Chris Carter IGN Interview

[ethsnafu]

Hi folks,

I was perusing the web and I found the following at IO9 which refers to an interview that Chris Carter gave to IGN after XF3 was released.

X-Files Goes Back To Its Alien Roots

What was X-Files writer, director and producer Chris Carter thinking with this latest movie? The box-office for I Want To Believe proved that no-one wants to watch hours of pointless character babble. So Carter says he's learned his lesson, and is going back to working with the little green men. Click through for more X-Files 3 details.

In an interview with IGN, Chris Carter explained that:

"We love the alien storyline too, but we felt coming back this time — when a story like this was not only true to the series but allows us to focus on Mulder and Scully more, you don't have to deal with all the complications in the alien storyline. But if there were to be more films — and we're not at all taking it for granted that there will be — but if there were that's something we would definitely want to get back too..."

So...how'd that go Chris? I know people love Mulder and Scully (so do I) but the reason I love them is not as a result of these two sitting down and talking about "their relationship." I don't need to imagine what the X-Files would be like with out the actual X-Files, I was given it in 2, and no thanks. The part that made you love these crazy kids was the suspense and drama. Fox is hot because he's always saving Scully and vice versa — plus they push each others buttons, even when being attacked by an alien spacecraft. It's the relationship after being frozen, beaten and abducted, the parts they piece together in the wake of trauma, that make it a love that will stand the test of time. Take that love out of X-Files and you have a drama about two middle aged nobodies, who are unhappy with everything.

So praise be to Skinner, if they're going to make another, make it about aliens and for martian's sake bring back cancer man.

Does anyone have a link or a transcript of the interview as I am having trouble finding it and I don't recall reading this one.

Any help would be appreciated.

Eth

[Guest WaveCrest]

When writers make these articles are they supposed to be balanced or biased towards one view? It's annoying me, the anti-1013 Productions bias and views towards the second X Files film. It's getting boring.

[ethsnafu]

I think they represent their own feelings whatever direction that takes them in Richard. When you have an outpouring of negativity to something it generally breeds yet more negativity and whilst I have a great deal of faith in people to make their own minds up, misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows and I often wonder how many people simply jump of the negativity-bandwagon as it's currently fashionable. When XF2 was released, professional critics and journalists tended towards favourable or middling reviews of the film it seems to the fans who lynched it in their blogs and so on. Many times when you read a negative review on a website you can generally discover that the person behind the review is a fan whereas a positive review tends to come from someone with no vested interest one way or another.

That's the fandom. As somebody once said "...the business of fandom is to moan at the thing they love the most..." and for a great many fans that proves to be the case.

Except here of course but then we are a special group of folks methinks.

Eth

[Guest WaveCrest]

I try and look for the positive in things, so when I read negative comments about a TV show, film or a song I've liked then I just think they pile negativity on top of negativity (along with cynicism).

[ethsnafu]

It steam rolls doesn't it? Oddly enough I checked out a review site for Lost yesterday and it was receiving the highest numbers of hits it has ever received and increases its comments quota day after day. Why? Is it because people log in in their droves to say how much they enjoy the show? Of course not, they are all moaning and nothing moves a person to his her keyboard quicker than something they don't like. It's just the nature of things. People may well have watched the show for six years and never felt compelled to comment upon it but do something they don't like and you can guarantee that will put power to their elbow.

It is very easy to get caught up in it though especially if you don't enjoy something and then that's confirmed by opinions from others. It validates your belief and makes it seem OK to go on voicing similar opinions.

Negativity begets negativity and no one does negativity better than the fans. I'm guilty of it myself sometimes I'm sure.

Eth

[Libby]

Eth, is it this interview: https://uk.movies.ign...5/895378p1.html?

As for negativity/criticism, I think there are shows that almost invite it, albeit unintentionally. With shows such as Lost and X-Files that have a massive following, there is a fanbase that starts off closely examining everything because those shows have a depth and a detail that isn't seen very often on TV. That does attract a mindset that actively seeks that detail and hence then sees the flaws, the oopsies, the continuity errors, the whatever. From what I've read on newsgroups (XF in the past, and Lost currently) amongst online fans there is a kudos to whoever spots one of those, which encourages other people to look for them. There then starts a cascade of complaints and negativity - partly because it's easier for some people to do that than to write objectively or positively.

Also, I think there's an end-of-show mentality that comes into play for some people. I think for some there's almost a fear that their favourite show will go out with a whimper (I've seen several recent references on the Lost newsgroup to St Elsewhere) and in order to escape any derision, especially by TV critics, aimed at their favourite show, some will opt for expressing negative criticism before the final finale; thus preventing people pointing at them and saying: 'yeah, well, your show sucked, you're such a loser for having wasted all those years on that show'. It's a kind of protection against the playground bullies.

Negativity does have a valid place in fandom, and this board is a wonderful example of reasoned negativity, where people can exchange views and opinions about episodes or aspects they don't like, but there's no dominant view that newbies might think they have to follow in order to fit in. That ties in, somewhat at a tangent, with Jordan's remark: we are all shepherds (i.e. we're not sheep).

[ethsnafu]

Thank you so much for the link Libby and for what was a fascinating read.

Negativity in fandom is a fascinating subject isn't it? A fan is defined by being an ardent devotee of something but in no definition is that devotion described as being something that always manifests as a positive outpouring.

One phenomena I have been observing of late is communities that have evolved through a mutual dislike of something. TheLeisureHive and WhyLostSucks (the latter I only learned about the other day through the Spooktalkular podcast) are comprised of former appreciators of Doctor Who and Lost who have found a sense of unity amongst others who perceive both franchises to have betrayed them. The interesting thing is the belief that people who spend enormous amounts of time repetitively bemoaning or decrying something must be nothing more than a troll or a flamer but evidently this isn't the case as 'hating' is the currency of these places. Indeed, those that defend and praise the show are the trolls on forums like these.

The common retort that these individuals are subjected to is "why watch the show" or "why spend so much time writing about it" but let us not delude ourselves here. These people are fans. They are ardent devotees of something as the definition states but they devote their time to it in the pursuit of all things wrong or inaccurate or contradictory and so on.

I don't have a problem with appraising anything with equal quantities of like and dislike. Truth be told, I am as wary of the 10/10 brigade as I am the 0/10 brigade but it is the manner in which the negativity is presented that makes all the difference.

I have to confess I was never an active contributor to XF boards in the heyday so I have no idea if negativity and trolling was a part of that culture but I have seen many instances of this type of behaviour in the Lost boards I visit of late but never be under any illusion that these people are anything other than fans even if they would hate that label to be applied to themselves or others would deny them of it.

I do know that Lost has made the bed it is currently lying in. It challenged its viewers to solve the mystery and those viewers rose to the challenge and unfortunately it seems like the clues they were given have little meaning when it comes to the solution. Like you said, if you say to your viewers "watch me, scrutinize me, remember every little detail, nothing is without a reason" and so on then you have to be sure that you pay the same attention to the show as your viewers. Ball - Eye = Trouble.

I have to say I am one of those annoying apologists. I tend to sandwich anything I write that is remotely negative with "I love the show, but...." [insert rant] ".....I will still always love the show though" as being negative doesn't come easily to me but I don't mind a little bit of the doldrums every now again as long as it is respectfully put and well argued.

Time to read the CC interview. Thanks for that Libby.

Eth