User:Peril

The X-Files is an American science fiction television series that premiered on September 10, 1993 on the Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox). A total of nine seasons were released before the series' cancellation in 2002, in addition to numerous clip shows to recap previous episodes and two feature films entitled The X-Files: Fight the Future and The X-Files: I Want to Believe. The show was created by Chris Carter and follows FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who are the investigators of X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder is a "believer" in the existence of aliens and the paranormal, while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned by powerful forces to debunk and control Mulder's unorthodox work. In fact, early in the series both agents turn into pawns in a larger conflict (termed the "mythology" or "mytharc" by the producers), and come to trust only each other, a close relationship which turned into a romantic relationship. As a counterpart to the long-term story arc, "monster of the week" episodes, ranging in tone from horror to comedy, made up roughly two-thirds of the series. In such stand-alone X-Files episodes, Mulder and Scully investigated bizarre crimes with fewer long-term implications on the storyline.

The cast of the first seven seasons consisted of David Duchovny starring as Special Agent Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully. In season eight Mulder appeared less frequently than usual, because Duchovny tried to make a name of himself outside The X-Files. Season eight introduced Robert Patrick as Special Agent John Doggett. In season nine Annabeth Gish's character Special Agent Monica Reyes became a main character.

The X-Files combined continuing serial drama elements, such as those often found in miniseries and soap operas, with individual standalone episodes that did not require a viewer to understand the show's history prior to watching. Due to these differing episode types, fans as well as the show's producers commonly divide X-Files episodes into two categories:
 * "Mythology" or "Mytharc" episodes told the tale of a governmental conspiracy revolving around extraterrestrials.
 * Standalone or "Monster-of-the-Week" episodes dealt with paranormal creatures and situations, while generally being unrelated to the series mythology.

The list is ordered by the episodes' original air dates. Episodes marked with an asterisk (*) are part of the series' mytharc. Episodes with a double asterisk (**) are part of the series' Alien Mythology.

Series overview and home release

 * The Region B Blu-Ray release of "The X-Files: Fight The Future" is only available as a "2-Movie Pack" with "The X-Files: I Want To Believe" and not on its own.
 * The whole series have been released in Region 4 between 2000 and 2004 originally, with re-releases occurring in 2004, 2005 and 2007 and "The X-Files: Uncover The Truth Collection" box set released on November 25, 2008.
 * Other Region 4 releases are "The X-Files Essentials" on July 16, 2008 and "The X-Files Compilation" on Aug 5, 2009.