[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9X0LVrkANo]
“X-Cops”
Season 7, Episode 12
Original Airdate: February 20th, 2000
Gilligan, for the win again! In a perhaps inevitable collaboration, two Fox ratings juggernauts — The X-Files and Cops — join forces for an episode that excels on the medium rather than leaning on it. Airing a few months after The Blair Witch Project spooked audiences nationwide, Airing a few months after The Blair Witch Project spooked audiences nationwide, Gilligan’s meta-rich turn actually dated back to an original idea he pitched for the series’ fourth season, which only speaks volumes about his writing style.
Although the tongue’s a little in the cheek here, “X-Cops” elicits gasps over giggles, referencing werewolves, wasp men, and even Freddy Krueger. The imagination runs rampant as the entity’ is never fully revealed, a calling card of any successful horror film — especially those that employ so-called found footage.