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"There were conscious efforts to carry a through-line about Mulder and Scully`s relationship this year," admits Spotnitz of season seven, "and I think you saw it in a number of episodes. I think you saw it in the two parter that began the season [`The Sixth Extinction` and `Amor Fati`], as well as `Millennium`. There were probably some episodes where, because of the the plot, they seemed like they had taken a step backwards, but I don`t think there was anything [specific intended], at least not that I can recall. And just because two characters grow closer, doesn`t mean there`s still not going to be conflict between them, like in `En Ami`, when Scully comes back, and Mulder won`t even look at Scully because she`s betrayed him. I thought that scene was played really well by David and Gillian. I don`t think that means the relationship has taken a step back, it just means that`s what`s appropriate for the drama of that particular story." ~ Frank Spotnitz on the Mulder-Scully Relationship.

Talk about going down to the wire: with five days to go before the season finale of The X-Files aired -- and only one day before Fox had to announce its fall schedule to advertisers -- word finally came down that a deal had been reached, and David Duchovny would fill Fox Mulder`s shoes once more in the series` eighth season. Just one day earlier, series creator Chris Carter announced that he would return for one more year as well, putting to rest speculation about whether the landmark series would continue. Gillian Anderson was already under contract through the series` eight season.

Details about Duchovny`s participation remain sketchy, but according to Fox, the actor`s contract calls for him to appear in "up to 11 episodes"; how the producers would use their limited time with Duchovny was still being worked out at press time, although Carter recently commented during the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena that David will be in 11 of 20 episodes. "As I understand it, six of those will be complete episodes. Furthermore, he adds, "[Mulder will] be in the season opener. And the season opener is a two-part episode. Beyond that, I`m not going to tell you, and I really can`t tell you because we`re still figuring it out."

Also being worked out is how, exactly, The X-Files will transform itself in Duchovny`s absence. After all, the show`s working paradigm has now shifted radically. X-Files traditionally has been a two-character series that focused on the exploits of Mulder and Scully. And in truth, the main draw of the show is the intense and intriguing relationship between the dynamic duo, and not the quirky paranormal cases they investigate and convoluted muthology about aliens and conspiracies. Now, without Duchovny`s Mulder, the show will have to broaden its scope to include the series` cast of peripheral characters -- like the Lone Gunmen, who get their own series mid-season, and Assistant Director Skinner (Mitch Pileggi).

"These two characters are very appealing in that they`re opposite sides of the same person, really," observes executive producer Frank Spotnitz of the unique Mulder-Scully dynamic. "So they`re essential to the telling of these stories. But their personal feelings don`t come first, and their relationship doesn`t come first. It`s always woven into the investigation. The mythology shows have been the only chance, really, to explore the characters and do interesting things with their personal lives."

After seven years, even Spotnitz admits it was time to stop side-stepping the relationship issue. "Chris was very, uh, jealous of spending that capital for most of the life of the series, as he was right to be. I think that part of why we`ve gotten to the position of being in a seventh year -- and the network and studio is clamouring for an eighth year -- is because he very cleverly knew to hold onto these things, and not give them away too early. And that`s why the sexual tension, the famed sexual tension, has lasted so long. I mean, seven years of sexual tension is a bit much," Spotnitz says, laughing. "But now, as you look at seven years, and this relationship, it becomes more important to explore who they are and what they mean to each other. I think that`s what`s interesting to the audience and sort of interesting to us, I think, at the point."

Mulder and Scully have definitely grown, as has their relationship off-screen, over the course of season seven. And for once, much of what was seen in terms of building that relationship on-screen was by conscious thought, and not just a natural by-product of how Duchovny and Anderson`s sizzling chemistry might have permeated a scene.

"There were conscious efforts to carry a through- line about Mulder and Scully`s relationship this year," admits Spotnitz of season seven, "and I think you saw it in a number of episodes. I think you saw it in the two parter that began the season [`The Sixth Extinction` and `Amor Fati`], as well as `Millenium`. There were probably some episodes where, because of the the plot, they seemed like they had taken a step backwards, but I don`t think there was anything [specific intended], at least not that I can recall. And just because two characters grow closer, doesn`t mean there`s still not going to be conflict between them, like in `En Ami`, when Scully comes back, and Mulder won`t even look at Scully because she`s betrayed him. I thought that scene was played really well by David and Gillian. I don`t think that means the relationship has taken a step back, it just means that`s what`s appropriate for the drama of that particular story."

Writing the mythology doesn`t get any easier with the passage of time. "The mythology of the show has become such a complicated business that it`s a challenge every time we do a mythology show to try and keep people with us, not get them too lost," admits Spotnitz.

That the ratings have dipped and viewers grouse about plots is naturally of concern to the producers, but in a way, it`s not a surprising phenomenon. "I think what happens is a certain amount of fatigue sets in, especially for a show that tries to press the adrenaline button so hard every week," remarks Spotnitz. "And I think it`s like a marriage after a while, with the audience; it`s like there`s the fallow periods, and then there`s the periods where you`re in love again. For a lot of viewers, [the show] probably went through one of those fallow periods where they felt like they knew the show. It`s just a problem when you`re doing something on a long-term basis; it`s a problem that comes with success, you know, so it`s a good, good kind of problem to have."

Fickle audiences are a fact of life, notes Spotnitz. "There`s one school of thought, which is, get out while you`re young and fresh, and before people have the chance to get tired of you. And then there`s Doctor Who, which went on for a gazillion years on British television, and it just became a staple because of how great it managed to be for so long. I don`t think that people look at pop culture that way right now in America. I think the attitude [in the U.S.] is very cynical."

From Spotnitz`s perspective, the seventh season stands the test of time against earlier years. "I would proudly hold up this season against any season from the past. The work has been as vital and clever and as interesting as it`s ever been."

And now that the show has been given a second chance to resolve its complex mythology in a satisfying way, expect Carter, Spotnitz et al to take advantage of that knowledge. Even so, Spotnitz is realistic about the fact that it will be difficult to please all viewers -- no matter how the series wraps. "Well, I believe that when we do wrap up the series, whether it`s this year or next year, there are going to be a lot of people who are going to get to the end and go, `That`s it?` They`re going to be disappointed because there are so many expectations about what the ending should be and what the answers are that they`re going to get. What I don`t think most people are really aware of -- any maybe when they watch the show in repeats, this will dawn on them more clearly -- is how many answers have already been given. The fact is, most of the important answers are already out there. We`ve kind of [spread] them over the last two years, especially since the movie. We`ve answered a lot more questions than we`ve raised, and there are a lot of smaller questions where there will never be a definitive answer."

The definitive answers Spotnitz is referring to include things like details of cloning projects, or the fates of smaller characters that we saw in a mythology episode that may not have returned. "I`ve been going back and thinking about the big strands of the series," he adds, "the big ideas of the series, and looking at what we haven`t finally answered, and as I look back at the show, which I`ve been doing, I realise how much has in fact been answered. But [the] last episode will need to restate those answers in a more explicit way than people may have perceived them before."

Spotnitz is aware that a lot of people haven`t necessarily connected all of the dots yet. "When the last show of the series does come, what I think is that somebody ought to do a two-hour special, whenever the series ends, and talk about the mythology of the show, and sort of remind people of what they`ve seen and what`s been answered and what hasn`t, because very few people really have it in their heads; the storyline is so complicated and it`s been going on for so long. I think people need to take notes to really have it all clear!"

While the fate of the possible X-Files feature franchise is up in the air, Spotnitz indicates that the transition to features would actually be freeing from a storytelling point of view. "I think going into a feature series we`d be free from all that obligation and not carry through all these mythology threads like we had to do last time," he explains. "You know, when you look back on what we had to do, which was bridge two seasons of the show, provide enough answers for die-hard fans while still making it somewhat intelligible to people who had never seen the show -- it`s amazing that we were as successful as we were. So I think that both Chris and I look at any features we were to do after the show as an opportunity to have a lot more freedom."

So where will The X-Files go from here? The season finale, `Requiem`, was brilliantly constructed, and clearly reinvigorated the series -- not to mention reinvested the viewers whose interest in the show had been flagging. The story -- in which the aliens return, Cigarette Smoking Man might be dead, Krycek (Nick Lea) has resurfaced, Mulder is abducted, and Scully discovers she`s pregnant, presumably, though not definitively, with Mulder`s child -- provides a platform from which all new directions for the series to explore this year. It also forces viewers to go back and rethink earlier episodes, like Anderson`s debut as a writer/director, "all things" and the arc of `Biogenesis`,`The Sixth Extinction`, and `Amor Fati`.

Whereas last year, the producers were plagued with the uncertainty of whether the show would go on another year or not, this time they know that, at the very least, the Mulder-Scully chapter will come to a conclusion on the small screen. The series could conceivably continue without Duchovny and Anderson and even Carter, for that matter, with a new character on the horizon: FBI agent John Doggett, who`ll act as Scully`s very by- the-book colleague (read: not her replacement partner) in her search for Mulder. Cast in the role is Terminator 2: Judgement Day`s villian, Robert Patrick; Patrick, who will appear in all episodes and will get third billing in the opening credits, reportedly has a multiyear deal in place, which would facilitate the X-Files franchise continuing going forward, a move made more likely by the news that Anderson has agreed to sign on for a ninth year.

Of course, whether Fox wants to commit blasphemy and continue the show without the Mulder-Scully relationship -- the show`s heart and soul -- will ultimately depend on how well the show does this season. Stay tuned.