‘The X-Files’ fans rank the 30 best episodes in honor of the 30th anniversary

Brace yourselves, “The X-Files” fans: your favorite TV show is turning 30 years old. Yep, it’s true. Fox’s Emmy-winning sci-fi juggernaut that followed FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) in their investigations into the paranormal debuted on September 10, 1993. Nine complete seasons aired until the series finale on May 19, 2002, with two movies premiering at the box office in 1998 and 2008, and then two additional revival seasons dropping in 2016 and 2018. All told, a whopping 218 episodes were produced for television — think of all those discarded cigarette butts! In Gold Derby’s photo gallery above, fans rank the 30 best episodes in honor of the 30th anniversary, according to IMDb.com votes.

Created by Chris Carter, who grew up watching TV shows like “The Twilight Zone” and “Kolchak: The Night Stalker,” “The X-Files” broke ground with its spooky premise and government-is-lying ideology. In fact, many of the show’s taglines went viral three decades ago — that is, viral at the water cooler, not on the internet, which was still in its infancy stage — including “The Truth Is Out There,” “Trust No One” and “I Want to Believe.”

More from GoldDerby

• 2023 Middleburg Film Festival lineup includes 'Rustin,' 'The Holdovers,' 'Saltburn' and honors for Payne, Fennell and Wolfe

• 'Dumb Money' is a smart bet to contend at the Oscars

• Ray Richmond: 'Poor Things' shows why AI will never catch up with the gloriously twisted minds of human beings

SEERyan Coogler’s ‘The X-Files’ reboot will have ‘a diverse cast,’ says original showrunner

Initially, Mulder and Scully started out as adversaries in the X-Files Unit, which was hidden away in the FBI’s dusty basement. He was the believer, and she was the skeptic who was supposed to delegitimize his work. However, a romantic relationship eventually blossomed, buoyed by the fan base known as “shippers” (short for “relationshippers”). The duo had a baby together near the end of the first series, William, who later appeared in the revival as a teenager, making audiences feel very, very old.

Additional fan-fave characters in “The X-Files” universe were Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), John Doggett (Robert Patrick), Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis), Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea), Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens), Alvin Kersh (James Pickens Jr.), Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin), X (Steven Williams), Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden) and The Lone Gunmen, aka Byers (Bruce Harwood), Langly (Dean Haglund) and Frohike (Tom Braidwood).

During its original nine-year run on Fox, “The X-Files” won 16 Emmy Awards from 62 total nominations, including an inaugural trophy in 1994 for the show’s iconic main title design. Other top wins came in Best Drama Actress for Anderson, Best Drama Guest Actor for Peter Boyle and Best Drama Writing for Darin Morgan. See the complete list of Emmy wins.

All episodes of “The X-Files” are available to stream on Hulu.

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Launch Gallery: 'The X-Files' fans rank the 30 best episodes in honor of the 30th anniversary

Best of GoldDerby

• 2023 Emmys: How much screen time does each Best Comedy Supporting Actress nominee have?

• 2023 Emmys: How much screen time does each Best Comedy Supporting Actor nominee have?

• 2023 Emmys: How much screen time does each Best Comedy Actress nominee have?

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.