The X-Files Episode That Was Almost the Hottest on TV

By Chris Snellgrove | Published 12 seconds ago

It is almost impossible to overstate the appeal of sex X files back in the ’90s…in addition to the sizzling on-screen chemistry between charming leads David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, the two appeared in several hot photos, including the infamous Rolling Stone cover where they indulged in bed. Honestly, after filming that issue served as a sexual arousal for an entire generation, we didn’t think that this game knew the meaning of “hot.” However, as it happens, one episode almost became the hottest thing on television: “Gender Bender,” a season 1 episode whose concept and storyline kept changing due to concerns that the network would reject it.

Gender Bender

To the authors of X filesthe first season was about testing the boundaries, determining what worked best for the story of the show and its characters and what the network censors could pass. In “Gender Bender,” authors Larry and Paul Barber begin with a simple and provocative question: how to make gender as scary as scary aliens or smoking government wires? Answering this question was an uphill task, with executive producer Glen Morgan later saying the creative staff wanted “an episode with a great sense of humor.”

Since i X-Files The producers and writers soon realized, this was easier said than done, and Morgan admitted that “It was difficult to find a story that showed sex as a horror.” The episode “Gender Bender” was the answer to that question…sort of. The writers came up with the idea of ​​transgender immigrants, but the episode went through several reviews due to concerns about how the Fox network would react to certain news bits and general concerns about how audiences would feel about an episode that questions preconceived notions. gender and sexuality, especially in the ’90s.

Missing Parts

Even all these years later, the X-Files The writers and producers haven’t been completely open about what to change in “Gender Bender.” One thing we do know, however, is that they originally created a scary moment for the episode’s teaser where the character’s crotch started to rot. This emphasized the gruesome sex angle a little too much, and co-producer RW Goodwin later offered a simple explanation for why they cut the moment: “If I was watching that episode with my child, I would have turned it off. .”

While gender-bending features are always thanks to some changing bad luck, this one X-Files The episode arguably lost its focus on sex and sexuality. As Glen Morgan put it, the idea for the last episode of the broadcast was the answer to a very different question: “what if there are people like the Amish from another planet?” That response didn’t get much traction and “Gender Bender” is just (ahem) lame, but it did have the good effect of introducing audiences to Nicholas Lea, who would later return as fan favorite Alex Krycek.

As X-Files Fans, we won’t look at it and say “Gender Bender” is a good episode, but the story of its growth is still impressive. It’s interesting to note that the episode started with the intention of focusing on horror sex but that concerns about network filters and audience backlash prevented the show from descending into full-body horror, David Cronenberg style. Without those issues, we might have gotten a bloody episode where the melting crotch is probably the most unusual thing in the entire episode.