illaisland

THE PLAN, POST-FIGHT THE FUTURE

Requiem and Existence were written to conclude the series, Requiem acting as a bouncing-off point for another movie (which the writers and actors lobbied for since Fight the Future)--

May 26, 2000:

In fact, Carter says he`s been planning Mulder`s abduction and Scully`s pregnancy since the start of the season [Season 7]. “I thought it was a finale that would work for any eventuality. And because we had planned to do movies, I thought that would be a place to pick up with those things.”

November 5, 2000:

“I had to write the season finale, truly honestly, not knowing whether or not we’d be back next year,” said Carter. “So I had to write a sort of all-purpose season finale."

--and Existence bookending Mulder and Scully's reign on the files--

February 8, 2001:

“The finale for this season will be the finale for the eight years of the show,” executive producer Frank Spotnitz said on the eerie, dimly lit set that earlier this season was the site of Fox Mulder’s tortuous alien exam. “The ninth season, if there is one, will be a whole new ballgame.”

May 7, 2001:

TVGO: I see. How did you handle writing the final episodes considering you don’t know whether or not the show will be back?

Carter: The same way as I really handled last year, which was that I wanted to be satisfied that this could function as either a series or season finale, and that either way it would continue to preserve the possibility of The X-Files movies.

January 2001:

As for the future of the series, Spotnitz says, “Anything is possible. You might see four, three, who knows how many agents will be around if the show continues next year. Whatever happens-whether Mulder appears next season or not-something is coming to an end at the end of this season. There’s the Mulder abduction storyline, which gets resolved, and there’s also the Scully pregnancy story line that gets resolved. And I think a big chapter is going to close in those final two episodes. And the series will be different, whoever comes back for it-if there is another year. We’re still working out what that final story is, but there are a couple of elements that we know are going to be in there. And those two elements close the chapter.”

Plans, it appears, were already in place to deal with a movie franchise (featuring Mulder and Scully) and a separate, continuing tv series (featuring those characters or their replacements.)

March 27, 1998:

Carter’s firstborn, The X-Files, now based in Los Angeles, is guaranteed a seventh season. Fox has indicated it wants an eighth, but Carter says none of the principals, including actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, are committed beyond next season. Carter has said recently his vision for The X-Files is as a series for seven seasons, followed by two or three theatrical films spread out over 10 years or so.

1998:

Chris Carter: "Could the series continue without Mulder and Scully but the movies continue with them? If you were clever enough, I’m sure you could."

April 1999:

“Gillian asked me [Chris Carter] the other day about doing the next movie, so I know she’s excited to do it. I’m assuming David is excited too. We’ve spoken about it. It’s a matter of setting the time aside."

January 15, 2001:

While it’s unlikely you’ll see Duchovny again playing Mulder on TV after 2001, he will be in the next movie based on the series. If there is a season No. 9 for “The X-Files,” the motion picture will be delayed at least 18 months, said Carter.

January 17 2002:

Both Duchovny and Anderson, whose mutual off-screen antipathy was widely reported, are on board for a sequel to the 1998 “X-Files” feature, Carter told The Hollywood Reporter.

May 17, 2002:

Q: What did it take to get David Duchovny (who had left the series) on board for the ending?

Carter: All it took was business negotiation. He wanted to do it. He wanted to do “X-Files” movies past this, as we all do. So really it was an opportunity for him to come back to the show, which I know he missed this year _ he told me so _ and to also come back as a way to put himself back into the concept for the movies.

So there will be a second “X-Files” movie?

It’s in negotiation. Everybody wants to do it. That probably means that it will be done.

FOX dashed their hopes instead: 1013 Productions was handed another twenty (or so) episodes.

Frank Spotnitz, who shared a peak of the blood, sweat, and tears it took to tackle a Mulder-less show (pre-Season 8)--

April 2001:

Given Duchovny’s self-imposed absence for more than half the season, coming up with season 8’s story arc, and somehow working Mulder into the equation, has been nothing short of a creative and logistical nightmare for the show’s producers. “People at home have no idea of the incredibly complicated jigsaw puzzle that we’ve had here, in terms of the storytelling and actor availabilities,” Spotnitz reveals. “You’re left with a situation where you’ve got to untangle this [already-established story] web, and make use of an actor that you have according to some very bizarre legal formula for a certain number of days here and there. We really had to work around the business realities, and try and make our show feel as organic as possible within those arrangements.”

Concurrent with reinventing the series, Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter also had to figure out a way to carry on without diluting the significance of the sizzling dynamic between Mulder and Scully. “The importance of Mulder and Scully to The X-Files can’t be overstated. All of us are aware of how crucial the character of Mulder has been to this series, and how much he and Scully and their relationship have been central to everything that has made the show successful,” Spotnitz says. In removing Mulder from the equation, he adds, “you can’t take a bigger gamble in television.”

--manned the wheel (pre-Season 9) while CC ironed out contract negotiations with FOX--

July 12, 2001:

Planning for the ninth season began in June with Carter absent for the first time since he created the series in 1993. He has yet to reach a deal with Fox to return for the ninth season and there is speculation he will not return or serve only as a “consultant,” with Spotnitz assuming the lead role for the show’s creative decisions along with co-executive producers Vince Gilligan and John Shiban.

Carter declined to be interviewed for this story, but Spotnitz said it has been odd going to work without the show’s creative driving force around.

“Obviously, we hope he comes back because it’s his show, it’s his vision that we’ve all been serving for all these years and he’s an enormously talented writer and producer,” said Spotnitz, who has been in charge of the series with Carter gone. “If he doesn’t, it’s not like we don’t know where all the files are.”

The plot for Season 9, as it turns out, was mainly Frank's brainchild (post here)--

Spotnitz said Scully will be a vital part of the ninth season with one of the central story lines exploring how Scully’s fertility was restored. Another issue to be addressed is how to explain Mulder’s absence given the romantic relationship with Scully that was confirmed in last season’s finale.

“I think we’ve got a way that’s going to be pretty satisfying to people to address that issue that’s completely true to the character and completely true to the series,” Spotnitz said, declining to reveal anything further. “We were able to plot certain things in (last season’s finale) considering he may not be back.”

--one which, apparently, overstayed its welcome (courtesy of CC deciding to adopt William out.)

GA AND DD'S CEMENTED FRUSTRATIONS

Gillian was fairly happy with Season 8's writing--

February 08, 2001:

“As much as I fantasized about getting out, simply for exhaustion if nothing else, I couldn’t,” [Gillian] said. “I was obligated to come back, so I did. But quite honestly, I am having fun. It’s [Season 8] been a good year.”

--praising the direction of Scully's character in Mulder's absence (post here), and looking forward to his reappearance in the last third.

That switched up by Season 9, when she began underscoring her dissatisfaction in the press--

August 2002:

In seasons eight and nine, the fact that the saga of The X-Files completed its morph into revolving around Scully's journey is something that Anderson feels, "happened by necessity, because of the fact that David was going to be leaving. And I think for the first year that he was gone, the writers did a very good job of keeping him in the public consciousness even though he wasn't around."

--and joining her co-star's (who had voiced complaints about Season 8, post here) readiness to end the show entirely--

March 21, 200[?]:

Duchovny himself says he grew tired of the show after the fifth series, by which time he felt the formula had worn a bit thin. “You cannot say it died anything but a natural death,” he has said.

And Gillian Anderson is similarly relieved to see the show drawing to a close. “I think it’s good to finish now,” she says. “We had a great run, but we’re getting out at the right time when the show is still a hit. It would have been terrible to overstay our welcome.”

Tom Kessenich's book EXaminations more thoroughly chronicles the actors' frustrations:

2002,

Anderson wasn't thrilled with the amount of attention the writers were lavishing on Doggett. ... She believed with Duchovny gone this would be her chance to step into the show's spotlight. Instead, the light shines on Doggett. ...

Duchovny felt some frustration as well once he returned full-time for the final six episodes. In interviews after [Season 8], he lamented the lack of resolution to Mulder's abduction and that Mulder was rendered into being a "peripheral" character. ...

Duchovny also did not care for the paternity tease [in Season 8] since it prevented him and Anderson from establishing any proper dramatic foreshadowing. The two stars were also reportedly unhappy the relationship between Mulder and Scully was not explored more fully since Duchovny planned to leave the series at the end of the season.

Despite these grievances, David and Gillian were not only willing to speak well of The X-Files but also to return for future one-and-done movies.

November 6, 2000:

Paul Munnings, Manawaka, USA Does any potential feature film rest on the success on this season, or is another movie a foregone conclusion in your mind? And what are your thoughts of David’s statement in a recent online chat that he wouldn’t want to return to the role of Fox Mulder in another movie?

Chris Carter says: David has always said to me, and I’ve never read anywhere otherwise, that he was interested in doing another movie. The success of the show this year is very important to the future of “The X-Files,” but I don’t believe we could fail so miserably as to sabotage chances for another movie.

April 16, 2008:

ShockTillYouDrop.com: Why return to the X-Files after all of this time?

Gillian Anderson: I think that I’ve always made it pretty clear, no matter what has been rumored in the press, that were we to come together, or were somebody to get it together to do a film, that I would be happy, willing and hopefully able to participate. There were a few times there where it looked like it might not happen, but there are many times when I, when people were saying it was going to happen, didn’t believe it was going to happen. I was always on board, no matter else what I was doing at my time in my life.

Regardless, the fact remains: neither were particularly happy, or particularly proud, of the show's decline and death.

NOBODY EXPECTS THE ADOPTION INQUISITION

With ratings tumbling during Season 9, Chris Carter announced the series would be coming to an end.

January 18, 2002:

The truth about Fox’s “The X-Files” is finally out there: Come May, the series will end, after nine seasons.

Executive producer Chris Carter told Fox programmers on Wednesday that he wants to end the show this season.

The pending departure of original star Gillian Anderson – David Duchovny left after last season – and a decline in audience this season nudged Carter toward the decision.

“All of the things that I come to work for every day are in place, minus David Duchovny,” Carter said. “And those things might not be here next year. So I decided to take these people to wrap this up in style. … It’s better to go out strong.”

Afterwards, Carter proceeded to drop the next bomb on his writers and actors: the plan to adopt William out.

Frank Spotnitz addressed this decision twice in the press (sidenote: I'm including the second interview first; the other will be dissected further down)--

May 24, 2002:

We know now that Mulder is the father of Scully’s baby, William; Mulder states it himself. Yet now that he’s back, the family can’t be reunited, since Scully made the heart-rending decision to give her son up for adoption in one of the show’s final episodes, “William.” “She doesn’t get him back in the finale,” acknowledges Spotnitz, who adds the decision to have her give up the baby was a difficult one. “But I think the decision to have Scully give up the baby was something that, in no small way, makes it easier to do another movie, and really sort of frees you in what that movie can be, in a way that you would not be free if the baby storyline had to be serviced. You’d just have to have another threat to the baby in the movie, and that dictates the entire story of the movie.”

Then again, he adds, “I can’t predict, because I don’t know how many movies there are going to be. I’m sure if there are enough movies, William will become important. Maybe William will be in the next movie. I don’t know, because Chris and I haven’t even started talking about what the next movie might be.”

So, the metaphorical murder (if one wants to call it that) of the Mulder-Scully family rests primarily on CC's head. But in an unexpected twist, Spotnitz lays the weapon at Carter and Duchovny's feet.

WAS DAVID DUCHOVNY INVOLVED?

The discussion of William's adoption inevitably winds back to whispers about David's fraternization.

CONFLICTING REPORTS

The three prominent statements on the subject are credited to:

Frank Spotnitz, who claims it was CC and DD's choice.

John Shiban, who claims it was CC and Frank's choice.

And Tom Kessenich, whose reports support Shiban's claims.

Frank's take differs most from John and Tom's declaration--

May 2002:

Q: Leading up to the finale, we had the episode “William,” a very pivotal episode for Scully – and one whose ending begs the question of why have Scully go through the pregnancy arc to begin with.

Spotnitz: Yep. I had a lot of reservations about that storyline and about her giving up the baby, and was not at all sure that it was the right thing to do. But in the end, I think it was the right thing to do, because it becomes unsavory. And I think everybody – David and Chris, especially – felt that this was going to be an obstacle to us in the movies. And I think the solution we came up with was kind of Solomonic in its wisdom in the end, which is, it’s true to Scully’s character and the pattern of behavior that she’s had for the past nine years: that she sacrifices her own happiness for a greater cause. It’s true to the tragic series of losses she’s endured over the course of the series, and I thought it was very moving in the end. It kind of helped us go forward with Mulder and Scully – and whether there are movies or not, it serviced them – and us, as storytellers – in a good way.

John's rendition agrees with and contradicts Frank's: he concurs that it was CC's initiative; but believes Spotnitz, not Duchovny, was Carter's co-conspirator.

2002:

Shiban gives away very little about the finale but does answer some questions about baby William, who we last saw being given up for adoption in the episode William. “We all discussed it and knew we wanted to bring some closure to that story as we were trying to do with everything on the series. There was some debate about what to do and what the best thing to do was. That idea (giving William up for adoption) was from Chris and Frank. It’s a safe place for the baby. I don’t think anybody wanted to continue playing jeopardy for the baby any longer. It started to become for all of us painful. The great thing about this solution is that it was a way to cure the baby in a very satisfying manner because it was a part of this revenge plot of Spender’s. It leaves Mulder and Scully with a huge emotional burden. You see in the finale that they do carry that with them. It’s not just ignored by any means. This is a family issue that must be dealt with. It’s a very, very emotional scene, a touching scene. I think you’ll be happy with the result.” Let’s hope so. ...

Shiban’s other favorite [episode], Existence, is purely personal. “That was my son’s acting debut. He was Scully’s first baby. So that will always stick in my mind as a high point.”

Kessenich outlines not only Shiban's claims but also insight gleaned from the set-- reports more in line with DD's and GA's public communications than Spotnitz's perspective, perhaps.

2002:

Sources close to the show said the decision wasn't wildly embraced within 1013 either. The episode ["William"] was based on Duchovny's Season 8 idea about a mysterious, disfigured person with connections to Mulder who enters Scully's life. According to producer John Shiban, the idea to give up William for adoption originated with Carter and Spotnitz.

Duchovny, Anderson, and Shiban (all parents) reportedly were not thrilled with the idea. They grudgingly consented only after Carter revealed his plan to end the series with Mulder and Scully on the run, hardly in the best position to raise a child.

But what says the Man, the Myth, the Monotone?

THE MAN HIMSELF

It seems David Duchovny cared very much about the show (or about his character, at least): contributing to the mytharc via Mulder's family, focusing on character exploration in The Unnatural and Hollywood A.D., penning Amor Fati's infamous touchstone speech, reworking Closure's ending, advocating for Existence's kiss.

EXaminations further showcases how much effort David Duchovny poured into Seasons 8 and 9 (post here)-- picking up a burned out Gillian Anderson, inviting Chris Owens along, and convincing Nicholas Lea to make one last appearance for the fans (amongst other contributions.) However, Tom Kessenich also highlights his burgeoning frustration with the show--

July 12, 2001:

These fans weren’t the only ones disappointed. Duchovny also lamented how the series had shifted away from Mulder and the Mulder-Scully dynamic after his full-time return for the final six episodes.

“When I came back [in Season 8], I felt somewhat peripheral,” Duchovny said. “Mulder’s story was one of three or four stories and it didn’t feel like the same show to me.”

After Existence's close, David publicly expressed concern for Mulder's arc in his absence.

October 2001:

If the series ended on that note, it would have been a fitting conclusion to one of the TV’s most challenging and interesting genre television shows. Yet, FOX wanted another season. They got their wish, but not without a price – sans Duchovny. Now, the show is going to have to find a suitable way of resolving that kiss without making Mulder’s absence seem like he’s a deadbeat sperm-donating dad.

“I care how they resolve Mulder kissing and running [away],” Duchovny admitted to Cinescape, while promoting his summer feature Evolution.

Years later-- at a 2013 Paley Convention-- David eagerly walked through his memories of and gratitude for the show, his co-stars, the writers, the directors, and his episodes (The Unnatural and Hollywood A.D.) However, Season 9 made so little impression on his or Gillian's memory that both were baffled with the presenter's good-natured reprisal (clip here.) And despite expressing fondness for his first two directorial experiences, DD glossed over "William" with admitted indifference:

"I-- 'William,' I'm not really that attached. I mean, the first two ["The Unnatural" and "Hollywood A.D."] were personal, you know, stories that I had a personal attachment to, in some way or other. And 'William' was more-- more like, you know, that was plot. Um, you know, that was a service, that was servicing the plot of the year at the time. I wrote it because I, you know-- we talked about the plot but it wasn't, it wasn't a very personal episode in that way."

(Gillian Anderson, meanwhile, alternated between forgetting the show's late-stage details-- including William's birth, post here-- and looking back on the show as a job-- post here-- and a legacy she could embrace, post here.)

Given Duchovny's history of actively engaging with the show-- butting in, shifting scenes, and asking to change lines or closing shots-- his marked distinction between the work he was proud of (The Unnatural and Hollywood A.D.) and the work he had to do (William) points towards, as Kessenich put it, "grudging" acceptance.

WHO DUNNIT: FINAL THEORIES

So, we're left with three hypotheticals:

Spotnitz's version: Chris Carter and David Duchovny thought up the adoption plotline. John Shiban and Tom Kessenich (and Kessenich's sources) contradict this record of events. Perhaps CC convinced DD before Spotnitz (though that still conflicts with Tom's information); or perhaps Frank got the wrong impression (thinking Carter and David were the brain trust.)

Shiban and Kessenich's version: Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz thought up the adoption plotline, and pitched the finale to DD and GA and Shiban to win them over. John and Tom's statements back this up, but Spotnitz's contradicts it (i.e. Frank didn't seem to support the adoption.)

A combination: Chris Carter thought up the adoption, and tackled everyone separately in order to convince them. If this be the case, Spotnitz would think CC had convinced DD first, and Shiban would assume CC and Spotnitz were on board with William's excommunication from the series.

I'd wager the last one is closest to the truth.

CONCLUSION

(Credit to: ??)

Consider this meta a spiritual successor to Scully's Pregnancy, Mulder's Abduction, and the Truth Behind Requiem and Season 8 and Requiem, Existence, and The Truth: Cliffhanger, Conclusion, and Cutoff.

Thanks for reading~

May 1999:

Someone asked how he [William B. Davis] could play some of the scenes knowing that what happens is going to be contradicted. What about the scene in Redux with Samantha, for example? Well, he certainly thought she was the real Samantha and that’s how he played it. Then a year later, he heard someone say, “No that wasn’t her,” and his reaction was “huh?”

On "Closure", All Things: The Official Guide to The X-Files:

Paul Rabwin: "It's been seven years. I don't think any of us are going to miss Samantha Mulder. That device and motivation were very strong in the early years of the show. But as the years have gone by, the speculation kind of melted away."

July 20-21, 2000:

Q4 (asAgwabw): I know you already had the episode about it, but I was wondering if you could kind of clarify what happened to Samantha. It was kind of confusing.

CC: Right. It was supposed to be just a little big vague, but Mulder believes that through the course of those two episodes this year, that when bad things are about to happen to children that there is some force, some presence that comes down and, perhaps, saves children from those terrible fates. And he thinks that because of the testing that was being done on Samantha that, in fact, that’s what happened and that she has been removed and will perhaps be returned. She has become starlight, if you will. So that’s what he believes.

Q28: In contrast with her question, in the movie “The X-Files,” well, if Mulder’s sister was also abducted would she also have been on that ship? Or was she abducted by a different race?

CC: Well, the idea was that she wasn’t abducted, this was actually more of a spiritual thing, so we’re going to explore that this year and answer some questions that I think are still outstanding.

May 2002:

Question: What happened to Mulder’s sister?

CC: “She’s in the spirit world. But there’s more. It will be clearly defined in the finale episode.”

July 12, 2016:

“From my [Frank Spotnitz] point of view, the show started out with ‘Mulder’s looking for his sister-- that’s why he’s interested in aliens.’ But at the end of Season 1, Gillian Anderson, who played Agent Scully, got pregnant. And they realized they were going to have to write some episodes where she disappeared for a little while because she was going to have to give birth to her baby. So they came up with a storyline where she got abducted by aliens herself. Well once that happened, you couldn’t just drop that. And so that really became what forced the door wide open on what became known as The X-Files mythology. Because that just led to many, many episodes dealing with the consequence of that event. 

July 28th, 2024: