By
Gruic on
Saturday May 25, 2019 11:46 am
The X-Files last season ended last year on FOX. While the two-seasons revival started with groundbreaking ratings, the anticipation faded away and the number of viewers decreased over time. Simultaneously, lead actress Gillian Anderson announced that the 11th season would be her last, after having spent more than two decades portraying FBI Special Agent Dana Scully.
While the series showrunner Chris Carter first said he would never continue the series without her, he then changed his mind and announced that he would be willing to continue the series without her, making her an "absent center", similar to when David Duchovny left the series but was still a major part of the story in the series' ninth season.
But since then, Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, including the FOX network and now owns The X-Files franchise. The X-Files no longer being the money machine it once was, it is unsure if there would be an appetite from the studio to continue the series at present. What may probably happen, years from now, is either a reboot or a soft reboot, a continuation of the series but with a brand new era, similar to [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=movie&id=20]Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
But in this situation, what do the admirers from the saga do? Do they simply rewatch endlessly their favorite episodes? Is there more? Is the truth still out there?
A small group of fans decided to fight the future and continue the search for the truth with the production and release of a virtual season. Simply titled "The X-Files: Virtual Season 12", the group published their virtual season in a rather original form of scripts.
Published on their site [url=http://virtualseasons.x-sites.org/]Virtualseasons.x-sites as well as [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfics&sort=fanfic_likes&desc=yes]tvore's fanfics section, the twelve episodes became a success in The X-Files fandom, with over thousands of readers across the globe.
Following this well-deserved success, we teamed up with Adam Silva, the leader of the project, for an exclusive interview.
How did the idea of producing a virtual season come to fruition? Can you briefly introduce yourself and the team ?
- My name is Adam Silva and I’m a long-time X-Files fan ever since I was eight-years-old and saw the Pilot when it first aired in 1993, so I really grew up with it. I got the idea for a “virtual season” from fans of Millennium who carried on the series after its sudden cancellation with what they called Virtual Season 4. They wrote their “episodes” in script format. That’s very unique to fan fiction, which normally hadn’t interested me. I thought it would be fun to do the same thing for The X-Files after season 11 ended, since it’s most likely the last season. Looking for other interested writers, I posted on the Facebook group for The X-Cast: An X-Files Podcast, which is the main fan discussion group I’m a part of. Luckily, there were a few that wanted in. Namely, Michael Little, Stephen Lovins, Valerie Kelly, and South Thompson. Paislie Hedley also volunteered to do art work for our episodes, which was great. I was the “executive producer” of sorts, but it became a very collaborative group where everyone had input. Though we live in different places we have all become friends.
Collectively, what was the feedback on The X-Files revival (seasons 10 and 11) in the team?
- I think our group is reflective of the larger fan base where we liked the revival seasons to varying degrees. None of us had an extremely negative opinion, which I don’t think would have been helpful to our project.
Regarding the content, I liked how you manage to introduce back the character of John Doggett. How difficult was it to integrate the character ?
- We all love him. He’s the main character we wanted to bring back because he didn’t get to appear in the revival due to Robert Patrick’s scheduling conflicts. I’m told he’s the best character I write for, actually. It’s easy for me to find his “voice.”
You made an interesting choice writing episodes exaclty like scripts. Seems very challenging. Readers has responded positively ?
- Yes, I think most readers enjoy it. Scripts make it feel like an actual episode, as opposed to the normal format of fan fiction. And I find it preferable as far as my own writing.
Following the success of the 12th season, do you plan to produce a new virtual season?
- We are in the very early stages of something. It’s not a continuation of season 12, but it’s X-Files related.
What are your favorite shows besides The X-Files?
- Current favorite shows would be Better Call Saul, Star Trek: Discovery, American Horror Story, and the new Twilight Zone. All-time favorites besides The X-Files would include Breaking Bad, Millennium, and Fringe.
If you haven't read The X-Files: Virtual Season 12, here are the links to each of the twelve episodes:
Episode 1: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=120]Resurgence
Episode 2: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=121]Moloch
Episode 3: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=122]Graceland
Episode 4: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=123]Julieta
Episode 5: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=127]Clown Car
Episode 6: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=129]Memoria
Episode 7: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=131]Y
Episode 8: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=135]Mauvaise Eau
Episode 9: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=136]Tik-Tik
Episode 10: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=139]The Plains
Episode 11: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=142]Even
Episode 12: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=144]Person or Persons Unknown
Episode 13: [url=https://www.tvore.com/?page=fanfic&id=146]Reckoning