"The X Files" X-Cops (2000)

Director:

Michael W. Watkins

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Vince Gilligan (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

20 February 2000 (Season 7, Episode 12)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

The investigation of a neighborhood monster isn't too weird for the crew of Cops to follow around Mulder and Scully.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files | Conspiracy

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin L. Beggs	...	Sheriff #6 (as Kevin Beggs)
Lombardo Boyar	...	Spanish Speaking Deputy
Curtis C.	...	Edy
María Celedonio	...	Chantara Gomez
Daniel Emmett	...	Cameraman
Dee Freeman	...	Sgt. Paula Duthie
Curtis Jackson	...	X-Cops / Edy
Tara Karsian	...	Coroner's Assistant
Judson Mills	...	Deputy Keith Wetzel
Frankie Ray	...	Crackhead
J.W. Smith	...	Steve
John Michael Vaughn	...	Soundman
Perla Walter	...	Mexican Lady

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:TV-14 | Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When the Sergeant interviews the first responder, they get a call about armed suspects (leading them to Mulder and Scully). A crew member can be seen running along with a boom mic on the left side.

Quotes:

Coroner's Assistant: [while doing an autopsy] You got this camera crew recording everything. Why?
Dana Scully: [Smiling at the camera] Because the FBI has nothing to hide.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs "Cops" (1989)

Funny, interesting...And unfairly panned.

I am a fan of the different. The strange, the unusual, the experimental. This sentiment is not always shared. And to the longtime fans of a television series in particular, a general sentiment is that everything is written in stone. To deviate is to blaspheme. And it seems, unfortunately, that is the case with this episode.

Mulder and Scully chase a monster across Los Angeles, to which the witnesses of said monster can not all agree on what exactly the monster is. The twist? It's all being recorded--by the cameramen of COPS.

I thought it was good, funny and strangely charming if a little open ended. But knowing how fans react to the different, strange, unusual and experimental (ironically the very things the X-Files were in the beginning and what attracted many fans, including myself, to the show), I was not surprised to find the episode had been panned. How irrelevant, they howled. Irrelevant to what, one wonders? The tired, seemingly endless plot line about a grandiose alien conspiracy? Is that what we should be saying about the interesting episodes about the Fluke-Man or the ancient killer insects in logs? Surely, there were no Hybrid Alien Government Green-Bloods in those!

Maybe it was just the combination of my two favorite shows. Maybe it was the completely blind-siding concept. Maybe I just love a show that can poke fun at it's self and dare to mix things up. Or maybe it was that itch for the strange and unusual. But regardless, I loved it. And if you keep an open mind, like our intrepid duo, you may very well do so yourself.