Why the X-Files crossover was canceled with a CBS drama

David E. Kelley’s unusual stellar schedule drama “Picket Fences” debuted in CBS in 1992, and was, as many media of the 1990s, an aggressive demolition of the tropes of the previous generation. The title, “Picket Fences”, was destined to evoke the placid serenity of the postwar baby boom, describing a common patio feature at the time new suburbs of the 50s. The series, however, took place in Rome, Wisconsin, a place that was everything but placid. The stories surrounded umbrium crimes and, sometimes, inexplicable, and the program regularly addressed sensitive and political issues such as abortion, sexual assault, polyamor and the place of faith in the modern world.

“Picket Fences”, with its soapy stories and its unusual tone, was clearly an imitation of (or simply following the trends initiated by) David Lynch’s 1990 series “Twin Peaks”. This show was also aimed at deconstructing images of media of the 1950s with dark violence and surreal mysteries.

But “Picket Fences” also had a brother in “The X-Files”, the Chris Carter science fiction series in 1993 about a couple of FBI agents regularly assigned to paranormal cases. “The X-Files” regularly presented UFOs, American cryptocians and vast ineffable conspiracies supervised by umbrella agencies within the United States government. “The X-Files” captured examples of the paranoia after the cold war, and remains one of the defining texts of the decade. The unusual and paranormal cases of “The X-Files” would have felt perfectly at home in “Picket Fences”.

As happens, once there were plans to have the two cross shows. Carter and Kelley liked the idea of ​​a crossover, and made a rain of ideas about how Mulder and Scully come to visit Rome, Wisconsin. Unfortunately, According to an article in Pajiba Supply information THRCBS put the Kibosh in the idea. The crossover ended up becoming separate episodes of “The X-Files” and “Picket Fences”.

In the episode “The X-Files” Red Museum “(December 9, 1994, during its second season rather good), Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) travel to a city called Delta Glen, Wisconsin to investigate a series of kidnappings. Adolescents, it seems, it will disappear for a short time, just to return, to get back, to get back, to get back, only A “or” she is a “written in the back. Mulder and Scully also find that some kind of strange experiments have been carried out in local cows. At first, FBI agents suspect that the culprits are local cultists of the church of the Red Museum. Later they discovered, however, that adolescents can be part of their ongo teenagers with alien DNA?

In the “Episode of Picket Fences” Away in the Manger “(December 16, 1994), Carter Pike (Kelly Connell), the resident coroner of Rome, discovered a similar conspiracy that involves strange experiments that are carried out in local wildlife; a cow has given mysteriously a human baby to a human baby (!). Strange played by James Handy.

As happens, “Red Museum” and “Away in the Manger” were simply the two bifurcated halves of the stagnant “X-Files” https://www.slashfilm.com/ Crossover “Picket Fences”. As you can see, the two episodes share similar plot points, and you can see how the respective writers of each program clearly began with the same template, even if the programs ended up following their separate paths.

What happened to the crossover? CBS did not approve. “The X-Files”, a Fox series, was on a competitive network, and CBS simply did not want to play.

Carter and Kelley were in favor, having talked about their ideas in an extensive parking conversation. It seems that “Red Museum” and “Away in the Manger” were destined to be a two parts, with a part that was broadcast as an episode of “X-Files” and the other as an episode of “Pickt Fences”. Therefore, when the crossover was rejected, it was easy for each program to rewrite their respective episodes as autonomous units.

According An old blog called Poobala“Away in the manger” more close to his association “X-Files” making explicit references to Delta Glen, the episode in which the “Red Museum” took place. There is also a reference to a plane crash in Delta Glen, as well as a mysterious doctor named Larson, who was also mentioned in the “Red Museum.” The characters of “picket fences” also passionately mention that the FBI was in Delta Glen investigating things, although there are no mentions of the agents Mulder and Scully. David E. Kelley may not have received permission to have a crossing with “The X-Files”, but he did it anyway.

“The X-Files”, however, was more exhaustive when touring his references of “picket fences”, since the creator of the Carter series seemed to want to make an independent episode as quickly as possible anyway. In fact, seeing the episode of “X-Files” (quite noticeable, but in no way the worst), one may feel that Carter had to pivot at the last minute to include the alien references of Rigueur “X-Files”. The plot on men in black and alien DNA feels tactile. It feels hurried. Which, of course, was.

Would it have been a fun television event for science fiction nerds? We can only speculate.