X-Files mythology, TenThirteen Interviews Database, and more

Social media archive: 2019 (part 4)

Archived from the Eat The Corn Facebook page.


Aug 15, 2019 9:31

#TheXFiles opening credits with #rotoscoping!


Aug 23, 2019 1:03

G.A. on genuinely important issues!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2297480506966753&id=952678361446981

The United Nations begins discussions on a new global ocean treaty today – what happens will have profound consequences for the future of humanity. My piece for The Guardian. #ProtectTheOceans
Greenpeace UK

This is crunch point for our oceans: let’s do the right thing


Sep 06, 2019 16:21

“Sept. 10th, 2019
frankspotnitz.com
Coming Soon”

Sep-10, that’s #TheXFiles anniversary of the pilot airing. Relevant? Coincidence? Launch of Frank Spotnitz’s new website, now that the Big Light social network has been shut down? Or something more?…

 


Sep 10, 2019 9:22

So it was Frank’s new website after all!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=758747187928662&id=324099084726810

I am pleased to introduce my official website, https://www.frankspotnitz.com.


Sep 10, 2019 12:05

#TheXFiles turns 26 today, as the pilot aired this day in 1993!
Here is the oldest entry in our TenThirteen interviews database, dating from…August 1993, before the pilot had even aired and when Fox had not even made a full season order. Young 37-year-old Chris Carter said:

http://www.eatthecorn.com/itw/chicago-sun-times/

“There is no gunfire in the first six episodes,” he said. “I’m really concerned about violence in our society. There’s too much violence on television. Producers should be responsible, to a point, while telling an exciting story. Like ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ we’ll show the results of violence, not the act.”

Fond memories of ABC’s “The Night Stalker,” a 1974-75 series with Darren McGavin as a reporter tracking vampires and werewolves, gave Carter a “leaping-off point” when he started developing “The X-Files” last year. “That was a good, scary show,” he said. “And it aired on Friday nights, too.”

But “The Night Stalker” vanished after one season. Fox has ordered 13 episodes of “The X-Files.” In its most-unwanted time slot, it could be an ex-series by December.

“I’d rather air right after ‘The Simpsons,’ ” Carter said. “But I know Fox would never put me there.”


Sep 13, 2019 22:04

From #TheXFiles props master and writer of “Trevor” Ken Hawryliw!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2699715556751797&id=493514800705228

Said during an X-Files production meeting, when the topic of technical accuracy of the minutiae of a specific Amazon tribe came up:
“We don’t make doctor shows for doctors, and we don’t make Tucanuan shows for Tucanuans.” Robert W. Goodwin

Sep 19, 2019 16:11

The new #TheXFiles videogame hinted at by Chris Carter last year is upon us! It is developed by @[784484218558997:274:Storyscape] in collaboration with FOX, and consists of an interactive narrative/dialogue together with animation, for Android. The look of it reminds me a lot of last year’s “Deep State” Android game, but with more storytelling and less click-for-points. You play characters who come across Mulder and Scully and Skinner (and Doggett?) — this looks like a “next generation” story where new FBI agents are trained by the older.

–> It is written by Sean Kelley McKeever (who did comics prior). Interview: https://www.storyscape.com/en/blog/meet-the-agents

–> For now, only people in Canada and New Zealand can play the first 3 parts, “Trial by Ice”, but as with any game on the internet there’s already a gameplay video out there to get a taste:

 


Oct 01, 2019 8:33

Sad #TheXFiles locations news! The dockside warehouse featured prominently in the XF video game from 1998 in Tacoma WA has been destroyed – according to Google Maps somewhere between Sep and Oct 2018 (https://goo.gl/maps/o31Tib2o17L7wsps5). It’s all the more frustrating since I almost visited it in my tour last year, it turned out barely days before it was torn down… (http://www.eatthecorn.com/2018/09/10/vancouver-25-years-later/)


Oct 03, 2019 20:24

Happy 60th birthday to a predecessor of #TheXFiles, The Outer Limits! #mandelaeffect

https://www.facebook.com/TheArtOfHorror24.7/posts/2432452186836292


Oct 13, 2019 22:46

Happy Ten Thirteen!

 


Oct 17, 2019 14:45

The Mentor and the Mentee – “Mentor Series” portraits of writers #ChrisCarter and #VinceGilligan by Scott Council for Emmy Magazine #TheXFiles #BreakingBad #BetterCallSaul #ElCamino

@scott.council instagram


Nov 08, 2019 23:38

The Mandela Effect gets its own movie!

io9: Your Reality May Not Be That Real in The Mandela Effect


Nov 28, 2019 00:29

Remember remember the 27th of November! #TheXFiles #themagician #stratego #watergate #impeachment #1973

 


Dec 16, 2019 20:16

“Q-Case”, a #queer #thexfiles parody short film! Canada, 2008. “Evidence leads Agent Mueller and Dina Pendrell to investigate the presence of Extra Queerestrials”…

CFMDC: Q-Case


Dec 31, 2019 21:10

As 2019 draws to a close and post-revival excitement dies down, the biggest development on #TheXFiles front by far is the growing concern for preservation – in the form of The X-Files Preservation Collection
With promise of big things to come in 2020!
Happy new year!

From Jim and Kelly’s welcome post to their preservation group:

” The X-Files Preservation Collection is now the home to many iconic pieces from the series and movies. We have thousands of screen used items and we are constantly searching for items to add. Once an item is here it remains here and we do all we can to preserve it.

The purpose of the collection is to Preserve the history of the series and to share it with other fans and create new fans. We are currently in the process of registering the collection as a Not for Profit LLC and will be opening a museum in 2020. We cannot wait to share our Preservation Collection with all of you. We have many plans and ideas to make it more of an experience than your usual museum. “

Social media archive: 2019 (part 3)

Archived from the Eat The Corn Facebook page.


Jun 06, 2019 18:01

A video featuring one second from every episode of #TheXFiles! So many memories! I’ve been thinking about something like this ever since I saw the same for #TwinPeaks…

 


Jun 09, 2019 14:01

Happening right now in Illinois: #XFest19 #XFest2, surprisingly successful! By @[250161418735011:274:This Con Life]

https://www.facebook.com/beyondthesea.xfiles/posts/1120978158089963


Jun 11, 2019 10:20

@[300230613978960:844:I Wanna Believe!\: An X-Files Parody Musical] is a reality, and it’s entirely on YouTube for those not living close to Illinois! Enjoy! (I haven’t watched yet but I’ve heard good things from #XFest19 @[250161418735011:274:This Con Life] attendees) So who is up for a synchronized virtual meet-up to watch this? @[177236248979145:274:XFilesNews] @[930414780360852:274:The X-Cast\: An X-Files Podcast] #TheXFiles

 


Jun 14, 2019 18:38

“To me, their journey is not done.” “I don’t think Chris intended season 11 to be the end.” – Frank Spotnitz on potentially more Mulder and Scully
“I was surprised by seasons 10 and 11. […] I’m not convinced that at least some of that wasn’t going to be twisted yet again if there had been another season.” – on William’s father
“A lot of the things that Chris and I talked about are sort of in conflict now with what happened in the last two seasons. […] I don’t really want to give away what I would do because part of me thinks that I would still have a chance to do it.” – on continuing the mythology

My new must-have goal in #TheXFiles fandom is to know what were Carter & Spotnitz’s original plans for continuing the mythology!

@[177236248979145:274:XFilesNews] has posted online all the panels from @[250161418735011:274:This Con Life] #XFest2 #XFest19, a lot of material her, but Spotnitz’s panel in particular is a must, just to see him balance his justified gratefulness to Carter with his own frustrations with how some things turned out.

 


Jun 19, 2019 10:27

Confirmed! @[114444205294473:274:Mark Snow] goodness by @[56031953754:274:La-La Land Records]:
June 25th
X Files Season 11 2 cd set
$24.98
Limited edition of 3000 units
NO autographs

X Files Volume 4 still expected for this summer. July perhaps?


Jun 25, 2019 11:23

THE X-FILES – SEASON 11: LIMITED EDITION (2-CD SET)
LLLCD 1470
Music by Mark Snow
Limited Edition of 3000 Units
RETAIL PRICE: $24.98
STARTS SHIPPING JULY 1
Order at www.lalandrecords.com starting 6/25 at 12noon (pst)

See tracklist below
@[56031953754:274:La-La Land Records] #MarkSnow #TheXFiles #soundtrack

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2885011014904431&id=114444205294473


Jun 25, 2019 21:14

Your order number is: 181970

https://www.facebook.com/lalalandrecords/posts/10157723502423755

Available to order now at www.lalalandrecords.com
#TheXFiles Season 11 (2-CD) limited edition by #MarkSnow !

Jul 04, 2019 14:42

@[56031953754:274:La-La Land Records]’ #TheXFiles S11 soundtrack by #MarkSnow has started shipping and should be in your CD player soon! There was not *that* much music that I remember from S11 that sounded interesting — a lot of it was reusing music from S10 and IWTB (the Struggles), the only noticeably interesting episodes for their music were “Familiar” and “Nothing Lasts Forever”. However I was surprised with the S10 soundtrack when it came out, so we will see!

 


Jul 20, 2019 11:47

50th anniversary of humankind’s biggest achievement so far! A young Mulder was one of the two billion people watching #Apollo11 land on the moon live in 1969, and learnt “something about teamwork” – relevant #TheXFiles episodes are Space, Tempus Fugit/Max and Founder’s Mutation. Congratulations to the 400,000 people involved! Space aficionados can follow the whole #Apollo50th mission “live” here:

Apollo 11 in real time


Jul 29, 2019 21:10

The Big Light social network is closing in just a few days. This was on Frank Spotnitz’s website that was launched in the run-up to I Want To Believe. It was flooded by #TheXFiles fans and held some interesting discussions, but quite suddenly it was completely deserted around 2011, as news of an “XF3” film never came. These were the innocent times, when fans still optimistically fantasized what would be next for Mulder & Scully!

http://biglightnetwork.ning.com/

Social media archive: 2019 (part 2)

Archived from the Eat The Corn Facebook page.


Apr 01, 2019 22:15

Gotcha! #TheXFiles #TheXFilesMusical

Trafalgar Entertainment: The Truth Could Be Out There


Apr 03, 2019 16:34

Mark Snow’s music! Coming Summer 2019 from @[56031953754:274:La-La Land Records]:
X FILES VOL 4
X FILES SEASON 11

Although Season 11 relied heavily on the soundtracks of IWTB and Season 10, there were some interesting cues, in particular in “Familiar” and “Nothing Lasts Forever”.

Volume 4 of the “original series” music is rumored to be the last one, so I hope it can deliver, with so much material to choose from! I expect it to have at least episodes not yet covered like Duane Barry/Ascension, Apocypha, Never Again or Memento Mori — but also I hope some cues from already covered episodes that still have some great unreleased material, like Conduit, The Erlenmeyer Flask, Talitha Cumi, Paper Hearts, Redux… and more!

Check out the community-compiled list of requests from 150 episodes (!) that I hope La-La Land considered on the website:

More Music from the X-Files

 


Apr 05, 2019 12:46

#TheXFiles Here are those cut scenes from Talitha Cumi and En Ami showing the Cigarette-Smoking Man water-skiing? “He was a good water-skier your husband, not as good as I was but then that could be said about so many things…”

 


Apr 10, 2019 11:40

For those wondering what happened to #TheXFiles game on Android: after they released their “case 8” last November, development of new material has been put on hold. Carter mentioned another video game was in development last year, but given how detached he is from video games in general I believe he was referring to this one.

 


Apr 22, 2019 13:14

Mulder’s office desk is up for sale! By Vancouver’s Back Gallery Project (ie the real Monica Reyes). A piece of history that should go to a good caretaker! And more proof that Carter is really done with the show. Also: Scully’s chair: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/163646852082 #TheXFiles #ebay

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/163646874422


Apr 26, 2019 13:15

Happy twenty. #theunnatural #roswell
“#davidduchovny Happy twenty. #theunnatural #roswell” #TheXFiles 1999!

@davidduchovny instagram


May 02, 2019 18:09

I was interested in understanding why this new surge of conspiracism has appeared, knowing that historically, times of tumult and social upheaval tend to lead to a parallel surge in conspiracy thinking. I found some of my answer in our increasingly rigid class structure, one that leaves many people feeling locked into their circumstances and desperate to find someone to blame. I found it in rising disenfranchisement, a feeling many people have that they are shut out of systems of power, pounding furiously at iron doors that will never open to admit them. I found it in the frustratingly opaque US healthcare system, a vanishing social safety net, a political environment that seizes cynically on a renewed distrust of the news media.

– from Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power by Anna Merlan

The Guardian: Why we are addicted to conspiracy theories


May 07, 2019 20:48

#TheXFiles IRL: “I thought we dealt with all this in the 1990s? Mulder and Scully proved that aliens were here. Then further evidence came to light that proved they were, in fact, fictional characters in a TV series.” An Oxford lecturer claims that a secret breeding programme to create alien-human hybrids will save humanity from environmental disaster #climatechange

The Guardian: Alien abduction: an unlikely solution to the climate crisis


May 15, 2019 11:25

What happens when an author re-writes a different author’s story 20 years later and sends confusing signals about rape (medical or otherwise) at a time of #metoo? You get awkward questions like this one, where WBDavis has to defend his original ideas for the CSM…

“Now just a moment here. I accept that Methuselah got handsy with Hilda in Sabrina, with that context. But I’m not sure that the Smoking Man got handsy with Scully. I think he was devoted to her, and admired her and found the common connection. I found a dinner scene where he confesses his loneliness to her quite human. But if you’re referring to what might have happened in the bedroom, I’m of the opinion that I did nothing wrong in that bedroom.

I mean what are you going to do? Somebody is unconscious, and you want to put them to bed, so you get your housekeeper to come and help put them to bed. That’s all. That’s all I thought ever happened. Smoking Man has many evil habits, but I don’t think that’s one of them.”

#TheXFiles

Den of Geek: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: William B. Davis Exposes Smoke And Mirrors


May 20, 2019 15:53

Who wants a #LEGO set based on #TheXFiles? The creator of this awesome set, inspired on the episode “EBE”, is looking for *your support* to convince the LEGO Group to produce and sell it as an official LEGO product!

A previous attempt had not been fruitful because LEGO didn’t produce “mature content”, but I’m sure there’s a market for this out there! Otherwise, get to your 3D printers.

IDEAS.LEGO.COM: E.B.E.


May 24, 2019 12:59

Another #TheXFiles #LEGO idea to support – Mulder & Scully and the XF office! Create an account and vote – if it reaches 10,000 votes, LEGO should produce it.

This had actually been submitted last year (DD & GA had taken photos with the figurines) but LEGO had decided no because of mature content. Now they are producing #StrangerThings sets, so it’s just a matter of showing support.

IDEAS.LEGO.COM: The X-Files


May 28, 2019 23:08

Real-life #TheXFiles: a 1950 simulated germ-warfare attack, one of many that we know of. Remember the pustule bugs in “F. Emasculata” and the smallpox bees in “Zero Sum”?

Business Insider: ‘One of the largest human experiments in history’ was conducted on unsuspecting residents of San Francisco


May 29, 2019 10:27

It’s been over a year since that finale. Has #TheXFiles done its time? These nice essays by Italian fans from @[169182093160805:274:X-Files Blue Book/X-Files Italian Fan Club] give their own view, being also musings about the power of storytelling, about time passing and about societal/moral values changing (I particularly liked the first one by Rita).
* Google Translate can be your friend!

XFILESBLUEBOOK/ITALIANFANCLUB: X-FILES HA FATTO IL SUO TEMPO?

Social media archive: 2019 (part 1)

Archived from the Eat The Corn Facebook page.


Jan 05, 2019 6:48

Production hurdles don’t stop X-philes from keeping on dreaming. Here is #thexfiles Virtual Season 12, kicking off with mythology from where My Struggle IV left us, and linking back all the way to season 8 stuff that actually happened!

http://virtualseasons.x-sites.org/


Jan 25, 2019 20:30

What’s the truth, Agent Mulder?

https://www.facebook.com/simonscat/posts/10157501987209523


Jan 31, 2019 18:03

#TBT: Staff writers for #TheXFiles season 3! Drawn by Jeffrey Vlaming, he wrote the episodes 2Shy and Hell Money.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=625778514558864&id=324099084726810

Wanted to share this for this week’s #TBT – caricatures drawn by Jeff Vlaming of The X-Files writing staff circa 1995. ‬
‪Left to right: Vince Gilligan, Kim Newton, John Shiban, me and Darin Morgan (in Flukeman guise).‬


Feb 01, 2019 14:49

During his stay as a staff writer in #TheXFiles season 3 in 1995, Jeff Vlaming filled an entire wall of his office with one alien drawing per episode! Can you identify them all? (last 2 of s3 missing) From his blog: https://vlam-ink.blogspot.com/2011/09/x-files-meets-banksy.html following up on yesterday’s doodle posted by @[324099084726810:274:Frank Spotnitz]


Feb 07, 2019 15:46

So the FOX CEOs who liked Carter and were responsible for getting #thexfiles revival off the ground did not survive the merger with Disney. New CEO Charlie Collier excludes no possibility in the endless stream of reboots and revivals of our time, when asked about X-Files or 24: “One at a time we’ll talk to the creators and see if they have a vision that we can share with the studios. If we do and we can make the economics work, we’d look at them all.” #TCA2019

/FILM: ’24’ Spin-Offs Are On The Backburner, But Fox Still Wants To Bring The Series Back [TCA 2019]


Feb 15, 2019 13:21

#TheXFiles was ground-breaking also because it brought cinematic sensibilities to the small screen. A shot of the show made it in this reel for the 100th Anniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers!

https://www.vimeo.com/308625923


Feb 26, 2019 9:03

Just found out that xfphotos.fredfarm.com is down! It might not mean much in a time of HD captures from the BluRays, but for a very long time this was one of the main screen capture sources for #TheXFiles, ever since the DVDs were a new thing!… (and original ratio 4/3 please, not 16/9!)


Mar 01, 2019 13:56

Weekends…


Mar 09, 2019 00:19

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=646203222516393&id=324099084726810

#InternationalWomensDay2019 #IWD2019 🌺


Mar 13, 2019 13:55

Another CRISPR conspiracy

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/marshmallow-test


Mar 20, 2019 14:34

It’s official! #Disney owns #FOX and #TheXFiles and #Scully can be a #DisneyPrincess


Mar 22, 2019 7:40

As we reach the one-year anniversary of the end of the “My Struggle” saga and the end of #TheXFiles revival, we present this in-depth criticism of what went wrong with the revival, by our friend Demijan. An unfiltered and unrelentling analysis of a great many aspects of the revival, in particular the mythology, this essay is something that could have only been produced by a big fan of the show, and it is only so negative as the revival is different from what came before.

“How The X-Files Revival Betrays The Original Series”

 


Mar 27, 2019 12:58

This page has reached 1000 likes! – I must find a way to celebrate the upcoming 1013 likes… any ideas?
I’ve found my new favourite #TheXFiles tumblr: xfileswithoutpeople! Get your atmospheric cinematography groove on!

https://www.tumblr.com/xfileswithoutpeople/183662334230/the-x-files-without-people-red-1

Social media archive: 2018 (part 5)

Archived from the Eat The Corn Facebook page.


Sep 01, 2018 10:46

Happening now!

https://www.facebook.com/xfilespod/posts/1892502837485370

For those of you intending to follow #TheXCastLive, which starts tomorrow 9am BST talking #TheXFiles for 24 hours for charity, here is the link to the listening feed: http://mixlr.com/the-x-cast/


Sep 04, 2018 19:53

An excellent resource: a 47 page document listing challenging words and idioms used in #TheXFiles along with their definitions for non-native speakers of English, in chronological order. Found on reddit – credits to Nodir Ataev!

For instance, from “Miracle Man”:
Smorgasbord: a range of open sandwiches and delicacies served as hors d’oeuvres or a buffet – a wide range of something; a variety: the album is a smorgasbord of different musical styles

The X-Files Vocabulary.pdf: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByOxv4-eIic5QUJrVmRSWVVXSTg/view


Sep 07, 2018 13:59

Riposa in pace Sr. Reynolds

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2244358365636369&id=114444205294473

Godspeed, Burt Reynolds.


Sep 10, 2018 20:25

#TheXFiles25th anniversary: Vancouver in 1993 vs 2018, a photo-journalism article comparing 40+ filming locations then and now, and a guide on where to find them! #TheXFiles25 #TheXFiles

Vancouver, 25 years later!

 


Sep 11, 2018 17:27

Mark Snow music for #TheXFiles Volume 4 by La-La Land Records is expected for 2019. I hope for 4 CDs, again!


Sep 15, 2018 15:23

RIP Peter Donat – aka Bill Mulder (and a lawyer in Godfather Part II, among other things!). I’m sure you were a better father than Bill.

The New York Times: Peter Donat, Actor Who Played a Panoply of Roles, Dead at 90


Oct 13, 2018 18:34

Happy #1013, happy birthday Mr. Carter! Here is a great panel interview (IBG – used to be pay exclusive) with great Anderson-Duchovny interaction, from the remote year 2011 – before the revivals and when people were still asking for a third film! And already Carter didn’t remember some details like what would have been the alternative ending for season 7. Carter says there’s one thing he would change but doesn’t say what: did he change that in #TheXFiles revival? What was it? Friendly aliens twist? M&S breakup? CSM alive? William not Mulder’s?

 


Oct 25, 2018 23:22

#Millennium is 22 years old!

https://www.facebook.com/officiallancehenriksen/posts/2181781891855567

22 years ago today, Chris Carter created a series and a character that would forever change my life. Frank Black and Millennium were a gift to me as a person and an actor.
All around the world, even to this day, fans still remember and love this series. I want to thank Chris, the entire cast and crew and especially the fans for their support of Millennium.


Oct 30, 2018 1:21

Spooky Empire…


Nov 08, 2018 20:10

Welcome to members #900 and beyond! Keep on philin’! #TheXFiles


Nov 10, 2018 10:23

California fires have claimed much of Paramount Ranch, aka Democratic Hot Springs, where William was born in the season 8 finale!… #TheXFiles

https://twitter.com/Synergy3k/status/1061044626188980224


Nov 25, 2018 21:50

RIP Jordan Lee Williams, aka Agent Craig Willmore, protagonist of #TheXFiles game of 1998 on CD and PS1… Still waiting for the sequel to that awesome game…

Obituary for Jordan Lee Williams at Scott E. Hersberger Funeral Home LLC


Nov 26, 2018 19:58

Anybody up for bidding some serious money to own the Alien Bounty Hunter’s bee-covered suit, or the pod from Fight the Future, or some icky cancerous body parts from Leonard Betts? #TheXFiles You can also bid on some #TwinPeaks items!

Prop Store: TV Treasures Live Auction 12/01/2018 10:00 AM PST


Nov 29, 2018 17:17

45 years ago, the Watergate scandal was on full swing and Samantha Mulder disappeared. November 27, 1973. #TheXFiles #TBT

Place: Chilmark, Massachusetts (41.3431, -70.7453)
Address: Chilmark, MA, US 02535


Dec 11, 2018 18:14

Somewhere in Russia… (via @[20737333398:69:Akte X Fans])


Dec 23, 2018 14:58

Photos from the location managers in Vancouver – found on the (now defunct) website to promote their book!

https://www.facebook.com/EatTheCorn/photos/a.947682068759020/947682128759014/


Dec 31, 2018 21:42

2018 was an important year. It is very likely we saw the very last of #TheXFiles, with a season 11 that had some genuinely good moments, and others…less so. The fandom blossomed in another gasp of activity before dissolving yet again. Also, I made a twenty-year-old dream a reality when I got to visit filming locations in Vancouver! Eat The Corn has followed all these events — and still has a few articles in store for 2019, but little beyond that. Endings indeed.

This is an image from what very well may be the last making of (Implanted Memories: 25 Years of The X-Files), on top of an end scene that best fits a finale in these two nostalgia-heavy revival seasons (The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat): an homage to The X-Files’ predecessor The Twilight Zone, and a self-conscious admission that times have changed since the series was in tune with its time. Goodbye and thank you!

Vancouver, 25 years later!

No X-Files fan experience can be complete without a pilgrimage to where the series was shot!

Well, maybe these are strong words. You might not want to know too much about how the show was made, it might lose its magic. If the XF-vibe is not there, don’t blame Vancouver! Truth be told, the cinematographers and set designers had an important role to play, and visiting shooting locations after the fact may be underwhelming.

My travels recently took me to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where The X-Files‘ most memorable period was shot, seasons 1-5, so much so that it returned there for I Want To Believe and seasons 10-11; and where the other Ten Thirteen series were shot too, in particular Millennium. The (amateur) photos below are the result.

Past X-philes have done similar pilgrimages! A shout out to some favourites, that complete this article: TempusFugit; InvisiGoth; Fangirlquest.

If you ever plan to do something similar, here are some tips:

  • Plan your trip! “X Marks the Spot”, written by the series’ location managers Todd Pittson and Louisa Gradnitzer, will be your Bible (also, look at vintage fan sites X-Town or XF Marks The Spot, or Movie Maps). Placing your locations on Google Maps will help. For this, I am sharing here my X-Files Filming Locations map to you!
  • Take into account travelling time! Traffic is a big, big issue, and distances that might look like next door will take time. You might end up spending a large part of your day between locations. And so, due to time constraints, honourable highlights that are absent below are the Ascension cable car, the Anasazi quarry, the Paper Clip Strughold mines, or the Patient X Ruskin dam.
  • Don’t go during the summer! When you think XF you think fog, rain, clouds, that moody atmosphere. In summer you will have sunlight and no rain (that’s very obvious when you watch season 10, unfortunately). And if you’re not lucky you will also have smoke from forest fires, which blows in the area and limits visibility dramatically! Unfortunately this was my case.
  • Not everything is accessible! The XF crew had privileged access to location to do their work, obviously. Some locations are private properties (Mulder’s father’s house, or the Mulders’ summer cottage). Many locations have restricted access only to people working there (like the Anasazi quarry, or the place where the train car blows up in 731, or the ending to EBE, or many of the docks locations). Some might be restricted because filming is taking place there, again (North Shore Studios of course, and filming often takes place in Riverview Hospital). Obviously, many interiors are completely out of reach. Choose your locations with that knowledge.
  • Not everything exists anymore! As much as 25 years have passed, and things change. Some places have been renovated and are still themselves, like the mining museum from Paper Clip; some places have just changed owners and look different, like the Washington diner where Skinner is shot in Piper Maru (now a fancy gourmet restaurant), the pub where Ed Jerse and Scully flirt in Never Again (now a well lit bakery-café), or the café where Mulder meets Samantha in Redux (now a photocopy shop); and some places are just gone, like the roadside diner from the end of Eve or the train building Mulder observes the Japanese scientists from in Nisei ! And this will be more and more the case as time passes.

We are reminded of the weight of time that passes as The X-Files celebrates its 25th anniversary. A quarter century has flown by and the world is certainly a different place from what it was, in so many aspects. The X-Files has definitely hit that transition point between “recent and fesh but not quite new” to “something from a generation ago and just fondly remembered”. I wish I could say that at least, paraphrasing Casablanca, “we’ll always have Vancouver” to “remember how it all was“; but Vancouver too is changing, as do all things. Still, there’s a lot still there!

So see for yourself below, 1993-1998 versus 2018. The Vancouver area is separated in sections — The city, The suburbs, The docks, The woods — and do read the captions.

The city

                                      

The suburbs

                                 

The docks

   

The woods

                                 

Bonus

 

Happy 25th anniversary, The X-Files!