The X-Files and The Fictional World of Archives

TV Series Premiere on the Fox Network: September 10, 1993 and the last episode was broadcast on May 19, 2002.

The truth is out there ... in the archives ... the FOI Act notwithstanding ....

Fourth Season, "The Field Where I Died", November 3, 1996

This episode combines reincarnation with a Jonestown-like leader. Phil Farrand, the king of nitpickers, commented:

Was anyone else amazed at how quickly Scully located the photographs of Sarah Kavanaugh and Sullivan Biddle. She's in the [Hamilton County] Hall of Records. She picks two names out of a register. She wanders over to a drawer labeled "Photographs--People, Civil War" and within twenty seconds has located both pictures. (p. 281)

Yes, we true archivists are not only stupified at Scully's feat, but also appalled at the poor storage conditions and other factors that typify Hollywood rather than real-world values when it comes to treatment of precious records.

The Official Episode Summary

Fourth Season, "Kaddish", February 16, 1997

Features scenes in the "Judaica Archives, Upper East Side, Manhattan" (Farrand) where Mulder and Scully learn about the golem recipe.

The Official Episode Summary


  1. The X-Files (Official)
  2. The X-Files Fan Club (Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation)
  3. The Internet Movie Database (includes links to other Web sites)


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Farrand, Phil. The Nitpicker's Guide for X-Philes. New York: Dell Publishing, 1997.

The Official Guide to the X-Files. New York: HarperPrism. Vol. 1-. 1995-.


CONTENTS: The Fictional World of Archives

Submitted by David Mattison, 1996.12.13. Updated 2002.05.15.