The official site, with its new Flash intro, updated with new video interviews of Gillian Anderson, Nick Lea, Kim Manners, Bill Millar, and Brian Thompson. The Vault also got some new scripts: "Millennium," "The Amazing Maleeni," "Beyond the Sea," and "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose." Anyway last Saturday William B. Davis and Tom Braidwood were at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for speeches, Q&A sessions, and autographs. Must have been a cool appearance. Now here's a quote from Jeffrey Reddick, who wrote the original story treatment and the first draft of Final Destination, which Glen Morgan and James Wong rewrote. Originally the film was a concept for an episode of The X-Files: "I came up with it in 1995. An agent suggested I write something for television. He told me to write a script for something that was hot on air at that time. Of course, I loved The X-Files, and decided to write a spec script for that show. I now find it kind of karmic that the film is back with two of the guys who did some of the best episodes of The X-Files. Anyway, that spec script is still one of my favorites. The idea centered on Scully's brother Charles, the one that we never really saw. He had a premonition on a plane and got off. The story tied in with the X-Files mythology, but was a standalone episode. I had some people trying to get it over to the producers of the series, but a coworker convinced me to try it as a feature film...." Charles!! Well, finally, you can pre-order the season 2 DVD set from Reel.com here.

Back to the news. From CC: "Certainly Scully's character has evolved to this point now where she is a believer of sorts...I think that [her] partner [in season 8] would probably be a skeptic. And more likely than not it will be a man." Also he said Krycek, Skinner, etc. will get larger roles next season. And: "'If we plan carefully, there could be [more seasons], but I'm not telling you that there will be,' he says elusively. Which is why, he adds, choosing a new partner for Scully is 'very important for not just this year but perhaps the future.... I still think there are a lot of stories to tell. If the characters worked, and we liked to write for them, I could say yes to another season.'" Anyway, Elwood X says that the latest buzz on the premiere is that it will be on November 5, and that filming will start again in July. Also some unfortunate news: DD allegedly said in Europe recently that his appearances next season "would be far less" than the agreed-upon 11. I wonder how he plans to violate his word after being so mad at Fox for violating theirs.... And William B. Davis said that CC told him that CSM's death scene was meant to be ambiguous...i.e. he might end up alive next season. Anyway, since SpoilerVille is shutting down, a slew of new spoiler lists are popping up. I recommend joining these three, then seeing which "survives" the summer: XFSource, The Spoiler Files, and The X-Files Spoilers. On to "Requiem" ratings: It came in 18th with 15.26 million viewers, compared to 10th and 15.86 million for "Biogenesis." Season 7 average: 26th and 14.22 million viewers (last year 10th, 17.33 million). Thanks Roda93! The episode got a 20 share in adults 18-49, beating out WWTBAM's 19. I forgot to mention last update that the official site also has a video of Kim Manners directing Nick Lea. And, be sure to check out the Mythology section. I totally updated it to the finale and "all things," making it completely updated. I have thought extensively about the episodes, and I've written up complete explanations of why Mulder was abducted and how Scully got pregnant. See the second- and third-to-last subsections plus "Mulder, Scully, and the X-files" for all the new stuff. I included an explanation of the episode itself, since it's pretty complicated and I've been reading a lot of the same questions that actually have answers. Don't miss it!

The official site is relaunching soon; I heard sometime this week from a Fox e-mail. I also heard today, but there aren't any changes yet. There is supposed to be more goodies, more accessibility, and more user-friendliness. Maybe they're using that "hidden" template I accidentally found as the basis for the new design?! Also: "LIVE FAN FORUM! Mulder and Scully go back to the beginning in 'Requiem.' But is it the end? Come discuss the season finale with other fans at Peoplelink on Monday 5/22 at 10 p.m. EST (7 p.m. PST)." And part 2 of the Vince Gilligan interview is up too. Anyway. Check out the Mythology section; I again revised the black oil explanation (how it relates to "Biogenesis" etc.), and this time it's DEFINITELY true because the revisions are based on what Anne Simon (science adviser to the show) said answering a question about the black oil. In fact, she confirmed my original theory that I later removed and is back up. This is kind of neat too: "For the right price, fans can have X-Files star David Duchovny record a personalized answering machine message, or have lunch with Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall. These are two of the celebrity-linked items up for bid in the 'Auction of 1,000 Stars,' to benefit the Actors Fund of America."

On to merchandise news. The 2001 wall calendar is coming in August, 24 pages. Also I have the pictures of the other two Nokia movie cell phone covers: red (let's call it that instead of "burgundy," shall we?) and green. Finally, season 2 is confirmed on DVD! The next DVD set is coming out on November 7, with 7 discs like the season 1 set. The official price is $149.98. As before, there will be interactive menus, interviews, DVD-ROM features, behind-the-scenes footage, and scene access. The discs will be dual-layered and Region 1-encoded for now. Thanks Treegate! That's all for today. After Sunday, an era of The X-Files will be over. Enjoy everyone!

Today is Fan Blackout Day, so the home page is temporarily "blacked out." Anyway, GA threw out a hint on "Requiem": she said that the last line she says explains a lot of things and answers a lot of questions, and that it is "very interesting." The official site will be having "video footage from the set and interviews with Gillian Anderson, Nick Lea, director Kim Manners, visual effects producer Bill Millar and more." Plus up now is 1/2 of an interview with Vince Gilligan on "Je Souhaite"; the other half should be up next week. And right before the finale: "FX will show all nine episodes of Chris Carter's Harsh Realm in succession. The marathon will begin Saturday, May 20 at 5 p.m. EST, and will conclude at 2 a.m. May 21." Also Gillian has another nomination: "Phantastik.de, a German SF&F news Web site, announced its nominations for the German Phantastik Awards, recognizing the best works of science fiction and fantasy from 1999. The nominations were based on a poll by readers of the site. Winners will be announced in October at the BuchmesseConvention 2000 in Frankfurt, Germany. Gillian Anderson was nominated in the Best Actress category, but there were no other X-Files nominations." Changing the subject, "Fight Club" got horrible ratings: it came in 49th with 11.7 million viewers, worse than "Three of a Kind," which got last year's worst ratings (19th with 12.93 million viewers). This info thanks to Roda93, who also informed me that the fan club kits will be out within a month.

I'm going to go into random stuff now. First, does anyone see the irony in the fact that the question DD got wrong in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? had to do with the film Witness, which DD referred to in "Hollywood A.D."? ("Jehovah's Witness meets Harrison Ford's Witness.") That is too much! Speaking of that ep, here is a very interesting article on the guy who actually did the Aramaic speech heard on Chuck Burks's computer. Also USA Today named Nicholas Lea as the most likely actor to become a star in a recent poll. Here are some more cool links: the behind-the-scenes special from the "Closure" video, the first and second cut scenes from the pilot with Ethan Minette, the campaign for an 8th season only with DD, and the new (temporary?) official "site" for the season 1 DVD set. Speaking of which, the Haven has scans of the packaging of the set. From there I also got the links to the cut pilot scenes and "Closure" video, and this picture of the Wave 8 videos. Also, I finally saw "all things" again and enjoyed it immensely--more so than I did on the first time. I'm sorry if I sounded a little harsh after the first time I saw it...some eps take 2 viewings for me.

Thanks to ScarpX I have the "Je Souhaite" print ad, and thanks to The X-Files Total Resource I now have a pic of the upcoming movie Thermos. It is a limited-edition collectible, 1 release run expected. Incidentally that site was Foxed, which is why there have been so few merchandise updates recently. Ridiculous! Finally, this is an interesting read on some inside references to the band Over the Rhine in "Alpha":

"...If you saw The X-Files this past Sunday, you might have chuckled when somebody walked on and said, 'My name is Detweiler.' But you surely must have raised an eyebrow when Fox Mulder went looking for someone named Karin Berquist who was unusually fond of dogs. We were certainly in shock. We knew that this was the second episode written by a friend of ours, Jeff Bell, but we had no idea he was capable of this kind of tomfoolery. To make a long story shorter, [lead singer] Karin has been obsessed for quite a number of years with The X-Files, not to mention David Duchovny. When we sat and talked to Jeff last fall outside Royce Hall at UCLA after opening for the Junkies, Karin jokingly pleaded for an opportunity to die in Mulder's arms with something exploding out of her chest. Well, it didn't quite happen just like that, but much of the episode was filled with inside jokes about this 'Karin Berquist' who was 'enamored of' Fox Mulder, obsessed with dogs et cetera. The original script did have the character 'Karin Berquist' die in Fox's arms, but the scene didn't make the final cut. Instead, the Detweiler character took a stake through the heart after pushing Karin by the throat through a second-story window, but that's neither here nor there. (Jeff Bell wrote and directed the video 'Happy With Myself' for us and in the space of a few days helped put together the 'Serpents and Gloves' interviews and so forth, back in 1994 after we recorded 'Eve.') Stacie said quite a few people had e-mailed saying, What is up?! That's pretty much all I know. Jeff Bell did plant the seed for naming our fourth record Good Dog Bad Dog, because he flew his Weimaraner, Zoe, from California to Cincinnati for the video shoot. He carried two pictures of her in his wallet. One was 'Good Dog'; the other, 'Bad Dog.' Karin loves Zoe, as she does all dogs. You can figure the rest out. (There are a couple of hints at this in the episode as well.)"

Next up, this from Kim Manners: "If [the spinoff pilot] sells and gets off the ground, I'll stay with Chris and do that series. If X-Files goes on, I'll stay with X-Files. If Chris doesn't do anything, I'll be moving on. But I'd bet on Chris Carter any day." Well, season 7 stopped filming on Friday, with the wrap party Saturday night at the West Hollywood Athletic Club. (Thanks Poopyhead1013!) Anyone get the blooper reel??? Oh and another thing, FoxFlash has pics from "Je Souhaite" which you can find on other sites. BTW, before I forget, I cooked up a very interesting theory tying some things together in the mythology relating to how Mulder got to believing in the paranormal. Check out the Mythology section; where I added the theory is listed at the bottom. Shippers check this out: "April 9 is National Shippers Day! That's the first time Mulder and Scully slept together, though the noromos deny it. (The other--two-week--holiday I created has been posted here on Andy's wonderful site before.) Questions? Comments? E-mail me (Cathy :-) at DKFox1013@netscape.net and please join my mailing list. :-) Subscribe by sending a blank message to Shipperland-subscribe@egroups.com and all X-Philes, especially DD-loving shippers, are welcome! My screen name on AIM is DKFox1013 if you want to talk to me."

Now some more movie merchandise news, thanks to the wonderful folks at The X-Files Total Resource. G Whiz!, the company that made the movie lunchboxes and is releasing a third run of them soon, is coming out with the official movie Thermoses next month. Still new movie items, wow! I should have a picture soon, in addition to pictures of the other cell phone covers I've mentioned. On to other stuff, X-Files: The TV Series Collection (Wave 8) and the season 1 box set are coming out tomorrow and have actually already shipped to those who pre-ordered! The "Millennium" video I've mentioned will actually have the last two episodes of that show plus the XF episode "Millennium" and bonus materials. It will come out in Australia on June 7 and in the U.K. on June 12.

Don't forget the OBSSE Scully Marathon 2000 and the GAWS auction! Anyway I have some news on (former) XF people. "Mitch [Pileggi] provides the voice of the character Dr. Stanton in an upcoming episode of the WB's animated series Batman Beyond. The episode is titled 'Payback' and is number 483/36. Stanton is the director of a youth center in Gotham City." I mentioned a Daniel Sackheim project called Glass House a long time ago, and here's more on it: "Rita Wilson, otherwise known as Mrs. Tom Hanks, joins the cast of Glass House, a thriller starring Diane Lane, Stellan Skarsgard and Leelee Sobieski. The Columbia Pictures project, directed by X-Files producer Daniel Sackheim, focuses on two teenagers who discover their stepparents have a sinister secret." Finally, Chip Johannessen and Howard Gordon have a new pilot coming up, called Ultraviolet: "Originally the pair pitched Fox a show based on [writer/exec producer of the pilot] Johannessen's experience playing in a rock band and living in New York's Music Building on Eighth Avenue. Fox bought the idea, but ultimately told the pair that it wanted them to do something else. Would they be interested in adapting an existing six-part British series, called Ultraviolet, for the American market? Johannessen discovered that it was an updated version of the vampire myth. In the show, human bloodsuckers are known as Leeches, and they are a public health problem. The government begins hunting down the Leeches under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control. In the series, the Leeches often are portrayed more as a persecuted minority than an evil gang of blood-draining bat hybrids. In keeping with this more nuanced view of vampires, the British series eschewed the use of chiaroscuro lighting and close-ups of glistening fangs, and instead adopted a low-key, reality-based style and tone." That's it for today!

A description of CC at the University of California, Santa Barbara: "He did promise that the season (series?) finale will be very important to the mythology, and hinted (in the episode-teasing manner) that it might involve the missing scene from 'all things' (which he co-wrote the ending for) in some manner. When an audience member asked what went on between the couch and the bedroom, he said, 'That's a very important question to ask,' and that it might become clear in the finale. He seemed frustrated that the decision has not been made, and still states that he won't do another season without David on board, for which negotiations are still being done. ...While he referred to his widely known statement that a physical relationship would never happen, he didn't make any present references (again the 'all things' hint hint)." Even more wow. But wait, he said more: He hinted at the possibility of a Millennium movie (!), and repeated what he's said before that the colonization won't ever happen on the show since that's in the realm of pure sci-fi. He also noted two things that have changed throughout the years: the music and the appearance of more and more "known" actors. About the latter he said he had to give in. Plus there's more info from Gillian: "In one of the June Starlog articles Gillian says she is not intrigued at all by the notion of a Duchovny-less X-Files, and that a role, recurring or as a regular, on the Lone Gunmen series does not exactly excite her either. She seriously doubts that would be one of the scenarios to fulfill her contract with Fox."

Let's talk about DVDs and videos! "Closure" came out yesterday in the U.K., and will come out in June in Australia. It includes "an exclusive profile of Samantha Mulder and the Samantha character puzzle video card." The season 1 DVD box set, coming out in the U.S. on May 9, is being considered for a June release in the U.K. and an Australian release in November. Still more on the set from a review: "Finally, there is the DVD-ROM portion of the disc, which is an extension of the official X-Files Web site, and is an interactive connection of more episode information and excerpts from Jane Goldman's Book of the Unexplained, as well as more links to the official Web site. I suspect most fans will probably have read all this already, though the graphics are very nice and this is a nice portal into the Web site." Plus there's a DVD-ROM game called Seeds of Deception! And check it out--the next international video release is "Millennium," containing the series finale of Millennium, "Goodbye To All That," and of course the XF episode "Millennium." Thanks to Terry Vaughan and Christopher Wooff for the MM info; the latter also told me about the U.K. DVD release possibility. Wait--there's more! Actual MOVIE merchandise news, who would have thought--the X-Files Merchant found out about the official movie Nokia cell phone covers! I think they are from the U.K. What a find! While on the subject of pictures, here's one of the third banner ad for the official site. Back to videos, this is the new official site for Leaving Los Angeles Newsletter, the documentary. Plus the "Biogenesis" video has a behind-the-scenes feature; download it in two parts here, it's really neat! On to official magazine stuff. There was a cool ad for Harsh Realm on FX; in fact, the accompanying article mentioned a marathon in May on FX to commemorate XF's last (or not?) season. Also commemorating the end of the season is the official fan club, which is offering the scripts of the last 6 episodes. Yesterday at midnight CST, "all things" and "Brand X" were made available, and for the remaining episodes, the scripts will go on sale the day after the episode airs. "all things" and "Hollywood A.D." are only available to fan club members. All scripts are only available for 2 weeks each.

Before I go into other Chris Carter shows, here's a goodie on "Je Souhaite": "It definitely has something for everyone--creepy X-Files story and a really nice shipper-friendly moment at the end." Also the wish in the teaser is not someone wanting to become invisible, but someone wanting someone else to shut up. One more thing--I found out the new names in the opening credits. Michelle MacLaren from HR is a co-executive producer now, probably replacing Michael Watkins, and Harry V. Bring, previously a unit production manager since the beginning of last season, is now a co-producer. Anyway, I have official summaries of the HR episodes "Cincinnati" and "Camera Obscura." The former: "Santiago wages a personal war against a Native American rebellion in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hobbes and Pinocchio attempt to use the opportunity to kill Santiago." And the latter: "When they take a job as bodyguards, Hobbes and Pinocchio find themselves in the middle of a family feud mitigated by a priest who can see the future." Also the episodes are being aired out of order on FX; after "Kein Ausgang," "Reunion," 1H06, was shown (I have that on tape, need to watch it!). Then will come 1H05, 1H04, 1H07, and finally 1H08. See Harsh Realm Spoilers for more info. BTW "Kein Ausgang" was great! HR really had potential, and that was probably one of the best episodes so far. And the other show in question, the spinoff.... Dean Haglund updated his site in the Buzz section, in which he confirms that the pilot finished shooting, and it looks great according to the post-production people. Lots of action. Tom Braidwood did his own stunts. The title, so far, is in fact The Lone Gunmen. Finally, the most interesting part: if the show is not picked up, then the pilot will air as an "add-on" to TXF. FINALLY, according to the official magazine, DD is even interested in doing cameo appearances on the spinoff.

Now then. I'm behind in the news, so that means I have to talk about both "Chimera" and "all things"! The former has received a lot of criticism, but I disagree. I was happy to read a post on the newsgroup by TomBli that I completely agree with. David Amann had a tough situation--a busy GA and a deadline. The episode quite cleverly mixed two plots together (Mulder and Scully's X-files) and connected them with the same theme. In fact, the whole theme that looks deceive, and that people will go to great risks to appear normal, is apparent all over. One nitpick I had is that the episode could have tied in with Mulder's dream in "Amor Fati," with all the "creature comforts of a well-tended home." I did not see the end coming! On second viewing, the episode was even better. "Chimera" got a 7.5/11 household rating, with 12.89 million viewers, ranked #28 for the week. Interestingly, the ratings went up in the second half hour, which is strange because usually Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? sucks in more and more viewers as it progresses toward the end. Last year, "Alpha" came in 9th with 17.67 million viewers. On to "all things." This episode left me a little uneasy. It was definitely not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed the theme and message of the episode. Most of the story was good and very thought-provoking, but I still doubt that Scully, with a cross around her neck, would go to a Buddhist temple for any reason. Gillian did a nice job directing for the most part, but the slow-mo was WAY overdone. TXF is a show that doesn't and shouldn't use much of that gimmick, but lately it's using it more and more. In the episode it was distracting. Yes I got the rhythm/life slows down part, but we didn't need a slow-mo shot every time Scully started to notice things. At times (Scully walking around Chinatown) the episode came off as a music video, and not to insult Moby whom I admire, that song was also overplayed. Mark Snow had a good choir-bell score that should have been used more. All in all a good first effort, and I did enjoy it--Scully's emotions came right out of the TV. But I think the plausibility of the episode and the probable fan reaction should have been taken into account even though this is a "personal" episode for GA. "all things" got an 8.9/13 household rating, yes, more than "Chimera"; it is theorized that the majority of the female audience switched from the almost all-male Fail-Safe to TXF, an episode which probably was intended for a female audience anyway. It came in 25th with 14.67 million viewers, as opposed to 10th and 17.94 million for "Trevor" last year. Thanks to Roda93 for the numbers! Oh one last thing--were we really supposed to be fooled by that teaser?

I'm going to slap down some quotes now. See if they convince you that there will be another season. Gillian Anderson: "I'm not crazy about writing a script again during the season. On the other hand, I can't imagine directing an episode that wasn't mine, so if I am going to direct again on this show, I would just have to bite the bullet and try to write another one.... Chris [Carter] is in the process of writing the season finale, and we don't know [if we're coming back]. He doesn't know what to write.... The thought of [filming] two more episodes and that being the end of it is infuriating. It hasn't given any of us the opportunity to mourn the ending. And it also hasn't given Fox the chance to advertise the shit out of it. This could be incredibly lucrative for them [if they] do it correctly, and it tells me that they believe very strongly that there is going to be an eighth season." David Duchovny: "At this point in my career, I can't spend another 10 months this year or next year doing X-Files. I don't want to, creatively or professionally. I've made my terms clear to Fox. I'm not the one waiting to decide." Those terms are returning for another season, but not for the full 22 episodes. Either a smaller season or Mulder not being in every episode. Fox has said that they want a full-time lead or they will replace Duchovny. Roda93 contacted Fox, which is now saying that a decision will come out in late May, that is, after the finale. It would be just great if it was announced that the "season finale" we just saw was actually the last episode of the show. Fox blew it.

Mini-spoiler time. Autumn T. provided some info on "Je Souhaite": "It is about a 'jinni' or genie as we spell it who when unrolled from her rug grants the person 3 wishes, but you better think before you wish. Unfortunately some rather idiot brothers come into contact with her to start...." In spinoff news, Zuleikha Robinson (Timecode) was cast, most likely as the new female character. Anyway, "Brand X," which looks to be a really really cool episode, has a neat print ad. And there was one for "all things" too, here. There are promo pictures floating around for "Brand X" (also at the official site) and "Hollywood A.D." too. I got some other cool pictures too--these are GA's director's plans for her episode, and this is a prop flyer given out at the "Fight Club" filming event (here's the inside). Also, I said previously that William B. Davis plays CSP in the film in "Hollywood A.D." I wondered how that could make sense--well, he doesn't play CSP (someone else does), but CSM is in the ep (thanks Dennis X!). And, I've been noticing some craziness in the producer credits lately. First, Rob Bowman got one for "En Ami," so I guess they counted him as a producer for the episodes he directed this season now that he's no longer really on the show. OK fine. But I noticed a LOT of new names in the opening credits of "all things"--I think I caught Michelle MacLaren, from Harsh Realm, credited as a co-executive producer. I only saw the episode once, but I will try to watch it again and look at who's new at 1013.

I'm almost done with this super-update. Official magazine #14 is out there, although it officially comes out April 18. I still haven't gotten it or the new fan club kit in the mail. Hmm. Anyway, the season 1 DVD box set was previewed by The Digital Bits, and it got a great review. Check it out. Here's a detailed list of the features from the review: "Approx. 1,152 mins (24 episodes at 48 mins each), NR, full frame (1.33:1), 6 single-sided, dual-layered discs (containing 4 episodes each) and 1 single-sided, single-layered disc (containing bonus materials), custom packaging, 2 deleted scenes and a special effects outtake accessible using multi-angle feature (from the pilot episode and 'Fallen Angel'), 4 'international' clips from the pilot episode (in dubbed Japanese, German, Spanish and Italian), 47 TV spots (10- and 20-second spots for each episode and a 60-second spot for the pilot), 12 Behind the Truth segments (as seen on FX), 12 interview clips with Chris Carter about the episodes, The Truth About Season One featurette, DVD-ROM features (including an interactive trivia game, Seeds of Deception, Web links and access to online events), animated program-themed menu screens with music, scene access (12 chapters per episode), languages: English and French (DD 2.0), subtitles: English and Spanish, Closed-Captioned." Plus the official site confirmed the new May 9 release date as well as the fact that there are "plans to release the next six seasons" on DVD. FINALLY, thanks to Li Qiang Hua, I got a link to a cool site, The X-Files On The Air, which has full episodes online available to download. Ending note: I am leaving Saturday morning for probably over a week, but I will be in L.A. for part of the time, meaning (a) no updates until I'm back, and (b) I may be able to see my favorite show filming for the first time! If I'm lucky, and depending on the shooting schedule, I could see either "Je Souhaite" or "Requiem" filming, or both. I'll try my best!

BTW Shandling and Leoni in "Hollywood A.D." actually do play themselves--sorry for the confusion. Plus William B. Davis plays the Cigarette-Smoking Pontiff in the film--I'm not sure how that will work out. Thanks Dennis X! Anyway, Dean Haglund finally updated his site a little, in the Appearances and Travel sections. Plus, Australian fans take note: The "Dreamland" video previously only available through mail order (and will be until November) will be released in stores on April 19. Finally, check out this cool little pic, thanks to The X-Files Daily.