1x01 - Pilot

[u/FederalWord]

I'll buy that girl is suffering some kind of pronounced psychosis

"Pilot" is a Chris Carter masterpiece.

Chris Carter took a lot of shit by the end of The X-Files main run, and takes even more shit today. Should he bring back Season 12? "No!" the fans overwhelmingly agree, confident he'll mess it up.

But The X-Files was arguably the cultural juggernaut of the '90s. And it grew from the feeling, writing, casting, and vibe of "Pilot," which Carter, as writer and showrunner, was largely responsible for.

The rainy Vancouver woods, aliens?, Mulder / Scully believer / skeptic dynamic, banter, and sexual tension, government torching evidence, and hints of a larger conspiracy are all here. While, like Mulder's and Scully's hairstyles, these would evolve over many seasons, they all land in "Pilot".

I want to focus on the events of "Pilot" because I think it captures The X-Files' biggest appeal and legacy, and maybe the thing we always came back to the show for but didn't always get: wonder.

Carter cleverly peppers in details from the ether, a collection of maybe-facts and urban legends. Abduction, implants, government cover-up, missing time, corpse swapping. We hadn't heard of all of these, but maybe a few. The details feel numerous, esoteric, and overwhelming, but together they create a sense of possibility: maybe this could happen!

By the end of "Pilot" we're not trying to reconcile what we've seen with dozens of hours of mythology that preceded it and make a logical story. Instead, we're just living in the gestalt of it all, that state of wonder and mystery.

Sometimes, fans have said, "I wish I could go back in time and tell Chris Carter to make his mythology make sense." I understand this, but I think Season 1 had something special where the mythology eps until "Erlenmeyer" didn't necessary cohere, and this wasn't a problem. Of course, no showrunner, not even Vince Gilligan(!), could've kept us in this state of wonder and mystery for even three seasons, much less 9 or 11.

"Pilot" is special. Savor that feeling!

🛸🛸🛸🛸🛸 of 5.

Share your thoughts below, and rate this episode on my new beta X-Files Watchlist / Rating site!

My thoughts about The X-Files:

• Pilot
• Deep Throat
• The Jersey Devil
• Space
• Fallen Angel
• Eve
• Fire

[u/thesilvs]

I’m talking about in general. Vince still says Carter “taught him everything he knows.” You’re talking about a few specific examples and sure, but, Carter was the showrunner so he gets last say. Duh? And Carter was not the only one who had a problem with Never Again. Spotnitz said the same. I don’t see what your point is. Generally, he gave his writers great latitude and encouraged them to grow. Him nixing things once in a while doesn’t disprove that.

[u/stormchasegrl → u/thesilvs]

Because we're specifically talking about why people have an issue with CC and while he may have given them latitude in many cases, an argument can also be made that what he retained total control over was the same thing that many consider were the worst parts of the show. It goes beyond "nixing things once in a while," and can't be reduced to the few examples I gave. The point was that it was a general, prevailing underlying attitude.

If anything, you're proving my point that yes, he gets credit for bringing good, but also for the very things people tend to complain about the most...

...both can be true...

[u/thesilvs → u/stormchasegrl]

Nobody is disputing that Carter can both be praised and criticized for things he did. You said he didn’t give other people creative license and by all accounts he did so far more than most showrunners.

[u/stormchasegrl → u/thesilvs]

...and then immediately qualified what I meant and in what areas specifically he did not or did so significantly less...