The Lone Gunmen (TV series)

infobox television
bgcolour = #708090
show_name = The Lone Gunmen


caption = "The Lone Gunmen" title screen
format = Science fiction, drama
runtime = 45 min (per episode)
creator = Chris Carter
starring = Tom Braidwood,
Bruce Harwood,
Dean Haglund
country = CANcite journal
url=http://www.x-files.gr/egunmen.htm
title=The man who created The X-Files is coming back to Vancouver.
journal=The Vancouver Sun
date=2002-02-09
accessdate=2007-01-11]
USA
network = FOX
first_aired = March 4, 2001
last_aired =
June 1, 2001
num_episodes = 13
imdb_id = 0243069
related = "The X-Files"
"Millennium"

"The Lone Gunmen" is a television show created by Chris Carter and broadcast on FOX. It is a spin off of Carter's popular long running "The X-Files", starring several of the show's characters. The show was first broadcast in March 2001 and, despite positive reviews, it was cancelled because of a drop in ratings. [ [http://lonegunmen.furvect.com/lgmrate.htm The Warehouse - Ratings for the Lone Gunmen tv show ] ] The last episode was broadcast in June 2001 and ended on a cliffhanger which was resolved in a ninth season episode of "The X-Files" entitled "Jump the Shark".

The series revolved around the three characters of The Lone Gunmen; Melvin Frohike, John Fitzgerald Byers and Richard Langly, a group of "geeky" investigators who ran a conspiracy theory magazine. They had often helped FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on "The X-Files".

Typical plots

Unlike "The X-Files", whose storylines dealt mainly with supernatural creatures and government alien conspiracies, episodes of "The Lone Gunmen" generally featured more "plausible" plots, such as cheating husbands, corporate crime, arms-dealers, and escaped Nazis. The show had a light atmosphere and focused heavily on physical comedy. The trio were often aided (and sometimes hindered) by a mysterious thief named Yves Adele Harlow (Zuleikha Robinson).

The series was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

9/11 Coincidence

Foreshadowing a number of conspiracy theories in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the plot of the March 4, 2001 pilot episode of the series depicts a secret U.S. government agency plotting to crash a Boeing 727 headed for Boston into the World Trade Center via remote control for the purpose of increasing the military defense budget and blaming the attack on foreign "tin-pot dictators" who are "begging to be smart-bombed." [_ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0635314/#comment "The Lone Gunmen" Pilot (2001)] _. IMDB. Accessed 4 July 2008 at 10:52:13 EST. Plot Keywords, Fun Stuff: Goofs, User Comments: Crisp and snappy. (Edgewalker. _Crisp and snappy_. 21 November 2007. IMDB:Tuxford, England. Accessed 4 July 2008 at 10:52:13 EST.)] [ [http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Gunmen-Complete-Gunman/dp/B0006UEVUE Amazon.com: The Lone Gunmen - The Complete Series: Movies & TV: Lone Gunman] . Accessed 4 July 2008. Note: This episode was broadcast in Australia on August 30, less than two weeks before the 9/11 attacks.]

Episode list

# Pilot (March 4 2001)
# Bond, Jimmy Bond (March 11 2001)
# Eine Kleine Frohike (March 16 2001)
# Like Water for Octane (March 18 2001)
# Three Men and a Smoking Diaper (March 23 2001)
# Madam, I'm Adam (March 30 2001)
# Planet of the Frohikes: A Short History of My Demeaning Captivity (April 6 2001)
# Maximum Byers (April 13 2001)
# Diagnosis: Jimmy (April 20 2001)
# Tango de los Pistoleros (April 27 2001; Spanish for "Tango of the Pistoleer")
# Lying Game (May 4 2001)
# All About Yves (May 11 2001), Series Finale
# Cap'n Toby Show (June 1 2001), "Lost Episode"
# Jump the Shark (April 21, 2002), The Series Finale

*Note: Jump the Shark is also an X-Files episode.

Characters and cast

*Tom Braidwood - Melvin Frohike
*Dean Haglund - Richard "Ringo" Langly
*Bruce Harwood - John Fitzgerald Byers
*Stephen Snedden - Jimmy Bond

Yves Adele Harlow is the alias for a fictional character who sometimes works with the Lone Gunmen (though she's sometimes at odds with them, as her goals are rarely as selfless as theirs) and often employs various disguises. Her actual name is Lois Runce, and she is the daughter of an arms dealer. Jimmy Bond is emotionally attached to her, although his feelings are unrequited. The alias is an anagram for Lee Harvey Oswald. She is played by British actress Zuleikha Robinson.

David Duchovny (Fox Mulder), Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner) and Michael McKean (Morris Fletcher) from "The X-Files" made guest appearances on the show.

Crew

* Executive Producer - Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz
* Creators - Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, Frank Spotnitz
* Frohike, Langly and Byers characters originally created by Glen Morgan and James Wong

DVD release

Fox Home Entertainment officially released the series (along with the episode of "The X-Files" entitled Jump the Shark which finishes the cliffhanger that ended "The Lone Gunmen" as an additional episode) on a three disc Region 1 DVD set on Tuesday 29 March, 2005. In the UK, it was released on the 31st January 2006.

References

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