Originally posted by: JediSage
Anyone watch the other show by Chris Carter called "Millenium"? That show was AWESOME for the first two years, then they jumped the shark when they brought him to Washington and paired him with a partner. Lance Henriksen was great in it.

Amen brother, Frank Black mother fucker. After Millenium was cancelled I believe they resolved the series in an episode of the X-Files (I remember it being sloppy and disappointing, though.)

X-Files jumped the shark shortly before Mulder left; T-1000 was a shoddy replacement.

I used to watch the show religiously years and years ago, it was far better than anything else on television at the time. In addition to being genuinely fun to watch (especially the strange stand-alone episodes,) the shows that tied into the running storyline were interesting (at least to me) because they perfectly encapsulated the public's general distrust of government and widespread belief that the whole of world events and significant evil deeds are perpetuated by a small handful of evil, calculating men sitting in smoke filled rooms. No matter how absurd or unbelievable the event it was always incorporated into some grand conspiracy that only the most fringe-thinking (Mulder) would ever suspect and have the courage to expose. The Cigarette Smoking Man reaffirms America's tendency to believe outlandish and unlikely conspiracy theories even in the face of logic, evidence, and reason - and within the confines of the show logic, evidence, and reason have no bearing on actual events. The Cigarette Smoking Man even murdered Kennedy in the show and set up his good buddy Oswald to take the fall, as silly as that sounds.

Being that the country was founded partially on the concept that if the government were to become overbearing and oppressive the American people would be expected to exercise their authority and forcibly remove it, most of the public today tends to question every state-sanctioned baby step in an age where removal of the government by the people is a virtual impossibility... They probably feel as though endless scrutiny is the only way to ensure that an increasingly powerful federal government doesn't operate only on their secret, self-serving whims and move beyond the public's political influence. The controversy that inevitably envelopes all of the moon landings, JFK assassinations, and 9/11's of the world always fascinates me, regardless of glaring evidence and almost complete public exposure most people absolutely refuse to believe that the government did not have a hand in purposefully misleading/damaging the citizenry in every major world event. Not to say that the federal government has never been responsible for vicious acts or depraved conspiracies but the belief that everything is a conspiracy is reflected perfectly in the X-Files. "Trust no one," "The Truth is Out There," "I want to Believe," etc.

I also think it is somehow comforting for people, though, that they believe there is no incompetence within something as powerful and controlling as the Federal Government - only carefully planned events scripted by a small collection of brilliant, malevolent man tweaking the country's invisible puppet strings (after all… at least some one is in control, right?)

Fantasy is more exciting than reality though, so in the X-Files everything really is a conspiracy - and it does it brilliantly.