The news section is kept
updated with all the latest tidbits from behind the scenes and what to
look for in upcoming episodes. There's also trivia, character biographies,
a picture gallery, episode summaries and other odds and ends.
"In the beginning I had just
two links on my website and one Mulder and Scully photograph," says webmaster
Rohan Seth. "I started adding some downloads, finally I thought about adding
news -- I guess I'll keep updating the site until the show finishes."
The
X-Files Timeline
Michael Marek’s site says
that it "attempts to consolidate every date and chronological reference
made in The X-Files." His timeline is divided up into sections,
from "Prehistory" to "2000 and beyond" and covering all points in between.
The timeline is extensive,
with summaries of every episode, birth dates of characters, and major historical
and scientific events connected to the story arc.
For a condensed version of
the massive timeline, look in the "conspiracy timeline" section. This,
too, is an excellent resource for helping fans keep track of the show's
lengthy, multi-layered mythology.
While the main timeline covers
everything, the conspiracy timeline focuses on most important events and
conspiracies of The X-Files. Both are invaluable to any fan
that needs help making heads or tails out of Chris Carter's pride and joy.
The
X-Files 101
"I wanted to compile a source
of reference for myself," says "Al", webmaster of the X-Files 101 site.
Since I was going to put some time and effort into it, why not share it
with everyone else?"
X-Files 101 features a "Who's
Who" section with over 80 brief character biographies. There are also sections
on the X-Files movie and the show’s mythology.
The episode guide features
complete listings, original airdates and full credit listings. It’s cross-referenced
with alphabetical listings of every writer and director who's ever worked
on the show.
There's also a glossary containing
definitions of more than a hundred commonly used – on the show as well
as on the Internet – X-Files terms. This is particularly useful
when trying to make sense of the countless streams of acronyms used by
the fans on message boards and mailing lists.
The
X-Files In-Jokes List
Laura Witte has compiled
a guide to the many in-jokes fans have uncovered over seven seasons.
"What started out as a little
page to teach myself HTML and help newcomers to the show – as well as to
keep me from forgetting my favorite in-jokes – has grown into a creation
I'm very proud of," says Witte.
This the place to learn the
significance of the recurring numbers 1013 and 1121, what all those weird
episode titles really mean, and why going into the bathroom is never a
good thing on The X-Files.
Highlights include a section
on script differences, which illustrates how much some stories have changed
from first draft to final shooting script.
The lists section is also
great fun. Readers can find out how many times that Mulder and Scully have
been shot, that Mulder has ditched Scully, that Scully has been abducted,
or that Mulder has dropped his gun.
And who does cry more on
this show, Mulder or Scully?
Deep
Background
Webmaster "Brynna" writes
that the Deep Background web site is intended for "helping writers of X-Files
fan fiction with their writing." She assumes her readers are already familiar
with the show, and provides information not found on most X-Files
sites.
The characters section provides
pointers on how characters take their coffee, middle names, family trees,
physical descriptions, backgrounds, hobbies and job details. The places
section provides finely detailed descriptions for Mulder and Scully's homes,
Mulder's office, Skinner's office, and a few other X-Files spots.
The episode guide contains
detailed summaries and an index of episodes broken down by paranormal topics
that starts with "advanced technology" and ends with "witchcraft."
There is a similar breakdown
of the mythology episodes in the conspiracy section, which lists them with
brief summaries of their story arc contributions. Also in this section
are summaries of all facts known about the aliens seen on The X-Files,
the Consortium and their secret project
As if all that weren't enough
to put writers in research heaven, a "Real Life" section provides information
and links for topics ranging from the FBI to forensic science to the paranormal.
The
X-Cellent X-Files X-perience
Finally, there's the X-Cellent
X-Files X-perience. If a picture is worth a thousand words, than the word
count on this site is dizzying.
Features include a well-constructed
episode guide with summaries, quotes and images, but the heart of the site
is the gigantic picture archive.
"My main focus has always
been the image galleries," says the webmaster, "Jamie." She adds that she
will continue to put up pictures even after The X-Files has finished
its run.
There are pictures of the
actors and characters, from the episodes and movie, from behind the scenes
and plenty of collages. Fans could lose hours at a time exploring the picture
galleries - which sounds a little like an X-File in itself.
advertisement
