The X-Files was a huge hit in the '90s as it made the paranormal feel plausible and the impossible seem possible. Actress Gillian Anderson as Agent Dana Scully was a big reason why The X-Files was such a success. Scully was gorgeous, brilliant, hyper-competent, and a champion eye-roller who somehow managed to only shoot Agent Mulder once in their time together. It turns out that Ghostbusters comedienne Kate McKinnon was a big fan of Scully way back when, and Gillian Anderson took to social media to share a picture as proof of McKinnon's dedication. Check it out!
Gillian Anderson's tweet of young Kate McKinnon in her Agent Scully duds should be enough to get any X-Files fan smiling. Scully was a groundbreaking female character who was a fantastic investigator, a medical doctor, and not defined as a love interest throughout her nine years on the show. Aside from her tolerance of a crazy partner who tended to get her into trouble, Scully was a great example for any young person to want to emulate. Kate McKinnon certainly had good taste in picking a TV character to use for a costume. As one of the four leading ladies of the new Ghostbusters film, McKinnon deserves Anderson's #thefutureisfemale tag. Her role in Ghostbusters may be as groundbreaking for young women today as Anderson's was on The X-Files in the '90s.
It's fun to see that Kate McKinnon was on-point with the details of her Scully look. Episodes of The X-Files really are pretty easy to place based on the wardrobes and hairstyles of Scully through the years, and it's not too difficult to place which era of Scully is on display in McKinnon's outfit. The short hair indicates that Scully was out of her early '90s 'do of the first couple of seasons, but the bulky trench coat and what looks like a pantsuit top are reminiscent of a Scully before her glam makeover for the last few seasons. Way to go, young Kate McKinnon. Way to go.
I was a huge - and admittedly far too young - fan of The X-Files in my day, so I can totally relate to Kate McKinnon's choice to dress up as Dana Scully. I went through a phase in which I was dying to become a forensic pathologist, and I'm pretty sure I freaked out some of my friends by talking about autopsies. Scully inspired girls, and it's a nice twist that Gillian Anderson made her comeback as Scully in the same year that Kate McKinnon made her grand Ghostbusters debut.
Of course, Ghostbusters didn't have nearly as much overwhelmingly positive buzz leading up to its big premiere as the X-Files revival did. The movie was already being dismissed by certain factions of movie-goers on the basis that it was not going to be the same as the all-male ensemble of the original Ghostbusters movie. A vocal subset of original Ghostbusters fans just didn't want to see Ghostbusters as a movie that would inspire a #thefutureisfemale trend on social media with all four lead characters played by actresses. Only time will tell how much of an effect the new Ghostbusters may or may not have on the future of showbiz for actresses like Gillian Anderson and Kate McKinnon.
Ghostbusters has made its big screen debut, so you can head to movie theaters now to see Kate McKinnon in action as a buster of ghosts. Check out our fall TV premiere schedule to see what you'll be able to catch on the small screen in the not-too-distant future.
