Gillian Anderson Reveals Her Six Favorite ‘X-Files’ Episodes

With over 200 episodes to choose from, a devout fan of The X-Files can give you an impressive list of their favorite episodes, with every fan having different opinions about what comes out on top.

To celebrate next month’s premiere of Season 11, the series’ official Twitter account streamed some episodes from the series’ past, with the selections being curated by star Gillian Anderson.

The episode’s Anderson selected are as follows:

• “Ice” – Season 1, Episode 8
• “Humbug” – Season 2, Episode 20
• “Jose Chung’s from Outer Space” – Season 3, Episode 20
• “The Post-Modern Prometheus” – Season 5, Episode 5
• “Bad Blood” – Season 5, Episode 12
• “Triangle” – Season 6, Episode 3

Unsurprisingly, many of these episodes are fan-favorites as well, with audiences getting even more excited for the upcoming season with the announcement that writer Darin Morgan, who wrote two of the above episodes, has crafted another entry into the series.

“What I personally love in [Darin’s episodes] is that he hates Mulder,” Duchovny joked. “He’s always trying to make Mulder an imbecile and the butt of every joke.”

Morgan has been involved with The X-Files in various capacities since 1994, with the first episode he wrote, “Humbug,” being a defining entry in the series. Focusing on a group of murders related to a traveling circus, the episode deviated slightly from the more intense tone of most of the series’ episodes, incorporating plenty of humor alongside the horror.

All of Morgan’s episodes have received positive responses from audiences, leading to him contributing to the series in 2016 for the six-episode return event.

Much like the previous contributions of “Humbug” or “Jose Chung’s From Outer Space,” Morgan’s “Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster” embraced the sillier tone of the concept, including appearances from Silicon Valley‘s Kumail Nanjiani and Flight of the Conchords‘ Rhys Darby.

Duchovny went on to explain how Morgan’s episodes are exciting but also that they pose interesting challenges for the actor.

“It’s very difficult to figure out how to play Mulder in those episodes because he’s such an ass, and I feel pressure to find that place where I can service how funny it is and still keep Mulder Mulder,” the actor confessed. “It’s a bit of a pressure cooker for me because I love Darin and I want his episodes to have integrity. I don’t want it to just be this goofy thing like, ‘Oh, we’re not The X-Files this week. We’re winking. It’s not really Mulder.’ I want it to be more than that.”

Tune in to the season premiere of The X-Files on Wednesday, January 3 at 8:00 PM ET on Fox.

[H/T Twitter, thexfiles]