Top TV Memes: The Best Formats From 'The X-Files'

The X-Files is one of the most well known TV shows ever. In it, David Duchovny’s Mulder and Gillian Anderson’s Scully investigate paranormal and extraterrestrial phenomena all over the US. There's also an overarching plot, but it pales in comparison to some of the more famous “monster of the week” episodes that people readily discuss and joke about online. It set the standard for all paranormal and horror TV shows that followed, such as Supernatural, which shares a writer and even some cast members.

Even in 2021, it has a huge fan base. There are still references to the show being made constantly, and it's become a staple of Internet humor. As such, there are millions of memes about The X-Files already, and probably millions more to come, especially with the reboot that ran for two seasons. Along with popular memes such as playing the theme song over any situation that seems even slightly mysterious, there are lots of moments from the show that have achieved a good amount of meme popularity. These are some of the most notable episodes in the meme community.

Most Popular Memes: Season 2, Episode 2: "The Host"

Often considered the scariest episode of The X -Files, this one is indescribably weird as well. It involves a mutated sewer dwelling creature, and it basically fits whatever you would imagine a sewer dwelling creature would look like. Its skin looks like it's made of wet toilet paper, and just like the sandworms from the new Dune, it's mouth is a spiky, gaping hole that looks a little to much like a human anus. So, we naturally have many memes about the monster, known as the Flukeman.

The Flukeman even has one scene in this episode where he crawls into a Port-O-Potty, giving us yet another reason to hate Port-O-Potties, as if there weren't enough to begin with. It’s also worth noting that Mulder is particularly dramatic in this episode, which I would imagine anyone would be when dealing with a literal toilet monster. But Mulder’s overdramatic obsessions are a huge part of X-Files memes too, and this episode is full of them.

Most Meme Potential: Season 4, Episode 2: "Home"

This is known as the “banned episode,” since it was aired only once on Fox, it's home network, and never was allowed to be shown again after adverse viewer reactions. It was seen as distasteful and disturbing. Naturally, that means everyone wanted to find this last episode and watch it again, and fortunately, we can stream it. Many of us regret hunting it down, because it really is pretty bad. Essentially, it takes place in a small rural town where one family has been living in isolation from the outside world for decades, but still having kids, because they're keeping the bloodlines pure, if you know what I mean. We're on the internet, so of course you know what I mean.

Watching this episode is similar to watching Deliverance while canoeing through rural Appalachia. And because “keeping it in the family” is one of our generation's favorite offensive jokes, there are a lot of memes about this episode. Many of them have to do with Mrs. Peacock, the quadriplegic mother kept on a shelf under the bed by her three sons. Naturally, Mrs. Peacock is even harder to look at than the Flukeman, so she’s become a memorable meme, ensuring that the rest of the internet will never sleep soundly ever again.

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