“If you could ask Chris Carter, legendary creator of The X-Files, one question – what would it be?”.
This is what I put out there to you, dear reader – now here some answers, from the man himself.
Do you believe in aliens? If so, why?
“I Want To Believe. But I’ve never had any experience to remove my natural scepticism. That said, I do believe there is life elsewhere in the universe. We may even find it on Mars in the lake they’re going to be exploring.”
What, to you, is the most convincing evidence we have of extra-terrestrial life?
“The most convincing evidence is the vastness of the universe. But also that life seems determined to arise wherever it has the chance. Let’s remember there are also non-carbon based lifeforms, so life may be something that we’re not quite expecting, and maybe won’t recognize at first. There may be whole civilizations that have the ability to exist without the biological exigencies of human beings. Or whole civilizations that have come and gone.”
What do you make of the Hudson Valley sightings?
“I take all sightings with a grain of salt. Though I trust the pilot’s accounts most of all. As a pilot myself, I don’t imagine it’s something pilots would report unless they really saw something odd. I think I’m far from alone in this respect.”
What would you like to have happened in Millennium?
“I would have liked Millennium to have survived into the next Millennium. The whole concept of the show is that we were headlong into something dangerous and unknown. Looking back now, that was not incorrect. Our lives were all transformed by an evil impulse that began and hasn’t ended with the World Trade Towers. Unfortunately.”
Were there any monsters that were written but never made it into an episode?
“I can’t think of a monster who didn’t make it to screen. That said, there were ideas that were never fleshed out, that I always wanted to do. We finally did Werewolves in Season 10, but I think we’ve covered the big spectrum.”
How are today’s audiences different from those from the 90’s?
“I can tell you that they’re smaller. With so many networks and so much content, and competition for viewers, it seems to be everybody’s watching something new. And binge watching it. That was the trick in coming back. Knowing we needed to give our core audience something new, but continuing the larger mythology arc, too.”
Do you think you tapped into America’s conspiracy theory culture and/or nurture it as a result of the show?
“We used to nurture a nascent conspiracy culture, but now America’s fascination seems to need no nurturing. We look to QAnon with amazement. Conspiracy has gone mainstream in America, with or without The X-files help.”
The X-Files season 11 is out now on DVD and Blu-ray