The X-Files Episode That Was Almost Too Hot For Television

By Chris Snellgrove
| Revealed 1 hour in the past

It’s nearly not possible to overstate the intercourse attraction that The X-Information had again within the ‘90s…along with the scorching onscreen chemistry between engaging leads David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, these two appeared in a number of horny photoshoots, together with the notorious cowl of Rolling Stone the place they’re snuggling in mattress. Actually, after the photograph shoot for that difficulty served as a sexual awakening for a whole era, we didn’t assume this present even knew the that means of “too scorching.” Because it seems, although, one episode was almost too scorching for tv: “Gender Bender,” a season 1 episode whose idea and story saved altering on account of issues that the community would reject it.

Gender Bender

For the writers of The X-Information, the primary season was about testing boundaries, figuring out what labored finest for the present’s story and its characters in addition to what they might get previous the community censors. In “Gender Bender,” writers Larry and Paul Barber started with a easy and provocative query: easy methods to make the intercourse simply as scary as creepy aliens or chainsmoking authorities creeps? Answering this query was principally a mandate from on excessive, with co-executive producer Glen Morgan later saying that the artistic employees demanded “an episode with extra of a horny edge.”

Because the X-Information producers and writers quickly found out, this was simpler mentioned than achieved, and Morgan admitted that “It was troublesome to discover a story that exhibits intercourse as scary.” The episode “Gender Bender” was the reply to that query…form of. The writers got here up with the concept of aliens who might shift gender, however the episode went by means of many revisions on account of issues about how the Fox community would react to sure story beats and normal issues about how the viewers would really feel about an episode questioning preexisting concepts of gender and intercourse, particularly within the ‘90s.

The Lacking Components

Even all these years later, the X-Information writers and producers haven’t opened up fully about what they needed to change for “Gender Bender.” One factor we do know, although, is that they initially developed a creepy second for the episode’s teaser wherein a personality’s crotch started rotting away. This emphasised the entire sexual horror angle a bit of an excessive amount of, and co-executive producer R.W. Goodwin later supplied a easy clarification of why they minimize this second out totally: “if I used to be watching that episode with my child, I’d flip it off.”

Whereas the gender-bending parts remained because of some shapeshifting baddies, this X-Information episode arguably misplaced its authentic deal with intercourse and sexuality. As Glen Morgan put it, the idea of the ultimate broadcast episode was the reply to a really completely different form of query: “what if there are individuals just like the Amish who’re from one other planet?” That reply wasn’t very partaking and “Gender Bender” is fairly (ahem) limp, however it did have the upside of introducing audiences to Nicholas Lea, who would later return as fan-favorite recurring villain Alex Krycek.

As X-Information followers, we will’t look you within the eye and say that “Gender Bender” is an efficient episode, however the story of its growth continues to be fascinating. It’s attention-grabbing to know that the episode started with an intent to deal with scary sexuality however that issues about community censors and viewers pushback saved the present from descending into full physique horror, David Cronenberg fashion. With out these constraints, it’s attainable we might have gotten a bleeding-edge episode the place a melting crotch might be the least freaky factor in the complete episode.