing only for brief periods, knowing the history of "The X-Files" is vital to enjoying, and understanding, the show.
In the series' pilot, Special Agent Dana Scully teams up with Agent Fox Mulder. A medical doctor and a former FBI Academy instructor, Scully brings both objectivity and skepticism to the X-Files, a graveyard of unsolved cases linked to the paranormal.
Initially, her assignment is to debunk Mulder's methods and conclusions. But as Scully becomes more deeply involved in the X-files and when, in a case of mistaken identity, her sister Melissa is executed, Scully learns Mulder is one of the few people she can trust.
However, her kidnapping by self-proclaimed alien-abductee Duane Barry and subsequent disappearances present the root of Scully's personal struggle. When Scully resurfaces in a hospital, she has no memory of her experiences. After finding a computer chip implanted in her neck, and discovering she has terminal cancer, Scully begins to believe Mulder's suspicions that she was a subject of experimentation.
Fox Mulder was nicknamed "Spooky" at Quantico for his interests in the extraterrestrial and paranormal, Fox Mulder represents the heart of The X-Files. Spouting his loosely scientifically-based theories, Mulder seeks to uncover the truth about the government's knowledge of alien contact.
His drive to find proof of alien encounter stems from his memory of his sister Samantha's abduction from their home when they were both young children. Yet, as he digs deeper into the unexplained, he finds his sister at the core of a government experiment in cloning and colonization.
When an rogue alien clone leads Mulder to a Canadian farm, Mulder finds child replicas of his sister. He encounters adult clones of his sister when pursuing the suspicious deaths of identical men.
Mulder's most disturbing discovery occurs as he gains access to the Defense Department's most restricted areas. After combing through rooms full of alien corpses, Mulder finds a card catalog containing Scully's name and a microchip.
With Cancer Man's guidance, he offers the chip to Scully as a cure for her cancer and the implant miraculously sends her cancer into remission. Torn by the question of whether alien encounters exist or are the government's means of diverting attention from their true projects.
FBI Assistant Director, Walter Skinner represents the main ally within Mulder and Scully's support network. When the show's second season saw the X-Files shutdown, Skinner proved instrumental in their reinstatement.
Following Melissa's murder, Skinner works to protect Mulder and Scully, standing up to Cancer Man and threatening to expose him if any harm should befall them. And although he loses Mulder's computer evidence of Defense Department files regarding a UFO landing, Skinner reveals that the information still exists spread among the Navajo people in the ancient oral tradition file for file.
Yet Skinner's underlying motives remain questionable. Last season saw Skinner participating in a cover-up and extortion scheme, destroying evidence and impersonating Mulder at a crime scene. In this season's "Redux", Skinner appeared to be undermining The X-Files and Scully and Mulder's safety but was later exonerated when Mulder determined he was being framed.
The elusive Cancer Man is the liaison between the FBI and a consortium of older gentlemen who seem to be running the government from smoky rooms.
Cancer Man assumes a major role on "The X Files." Yet it's one that remains intentionally unclear. With influence over Skinner, and with seemingly complete knowledge of alien encounters, cover-ups and experiments, Cancer Man wields great power.
In one quirky episode, we see that Cancer Man is more than just a government conspirator, but an aspiring novelist whose manuscripts are constantly rejected because publishers find his stories about alien cover-ups hard to believe.
His suspicious relationship with Mulder's mother adds an even more ominous dimension to his character. He directs an alien clone to heal the woman after she suffers from a stroke. Questions concerning Cancer Man's genetic relationship to Mulder arise following his shooting when Skinner recovers a picture of Mulder and Samantha as children from the crime scene.
Is Cancer Man Mulder's father? If so, it would explain why Mulder always miraculously escapes his grasp unharmed.
Deep Throat and X are shady characters who serve as informants helping Mulder and Scully in their pursuit of the truth about the government's experiments. Both died as a result of their connections to the X-Files. But their memories live on in frequent flashbacks.
For a little comic relief we have the Lone Gunmen: Frohike, Byers and Langly. They are computer geniuses, nerds if you will, who manage to break whatever encryption and discover whatever Mulder throws their way. And they are even more paranoid than Mulder, not an easy feat.
Constantly turning up are super human Shape Shifters. They are a human-alien hybrid and involved in a plot to colonize the country. The green-blood spewing beings can not only morph their appearance to match those of other humans, but hold super healing powers as well. And they're everywhere.
At the center of the show lies its creator, producer and creative guide Chris Carter who continues to throw his characters into increasingly dangerous situations while at the same time developing the more personal sides of the characters. This season we've seen Scully's biological clock ticking and Mulder loosening up a bit.
But will Mulder and Scully ever get to the bottom of the layers and layers of conspiracies? Are there really aliens or just a big show put on by the government. We'll probably have to wait until "The X-Files" movie hits theaters this summer to find out.
