The X-Files is soon to return to Fox with a brand new batch of episodes, and fans are going to be able to celebrate the new year in some seriously spooky ways. Season 11 is undoubtedly going to deliver some new monsters and aliens when the premiere hits the airwaves in January, but folks in New York City got to experience alien action ahead of time, and they definitely weren't expecting it. The X-Files pulled a pretty epic prank that unleashed aliens on the unsuspecting people of NYC. Check it out!
Apparently The X-Files was willing to pull out all the stops to prank the people of New York City! The folks behind the scenes put together animatronic aliens that definitely look a lot more realistic than the aliens of the early X-Files seasons and stuck them into newspaper dispensers, unbeknownst to passersby. The sign for a free issue of the New York Post (that was all about aliens, naturally) was enough to attract the attention of people on the sidewalk, and it set the prank in motion.
Some found themselves on the receiving end of an alien hand that looked ready to grab and drag right into the newspaper dispenser. I'm not sure if it was creepier that the fingers were moving or that the arm was able to retract itself back into the dispenser, as though that particular person was not who the aliens were looking to abduct.
Other people got the full alien treatment. They apparently had enough time to open the paper before the full-size alien popped out of a dispenser and began to look around. One woman heroically clutched her dog closer to her chest as she backed away, while another woman panicked and ran away a few paces, totally leaving her friend behind. My favorite reaction has to be the woman who didn't shriek or run in fear, but instead stared down the alien and yelled "OH HELL NO!"
To their credit, most of the people who got the full alien popping out started cracking up as soon as they got over their shock. People were less amused when the "agents" rolled up in their black SUVs with the sirens going to investigate the alien sighting. Between the one agent insisting that no cameras could be out and the agents decked out in full hazmat suit, it's easy to understand why the people on the street were a little uncertain as to what was going on. Sure, it was a bit of a giveaway that the agents' jackets read "AGENTS" rather than "FBI," but still.
All things considered, kudos to Fox and The X-Files for pulling off a super elaborate prank to get people hyped about the next season. Honestly, it's probably for the best that this prank happened in the real world rather than in the X-Files universe. Mulder probably would have believed that it was real and dragged poor Scully to NYC to investigate for a conspiracy to cover it up. After all, Mulder may be right about a lot of the big plot twists, but he's also wrong a lot. Poor, poor Scully.
Season 11 of The X-Files will premiere on Wednesday, January 3 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Some big stars from the original run of the series will be back, as well as a couple of newcomers from Season 10. Check out our picks for X-Files questions we want answered in Season 11, and don't forget to take a peek at our 2018 midseason TV premiere guide.
