Showing posts with label Fox Mulder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fox Mulder. Show all posts

Friday, October 21, 2016

Friday, October 7, 2016

Gillian Anderson and The Scully Effect

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via Gillian Anderson's website
Let’s talk about Gillian Anderson and her character Dana Scully from The X-Files.

I had always appreciated the fact that Dana Scully was never your “normal” main female character. Dana fought for what she believed was right, didn’t let people push her around, and certainly did not fit your basic “damsel in distress” picture. Sure, sometimes she needed help, but there were also times where she had to roll up her sleeves and get Mulder out of some difficult situations. If anything, Fox Mulder is definitely more of a damsel in distress.

Don't worry, Mulder, we love you anyway. (via GIPHY)

Then I started reading about Gillian Anderson and completely fell in love with her and Scully. Especially once I learned about The Scully Effect.

So what is The Scully Effect?

“It was a surprise to me, when I was told that. We got a lot of letters all the time, and I was told quite frequently by girls who were going into the medical world or the science world or the FBI world or other worlds that I reigned, that they were pursuing those pursuits because of the character of Scully. And I said, ‘Yay!’” - Gillian Anderson, when asked about The Scully Effect

Essentially, The Scully Effect is what happened when girls grew up watching Dana Scully and viewed the young doctor and FBI agent as a role model. They pursued careers in S.T.E.M fields (S.T.E.M: science, technology, engineering and medicine), inspired by the courageous and unflappable redhead.

Dana Scully was the complete opposite of what people expected the female sidekick to be back then. She was not considered sexy, she didn’t have big boobs or fine legs, she often wore baggy pantsuits, and when not working was usually found with messy hair and loose shirts. Although later in the series, a relationship between her and Mulder was hinted at, that was absolutely not the focus (although Mulder flirted off and on with her which, frankly, I’ve mostly found adorable).


What was the focus? The fact that Dana was a hardworking woman in a field not usually open to women and she was there to talk sense into Mulder and kick butt, not provide eye candy and sexual tension.


Just like Uhura from Star Trek was a revolutionary role model for young black women, Dana Scully made young women realize they could be like her (sans aliens...probably).


Did you know?
  • Gillian told the producers of The X-Files that she was 27 when she auditioned, even though she was actually only 24.
  • She’s an avid art collector and used her first check from The X-Files to purchase a piece of artwork by David Blackburn.
  • Quite the activist, Gillian supports Women’s Rights, Children’s Rights, and Indigenous Rights, among others.
  • Not a fan of The X-Files? Gillian also appears in the BBC miniseries Bleak House and the NBC show Hannibal.
  • Gillian is actually a blonde, but they decided to make her a redhead for The X-Files. As a result, Dana Scully is one of the most famous redheads on TV.
Interested in reading more about The Scully Effect? Check out these articles:
What do you think about The Scully Effect? Think about some of your role models, or even just favorite characters, from movies or shows. How have they affected you?

Saturday, September 10, 2016

The X-Files: An Introduction

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September 10th, 1993: The first episode of The X-Files airs on Fox.

Twenty three years later, the show now has nine seasons, two movies, and a mini tenth series under its belt. I'm pretty sure that nobody expected a show about a believer, a skeptic, aliens, and government conspiracies to become an occult favorite and one of the longest running Science Fiction shows out there [Stargate SG-1, Doctor Who, and Supernatural are among the shows that have managed to last longer].

But here we are.


So What Are The X-Files?

I could seriously go on for hours on The X-Files, but I’ll do my best to just give a summary of the show and some of the characters. 


For the first seven seasons, The X-Files focuses on Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they go through some of the FBI’s strangest cases...known as X-Files, obviously. While some people in the government want Scully and Mulder to uncover the truth, most of them don’t. This, paired with Mulder’s insistence that his sister Samantha was kidnapped by aliens when she was a kid, is the running plot line for the show. After season seven, Mulder leaves [Why? Spoilers!], and agents John Doggett and Monica Reyes join Scully in continuing to solve the supernatural mysteries. Since I'm going to mainly be doing episode recaps, I won’t introduce their characters on here until I’ve gotten to the season where they join.
Fox Mulder
[David Duchovny]


Fox “Spooky” Mulder - the believer, the starry-eyed puppy always chasing after the supernatural and paranormal, a precious cinnamon roll who has an unfortunate tendency to make idiotic choices that often results in Scully having to pull strings to save him - from the government, the monsters, and sometimes even himself.


But he's not stupid; in fact, this spooky child has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, which he got at Oxford, and also graduated with honors from the Quantico FBI Training Academy.


He's also slightly colorblind and has a photographic memory.


We can all relate to Mulder [don't call him Fox!] at one point or another.

Dana Scully
[Gillian Anderson]


(via GIPHY)

Dana Scully - the skeptic, the "strong independent woman who don't need no man," a character that revolutionized the way the Science Fiction genre viewed women, who is also a precious cinnamon roll that can kick your butt while rescuing herself and Mulder and throwing logical facts and doing autopsies...all at the same time.


That gif, right there, that’s the show. Yeah. (via GIPHY)


I love that Scully is not your typical damsel in distress. There's a great balance of her needing help and Mulder needing help. She makes dumb decisions sometimes. She's human.


And she's always there for Mulder, even if she thinks he's crazy [which is fairly often].

Walter Skinner
[Mitch Pileggi]


(via GIPHY)

Walter Skinner - the government, the voice of reason, the skeptical believer at times, the "dad" to Mulder and Scully. Honestly, somebody give this man some chocolate for putting up with Mulder.


I mean, really. Skinner deserves better. (via GIPHY)

[You might also recognize Mitch Pileggi from another show that DEFINITELY has an occult following: Supernatural.]


They are the Dream Team.  (via GIPHY)

Monster of The Week


Monster of The Week episodes, also known as MOTW, are the episodes that are generally separate from the “conspiracy” episodes. MOTW episodes largely deal with the paranormal/supernatural, but sometimes it’s as simple as someone with a unique gift or ability, whereas the “conspiracy” episodes focus more on the plot line of aliens and the government and/or Samantha’s disappearance.


There are some actors and actresses that you may recognize from other shows that appear in MOTW episodes.

Like this guy.

That’s right. Mark Sheppard, the King of Fandoms, has an episode.
You might recognize him as Crowley in Supernatural, Canton Delaware in Doctor Who, Curtis Hagen in White Collar...seriously, is Sheppard in EVERYTHING? 

Other notable appearances are a very young Jewel Staite [Firefly, Serenity, Stargate: Atlantis...] and Cary Elwes [The Princess Bride, Psych, Saw…] is a small recurring character in season 9.

In Conclusion…

I’ll be joining you all bi-weekly with recaps on the episodes, starting with episode one. Since we do have nine seasons to go through, I’ll occasionally lump episodes together if they’re boring [because, I’ll be honest with you, some of them are pretty lame or boring. Not everything about this show is absolute perfection, okay??]

Every once in awhile, I’ll take a break from recaps and have fangirly posts [because who doesn’t need a “Mulder Appreciation Post” in their lives?]

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this.

Look at that pose. Mulder is CONFIDENT in his sexy 90s style over-sized coat and ill-fitting suit. My precious child.

Have you seen The X-Files before? If so, who’s your favorite character? Do you have a favorite episode?