n 1993, Fox Television premiered The X-Files, a cop show with a bizarre twist that opened to mediocre reviews. Dean Haglund (who plays Langly) says that when he got the call for a part, he couldn't imagine that a show about FBI agents chasing flying saucers had a chance. However, just as the show began to strike a chord with fans, a little thing called the Internet offered an opportunity TV show fans hadn't had before: the ability to create a virtual community of people just like themselves.
X-Philes is a documentary that explores the show's fans and how the stars of The X-Files feel about the fandom that's sprung up around them. The fans themselves get a chance to discuss everything from merchandising to what it's like to be a fan. Interspersed with the fans' views are thoughtful interviews with Haglund, Bruce Harwood (Byers), and Rebecca Toolan (Ma Mulder). There's a quick chat with Chris Carter (who talks through a car window) and there are also some "caught on tape" moments featuring David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Nicholas Lea.
The documentary travels from Vancouver, British Columbia, to New York City, stalking a variety of conventions, events and location shoots. The filmmakers mainly present the fans, true believers who happily chat about the show, how they feel about the stars and what their involvement in fandom means to them. The stars admit they're often at a loss to understand the intense reactions of the fans. However, Haglund and Harwood appreciate the fans. Their characters were specifically brought back after one-time appearances because of their popularity with the fans.
Further investigation needed
X-Philes is a must-have for dedicated X-Files fans. While it gives only a few glimpses of Anderson and Duchovny, and Tom Braidwood (Frohike) and Mitch Pileggi (Skinner) don't appear at all, this documentary gives insight into what the other stars and the fans think and feel about the business of fandom.
There are some particularly nice moments, such as when Lea stops to chat with two Scottish women who've discovered an X-Files shooting location, and humorous points, like when two autograph hounds tail Duchovny's limo through the streets of New York. The fans come across as real people with varying degrees of passion about the show. Interesting topics are brought up, such as merchandising, the responsibility of the stars to the fans, celebrity stalking and Carter's view that X-Files fandom is something of a "new religion." However, none of that is explored with any depth. It would have been nice if directors Clements and Bowen had narrowed their view and delved a bit deeper. It's great to see the fans get a chance to talk, but X-Philes isn't as funny, poignant or deep as Trekkies, the film that explored Star Trek fandom.
USA Today announced last week that Nicholas Lea was the actor its readers had voted as most likely to become the next great action star. The newspaper admitted that Lea's fans had used Web sites to help stuff the ballot box. Fans of a television show using the Internet to affect the poll of a national newspaper--now that's power.
