"X-Files" Gets X-ed Out

Thu., Jan. 17, 2002 10:00 AM PST by Mark Armstrong

The truth is out there, and the truth hurts: After nine seasons of sniffing out conspiracies, Fox's The X-Files is packing it in at the end of this season.

Creator Chris Carter told reporters Wednesday that it was time for the long-running series to end, and the finale will air in May.

"It's the ninth inning. We wanted to go out on top," he told Daily Variety. "We wanted to go out as a strong show."

Strong, of course, is all relative: The series has tumbled in the ratings this season, with fans grousing that recent episodes aren't living up to the days of David Duchovny. The X-Files has averaged 8.7 million viewers in its Sunday timeslot, and with costs reaching $4 million per episode, there had already been talk that 20th Century Fox Television was going to end the show's run this year.

Both Carter and star Gillian Anderson have previously voiced their exhaustion with the series, with the actress saying last summer that this would be her last season as Dana Scully so she can focus on being a mom and pursue other projects (she's already adapting the novel Speed of Light for her directorial debut).

Carter, meanwhile, said he wants to end the series with a proper farewell, including a clip show and--for the love of all things holy--some answers.

"I want to be able to wrap things up for the fans who have been there from the beginning and throughout," he told the Hollywood Reporter. "My determination was to go out with a series of very, very strong episodes that are going to pull a lot of threads together from the last nine years."

One thread not yet tied together is whether Duchovny will return for any of the final episodes. Carter said he wanted to enlist Duchovny, but the subject has not yet been discussed.

Since its September 1993 debut, The X-Files went from quirky cult fave to pop-culture phenomenon, turning Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) into sci-fi icons. The series also earned an Emmy nomination for Best Drama Series in 1996 and scored Anderson a Best Actress trophy in 1997.

In 2000, Duchovny gradually bowed out of the series to work on a film career, and Carter brought aboard several new cast members to join Anderson, including Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish and Cary Elwes.

Despite Wednesday's announcement, this probably won't be the last we see of Scully and company. Carter has previously indicated plans to make a sequel to the 1998 big-screen version of The X-Files, starring Anderson and Duchovny.