The Lone Gunmen Controversy (X-Files Spin Off Pilot)

While the X-Files was a medium changing phenomena, and had a 9 year run, a 2 year revival, 2 motion picture releases, toys, and comics, the one thing it never had was a successful spin-off. 0:00 Intro 1:00 Conspiracy Theories 4:42 X-Files: I Want to Believe 6:50 The Lone Gunmen Spin-off 12:30 The Pilot (9/11 Controversy/Coincidence) 15:40 Day Players (The Send-Off) 18:08 My Take The Pilot This user also has the full series posted X-Files only spin-off attempt was “The Lone Gunmen“ which aired as a spring show in 2001, and was cancelled after only 13 episodes. Centered around a quirky group of 3 conspirator journalists that had been recurring characters in X-Files, instead of extraterrestrial and monsters it dealt with government cover-ups and espionage. The overall tone was lighter and more comedic. The Pilot episode featured a plot for certain government entities to orchestrate the electronic hijacking of a commercial plane and fly it into one of the World Trade Centre buildings, in order to start a war on terrorism to increase arm sales. This aired 6 months before the actual 9/11 terror attacks but surprisingly very little was made of this controversy. The reasons for the show’s lack of renewal was due to many factors including X-Files already being on the decline, being stuck on Friday nights, and the changing network landscape toward reality shows including cheaper to make game shows. While X-Files was a serious and dark show, because of that, when they did feature comedy it was quite hilarious partly due to the contrast of the comedy from the drama. Lone Gunmen on the other hand tried for more laughs and rarely succeeded. My apologies in advance to die hard X-Files fans for any mistakes, or simplified opinions. This piece was not done from an X-Files fandom point of view, but from a casual viewers perspective with emphasis on the pilot episode’s controversy. I hope you can enjoy it at least a little bit.