Left: FBI Assistant Director Skinner (Mitch
Pileggi) and Scully (Gillian Anderson)
search for an informant inside a cult
compound on "The X-Files" episode "The
Field Where I Died," airing 9-10 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 3, on Fox.

PHOTO BY KEN STANFORTH

Below: George Washington University
freshman Whitney Lakin dressed up as
Agent Scully last Halloween.

THE DETR OIT J EWI SH N EWS

Effitou
Is

80

Really
t

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

nce a month, in the
front room of a
bookstore on Or-
chard Lake Road,
meets a group of
people who, on
other evenings,
lead completely
normal lives.
The leaders in-
clude a Roman
Catholic book seller,
who also moderates meetings for
a Jewish authors book club; an
attorney; and until recently, when
she left for college, a teen-ager in-
terested in pursuing an education
in forensic pathology.
Members of the group feel free
to let their hair down and dis-
cuss what in polite terms could
be called an interest, but in re-
ality is an obsession. Here, in
Farmington Hills' Borders Books
and Music, they find it safe to
worship at the altar of "The X-
Files."
"Dedication to The X-Files'
knows no bounds," one of lead-
ers says ominously into a cord-
less microphone used during the
meeting.
For those who have been ei-
ther comatose or entirely re-
moved from society, "The
X-Files" is a popular television
show following the earthly ex-
periences of two FBI agents who
investigate unusual and bizarre
occurrences.

Jill Davidson Sklar, staff writer,

classifies herself as a fan of
"The X-Files."

Their investigations have led
them from a seavch of aliens who
have colonized in Canada to the
murderous trail of blood-suck-
ing vampires to a fat-slurping
serial killer. Along the way, Spe-
cial Agents Fox Mulder and
Dana Scully have encountered
cannibals, medical oddballs,
ghosts, devils, angels, saints and
sinners.
At first, the show collected a
small cadre of dedicated viewers
who mostly were hooked on the

X-Philes
Phorum finds
fans focus on
fi ne points.

quirky, often disturbing plot
lines. Often in the category of in-
dividuals who believe in govern-
mental conspiracy and scour the
skies for signs of intelligent life
forms, they have a fierce devo-
tion to the show, a devotion of-
ten unmatched by fans of other
shows like, say, "Melrose Place."
With the show exploding in
popularity during the past two
seasons, devotees are spending
more time connecting with each
other. For example, each week

hundreds of Web sites on the In-
ternet come alive with thought-
provoking and often rabid
discussion following the airing
of an episode; even reruns spark
discourses of nuances previous-
ly overlooked.
And at Borders, the monthly
X-Philes Phorum is no different.
About 40 people from different
segments of society gather to dis-
cuss the motivation of characters
with names like Skinner or Can-
cer Man. They trade information
gleaned from trips on the Inter-
net and talk about conventions
and other gatherings they plan
to attend.
Most are drawn to the show
by a temporary suspension of
perceived reality and the poten-
tial for belief in the seemingly su-
pernatural. Like other shows,
"The X-Files" is an escape; but
for these people, it also is a de-
parture from a comfortable ex-
istence to an uncomfortable
state.
"The show makes you think
about things you may not want
to think about," says Michelle
Itkin, a devotee who has missed
only one Borders' meeting, held
during her trip to Israel.
Robert del Valle, the book sell-
er/leader of the monthly X-Philes
Phorum, links the interest in the
show to the void in television pro-
gramming, which frequently
serves up the same formats over
and over.
"rThe X-Files1 is offbeat. If you
look at the offerings of prime-
time television, you see the same