This X-Files Episode Was So Controversial, Fox Withheld Airing It For 3 Years
Great TV pushes boundaries and is relatable to viewers. Even shows set in other worlds or that feature alien life forms on earth contain within them a kernel of truth that speaks to us and makes us care about the story and its characters.
The X-Files was a great example of a show that was content to go a little further than others at a time when TV more generally was just about to leap from its conformist box and shine a light on society in a way that moving pictures had never yet dared.
But even execs who backed what was to become one of the most iconic cult shows of the early 90s drew the line at one episode which was banned as it was too gruesome and too similar to "stock horror films".
"Home" was the most controversial episode of The X-Files. First broadcast in 1996, it lifted the lid on several subjects that hadn't really featured too much on TV up until that point. Written by James Wong and Glen Morgan, this 'monster of the week episode' explored taboos such as inbreeding, isolationism and infanticide.
And what always happens when something is banned? That's right; demand for it goes sky-high. So, it was inevitable that "Home" would one day return – which it did three years later. And, to this day, it remains one of the most shocking and memorable TV episodes in history.
It was the first X-Files episode to receive the TV-MA rating and, after its initial airing, was held back by Fox for 3 years before it was allowed to be broadcast again.
Focusing on the mutant Peacock family who had lived on the same plot of land since the civil war and had had no interaction with anybody other than each other for generations, the episode not only had some pretty chilling and violent scenes but also ended with one of the brothers escaping with the mother of the family to go on breeding and growing their family together.
It's no wonder that the initial response to the episode from Fox execs was to inform Wong and Morgan that they were "sick". In fact, some changes were forced from above after the show was deemed too shocking by some.
The opening scene originally just showed the family burying a baby but was adapted to include sounds of disease and make the idea slightly more palatable.
This was more than just a horror-type episode of the X-Files. It was a metaphor for an insular way of thinking that was already around at the time but has subsequently been exacerbated by social media echo chambers.
What Wong and Morgan were saying with this episode is that failure to develop leads to brain rot and a warped view of reality. And there is an argument that they were proved right – even if the mere thought of shocking the world did convince execs to try keeping this one under wraps.