we want xf3! the x-philes explain why they want to see a third movie
Transcription
we want xf3! the x-philes explain why they want to see a third movie
X FILES BLUEBOOK & FILES ITALIAN FAN CLUB present... Created by X-FiLes Blue Book & X-Files Italian Fan Club Editor Massimiliano Design and layout Simone Ferraro Translater Cristian Di Paolo Editorial staff Massimiliano Anasilv Elena Romanello Gfelix SUPERVISOR Adam Boraso Contributors X-Files Universe X-Files Lexicon Musings of an X-Phile Expediente X The X-Files 3 in 2012 Special thanks to: Sarah Blinco Matt Allair Maurisap Sandra Giorgia Bazzocchi (wonderful vidder) Sabrina D'Ercole (passionate fan) Michelle Rose --------------------------------Contacts: xfilesbluebook@yahoo.it webmaster@xfilesitalianfanclub.it BLUEMAGAZINE BOOK The first magazine created by fans and dedicated to X-Files Magazine nonprofit, browsable online, created by x-filesbluebook.com - Photos and trademarks belong to 20TH Century Fox and Ten Thirteen Productions A M A R C O R D 19th June, 1998 “Why did they assign me to you in the first place, Mulder? To debunk your work, to rein you in, to shut you down.” “But you saved me! As difficult and as frustrating as it's been sometimes, your goddamned strict rationalism and science have saved me a thousand times over! You've kept me honest ... you've made me a whole person. I owe you everything ... Scully, and you owe me nothing..” BlueBook Focus on I WANT TO BELIEVE 20 Insights X-Philosophy 16 40 CHRIS CARTER OMEN NOMEN Fandomania THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE AND ENVOLVING... Features Insights 32 XF3 Campaign 3-AMARCORD 16-CHRIS CARTER 24-WE WANT XF3! Fight the Future The man who rides wave philes worldwide asking for another movie 6-NEWS Fox’s 25th anniversary London Comic Con 12-CONVENTIONS X-Con Germany 60-PHOTO GALLERY Focus on Fandomania 20-I WANT TO BELIEVE 32-THE X-FILES LEXICON Analysis by GFelix The truth is out there and envolving... by Sarah Blinco 24 56 WE WANT XF3! Beyond the X-Files THE X-PHILES EXPLAIN WHY THEY WANT TO SEE A THIRD MOVIE THE THE HOUSE HOUSE OF OF MIRTH MIRTH AA masterpiece masterpiece to to be be rediscovered rediscovered Face to Face Reviews 50 36 LILLY RUSH & DANA SCULLY MILAGRO 6X18 Interview Horror Zone 54 46 VAMPIRES IN X-FILES GIUSTO TONI Reviews 36-MILAGRO 6X18 Musings of an X-Phile X-Philosophy Interview Dossier 46-GIUSTO TONI 54-VAMPIRE IN X-FILES Between Sci-Fi and Story “Three” & “Bad Blood” Face to Face Beyond the X-Files 40-OMEN NOMEN 50-SCULLY & RUSH 56-THE HOUSE OF MIRTH The fate in in the name Modern heroines Masterpiece to be rediscovered Ehi Vidder, Frank wants you! If you love video editing, BigLight wants to see your chops. Frank is looking for a 3-5 minute video reel to showcase his producing and writing that will accompany him to various speaking engagements. We know there is a lot of talent out there, so we want to see how creative you can get in featuring Frank's producing, writing and directing work. The winner will be hand chosen by Frank, will have their work seen at various events, and will also win a signed, one-of-a-kind script from Frank's upcoming new BBC/Cinemax television show, "Hunted." If you are interested in entering your work into the contest, we have just a few small requests: 1. Please do not include any images of Frank himself, just include his work. (The X-Files (TV series and feature films), Night Stalker, Strike Back, Robbery Homicide Division, The Lone Gunmen, Harsh Realm, Millennium, etc.) 2. The images in the reel needs to be of DVD quality. 3. Entries must be uploaded to network.biglight.com by August 10, 2012. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at questions@biglight.com. Happy editing!(Please note that the winner will receive the "Hunted" script after the show has premiered this fall.) CONTEST ROBERT PATRICK IN “LAST RESORT” BBC America is reportedly eyeing the upcoming drama series The Fall. The series, starring X-Files actress Gillian Anderson, focuses on a serial killer on the loose in Belfast and the female detective superintendent in charge of the investigation. According to TV Wise, BBC America is considering adding the upcoming series to its 'Dramaville' block later this year, which in the past has included shows like Luther and The Hour. The Fall debuts this winter on BBC Two in the UK. Robert Patrick (John Doggett on The XFiles) will star with Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Streets)Max Adler (Glee) in ABC’s Last Resort. Patrick is one of a crew on a nuclear submarine who become fugitives after refusing to fire their missiles on a foreign country. They take refuge on a small island and create the smallest nuclear nation for themselves. The series is from Shawn Ryan, the creator of The Shield. 5 QUESTIONS WITH... We know that as fans of Frank Spotniz's work, you have a lot of burning questions. So Frank came up with the idea of doing a 20 questions type project. After a little brainstorming, "5 Questions With..." was born. The best part about the "5 Questions With..." project is we want to get as many submissions from YOU as possible! If you happen upon an alum from Frank's previous or current work (at a convention, festival, etc.), you can film your own "5 Questions With..." and upload it right here to the Big Light Network. We'll have a special place to feature some of the great Q&A sessions you're filming so that you can share your creation with fans from all over the world. To kick things off, Frank and I did our own version of "5 Questions With..." via Skype. We just wanted to give everyone an example of what you could do, but remember, it's all up to you! So ask those burning questions, and dig down deep to think about what fans would *really* want to know about. If you have any questions, just shoot them over to us at questions@biglight.com. Gillian AND ROBERT at the Critics Choice Awards Gillian in “The Fall” 6 BLUEBOOK Gillian Anderson and Robert Patrick presented best actor in movie/mini series at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards 2012. the X-Files retrospective “The X-Files” stars Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and “X-Files” creator Chris Carter have appeared together on Fox’s 25th anniversary special. “ Of all the shows we did on The XFiles, one of my favorite episodes, maybe my favorite episode, it was called The PostModern Prometheus. It was really a Frankenstein story about a kind of unexpected Frankenstein. ” Carter “ As far as, The X-Files at the time had the highest production values of any TV show. So that was different. And yes, cinemagraphically and story-wise, it was very different from what people were used to at the time. It was before all the shows that followed us that copied us. It was the first one. ” Gillian 7 BLUEBOOK “ When I read the Pilot script for X-Files, I thought it was a good script. I thought "Oh this is an interesting pilot, an interesting story, an interesting one hour movie." I knew it was going to be about aliens and I thought, "Well nobody is really intersted in that." (Speaking about 'Post-Modern Prometheus') It just kind of had everything that The X-Files was. PostModern Prometheus was somewhat funny, somewhat artistic, it was somewhat scary, and it was all those things put together. And at the end of it is this beautiful image of Mulder asking Scully to dance and then it turns into a comic book. I remember when I fist saw it, I got chills because that's kind of how I'll remember the show. And in fact when I catch the show on TV now, it's like watching home movies and I'll remember what was happening that day. ” David 8 BLUEBOOK Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, Nicholas Lea and Frank Spotnitz at London Film & Comic Con 2012. The pictures fill our hearts and gladden our eyes. “I think the best episodes were the ones “My favourite is Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose. My favourite episodes are probably the ones that I’m not in!” when we didn’t have much money. I think the show worked best when you had to use your imagination and that as it got a bigger budget it lost something!” 9 BLUEBOOK XF3 “I’d do another one. The question is who’s going to write the script and when? I’m up for it.” by Irina by Sabrina Selle by Raani Scholes by Irina 10 BLUEBOOK by Amy Jo Johnston 11 BLUEBOOK I It started with an vision: an X-Files convention on German soil. Organised by fans with the help and support and for fans. In the beginning of 2009, the project started: Within the most active and largest message board of the German Phile community, xfiles-mania.de, fellow campaigners were looked for - and found. With the blessing and support of 20th Germany Fox Home Entertainment, the work load for the organizing team and the volunteers on-site rose astronomically: Potential locations had to be scouted, legal matters had to be sorted out, a homepage needed to be setup, supporters had to be acquired and so on. Thanks to the never-ending hard work of the participants the first X-CON was successfuly held at the Hotel Mercure Berlin Tempelhof Airport on October 17th and 18th 2009. The positive feedback from the attendees and guests showed that even 7 years after the last episode of "The X-Files" had been aired - the X-Philes are still out there and the X-Files Fandom is more alive and active than ever. X-CON 2009 was first X-Files convention on German soil organized by fans for the fans with international guest stars. More than 150 Philes from all over the world traveled to Berlin, one attendee journeyed over 5.000 miles from South Africa all the way to the German capital. In the end, almost € 600 has been raised for charity. Some of the raised money was used for aiding the 2009 summer camp of the Neurofibromatosis Association BerlinBrandenburg. Two charity projects endorsed by actress Gillian Anderson were also supported. 2010 - The Field Trip Soon after the X-CON 2009 took place, the organizing team was between the devil and the deep blue sea:There was no time for organizing a new convention. That was the time when the idea about a smaller, more intimate fan gathering occurred. People had the opportunity to choose for one of the following cities: Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt/Main and Cologne. Hamburg won by landslide. The Field Trip was hold on August 20th to August 22nd 2010. About 30 Philes went on a safari with Olivia Jones on Hamburgs famous St. Pauli District, conducted a scavenger hunt and visited various sights in the Germany's second largest metropolis. The Future Like all other X-Philes around the world we too are hoping for a greenlight for the third XFiles movie. Depending of the future developments we would love to having an event around a premiere of a new movie. Interview with Monika, the head of X-CON Germany What’s the idea behind the X-CON Germany concept? There is no rigid concept. The main goal is that “X-Files” fans from all over the world gather at one place where, in the best case actors and people from behind the camera join the fans. It should be fun for everybody, enjoy their favourite show, interact with other and make new friends. What ignited the idea to organise a convention yourself? I had the idea during a five hour car drive. My first contact with conventions was initiated by another favourite tv show of mine when I was younger. And from that my idea developed: Why not do a convention for “The X-Files”? What’s the difference between X-CON Germany and other events of this kind? Our feature is the causual atmosphere, that our guest stars are “touchable”. The X-CON is no anonymous mass event. Which challenges is one facing upon on organzing a convention? It’s very time-consuming, exhaustive and a constant emotional roller-coaster. For months I tried to get the permission from 20th Century Fox Germany. I have to thank the responsible Marketing Manager at this point. Tremendously, because he went above and beyond for us. Thanks to him we found the solution to certain legal problems. His general approval of the event were a huge advantage for us, not only because were supplied with marketing material for the second “X-Files” feature film. They also sponsored our main raffle prize: a € 200 worth brand new “X-Files “ complete DVD box What was the reason behind the decision to hold the convention in the Mercure Airport Hotel Tempelhof in Berlin-Neukölln Of course there have been alternative locations in Berlin. The costs for room hire are located in the higher range already, and I would spare the attendees higher ticket prices. The capacities and flexibilities of the locations were not meeting our requirements in our capacity, so we have chosen this hotel. I’m very happy with it. The staff is very friendly and helpful, everything is clean and all issues and questions were resolved timely. It was complicated endeavour but a lucky one. Are there „role models“? The FedCon is a role model. Of course it’s much harder for us, but we have proven that it’s not impossible. If our budget is not enough to pay the salary of a guest star this year, maybe we can afford them for the next event. Especially if we do all we can to ensure that the guests are comfortable. Other conventions started small and are now one of the largest of their kind. The size doesn’t not matter for us, more important are the fun and interaction. What does the future hold for X-CON Germany? We are currently entertaining the idea of having a new event soon. x Deux ex machina 16 BLUEBOOK Massimiliano A surfer is like a writer. He is always standing on the borderline between dream and reality. He tries to dominate the uncontrollable strength of nature as well as a writer tries to manage and tell us about the various aspects of our existence. The sea and men’s life have much in common: they both can be impetuous, unforeseeable, frightening but even fascinating. The Santa Barbara Ocean knows well Chris Carter’s thoughts because of that cruel and honest bond that only nature can create with men and because of that silence which gives voice to the soul. That voice we have listened to in every X-Files episode, paying attention to details, because they give birth to the truth. Carter has written articles for Surfing Magazine for five years travelling throughout the world, staying in tents or at some friends’, just to reveal the spirit of those who ride waves. Different people who don’t have much in common culturally, but who share a secret: they speak the language of the sea. If Dori, his partner, had not persuaded him to start his scriptwriter career, now he still would have been telling that secret, explaining to us its fascination. Christopher Columbus said “Language is not enough to describe, and hands can’t write about all the wonders of the sea”. For millions of fans’ sake, instead, Chris revealed himself through X-Files. He talked about his fears, his anguishes, thus showing his personal view of politics and society as well as his idea of love and friendship, creating stories and characters which allow the audience to develop their own point of view. “I’m by nature a restless man. And restlessness is followed by paranoia ”. This is how the character of Fox Mulder was created. Mulder is simply his projection into a plausible reality which is more mysterious and terrifying than we expect. This is what makes it an epic show. Everything is possible in its improbability. It is from Scully and Mulder, together, that the summary of Carter’s personality emerges. The genial author has never believed in aliens nor has he ever believed in the conspiracy aimed at hiding their existence. His brother is a scientist and he is really keen on physics, a science almost completely based on faith in numbers and therefore hard to demonstrate. This faith can be identified in Mulder’s will to believe in mystery and in Scully’s reliance on science. Faith and Reason meet, unite without killing each other and let us get to know unknown truths. Although apparently distant, Science and Faith have their origin in common; men’s necessity to try to answer these questions: who are we? Why do we exist? 17 BLUEBOOK Chris Carter started a production company called Ten Thirteen Productions. Since 1993 it has produced: 202 episodes of The X-Files 67 episodes of Millennium 9 episodes of Harsh Realm 13 episodes of The Lone Gunmen The feature film The X-Files: Fight the Future The feature film The X-Files: I Want to Believe X What is there after death? Are we alone in this universe? Reason (Scully) needs Faith (Mulder) to avoid becoming a blind fundamentalism; Faith can’t do without Science to maintain the humility that men need. The famous poster in Mulder’s office, I Want To Believe, perfectly explains Carter’s interior fight between faith and rationalism: “I don’t believe in it but I want to!”. There is also another mystery that has intrigued men for ages, and that is love. Carter has a precise idea of how to represent it on TV: “the strongest relationships can’t be recognised by sexuality, but by sensual, love signs and trust”. In addition to the mysteries of extraterrestrial life and feelings, Chris has analysed fear, revealing to us his personal “demons” and then focused on the new form of horror created by our society and by scientific progress. “In my childhood I used to spend summers on a farm where we milked cows. There were wheat fields. Have you ever been in an endless field of wheat? There is no worse fear. Imagination could give birth to any type of monster. There is something upsetting in wheat fields. It is systematically organised by rows, and once in, you don’t know how to find your way out”. In Fight The Future we can see Fox and Dana attempting to make a way through a wheat field while pursued by black choppers. But this is not the only thing he is afraid of. Bees (which have a key role in the X-Files mythology), violent death and especially incurable diseases are Carter’s other main fears. The theme of incurable diseases, which often recurs in the show, focuses on the men’s fight against pathologies in order to hope for a rebirth. 18 BLUEBOOK The fourth season episode “Momento Mori” is completely based on this theme. Nevertheless, Carter has not only a dark side. This 90s’ TV genius is a polite and positive man, endowed with a great irony which is well represented by Mulder’s typical British humour. The falling of the Berlin Wall created many problems, such as the mistrust of people towards governments, and Carter took advantage of these circumstances to develop the best paranoid TV show ever. Our society created the wave and Carter rode it and dominated it. A perfect wave, the one which all the luckiest surfers can face once in a lifetime. That is why Carter had heaps of problems to succeed again. He tried to create, enthusiastically, other TV series and films of a different genre, but he failed. Going over their limit is the toughest challenge for men, especially if they want to do it by resetting themselves, thus becoming new men. Chris Carter is now trying to follow this path. Since majors didn’t help him, he wrote and directed a film on his own. “Fencewalker” is a semiautobiographical drama without paranormal elements and shot in secret in 2008 in Los Angeles. Unluckily it has not been released yet, due to a lack of distributors.As a producer, he financed Derek Magyar’s “Flying Lessons”, a movie about the conflict of human relations. And, in conclusion, X-Files 3 will be the right occasion for Carter to wipe out the wave perfectly thus being able to say: “I have ridden the perfect wave”. x 19 BLUEBOOK INTRODUCING AND CONTINUITY T he first, and perhaps the most important crux of IWTB is the necessity of giving a semblance of continuity between “The Truth” and the beginning of a new cinematographic piece. The fans expect a resumption of the series from “where we were”. Carter instead offers a convenient arrangement to solve the problem quickly. Scully as a doctor is a plausible and suitable option for her role in the movie, if we consider her new characterisation. However, it is the first sign of a situation which completely concerns the civilian area. Scully, a character easier to manage as she is accused of misdemeanour, whilst Mulder is accused of crimes, and she doesn’t have to do with the XFiles anymore. But she’s not speared by the conspiracy. As for the Spooky, the situation is arguably more serious: he is wanted and condemned to death. But it’s on him that the authors (I will talk in plural, but you can read it as Chris Carter) base the continuity. The continuity doesn’t follow the final series, but the X-Files spirit. The narrative trick is soon unveiled: we don’t try to make Mulder’s return to the bureau likely, but we will restart from a new point. And so, in the room of the new house of the two protagonists there is a bearded man who expects the visit of Scully, just like he expected her visit in the Pilot. There is the I Want To Believe poster with the UFO, there are pencils from Chinga hung on the ceiling, there is the photo of Samantha behind the door. It’s a new beginning. Agent Whitney: “The past is gone”. Cosy, simply, clean. But not sufficient. A few words about their return to the F.B.I. offices as well. The black chopper which picks them up and lead them on the roof of the governmental building is the so-called return “in style”. It is needed for the double aim of creating a “cavalry is approaching” atmosphere for the regular audience and give a sensation of “they’re back” to the x-philes. 20 BLUEBOOK THE NEW CHARACTERS THE CASE FILE Agent Whitney is the one who asked about Mulder. Her behaviour at the beginning is that of a very professional woman who is gambling away her career to solve the case, but she softens as the movie goes on. She is the antithesis of Scully: Dakota Whitney believes to Mulder, whilst Scully was sceptic (in this movie, but even in the first seasons of the series in general). In contrast, agent Drummy, man, is the detractor. Nevertheless, she seems to be the dominant agent in the F.B.I. couple. Father Joseph, called Father Joe, is the most interesting character as he embodies some different aspects which have already been treated in the series plot. He is a priest. He is a pedophile. He is a visionary. He has been made for not being believed, especially by Scully. Instead agent Whitney gives him some credence at the beginning, both for collecting clues to solve the case and acting as Scully’s “counter alter”. Plus, Father Joe smokes? Does this mean something to you? Christian, the child treated by Scully. He performs two roles at the same time: reminding William, like it has been clearly said, being an innocent to be saved; being the symbol of the terrestrial impotence in front of divine choices. This last aspect is well underlined in the dialogues too and it is a crux of the characterisation of Dr. Scully. She works for a Christian hospital: her superiors are ecclesiastic and in the meantime she is reluctant to believe to Father Joe. Surely, this Frankestein-style case has a little to do with X-Files. This disappoints especially the neutral audience since although the fans don’t want to accept it, X-Files is associated with aliens. And this is what they expected, if we also consider that Fight The Future was based on alien conspiracies. Chris Carter has offered a dull case, sometimes predictable. It is good for those who want to see Mulder and Scully on the big screen again in the F.B.I. agents’ shoes, but the plot hasn’t been sufficiently interwoven with the mythology. Somebody tries to justify that by saying that it would have been extremely hard to make a new mythology chapter: that’s true. But still, the mythology is the essence of X-Files; the movie becomes a nice thriller without it. A positive note of the plot is the current theme of the case. Cancer is the disease of this new millennium and the Russians were trying to bypass through unorthodox methods. There is also the old contraposition between the Americans and the Russians, the aftermath of the Cold War which, from the American point of view, sees the Russians as the enemy of their country. Not only do these two aspect recall some typical characteristic of the series, but they are part of the worldview of the 90s (after the 11th September 2011, the American chose new enemies, on both small and big screen) in which X-Files took place. 21 BLUEBOOK again in that world, which doesn’t belong to her anymore, and even because she is sceptical towards Father Joe. She blames him for still being looking for her sister. She fears darkness so much that she lets her partner risk his life alone declining his cooperation requests (the scene in which he calls her but she doesn’t answer because she was too busy with the child’s therapy). She gets back to the Scully we all know when she gets anguished over Mulder’s disappearance. Scully: “There must be somebody with balls there. Let me talk to him!”. Mulder would like to demonstrate Father Joe’s innocence but she stops him, saying that nobody would believe him. She stops him because she desires a normal life, out of darkness. The life she wants doesn’t involve the X-Files. And he gets convinced. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MULDER AND SCULLY On the relation level, the authors have decided to change the approach adopted up to the last episodes of the show. They proposed a de facto couple, not married. Scully: “He’s not my husband”. A couple who gave their baby in adoption and whose fosterage still has consequences, especially for Scully. The mature behaviour, cohabitation, the sharing of the same house and bed recalls images of normal life, so unusual for them but so expected, especially by Scully. Scully: “ We’re two ordinary people, who go back home every night, in a normal house”. But the facts contradicts her, especially for what concerns Mulder: he is wanted, he doesn’t go out and she says she’s worried for him at the beginning of the movie. Therefore, her prayer for normality are not supported by facts. She’s still has the obsession of getting out of darkness, recurrent theme with which the movie ends. Mulder has not changed a lot: he makes explicit his need to have her by his side, which have always been kept implicit before the film. They are more than partners. We knew it before and it is now stressed, for shippers’ sake. It is on the professional level that they have their worst clashes. She is absorbed by the medical work, she fights to save a child suffering from an incurable disease. He supports her because she feels impotent and doubtful about trying to save Christian’s life or surrendering to divine choices, which she is unable to accept and justify. First, worried, she invites him to get out of his den and accept the task. Then, she realises she can’t stand that world and refuses to follow him through his investigation, because she fears to be involved RELIGIOUSNESS AND FAITH IN SCULLY Scully, once again, lost and re-found her faith. Her scepticism before her disease can be compared to the one she has towards Father Joe. And there is also the clash against the hospital council, which is presided by ecclesiastics. However, getting back to believe will help her find the way. Father Joe tells her not to give up and she implicitly interprets it as sign to continue with Christian’s therapy. Later, she verifies the truthfulness of the information collected by Mulder and so she restarts believing in him. At the end, she analyses the mail box number 25-2, like the Proverbs verse recited by Father Joe. In the same scene, she hears dogs barking, just like in the mystic visions of the priest. That of Scully is a very introspective role, imposed by the fragility of the character and by the narrative necessity. 22 BLUEBOOK This also seems to delegitimise Mulder’s investigation and presence in an official F.B.I. context. The soundtrack and background music edited by Mark Snow can be defined as the best aspect of the film. All crucial scenes, from those of action to the ironic ones are perfectly highlighted by the soundtrack. Even the closing credits soundtrack was carefully chosen. MARGINAL NOTE The arrival of Skinner, even if very late in the story, is a shot in the arm. Not only does he restore the X-Files spirit which seldom could be breathed at the beginning, but also he acts like a father towards Mulder, who tried to defend during the trial. The character of Dakota Whitney deserved to be more deepened or on the contrary censored further on. She has been shown as a blue-eyed, clean-looking Mulder’s fan. Clearly a second female protagonist wasn’t intended to be too much involved, in order to not put Scully in the background. Perhaps showing why she wanted only his help would have made sense, maybe hinting at a past event of her life. In addition, one can deduce that the relationship between her and Mulder hasn’t been allowed to be tightened: She is killed as soon as she calls him “Fox”. Was the punishment for having broken tradition? Never call anybody by name in X-Files. The overall setting in Canada, though the facts take place in Virginia, has some disadvantages. It makes the movie quite far from the typical setting of X-Files, i.e. the snow makes the recordings too rich of light, so different from the ones the x-philes were used to. Then, it seems that the investigation is isolated from Washington, thus making the operation look clandestine. The third point is that the snow and the movie’s bad guy make the film background Russian rather than American. OVERALL RATING As an x-phile, I was happy to see Mulder and Scully in action again, even if they were not in their original roles. However, the movie hasn’t respected the expectations, neither those of fans nor that of the audience. Although we got to know that incomes covered the production costs, I think that a more mythological plot would have given more intensity. It looks like the movie has been thought as a gift for the fans, since they are able to catch the numerous references to the series and appreciate the evolution of the relationship between the protagonists; but consequently, the movie can’t catch the interest of the normal audience, which expected aliens, conspiracies or at least an XFiles worthy of this name. x GFelix 23 BLUEBOOK X-Files Blue Book, X-Files Italian Fan Club, XFiles Universe, Expediente X, The X-Files 3 in 2012 were joined to give a voice to fans around the world... WHY DO YOU WANT XF3? (X-Files Universe) Evan Thomas and Arianne Nicole Urick : Mainly because one can never get enough X-Files. Evan Young: I would like closure on so many levels, for the characters, the mythology, the people behind the scenes, etc. And, as the guy above with the same name as me, because I can't get enough X-Files! Samantha C. Sullivan: I feel as though that us as fans need closure. How can Carter and Co. place a prediction inside the series, but then never act on it? Never show us if colonization is actually going to happen and what our duo is going to do. Philers are sitting in the dark. XF2 didn't even allude to colonization. It did show us that they are still together, which is nice. But what does 12/22/2012 mean for them? What does it mean for the fans? On a side note, if either of them die in XF3, riots will ensue. Rose Boose Pérez: For closure. To know what happens to William. What becomes of him. Where M&S finally end up. How they manage to save the world. Jilly Corgan: Because its my life! Dee Hinds: We all know "The Truth is Out There" So need I say more...X-Files will be forever in our hearts & minds!! We need more from Fox & Dana Please! 18 BLUEBOOK 24 Kellie Andrews: X-Files 3 needs to be more like the series and/or Fight The Future. The 2nd movie was a disappointment to me; the story was all over the place. I'd love to see some things from the series resolved and if it so happens that The Lone Gunmen were just " Mulder dead " and they made a return to help Mulder & Scully save the day... that would be great. I saw an X-Files fan made trailer on youtube the other day that seemed so realistic that I thought X-Files 3 had already been filmed and was awaiting release. After watching it a second time, I realized that clearly it wasn't ... but what I saw looked good. Olga Pankiewicz: Because so many things are left unsaid or unexplained... I want to know how they are doing after FBI dropped all the charges against Mulder, what is going on with William right now, how Mulder and Scully are doing as a "normal" couple... and let's not forget about the date of course (Dec 22nd, 2012). Charly Blänk: Because everything needs an end and IWTB wasn't an end. There was a open end and I thinks that it isn't a great final. And I wanna know what happens with the aliens :) Sharon Prosser: We just need a proper ending the XF and the Philes deserve this its such a classic series :-) (THE X-FILES 3 IN 2012) Eric Ahola : I think there are more ways to go with the whole alien area of it. David and Gillian still look great, and it has a huge fanbase. If it is well thought out, it could be great. Already have good characters, just get a new story. – USA Christopher Bernard: I'm from U.S.A. And I Believe that X-files 3 should have been made already, because in the mythology it all goes down in 2012. They dropped the ball on this one. I would love to see another movie, but for me it will not mean the same. I thought someone would be smart and creative and tie it in to the year. And the coming definately needs to be a movie! P.S. Sorry, but I think the last movies was all wrong.... I just expexted better! Joe Latimer: Because the conclusion of the series was pathetic....What really happened with the alien invasion?! Rachel Hernandez: i want x-files 3 because i think that 2nd movie could have had a better story line i mean come on its the x-files we need some aliens and creepy monster stuff and i would like to see mulder and scully together again and because i love the x-files i remember watch it with my dad and brothers when i was younger and now that im 15 and i would love to see mulder and scully on the screen again :) united states Rob Wallace: Second movie was utterly brilliant: premise, conceit, execution, acting, script. I'm fascinated by the inability of the fanbase to grasp this. The failure of a 2012 production doesn't undercut the 2008 movie. Hindsight here isn't 20/20. Marya Petrina Uy: Why do I want X-Files 3? With all the alien invasion movies today, I think The X-Files team will be the only team that could deliver an amazing story line. And, I mean, really well. It has been shown in the series itself. Great writing. Well, sure, not a lot of people were satisfied by the previous movie but some of us were. The first one was really good. Having heard the sentiments of Chris, Frank and the rest of The X-Files team, XF3 will focus on the mythology and when it comes to this arc, they can truly deliver! It's time for the legitimate one. It is The X-Files. Plus, Philes have continuous faith not just in the show but those who are part of this amazing franchise. I think FOX owes us this much to give us the movie we have always wanted. With the right promotion, it'll be huge. Let us make our voices heard, WE WANT X-FILES 3. There are so many questions needed to be answered. :) (From the Philippines) 25 BLUEBOOK Tony Hansford: The second movie was rubbish. It was more like an episode of CSI than xfiles. We need a third movie to close off the series and answer all the unanswered questions about alien colonisation or weather Mulder was actually a paranoid delusional. And Scully needs to do a nude scene. Australia. Jennifer Coston: There's still a huge fan base; all of us want a 3rd movie! Plus, in my opinion, the 2nd movie could've been way better, it left me with a lot of unanswered questions & it left me wanting more Mulder & Scully. – USA Joe Latimer: Chris Carter does have a secret project in the works... Mayra Alcivar :Because us xphiles need a great last send off, and I love X files. Nadia Abrate: Because there are lots of unanswered questions. I didn't like the 2nd movie and i think they should talk more about the alien invasion. This year is 2012!. (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Joey Medina: Beacause it's 2012...colonization!!!!!! They can't leave it like this!! We Xphiles are still here because the truth is out there... Madison Pohl: X-Files 3 will give us fans a chance to finally see our favorite alien stopping duo save the world from its invaders! There are plenty of fans who want this.....so very badly! Plus if it comes out in 2013, then the whole alien invasion arc is a moot point. – USA Ashlee Tuaileva: Coles The second movie was great (kinda pointless, but great), but it left so many questions unanswered! What about William? What about the alien invasion of the earth? Aren't Mulder and Scully gonna stop it? We need more answers, more action, more aliens and X-files, and most of all, more Mulder and Scully!!! Nina Cervantes As fans,we need closure,Mulder and Scully need to stop the alien invasion,and time is running out! We also want to reunite William with his parents;we need X-files 3!! Spain Tessa Louise Thomas: I want the X Files 3 because I don’t think the story will be over until 2012 – Colonisation. Although I’ve come into the X Files very, very late, I can’t imagine my life without have knowing the fantastic storyline that captured millions of viewers each week. For me, it would a suitable closure to have the third movie revolve around the Alien Invasion; Chris Carter already has a great cast and writing talent and I’m sure that the film would be a huge success so long as the story was played right. Personally, I would love to see the reappearance of Reyes and Doggett as well as a possible reunion of Mulder, Scully and William. Anyway, I want XF3 because the X Files is absolutely AMAZING and X Philes still are here because ‘The Truth Is Out There’! : England Santiago Grippo: Because I left with more desire to see them: Argentina Laura Sockmonkey CANADA: I still am watching reruns of all the episodes. Even though I know whats going to happen I still enjoy it every time. I never watch the x-files when it was on TV (due to my age) and i would love to watch an x files made in my generation Susana Valdivia-Rivas: I want a third X Files Movie because a) the "truth" was never revealed in the series, the mythology needs a conclusion, b) this is my favorite show of all times, c) the show has touched me in many ways and I live to have the truth be discovered to all. I live in the U.S. but most likely I will watch the movie in my home country of Nicaragua. 26 BLUEBOOK Elizabeth Reuter-Palmer U.S.A. For the same reason Mulder tirelessly searched for Samantha. Closure! For the same reason that after 20 yrs we still re-watch episode after episode, why we rewatch the movies. Because it was good TV. We followed the adventures of Mulder and Scully over nine seasons, we bought tickets to both large screen events. We bought the t-shirts, the action figures, the trading cards, the books, the posters, the videos, the dvd collections. We've written fan fiction, we made fan videos. How many shows can say that after all this time they still have such a large global fanbase, that their fans still want more? The X-Files has done a beautiful job in acknowledging their fans,(Leyla Harrison) and a third film should be made just for the fans. For once it would be nice for a studio to make something not for the revenue aspect, but for the human aspect. It begs to written and produced and watched. Philes revolutionized fandom, with fanfiction and fan based movies. If not for the fans there never would have been a franchise, the fabulous writing, and shooting, the story line filled a need in each and every fan, X-Files the Third movie should be made to complete the amazing journey we have followed all these years. It should be made for the fans, not the revenue. Make it with meeting the expectations of the fans, and the revenue will follow. Waishan Liu: We need TXF3 because this show has touched so many lives and changed the way we watch TV forever. great characters, well written stories and overall the Mythology was got us gripped every week. The alien Mythology needs an epic conclusion and with 2012 nearing a close, the time is right for TXF3. It's what the fans and the whole world is waiting for the Mythos of 2012 and an epic ending to Mulder & Scully's quest for the truth. (EXPEDIENTE X) SPAIN Estefanía Gala: Yo quiero XF3 porque merece un final digno y no lo que Chris hizo en IWTB. Clara Ríos: Yo necesito una tercera película para cerrar la serie, quiero saber qué pasó con William y si el mundo se acabará o no. Leo Mg: Porque dejaron cabos sueltos, como la fecha del fin del mundo y que pasó con William. Sandra Vázquez- Expediente X: Mi opinión es que quiero una tercera película porque creo que los fans nos merecemos un final digno para nuestra serie. Queremos que cierren las tramas que quedaron abiertas como es el caso de qué fue de William y, sobre todo, que papel juega en el fin del mundo. También me encantaría ver a Mulder y a Scully salvando el mundo en pantalla grande, creo que se podría hacer algo grande que dejase satisfecho a los fans de siempre y a posibles nuevos fichajes.Y sobre todo, porque me niego a aceptar que I Want to Believe sea el final de mi serie favorita!! TODA GRAN HISTORIA MERECE UN GRAN FINAL!!! MP Arachné: Porque tan digna serie merece un digno final que cierre el arco mitológico tan brillantemente desarrollado en 9 temporadas y 1 película...Tod@s los fans merecemos saber qué pasará el 21-12-2012 con la colonización alienígena y con cómo lo afrontarán Mulder y Scully. He dicho. Irene Abernathy: Porque The X Files está muy lejos de ser sólo una serie. Es parte de nosotros, de nuestras vidas, y sin ella, muchas de las series actuales no existirían. Cristina Vereda: Porque la mitología de la serie está sin terminar. Necesitamos un final cerrado para la saga. 27 BLUEBOOK Eva Martínez: Porque necesitamos un final digno y no acabar con la birria de segunda peli que nos hicieron; porque queremos saber que ha pasado con William; porque quiero saber si vienen los OVNIS o no leches para ir preparándome!! Y porque nos lo hemos currado mucho pidiéndola y luchando por ella!!! Eva Inestrosa: Quiero X Files 3 porque no nos pueden dejar con un final asi,muchas preguntas y muchos fans deseandolo,porque han luchado mucho para que se haga. Sophie Bart: Quiero X-files 3 porque los fans queremos tener un final digno de todas las luchas que han vivido Mulder y Scully.Y queremos saber si Williams tiene un papel en esta invasion tan predecida.Una serie de esta calidad merece un gran final , no pueden dejarnos asi, queremos ver nuestra pareja de The Xfiles, una vez mas en accion. Carmen Sanchez Fructuoso: Quiero XF3 Poque es necesitamos saber un final, todos queremos ver a scully y mulder juntos otra vez y saber el desarro llo tambien de su peque. Además es una serie que si siguiera seria genial. Anneli Sijé: Porque los fans de la serie nos merecemos un final a la altura de Expediente X, porque es la serie pionera de la que han bebido tantas otras, porque David y Gillian son unos grandiosos actores y es maravilloso verlos juntos, porque...la lista es interminable...X Files 3 yaaaa!!! Isidro López Zapata: Porque el mundo será más bonito si logramos conseguir más minutos de Scully, y porque Gillian y todo el mundo está deseando participar! y porque necesitamos otra escena con un buen morreo entre MyS. Y saber qué pasó con William, Mónica y Doggett. Necesitamos decirles adiós por última vez como es debido. Ana Toro: Porque es la mejor serie del siglo XX y sus millones de fans tenemos la necesidad de que se cierre bien y de que al final sepamos cual es la verdad despues de tantos años. Esta serie necesita un final digno de su embergadura,todos lo merecemos porque creer es la clave. COLOMBIA Carola Doncel: Como ya han dicho anteriormente, porque sentimos que IWTB no es el final. Necesitamos un cierre, que nos cuenten qué pasó con la invasión extraterrestre y el apocalipsis para diciembre de 2012. También queremos saber qué pasó con William y cómo regresa al lado de sus padres, porque lo lógico es que vuelvan a estar juntos. Ése es el final que X-Files se merece: Nuevamente reunidos después de salvar el mundo. Una razón muy simple pero muy poderosa: Porque somos millones de x-philes en todo el mundo que amamos con todo el corazón a XF y queremos ver reunidos de nuevo a Mulder, Scully y William. MEXICO K-ro Gamboa: Por que una serie que marcó, y apesar del tiempo, sigue marcando la vida de muchos, debe y necesita un final, épico, mágico, parnormal, único, todo aquello que la serie fue . por eso los fans, y los nuevos fans, merecemos XF3 Lourdes Bolanos: Porque no nos merecemos un final tan absurdo como el que nos dieron en IWTB, después de tantos años de FANATISMO PURO, es lo menos que nos merecemos. HONDURAS Gloria Martínez: Porque es una serie icono, única e inigualable que aun sigue vigente y que siguen mencionandola; que hasta otras series la siguen y copian, X files quedara siempre en la historia de la TV y deben darle su final digno. Aun hay muchas cosas por muchas cosas pendientes por responder, ademas somos muchisimas personas en todo el mundo y hasta el cast y crew de la serie que deseamos XF3, y por todo lo que brindo The X Files se lo merece y punto !! ARGENTINE Claudia Noemi Romano: me encanta la serie... y yo quiero que hagan el final... porque sino quedará inconcluso... y ni da para que termine así... fue es y sera la mejor serie!!!! yo mire esta serie desde que era una nena de 7 años... por eso fue muy importante para mi... no m perdía ni un capitulo...somos muchas personas en el mundo que nos gusta los expedientes secretos x. le dimos fama a en canal Fox... no tendrían que ser tan forros de no darle un punto final a la historia... ya que volvieron los hombres de negro 3, the x files 3 también tendría q volver... que se pongan las pilas!!! Nany Ramírez: porq no pueden terminar "semejante" serie con IWTB!! hace falta un cierre para los 10 años de x files, para la historia, para los personajes y para nosotros q somos los q mas lo sufrimos.....asiq FOX, por esos mas de 10 años q te dimos de comer, DEVOLVE ALGOOOOO!!! Georgina Aguirre: Quisiera q venga rhe x files 3 por que quiero el final con williams!! Estaria genia!! Saludos desde Argentina Lucia X-Phile: Porque IWTB no puede ser el final. Necesitamos saber que paso con William y si se va a reencontrar con sus padres. Porque queremos ver a Mulder y a Scully salvando al mundo. Porque nueve temporadas no se pueden echar a la basura. Porque quiero volver a ver a DD y GA actuando juntos otra vez. Porque todos los X-Philes luchamos por XF3. Por todo eso y mucho mas, I want to believe in XF3!! Angel Juarez: Es simple es el año del fin del mundo...El gran 2012 y que mejor q una pelicula donde se buske la verdad acerka del famoso final de la humanidad con el 21 de diciembre de 2012...Si rocky saco 6 peliculas xq expedientes x no podria...Aparte falta esta peli sobre el 2012 y sin lugar a dudas seria ganadora de todos los premios por lo q representa este año y el que vendra si no sucede nada el 21 de diciembre VENEZUELA Gaby Pernía: Básicamente, porque el Sr. Carter dejó muchas interrogantes que necesitan respuestas, pero creo que lo que más quiero saber es ¿Qué pasa con William? ¿y la colonización? ¿Qué harán Mulder y Scully?X- Files merece tener el mejor final porque fue, es y seguirá siendo la mejor serie en su estilo. Como bien dijo Gillian en el especial de la FOX: "... Fue todo entorno a ella tan diferente. Fue antes de que todos los shows que nos siguieron, nos copiaran. Fue la primera”. 28 BLUEBOOK PERU' Fiorella Tucto Rivadeneyra: Tiene q ver xfiles 3 porq nos merecemos un final digno, porq queremos ver a de nuevo a mulder y scully, luchando con los extraterrestres ademas queremos saber de william y por muchas cosas mas fox no nos puede dejar asi seria una ofensa. ITALY Luis Miguel De La Cruz: Yo quiero X Files 3 porque es una serie única en su genero que capto mi atención desde niño tanto así que amo la serie y me gustaría que cierre con un final grandioso porque Mulder y Scully harán lo imposible para evitar la invasión extraterrestre, también porque quiero saber el papel importante de William en esta hazaña. Saludos desde PERÚ CHILE Katherine Poblete: Quiero X Files 3 porque esta maravillosa serie merece un final a la altura de esta. Tambien porque todos los fans de X Files la queremos para poder aclarar todo y poder ver una vez mas a nuestra pareja del FBI trabajando juntos. Mónica Francisca Arredondo Urra: Porque merecemos un final digno de contar, tanto para Mulder y Scully, como para todos nosotros, y porque la serie estuvo 9 años tras la verdad y llegada la fecha de ésta es imposible que no sepamos que pasa finalmente con nuestro mundo!!!! IWTB en TXF3... Maria Jose Espinoza: Por que The X-Files tiene una historia (mitológica) apasionante que debe seguir su curso natural y aparecer en la gran pantalla con un final que todo fans merece ver, porque la historia de la serie se lo merece, porque cada capitulo que nos dio Chris Carter fue una esperanza más para ver el gran final combatiendo el futuro. Porque Mulder y Scully merecen ser nuevamente los grandes protagonista de ...una historia cautivante y atrapante que estuvo nueve años al aire y es una de las mejores series de todos los tiempos... YO quiero XFILES3 porque no concibo un final como corresponde, porque no concibo que la Fox, teniendo todo para que sea un gran exito, no este haciendo nada.... Yo amo la serie y quiero un final justo para ella, para los personajes y para nosotros, los fans. PARAGUAY Gaby Basz: Quiero un final digno de está serie, algo que sea inolvidable, que este al nivel de lo que fue está serie.. Saludos desde Paraguay. URUGUAY Fani Xf: Porque nos merecemos una peli para concluir esta gran serie, tanto nosotros sus fans como sus actores y productores, porque esta serie le dio muchiisimo a fox y no se merece que la traten tan mal como para no querer darle un final digno !! quedaron muchas cosas inconclusas en la serie, y si invierten en cosas que no valen la pena, no tienen derecho a no invertir en una ultima peli de X-FILES que sus mismos fans estamos pidiendo !!! BRASIL Carlos Solo: Quiero X-Files 3, 4, 5, 6 ..... (XF BLUEBOOK/FAN CLUB) Marco Andreotti: Voglio XF3 perchè tutta la verità deve venire a galla,e perchè voglio vedere insieme Mulder e Scully. I Want to Believe. Davide Feudale: Per dare una degna fine a questo meraviglioso telefilm,e per chiudere una volta per tutto il cerchio..dopo 9 anni di telefilm,e tutta questa attesa mi sento di dire che ce lo meritiamo. Francesca Pirillo: Voglio XF3 perchè la mitologia di XFiles merita una conclusione. Questo, seppur scontato, è di certo il motivo numero 1! Poi ci sono un sacco di altri motivi "affettivi". La serie mi manca da morire, sono cresciuta con Mulder e Scully, è normale! Vorrei tanto scoprire come negli anni si stia evolvendo la loro relazione. In più sarebbe una bellissima occasione per portare di nuovo questi personaggi sul grande schermo e magari farli conoscere meglio alle nuove generazioni. C'è anche da considerare che in questo modo potremmo vedere nuovamente Gillian Anderson e David Duchovny recitare insieme! L'alchimia tra i due è innegabile. Ogni scena tra i due mi emoziona tantissimo! Un po' noi Philes ce lo meritiamo XF3. 29 BLUEBOOK Rosarita Verdicchio: Perchè sono rimasti dei punti in sospeso ke vanno chiariti....che fine ha fatto William,figlio di Mulder e Scully?....che fine hanno fatto Reyes e Doggett che nel secondo film della serie nn si sono proprio visti....quello ke aveva predetto l'uomo che fuma prima di morire,ovvero l'invasione aliena che si abbatterebbe sulla terra il 22 dicembre 2012,avverrà per davvero?....e poi rivedere la complicità che esiste tra Mulder e Scully,rivivere quelle stesse emozioni che ci hanno regalato per 9 anni,quegli sguardi,quei sorrisi,è tutto quello ke voglio e che vogliamo tutti noi che amiamo e ke ameremo per sempre questa meravigliosa creazione televisiva........GRANDE X FILES!!!!!!!! Paolo Cingaleras Pignatelli: Perche' vorrei finalmente avere un finale epico, drammatico, o anche triste, ma chiarificatore, che chiuda degnamentente la saga di Mulder e Scully.....una saga mitologica e troppo sfruttata male degli ultimi anni del serial....qualcosa che faccia dire a tutti i fan, "ehi, le ultime smaronate fatte da Carter e co. nelle ultime serie e nell'ultimo film, sono acqua passata grazie a questo film!" (poco probabile lo so.....)....insomma, un degno TRIBUTO a tutti quei fan che si son sempre prostrati di fronte a questo telefilm, comprandone dvd, vhs, magliette, studiandone ATTENTANTAMENTE la mitologia, le storie, la scienza che c'e' dietro, ed appassionandosi cosi' tanto da guardarla anche quando la serie era diventata poca cosa rispetto alla serie precedenti, nell'ultimo anno....ed anche a chi ha lasciato la serie subito dopo il primo film e che si aspettavan molto di piu' da quest'ultimo all'epoca, a causa delle solite promesse di Carter, pur essendo stato carino....Per entrare nello specifico, vorrei il terzo film, per assistere ad una risoluzione della mitologia, intricata, raffinata e spettacolare al tempo stesso, senza che una cosa, debba lasciare il posto ad un'altra...qualcosa di COMPLETO, ecco. Senza scuse di budget, o di trama difficile da capire per i nuovi spettatori (si posson architettare tanti modi furbastri, come gia' dissi una volta, per spiegare piccoli particolari del passato, come accade in parecchi film di Hollywood....basta solo LAVORARCI un po, non in fretta e furia, ma con tanta pazienza, ingegno e FATICA. Lo spero per tutti coloro che han sempre creduto in questa storia. Se lo meritano. E loro lo devono a noi. Massimo Fontana: Perché vogliamo crederci. Finally Giorgia Bazzocchi summarizes the reasons why fans want the third movie: I want XF3 because.. We need a conclusion. We need to close the loop. We need to find William. We need ... More X-Files in the world. 30 BLUEBOOK X-FILES 3 REWARD... our appreciation 31 BLUEBOOK S cience Fiction fans have always, proudly embraced a culture all of their own, but since the advent of the Internet just under 20years ago, the face of the fanatical has shifted dramatically. Fandom is no longer reflected through figurine and video collections, but via dedicated online chat rooms, fan conventions (rallied and promoted online, of course), Facebook, Twitter streams and websites that are as professionally run as any traditional form of print media. It was around 1993 when the first general users of the Internet began to utilise the ‘new and exciting media’ to promote favourite films, television series, music and the like. Back then there were only about 80 websites in existence, and of those, quite a few were actually dedicated fan sites for beloved Sci-Fi entities such as The X-Files and Star Trek. Not only were these websites interesting and informative, but they encouraged users from all over the world to interact. For the first time in history, international fans could liaise, share, meet and greet simultaneously. It became increasingly exciting and evident that we had indeed arrived in the ‘future’, and who better to celebrate than the devotees of Science Fiction who had always dreamed it possible?Chat sites, search engines, banner ads, gaming, Napster and downloadable applications all began to emerge at the speed of light throughout the era now referred to as ‘dot com’. As we cruised through the age of Excite, Yahoo, Hotmail, Amazon, Wikipedia, MySpace, and of course, more recently, Google, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, the Internet not only became faster and more accessible but emerged as an invaluable communication, marketing, business and networking tool. As the Internet swiftly evolved, so did its original core themes including the Sci-Fi fan site genre, which has since matured to be more interactive, engaging, entertaining and sophisticated than ever before. 32 BLUEBOOK Matt Allair, filmmaker, videographer and also creator/editor of the popular website x-fileslexicon.com (launched 2005), is one of the pioneers of this genre. He enthusiastically rides the wave of the web and has participated across its evolution from the ‘90s, to the point where he has turned his passion for sharing information with other online fans into a professional media entity all of its own. His site has been so successful that it’s not only sustained fan support, but he and his international team (who, as you would guess, all met online through a love of Science Fiction) have even worked with creators of The X-Files, having been invited to contribute to the Blu-Ray extras on the 2008 release, I Want to Believe. This is evidently a monumental achievement for anyone, let alone ‘some fans on the web’; however it is testament to the critical influence independent websites can achieve in the 21st century. Only a small percentage of fans are ever included within the inner fold of the production they admire, and the x-fileslexicon team is rightly proud to have been invited on board as associates of the 2008 film instalment – an indicator that they are passionate but professional to boot. So how do you turn a true passion into something viable and useful to others? Dedication and credibility are key. Matt says, “running a professional fan site can be a challenge, and in some ways there are limits as we choose to be more formal in our conduct; there’s a trade-off. That said, I’d advocate keeping your nose clean, and being respectful and smart in interactions with the talent. Our editorial team didn’t jump on the bandwagon with reporting on gossip and speculation when I Want to Believe went into production in 2008, and associates of the show, including Jana Fain and Gabe Rotter paid attention to our conduct. I have always felt that in the long run, quality material wins out over gimmicks. You can have all of the bells and whistles imaginable on your site, and gossip of course, but I believe you won’t last long if there’s no intelligent content for fans to digest and discuss. Some of the best fan sites actually existed on the web in the early days, and the reason they were brilliant sites was because of their quality content, which had to prevail because the design technology of many sites today didn’t exist yet”. Matt is a passionate media buff, blogger and website producer who admits to inadvertently entering into professional fan site activity thanks to his general delight of all things ‘entertainment and technology’. “I fell into online fandom as a distraction when I was having trouble with screenwriting, and it just progressed and inevitably opened up doors I never could have imagined. Creating and maintaining a fan site as a business is ideal for anyone who is looking for a way to creatively channel a passion, whether it be for a television series, sport or hobby. I was involved with two other professional fan sites, including Harry Potter Lexicon, before x-fileslexicon and through over ten years experience maintaining such sites, I learned firsthand what could work and what didn’t. The idea of the x-fileslexicon being a ‘professional’ fan site was actually devised from the start”. Of course, many sites that boast an expert edge often evolve with the assistance of an IT professional tweaking behind the scenes, as in Matt’s case. “I started the site just by doing simple coding and having a play with elements that were of interest to me. Suddenly though, feedback, interest and reaction from the public grew, and then the push to further 33 BLUEBOOK develop the site did also. We keep expanding by trying to think ahead. ‘XF Lexicon TV’, our video news feature is a good example. Few X-Files sites have thought of doing this outside of news podcasts, but we pay attention to fan feedback and ideas as well as staying in the loop with technological advances. We’ve also instigated a unique networking facility, syndicateconsortium.com, which encourages fansite webmasters to join in an effort to unite all X-Files fans on the web. Obviously we’ve rolled with the times too and have links on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Ning. We’re always trying to figure out the best outlets to capitalise on, as should anyone maintaining a dedicated site. You need to be relatable and current, but individual in your approach”. While the big guns of the ‘dot com’ corporations battle it out to buy and sell the next big thing in Cyberland, where can we go to from here, being that an average Internet user emails, chats, networks, ‘Skypes’, ‘Googles’, shares information, engages in traditional forms of media ‘on demand’, with passionate users like Matt professionally producing much of this content free-of-charge on a dedicated daily basis? Will those facilitating the fan site genre soon be able to offer television series or films as they are released? Is an iPhone app next for x-fileslexicon? Tim Flattery, General Manager of Digital Artists (www.digitalartists.tv) has worked in the thick of the Internet evolution since the early ‘90s and most recently spent two years as head of new media and branded entertainment for Becker Entertainment working in New York, Washington and Los Angeles. He also launched the well known social forecasting and new media development firm Pophouse. He anticipates an exciting new Internet age that will be particularly engaging for online media moguls such as Matt. “We call it the ‘second digital decade’ where the internet will disappear’, will stop being something separate and will be the centre of everything. The first digital decade was an entrée to how powerful the internet really is and the connectedness of everything through technology. 34 BLUEBOOK It has only just started to stretch its legs in terms of usage. Wherever there’s electricity it will touch you… You’ll plug into the Plasma screen with no problems, and everyone can become a media proprietor. The future will be fast, furious and entertaining, especially for those facilitating their own fan domains. The Internet is very good at entering inefficient business spaces like book selling, auctions, the idea of searching for information – any industry that doesn’t offer customers great services is vulnerable to the Internet. For example, television is a terrible customer service if you’re thinking with your Internet head-space. Who wants to wait when you can have instant access? The internet is salivating to take control of that industry on a global level. Higher quality ‘instant’ video and television over the Internet in the next three years is the next big thing, particularly with faster internet being implemented worldwide. It will change our consumption habits forever”. It’s extraordinary to witness this technological progression in our lifetime – definitely something only imagined for many years. Whether you plan to host a successful fan site in conjunction with your very favourite entity, or fate leads you to such a pastime, the future looks incredibly bright for those with passion and media flair. “If you had told me over a decade ago I would have been involved with online fandom, I would never have believed you. It just found me,” Matt says. “It’s a labour of love – fulfilling when we engage with other fans, and rewarding when we’re asked to professionally liaise with the production we’re promoting. We’re all excited about a third The X-Files film that’s presently in the pipeline and anticipate avid growth because of this buzz. I feel the sky is the limit as far as the future goes, as long as we hold to our integrity. The site keeps growing and I see it going on”. x Sarah Blinco "Co-Conspirators" The X-Files Lexicon's exclusive interview with Alex Gansa. Conducted by Matt Allair (05/08/2012). Matt: Thematically, do you see any parallels between 24, Homeland, and The X-Files? Did your work on The X-Files influence the kind of work you're doing today? Alex: Well, I think the kind of stories that we told on The X-Files, and the need to tell a narrative with a very strong story engine was something I learned on The X-Files, and which certainly carried over into 24 and into Homeland. They're each unique unto themselves, but there were certain tricks, and tropes that I learned on The X-Files that have been incredibly helpful over the span of 24, and Homeland, and one of those things is just learning how to compress a story. In other words, you wind up plotting an episode out, and then you realize that some of those events that you planned to happen later in the episode, actually should happen earlier, and likewise, over the course of the series, some event that you plotted, that you planned to happen in the middle of the season, or towards the end of the season actually wind up being in the second or third episode, and it always helps propel the story, and gets you off at a good clip in the beginning. READ MORE: www.x-fileslexicon.com 35 BLUEBOOK [[[ ]]]] “After having worked on The X-Files for so many years and really spent so much time thinking about these characters of Mulder and Scully, you do fall in love with them a bit, you do obsess about them. You find yourself thinking about them for hours and hours and hours. And that’s what Milagro’s about. It’s about the power of that kind of obsession.” - Frank Spotnitz Yeah, me too, Frank. Only I don’t get paid for it. Y ou’ve heard it all about “Milagro” before. How writers Spotnitz and Shiban came up with the idea for it after commiserating over the trials and tribulations of the creative life. How the character of Padgett is really a stand-in for the writers on The X-Files, right down to his board full of index cards. I’m going to let smarter, more academically disciplined heads than I grapple with the more intellectual issues that “Milagro” raises - authorial intent, metafiction and the viewer as voyeur. That’s not why I’m here. I have a much more simplistic outlook on the “Milagro” message: Dana Scully is a friend of mine. “Au contraire,” you say, “Dana Scully doesn’t exist.” “Au contraire,” I mimic, “Dana Scully exists absolutely.” “There’s nothing wrong with my state of mental health. I like it here with my childhood friend. Here they come, those feelings again!” -Men at Work Dana Scully is real. She lives in my head. She probably lives in yours too. She gets around like that. 36 BLUEBOOK You see, an idea is real. It’s an intangible reality that’s as real as any physical manifestation. Faith is real. Hope is real. Love is real. No one outside of Karl Marx would call me crazy for believing that. But if I said to you that I would only believe Faith was real if I saw it standing before me, then I’d have earned my right to a padded cell. Dana Scully is an idea. She started out in the mind of Chris Carter the Beloved, she was translated into the written word by various scribes, she was interpreted in the body of Gillian Anderson the Sacred, she was relayed through a series of messengers, directors, photographers and editors, and finally, she was accepted by faith into the hearts and minds of many a television addict. Like a game of Telephone, it’s hardly doubtful that Dana Scully as she began is not the same Dana Scully that viewers know and love. Every hand she passes through shapes and creates her, including the audience that eventually receives her, until she is a recognizable and independent form that even an objective observer can say, “That’s Dana Scully” or “That’s not Dana Scully” the same way they could say “That’s patriotism” or That’s narcissism.” She’s her own entity, moving at her own speed and toward her own destination despite Chris Carter’s original best intentions. At least, that’s what “Milagro” is telling us. Back when I first started to watch The X-Files I was watching reruns on FX and was way behind the current run of the show. Before I swore off the internet and chatrooms (see the upcoming “The Unnatural” review), I couldn’t resist doing a little investigating into the future of the Mulder/Scully relationship. You can only imagine my 13-year-old horror when I discovered that Chris Carter had sworn on a stack of show bibles that Mulder and Scully would never be a romantic pair. I’m not ashamed to say I felt something akin to panic. So I did the only thing I could and attempted to console myself by watching more of The X-Files. I watched and was quickly comforted - What I saw didn’t match up with what Chris Carter had so adamantly avowed. It’s then that the rebellious thought occurred to me, “That man doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Said thought was accompanied by the dismissive facial expression only a 13-year-old can make. Arrogant? Yes. How can the viewer claim to know more than the creator? In my defense, I instinctively knew from watching the real Dana Scully what her Pygmalion-like creator may have still been in denial about, that come what may, she was falling in love with Fox Mulder. It didn’t matter what anyone else said, including Chris Carter. Scully told me. It was the gospel truth. The more cynical among us might say that Carter eventually caved in the MSR department only because of fan pressure and potential ratings, but I’m not of a cynical turn. A Mulder/Scully romance would have happened eventually because their relationship naturally evolved irrespective of original intent or outside expectations. By Season 6, to keep them apart much longer would have been more unrealistic than a man-sized worm. My Philey Sense tells me that Chris Carter realized this and just went with the flow. Philip Padgett, Scully’s creepy admirer, is a not so subtle, if far less socially adept, substitute for Carter himself as the writer whose character has escaped his control long enough to writer her own script while he wasn’t looking. Like I said, intangible ≠ unreal. Scully is so much her own person, such a fully fleshed idea, that Padgett can no longer predict her choices. The question is then, did he ever really? Where does the writer’s intention end and the real Dana Scully begin? I don’t know the answer to that exactly but I know that it’s not just the writer who creates her. According to that same game of Telephone I mentioned above, the idea of Dana Scully is communicated to a series of people through a series of mediums and the method of communication is in part what shapes her. In a lot of ways, I bet life is easier for a novelist than a television writer. A novelist creates and idea and shapes it with words, communicating directly with his audience. 37 BLUEBOOK A television writer sees his vision revised by several sets of minds and hands until what the viewers at home see may or may not be recognizable to him. But that’s just tough cookies. Is it a wonder fans sometimes act like they own Scully? We’re partially responsible for creating her. Not that any of us can take credit for the original brilliance of idea that she is, but we’ve taken that idea and obsessed over it until it’s taken a concrete form in our own minds; she’s a shared idea. 10 Philes from 10 different countries with 10 different perspectives could sit around and talk about her like they all know her… because they all do. Great fiction tends to work like that. (For instance, I recognized Hogwarts the instant I saw it on the big screen. I had already seen it in my mind’s eye, after all. Funny, but my best friend whose mind’s eye doesn’t belong to me recognized it too.) And great characters live on long after you stop reading or watching them. And I suppose that’s why The X-Files was/is a benchmark of fanfiction. It created characters whose adventures its audience couldn’t help but chronicle offscreen because they existed, waiting to be chronicled. After all, how could a TV show hold them anymore than it could hold you or me? In fanfiction, the viewer becomes the writer, flipping the natural order on its head but at the same time drawing even more attention to the heart of the process of characterization. The milagro, the real miracle here is the mysterious power of the obsessive mind to create life where there was none. No, these earthly creators can’t breathe the physical breath of life into Dana Scully, but they can do pretty much everything shy of it, to the point where I sometimes find myself wondering how it could be possible that Dana Scully isn’t standing in front of me with eyebrow raised in inquisition the way Naciamento appears before Padgett…. though I suppose she’d come for Chris Carter first. But I’m next. Right at this moment “Milagro” is playing in the background. And if Dana Scully were to plant her fingers on the bottom of my television screen and pull herself out, only mild surprise would register on my face. She already exists in my head, why shouldn’t she exist in my room? The great thing about “Milagro” is that there are so many intellectual and emotional questions raised on various levels that like any good work of fiction, there are many ways to read it. There isn’t another episode quite like it and it’s certainly more meta, and more overtly artistic, than The XFiles is usually comfortable with. That’s probably why it feels so personal. While Shiban and Spotnitz rough drafted the idea of “Milagro”, it was Carter, the creator himself who wrote it up which is so fitting you’d thing someone had scripted it. What? You didn’t recognize his legendary purple prose? I swear, he must’ve been holding the thesaurus open with one hand for this one. All these years and I never realized he was actually holding back most episodes. Here he lets it all hang out, using his skills in flowery verbiage to purposeful effect by making it difficult to distinguish between the actual goings on of the Scully mind and the writer’s fantasy, for those are two separate things both in the world of “Milagro” and in this one. Fortunately for all of us, the wellrounded Chris Carter is no Philip Padgett, though it’s possible he identifies with him all too well in some ways. Padgett is the worst kind of stereotype of a writer; awkward socialization, barren existence, overuse of highbrow language. And in his youthful arrogance he believes that as the author he actually has authority over his characters. Ha! He learns that lesson. Padgett is wonderfully played by 1013 repeat offender John Hawkes, who previously guest starred on Millennium and auditioned for the role of Pinker Rawls in “Trevor” (6x17). The part of Padgett was actually written with him in mind so it’s not surprising that he fills it well. Somehow, despite his gratingly calm assurance and his Creepy McCreepy vibe Padgett manages to be an empathetic character. We start to glimpse his humanity when he first confronts Scully before the painting of the Sacred Heart, a scene that quietly reveals the root of this episode that’s all about the relationship between creator and created. It’s the God-given desire to share love. That’s what Padgett tries to explain to Scully through the story of Jesus and St. Margaret Mary. That’s why any creator creates, to share their heart, good, bad or indifferent. That’s what humans are designed to do is share the love in their hearts. Maybe for the writer that love is easier to express in writing. Maybe for the fan the writer’s love is easier to share in because it takes place in an alternate reality of fiction. I’m going to shamelessly take Pagett’s story of Jesus’ Sacred Heart even further and say that in the same way the Creator speaks into existence fully formed personalities and then gives them free will, a human creator is at his best when he, through his love, forms an idea so powerful that it has a life of its own. Why does the writer write? To share his heart. Why does the reader read or the watcher watch? To share the heart of the writer. Who is Dana Scully? She’s the collective beating hearts of the writers and the watchers. She’s the idea they all love. “Imagine that.” - Philip Padgett 38 BLUEBOOK x 39 BLUEBOOK The X Files x X P H I L O S O P H Y Omen Nomen The destiny is in the name Anasilv I t is necessary to start the etymologic/symbolic analysis from the X, and properly, from two theories: Kubek’s and Jan Delasara’s theory. The first hypnotises that the X stands for: “the fate of the feminine under patriarchy”, in the “You only expose your father” essay in “Reading the Xfiles”, and everything is based on the fact that in X-Files there are two worlds facing each other, the male and feminine world. X, which means unknown, is the destiny of Samantha, but X is also the symbol of a world where the feminine flees to safety from the conspiracy. That is to say, Sam “gets safe” because she has been made disappear by the oppressive male world. Obviously, the author wrote this essay before “Closure”. In my opinion, it is a weak theory since the series hadn’t finished yet and reducing the issue to the male/feminine point is interesting, but that doesn’t involve thousands of other aspects and thematic. Instead, according to Delasara’s “Poplit, popcult and the Xfiles”, the X stands for: (The) crossing out, denying or negating a piece of information, and mathematically X designs an unknown quantity...” therefore, the X-Files are the denied things, unknown, kept secret. And as fans, we are used to thinking this way. Let’s start now talking about Dana Katherine Scully, starting from her first name. It is the name of a Goddess which comes from the Latin name Diana (Artemide). Joseph Frank in “Ancient Romans in America?” says: “Diana was the synonym of the Greek Artemide, the patron of the Olympus, of the working women and the children. 40 BLUEBOOK The X Files In the Greek-Roman art, both the versions were usually portrayed with a fox which followed the Goddess, thus representing her believers. But this animal is not the only convincing link between the Old World and the pre-inca South America..” This is interesting isn’t it? Is it the fox that mediates between the Roman Goddess and the new pre-inca world? And fox always follows the Goddess. I want to highlight her status of “protector of the working women”. How much did Scully work to be recognised as a working woman in a male world? Diana is, however, the Latin form, in reality Scully’s name is Dana. In Gaelic, “Tuata dè danaan” is the name of a mythical wary people: in the Irish pantheon, it is Goddess Dana’s people (B.Walker, The woman's encyclopaedia of myths and secrets , 1983). The name of the Goddess shows “knowledge”, she is also the Goddess of fertility and birth. Sadly ironic is the reference to fertility for Scully. As a matter of fact, Scully’s road to becoming mother has a resonance with this name. Moreover, according to the legend, the Tuatas arrived in Ireland on “flying boats” and theories which ties the Tuatas to some alien visits on Earth can be found on the internet. Scully’s second name is Katherine, that in the Greek/Byzantine form refers to Ecate, the Goddess of hell: in fact, Scully escaped the Kingdom of the Dead/alien abduction (I’m thinking about the boat in the lake, tied to the pier, in “One Breath”). And in the episodes (“Clyde Bruckman”, “Leonard Betts”, “Tithonus”), Scully is said to be immortal: Goddesses are immortal. Then, in the eighth season, some fans compared her to the Virgin Mary (either when she cries for the death of Mulder, the Deposition, or the birth of William, the Nativity). Will she be taken up into Heaven? Yes, if she will be abducted again by the true aliens, and not by those induced in the memory by the Syndicate. In addition, in the Greek/Roman world, Katherine means “clear, straightforward”, and these are perfect adjectives for Scully. Clear when she has get to the point and straightforward when expressing her opinions. When Mulder has to choose a name for her in “Arcadia”, he chooses Laura, but Laura & Rob Petrie are the names of the 1961 “Dick Van Dike Show” protagonists, where this couple personified the “American way of life” of those years, which meant serenity, funny situations and divertissement bourgeois. X “ x In the episodes (“Clyde Bruckman”, “Leonard Betts”, “Tithonus”), Scully is said to be immortal: Goddesses are immortal. 41 BLUEBOOK ” The X Files These two names so indicate that Mulder (or better, the “Arcadia” scriptwriters) have considered how these names could be perceived by an “unnaturally” perfect community: choosing stereotyped names means to criticise the false representation of a perfect society. Josè Chungh gives to Scully the pseudonym of Diana Lesky, maybe hinting at Albin Lesky, a famous Russian philologist and therefore a meticulous figure, or just for a pronunciation assonance? Now is the surname turn: Scully is the surname of Vince, a sports commentator also known as “God’s voice”, (Carter denied this link in 1994 D.Bishoff’s interview) but in the chapter “The Name Game”, op. cit., Delasara underlines that it is also the surname of Frank, the author of “Behind the Flying Saucers” in 1952, and I add that in a FBI note about the UFO crash in New Mexico, Frank Scully is mentioned as a witness. Delasara also claims that the names of the characters could remind of those present in the comics of EC “Vault Of Horror” in the 50s: it is evident that “skull” has a dark and macabre link to Scully as it is pronounced almost in the same way. Carter have kept on insisting that no names of those present in XFiles have references, just like Badley says in “The Rebirth of Clinic” in “Reading the Xfiles”; but why keep denying such proofs? I made some calculations from a numerological table put forward by Delanera about “f o x”, of which I will talk about later, and “d a n a” results as number 2. The number two is the contraposition, the contrast the antithesis of number one (and Mulder symbolises the number one…), but two is also the number of complementarity, of who lies by you. In the relationship between Mulder and Scully, she has these characteristics: her character is Mulder’s co-star, his colleague and subordinate. She helps him when wounded, she justifies him during the investigation and so on. Max Fening nicknames her “Enigmatic” in “Fallen Angel”. The definition for “enigmatic” in the Oxford dictionary is: perplexing; mysterious. And isn’t Scully mysterious for Mulder’s eyes? Or for every other man she meets? Surely, Max refers to this woman’s complexity. Her feelings and pains always hidden. 42 BLUEBOOK x The X Files And now Mulder. x His unusual name “Fox” has very ancient roots. In Chinese myths, foxes are very suspicious characters, I think about Mulder and his “trust no one”. In Russian folklore, the fox is very cunning and so is Mulder, even if maybe he is more curious. For the Celts, the fox represents slyness and the ability of putting of the scent, whilst Mulder often makes tracks! In myths, the fox sees others’ movements undetected and so here is the link. It is weird instead that the fox is a stupid animal in the Catholic Bible. More interesting is that in the myths of North American natives, the fox has the power to give back life to the dead, a sort of demiurge like the coyote, and Mulder speaks to the dead (The Truth, Closure) and in a certain sense, evoking them, he let them live again. The link between the American natives and Fox emerges in the episodes “Blessing Way” and “Shapes”. In the last one, Mulder receives the Indian name “Running Fox” or “Sneaky Fox”, and in my opinion they are due to his curious and investigative nature. When Albert Hosteen heals Mulder, he says: “The F.B.I. man would have surely died had he not stayed underground, protected like the jackrabbit or the fox”; referring to fox’s power to defeat death. In this case and even in the first episodes of the eighth season, Mulder emerges like an immortal man. Kubek, op. cit., referring to Albert’s speech, evokes the symbology linked to the name Fox in “Blessing Way”: the fox has been buried by the symbolic Order (the Syndicate), but being the unconscious Fox’s usual habitat (he’s a psychologist, he has bonds to hidden things, he’s a hidden truths discoverer) he is now remerged from it (this is my interpretation). So, I say that the fox is an animal of the unconscious, which saves from the symbolic death that the Super Ego (ethic laws of fathers, the Syndicate here) may make grind on the Ego. In fact, Fox dreams about Bill first and Deep Throat then during the ritual practice, his putative fathers. I like mentioning another fox as well, the friend Saint-Exupery’s “Little Prince”. In this masterpiece, the fox teaches the little prince the friendship value. Mulder tells us he is a good friend through his bonds with Scully and the Lone Gunmen. Last, I want to mention the pseudonym that José Chung gives to Mulder, Reynard (Muldrake, reynard means fox in French). And Reynard was a character of European tales of 12th/13th Century, says Delasara, and was famous for the ironic but hard critics to the Catholic church and the nobles. 43 BLUEBOOK x The X Files But FOX is also the name of the network, which believed in Carter and X-Files while Disney didn’t. Delasara thinks that having the letters of the network in the protagonist’s name, an X which stands for unknown, mysterious, and it also reminds of the name that cinematographic workers use of special effects (fx) have let the public identify the show with the network. Marketing power. Delasara, using numerological tables, assigns the number 6 to the name “Fox”. Six is an androgynous number, we all remember that Mulder is an atypical hero in the policemen scenario of the early 90s: he’s sensitive, careful , empathic, he never brags, he is a sort of hero with feminine characteristics (I want to point that to drive all the doubts about his heterosexuality away, the authors after having shown him crying, stressed his inclination towards pornography). According to Wikipedia, Mulder’s second name, William, has two roots: Will and helm, intended as protection. If broadly speaking we consider Will as “wisdom”, we can point that the name barely means “that who is protected by his wisdom”. The notions of desire and knowledge make me think of the Amor Fati trilogy: Mulder is wiser than other human beings, but this comes against him. The helm didn’t work. His “knowledge” of paranormal squished his mortal brain. Delasara shows the parallelism between the many William that there are in X-Files. Mulder’s father and Scully’s father, and I would also mention the little William. The authors consider Bill Patterson (“Grotesque”), the mentor of the golden boy that has been just enrolled for FBI, among the father figures he meets during the show. This is to create a bond between and world of the fathers which biblically means that sons are not responsible for fathers’ sins and Mulder fights against the sins of the fathers belonging to the Syndicate. The surname: Mulder. “To molder” means “decompose, rot”. In “The Rebirth of the Clinic” in “Reading the xfiles” Badley mention another verb in addition to the one before: “to mull over” that according to the Oxford dictionary, means “meditate, ponder, speculate”. Delasara, mentioning the names of the horror comics we named before, discovers the gothic form of “mold”, that is to say “mould” which means “to shape, to forge”. So Mulder is the man who ponders and forges, we could say he decodes and organises clues. He looks for the truth, he shapes it, despite all the attempts to be thrown off the track. The definition of demolition worker is suitable for the character: “ X So Mulder is the man who ponders and forges, we could say he decodes and organises clues. ” 44 BLUEBOOK The X Files he demolishes lies to discover the truth. According to the numerology, m u l d e r is the number 1, which is not only the number of loneliness as Mulder says in “Fight The Future” but it is also the number of independence, a quality he often shows. Let’s now focus on the FBI notes in “Requiem”. As for the nicknames Mulder receives during the show, the one chosen by José Chung is particularly fitting. According to Delasara, Muldrake for assonance recalls “mandrake” a curative but poisonous plant. The mandrake also has aphrodisiac properties. Does this have to do with Mulder’s love for pornography? This combination lets me mention another Mulder pseudonym, the one he gave to the erotic chat operator, as Eddie Van Blunth witnesses in “Small Potatoes”: Marty. In the 60s, an American movie titled Marty, which talks about a very shy man with serious relational problems with women, came out (it earned Ernest Borgnine an Oscar as best protagonist actor). Do you think these facts are connected? I have already talked about Rob Petrie before. In “Little Green Men”, Mulder uses the name George H. Hale to book his flight to Puerto Rico. In the same episode, we can deduce his admiration for the scientist: MULDER - From 1948 until recently, it was the largest telescope in the world. The idea and design came from a brilliant and wealthy astronomer named George Ellery Hale. Actually, the idea was presented to Hale one night. While he was playing billiards, an elf climbed in his window and told him to get money from the Rockefeller Foundation for a telescope. In Hale’s bibliography, the inspiring elf is not mentioned, but Mulder’s ego identifies itself with a person whose mind is open to fantasy despite him being a scientist. In “Fallen Angel” Max Fenning says that Mulder use a pseudonym, M.F. Luder, to sign articles about paranormal, an anagram of his name. There exist an experiment in psychology, in which the examined person has to make an anagram out of his name and surname to create a new name onto which he can project a new relative personality with aspects that would otherwise stand in the background. To analyse the anagram, it is necessary to point that Fox doesn’t exist for him and this is demonstrated by the fact that he doesn’t want to be called by Scully by his name. This is why F. remains F. Luder can be connected to the adjective “loud”. In the article about UFO on OMNI during the first Gulf War, as Luder, he wrote “loudly” about topics he could only “whisper” about as Mulder. And now the best point, his “classic” nickname Spooky. I guess that all the definition for “spooky” would fit his personality. In Quagmire, Scully refers to Mulder as Ahab, the Moby Dick captain, just like she does with her father. However, Mulder claims he is the antithesis of Ahab and so he is not “Gnawed within and scorched without, with the infixed, unrelenting fangs of some incurable idea.”(Moby Dick, H. Melville). Scully was instead called by her father with the name of the “Pequod” chief mate, Starbuck, who in the book was referred to as “Uncommonly conscientious for a seaman”. (Melville ,op cit.) The parallel that Scully wants to create between Mulder and her father figure is easy to catch, but Mulder claims his personality not accepting the parallel. Captain Scully instead had chosen for Dana a fitting comparison. x Anasilv References : J.Jagodzinski - B.Hipfl Youth Fantasies: Reading “The X-Files”. Psychoanalytically. Studies In Media & Information Literacy Education University Toronto Press ,vol. 1,n.2,2001 J.Delasara Poplit, Popcult and the X-Files ,Mcfarland & Co., 2000 4. L.Badley The Rebirth of the Clinic: The Body as Alien in The X-Files ,Deny All Knowledge: Reading The XFiles, Thompson Syracuse University Press, 1996 E. B. Kubek You Only Expose Your Father Deny All Knowledge: Reading The X-Files, Thompson Syracuse University Press ,1996 B.Hauser Vanishing Americans , The X files And literature, S.R.Yang Cambridge, 2007 T.Betonneau-K.Paffenroth The in -breaking bedhalement of truth The Truth Is Out There: Christian Faith and the Classics of TV Science Fiction, Brazos press,2006 45 BLUEBOOK x Interview conducted by XFBlueBook and GFelix I n the 90s, X-Files has managed to catch the fears of the Americans and represent it on the screen. According to you, could the show be aired on today’s TV, or as many say, the Ground Zero attack has generated such fear to put the theme of the series on the background? I fear the Ground Zero had an impact on Carter’s show as well as on other shows. Science fiction has always had a precise link to cultural movement and the world general situation. It was first born as popular literature so it couldn’t, and can’t today, move away from the anguish of people. It could be visionary such as Dick’s, it could be ironic and paradoxical such as Sheckley’s, but it can never be taken out of the projection that anyone makes of his future, which is influenced by the present. The heroic prewar science fiction was the natural heir to Verne, the men’s struggle in the name of a positive science with an enlightenment and lay vision of the universe. The post-Second World War science fiction identified an enemy and fought him in space battles on unfriendly planets, face-to-face, using weapons in a sort of repetition of the conventional war; however, there also were some fictionists who refused that clash between cultures and hypothesised better societies and world such as Roddenberry. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the risk of the total war vanished and the theory of a global conspiracy took off thus putting in discussion the certainties of our history, Chris Carter did this first and magisterially. Ground Zero erased this tendency, especially in the Anglo-Saxon science fiction, gave back the physicality to the enemy, identifying it in every thing that is different and can shake our certainties. 46 BLUEBOOK 47 BLUEBOOK X-Files still is a relevant series for the language, but it has been overwhelmed by media’s fear more than the events themselves which have left the mark in this decade. shows. According to you, what are the main innovations brought about by XFiles? X-Files and Chris Carter introduced the industrial model of cinema in the TV show. Since then, the main series have begun to used those narrative and grammatical structures which were typical of the cinema up to the 90s. I think Chris Carter rode the wave of something that was in the air and that was necessary to turn around the crisis of creativity of those years. Carter was able to “weigh out” the most important points of the narration, dispensing them in the right moment to open and close narrative threads which made people’s expectations burst, at least up to the 7th season. The relationship between Mulder and Scully revealed to be the keystone to success as it was a non-love among the most aching and romantic of TV, which kept our eyes on the screen. Why is always love which makes audience, rather than aliens, mysterious islands and supernatural powers? The most stupid answer could be that 55% of the TV audience is made of women, and love stories catch women’s heart. But the very key to success was indeed the incompleteness of the relationship between them. Narratively speaking, it is a great solution if one is able to manage, the step to ridiculousness is quite short. Carter manage to make the show the object of the daily chats between friends and colleagues, and the success didn't distort the plot of every single episode in anyway. X-Files has historically marked a turning point the science fiction production as it is still used today as an element of comparison to evaluate the quality of new TV 48 BLUEBOOK x 49 BLUEBOOK Elena Romanello P lenty of female characters have inspired TV series in the last ten years. After the revolution brought about by a character like Dana Scully: a strong-willed woman beside a weak man. A woman who is ready to question her certainties as well as her life; who is ready to believe and love; a professional but not a virago; who has doubts, but is able to pursue the truth at any cost; it is therefore not surprising that finding another Scully-oriented character has been a challenge in shows that followed. Yet something that Scully may have inspired, although in a very different context, can be found in Lilly Rush, the heroine of "Cold Case". Cold Case, a TV series which ended this year after seven respectable seasons, focused on unsolved cases being reopened after several years, thus even rebuilding parts of American history. Physically speaking Gillian Anderson (Scully) and Kathryn Morris, who plays Lilly, are different but they have many things in common. Those determined blue eyes wide open towards the unknown; always in search of truth and justice. Their sober dress sense does not hide their sex appeal, but neither does it transform them into cheerleaders; both 50 BLUEBOOK women are characters who seldom yield to emotion. Their differences can be seen in their family backgrounds. Dana Scully comes from a military family. She grew up in a strict but loveable environment, tied to her sister Melissa who died prematurely. She is a brilliant FBI agent with multiple degrees and records of accomplishments in varying areas. Compare this with Rush, who as a child had to look after her alcoholic mother, who finds her father (played by Raymond J. Barry aka Senator Richard Matheson who protected Mulder in the first season of The X-Files) again only in adulthood, who’s wild sister, who has made the police her second family, creates problems every time she reappears in her life. Both women find that their job provides them with a reason to live. Even though in the beginning Scully’s work for the X-Files is essentially to ensure that Fox Mulder does not actually go through with any of his wild ideas, and she only 51 BLUEBOOK later develops a passion for her colleague’s cause (later friend and then partner). In contrast Lily Rush is a woman on a mission (including John Finch, a well-known name from the X Files, playing Lt. Stillman here) to bring justice to the victims whose memory has not yet vanished. She wants justice and not revenge, because in the Cold Case’s universe perpetrators are often the defeated. There are no absolute evils such as the Cigarette Smoking Man, and despite they are being a central thread in the characters’ lives, a main story like X-Files’ mythology is missing. As for the love life of these two protagonists, there are commonalities and differences. Being two women in a world of men, and two career women at that, they seem to be destined to solitude. We only know that Scully had a boyfriend and that she had an affair with her teacher at Quantico. Lilly seems to be modern version of an old maid living with three cats, trying to heal old and current wounds. As the series progress, there are some developments in the relationships between Mulder and Scully; and Lilly finds her partner in Eddie Saccardo, a cop who carries out often dangerous investigations, to Lilly and Scotty’s shippers’ disappointment. Their adventures are obviously different, but Dana Scully and Lilly Rush are good examples of modern heroines, constricted between fragility and strength, with a mission to carry out, not blindly, but with reason and emotion. Neither of them will ever replace the other, but both are valid and interesting studies due to their attitude to work, their attitude to others, and because they make truth and justice their pillars. x 52 BLUEBOOK SHOW SUMMARY from TV.com Cold Case stars Kathryn Morris (Minority Report, Mindhunters) as Lilly Rush, the lone female detective in the Philadelphia homicide squad who finds her calling when she's assigned to "cold cases" -- crimes that have never been solved. Previously, she used her instinctive understanding of the criminal mind on current murders. Now, she's interrogating witnesses whose lives and circumstances have since changed, making use of today's new science and finding fresh clues to solve cases that were previously unsolvable, all of which appeals to this smart, driven detective. She's also prepared for the consequences: that her work will open up old wounds and may lead suspects to commit new crimes. When she hits a dead-end, Lilly seeks advice from her respected mentor, Lt. John Stillman (John Finn, Catch Me If You Can). Also on the team are Det. Scotty Valens (Danny Pino, The Shield), Rush's confident and strong-willed partner; Det. Will Jeffries (Thom Barry, The Fast and the Furious), who's been around long enough to serve as Lilly's link to the past; and Det. Nick Vera (Jeremy Ratchford, Angel Eyes), a tough cop who's considered the go-to guy for getting a confession. Lilly makes it her business to ensure that no victim is ever forgotten. On the show's third season, former narcotics detective Kat Miller (Tracie Thoms, Wonderfalls, As If), a young and spunky girl, joins the team. Cold Case is created by Meredith Stiehm (ER, NYPD Blue). Executive producers -- in addition to Ms. Stiehm -- include such reigning entertainment industry names as Jerry Bruckheimer (The Amazing Race, CSI), Shaun Cassidy (Invasion, The Agency), and Jonathan Littman (The Amazing Race, Close to Home).old Case is an American police procedural television series which ran on CBS from September 28, 2003 to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in investigating cold cases. On May 18, 2010, CBS announced that the series had been canceled. Seven Season; 146 episodes; 6 ASCAP Awards 53 BLUEBOOK Elena Romanello ampires have had a great significance in our imagination for a long time, before the current trend of teenage bloodsucker, and in a TV series which focuses on supernatural inquiries such as X-Files, vampires were a must-be though they weren’t Mulder and Scully’s favourite second leads. Two are the episodes about vampires, one belonging to the second season (Three) and one belonging to the fifth season (Bad Blood); they are poles apart in terms of rhythm, editing and story, with two opposite approaches to vampires, not canonic but with some points of interest. “Three” is one of the few episodes Scully doesn’t appear in because she is just been abducted (by aliens? By governors?) and that left Mulder in despair since he feels responsible for that. As a distraction, he accepts to inquire into a series of murders which seem to be committed by a vampire, complete with bloodless victims, thus getting to a psycho- pathic trio which created a sort of brotherhood between them. Fox Mulder gets in touch with Kristen, the weak link to the V group, and together throw themselves into a futureless relationship: the woman will sacrifice herself and the others to save him leaving us wondering if they really were vampires or serial killers. An interesting story, with the always effective combination between vampirism, death and sex, a good attempt to make vampires plausible in a real inquiring context, involving even satanic sects. Somebody saw reminiscences between the vampire congregation and Charles Manson’s “family”, the author of one of the bloodiest crimes. In addition, shippers didn’t like Mulder “cheating” on Scully, even if it was a moment of 54 BLUEBOOK “3” - Credits Writer: Chris Ruppenthal Glen Morgan,James Wong Director: David Nutter Original air date: November 4, 1994 Jokes: Club Tepes is named after Vlad the Impaler Tepes, who is the real-life inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. “Bad Blood “- Credits Writer: Vince Gilligan Director: Cliff Bole Original air date: February 22, 1998 Jokes: Sheriff Hartwell is named for Vince Gilligan's girlfriend, Holly Rice (her middle name is Hartwell). despair and relationship was undoubtedly futureless. Out of curiosity, Kristen was played by Perrey Reeves, who was then Duchovny’s real fiancée. So different is “Bad Blood” as Mulder and Scully tell a story, like a flashback, about a case they investigated a case which ended with the death of a presumably vampire suspect, a pizzaboy who used his job to obtain his victims. They give a different point of view about the case, the narration structure resembling that of Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, even if the result is not one of the best. “Bad Blood” is too grotesque to be an X-File, it’s not what we would call a masterpiece, but in the meantime it’s interesting how the agents‘ points of view are in conflict and it’s also interesting the desecrating treatment of the vampire theme, which is nice compared to today’s romantic vampires. Sure, Polanski made better, but he was Polanski. x 55 BLUEBOOK Elena Romanello G illian Anderson has chosen since long time to devote her time to theatre and high-quality movies: after having reached success with X-Files, she prefers now to devote herself to things she considers closer to her feelings and her interests as an artist. A path she had deci- ded to take while she was still playing Dana Scully in 2000, when she was enrolled for “The House Of Mirth” by Terence Davies. She shot the movie during her holiday trip to Scotland and Ireland after having been engaged by the director, who had never watched any X-Files episode but was amazed by her resemblance to the women’s portraits painted by the late 19th-century painter John Sargent and to the leading actresses of many romantic movies of yesteryear such as Greer Garson and Eleanor Parker. Inspired by the homonym novel by Edith Wharton, one of the most ruthless chronicler of the well-off American society customs, “The House Of Mirth” narrates 56 BLUEBOOK the rise and fall of Lily Bart, an heiress oppressed by debts and the necessity of finding a suitable husband in a society which doesn’t allow women to have a bad reputation (not only sexually) and earn their living, even if reduced to penury though belonging by birth to the aristocratic society. You can watch the fall, through a series of scenes with great settings, of this good-natured social climber, incapable of being wicked just like her rival Bertha Dorsett, but even incapable of sensing both the rapaciousness of others and the love of the only man that could save her.A ruthless moral story, masterfully conducted by the director who managed to make it more exciting on the screen (a very rare thing) rather than on book pages. Costumes, musics and settings are simply impeccable and contradicts the saying according to which great money expenses and computer graphic aids are required to produce costume films: the budget wasn’t indeed one of the biggest but everything was in the right place, and sometimes you can even recall Visconti in Davies’ touch. The cast, which stars excellent second leads, ranging from Laura Linney, perfect in the villain role so diverging from her usual roles, to the Jack Malone-to-be Anthony Lapaglia; from Dan Aykroyd to the unforgotten lost girl of “Once Upon A Time In America” Elizabeth McGovern, even including Eric Stolz, is captained by a great Gillian, so at ease in the 19th-century tangles, which will get her in confusion just like the X-Files conspiracies and aliens did. While watching the movie one never thinks: “Look at the 19th-century Scully!” but one will appreciate the great performance of a chameleonic actress which has found in theatre and cinema a better place to express herself and her talent. 57 BLUEBOOK “The House Of Mirth” is a movie not only to be rediscovered by the X-Files fans, but it is a real gem to which everybody contributed, Gillian primarily, and we are sorry it didn’t received any Oscar nomination. Gillian is not only Scully, but she’s a real actress, we’re happy for her devoting to theatre, but we still hope to see her taking parts in such movies: there are plenty of stories she could act in perfectly and we’re sorry for her refusal for the reporter Martha Gellhorn project (what about reconsidering the idea?) and for the closure of the civil rights activist Edna St. Vincent Millay project, because we could really appreciate a great actress in “The House Of Mirth” apart from our love for her as Scully. At that time she received indeed good recensions (“Scully is a good actress even without aliens, but also smarter comments) and approvals for a movie belonging to a niche genre, the so-called period movies, which could count on a faithful public. Looking forward to seeing Scully playing in period movies again, it could be nice to relive with her the drama of Lily Bart, a heroin suspended between a now unsuitable romanticism and a modernity that she doesn’t want to follow. x 58 BLUEBOOK Directed by Terence Davies Produced by Olivia Stewart Written by Edith Wharton (novel) Terence Davies (screenplay) Starring: Gillian Anderson Laura Linney Dan Aykroyd Anthony LaPaglia Terry Kinney Elizabeth McGovern Eric Stoltz Cinematography: Remi Adefarasin Editing by Michael Parker Studio Granada Productions Distributed by FilmFour (UK) Sony Pictures Classics (USA) Release date(s) 2000 Running time:140 min. 59 BLUEBOOK Raffaello Summer 2012 60 BLUEBOOK G I L L I A N A T T A T L E R A L L G I R L P A R T Y 61 BLUEBOOK Gillian at the Critics Choice Awards 62 BLUEBOOK D A V I D C A L I F O R N I C A T I O N S E T 63 BLUEBOOK DAVID IN MALIBU 64 BLUEBOOK DAVID IN MALIBU 65 BLUEBOOK HUNTED A U T U M N 2 0 1 2 The modern-day spy thriller stars Grey’s Anatomy’s Melissa George as an elite intelligence operative who becomes a target for assassination. From the mind of X Files producer Frank Spotnitz and directed by SJ Clarkson (Dexter, Heroes), Hunted will bow on the BBC and HBO, Cinemax this fall. 66 BLUEBOOK AUGUST 2012 - Ireland 67 BLUEBOOK 68 BLUEBOOK August 10, 2012 69 BLUEBOOK X-FILES BLUEBOOK MAGAZINE We are philes. We are family.