The X-Files started out with an unusually strong pilot episode, which is now remembered as one of the best episodes in the series. While many pilots have prototypes of characters, Mulder and Scully's first case together doesn't feel like clumsy prototypes - the characters are already strongly defined and the show's style is established.
The show was risky, though, and the network tried to meddle with it in strange ways, such as insisting Scully have a love interest and marketing the series as being based on true events. But Chris Carter won out, and all the remained was a disclaimer at the start of this episode that it was based on actual cases.
The episode introduces some major characters, mainly Mulder, Scully, and CSM. Mulder is at first suspicious of Scully, assuming she is a plant sent to discredit his work, and Scully is eager to work with the notorious "Spooky Mulder." Much of the plot is really just Mulder and Scully getting to know each other and starting to work together.
Their first case is stitched together from UFO lore, and is the story of a group of young people possibly being abducted by aliens. This plays out as a mystery, which gives very few answers but raises a lot of questions. It becomes clear that someone is interfering with their work, but never really states who or why. It's that mysterious and ambiguous nature that made The X-Files what it was - it was a show about questions. The pilot captures that quite well.
The show was risky, though, and the network tried to meddle with it in strange ways, such as insisting Scully have a love interest and marketing the series as being based on true events. But Chris Carter won out, and all the remained was a disclaimer at the start of this episode that it was based on actual cases.
The episode introduces some major characters, mainly Mulder, Scully, and CSM. Mulder is at first suspicious of Scully, assuming she is a plant sent to discredit his work, and Scully is eager to work with the notorious "Spooky Mulder." Much of the plot is really just Mulder and Scully getting to know each other and starting to work together.
Their first case is stitched together from UFO lore, and is the story of a group of young people possibly being abducted by aliens. This plays out as a mystery, which gives very few answers but raises a lot of questions. It becomes clear that someone is interfering with their work, but never really states who or why. It's that mysterious and ambiguous nature that made The X-Files what it was - it was a show about questions. The pilot captures that quite well.