History Series / TheXFiles

* CrisisOfFaith: Scully started the show as a [[RaisedCatholic nonpracticing Catholic]]. Part of her CharacterArc involved her coming to terms with her faith and deciding she could pray and attend church regularly even if she didn't always agree with everything TheChurch said.

* BigBadEnsemble: TheSyndicate, a shadowy group of powerful individuals led by [[spoiler:Conrad Strughold and the First Elder]] with the [[FanNickname Cigarette Smoking Man]] as TheDragon and the [[spoiler:alien colonists]] as the [[spoiler:GreaterScopeVillain]], with later seasons [[TheReveal revealing]] that its more of a [[TheBigBadShuffle big bad shuffle]] between its various myriad forces & factions; each with [[GambitPileup vastly differing goals and agendas]].

* LetXBeTheUnknown: Subverted, as it wasn't intentional. The files were placed under "X" originally because they needed a way to consolidate all of the supernatural casefiles, and "X" was the letter with the most empty space.
* LightIsNotGood: The classic "aliens have floodlights all over the place" effect.

* LetXBeTheUnknown

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Both Mulder and Scully become this to each other, verging on HeroicBSOD whenever they're involuntarily separated. This is portrayed as basically a good thing; their relationship ends up helping both of them overcome their issues to some degree.

** A very good example is Rob in the episode "Hungry." He's a NiceGuy who has the biological need to eat human brains (it seems to be the only thing he can eat) but he hates himself for it and tries to keep it at bay as long as possible through sheer willpower and appetite suppressant pills. When he does kill, it's only because he's literally starving and can't control his appetite anymore, and [[IAmAMonster he considers himself a monster as a result.]] He usually kills people who are posing a threat to him anyway, like his ex-felon co-worker who was about to bash his skull in with a baseball bat. It's the one time that you wish Mulder and Scully would just leave the guy alone, especially since once you see the two of them through someone else's eyes, it's clear that Mulder can be outlandishly dickish to whoever he suspects, almost to the point of sadism, and Scully just lets him say whatever he wants.

** A very good example is Rob in the episode "Hungry." He's a NiceGuy who has the biological need to eat human brains (it seems to be the only thing he can eat) but he hates himself for it and tries to keep it at bay as long as possible through sheer willpower and appetite suppressant pills. When he does kill, it's only because he's literally starving and can't control his appetite anymore, and [[IAmAMonster he considers himself a monster as a result.]] He usually kills people who are posing a threat to him anyway, like his ex-felon co-worker who was about to bash his skull in with a baseball bat. It's the one time that you wish Mulder and Scully would just leave the guy alone, especially since, once you see the two of them through someone else's eyes, it's clear that Mulder can be outlandishly dickish to whoever he suspects, almost to the point of sadism, and Scully just lets him say whatever he wants.

** A very good example is Rob in the episode "Hungry." He's a NiceGuy who has the biological need to eat human brains (it seems to be the only thing he can eat) but he hates himself for it and tries to keep it at bay as long as possible through sheer willpower and appetite suppressant pills. When he does kill, it's only because he's literally starving and can't control his appetite anymore, and he considers himself a monster as a result. He usually kills people who are posing a threat to him anyway, like his ex-felon co-worker who was about to bash his skull in with a baseball bat. It's the one time that you wish Mulder and Scully would just leave the guy alone, especially since, once you see the two of them through someone else's eyes, it's clear that Mulder can be outlandishly dickish to whoever he suspects, almost to the point of sadism, and Scully just lets him say whatever he wants.

** It also has much in common with ''The Omega Factor'', a 1979 [[Creator/TheBBC BBC Scotland]] drama about a psychic newspaperman and a physicist (''Series/DoctorWho'''s Louise Jameson) working for a government ParanormalInvestigation department. Said department is also infiltrated by a vast conspiracy organization with designs on world domination, through very different methods.

* InfantImmortality: Baby William, at every turn. The number of times that child should have died, before and after birth, are staggering. But not even a scratch.

** Nicholas Lea, who had a brief guest spot in Season One's "Genderbender" as a random character, before going into a major role [[YouLookFamiliar as Alex Krycek in Season Two]]. The character of Krycek himself is an Ascended Extra as he was originally conceived as a temporary partner for Mulder when Scully was missing, and the producers were going to kill him off if Lea didn't do a good enough job portraying him. He instead went on to appear in every subsequent season.[[invoked]]

* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: One of the most horrifying monsters in the series, Donnie Pfaster, is a handsome, charming young man who is actually a necrophiliac SerialKille.

* {{Crossover}}: With, [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer of all things]], ''Series/{{Cops}}''. It starts with a normal episode for the latter, but it's interrupted by Scully and Mulder chasing an [=MoTW=].

* GovernmentConspiracy

* ImAHumanitarian: Eugene Victor Tooms and Rob Roberts. The former only feeds on human livers, and enjoys his murders, while the latter is a remorseful TragicVillain who mostly preys on [[AssholeVictim Asshole Victims]].

* BadDreams: Mulder frequently has nightmares about his sister's abduction; it's probably the biggest reason he's an insomniac.
** Both Mulder and Scully have nightmares about the other during their separate abductions. For Scully, they come so often and regularly that she panics when she ''stops'' having them, fearing that Mulder's death is the reason.

** A very good example is Rob in the episode "Hungry." He's a NiceGuy who has the biological need to eat human brains (it seems to be the only thing he can eat) but he hates himself for it and tries to keep it at bay as long as possible through sheer willpower and appetite suppressant pills. When he does kill, it's only because he's literally starving and can't control his appetite anymore, and he considers himself a monster as a result. He usually kills people who are posing a threat to him anyway, like his ex-felon co-worker who was about to bash his skull in with a baseball bat. It's the one time that you wish Mulder and Scully would just mind their own business and leave this case alone, especially since, once you see the two of them through someone else's eyes, Mulder is outlandishly dickish to whoever he suspects, almost to the point of sadism, and Scully just lets him say whatever he wants.

As a long-running show with a passionate fanbase, the series has attracted many recap, review and parodies from the internet: [[https://www.avclub.com/c/tv-review/the-x-files The AV Club]] had one, primarily by Emily VanDerWerff and Zack Handlen, a former Mary Sue writer has been [[http://iwanttoreview.blogspot.com/ working on a review blog]] of the entire series for 5 years, there's a [[https://twitter.com/TheX_Cast podcast recapping the whole series]] and a webcomic [[Webcomic/MonsterOfTheWeek recapping all the episodes]] has been started by [[Webcomic/{{Narbonic}} Shaenon K. Garrity]].

The show's writers, among them Carter and future ''Series/BreakingBad'' showrunner Vince Gilligan, were celebrated for their innovative mix of cop-show conventions, ''{{Series/Moonlighting}}'' style romance, urban legends, new age mysticism, government conspiracies, action, wry humor and genuinely scary moments. The show's high production values and sharp writing helped it reach beyond the niche ''Series/TwinPeaks'' crowd to make it one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on television and a bona fide worldwide cultural phenomenon. It was one of the earliest shows to be released in box sets (albeit on home video with inflated price tags) with behind-the-scenes goodies. These VHS sets became a common sight in supermarkets and rental stores, which fueled viewership even more.

* SerialKiller: Several times. Most of them are horrifying.