Ultimate Geek Out Reference Guide: X-Files

The truth is out there. Do you believe? Twenty-five years ago, FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully introduced us to a world shrouded in secrecy and wrapped in paranoia. The X-Files chronicled their experiences with the paranormal. What began as a cult hit that blended urban legend, supernatural horror, B-movie science fiction, and shadowy government conspiracy became a pop sensation that changed how television was written. The charisma and chemistry of actors David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, one a crusader for the truth no matter how strange, the other grounded in scientific skepticism, brought viewers back week after week, eager to plunge deeper into the unknown. Now, on the occasion of The X-Files' 11th season, Entertainment Weekly takes you behind the curtain into the show's universe with an all-new Collector's Edition, The Ultimate Guide to The X-Files. This must-have dossier includes an oral history of the show, coverage of every season and both movies, dozens of photographs, a primer to the mythology of The X-Files, and in-depth interviews with David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, show creator Chris Carter, and writers of the show. Whether you are a long-time fan or new to the series, The Ultimate Guide to The X-Files will become a definitive and highly entertaining resource that will keep you on the hunt for the truth.

In Monsters of the Week: The Complete Critical Companion to The X-Files, TV critics Zack Handlen and Emily Todd VanDerWerff look back at exactly what made the long-running cult series so groundbreaking. Packed with insightful reviews of every episode--including the tenth and eleventh seasons and both major motion pictures--Monsters of the Week leaves no mystery unsolved and no monster unexplained. This crucial collection includes a foreword by series creator Chris Carter as well as exclusive interviews with some of show's stars and screenwriters, including Carter, Vince Gilligan, Mitch Pileggi, James Wong, Robert Patrick, Darin Morgan, and more. Monsters of the Week is the definitive guide to The X-Files--whether you're a lifelong viewer or a new fan uncovering the conspiracy for the first time.

From its first appearance in 1993, The X-Files has attracted millions of viewers interested in the paranormal investigations of intuitionist and belief-driven Fox Mulder and his partner, Dana Scully, the "consummate scientist" and skeptic. Addressing questions of trust and authority that plague our information-addled society, the series acquired a large fan base of individuals interested in debating and interpreting the philosophical themes that underlie the symbiotic partnership between Mulder and Scully. The Philosophy of The X-Files concentrates not only on the philosophical assumptions and presuppositions of the show but also on how the episodes portray the process of philosophical inquiry. Editor Dean A. Kowalski argues that both philosophy and The X-Files center around a determination to search for truth despite a frequent lack of information and proper tools. It is no surprise, then, to find the series riddled with common philosophical themes, including metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, political philosophy, aesthetics, and existentialism, among others. The first section of the book addresses the credos put forth by the series and examines the philosophical significance of its three popular slogans: "The truth is out there," "Trust no one," and "I want to believe." In the second section, contributors analyze the philosophical underpinnings of the characters of Mulder, Scully, the Cigarette Smoking Man, and Assistant Director Walter Skinner. A final section is devoted to individual episodes and engages with the philosophical issues raised by "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space,'" in addition to the 1998 film The X-Files: Fight the Future. Two appendixes offer a summary of the main storyline and brief plot summaries of each television episode together with the philosophical issues it raises. The first collection of philosophical essays devoted exclusively to the show, The Philosophy of The X-Files shows a television series successfully engaged with the philosophical quandaries of the modern world and explores how Mulder and Scully's personalities and actions invite inquiry into patterns of human belief and behavior.

The X-Files: The Official Archives is a fully authorized, richly illustrated look into 50 of Mulder and Scully's most memorable monster cases. When an X-Files fan opens up bestselling author Paul Terry's volume, they are gaining access--for the first time--to Agents Mulder and Scully's notes, records, and visual evidence from actual X-File reports. Designed to mimic a collection of FBI case files and packed with such items as autopsy reports, mug shots, lab results, handwritten notes, newspaper clippings, pages ripped from antique books on the occult, and security camera printouts, this fully authorized book is the only one of its kind. Detailing the agents' investigations into 50 cases of cryptids, biological anomalies, and parapsychic phenomena--from the Flukeman to The Great Mutato to Pusher--The X-Files: The Official Archives showcases some of the show's greatest villains (some dastardly, some just misunderstood) and instructs future agents on how to successfully investigate the paranormal. "An amazing creation . . . The amount of detail in this book is phenomenal. What [it's] effectively done here is made the world of The X-Files even more real. It's what I would call pretty much a masterpiece." --The Cryptid Factor

In The X-Files and Philosophy, thirty-six fearless philosophers seek for the truth which is out there, in here, at least somewhere, or (as the postmodernists claim) nowhere. One big issue is whether the weird and unexplained happenings, including the existence of entities unknown to traditional science, might really exist. And if they did, what would be the proper way to behave towards them? Some of these entities seem to flout conventional laws of nature--but perhaps we need to allow for different, as yet undiscovered, laws. If such fabulous entities really exist, what do we owe them? And if they don't exist, why do we imagine they do?        In The X-Files, regular science is represented by Scully and usually turns out to be wrong, while open-minded credulity or pseudoscience is represented by Mulder and usually turns out to be right, or at least somehow on the right track. Scully demands objective, repeatable evidence, and she usually gets it, with Mulder's help, in astounding and unwelcome ways. What lessons should we take from the finding of The X-Files that respectable science is nearly always wrong and outrageous speculative imagination nearly always right?

Chapter Title: X-Files
A fascinating survey of the entire history of tall tales, folklore, and mythology in the United States from earliest times to the present, including stories and myths from the modern era that have become an essential part of contemporary popular culture.Folklore has been a part of American culture for as long as humans have inhabited North America, and increasingly formed an intrinsic part of American culture as diverse peoples from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania arrived. In modern times, folklore and tall tales experienced a rejuvenation with the emergence of urban legends and the growing popularity of science fiction and conspiracy theories, with mass media such as comic books, television, and films contributing to the retelling of old myths. This multi-volume encyclopedia will teach readers the central myths and legends that have formed American culture since its earliest years of settlement. Its entries provide a fascinating glimpse into the collective American imagination over the past 400 years through the stories that have shaped it.Organized alphabetically, the coverage includes Native American creation myths, "tall tales" like George Washington chopping down his father's cherry tree and the adventures of "King of the Wild Frontier" Davy Crockett, through to today's "urban myths." Each entry explains the myth or legend and its importance and provides detailed information about the people and events involved. Each entry also includes a short bibliography that will direct students or interested general readers toward other sources for further investigation. Special attention is paid to African American folklore, Asian American folklore, and the folklore of other traditions that are often overlooked or marginalized in other studies of the topic.

Chapter Title: The Influence of Media
Responding to the surging interest among students for information on topics relating to magic, witchcraft, the supernatural and other mysterious phenomena, Thomson Gale presents this in-depth, comprehensive three-volume set. Information is arranged in an objective manner, presenting varying viewpoints when appropriate, and is written at a level that younger students and researchers can understand. Chapters offer a thorough look at the history of each topic and cover the people and practices, as well as popular literature, television programs and movies, related to the subject. Other features include approximately 300 photos and illustrations; "Making the Connection," a detailed glossary; "Delving Deeper," a helpful further readings section; and a cumulative index. Sidebars highlighting unusual facts, features, and people, as well as related books, films, Web sites, and other sources of relevant information.

How did Fox Mulder become a believer? The X-Files Origins has the answers in this young adult, science-fiction origin story from the #1 New York Times-bestselling co-author of Beautiful Creatures, Kami Garcia. Read this dark thriller to find out why millions of people became obsessed with The X-Files. In the spring of 1979, seventeen-year-old Fox Mulder has bigger problems than applying for college. Five years ago, his younger sister disap­peared from their home and was never heard from again. Mulder blames himself, and his mother blames his father, who has retreated into his top-secret work for the State Depart­ment. In Fox's senior year, his dad has moved him to Washington, DC--away from his friends on Martha's Vineyard. While Mulder doesn't mind the fresh start and not being known as "that kid with the missing sister," he's still obsessed with finding Samantha. So when a local boy turns up dead and another child is abducted, Mulder can't stop himself from getting involved. Could there be a link to his sister's case? As he uncovers the truth, Mulder and his friends find themselves on the trail of a serial killer. Sucked into a world where conspiracies, the occult, and madness overlap, Fox Mulder starts to believe. An Imprint Book

How did Dana Scully become a skeptic? The X-Files Origins has the answers in this young adult, science-fiction origin story by New York Times-bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. In the spring of 1979, fifteen-year-old Dana Scully has bigger problems than being the new girl in school. Dana has always had dreams. Sometimes they've even come true. Until now, she tried to write this off as coincidence. But ever since her father's military career moved the family across the country to Craiger, Maryland, the dreams have been more like visions. Vivid, disturbing, and haunted by a shadowy figure who may be an angel . . . or the devil. When a classmate who recently died in a car accident appears before Dana, her wounds look anything but accidental. Compelled by a force she can't name, Dana uncovers even more suspicious deaths--and must face the danger­ous knowledge that evil is real. But when a betrayal of faith makes her question everything, she begins to put her faith in being a skeptic. An Imprint Book