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Hulu celebrates 30 years of The X-Files with curated episode lists

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“The truth is out there.” Thirty years ago this month, The X-Files premiered on Fox and quickly became a pop culture sensation. The series was initially paired with the sci-fi Western, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., which featured Bruce Campbell in the leading role. But of the two shows, The X-Files captured the public’s imagination with its blend of science fiction, horror, and occasional humor. Series creator Chris Carter tapped into the zeitgeist of ’90s paranoia, and the show made David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson into stars for their performances as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, respectively. Now, Hulu is paying tribute to The X-Files‘ 30th anniversary by introducing curated lists of the best episodes.

Although The X-Files ran for nine seasons on Fox from 1993 to 2001, the series returned for two additional seasons in 2016. All told, there were 218 episodes, two feature films, and one very memorable animated guest appearance on The Simpsons. Within the series, the mythology episodes often dealt with the UFO storyline that ran through the series, while the monster-of-the-week episodes gave Mulder and Scully one-off adventures. There were also paranormal-themed episodes that didn’t quite fit into either of the previous two categories.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in The X-Files: Fight the Future.
20th Century Studios

Here are the lists that Hulu has come up with for the show:

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Best of Aliens and UFOs

  1. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
  2. “Ice” (Season 1, Episode 8)
  3. “The Erlenmeyer Flask” (Season 1, Episode 24)
  4. “Duane Barry” (Season 2, Episode 5)
  5. “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space” (Season 3, Episode 20)
  6.  “Memento Mori” (Season 4, Episode 14)
  7. “Small Potatoes” (Season 4, Episode 20)
  8. “Dreamland” (Season 6, Episodes 4 & 5)
  9. “Requiem” (Season 7, Episode 2)
  10. “The Lost Art of Forehead Sweat” (Season 11, Episode 4)

Best of Paranormal and Supernatural

  1. “Shadows” (Season 1, Episode 6)
  2. “Beyond the Sea” (Season 1, Episode 13)
  3. “Excelsis Dei” (Season 2, Episode 11)
  4. “Elegy” (Season 4, Episode 22)
  5. “Chinga” (Season 5, Episode 10)
  6. “Triangle” (Season 6, Episode 3)
  7. “How the Ghosts Stole Christmas” (Season 6, Episode 6)
  8. “Sein und Zeit” (Season 7, Episode 10)
  9. “Closure” (Season 7, Episode 11)

Best of ‘Monsters-of-the-Week’

  1. “Squeeze” (Season 1, Episode 3)
  2. “Tooms” (Season 1, Episode 21)
  3. “The Host” (Season 2, Episode 2)
  4. “Quagmire” (Season 3, Episode 22)
  5. “Home” (Season 4, Episode 2)
  6. “Detour” (Season 5, Episode 4)
  7. “The Post-Modern Prometheus” (Season 5, Episode 5)
  8. “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)
  9. “Folie à Deux” (Season 5, Episode 19)
  10. “Arcadia” (Season 6, Episode 15)
  11. “X-Cops” (Season 7, Episode 12)
  12. “Roadrunners” (Season 8, Episode 4)
  13. “Invocation” (Season 8, Episode 5)
  14. “Lord of the Flies” (Season 9, Episode 5)
  15. “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster” (Season 10, Episode 3)

Additionally, Hulu will have more X-Files content under the extras tab, including the show’s top 25 UFO Sightings, the Best of Agent Mulder, and the Best of Agent Scully.

Watch The X-Files on Hulu.

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Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
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