I’ve been rewatching The X-Files in the evenings, after all my energy has run out.
I wasn’t allowed to watch shows like this growing up, so I didn’t really get into The X-Files until after college. Since then, it’s become one of my favorites, a comfort-rewatch that has helped carry me through the pandemic.
Before this most recent full-series rewatch, if you’d have asked me about my biggest influences for Girl In Space, I would have probably listed Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek, Mass Effect, and, of course, The Princess Diaries (the book series, not the movie).
But as I watched my way through seasons 3 and 4 of The X-Files, memories resurfaced and I slowly realized how much the show had (consciously or unconsciously) influenced Girl In Space.
It was strange, finding unintentional Easter eggs in your own work. For example, the Season 4 episode “Tunguska” (one of my favorites in the entire series) features Mulder being imprisoned in a small cell… which I immediately recognized as the inspiration for the Enforcer One cells in which X is held in Girl In Space Season 1, Episode 3. From the slot in the door to the lighting to the dimensions of the floors and walls — my eyes went wide when I saw it on-screen.
“That’s where that came from!” I yelled, pointing.
Another example: the opening credits of The X-Files usually ended with the tagline “THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE” superimposed over footage of fast-moving clouds. But in the Season 4 episode “Teliko”, the usual catchphrase is exchanged for “DECEIVE INVEIGLE OBFUSCATE”. While watching this episode, I suddenly remembered hitting “pause” to look up the meaning of “inveigle.” Apparently, I loved it so much that I also used it in Episode 3 of Girl In Space.
It even came back to me that, while writing the pilot episode of Girl In Space, I had initially questioned whether it would be okay if X (my main character) narrated so much of her story into her handheld recorder. I was afraid it would feel unnatural, or seem like a crutch. But then I saw one (and then several) of Scully’s autopsy scenes where she narrates the procedure as she performs it, and I remember giving myself permission: “Well, if Scully did it in The X-Files, it must be okay.”
Okay, okay. I usually like to keep these posts relevant for all creators, so I apologize if you have no idea what I’m talking about. (Though for context, you can check out my fiction podcast, Girl In Space, here. And The X-Files is currently streaming on Hulu.)
Basically, what I want to ask you today is: What’s up there, in your brain, influencing you, that you don’t even remember storing? What are you curating (consciously or unconsciously) in your mind-museum, and how does it come out in your creative work?
Words & warmth,
Sarah