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Whoa! Did The X-Files really go that far and make an entire reality TV episode? Yes, it is definitely true! The legendary sci-fi series, more than twenty years ago, turned the opposite way from its usual dark and unseen and showed the chaotic, handheld-camera world of Cops.
The viewers at the time were confused but also very interested, glued to the screen, wondering how Mulder and Scully would cope as real people on the street.
The X-cops episode is the most talked-about and unusual installment of The X-Files ever. It was the year 2000 that saw its full-blown mix of traditional storytelling methods and paranormal investigation by means of reality TV techniques. With its shaky cameras, unpolished interviews, and citizen involvement, this monster-of-the-week episode makes its mark on viewers even now.
What is X-Cops in The X-Files?
X-Cops is the twelfth episode of the seventh season of The X-Files and was first aired on February 20, 2000. The episode was written by Vince Gilligan (yes, him!), with Michael Watkins directing, and it totally deviates from the standard cinematic-like approach adopted by the series to investigate a new format.
It imitates the reality TV series Cops and places FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully under the scrutiny of a documentary film crew that is attached to the Los Angeles police department.
The episode did not engage in the crossover of the two shows' fictional worlds, which is the case usually with such episodes. It rather moved The X-Files characters into a "real-world" setting where they are being watched with shaky cam, abrupt cuts, and unfiltered interviews. This has resulted in a highly engaging experience that feels genuine, messy, and disturbingly near to reality.
The reality TV twist in The X-Files
X-Cops is like a dead ringer for the Cops reality show. Among the most prominent parallels, the use of handheld cameras means they are frequently the only ones to witness unforeseen events. The illumination is very powerful, highly fluctuating, and oftentimes it is the very darkness that engulfs the main characters.
The police officers, the witnesses, and even the people passing by are all subjected to interviews, and it is hard to tell who is the least informed of all those talking, as this leads to the viewpoints of the event seeming to be truly spontaneous, since many of the interviewees do not even know what is happening or who Mulder and Scully really are.
Absence of music, cutting, and framing is the strategy itself. The X-Files usually relies on score, slow reveals, and dramatic angles to build the action. In X-Cops, the rawness of real life carries the suspense. The screams, sirens, and warnings are so real and close that they are almost opposite to the usual style of The X-Files.
Mulder and Scully in a new light in The X-Files
The audience perceives Mulder and Scully differently due to the experimental method. Mulder, who would always go for the less logical option, continues to come up with paranormal theories in front of the cameras and is always eager to talk.
The polarity and surface-level emotions drag along as police officers try to keep their attention only on threats from the world, creating tension through humor that is not so visible.
Scully, as always, remains humorous but is very much skeptical, and in fact, her discomfort here goes beyond the science to the format itself. She does not want to be on camera, she queries what may be seen, and fights Mulder’s viewpoints.
The episode permits the audience to see the characters as the narrative safety net is taken away, and it is a novel view of how they function when the scrutiny is upon them and amidst the real-life chaos.
The mystery creature of The X-Files
At the center of X-Cops is a creature that was supposedly responsible for all the violent disturbances in the Los Angeles area, yet no one could see it. The witnesses gave very different descriptions: some mentioned claws or reptilian features, while others simply stated they observed shadows or nothing at all.
Mulder put forward the idea that the creature might be a tulpa, which is a being that is formed by human beings' subconscious beliefs and fears. This correlates with The X-Files’ long-time fascination with the issue of perception and belief as the determinants of reality.
The significant point is that the episode does not present the creature in its entirety. The creature’s ambiguity is a strong point for the mockumentary style, and it ends up leaving the audience wondering whether the monster is there or not, or if it is just a matter of hysteria.
The doubt also puts to the test the faith the viewers have in Mulder and Scully, and at the same time, it brings out the discrepancy between the certainty of investigation and the chaos of the real world.
Commentary on media and authority in The X-Files
X-Cops could also be seen as an implicit criticism of the relationship between the media and the authorities. The camera crew of the Cops show being there really influences what the audience gets to see; that is, it controls their perception, but does not change the actual events of the story.
The police officers are adjusting their behavior in the presence of the camera, so the audience sees them not only in their moments of tension and frustration but also in their moments of comedy that are sometimes even unintentional.
Mulder and Scully, who usually determine the direction of the narrative, are now placed under the spotlight. The public is only able to get a glimpse of their skills through the reality TV filter, and at the same time, their movements are dictated by the camera.
This interaction reflects the whole set of bigger issues surrounding truth, power, and the changes in storytelling when the observer becomes part of the story.
Standalone but still fascinating
Unlike episodes full of mythological elements, X-Cops narrates a single, monster-of-the-week tale. The audience does not need to be familiar with the principal narrative of The X-Files to enjoy it. The episode's separation from the main story enables it to experiment with the different format, style, and focus that would not affect the entire series' timeline.
This also means that new viewers could at least get the concept of the episode's novelty and appreciate it without any prior knowledge, while the fans could see the characters they were once familiar with moving to a different place.
Critics' opinion then and now
Initially, viewers gave different feedback concerning X-Cops. The audience split into two groups: one group consisted of disillusioned people who did not like the non-classic storytelling while the other group included people who considered it to be an original work. Nevertheless, the show has gradually won over both critics and fans.
X-Cops is even sometimes referred to as the one who opened the door to mockumentary-style television, and it is hard to imagine how much pain and discomfort a long-lived script may suffer from the aesthetics of reality TV and still be loyal to its themes.
Why X-Cops remains significant
Over two decades later, X-Cops still presents a one-of-a-kind episode in the The X-Files series. It reveals the possibility of switching the series to a completely different style of storytelling while still revolving around the same issues: faith, doubt, fear, and perception.
The show has raised big questions about the shaping of reality and what is rightly called the ghost of the narrative, what is called the authority, and what is the audience’s perception by combining the classic paranormal investigation story with a real-world-style filming approach.
It is a reminder that, underneath it all, The X-Files was never simply about scary creatures; it was about the quest for knowledge and the constant struggle between truth and belief.
X-Cops is a truly experimental piece of art in The X-Files series. It completely adapted the Cops format and made a new, immersive experience for the audience, with Mulder and Scully’s characters unchanged. X-Cops, with its ambiguous monster, real-world filming style, and comments on observation, is an episode worth revisiting even decades later.
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It took the risk of playing with forms, and it left the spectators with a mixture of tension, intrigue, and things to discuss long after the credits had rolled.
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