Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
and one of the two
protagonists
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
in the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
science-fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...
,
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
television series ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', played by
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film ''The House of Mirth'' ...
. Scully is a
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI)
Special Agent and a medical doctor (
MD), partnered with fellow
Special Agent Fox Mulder
Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterrest ...
for seasons one to seven and seasons 10 and 11, and with
John Doggett
FBI Special Agent John Jay Doggett is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files''. With his FBI partners Dana Scully (season 8) and Monica Reyes (season 9), they work on the X-Files together, ...
in the eighth and ninth seasons. In the television series, they work out of a cramped basement office at
FBI headquarters
The J. Edgar Hoover Building is a low-rise office building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Planning for the building began in ...
in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
to investigate unsolved cases labeled "
X-File
In the fictional universe of the television series ''The X-Files'', an "X-File" is a case that has been deemed unsolvable or given minimal-priority status by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; these files are transferred to the X-Files unit. The ...
s." In 2002, Scully left government employment, and in 2008, she began working as a surgeon in ''Our Lady of Sorrows'', a private
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
hospital – where she stayed for seven years, until rejoining the FBI. In contrast to Mulder's credulous "believer" character, Scully is the skeptic for the first seven seasons, choosing to base her beliefs on what science can prove. She later on becomes a "believer" after
Mulder's abduction at the end of season seven.
Scully has appeared in all but five episodes of ''The X-Files'', and in the
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
films ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', released in 1998, and ''
The X-Files: I Want to Believe'', released 10 years later. The episodes in which she does not appear are "
3," "
Zero Sum
Zero-sum game is a mathematical representation in game theory and economic theory of a situation which involves two sides, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the other. In other words, player one's gain is e ...
," "
Unusual Suspects," "
Travelers
Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to:
People Generic terms
*One engaged in travel
*Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources
*Nomad, a member of a community withou ...
" and "
The Gift" (excluding archive footage). The
11th season marked Anderson's final time portraying the character.
Background
Dr. Dana Katherine Scully was born on February 23, 1964, in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
, to
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
(
Don S. Davis
Donald Sinclair "Don" Davis (August 4, 1942 – June 29, 2008) was an American character actor best known for playing General Hammond in the television series ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and earlier for playing Major Garland Briggs on t ...
) and
Margaret Scully
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
(
Sheila Larken
Sheila Larken (born February 24, 1944) is an American television actress, best known for playing the role of Margaret Scully, the mother of Dana Scully, on ''The X-Files''.
Early life and career
Larken was born in Brooklyn, New York City and ha ...
), into a close-knit
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
family with Irish ancestry.
She has an older brother,
Bill Jr., an older sister,
Melissa
Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey".
''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Me ...
, and a younger brother, Charles, who is never seen on the show except in flashbacks.
In the canonical
2016 comic book series, published by
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...
, the two-part issue "Ishmael" revealed Scully had a paternal half-brother, named Tam Minh Nguyen.
Scully's father was a
navy captain, who died of a heart attack in early January 1994. Dana Scully grew up in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
and later in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. As a young girl, Scully's favorite book was ''
Moby-Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
'' and she came to nickname her father "
Ahab
Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, ...
" from the book, and in return, he called her "
Starbuck." Due to this, she named her dog
Queequeg
Queequeg is a character in the 1851 novel ''Moby-Dick'' by American author Herman Melville. The son of a South Sea chieftain who left home to explore the world, Queequeg is the first principal character encountered by the narrator, Ishmael. T ...
.
Scully attended the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
, and in 1986, received a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
. Her undergraduate thesis was titled ''
Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
's
Twin Paradox
In physics, the twin paradox is a thought experiment in special relativity involving identical twins, one of whom makes a journey into space in a high-speed rocket and returns home to find that the twin who remained on Earth has aged more. Thi ...
: A New Interpretation.'' Just out of medical school at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, she was recruited by the FBI; she accepted the agency's offer of employment because she felt she could distinguish herself there. After two years in the bureau, Section Chief Scott Blevins assigned her to work with agent
Fox Mulder
Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterrest ...
.
Storylines
Upon being partnered with Mulder, Scully maintained her medical skills by acting as a
forensic pathologist
Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases an ...
, often performing or consulting on autopsies of victims on X-Files cases.
In
season two Season 2 may refer to:
* ''Season 2'' (Infinite album)
* ''2econd Season
''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk.
Release
It was released on November 4, 2008.
Guest Performers
The album features gu ...
, Scully was kidnapped by an ex-FBI agent turned mental patient named Duane Barry, and then taken from Barry by a military covert operation that was working with the
alien conspirators,
but was later returned.
In
season three
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, she found out that a super hi-tech microchip had been implanted in the back of her neck. After having it removed, she developed
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in the
fourth season and was hospitalized after the cancer became terminal. She was saved after Mulder broke into the
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
to retrieve another chip to be implanted back into her neck. At the time, Scully was also undergoing experimental medical treatments and was having a dramatic renewal of her faith.
Scully was pronounced
infertile
Infertility is the inability of a person, animal or plant to reproduce by natural means. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy adult, except notably among certain eusocial species (mostly haplodiploid insects). It is the normal state ...
during the fifth season. In the season five episode "
Emily," Scully discovers that she unknowingly mothered a daughter during her abduction (in season two). Her daughter Emily was adopted by another family. Emily died shortly afterwards, and they were unable to further investigate after Emily's body went missing. In the
seventh-season finale, "
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
," Scully mysteriously became pregnant. The child, named William, after her own father, as well as Mulder's father, was born at the end of the
eighth season. The show did not initially reveal the cause of Scully's pregnancy, but later episodes and movies would see Mulder and Scully call William "our son"; the pair had unsuccessfully tried for a child through
in vitro fertilization
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) ...
. Around this time, Mulder was fired from the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
by Deputy Director
Alvin Kersh
Alvin D. Kersh is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction television series ''The X-Files'', played by James Pickens Jr. He serves as a figure of authority within the series, first introduced as an Assistant Director of the Federal Bure ...
, and Scully left the field to teach forensics at
Quantico. William was given up for adoption during the end of the
ninth season after Scully felt she could no longer provide the safety that William needed. William was a "miracle child," of some importance to the alien conspirators. He demonstrated extraordinary powers, including
telekinesis
Psychokinesis (from grc, ψυχή, , soul and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), or telekinesis (from grc, τηλε, , far off and grc, κίνησις, , movement, label=ㅤ), is a hypothetical psychic ability allowing a person ...
.
In ''
The X-Files: I Want to Believe'', she is shown working as a medical doctor at the ''Our Lady of Sorrows'', a private Catholic hospital in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Early on in the film, Scully is contacted by the FBI, who are looking for Fox Mulder in the hope that he will assist them with the investigation of a missing FBI agent. In exchange for his help, the charges against him will be dropped. Unlike Mulder, Scully was apparently not considered a fugitive by the FBI. However, she did continue to maintain her romantic relationship with Mulder throughout the six years that he was on the run from the American government. In the movie, they are shown to be living together in a secluded house.
In the first episode of
season 10, "
My Struggle
(; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Ge ...
" (2016), Scully is still working as a doctor for ''Our Lady of Sorrows'' hospital, now performing
surgeries
Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
on children with severe
birth defects
A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can ...
. She has
extraterrestrial DNA, as the test that she performs on herself confirms. After the FBI reopens the X-Files, 14 years after their closure, she rejoins the bureau.
In "
Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster
"Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster" is the third episode of the tenth season of ''The X-Files,'' written and directed by Darin Morgan, it aired on February 1, 2016, on Fox and guest stars Rhys Darby as Guy Mann, Kumail Nanjiani as Pasha, and ...
," Scully jokes that she often enters dangerous situations alone due to the
immortality
Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality.
Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...
she seemingly obtained during the events of the episode "
Tithonus
In Greek mythology, Tithonus ( or ; grc, Τιθωνός, Tithonos) was the lover of Eos, Goddess of the Dawn. He was a prince of Troy, the son of King Laomedon by the Naiad Strymo (Στρυμώ). The mythology reflected by the fifth-century vas ...
." At the end of "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster," Scully steals a dog from an animal control center, named
Daggoo, which is named after yet another character from ''
Moby-Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
''. In "
Home Again" Dana's mother,
Margaret Scully
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
, dies after suffering a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. In the show's
10th-season finale, "
My Struggle II
"My Struggle II" is the sixth episode and season finale of the tenth season of ''The X-Files''. Written and directed by Chris Carter, it aired on February 22, 2016, on Fox. The tagline for this episode is "This Is the End".
Plot
Six weeks after ...
," Scully is in a race against time to save
humankind
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
, creating a
vaccine
A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...
from her own extraterrestrial DNA.
Characterization
Throughout the series, Scully's Catholic faith served as a cornerstone, although a contradiction to her otherwise rigid skepticism of the paranormal. Due to her career in science and medicine, she drifted from her Catholic Christian upbringing, but remained somewhat entrenched in her religious beliefs.
Scully almost always wears a gold
cross necklace __NOTOC__
A cross necklace is any necklace featuring a Christian cross or crucifix.
Crosses are often worn as an indication of commitment to the Christian faith, and are sometimes received as gifts for rites such as baptism and confirmation. Com ...
. Two conflicting stories exist of how Scully received the necklace. After Scully's abduction in season two, Scully's mother told Fox Mulder she gave Scully the necklace as a birthday present. In season five, Scully recalls receiving the necklace as a Christmas present. Scully's sister, Melissa, also receives a similar necklace on that occasion. When she was abducted by Duane Barry, a self-proclaimed alien abductee,
it was the only item left behind in Barry's getaway car. Mulder wore it as a talisman of her until Scully miraculously reappeared in a Washington, DC, hospital. After she recovered from the trauma of her abduction, he returned the cross to her.
The abduction visibly tested the limits of her faithMulder believes that Scully was taken aboard an alien spaceship and was subjected to tests. Because of Scully's skepticism, though, she believes she was kidnapped by men, not aliens, and subjected to tests. She believes she could have been brought there by Barry, and she began to exhibit symptoms of
post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
on a case involving a murdering
fetishist
A fetish (derived from the French , which comes from the Portuguese , and this in turn from Latin , 'artificial' and , 'to make') is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a human-made object that has power over oth ...
named Donnie Pfaster. This psychological
re-victimization
Victimisation ( or victimization) is the process of being victimised or becoming a victim. The field that studies the process, rates, incidence, effects, and prevalence of victimisation is called victimology.
Peer victimisation
Peer victimisati ...
continued after Pfaster escaped from prison five years later and again attempted to kill her in her home, ending only after she fatally shot him. She struggled with what motivated her actions to kill Pfaster, and questioned whether it was God compelling her to kill him, or "something else."
Sometime after her recovery from cancer, Scully began to regularly attend
mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
again. At the request of
Father McCue, Scully got involved in a case concerning a
paraplegic
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
girl who was found dead in a kneeling position with her palms outstretched and eye sockets charred. After Scully discovered the girl was a quadruplet and two more were murdered, Father McCue shared with her the story of the ''
seraphim
A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Chris ...
'' and the ''
nephilim
The Nephilim (; ''Nəfīlīm'') are mysterious beings or people in the Hebrew Bible who are large and strong. The word ''Nephilim'' is loosely translated as ''giants'' in some translations of the Hebrew Bible, but left untranslated in others. ...
'', which Scully interpreted as a possible explanation for the deformations and deaths of the girls. Scully continued to have visions of Emily, and when the last girl died, Scully believed she was returning the girl to God. Upon her return to Washington, DC, she went to confession to gain peace of mind and acceptance for Emily's death. In confession, she regretted her decision of letting the girl go. This suggests Scully had doubts about her faith.
In the sixth-season episode "
Milagro Milagro means "miracle" in Spanish.
Milagro may refer to:
Places:
*Milagro, Ecuador, a city
* Milagro Canton, Ecuador, of which the city is the canton seat
* Milagro River, Ecuador
*Milagro, Navarre, Spain, a town and municipality
* El Milagro, Q ...
," Agent Scully's vulnerability is exposed. In this episode, the murderer takes the victim's heart out. The suspect, a writer named Phillip Padgett, has a particular interest in Scully and is fascinated by her beauty and personality. When she goes to a church to observe a painting, the writer is there and talks to her about the
Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( la, Cor Jesu Sacratissimum) is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This dev ...
. During the conversation he says she visits the church because she likes art, but not as place of worship. Scully doesn't say otherwise and later she says to Agent Mulder the writer told her her life story. All this suggests that Scully isn't a devout Roman Catholic, although she attempted to approach again the Catholic community and the Catholic faith to which she was devout in her youth, after handling the strange case presented in
"Revelations" and also after dealing with life-threatening cancer during the
fourth season.
Relationships
While in medical school, Scully carried on an affair with her married instructor, Dr. Daniel Waterston, who may have been the "college boyfriend" mentioned in "
Trust No 1
"Trust No 1" is the sixth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It premiered on the Fox network on . The episode was written by series creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank S ...
." In the show, whether or not the relationship became sexual is never indicated. According to Anderson in the episode's audio commentary, Scully came very close to having an affair with the married Waterston, but left before she could break up his marriage. The end of her relationship with Waterston came about following her decision to go into the FBI.
After her entrance to the FBI's Academy at
Quantico, Scully began a year-long relationship with her Academy instructor, Jack Willis, with whom she shared a birthday.
Towards the end of the series, her previously platonic friendship with partner Fox Mulder developed into a romantic relationship. When Mulder was injured in a boat crash, he awakened in a hospital and told Scully that he loved her. In the season six episode "
How the Ghosts Stole Christmas
"How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It premiered on the Fox network on December 13, 1998. It was written and directed by series creator Chris Carter, ...
," a ghost that seems to know the inner workings of Scully's mind suggests that her source of intimacy for Mulder comes from her desire to always prove him wrong. By the end of the
sixth season, Mulder and Scully were increasingly shown enjoying more light-hearted activities together, such as practicing baseball, using FBI funds for a "night out" during a movie premiere, and watching a movie at Mulder's apartment. In the season seven episode "
all things," Scully is shown getting dressed in Mulder's bathroom, while Mulder sleeps, apparently naked, in the bedroom.
In "Trust No 1" a man reveals to Scully that he works for a
new Syndicate like-organization, and his job requires him and a few other colleagues to spy on her around the clock. Due to this he knows intimate details of Scully's personal life, right down to her "natural hair color" (
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
, as later confirmed by
Chris Carter). It is suggested by this man that Scully ultimately initiated a sexual relationship with Mulder, as he remarked that he was very surprised when she invited Mulder "into her bed." The last scene of the series finale featured Mulder and Scully holding each other on a bed, facing an uncertain future together in love.
In the film, ''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'', which takes place six years later, Mulder and Scully are still in a relationship. Scully was concerned that Mulder's continuing pursuit of the unknown was taking its toll on their relationship, and they could not be together if he could not "escape the darkness." However, the film ends with the couple sharing a passionate kiss, and in the "secret ending" after the majority of the credits, a happily-smiling Scully is seen in a small rowboat with Mulder, both clad in swimwear, in a tropical sea, having taken him up on his offer to run away together.
In the
10th season, Scully and Mulder are no longer a couple, as she chose to leave him.
At the end of the season, Scully gets a vision, which is revealed to have come from her son, William,at the beginning of season 11. Over the course of season 11, Scully and Mulder search for William. Skinner learns from the Smoking Man that the Smoking Man, who is Mulder's father, also artificially impregnated Scully, thus is William's father, as well. In the third episode of the
11th season, "
Plus One," Scully and Mulder are intimate again. In the season 11 finale, "
My Struggle IV
"My Struggle IV" is the tenth episode and series finale of the eleventh season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. The episode was written and directed by Chris Carter. It aired on March 21, 2018, on Fox. The tagli ...
," she reveals to Mulder that she is pregnant with his child.
Conceptual history
![GillianAndersonByIdoCarmelWonderCon2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/GillianAndersonByIdoCarmelWonderCon2008.jpg)
Chris Carter named Scully after his favorite sportscaster,
Vin Scully
Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located ...
of the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
.
John Doggett
FBI Special Agent John Jay Doggett is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files''. With his FBI partners Dana Scully (season 8) and Monica Reyes (season 9), they work on the X-Files together, ...
was likewise named after Vin Scully's longtime broadcasting partner,
Jerry Doggett
Jerome Howard Doggett (September 14, 1916 – July 7, 1997) was an American sportscaster who called games for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1987.
Early days
Doggett was born in Moberly, Missouri and ...
.
Scully's character was also inspired by
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...
's portrayal of
Clarice Starling
Clarice M. Starling is a fictional character and protagonist of the novels '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1988) and '' Hannibal'' (1999) by Thomas Harris.
In the 1991 film adaptation of ''The Silence of the Lambs'', she was played by Jodie Fost ...
in the film ''
The Silence of the Lambs''.
The casting for Scully caused a conflict between Carter and the Fox network. Carter had chosen 24-year-old Gillian Anderson, whom Carter felt was perfect for the role.
Of her audition, Carter said, "she came in and read the part with a seriousness and intensity that I knew the Scully character had to have and I knew
..she was the right person for the part."
However, Fox executives had wanted a more glamorous "
bombshell" for the part (in a 2008 interview Anderson stated that
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997).
Anders ...
had actually been the network's first choice), hoping that this would lead to the series involving a romantic element. This led Carter to insist that he did not want the roles of Mulder and Scully to become romantically involved.
[Lowry, pp. 15–17] Carter decided Scully would be the skeptic to play against established
stereotypes
In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
; typically on television the quality was attributed to a male.
Because Duchovny was much taller than Anderson, during scenes where Mulder and Scully stand or walk next to each other Anderson stood on "the Gilly-Board," an
apple box
''Apple Box'' is a box set by XTC compiling '' Apple Venus Volume 1'' and '' Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2)'' along with their respective demo albums '' Homespun'' and '' Homegrown''. It is the third box set of their career following '' Transis ...
named after her.
Scully appears in every episode of the 11-season series with the exceptions of "3," "Zero Sum," "Unusual Suspects," and "Travelers." She has appeared outside ''The X-Files'' on numerous occasions, the most notable being in the ''
Millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
'' (also created by Chris Carter) episode "Lamentation," in which the main character, Frank Black, visits the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and Mulder and Scully are briefly seen descending a stairway. In fact, they are Duchovny and Anderson's
stand-in
A stand-in for film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting and camera setup.
Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of film and television production.
Stand-ins a ...
s.
An animated version of Scully, which featured the voice acting of Anderson, appeared on
season eight of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', in the episode "
The Springfield Files
"The Springfield Files" is the tenth episode of the eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 12, 1997. In the episode, Homer believes he has d ...
," as well as Canadian animated series ''
Eek! The Cat'', on the episode "
Eek Space 9." The animated television series ''
ReBoot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
'' featured characters Fax Modem and Data Nully, obvious spoofs of Mulder and Scully, in the episode "
Trust No One." Anderson provided her voice work for the episode, but co-star Duchovny declined.
Reception
![X-Files Dana Scully Cosplay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/X-Files_Dana_Scully_Cosplay.jpg)
Anderson won many awards for her portrayal of Special Agent Scully during the ten seasons of
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
, including an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for ''Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series'' in 1997, a
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for ''Best Actress in a Television Drama Series'' in 1997, two
SAG Awards
Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1952 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...
for ''Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series'' in 1996 and 1997 and a
Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television
The following is a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Actress on Television. The award is presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, honoring the work of actresses in science fiction, fantasy, and horror f ...
in 1997. In total, Anderson received for the role, four Emmy nominations, four Golden Globe nominations, nine SAG nominations
and eight Saturn nominations.
Film critic Scott Mendelson, writing in ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', cited Scully as an example of strong female characters on television, calling her "one of the most iconic characters in the science-fiction genre." ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' Laura Pledger also named her as a strong TV woman, placing her at No. 1. Rebecca Traister of
Salon.com
''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events.
Content and coverage
''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...
opined that Scully had a better character arc than Mulder. She wrote, "The very fact that her character was such a hard sell made her repeated brushes with the supernatural all the more powerful. Mulder's desire to believe was so expansive, his credulity so flexible, that it's not as though he was ever going to have either shaken from him. But Scully's surety was solid, stable, rigid; every time she saw something she thought she'd never see, we saw it crack, sparks fly from it. She was forced to question herself, grow, change."
She praised her for being more "rational, resilient,
ndmature" than her partner and for their mature relationship.
In a review of "
Irresistible," Emily VanDerWerff of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' wrote that it was a cliché to put Scully in danger, as "Scully is
he show's
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
heart, and any time she's in danger, it feels like the show itself is about to be stabbed through the heart."
The character of Scully has become something of a sci-fi heroine due to her intelligence and resilience, frequently appearing on lists of important female
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
characters, such as ''Total Sci-Fi Online''s list of ''The 25 Women Who Shook Sci-Fi'', where she came in fourth.
TV Squad
Weblogs, Inc. was a blog network that published content on a variety of subjects, including tech news, video games, automobiles and pop culture. At one point, the network had as many as 90 blogs, although the vast majority of its traffic could be ...
named her the thirteenth greatest woman on television, while the site also listed her among the most memorable female science fiction television characters. She is also often cited as being an unlikely
sex symbol
A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...
, frequently being included in lists of sexy TV characters. She was listed in
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifes ...
's Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters. The pairing Mulder/Scully was ranked number 15 on
Sleuth Channel's poll of ''America's Top Sleuths''.
Angelica Jade Bastién
Angelica Jade Bastién is an American essayist and critic. She is a staff writer for ''Vulture'', where she has reviewed film and written television recaps since 2015. Bastién also specializes in horror and depictions of women and madness. She ...
of ''
Vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
'' emphasized the importance of Scully's character in popular culture by listing all the strong female characters she inspired or may have influenced in some aspects, including:
Temperance "Bones" Brennan
Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan, Ph.D. (born Joy Keenan) is a fictional character portrayed by Emily Deschanel in the American Fox television series ''Bones''. An anthropologist, forensic anthropologist, and kinesiologist, she is described in th ...
of ''
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
'',
Peggy Carter
Margaret Elizabeth Carter is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a supporting character in books featuring Captain America. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirb ...
of ''
Agent Carter'',
Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...
of ''
Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...
'', Olivia Moore of ''
iZombie
''iZombie'', originally titled ''I, Zombie'', is a comic book series created by writer Chris Roberson and artist Michael Allred, published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint beginning in 2010. The series deals with Gwen Dylan ( née Gwendolyn Price ...
'', Dr. Maura Isles of ''
Rizzoli & Isles
''Rizzoli & Isles'' is an American crime drama television series starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Based on the series of ''Rizzoli & Isles'' novels by Tess Gerritsen, the plot follows Boston Homicide polic ...
'',
Olivia Benson
Olivia Margaret "Liv" Benson is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the NBC police procedural drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. Benson holds the rank and pay-grade of Captain and is the Com ...
of ''
Law and Order: SVU'',
Joan Watson
''Elementary'' is an American procedural drama television series that presented a contemporary update of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes. It was created by Robert Doherty and starred Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes and ...
of ''
Elementary
Elementary may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001
* ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007
* ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977
Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...
'',
Sydney Bristow
Sydney Anne Bristow (played by Jennifer Garner) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the television series ''Alias''. She is an American woman with a Russian-Canadian family background who works as a spy for the CIA.
Sydney is depi ...
of ''
Alias
Alias may refer to:
* Pseudonym
* Pen name
* Nickname
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film
* ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006
* ''Alias the ...
'', Abbie Mills of ''
Sleepy Hollow'',
Zoë Washburne of ''
Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
'',
Stella Gibson
Detective Superintendent (DSU) Stella Gibson is the main character in the crime drama television series '' The Fall'', which is filmed and set in Northern Ireland. She is portrayed by Gillian Anderson.
Character overview
Detective Superintend ...
(another character portrayed by Anderson) of ''
The Fall'' and
Olivia Dunham
Olivia Dunham is a fictional character and the main protagonist from the science fiction television series ''Fringe'', which aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States from 2008 to 2013. The character was created by series' co-cre ...
of ''
Fringe
Fringe may refer to:
Arts
* Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world's largest arts festival, known as "the Fringe"
* Adelaide Fringe, the world's second-largest annual arts festival
* Fringe theatre, a name for alternative theatre
* The Fringe, the ...
''. Jade Bastién wrote: "Do all the characters Scully has influenced live up to her? Definitely not. Gillian Anderson's performance and her chemistry with David Duchovny aren't exactly elements that can be replicated. But these characters prove that Scully isn't only the heart of ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'', but also the character who had the most profound influence on popular culture."
Indiewire
IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
's Liz Shannon Miller ranked Scully as the No. 1 most important character of ''The X-Files'', writing: "Scully's legacy is so important in so many ways, from giving us the gift of Gillian Anderson's acting, to inspiring an entire generation of young women to pursue careers in
STEM
Stem or STEM may refer to:
Plant structures
* Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang
* Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure
* Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...
. Intelligent, loyal, flawed and brave, Scully was the show's beating heart and saving grace even in its lowest years. As
Chris Carter himself has said: 'It's Scully's show'."
"The Scully Effect"
The character is believed to have initiated a phenomenon referred to as "The Scully Effect," as the character's role as a
medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and
FBI Special Agent
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
inspired many young women to pursue careers in
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
, and
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term en ...
, and as a result brought a perceptible increase in the number of women in those fields. At the 2013
San Diego Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, Anderson noted that she has long been aware of "The Scully Effect" and stated: "We got a lot of letters all the time, and I was told quite frequently by girls who were going into the medical world or the science world or the FBI world or other worlds that I reigned, that they were pursuing those pursuits because of the character of Scully. And I said, 'Yay!'"
Anne Simon
Anne Simon is an American biology professor, scientist, and a science advisor on the American television series ''The X-Files'', both the original series for all nine seasons and the The X-Files (season 10), 2016 miniseries. The first episode of th ...
, a biology professor and a science adviser for the series recalls: "I asked my Intro Bio class back then how many of them were influenced by the character of Scully on ''The X-Files'' to go into science and half of the hands in the room went up. That's huge! That was saying that the show was really having an effect." "The Scully Effect" remains a subject of academic inquiry.
[ ]
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Dana Scullyon
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
The Scully Effecton
Fanlore
Fanlore is a wiki created to preserve the history of transformative works, as well as that of fans, and fandoms, with a focus on people and their activities rather than on fandom canon. The beta version of Fanlore launched in September 2008, and ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scully, Dana
The X-Files characters
American female characters in television
Catholicism in fiction
Fictional characters with cancer
Fictional characters from Maryland
Fictional Christians
Television characters introduced in 1993
Fictional special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Fictional female detectives
Fictional female doctors
Fictional feminists and women's rights activists
Fictional forensic scientists
Fictional paranormal investigators
Fictional American physicians
Fictional surgeons
Fictional female scientists
Fictional Irish American people
de:Akte X – Die unheimlichen Fälle des FBI#Hauptdarsteller
sv:Lista över figurer i Arkiv X#Dana Scully