The X-Files: Difference between revisions

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''The X-Files'' is an American [[Live Action TV|TV series]] that ran nine seasons (1993-2002) and two movies (''[[The X Files (~~Film~~)|Fight the Future]]'' in 1998 and ''[[The X Files I Want to Believe|I Want to Believe]]'' in 2008), and documented the efforts of FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to [[Occult Detective|uncover "The Truth" about cases that defy rational scientific explanation]].

''The X-Files'' is an American [[Live Action TV|TV series]] that ran nine seasons (1993-2002) and two movies (''[[The X-Files (film)|Fight the Future]]'' in 1998 and ''[[The X Files: I Want to Believe|I Want to Believe]]'' in 2008), and documented the efforts of FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to [[Occult Detective|uncover "The Truth" about cases that defy rational scientific explanation]].

Creator [[Chris Carter]] was celebrated for the show's innovative mix of cop-show conventions, paranormal phenomena, government conspiracies, action, wry humor and genuinely scary moments. In the mid to late '90s, the show's high production values and sharp writing helped it reach beyond the usual science-fiction genre fan base to make it one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on television and a bona fide worldwide cultural phenomenon.

Episodes alternate between standalone [[Monster of the Week]] episodes and a complex unfolding [[Myth Arc]] which deals with the government conspiracy and the various factions of aliens. A quarter to a third of the episodes of each season are part of the Myth Arc, including all season premiers and finales and most multi-part episodes. The final season was supposed to be followed by a series of movies that would eventually resolve the ongoing plot, but [[The X Files I Want to Believe|the first post-series movie]] did not touch on the conspiracy plotline and met with lukewarm success. The future of ''The X-Files'' and its Myth Arc remain uncertain.

Episodes alternate between standalone [[Monster of the Week]] episodes and a complex unfolding [[Myth Arc]] which deals with the government conspiracy and the various factions of aliens. A quarter to a third of the episodes of each season are part of the Myth Arc, including all season premiers and finales and most multi-part episodes. The final season was supposed to be followed by a series of movies that would eventually resolve the ongoing plot, but [[The X Files: I Want to Believe|the first post-series movie]] did not touch on the conspiracy plotline and met with lukewarm success. The future of ''The X-Files'' and its Myth Arc remain uncertain.

Now has a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/BestEpisode/TheXFiles Best Episode Crowner]. [[The X-Files ~~(TV)~~/Recap|Recaps were also started.]]

Now has a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php/BestEpisode/TheXFiles Best Episode Crowner]. [[The X-Files/Recap|Recaps were also started.]]

----

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* [[Scully Box]]

* [[Shipping]]

* [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]]<ref>At least according to [[~~Wikipedia (Wiki)|~~Wikipedia]], which claims that the term was invented on ''X-Files'' internet forums in the nineties.</ref>

* [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]]<ref>At least according to [[Wikipedia]], which claims that the term was invented on ''X-Files'' internet forums in the nineties.</ref>

=== This show and its [[Myth Arc]] provide examples of: ===

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* [[The Blank]]: The Alien Rebels have no faces, having sealed every orifice on their bodies to prevent infection by the Black Oil.

* [[Blast Out]]: The opening to "Kill Switch." A rogue AI sends messages to several Washington D.C. drug dealers telling them that their arch rivals are meeting at this diner. All of them come and set up to wait. The final message is sent to a pair of U.S. Marshals, claiming that a fugitive is there, so they burst in to arrest him and cause a shootout. [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|All to kill one nerdy guy in the middle booth.]]

* [[Blessed ~~With~~ Suck]] / [[Cursed ~~With~~ Awesome]]: Tends to be the case whenever the [[Monster of the Week]] is human.

* [[Blessed with Suck]] / [[Cursed with Awesome]]: Tends to be the case whenever the [[Monster of the Week]] is human.

** In one episode, Mulder gains the ability to read minds. Too bad it's {{spoiler|basically making his brain melt}}.

** Gibson Praise can also read minds, which leads to {{spoiler|pretty much all of the show's recurring bad guys trying to hunt him down and kill him}}.

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* [[Deadly Nosebleed]]: {{spoiler|She doesn't actually die of it, but}} this is the only visible symptom when {{spoiler|Scully}} has terminal cancer.

* [[Dead Man's Hand]]: In "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose", has the titlular character playing poker with Agent Scully and holding a full house of aces and eights with the ace of hearts as the fifth card. As one might suspect from the episode name, he dies.

* [[Deal ~~With~~ the Devil]]: {{spoiler|Skinner makes one with the Smoking Man to save Scully's life in season four. Mulder came close to doing the same, but ultimately didn't because he wouldn't have been able to face her afterward.}}

* [[Deal with the Devil]]: {{spoiler|Skinner makes one with the Smoking Man to save Scully's life in season four. Mulder came close to doing the same, but ultimately didn't because he wouldn't have been able to face her afterward.}}

* [[Death By Pragmatism]]: {{spoiler|The Conspiracy}}, despite their best wishes.

* [[Deus Angst Machina]]: The main characters get a disproportionate number of metaphorical [[Groin Kick|Groin Kicks]] just within the few years in which the show takes place. {{spoiler|Mulder has both parents die and is constantly tormented by people who appear to be his sister but aren't, but Scully takes the cake having one parent and her sister die (the sister being at least partly her fault) and the entire abduction plotline.}}

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* [[Elective Mute]]

* [[Emerging From the Shadows]]: A common occurrence.

* [[The End - Or Is It?]]: Leading to [[Fridge Horror]] galore. At the end of many episodes [[Nightmare Fuel|the things Mulder and Scully investigate]] are still running rampant and could be doing who knows what.

* [[The End - or Is It?]]: Leading to [[Fridge Horror]] galore. At the end of many episodes [[Nightmare Fuel|the things Mulder and Scully investigate]] are still running rampant and could be doing who knows what.

* [[Enemy Mine]]

* [[Everyone Can See It]]

* [[Everything's Worse ~~With~~ Bees]]: The [[Government Conspiracy]] uses bees as a vector for spreading [[The Virus]].

* [[Everything's Worse with Bees]]: The [[Government Conspiracy]] uses bees as a vector for spreading [[The Virus]].

* [[Exposed Extraterrestrials]]: Applies to most "Gray" aliens, except in the episode "The Unnatural," where the Gray is wearing a baseball uniform.

* [[Exposition of Immortality]]: Mulder and Scully run across a couple of long-lived characters during the series lifetime; the memorable Eugene Tooms evokes this trope best: Mulder is shown photos of Tooms that demonstrate he's not aged since 1933.

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** He even made his parents call him Mulder!

*** Well, he claims he did. His mom and dad still call him Fox. And Scully's mother calls him Fox as well. Actually, pretty much everyone he knows who's not in the FBI or the Lone Gunmen seems to call him Fox.

** Hilariously, by the time of [[The X Files I Want to Believe|the second movie]], when they've clearly been living together for years, they're ''still'' on a last name basis. Mulder occasionally called Scully "Dana" [[You Called Me "X" - It Must Be Serious|at emotional moments]] in the first few seasons, then mostly gave it up, as if the last names had actually become more intimate by that point. Scully never even tried to call him Fox after the first time.

** Hilariously, by the time of [[The X Files: I Want to Believe|the second movie]], when they've clearly been living together for years, they're ''still'' on a last name basis. Mulder occasionally called Scully "Dana" [[You Called Me "X" - It Must Be Serious|at emotional moments]] in the first few seasons, then mostly gave it up, as if the last names had actually become more intimate by that point. Scully never even tried to call him Fox after the first time.

** The Lone Gunmen are also known only by their last names, likely because two of them have [[Embarrassing First Name|Embarrassing First Names]].

** Most of the agents at the FBI go by last names; Skinner is always called by his last name even after becoming more of a friend than a superior to Mulder and Scully.

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* [[Not Love Interest]]: While it took them seven seasons to get around to making it official, for all intents and purposes Mulder and Scully were best friends/lovers/spouses since day one. It could even be argued that their bond transcended all three of those roles to become something more all-encompassing than most people ever experience. It certainly cannot be ''denied'' that they were the most important people in each others' lives almost since the first time Scully walked into Mulder's basement office.

* [[Not Quite Dead]]:

** Quite a few monsters of the week are shown to have survived their presumed deaths, from the fluke man in "The Host" to the rogue AI in "Ghost in the Machine," but very few of them ever show up again -- which makes one wonder [[What Happened to ~~The~~ Mouse?|where exactly they went.]]

** Quite a few monsters of the week are shown to have survived their presumed deaths, from the fluke man in "The Host" to the rogue AI in "Ghost in the Machine," but very few of them ever show up again -- which makes one wonder [[What Happened to the Mouse?|where exactly they went.]]

** Mulder on more than one occasion.

** Krycek, many times.

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{{quote| '''Mulder''': Whatever tape you found in that VCR? It isn't mine.<br />

'''Scully''': Don't worry, I put it in the drawer with all the other videos that aren't yours. }}

* [[Power of Trust]]: "Trust no one" is a major [[Catch Phrase~~|catch phrase~~]] in the show, but it's subtly ironic -- one of the show's main themes is actually the importance, in a world of lies and conspiracies, of having someone you can trust absolutely. Mulder and Scully spend so much time saying things like "You're the only one I trust," it became a common fandom joke that they were just using "trust" as a code word for "love."

* [[Power of Trust]]: "Trust no one" is a major [[Catch Phrase]] in the show, but it's subtly ironic -- one of the show's main themes is actually the importance, in a world of lies and conspiracies, of having someone you can trust absolutely. Mulder and Scully spend so much time saying things like "You're the only one I trust," it became a common fandom joke that they were just using "trust" as a code word for "love."

* [[Powers That Be]]

* [[Redemption Equals Death]]:

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** Also {{spoiler|Fowley}}.

** And {{spoiler|the Well-Manicured Man}}.

* [[Relationship Reveal]]: {{spoiler|From late season 7 on it's hinted increasingly strongly that Mulder and Scully are already romantically involved. By [[The X Files I Want to Believe|the second movie]] it's undeniable.}}

* [[Relationship Reveal]]: {{spoiler|From late season 7 on it's hinted increasingly strongly that Mulder and Scully are already romantically involved. By [[The X Files: I Want to Believe|the second movie]] it's undeniable.}}

* [[Relationship Upgrade]]: {{spoiler|Scully and Mulder}}, but it happened offscreen and it's not clear exactly when. {{spoiler|The leading candidate is in season 7's "all things," which features Scully evaluating her past choices about life and relationships, leading up to a scene where she's getting dressed in Mulder's bathroom while he's asleep in bed, apparently naked.}}

* [[Rewind, Replay, Repeat]]: Happens frequently, usually when Mulder catches a glimpse of something in the footage that everyone else overlooked.

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* [[Soundtrack Dissonance]]: A favorite technique when coupled with the [[Gory Discretion Shot]]: something horrible would start to happen, and the camera would pan away, with cheerful incidental music being underscored by the sound of whatever godawful thing was happening. Used memorably in "Never Again" and "Home."

* [[Spiritual Successor]]: To ''[[Kolchak the Night Stalker]]''. Several ''X-Files'' episodes are directly inspired by ''Kolchak'' episodes.

** Has its own in ''[[Fringe]]'', ''[[~~Torchwood (TV)|~~Torchwood]]'', ''[[Lost]]'', ''[[Supernatural (TV)|Supernatural]]'' and several other [[Paranormal Investigation]] programs. ''Fringe'' in particular so closely resembled ''X-Files'' that it was criticized by fans as being a ripoff of the original.

** Has its own in ''[[Fringe]]'', ''[[Torchwood]]'', ''[[Lost]]'', ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' and several other [[Paranormal Investigation]] programs. ''Fringe'' in particular so closely resembled ''X-Files'' that it was criticized by fans as being a ripoff of the original.

** It also influenced the mood and writing of less obviously related shows like ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' (which Joss Whedon described as ''[[My So-Called Life]]'' meets ''The X-Files''), ''[[Alias (TV)|Alias]]'', ''[[Bones]]'' and ''[[Eleventh Hour]]''.

** It also influenced the mood and writing of less obviously related shows like ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' (which Joss Whedon described as ''[[My So-Called Life]]'' meets ''The X-Files''), ''[[Alias (TV series)|Alias]]'', ''[[Bones]]'' and ''[[Eleventh Hour]]''.

* [[Staring Kid]]: Used in the episode ''Fearful Symmetry''.

* [[Start to Corpse]]: Varies, but episodes frequently opened with unfortunate victims dying in mysterious ways, so it was often pretty close to zero.

* [[Stating the Simple Solution]]: The First Elder constantly suggests killing Mulder...only to be overruled by the other conspiracy members, who are either feeding him information or manipulating him for their own purposes.

* [[Strapped to An Operating Table]]

* [[Surveillance As the Plot Demands]]: Just assume the Conspiracy is always spying on everything.

* [[Surveillance as the Plot Demands]]: Just assume the Conspiracy is always spying on everything.

* [[Suspiciously Similar Substitute]]: Carefully and consistently averted.

** X was very different from Deep Throat, replacing grandfatherly benevolence with deadly pragmatism.

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** Doggett and Reyes were very different from Mulder and Scully, replacing the Absolute Believer/Healthy Skeptic dichotomy with Absolute Skeptic/Open-Minded, and replacing Mulder and Scully's [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy]] with a more conventional gender dynamic. While they become close, they're never as [[Living Emotional Crutch|emotionally dependent on each other]] as Mulder and Scully could be {{spoiler|even before they were romantically involved}}, and they're on a [[First-Name Basis]] right from the start.

* [[Sympathetic Murderer]]: Very common. You're usually supposed to feel at least some degree of sympathy for the monster, even if Mulder and Scully end up having to kill it.

* [[Tragic Keepsake]]: Scully always wears a small gold cross necklace. When she's [[Alien Abduction|abducted]] near the beginning of season 2, it's torn off, and Mulder wears it himself for the three months she's missing. It shows up a few more times when they're separated as a symbol of their bond: Mulder finds it again when he's tracking down Scully in [[The X Files Fight the Future|the first movie]], and [[The Ladys Favor|she apparently gave it to him to wear before he went off alone]] and got himself [[Put On a Bus|abducted]] at the end of season 7.

* [[Tragic Keepsake]]: Scully always wears a small gold cross necklace. When she's [[Alien Abduction|abducted]] near the beginning of season 2, it's torn off, and Mulder wears it himself for the three months she's missing. It shows up a few more times when they're separated as a symbol of their bond: Mulder finds it again when he's tracking down Scully in [[The X Files Fight the Future|the first movie]], and [[The Ladys Favor|she apparently gave it to him to wear before he went off alone]] and got himself [[Put on a Bus|abducted]] at the end of season 7.

** The last one is pretty much something that shows up in a lot of fanfiction, but didn't actually happen. It's likely assumed because Scully isn't seen wearing her cross in the last scene of "Requiem," when she's in the hospital and it's gone for most of "Within," the first episode of season 8. However, when she's driving through the desert with Skinner near the end of the episode, it's plainly seen.

* [[True Love Is Exceptional]]

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* [[AI Is a Crapshoot|A.I. is a Crapshoot]]: "Ghost in the Machine," "Kill Switch" and "First-Person Shooter".

* [[Alien Autopsy]]:

** [[Playing ~~With~~ a Trope|Played With]] this one as well as made a [[Shout-Out]] to, and a [[Take That]] against, the [[Trope Maker]] in the episode "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space''." According to [[Agent Scully]]'s [[Rashomon Style|interpretation of events]], an autopsy which she performed on an alien and allowed to be video taped became commercially released as ''Dead Alien: Truth Or Humbug''. Embarrassed by it, Scully complains that the video ignores several of her findings, chief among them being that the dead alien was revealed to be a [[Man in A Rubber Suit]].

** [[Playing with a Trope|Played With]] this one as well as made a [[Shout-Out]] to, and a [[Take That]] against, the [[Trope Maker]] in the episode "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space''." According to [[Agent Scully]]'s [[Rashomon Style|interpretation of events]], an autopsy which she performed on an alien and allowed to be video taped became commercially released as ''Dead Alien: Truth Or Humbug''. Embarrassed by it, Scully complains that the video ignores several of her findings, chief among them being that the dead alien was revealed to be a [[Man in A Rubber Suit]].

** A videotaped one features in "Nisei".

** "Gethsemane" sees Mulder observe one. {{spoiler|However, an informant who worked for the Department of Defense claims that the subject of the autopsy was not a real alien, but only what [[Powers That Be|"they"]] wanted Mulder to see.}}

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** "Triangle". Possibly.

** {{spoiler|"The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati".}}

* [[Anal Probing]]: Referenced and [[Playing ~~With~~ a Trope|Played With]] often. In "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space,''" for instance, it's Scully's opinion that a young couple whom [[Agent Mulder|Mulder]] believes were abducted by aliens were only engaging in sexual activity before they're old enough to handle it. Mulder, not seeing how this could discredit the girl's interpretation of events as revealed under hypnosis (which resembles the typical [[Alien Abduction]] story), asks his partner, "So what if they had sex?" to which Scully responds, "So we know it wasn't an alien that probed her."

* [[Anal Probing]]: Referenced and [[Playing with a Trope|Played With]] often. In "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space,''" for instance, it's Scully's opinion that a young couple whom [[Agent Mulder|Mulder]] believes were abducted by aliens were only engaging in sexual activity before they're old enough to handle it. Mulder, not seeing how this could discredit the girl's interpretation of events as revealed under hypnosis (which resembles the typical [[Alien Abduction]] story), asks his partner, "So what if they had sex?" to which Scully responds, "So we know it wasn't an alien that probed her."

* [[Animated Tattoo]]: In "Never Again."

* [[Anti-Villain]]:

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** In a later episode, [[Area 51]] [[The Men in Black|Man in Black]] Morris Fletcher claimed to be the one who originally coined the term and insisted that powerful, primal, other-worldly forces are hidden beneath the waves, waiting to be plucked by man.

* [[Better Than Sex]]: In the episode "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space''", when a Lt. Jack Schaefer is speaking to Agent Mulder, he says, "Have you ever flown a flying saucer? Afterwards, sex seems trite."

* [[Biting the Hand Humor]]: In "Nisei", Scully dismisses an [[Alien Autopsy Video]] as "even hokier than the one they aired on the [[~~FOX~~]] network".

* [[Biting the Hand Humor]]: In "Nisei", Scully dismisses an [[Alien Autopsy Video]] as "even hokier than the one they aired on the [[Fox]] network".

* [[Blood Bath]]: In the episode "Sanguinarium", Nurse Waite is discovered lying in wait for Dr. Lloyd at his house, submerged in a bathtub filled with blood.

* [[A Bloody Mess]]: Mulder did this in the third season episode "Revelations". The look on Scully's face was priceless before he explained that it was fake blood.

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* [[Burial At Sea]]: Scully's father, a Navy captain, is cremated and buried this way in "Beyond the Sea".

* [[Busman's Holiday]]: For Scully in the episode "Chinga". Ironic, since the very concept of the X-Files division was developed specifically to avoid a Busman's Holiday every week.

* [[But You Were There and You ~~And~~ You]]: Invoked nearly word for word in "Triangle."

* [[But You Were There and You and You]]: Invoked nearly word for word in "Triangle."

* [[Camera Abuse]]: In "War of the Coprophages", a cockroach crawls across the screen.

* [[Candlelit Bath]]: Scully likes them. Both subverted ("Chinga" - the music builds, we're sure something creepy's going to happen, the phone rings and...it's Mulder, he's bored) and played straight ("Squeeze", "Irresistible").

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* [[Creepy Child]]: Approximately one per season.

* [[Creepy Cockroach]]: In "War of the Coprophages", cockroaches are the [[Monster of the Week]], and at one point one scurries across the TV screen (as if it's [[The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You|IN YOUR HOUSE!]]).

* [[Crossover]]: ''[[Millennium (TV)|Millennium]]'', ''[[The Lone Gunmen]]'', and very possibly ''[[Homicide Life On ~~the Street|Homicide: Life on~~ the Street]]''.

* [[Crossover]]: ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]'', ''[[The Lone Gunmen]]'', and very possibly ''[[Homicide: Life On the Street]]''.

** Richard Belzer's appearance as Lieutenant [[John Munch]] on the episode "Unusual Suspects" is more of a [[The Cameo|Cameo]] [[Shout-Out]] with a very direct [[Expy]].

** And let's not forget ''[[Cops]]''.

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'''Jose Chung''': I'm, uh, familiar with, uh, Detective Manners'..."colorful" phraseology. }}

* [[Dating Service Disaster]]: "2Shy".

* [[A Day in ~~The~~ Limelight]]:

* [[A Day in the Limelight]]:

** "Musings Of A Cigarette-Smoking Man" shows him as a somewhat lonely man, [[Married to ~~The~~ Job|married to his job]] but [[Hidden Depths|willing to give it up to be a writer]].

** "Musings Of A Cigarette-Smoking Man" shows him as a somewhat lonely man, [[Married to the Job|married to his job]] but [[Hidden Depths|willing to give it up to be a writer]].

** "Unusual Suspects" does feature Mulder, but it's ''about'' and stars the Lone Gunmen. "Three of a Kind" is similarly about the Gunmen but has Scully around as a supporting character.

** "Avatar," "Zero Sum" and "S.R. 819" focus on Skinner.

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** There's {{spoiler|a [[Deus Ex Machina]] [[Little Red Riding Hood|woodcutter]]}} at the end of "Schizogeny."

** [[The X Files Fight the Future|The first movie]] has a subtle {{spoiler|[[Sleeping Beauty]]}} thing going on.

** "The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati" has {{spoiler|[[~~The Snow Queen (Literature)|~~The Snow Queen]]}}.

** "The Sixth Extinction: Amor Fati" has {{spoiler|[[The Snow Queen]]}}.

* [[The Family That Slays Together]]: The infamous episode "Home."

* [[Fiction As Cover Up]]: "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space''".

* [[Fiction as Cover Up]]: "Jose Chung's ''From Outer Space''".

* [[Fiery Coverup]]: In the pilot episode, Mulder's motel room is burned to the ground to destroy evidence of alien abductions in Oregon.

* [[Friend to Psychos]]: In "Mind's Eye", [[Lili Taylor]] plays a blind woman who has a one-way [[Psychic Link]] to a serial killer and cleans up his crime scenes after him.

* [[Foe Yay]]: Barnett and Mulder in "Young at Heart". Let's review: Barnett is a [[Depraved Homosexual]] mass murderer who literally gets off on the suffering of his victims, is stalking and playing freaky mind games with Mulder...and in the flashback to {{spoiler|the trial}} we see him mouth "I'll. Get. You." to Mulder right before BLOWING HIM A KISS.

* [[Freaky Friday]]: "Dreamland", where Mulder and an Area 51 security officer get mind-switched.

* [[Fully-Absorbed Finale]]: "Millennium," for ''[[Millennium (TV)|Millennium]]'', and "Jump the Shark" for ''[[The Lone Gunmen]]''.

* [[Fully-Absorbed Finale]]: "Millennium," for ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]'', and "Jump the Shark" for ''[[The Lone Gunmen]]''.

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Carter wasn't allowed to refer to Donnie Pfaster as a necrophiliac, so the phrase "death fetishist" was used instead.

* [[Ghost Ship]]: Multiple instances.

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* [[Hate Plague]]: "Ice," "Syzygy," "Red Museum," "Wetwired" and "Fight Club."

* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Too many to count, from Jewel Staite to Seth Green to Jack Black to Brad Dourif.

** A [[Hey, It's That Voice!]] example: The episode "Small Potatoes" guest-starred [[Christine Cavanaugh]], doing a subtler version of her [[Sonic ~~the~~ ~~Hedgehog (TV)~~|Bunnie Rabbot voice.]]

** A [[Hey, It's That Voice!]] example: The episode "Small Potatoes" guest-starred [[Christine Cavanaugh]], doing a subtler version of her [[Sonic Sat AM|Bunnie Rabbot voice.]]

*** Another [[Hey, It's That Voice!]] from the episode "Never Again" -- the [[Animated Tattoo]] is voiced by Jodie Foster.

* [[Historical In-Joke]]: CSM takes credit for both the 1980 "Miracle On Ice" and the Bills' run of [[Super Bowl]] failures. During a meeting, he's told that [[Gulf War|Saddam Hussein]] is on the phone; he says he'll call him back later. (Note that this is in one of the [[Unreliable Narrator]] episodes, though.)

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** Scully in "One Breath".

** Mulder in "The Blessing Way".

* [[It May Help You On Your Quest]]: Subverted with the spike weapon Mulder's mother directs him to, which he never successfully uses on an alien.

* [[It May Help You on Your Quest]]: Subverted with the spike weapon Mulder's mother directs him to, which he never successfully uses on an alien.

* [[The Jersey Devil]]: Turns out there isn't one, it was just inspired by a tribe of feral humans and their ancestors living in seclusion.

* [[Joker Jury]]: In the first part of the series finale, Mulder is captured by U.S. Marines and put before a show tribunal.

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* [[Kick the Dog]]: A literal example in "Fire."

* [[Kill Sat]]: Used by the A.I. in "Kill Switch".

* [[Kiss Me, I'm Virtual]]: In "Triangle," Mulder (apparently) travels back in time to 1939, where he swiftly gets entangled in some [[World War Two]] hijinks involving various individuals who [[But You Were There and You ~~And~~ You|just happen to look identical to important people in his own life]]. Scully's counterpart is a tough-talking undercover OSS agent in a red cocktail dress. Just before he exits the boat, Mulder grabs her for a passionate kiss "[[Now or Never Kiss|in case we never meet again]]." 1939!Scully, of course, responds [[Kiss Kiss Slap|somewhat differently]].

* [[Kiss Me, I'm Virtual]]: In "Triangle," Mulder (apparently) travels back in time to 1939, where he swiftly gets entangled in some [[World War Two]] hijinks involving various individuals who [[But You Were There and You and You|just happen to look identical to important people in his own life]]. Scully's counterpart is a tough-talking undercover OSS agent in a red cocktail dress. Just before he exits the boat, Mulder grabs her for a passionate kiss "[[Now or Never Kiss|in case we never meet again]]." 1939!Scully, of course, responds [[Kiss Kiss Slap|somewhat differently]].

* [[Literal Genie]]

* [[Literal Surveillance Bug]]: The robo-roaches from "War of the Coprophages". It's implied that rather than spy gadgets, they're actually space probes sent to explore the Earth by a far-off alien civilization.

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* [[The Movie]]: Two of them. The first one is part of the show's [[Myth Arc]], the second is basically a long [[Monster of the Week]] episode.

* [[Mundanger]]: Loads -- mass panic in "War of the Coprophages" (subverted in that there really ''are'' robotic alien cockroaches involved, but they have nothing to do with the deaths in the episode); serial killers in "Grotesque", "Orison" and "Irresistible"; [[The Family That Slays Together|one really nasty family]] in "Home"; organized crime in "Hell Money"; a [[Cannibal Clan]] in "Our Town"; an alligator in "Quagmire."

* [[Murder By Cremation]]: "Hell Money". A gambling ring among Chinese immigrants claims organs as collateral; if you can't pay up (or if you rat), you're disposed of in a crematorium. Alive.

* [[Murder by Cremation]]: "Hell Money". A gambling ring among Chinese immigrants claims organs as collateral; if you can't pay up (or if you rat), you're disposed of in a crematorium. Alive.

* [[Neurodiversity Is Supernatural]]:

** In the episode "Fallen Angel", it's implied that aliens are responsible for Max's epilepsy.

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* [[Reality Writing Book]]: In one episode, a writer moves in to Scully's apartment building and starts affecting her life with his writing.

* [[Reality Subtext]]: In "Hollywood A.D." a film producer decides to make a movie based on Mulder and Scully's adventures, casting Garry Shandling and Tea Leoni for the roles, respectively. Scully mentions to Mulder that Leoni may have a crush on him, which he considers ridiculous. Any guesses to whom David Duchovny is married in real life?

* [[Revenge By Proxy]]: "The Walk", "Theef" and "Redrum".

* [[Revenge by Proxy]]: "The Walk", "Theef" and "Redrum".

* [[A Riddle Wrapped in A Mystery Inside An Enigma]]: The episode "Patient X" contains a variant on the trope phrasing. Agent Mulder, who has grown skeptical of the existence of extraterrestrials but instead believes the alien conspiracy to be a lie concocted by the military to hide ''a different'' and all the more sinister scheme, describes his belief in "a conspiracy wrapped in a plot inside a government agenda."

* [[A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside An Enigma]]: The episode "Patient X" contains a variant on the trope phrasing. Agent Mulder, who has grown skeptical of the existence of extraterrestrials but instead believes the alien conspiracy to be a lie concocted by the military to hide ''a different'' and all the more sinister scheme, describes his belief in "a conspiracy wrapped in a plot inside a government agenda."

* [[Room Full of Zombies]]: In "Millennium", there's a basement full of zombies.

* [[Rube Goldberg Hates Your Guts]]: "The Goldberg Variations" involved a person who manipulated other people's luck, resulting in rather bizarre ends for them.

* [[Russian Roulette]]: The climax of "Pusher".

* [[Saw Star Wars 27 Times]]:

** Mulder reveals in the episode "Hollywood A.D." that he's seen ''[[Plan 9 ~~From~~ Outer Space]]'' forty-two times. He claims that the sheer badness of the film numbs his brain, allowing him to make intuitive leaps and solve problems that have him stumped.

** Mulder reveals in the episode "Hollywood A.D." that he's seen ''[[Plan 9 from Outer Space]]'' forty-two times. He claims that the sheer badness of the film numbs his brain, allowing him to make intuitive leaps and solve problems that have him stumped.

{{quote| '''Scully:''' You've seen this movie ''42 times?''<br />

'''Mulder:''' Yes.<br />

Line 469:

*** In "Irresistible" a character says something like "Scully. Like that baseball announcer."

** Similarly, Agent Doggett is named for Scully's longtime partner in the booth, Jerry Doggett.

** In one episode, a prostitute who gets murdered is called [[Die Hard ~~(Film)~~|Holly McClane.]]

** In one episode, a prostitute who gets murdered is called [[Die Hard|Holly McClane.]]

** "War of the Coprophages" has characters referencing ''[[Planet of the Apes]]'' several times.

*** It takes place in the town of Miller's Grove, a twisting of Grover's Mill, where the Martians first land in Orson Welles' radio version of ''[[The War of the Worlds]]''.

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** Mulder's apartment number ([[Stock Shout-Outs|42]]) is perfect for a man obsessed with [[Hitch Hikers Guide to The Galaxy|aliens and the search for ultimate truth]].

** In one of Doggett's first episodes he's skeptical of a case about someone being able to see through walls, so he comments "Calling [[Superman|Clark Kent.]]"

** The scene in ''One Breath'' where Mulder goes to the CSM's apartment is basically a re-creation of the scene on [[The a Team]] where Murdock gets onto Stockwell's private jet. They're both faced with the possibility of losing someone they care about (for Mulder it's Scully, for Murdock it's the rest of the team), they both get access to a powerful, manipulative man who is supposed to be untraceable, burst in brandishing a gun, and demand information. Also, both are met with a calm, unfazed response from said powerful men.

** The scene in ''One Breath'' where Mulder goes to the CSM's apartment is basically a re-creation of the scene on [[The A-Team]] where Murdock gets onto Stockwell's private jet. They're both faced with the possibility of losing someone they care about (for Mulder it's Scully, for Murdock it's the rest of the team), they both get access to a powerful, manipulative man who is supposed to be untraceable, burst in brandishing a gun, and demand information. Also, both are met with a calm, unfazed response from said powerful men.

{{quote| '''CSM:''' Don't try and threaten me, Mulder. I've watched presidents die.}}

** Compare that to:

{{quote| '''Stockwell:''' Whoever judged you insane, Captain, should have his license lifted.}}

* [[Silicon Based Life]]: "Firewalker."

* [[Silicon-Based Life]]: "Firewalker."

* [[Sinister Minister]]: Common in the religiously themed episodes.

* {{spoiler|[[Someone to Remember Him By]]: Scully finds out she's pregnant immediately after Mulder is [[Put On a Bus]].}}

* {{spoiler|[[Someone to Remember Him By]]: Scully finds out she's pregnant immediately after Mulder is [[Put on a Bus]].}}

* [[Something Completely Different]]

* [[Spontaneous Human Combustion]]: Suggested as an explanation for mysterious deaths in "Fire," "Soft Light," and "Trevor." {{spoiler|It always turns out to be something else.}}

* [[Stalker ~~With~~ a Crush]]: Padgett in "Milagro," who's in love with Scully.

* [[Stalker with a Crush]]: Padgett in "Milagro," who's in love with Scully.

* [[Stepford Suburbia]]: "Arcadia."

* [[Sympathetic POV]]:

** "Hungry" gives this to the [[Monster of the Week]], who is just trying to get by and live with the trouble his power/affliction causes. Mulder and Scully don't appear until the end {{spoiler|and then they shoot him.}}

** "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man" gives one to CSM.

* [[Sympathy for ~~The~~ Devil]]: The episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man."

* [[Sympathy for the Devil]]: The episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man."

* [[Tag-Along Actor]]: The episode "Hollywood A.D." did this with a movie director instead of actors following Mulder and Scully on an investigation.

* [[Tear Your Face Off]]: One [[Monster of the Week]] conducts a ritual that will allow him to change his face by [[Human Sacrifice|killing hospital patients as sacrifice]]. In the end, he cuts his face with a scalpel and rips it off, revealing the new one underneath it. Mulder later finds the old one lying on the floor.

Line 501:

* [[Third Person Person]]: Duane Barry's not crazy!

* [[Timey-Wimey Ball]]: Apparently, a rip in space-time can cause you to [[Freaky Friday|switch bodies]] with someone near you...[[Fridge Logic|Huh?]]

* [[Title Drop]]: In the episode "Travelers", it's explained unsolved cases were filed under "U", until space in the filing cabinets ran out, so they were then put under "X" which had e[[Incredibly Lame Pun|x]]tra room. Thus, the unsolved cases are [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|"X" files]].

* [[Title Drop]]: In the episode "Travelers", it's explained unsolved cases were filed under "U", until space in the filing cabinets ran out, so they were then put under "X" which had e[[Incredibly Lame Pun|x]]tra room. Thus, the unsolved cases are [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|"X" files]].

* [[Toad Licking]]: The episode "Quagmire" had a bunch of slackers licking toads to get high.

{{quote| '''Snorkel Guy:''' Dude, what is wrong with you? You made me drop my toad!}}

* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: The Stokes brothers in "Je Souhaite". And '''how!'''

* [[Totally Radical]]: In "First Person Shooter" and "Kill Switch." Doubly unforgivable as both episodes were written by cyberpunk authors [[William Gibson]] and Tom Maddox, who should know better.

* [[Town ~~With~~ a Dark Secret]]: Lots of them. Played for humor in "Arcadia."

* [[Town with a Dark Secret]]: Lots of them. Played for humor in "Arcadia."

* [[Tragic Villain]]: Rob Roberts in "Hungry."

* [[Undercover As Lovers]]: "Arcadia."

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* [[Wham! Line]]: In {{spoiler|"Leonard Betts"}} -- "I'm sorry...but you've got something I need."

** In "Clyde Bruckman's Final Response" -- "How do I die?" "You don't."

* [[What Happened to ~~The~~ Mouse?]]: Mulder wears a wedding ring in "Travelers", which is set just a year before the start of the main plot. Of course no reference to him ever being married occurs anywhere else.

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: Mulder wears a wedding ring in "Travelers", which is set just a year before the start of the main plot. Of course no reference to him ever being married occurs anywhere else.

* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: "Tithonus".

* [[Written in Absence]]:

Line 531:

** The trio of stoners in "War of the Coprophages" turn up again in "Quagmire".

* [[Your Vampires Suck]]: "Bad Blood."

* [[Youth Is Wasted On the Dumb]]: "Rush".

* [[Youth Is Wasted on the Dumb]]: "Rush".