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The Lone Gunmen Are Not Dead

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the back-from-the-dead dept.

He Who Has No Name writes: It may have been one of Slashdot's most memorable front-page gaffes, but apparently there's no harm and no foul — because the Lone Gunmen are set to ride again in the X-Files return. Comicbook.com reports, "The Lone Gunmen, the X-Files' trio of conspiracy theorists, are set to appear in Fox's six-episode event. The three characters were played by Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, and Bruce Harwood. Haglund, who played the gunman 'Ringo,' confirmed his and his compatriots' return on Twitter today." We'll see how see how series creator Chris Carter handles their apparently greatly-exaggerated demise, and whether the explanation used in the print comics comes into play.

70 comments

  1. Spoilers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well I hope there return to the show wasn't supposed to be a surpise. Maybe Slashdot could stop posting lone gunmen spoilers as headlines.

    1. Re:Spoilers by Fire_Wraith · · Score: 1

      If they were confirming it on Twitter, then it's not exactly much of a secret, is it?

    2. Re:Spoilers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If this were coming out the day it aired, or even a day or two on either side, I'd agree. But if this were a spoiler, you'd have to stay away from every geeky and pop-culture-oriented site for 6 months. You'd be far better off blaming the actor for this than anybody on /.

    3. Re:Spoilers by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think that the entertainment industry has found out that people don't care about spoilers or that spoiling just enough will actually drive viewership. The Simpsons has become pretty notorious for making advanced announcements of exactly what's going to happen and movie trailers have been giving away practically everything for a while now, but it doesn't seem to have hurt business. I've heard some people suggest that trailers that essentially give away the entire movie are more effective at attracting viewers than those which merely introduce the movie in a more broad manner, but I haven't read any studies to suggest that one approach is more effective than the other, but if it were detrimental to business I have a hard time believing that so many studios would be doing it.

    4. Re:Spoilers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that the entertainment industry has found out that people don't care about spoilers or that spoiling just enough will actually drive viewership. The Simpsons has become pretty notorious for making advanced announcements of exactly what's going to happen and movie trailers have been giving away practically everything for a while now,

      That's nothing new, go look up trailers for movies you've seen that we made in the 70's and early 80's and see how much they outright summarize the plot of the film.

    5. Re:Spoilers by Optic7 · · Score: 1

      This story may have something to do with the discovery you have described.

    6. Re:Spoilers by alvinrod · · Score: 1

      Perhaps it's been going on for a lot longer than I would have realized, but I don't think it was always that way. Watch the trailer for something like Alien and tell me that it gives anything about the movie away other than it's set in space and is probably going to be kind of creepy.

      Then again, there are examples (NSFW) that prove your point.

    7. Re:Spoilers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Current trailers often have little in the way of spoilers, but also give a false impression of what the movie is going to be like and focus on specific high spots.

    8. Re:Spoilers by zennyboy · · Score: 1

      And, for all that is holy, *their

    9. Re:Spoilers by Raenex · · Score: 1

      Then again, there are examples [youtube.com] (NSFW) that prove your point.

      I agree, titties in the trailer are a pretty big spoiler.

      COCKFIGHTER

    10. Re:Spoilers by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      Alien also managed the suspense well at the time by having the least-well-known actor be the survivor. Of course, if you've seen trailers for any of the later ones, then you expect her to be fine, so this didn't last much beyond the original release.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  2. It was a dream by fustakrakich · · Score: 5, Funny

    They all come walking out of the shower

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    1. Re:It was a dream by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2

      From Scully's bedroom, wearing pink robes and slippers.

    2. Re:It was a dream by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Scully would never wear pink! Her robe's probably dark "suit blue" or black.

  3. Praise by Westend-IT-Store · · Score: 0

    Well said.

  4. Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by seven+of+five · · Score: 3, Interesting

    In the X-Files, the three were portrayed as tech-savvy, conspiracy theorist misfits who nevertheless had meaningful contributions and important roles.
    When they got their own series, for some reason, they were turned into silly nutjobs not to be taken seriously. I hope the revival brings back their edge.

    1. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering they're conspiracy theorists, they should be portrayed as such: silly nutjobs.

    2. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah. The world needs a lesson in faith from the military-industrial-entertainment complex. We should trust our elected leaders and the government more than we do the nutjobs who rant about our government spying on us or reading all our e-mail (really, what hard drive would be big enough to keep all that) or listening to our phone conversations. They've been gabbing on about that nonsense since the 60's, back when they hallucinated that the FBI was undertaking "counterintelligence" operations against enemies on US soil like Martin Luther King Jr and college students. All this baloney about drones and inter-bank rate fixing and whatnot -- when will they ever learn to let go of the paranoia and trust the people with whom the rest of us entrusted our votes?

    3. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      From what I remember of the show, many of the government conspiracies that they talk about ended up being real (ECHELON, listening rooms at telco, to name a couple).

    4. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by serbanp · · Score: 1

      don't forget the eery depiction of flying an airliner into a sky-scraper (afair it was the Empire State, though). Just a few months (?) before nine-eleven...

    5. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by Raenex · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It was six months before 9/11 and actually the World Trade Center:

      The Sept. 11 Parallel "Nobody Noticed" ("Lone Gunmen" Pilot Episode Video)
      http://www.freerepublic.com/fo... :

      Six months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- March 4, 2001, to be exact -- Gunmen premiered with an episode featuring a terrorist plot to fly a commercial airliner into the World Trade Center. The climactic sequence actually shows the plane heading into one of the Twin Towers, but at the last minute, it's pulled upward and just misses the building.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... :

      Similar to theories posited about the events of 9/11, the episode's plot indicates that the hijacking was committed as an act of voracity by a greedy American arms manufacturer to ultimately increase its weapons sales by invoking U.S. retaliation against a scapegoated anti-American extremist dictator.

    6. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by Demonoid-Penguin · · Score: 1

      I hope the revival brings back their edge.

      Likewise - though I hope it doesn't include all the same actors, not that they weren't OK all those years ago.

    7. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by sproketboy · · Score: 1

      Agreed but I still loved that series. I watched it again recently it was hilarious and I was filled with 90's nostalgia.

    8. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by MagickalMyst · · Score: 1

      "an episode featuring a terrorist plot to fly a commercial airliner into the World Trade Center."

      George Bush "Nobody in our administration could have envisioned using planes as missiles and flying them into buildings"

      But Hollywood did...

      --
      Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
    9. Re:Original Lone Gunman series was a travesty... by Zaiff+Urgulbunger · · Score: 1

      ^ this.
      They brought in that extra character... can't remember his name, but he was a complete knob. I think from that point on, the entire series was doomed.

  5. first post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am the lone postman

    1. Re:first post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, you were 8th. The first post had 2 replies in the time it took you to type 31 characters. You lose.

    2. Re:first post by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

      Based upon performance at the box office, I think Kevin Costner was the "Lone Postman"...

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
  6. AASSHOLES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I live over 13 light years away and am yet to catch that episode!

    1. Re:AASSHOLES by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      A bunch of AC's chewed me out on /. for revealing the ending of the Battlestar Galactica TV series (remake) in a comment two weeks after the series finale. They were still waiting for an illegal copy of the final episodes to become available on the Internet. Silly pricks.

    2. Re:AASSHOLES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really? Illegal copies of pretty much all TV shows usually come out about 30 minutes after they air these days. Are you sure that's why they were upset, or are you just assuming?

    3. Re:AASSHOLES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, check the date on when the last episode aired. It may be 30 minutes "these days", but was a bit longer then. I know because, um, well I was, er, researching downloading illegal files for a class.

    4. Re: AASSHOLES by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Time shifting is not illegal.

    5. Re:AASSHOLES by bhhenry · · Score: 1

      Yeah, anyone who watches a show at any time after the Official Live Network Broadcast Premiere deserves to have the ending spoiled.

      --
      signature not found
    6. Re:AASSHOLES by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Last episode of Battlestar Galactica was in 2009. Illegal copies over the net took a while longer to circulate back then. The AC's told me that they were waiting to watch the final episode illegally, as they couldn't afford cable TV or the $1.99 per episode fee on Amazon//iTunes.

    7. Re:AASSHOLES by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      Bullshit, you could torrent the BSG episodes within 3 hours of them airing, even the first season (which was broadcast first in the UK) let alone the last season... I was watching the final episode the morning after it aired in the US, about 8 hours delay (because I was in bed).

    8. Re:AASSHOLES by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      I was more mad at the writers for spoiling the ending of the BSG remake.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    9. Re:AASSHOLES by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      I don't torrent. Not then, not now. I'm just repeating what a bunch of AC's told me back then why they were upset because I revealed the series finale.

  7. PHRASING!!! by otaku244 · · Score: 2

    If any more "Lone Gunmen" make the headlines, even the NRA might have trouble keeping gun hysteria quiet.

    --
    Mod me down, I shall become more off-topic than you could possibly imagine.
  8. Re:Chris Carter is for cows. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Hey there sexconker (1179573), you forgot to tick the "Post Anonymously" box earlier:

    http://news.slashdot.org/comme...

  9. We're Home Chewie! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Full Circle.. the Millenium has arrived.

  10. Come on, the explanation is obvious. by Hotawa+Hawk-eye · · Score: 1

    It's The X-Files. Of course we know who's responsible.

  11. The real question is... by Dracos · · Score: 1

    Will Chris Carter make any reference in the show to how the Lone Gunmen presaged 9/11?

  12. Second chances by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

    So has Slashdot learned its lesson about spoiling shows for people with DVRs and the entire West Coast?

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    1. Re: Second chances by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Another reason it sucks living on the west coast

    2. Re: Second chances by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      If the assholish behaviour of east-coasters is enough to turn up on your metric, then you don't really have much to complain about the west coast.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  13. ohhhhh, so close... not. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    more like the lone FAILman, amirite?

  14. Question about the name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is the name of the their group based of the JFK conspiracy? It is quite moronic. If their are 3 of them, they aren't exactly lone.
    Definition: lone

    adjective
    having no companions; solitary or single.

    1. Re: Question about the name by MadChicken · · Score: 1

      It's all explained here

      --
      SYS 64738 NO CARRIER
    2. Re:Question about the name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was the name of their newspaper.

    3. Re: Question about the name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's like raaaaaaaaaiiiinnnnnn on your wedding day!
      It's a freeeee riiiiiideeeee when you've already paid!
      It's that good adviiiiiiiice that you just didn't take!
      But... who would have thought.... it figgered!

    4. Re:Question about the name by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Is the name of the their group based of the JFK conspiracy? It is quite moronic. If their are 3 of them, they aren't exactly lone.
      Definition: lone

      adjective
      having no companions; solitary or single.

      That's the joke, stupid.
      *WHOOOSH*
      The name is a reference to the fact that there was more than one gunman in the JFK assassination. (Yes, I said fact. Anyone who believes that LHO acted alone is mentally retarded.)

      For further information on the use of "lone" with pluralized nouns, see the 1994 documentary film "Airheads".

    5. Re:Question about the name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reference to what "someone" told them when they asked about the JFK murders.

    6. Re: Question about the name by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Nice try, but you're still a moron.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  15. Re:Chris Carter is for cows. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    sexconker is a cow. Cows say moo. MOOOOOOOO! MOOOOOOOO! Moo cows MOOOOOOO! Moo say the cows. YOU COWS!!

  16. Goddammit, you just did it again! by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    It was supposed to be a surprise twist, you dicks!

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Goddammit, you just did it again! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was never a surprise. The comics retconned their deaths, and its already been confirmed the comics are canon.

  17. Lorne CAPTCHA: epistle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    132 gunfighters were faster than he, but Ringo was looking for 133.

  18. How did slashdot manage to spoil the show? by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I just read the link to the article back in 2002 and the real take home message was:

    How the heck did Slashdot manage to get an article up fast enough to spoil the show within a 3 hour time window? I did a double take, did they spoil the previous week's episode after it had been discussed on every other site on the internet?

    Was slashdot actually fast enough in the past that it published news rather than olds?

    1. Re:How did slashdot manage to spoil the show? by CronoCloud · · Score: 2

      Was slashdot actually fast enough in the past that it published news rather than olds?

      It was, at least some of the time, on some topics. You'd see "new distro release" posts within a couple hours of a new release.

      As for why Slashdot isn't as timely you can blame either:

      1. Dice

      2. VA

      3. Beta

      4. The lack of a CowboyNeal option in polls.

      5. the reduced number of Soviet russia, Natalie Portman and ??? Profit!, and "you must be new here" jokes.

  19. Life imitating art by foreverdisillusioned · · Score: 1

    I don't think I was alone in thinking the Lone Gunmen series was nearly unwatchable due to an over-reliance on goofy humor, but I'll be goddamned if the pilot wasn't, um, worth rewatching.

    This is the elephant in the room that, unfortunately, I don't think anyone is going to have the balls to revist. A TV show about conspiracy theories... began (in March 2001) by showing the main characters just barely managing to prevent an airliner from crashing into the World Trade Center, thus foiling a plot to boost arm sales by provoking a war. The climax is with them pulling back on the stick as hard as they can, just barely missing the top of one of the towers.

    But it's all for northing, isn't it? One of the most chilling pieces of television ever produced, but they can't ever refer back to that episode again. Not with the godawful Truthers and out of respect to the victim's families and everything. I sometimes wonder if that isn't why they never again ventured outside of goofball comedy territory, because they nowhere left to turn after September.

  20. What about the smoking man? by paul_metcalfe · · Score: 1

    X-Files isn't the same without him - *SPOILERS*

    Last ep made it very obvious he's dead. Or at least, just a skull remains.

    --
    Always read at -1, don't let others decide what you should and should not read.
    1. Re:What about the smoking man? by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      No one ever dies in science-fiction

      Jame Cameron

  21. Praise Jesus!!!! by future+assassin · · Score: 2

    I got my 14 year old kid to watch X File and The Lone Gunmen a few years ago and he loved it. He's re-watching X Files again. We use to pick out some of the filming sites around here and visit them and compare it to the movies. Even saw the farm house with the black bird covers on Trans Canada Highway past Cache Creek.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  22. how... recursive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I love how someone used the phrase, "I won't Lone Gunmen the review..." (promising not to post spoilers. Yeah, it became a verb. :)

  23. To much of a good thing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    they where great in one off episodes, but as a show it got stale pretty quick. Sort of like a lot of SNL skits that turn to movies, its great for a short stint or episode but gets old and tired after a full hour.

    Beavis and Butthead and jackass where also like this if you watched a marathon back to back or the movies. Funny for about 15 minutes but then your ready to change to something else.

  24. They are dead by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

    The Gunmen briefly reappeared several months later, as ghosts with whom Mulder seemed to be able to communicate. The trio appeared to him alone, at the side of a road on the Texas-New Mexico border at approximately 5:07 a.m., while Mulder was urinating, having stopped off on the way to New Mexico. Apparently, the apparitions of the Lone Gunmen tried to dissuade Mulder from proceeding to New Mexico with Scully and continuing to search for the truth of colonization once there, but Mulder ignored their warnings and continued on his way. (TXF: "The Truth")

    In the comic book adaptation of the series The X-Files Season 10â"which takes place after the events of The X-Files: I Want to Believeâ"it is revealed that the Lone Gunmen are alive and well, having faked their deaths during the events of "Jump the Shark". The group was aided by the FBI and have since been working underground, aiding the US government; for instance, Langly mentions that he was responsible for the Stuxnet virus in 2010. However, this retcon wouldn't make any sense at all since The Lone Gunmen showed themselves to Mulder as a ghost in the Truth.

    It pissed me off when they killed the the lone gunmen off since it was a series I enjoyed. Having them show up as ghosts confirmed the deaths.

    It's going to have to be an amazing explanation to explain the whole ghost bit.

    I'll enjoy watching x-files again - but I'm flipping my middle finger at the idiots that think that this kind of retcon will relaunch the series.

    --
    _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    1. Re:They are dead by captjc · · Score: 1

      1) Just because they showed up as "ghosts" doesn't mean they were ghosts. Mulder was hallucinating.

      2) We know nothing about the story much less how they will come back. It might very well be a flashback sequence or an archived video tape from before they died or something.

      --
      Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
  25. Called it by Wolfrider · · Score: 1

    --I KNEW IT!!!

    --Totally felt like they weren't really dead all this time. Granted I haven't watched the entire original series run, but just felt like they were still around somewhere/somehow.

    --
    .
    == WolfriderV6 == I'm willing to admit that *I just might* be wrong... Are you??