X-Files Creator ignores online Phile response to season 8

"Producers used to wait for fan mail. Now there's instant communication. I use it as a quality-control measure." (Houston Chronicle, July 1995)

The above statement was made by Chris Carter, the creator of the highly-successful dramatic series The X-Files, during the early days of The X-Files’ success.

"I’m blessed. It’s just a wonderful coincidence that The X-Files rose up when the Internet’s popularity was just blooming. Here’s an audience that’s smart, computer-literate and computer-learned, and they like the show. They take advantage of this new tool, and so do I, to feel the pulse of my audience - every day, if there’s time."

The emergence of The X-Files as a mainstream hit and the dawning of the Internet’s popularity went hand in hand. Many television viewers quickly adopted the new technology and, appreciative of the advantages instant communication afforded, began to explore its limits.

Today, almost eight years later, hundreds of websites grace the Net, dedicated to one or more aspects of the show and/or the actors who give life to Mulder, Scully, Skinner and Krycek. Fans added humor to the often somber universe by developing the X-Files drinking game (eg. take a shot of your favorite liquid each time Scully says "Mulder, it’s me.") in addition to plays ‘acted’ out by Mulder and Scully action figures. Mulderisms and Scullyisms (well-known and/or humorous quotes of the characters) became known to Philes and non-Philes. The fan reviews of each episode along with thousands of megabytes of fanfic (fan-written stories based on the show) remain popular on Web sites. The list goes on.

Fox and 1013, the company which produces the series, have consistently acknowledged the presence and dedication of the online Phile community. They established an Official X-Files Web site, which provides episode synopses, character backgrounds, message boards for fan interaction and links to the online Official Fan Club. Online chats between Chris Carter and various members of the cast and crew of the show have been a staple over the years, the MSNBC-run chat with Carter, Duchovny and Anderson a primary feature of the pre-premiere promotion of The X-Files movie in 1998. Competitions have been targeted at the online community, the recent X-Props II on the Official Site which offered Mulder’s nameplate as an ultimate prize a sterling example. On the online Yahoo auction boards XF-related props and clothing from the show - including items worn by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson - attracted a lot of Phile interest and a large amount of Phile money.

The ultimate acknowledgment of 1013’s recognition of the online Phile community is actually seen in the less advertised -- but no less public -- use of well-known Phile names in the show itself. The Thinker - a doomed character in the season 2 cliff-hanger Anasazi -- was modelled on the real-life online Phile, Yung Jun Kim. The names Paul Vitaris and Deborah Brown in the episode Die Hand Die Verletz are named after online Philes, (Paula Vitaris is also a writer for the magazine Cinefantastique), as is Skye Leiken (real name Leiken Skye) in War of the Corphrages. More heartfelt and serious recognition of the fan devotion to XF came in the form of a dedication in Paper Clip for online Phile Mario Mark Kennedy, tragically killed in a car accident, and the mention of the late Stacey Ocziel -- a dedicated Phile and Chris Carter fan --in Alpha.

But has the love affair between production and fans gone sour? Is the electronic phenomenon that helped build an empire appreciated today? Or has instant communication become an albatross about 1013’s neck?

The pre-season promotion of The X-Files started with the September 22 issue of Entertainment Weekly. Sporting a cover picture of Robert Patrick of Terminator 2 fame (playing new character Agent John Doggett) and Gillian Anderson (Agent Dana Scully), the text spoke of the new character, the change in format resulting from David Duchovny’s half-season commitment to the show and the positive vibe for the re-invention of XF.

In every subsequent publication and online chat, the folks at 1013 have about fallen over themselves to paint the new season of The X-Files as the best thing since ... well, since the series began. The public statements and their interpretation of the ratings have lead the average reader to believe that X-Files fans are as happy with the show as they are themselves.

Such is not the case.

Despite spin-doctoring of ratings statistics and verbal claims to the contrary, online Phile response to season 8 has not been completely positive. Certainly there are those fans who continue to label series quality as "good" -- some would even claim it to be better than the last couple of years. But a vast number of online XF fans are not happy with what Chris Carter has done this season.

Log on to some of the newsgroups like alt.tv.x-files.analysis and you’ll get an indication of true Phile response. Check out any of the e-mail lists. Or simply peruse the many discussions running on the XF Official Site message boards.

All is not well in Philedom.

And what is the problem? It would be easy to dismiss any discontent as a knee-jerk reaction of Philes unable to accept the change brought about by the replacement of Duchovny’s Mulder with the new character, Doggett. But look beyond the anti-Doggett messages and you can see that many Phile’s concerns are grounded in less superficial areas.

Considering Mulder and Scully are household names, minimal to no mention of Mulder’s name during season 8 episodes aired thus far has been interpreted as the ultimate betrayal. Chris Carter claimed time and again that Duchovny’s absence from the show actually gave rise to making the character of Mulder (abducted by aliens at the conclusion of last season) the "absent center" for this season. But it only took until the third episode for his supposed "one in 5 billion" partner and friend to put his desk nameplate away in a drawer, an action which was not well-received.

Are X-Philes that sensitive? Yes, they are. But to give them their due, it has taken more than that one incident to turn so many of them into Ex-Philes. Add into the mix other concerns, like the re-hashing of old plots and plot devices from first- and second-season episodes, or the change of the formerly strong and independent Scully into a damsel in distress who clearly isn't looking for her partner. Then add a dose of an obvious intent to attract the male 18-49 audience they covet by the sexing up of the show (somebody in wardrobe please let Gillian wear clothes that actually fit!). Stir in a little more of the lack of mention of the "absent center" Mulder and, despite having more ingredients to add (including a new character who, while moderately interesting, just isn't Mulder), you have a pretty potent mix of disgruntlement and disillusionment. Pour into a bowl of a Scully who should be at least 5 months pregnant but doesn’t show it. Bake in a hot oven of X-Files plots which no longer have a soul (where's Mulder's interest in the crime *and* the criminal?) and serve on a bed of spoiler information which has Mulder dead, buried and dug up as a rotting corpse. There you have a recipe for a series which is declining in Phile interest.

Has Chris Carter noticed this reaction of Philes? Barely. It wasn’t until a January interview that Chris stated:

"This year's been interesting because there are so many people who are invested in Mulder and Scully. Then all of a sudden you change that. And you hear about it, believe me. There is a lot of mail and a lot of opinions. And, you know, not all of them are positive." (The Hartford Courant, January 2001)

On a less flattering level Chris was quoted in the article as saying that there's simply "a lot of hysteria right now".

"Carter himself acknowledges that he checks out the Internet ‘almost every day’, talking to fans, reading the more thoughtful comments, and sometimes thinking, ‘Hey, they’re right. I’d better watch myself.’ "

One would assume Chris no longer believes the fans are right. During the Official XF Web site online chat in November last year -- in response to a question from a Phile about fan influence -- Chris stated:

"I understand their need and I also understand about satisfying audience expectation, but I also know that people are prone to want things that aren't necessarily good for them. Or the characters. Or The X-Files, for that matter."

And as recently as January 2001:

"They were ready to hate the show this year. They were going to punish us for changing what they had come to know and love. There’s still a group on the Internet who just will not tolerate what we’ve done - even though I think we’re doing it well."

Right or wrong, the Philes who have supported the show for 7+ years have grievances, only this time the creator -- who scripted a Mulder and Scully kiss in season six’s Millennium largely due to fan interest -- is not listening.

Which raises the question: Just what is the role of the online fan community of a popular TV series?

While other TV shows have generated a huge fan following - Star Trek, for example - The X-Files is the first series to benefit directly from the growth in popularity of the Internet. The access to the creator by fans, and to fans by the creator, was a first - a welcomed first at the time when fan reaction was largely positive. Philes felt secure in the knowledge that, while they understood they had no rights in determining the direction of the series, their opinions were wanted and heard, and sometimes had good results.

The bonds of that relationship were tested over the years. Fan enthusiasm for the show led to the questionable use of images, sounds and video from the series, which prompted the legal department of 20th Century Fox to send "cease and desist" letters to protect their copyrighted material. Most understood the legal requirement; however the response was understandably more emotional than logical - why was fan support of the show being frowned upon?

While significant sites were taken off the Web, Phile enthusiasm did continue, if but a little more cautiously. And still the relationship between creator and audience remained. The online chats continued - most particularly post-episode chats (this season alone 3 chats occurred after the first few episodes aired), the X-Files traveling expos were instigated and the online competitions were repeated. Philes still write their reviews, and the discussions online -- which Chris Carter and other 1013 reps have admitted following at times -- continue.

Yet today their response is being dismissed in a conspiracy-theory of punishment and labelled as "hysteria".

If a lesson is to be learned from this experience, then perhaps it is one that, regardless of the instant communication the Internet provides, regardless what the online fandom may contribute to the success of any television series, the relationship between creator and fans is as it was before the dot com era -- purely one-way, and in favor of those who, in the online world, are labelled TPTB (The Powers That Be).

Should we be surprised? Probably not. But this is an industry where Star Trek fans were able to campaign to bring back the original series after cancellation during the late 1960s (albeit a short stay of execution) and where, more recently, Roswell fans banded together to save 'their' show. Given that X-Files fans were told more than once that their feedback was monitored and wanted, that TPTB catered to this audience in so many ways, it is understandable that there was some expectation from Philes that their concerns would be heard.

The initial lack of acknowledgment of the concerns and their subsequent dismissal is having an interesting effect. Many Philes are now bound and determined to switch-off from The X-Files once the Mulder and Scully era is -- happily, they hope -- resolved. No real surprise in that fact. But it goes further. There are some who are vocally boycotting the upcoming XF spinoff The Lone Gunmen in disillusionment over Carter’s treatment of XF this season, and in fear that any future 7-year investment in a series 1013 produces will result in the same disregard and dismissal.

And the ultimate reaction? A general loss of enthusiasm overall for television.

Philes are the focused audience of The X-Files, but more than a few are also occasional -- if not focused -- viewers of other television series, and not just science-fiction related shows. Off-topic discussion on email lists and message boards cover talk of shows like E.R. , but a trend is developing in some quarters -- a move away from investing hours into following serial television when, in the final analysis, the ending can be so disappointing. Unsure of that reaction? Talk to any Quantum Leap or Babylon 5 fan. Fans are simply leary of the commitment.

That smart, computer-literate and computer-learned audience Chris spoke of in 1995 may prove to be both a blessing and... Well, curse almost seems harsh. But with a decline in ratings (a recent episode saw 3.5 million homes turn off FOX right before XF aired, and overall a 20+ percent decline in viewers has been registered, including a decline in the 18-49 demographic they covet), Phile opinion is being validated by Nielsen families. The consistent negative response to the virtually Mulder-less season 8 from a significant number of Philes (the latest episode Surekil has been declared "dull" and "boring" by many, including the respected online reviewer Autumn Tysko) - is a "pulse" to which Chris Carter should listen. "Hysteria" or not, the Philes may still be right, Chris.

 

 

Fox forgets Mulder.
Philes forget the X-Files.

 

 

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