User:StanTheMan/Sandbox

TEST / SEASON 7

StanTheMan/Sandbox Country USA Channel FOX Genre Science-Fiction Investigative Thriller Broadcast 1999 - 2000 No. of Episodes 22 Main Cast Character Actor Fox Mulder David Duchovny Dana Scully Gillian Anderson

Season 7 of The X-Files premiered on November 7, 1999. As with the previous season, Season 7 was filmed in Los Angeles, CA. S7 was a time of considerable tumult for the series; several major changes would occur for the show. Perhaps the largest would be the eventual departure of David Duchovny, who, following a lawsuit regarding payment on distribution of the show, announced his desire to leave the series. His suit would be settled by FOX, and the seventh season would be his last as a full-time main character; he would appear only intermittently for the remainder of the series' run. This news, along with somewhat declining ratings and increasingly more mixed reviews contributed to many in the cast and crew feeling this would possibly be the last season of the show. Towards the season's end, however, some in the crew regained hope about continuing to work, and, at the last minute, FOX renewed the show for an eighth season.

Since it was possible that Season 7 of The X-Files would be the final season, several elements of closure were brought to the series. In terms of the show's overarching background mythology, S7 would provide the ultimate truth regarding the disappearance of Mulder's abducted sister Samantha (which had been the central component of Mulder's 'drive' in the series), as well as a season finale that, to function as a possible series finale, brought back elements from the show's Pilot episode, and would have drastic shifts in the mythology (which would be furthered in later seasons). Also of note would be the episode "Millennium", a semi-crossover in which Carter hoped to also bring closure to the recently cancelled series of the same name. As for the non-mythology 'Monster of the Week' episodes, the thought of Season 7 being the last motivated a sense of experimentation which manifested in several instances, such as "X-Cops" (the fictional crossover with the reality police series Cops) and "Hungry", which tackled new ground in terms of filming and storytelling for the show. Members of the cast contributed in Season 7 as well - Duchovny would write and direct his second episode "Hollywood A.D.", while co-star Gillian Anderson would likewise write and direct her own episode "all things", which would be both her only writing and only directing credit in the show. William B. Davis, who played 'The Cigarette-Smoking Man', would also write his first (and only) episode for the series in Season 7, "En Ami".

Season 7 of The X-Files concluded in May 2000 with 22 episodes and would be the last season to feature the original opening sequence (which had been unchanged since the beginning), as the last two seasons used different opening titles with new images and aspects, both due to the addition of new actors but also as part of an effort to refresh the series.

The following weapons were used in Season 7 of the television series The X-Files:

TEST / SEASON 8

StanTheMan/Sandbox Country USA Channel FOX Genre Science-Fiction Investigative Thriller Broadcast 2000 - 2001 No. of Episodes 21 Main Cast Character Actor Fox Mulder David Duchovny Dana Scully Gillian Anderson John Doggett Robert Patrick

Season 8 of The X-Files premiered on November 5, 2000, and concluded the following May with 21 episodes. Season 8, like the previous two seasons of the show, was filmed in Los Angeles, CA. S8 was a time of considerable change for the series. Following the departure of David Duchovny, who contracted only to return partially for the eighth season following a lawsuit and desire to leave the series during the previous season, the show now found itself needing to fill that void.

Robert Patrick, best known for his role as the T-1000 in the blockbuster film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, beat out more than 100 other actors to land the role of Special Agent John Doggett, a supplemental main character meant to fill the gap made by Duchovny's absence. Duchovny would be contracted to appear in only 12 episodes for Season 8; most of these would be in the latter portion of the season, with only Patrick and Gillian Anderson appearing in other episodes. Doggett, an ex-Marine and New York cop, would be a hard-nosed and non-nonsense presence that would prove to be immensely critical of the paranormal. As such, Doggett would take the role of the 'skeptic' in the show, as Anderson's character Scully had, by this point, shifted (if somewhat reluctantly) more into Mulder's previous role of the 'believer'. The loss of Duchovny was a point of contention for many long-time fans of the series, however the season would receive decent overall reviews from critics, with many praising Patrick's performance.

Story-wise, as Mulder had been abducted in the previous season's finale, this was used in Season 8's opener to explain that character's absence and the appearance of John Doggett (who would be called to investigate Mulder's disappearance and, to this end, would be ordered to work with Scully in the X-Files). Most of the first half of the season would focus on 'Monster of the Week' stories, exhibiting only Doggett and Scully, while the latter half would focus mostly on the overarching mythology, with Mulder's return from his abduction, the revelation of a new type of alien beings, and increased focus on Scully's pregnancy (which had also been revealed in Season 7's finale). The episode "This Is Not Happening" would mark Duchovny's proper return to the show since the two-part season opener (his two appearances in-between were as flashback sequences). The episode would also introduce Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), who would be a recurring character for the remainder of the season and become a main character in the next season of the series.

Of additional note would be the debut of the show's first (and only) direct spin-off series, The Lone Gunmen, which featured exploits of the the eponymous trio. The spin-off would premiere in March 2001, prior to the conclusion of the eighth season of The X-Files, but would would be cancelled in June after only one 13-episode season.

The following weapons were used in Season 8 of the television series The X-Files: