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!