In The Philosophy of The X-Files, Dean A. Kowalski has gathered a remarkable cast of contributors to shed light on the philosophical mysteries of the television show The X-Files. With sections devoted to the show's credos, such as "The Truth Is Out There," individual characters, and specific episodes, The Philosophy of The X-Files illuminates the philosophical assumptions and presuppositions of the show as well as presents discussions through the show to help the reader better understand philosophy and philosophical inquiry.

The X-Files and Literature: Unweaving the Story, Unraveling the Lie to find the Truth provides an innovative and valuable exploration of the groundbreaking television program. Although much academic work has been devoted to the social, psychological, and spiritual significance of The X-Files, until this collection none has fully addressed the series’ rich adaptation of literature to interrogate our perception, definition, or recounting of the “truth.” This collection not only unveils new twists and insights into expected connections between The X-Files and Gothic writers or with its modernist and post-modernist slants on narrative, plot, and characterization. The X-Files and Literature also delves into some unexpected literary sources shaping the series, such as the Arthurian quest, Catholic and Biblical mythology, folkloristics, and James Fennimore Cooper and the “vanishing American” mythos. This collection of essays covers both how The X-Files works with literature’s own constantly morphing definition and portrayal of truth through form and content, as well as how the television program may or may not subvert our own contradictory expectations and distrust of literature’s providing us with enlightenment. "As television becomes more and more literary, with shows like Lost and Gilmore Girls sending us off to the bookstore and the library so we might read them more carefully, a book like The X-Files and Literature is welcome indeed. Sharon R. Yang’s diverse collection on one of Nineties’ TV’s richest texts finds the truth of the gothic and the Arthurian and the folkloric, of the postmodern and the metafictional, of Poe, Pynchon, Cooper, Nabokov, and Tennyson, not just “out there” but in the perhaps too complicated narrative of the perpetually frustrated quests of Mulder and Scully. Valuable-in-itself as an intellectual exercise, its real worth may come when we put the book down and return, smarter, better readers, to the primary text." --David Lavery, Co-Editor, Deny All Knowledge: Investigating The X-Files "Sharon Yang's X-Files collection deals with an important subject addressed by thoughtful writers. The idea that television can be seen as a branch of literature is certainly sustained by The X-Files, and the contributors to this volume succeed in making the case. Brian Hauser on Fenimore Cooper, Cary Jones on Mary Shelley, Tamy Burnett on Poe, Thomas Argiro on Pynchon, Matthew VanWinkle on Tennyson-these and more explore the connections with The X-Files not only in terms of sources but also themes and techniques. Both students of television and literature will want to own this book." —Rhonda V. Wilcox, Ph.D., Professor of English, Gordon College, Barnesville

X-Files gained its fame for excellent stories and the unique chemistry between everybody's two favourite FBI agents, Muller and Scully. Checker's second volume of the X-Files collects issues 20-26 and also includes Issue 1/2 and the X-Files Comic Digest Issue 1, giving the reader seven original stories to enjoy. Featuring writers Kevin J. Anderson and John Rozum, interior art by Charles Adlard and additional art created by renowned artist Miran Kim.

The Legacy of The X-Files examines the content and production of the show, its reception, its use of legend and folklore, its contemporary resonance in politics and society of the 21st century, and its impact and legacy on film, television, the Internet and beyond. Having converged with the early widespread use of the Internet, The X-Files became a cultural touchstone of the 1990s, transforming from a cult TV show into a pop cultural phenomenon by the end of the decade. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of The X-Files, this collection examines the content and production of the show, its reception, its use of legend and folklore, its contemporary resonance in politics and society of the 21st century, and its impact and legacy on film, television, the Internet and beyond. The series' themes of government mistrust, conspiracy, folklore, UFOlogy, and faith are dissected and applied to how the show spirituality resonated with post-Cold War Western society. Contributors to this collection discuss the wide-ranging impact of the television show in popular culture, from Mulder and Scully 'shippers' to the show's slogan entering the contemporary lexicon. The Legacy of The X-Files serves as an all-encompassing, multi-disciplinary, contemporary account of The X-Files, reflecting upon critical, historical, political, and social contexts, and featuring an in-depth and comprehensive introduction making it a vital work for researchers and students alike.

For six acclaimed seasons, FBI paranormal detectives Mulder and Scully have been chasing monsters and little green men and exposing government conspiracies, while espousing the mantras "trust no one" and "the truth is out there." This work takes a close look at the popular television series and shows how its style, character and narrative structure have continued to tease and please a wide viewing audience every week for six years. The first section examines the text of the series and the progression of its mythic story arc. This part also looks at the show's use of expressionistic techniques in both its visual and sound effects; the related tropes of self-reflexive humor, irony and the grotesque; and its ability to give the audience an occasional strong sensory jolt. The second section explores the context that has given rise to The X-Files phenomenon in the 1990s. The show's gothic horror tradition is established, and its contribution to the Zeitgeist of the 90s is also acknowledged.

Could an alien organism really survive a centuries-long trip on a meteor and remain virulent enough to attack a human being? How would a scientist know she was peering at a microbe from another planet? What's the possibility of a genetically mutated monster actually developing? In a gripping exploration of the facts behind the science fiction that has enthralled millions of X-philes, Anne Simon -- the respected virologist who comes up with the science for many intriguing episodes -- discusses telomeres, cloning, the Hayflick limit, nanotechnology, endosymbionts, lentiviruses, and other strange phenomena that have challenged the intellect and threatened the lives and sanity of America's favorite FBI agents. With Simon's extraordinary gift for explaining complicated, cutting-edge science in a light, accessible style, and her behind-the-scenes commentary on the development of various plot lines, The Real Science Behind the X-Files will appeal to science buffs and X-Files aficionados alike.

Advanced Studies in Media has been designed to offer a comprehensive and stimulating textbook for all students on advanced level media studies and communications studies courses.

More than 20 years after it was first broadcast, The X-Files still holds the public imagination. Over nine seasons and two feature films, agents Mulder and Scully pursued monsters, aliens, mutants and shadowy conspirators across the American landscape. Running for more than 200 episodes, the series transformed television, crafting a postmodern mythology that spoke to the anxieties and uncertainties of the end of the 20th century. Covering the entire series from its debut through the second feature film, this book examines how creator Chris Carter and his team of writers turned a scrappy cult favorite on Fox into a global phenomenon.

This collection of new essays examines how the injection of supernatural creatures and mythologies transformed the hugely popular crime procedural television genre. These shows complicate the predictable and comforting patterns of the procedural with the inherently unknowable nature of the supernatural. From Sherlock to Supernatural, essays cover a range of topics including the gothic, the post-structural nature of The X-Files, the uncanny lure of Twin Peaks, trickster detectives, forensic fairy tales, the allure of the vampire detective, and even the devil himself.