Flying saucer

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A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a supposed type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1930^[1] but has generally been supplanted since 1952 by the United States Air Force term unidentified flying objects (or UFOs for short). Early reported sightings of unknown "flying saucers" usually described them as silver or metallic, sometimes reported as covered with navigation lights or surrounded with a glowing light, hovering or moving rapidly, either alone or in tight formations with other similar craft, and exhibiting high maneuverability.

In popular culture

After 1947, the flying saucer quickly became a stereotypical symbol of both extraterrestrials and science fiction, and features in many films of mid-20th century science fiction, including The Atomic Submarine (1959), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), as well as the television series The Invaders. As the flying saucer was surpassed by other designs and concepts, it fell out of favor with straight science-fiction moviemakers, but continued to be used ironically in comedy movies, especially in reference to the low-budget B movies which often featured saucer-shaped alien craft.

However, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave its high production value film Forbidden Planet (1956) a flying saucer called the United Planets Cruiser C-57D, presenting a plausible human exploration, faster-than-light starship of the 23rd century. In the television series Lost in Space (1965-1968), the Robinson family had a disc-shaped spaceship. Saucers appeared in the television series Babylon 5 (1994-1998) as the standard ship design used by a race called the Vree. Aliens in the film Independence Day (1996) attacked humanity in giant city-sized saucer-shaped spaceships.

The sleek, silver flying saucer in particular is seen as a symbol of 1950s culture; the motif is common in Googie architecture and in Atomic Age décor.^[25] The image is often invoked retrofuturistically to produce a nostalgic feel in period works, especially in comic science fiction; both Mars Attacks! (1996)^[26] and Destroy All Humans!^[27] draw on the flying saucer as part of the larger satire of 1950s B movie tropes.

The Twilight Zone episodes "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street", "Third from the Sun", "Death Ship", "To Serve Man", "The Invaders" and "On Thursday We Leave for Home" all make use of the iconic saucer from Forbidden Planet.

The X-Files (film)

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The X-Files
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rob Bowman
Produced by	Chris Carter Daniel Sackheim
Screenplay by	Chris Carter
Story by	Chris Carter Frank Spotnitz
Based on	The X-Files by Chris Carter
Starring	David Duchovny Gillian Anderson Martin Landau Blythe Danner Armin Mueller-Stahl
Music by	Mark Snow
Cinematography	Ward Russell
Edited by	Stephen Mark
Production company	Ten Thirteen Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	June 19, 1998
Running time	121 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$66 million
Box office	$189.2 million[2]

The X-Files (also known as The X-Files: Fight the Future) is a 1998 American neo-noir^[3] science fiction thriller film directed by Rob Bowman. Chris Carter wrote the screenplay. The story is by Carter and Frank Spotnitz. It is the first feature film based on Carter's television series The X-Files, which revolves around fictional unsolved cases called the X-Files and the characters solving them. Five main characters from the television series appear in the film: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, John Neville, and William B. Davis reprise their respective roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, Well-Manicured Man, and the Cigarette-Smoking Man. The film was promoted with the tagline Fight the Future.

The X-Files

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This article is about the television series. For the franchise, see The X-Files (franchise). For other uses, see The X-Files (disambiguation).

The X-Files
Genre	Science fiction[1] Horror[1] Drama[2] Mystery[3] Thriller[4] Supernatural fiction[5] Occult detective fiction
Created by	Chris Carter
Starring	David Duchovny Gillian Anderson Robert Patrick Annabeth Gish Mitch Pileggi
Music by	Mark Snow
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	218 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Chris Carter R. W. Goodwin Howard Gordon Frank Spotnitz Vince Gilligan John Shiban Kim Manners Glen Morgan James Wong Michelle MacLaren Michael W. Watkins David Greenwalt
Production location(s)	Vancouver (seasons 1–5, 10–11) Los Angeles (seasons 6–9)
Running time	45 minutes
Production company(s)	Ten Thirteen Productions 20th Television (1993–1995) 20th Century Fox Television (1995–2002, 2016–2018)
Distributor	20th Television
Release
Original network	Fox
Picture format	480i (original broadcast) 480i (DVD seasons 5–9) HDTV 1080p (2014 remaster, season 10–11)
Audio format	Dolby Surround 2.0 (original broadcast) Dolby Digital 5.1 (2014 remaster; Descriptive Video Service over SAP season 10–11)
Original release	September 10, 1993 – March 21, 2018
Chronology
Related shows	Millennium (1996–1999) The Lone Gunmen (2001)
External links

The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original television series aired from September 10, 1993 to May 19, 2002 on Fox. The program spanned nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A short tenth season consisting of six episodes premiered on January 24, 2016, and concluded on February 22, 2016. Following the ratings success of this revival, Fox announced in April 2017 that The X-Files would be returning for an eleventh season of ten episodes. The season premiered on January 3, 2018, concluding on March 21, 2018. In addition to the television series, two feature films have been released: The 1998 film The X-Files, which took place as part of the TV series continuity, and the stand-alone film The X-Files: I Want to Believe, released in 2008, six years after the original television run had ended.