The X-Files
The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.
GenerationofSwine@GenerationofSwine
I can't believe I'm the only idiot writing an X-Files review here.
Anyway, I still don't understand Piper Maru, it was a good episode but not really worth the praise it gets, and let's be honest, the Monster of the Week episodes were always better than the Mytharc ones...
... mostly better. There was were some pretty darn good mythology episodes, and there were ones like Piper Maru that were OK but not great.
It was probably the ultimate television drama and an influence to everyone that wanted to achieve greatness on the small screen. It really showed what you could do with a one hour time slot and we were all blessed to have this done, not only because it was done so well, acted so well, and written in a way that invested the audience, but because it pathed the way for people that wanted to achieve that level of greatness.
Television got better because of the X-Files, movies got better... and then politics came and it all sucks now, but for a little while, the X-Files raised the bar for everything.