33 Years Later, the Best Sci-Fi Show of the ’90s Is Officially Streaming for Free

Why the X-Files ruled the ’90s

Created by Chris Carter, The X-Files is about a pair of FBI agents who investigate cases involving the paranormal — and Carter interpreted “paranormal” very broadly. The agents investigated everything from aliens to urban legends to ghosts to many other strange goings-on. The two agents were Agent Fox Mulder, played by David Duchovny, and Agent Dana Scully, played by Gillian Anderson.

Mulder was the true believer of the pair. His sister was abducted by aliens when he was a kid and he believed that all kinds of spectacular things were possible. Meanwhile, Scully was the skeptic, a medical doctor with a rigid scientific viewpoint who needed to be convinced of everything. That yin and yang was the genius of The X-Files. It allowed everyone in the audience — the believers and skeptics alike — to identify with at least one of the two main characters.

Lasting for nine seasons during its original run — with two revival seasons from the 2010s — The X-Files was incredibly versatile. When audiences tuned in each week, there was no telling what each episode would be about or where in the United States it would take place. The show also crossed genres. While it was most often a science fiction series, it also dippied into horror, and there were plenty of action-heavy episodes, too. Some episodes were very comedic, yet none of the humor ever felt out of place. The X-Files was so malleable that the show could have gone on for decades, much like various police and legal procedurals have, but for one fatal flaw:

Mulder and Scully were just too good together.

Throughout all these different cases, transcending all these different genres, Mulder and Scully’s relationship was the main point of continuity. Their arc, which went from mistrust to friendship to romance over the first seven seasons, is why we cared about the cases they were investigating. The two weren’t just odd couple cops with different worldviews, they had palpable sexual and comedic chemistry, with Mulder’s wry sarcasm playing against Scully’s straight man. And since there were only two continuing characters in every episode, The X-Files became as much “The Mulder and Scully Show” as it did about The X-Files’ ingenious central premise and increasingly convoluted mythology.

An irrepplacable duo

Image: 20th Century Fox/Everett Collection

When the show tried to move on to new leads in later seasons, it fell flat. Robert Patrick’s Agent John Doggett came in during season 8 to replace Duchovny while the actor pursued his movie career. By this time, Scully was a true believer, having seen too much to be a credible skeptic, while Doggett became the new skeptical one. Smartly, the show found a whole new angle: Doggett’s skepticism didn’t come from science, it came from the fact that he was a tough old New York cop who didn’t buy into any of this crazy stuff. It was a smart move on behalf of Carter and the other writers, and Scully and Doggett made for an interesting new dynamic. But it wasn’t Mulder and Scully, so fans rejected it. When Annabeth Gish joined later as another Mulder-like true believer to replace Scully, that didn’t work either.

Truth is, the Mulder and Scully dynamic was just irresistible, and it took a premise that could have been just a paranormal procedural and turned it into a show about two characters we deeply cared about, regardless of what crazy thing they were investigating from week to week. That’s why The X-Files became one of the biggest shows of the 1990s, sci-fi or otherwise. It was because Mulder and Scully were a pair of characters for the ages and why the fandom for The X-Files is still fervent today. And if you’re someone who hasn’t watched this show for whatever reason, now is the time to check it out, especially while it’s still free to stream. Because, while you’ll tune in for the aliens and other paranormal stuff, you’ll stay for David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.

The X-Files is streaming on Pluto TV.