Editing The X-Files (section)

=== Overall ===
''The X-Files'' received positive reviews from television critics, with many calling it one of the best series that aired on American television in the 1990s. Ian Burrell from the British newspaper ''[[The Independent]]'' called the show "one of the greatest cult shows in modern television".<ref>{{cite news |author=Burrell, Ian |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/exfiles-no-longer-partners-once-more-457708.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228030328/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/exfiles-no-longer-partners-once-more-457708.html |title=Ex-Files No Longer: Partners Once More |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=July 17, 2007 |archive-date=February 28, 2009 |access-date=August 17, 2009 |url-status=dead |location=London}}</ref> [[Richard Corliss]] from ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine called the show the "cultural [[Touchstone (metaphor)|touchstone]] of" the 1990s.<ref>{{cite news |author=Corliss, Richard |author-link=Richard Corliss |url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,986144,00.html |title=A Star Trek into the X-Files |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=April 7, 1997 |access-date=August 17, 2009}}</ref> Hal Boedeker from the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' said in 1996 that the series had grown from a [[Cult following|cult favorite]] to a television "classic".<ref>Boedeker, Hal (May 17, 1996). "Having Grown From a Cult Favorite to a Classic, 'The X-Files' Wraps Up Its 3rd Season". ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'' ([[Tribune Company]]). Retrieved August 18, 2009.</ref> The ''[[Evening Herald]]'' said the show had "overwhelming influence" on television, in front of such shows as ''[[The Simpsons]]''.<ref>{{cite news |author=McManus, Darragh |url=http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/film-cinema/x-hits-the-spot-1441514.html |title=X Hits the Spot |publisher=[[Independent News & Media]] |newspaper=[[Evening Herald]] |date=July 26, 2008 |access-date=August 17, 2009}}</ref> In 2012, ''Entertainment Weekly'' listed the show at #4 in the "25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years", describing it as "a paean to oddballs, sci-fi fans, conspiracy theorists and Area 51 pilgrims everywhere. Ratings improved every year for the first five seasons, while Mulder and Scully's believer-versus-skeptic dynamic created a TV template that's still in heavy use today."<ref>{{cite news |title=25 Best Cult TV Shows from the Past 25 Years |newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=August 3, 2012 |pages=37{{en dash}}38}}</ref>

In 2004 and 2007, ''The X-Files'' ranked #2 on ''[[TV Guide]]''{{'}}s "Top Cult Shows Ever".<ref name="top cult">{{cite web |title=TV Guide Names the Top Cult Shows Ever |url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/top-cult-shows-40239.aspx |work=[[TV Guide]] |access-date=June 29, 2007 |date=July 27, 1998}}</ref> In 2002, the show ranked as [[TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time|the 37th best television show of all time]].<ref>{{cite web |title=TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tv-guide-names-top-50-shows/ |work=[[CBS News]] |publisher=[[CBS Corporation]] |date=April 26, 2002 |access-date=July 29, 2009}}</ref> In 1997, the episodes "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Small Potatoes" respectively ranked #10 and #72 on "[[TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time]]".<ref>{{cite magazine |year=1997 |title=Special Collector's Issue: 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time |magazine=[[TV Guide]] |issue=June 28 {{en dash}} July 4 }}</ref> In 2013, ''TV Guide'' included it in its list of the "60 Greatest Dramas of All Time"<ref>Roush, Matt (February 25, 2013). "Showstoppers: The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time". ''[[TV Guide]]''. pp. 16{{en dash}}17.</ref> and ranked it as the #4 science fiction show<ref>{{citation|title=TV Guide|date=September 16–22, 2013}}</ref> and the #25 best series of all time.<ref>{{cite web |title=TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time |url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/tv-guide-magazine-60-best-series-1074962/ |website=[[TV Guide]] |first1=Bruce |last1=Fretts |first2=Matt |last2=Roush |access-date=October 19, 2015 |date=December 23, 2013}}</ref> In 2007, ''Time'' included it on a list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All Time".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Best TV Shows of All-TIME |url=http://entertainment.time.com/2007/09/06/the-100-best-tv-shows-of-all-time/slide/the-x-files/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111022130310/http://entertainment.time.com/2007/09/06/the-100-best-tv-shows-of-all-time/slide/the-x-files/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 22, 2011 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |access-date=July 27, 2009 |date=September 6, 2007}}</ref> In 2008, ''Entertainment Weekly'' named it the fourth-best piece of science fiction media,<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Pastorek, Whitney |title=The Sci-Fi 25: The Genre's Best Since 1982 |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20036782_20037403_20037541_22,00.html |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |year=2003 |access-date=July 27, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111211212050/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C20037541_22%2C00.html |archive-date=December 11, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the fourth best TV show in the last 25 years<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The New Classics: TV |url=https://ew.com/article/1992/03/20/article-99/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424115846/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076_20207387_20207339,00.html |archive-date=April 24, 2012 |year=2008 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=July 27, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2009, named it the fourth-best in their list of the "20 Greatest Sci-fi TV Shows" in history.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=20 Greatest Sci-fi TV Shows |url=https://www.ew.com/gallery/20-greatest-sci-fi-tv-shows/368759 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=September 30, 2009 |access-date=October 4, 2009 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402152357/http://www.ew.com/gallery/20-greatest-sci-fi-tv-shows/368759 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked ''The X-Files'' ninth best TV show in history, further claiming that the best episode was the third season entry "[[Jose Chung's From Outer Space]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=The X-Files: 1993{{en dash}}2002 | url=https://www.empireonline.com/50greatesttv/default.asp?tv=9 | work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]|publisher=[[Bauer Consumer Media]] | access-date=August 17, 2009}}</ref> In 2013, the [[Writers Guild of America]] ranked ''The X-Files'' #26 on their list of the 101 Best Written TV Series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wga.org/writers-room/101-best-lists/101-best-written-tv-series/list|title=101 Best Written TV Series|website=Writers Guild of America West|date=June 2, 2013}}</ref> In 2015, on ''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'''s entertainment-industry ranked TV list "Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows", ''The X-Files'' appeared at #3.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-tv-shows-ever-top-819499|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919022923/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/best-tv-shows-ever-top-819499|title=Hollywood's 100 Favorite TV Shows|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|publisher=Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group ([[Valence Media]])|date=September 16, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|access-date=March 24, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[The Guardian]]'', MediaDNA research discovered that ''The X-Files'' was on top of the list of the most innovative TV brands.<ref>{{cite news |title=What the MediaDNA Research Found |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/mar/13/advertising.pressandpublishing |date=March 13, 2003 |access-date=July 23, 2009 |location=London}}</ref> In 2009, it was announced that the show's catchphrase "The Truth Is Out There" was among Britain's top 60 best-known slogans and quotes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Forsyth's Winning Words |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/204699.stm |work=BBC |date=October 30, 1998 |access-date=August 17, 2009}}</ref>

''The X-Files'' has been criticized for being unscientific and privileging [[paranormal]] and [[supernatural]] ideas (e.g. the hypotheses made by Mulder). For instance, in 1998, [[Richard Dawkins]] wrote that "''The X-Files'' systematically purveys an anti-rational view of the world which, by virtue of its recurrent persistence, is insidious."<ref>{{cite book |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |title=Unweaving the Rainbow |year=1998 |isbn=9780618056736 |page=28|publisher=Houghton Mifflin }}</ref>