The X-Files Creator Chris Carter Discusses the Revival

It’s harder to hate Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, than it is to love him.

The relationship between Carter and his fans has always veered more toward the first. They appreciated the fact that he created this ground-breaking show, but, the general consensus was this: he didn’t understand what he created, and he wasn’t all that concerned with doing it justice.

Maybe the fans were always wrong. Maybe Chris Carter has always been twenty shades of misunderstood. Or perhaps, like Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny both admitted last week, time grants us all the wonderful gift of perspective.

Either way, when Carter spoke with reporters recently about the revival,  it only took me a few minutes to understand this one essential truth about the man who changed the face of television for good: Chris Carter is not an uninvolved show-runner.

He’s not a man who sat back and let the story develop, no. He’s a man who meticulously crafted a mythology, and yes, struck gold with the chemistry between his two main actors, but always had a plan. In fact, proof of this plan can be found in the way he held on to the “platonic” relationship he’d envisioned for his two leads from the beginning.

But don’t mistake having a plan with not being willing to change it. Chris Carter introduced us to over-reaching arcs on television, was the pioneer of government conspiracies and horror/mystery, and did a whole lot for the way special effects are used in this day and age, but in the beginning, he wanted to do even more. He wanted a completely platonic relationship between his male/female leads. He wanted to prove that men and women could be just friends.

He didn’t get that, but that’s not on him. Stories can sometimes develop a mind of their own. Characters click. Actors click. It happens. And, sometimes, if you resist, you can ruin a good thing. Sometimes, you just have to ride it out. That’s exactly what he did. And, instead of begrudging him, we should thank him for allowing the story to go where it naturally wanted to go. He might have resisted at first, but now, hearing him talk about Mulder and Scully’s “deep love for each other,” it’s clear that he’s 100% in.

On top of that, he’s also a man who understands that he did not create the interest for “government conspiracies,” but he gave them a voice,  and with that, comes a certain responsibility. Twenty three years have passed since The X-Files premiered, after all. The world has changed, and so must the show. If you don’t adapt, you die. And Chris Carter, a self-professed conspiracy nut who did his research back in the day, and then again before the new episodes, is ready to tackle a new era of possibilities.

But, my absolute favorite part of the interview was this: when asked about the possibility of more episodes, this man who, for twenty years has shied away from the idea that this one show would come to define him, seems to have completely embraced his legacy.

He discussed his “government conspiracy” and the “new age of distrust” that seems to exist. He talked about Fox Mulder as a role model. He said he was proud of what the character of Dana Scully did for women in general, and female roles in TV, in particular. He wants to take it even further. He’s not only ready to make more episodes, he has more ideas. He’s committed. All he needs is for us to watch.

If the ratings are there, more episodes will come. And that’s not on him. The X-Files fans. That’s on us.

The X-Files returns to FOX on a Two-Night Season Premiere Event, with the first episode airing Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016, 10:00-11:00 PM ET/7:00-8:00 PM PT, following the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME; and the second episode airing the next day, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016, 8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT.