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By Chris Snellgrove | Published
It is almost impossible to exaggerate the sexual attractiveness that X-Files we had in the ’90s… in addition to the sizzling on-screen chemistry between hunky leads David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, these two appeared in several sexy photo shoots, including the infamous Rolling Stone cover where they’re snuggled up in bed. Honestly, after the photo shoot for that number served as a sexual awakening for an entire generation, we didn’t think this show even knew the meaning of “too sexy.” However, it turns out that one episode was almost too hot for television: “Gender Bender,” a Season 1 episode whose concept and story kept changing due to concerns that the network would reject it.
gender changer
For the writers of X-FilesThe first season was about testing the limits, determining what worked best for the show’s story and its characters, as well as what the network’s censors could overcome. In “Gender Bender,” writers Larry and Paul Barber began with a simple, provocative question: How to make sex as scary as creepy aliens or chain-smoking government sex? Answering this question was basically a mandate from the top, and co-executive producer Glen Morgan later said that the creative staff demanded “an episode with a sexier edge.”
like him X-Files Producers and writers soon realized that this was easier said than done, and Morgan admitted that “it was difficult to find a story that showed sex was scary.” The episode “Gender Bender” was the answer to that question…sort of. The writers came up with the idea of aliens who could change gender, but the episode went through many revisions due to concerns about how the Fox network would react to certain story beats and general concerns about how the audience would feel about a episode that questioned pre-existing ideas. of gender and sex, especially in the 90s.
The missing pieces
Even all these years later, the X-Files The writers and producers haven’t been completely honest about what they had to change for “Gender Bender.” One thing we do know, however, is that they originally developed a creepy moment for the episode’s trailer in which a character’s crotch began to rot. This overemphasized the whole sexual horror angle, and co-executive producer RW Goodwin later offered a simple explanation for why they removed this moment entirely: “if I were watching that episode with my son, I’d turn it off.” .”
While the gender-bending elements remained thanks to some shape-shifting baddies, this X-Files The episode arguably lost its original focus on sex and sexuality. As Glen Morgan said, the concept of the final broadcast episode was the answer to a very different kind of question: “what if there were people like the Amish who were from another planet?” That answer wasn’t very appealing and “Gender Bender” is pretty (ahem) weak, but it had the benefit of introducing audiences to Nicholas Lea, who would later return as fan-favorite recurring villain Alex Krycek.
As X-Files Fans, we can’t look you in the eye and say that “Gender Bender” is a good episode, but the story of its development is still fascinating. It’s interesting to know that the episode began with the intention of focusing on terrifying sexuality, but concerns about network censors and audience pushback prevented the show from descending into full-length, David Cronenberg-style horror. Without those limitations, we might have had a cutting-edge episode in which a melting crotch is probably the least weird thing in the entire episode.
