4 ms·

I read an article about the X-Files once where the author talked about how the show flipped the usual formula for television casting on its head. In most telev

I read an article about the X-Files once where the author talked about how the show flipped the usual formula for television casting on its head. In most television shows, the female lead is hired primarily for her looks while the male lead is supposed to be the one the audience can identify with. In the X-Files, Duchovny was the tall, slim model-ish one while Gillian Anderson was short and basically normal looking. It seems like X-Files fans have a better gender balance than most sci-fi shows. I wonder if having a more normal female lead helped in that regard? Something similar seems to have happened in Star Wars. It's easy to forget since they've been around for so long, but Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams were ridiculously good looking guys. Mark Hamill was a teen idol from his time on shows like Eight is Enough and The Texas Wheelers (I had to look that name up.) By looks alone, Carrie Fisher might be the least likely of the four to get a magazine cover. (Don't tell my twelve-year-old self, though.)

scott_s 16y ago
The flaw in your theory is that Carrie Fisher looks absolutely stunning in this picture: http://www.vanityfair.com/images/hollywood/2010/10/esb08.jpg http://www.vanityfair.com/images/hollywood/2010/10/esb08.jpg
- jtbigwoo 16y ago
  Don't get me wrong--Carrie Fisher is pretty. She could have easily been the homecoming queen at my high school. As long as she wasn't too busy doing coke with Tony Bennett or whatever children of famous actors did in the 70's. I'm just saying that she wasn't Daryl Hannah. (For those of you born after 1985, Daryl Hannah was the Megan Fox of the late 70's/early 80's.)
bmj 16y ago
Though, of course, Anderson's looks certainly changed over the course of the show's run. By season 5-ish, she was much sexier, and wasn't afraid to use that. That said, I agree with your general assessment of the gender balance in the X-Files. Also, I agree with the other comment regarding how good Fisher looks in a few of those photos.

scott_s 16y ago

The flaw in your theory is that Carrie Fisher looks absolutely stunning in this picture: http://www.vanityfair.com/images/hollywood/2010/10/esb08.jpg http://www.vanityfair.com/images/hollywood/2010/10/esb08.jpg

jtbigwoo 16y ago
Don't get me wrong--Carrie Fisher is pretty. She could have easily been the homecoming queen at my high school. As long as she wasn't too busy doing coke with Tony Bennett or whatever children of famous actors did in the 70's. I'm just saying that she wasn't Daryl Hannah. (For those of you born after 1985, Daryl Hannah was the Megan Fox of the late 70's/early 80's.)

bmj 16y ago

Though, of course, Anderson's looks certainly changed over the course of the show's run. By season 5-ish, she was much sexier, and wasn't afraid to use that. That said, I agree with your general assessment of the gender balance in the X-Files. Also, I agree with the other comment regarding how good Fisher looks in a few of those photos.