The “Scully Effect” And Other Things You Never Knew About The X-Files

Their Fans Invented “Shipping” Characters

Photo credit: Moviestillsdb / FOX

Shipping characters on a TV show is popular among teens, but little do they know, X-Files fans invented it. Shipping is the act of wishing two characters to become romantically involved. It’s no wonder X-Files fans had to create a new word to describe the feeling of waiting for Scully and Mulder to hook up finally.

The show’s fans created many terms, including Monster of the Week (MoTW) which was used to describe a standalone episode within a continuous storyline. The X-Files‘ cult following wrote the textbook on how to obsess over a TV show.