“Knock, knock. It’s the Deep State, coming to take your liberties and impose the New Smoking Order.” Happy birthday USA, global provider of conspiracy theories since at least 1947! #July4th #America250
And a special Facebook page update: just crossed 3000+ followers! Not bad for a home-grown one-man-show no-budget page on a 30+ years old TV show, and on this ageing and AI-infested platform. Thank you for your trust on all things #TheXFiles.
3X20: Jose Chung’s ‘From Outer Space’ aired 30 years ago, on April 12 1996. Written by Darin Morgan, this was quite possibly the most important episode of The X-Files‘ mythology without being one. I know, I know, superlatives are risky. But JCFOS was an episode that could be read on so many levels: an entertaining story in of itself; a synthetic illustration of lots of UFO/conspiracy theories; one possible “solving” of the show’s mythology; a commentary on the show itself. And it did turn out that, if you buy into the whole revival-is-a-retcon theory and colonization was never meant to happen, then remember that JCFOS went there decades before.
I realize now that I never linked to Professor Baylock’s video analysis of the episode from ten years ago: “The Bridge to the Metamodern”. Essential vieweing.
“X-Files has been called the ultimate post-modern television show. JCFOS could be called one of the first examples of post-post-modernism, or metamodernism. X-Files is a show about aliens and conspiracies. JCFOS isn’t like the X-Files, it’s not actually about aliens or conspiracy, JCFOS is about the X-Files itself.”
Me and my smoking alien figurine salute you!
Yes, Eat The Corn was launched 20 years ago today! Without patting myself too much in the back, I think this is objectively a big achievement, especially given how different the internet is today compared to twenty years ago, the remote year 2005. Against the odds, I have continued to cover X-Files news over all those years, although in recent years with more focus on relaying and commenting all the great interviews made by others, instead of doing original analysis myself. The site has become more of an archive, and that’s good enough given how old the series now is.
As long as I’m here, the site is not going anywhere.
Other engagements don’t allow me to celebrate more extensively. But I will relay something fun: a cover version of The X-Files theme, and this one includes the extended version made by Mark Snow for the release of the theme as a CD single (and used in the end credits of the VHS “Files”). Here is the theme played on one of the smallest and simplest analog synthesizers around: the stylophone! By Omen Ahead.
Admittedly, there’s another version from years ago — fun too, but not as good.
Happy new year! It’s hard to believe it’s already 25 years — a quarter century ago — since the turn of the millennium — and that new year’s kiss at the end of the crossover episode 7X05: Millennium! But then, at the risk of sounding like a math geek, 2001 was actually the start of the new millennium. The series is getting seriously old — but more and more people keep discovering it. It seems to have passed television muster to become the rare artistic creation that crosses over to a new generation. Here’s to another year of covering all things X-Files.
31 years ago — thirty one! on 24 Sep 1993 — the first non-aliens-related “monster of the week” episode of #TheXFiles aired, “Squeeze”, and a myth was born with Eugene Victor Tooms! With his green eyes against a pitch black background, he became one of the most recognizable aspects of the X-Files “brand”. His influence is still felt today: here is a 2022 song entirely dedicated to him, video clip and all, named after Tooms’ address, from the German thrash metal band TRAITOR!
(And 30 years ago, Piper Maru Anderson was born, all the while “The Host” and “Blood” were airing.)
Today is the 30th anniversary of #TheXFiles season 2 premiere, “Little Green Men“! Yes, time flies and the series as a whole 31 years old, not just 30. “LGM” had a great atmosphere and plenty of memorable character and visual moments with unique photography (Mulder’s introductory monologue, Mulder’s recollection of Samantha’s abduction, the introduction of Senator Matheson, Mulder recording his thoughts for Scully at Arecibo, Scully trying to escape her surveillance, “contact”…). And yes, this was my first X-Files episode, way back then (but not in 1994).