The Simpsons X-Files Crossover Episode Still Holds Up To This Day

Funnily enough, “The Springfield Files” almost never saw the light of day because Jean and Reiss were afraid that the episode wasn’t funny due to a lack of laughter at the first table reads, which only had a couple of writers present.

In fact, when they pitched the episode during a writing retreat, none of the other staff writers wanted to run with the premise. The final draft that we’re familiar with, which was written by Reid Harrison and directed by Steven Dean Moore, was shipped off to Chris Carter, who thought it was a funny treatment and gave the Simpsons camp his blessing, and the rest is history.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson also brought their A-game to “The Springfield Files,” delivering a healthy dose of deadpan humor to the mix because Mulder and Scully, even in the fiction of The Simpsons, play it straight. This juxtaposition of serious sci-fi beats and outlandish cartoon humor elevates the premise because the FBI agents are treating Homer’s alien encounter like just another X-File.

And if you look closely, there are plenty of X-Files Easter Eggs peppered throughout the episode, like the Cigarette Smoking Man lurking in the background, and Fox Mulder’s ID badge that has a picture of him laying out in a Speedo, referencing the X-Files episode “Duane Barry.”

“The Springfield Files” centers on Homer, who, after a night of moderate drinking (okay, 10 beers…), has an encounter with a glowing green alien after he fails a breathalyzer test, forcing him to walk home from Moe’s bar. Since his state of inebriation makes everybody question the validity of his claims, Homer becomes a laughing stock. That is, until Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully hear about Homer’s sighting and decide to investigate it themselves.

After a series of rigorous psychological tests, and some physical activity that was encouraged by Scully because Homer could stand to lose some weight, Homer still can’t prove the alien’s existence, until Bart finally captures its likeness on video.

Paying respectful homage to The X-Files without ever taking straight jabs at the series because Duchovny and Anderson are in on the joke, “The Springfield Files” captures the Mulder and Scully dynamic to a T with lines from Mulder like “Look at this, Scully: there has been another unsubstantiated UFO sighting in the heartland of America. We’ve got to get there right away.”

When Scully, the perpetual skeptic, mentions that there’s an actual sting operation involving illegal drug and weapons transport, Mulder simply brushes it off, stating “I hardly think the FBI is concerned with matters like that.”

To drive the authenticity of this exchange home, “The Springfield Files” does an excellent job recreating Mulder and Scully’s actual office from The X-Files, making the premise all the more ridiculous.

Framed entirely by Leonard Nimoy (until he frantically dips out before the episode’s conclusion), “The Springfield Files” was well-received, and remains a shining example of how crossover episodes should be done.

As of this writing, the episode is the seventh highest-rated episode (out of 772) of The Simpsons on IMDb, with a 9.1 rating. While Jean and Reiss may have had their doubts ahead of the episode’s release, time has proven that combining sci-fi drama with satire was a successful formula.

And while Mulder still wants to believe in the “unsolved mysteries of unsolved mysteries,” it’s safe to say that Scully was right to purchase a “Homer is a dope” t-shirt when it’s revealed that the alien was just a dazed and disoriented Mr. Burns after receiving his weekly longevity treatment.