The X-Files

If it wasn't for Chris Carter, I don't know that I would be doing what I'm doing right now.  It's true.  The X-Files changed everything I previously thought a Television show should be.  For me, it was an interactive experience.  I got sucked in.  I was completely obsessed with Fox Mulder and his plight.  The sub-plots were amazing.  The mythology was unreal.  I bought it all, hook line and sinker.  Just ask my roommates at the time.

I loved the show so much, that when the network would re-loop new episodes three hours later, I would stay up and watch it again.

To date, I think, The X-Files is the best example of any Procedural show on Television.  Hands downs. 

Chris Carter is a genius.  And not so much for his story telling abilities, but I think I would venture as far to say that, first and foremost, this is a guy who gets what an audience wants.  What an audience needs.

A place to escape.

You craft a believable world with strong story lines and loveable characters, and well, you're set for life.  Literally. 

For me, the X-Files was what every broadcaster dreams of; appointment television.  I would race home on Sunday from wherever I was to catch the 9pm show.  At a friend's cottage?  Well, I was beating the traffic and speeding down the highway home in time to catch it.

But Karen, why couldn't you just tape it?

Aha!  Seems rational enough.  Tape it, and enjoy a few more hours on a lake sipping beers.  But no!  I was so in love with the show that the thought of missing it created a swell of anxiety in me so deep that even though the VCR was set, I couldn't risk it.  What if the tape got caught?  What if there was a mini blackout earlier in the day and the settings were off?

It could happen....

And so, inevitably, from wherever I was on planet Earth; come 9pm I was plunked in front of my TV anxiously waiting to see if The Men in Black would appear, or if the writers would finally tell us what the fuck happened to Samantha.

Brilliant.

And, for that reason.  Because of that experience, I chose to enter into the  cut-throat world of Television.  Because I wanted to write a show that people could sink their teeth into, like how Chris Carter created one for me.

It's my life's mission.

It may take a few million rejection letters, failed pitches, and tireless kicks at the can;  but I know that I'll get there.  It may not happen for another 10 years... or it could happen tomorrow, but one thing is for certain: as long as I stick with it, the opportunity will present itself. 

One day, when the stars are all aligned.

And, in the meantime, I'll keep slugging away,  because tenacity disintegrates failure.

And failure, for me, has never been an option.