by Kevin Dickson

For the past year, the X-Files credo that "The truth is out there" has been equally applicable to the future of the show itself. Not since Seinfeld's last-minute decision to extent his hit sitcom for another year has the TV world held its collective breath so eagerly.

With the recent announcement that the X-Files will indeed be returning for one more year, with Duchovny appearing in 11 of the season's 22 episodes (for an estimated $350 - 400,000 US per episode) it's not only the fans who are jumping for joy - it's the TV network, for whom the show represents a multi-billion-dollar cash cow.

"I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement that enables me to remain a part of the X-Files," Duchovny said in a formal statement. "Now that all the business issues have been settled, I'm looking forward to getting back to work."

During Duchovny's public ping-pong with the network over his return to The X-Files, he often cited creative staleness as one of his reasons for wanting to end the show. At the same time, that doesn't affect his desire to play the character, or, for that matter, his ongoing desire to appear in feature films, despite not having much luck in that department thus far (e.g. the flops Playing God and Return to Me). "I'm just trying to choose good material," he shrugs. "Something that warrants four months of my life doing.... If it was an FBI agent, and it was the best script I'd read in months, I'd probably do it."

Many fans share the concern that the end of The X-Files may signal the end of Duchovny's career if he fails to make the transition from TV to movie star. Duchovny views the question as an annoyance. "But you see," he explains with bemused patience, "that's not true, if you look at it, it's such a terrible cliché. Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin. Try to name the actors that didn't come out of TV, it's much harder.

"The reason actors come out of TV is it's probably easier to get work in TV when you're first starting out," he continues, "and you come out of TV and you do film work. Demi Moore started in a soap opera. A soap opera is a lot worse than being in the X-Files."

When pressed on more recent TV defectors such as George Clooney and David Caruso, Duchovny becomes slightly incensed. "Clooney's doing great!" he says sternly. "David Caruso - he's a hero in my book. He could be making millions of dollars, but he left (NYPD Blue) because he wasn't being treated well and it wasn't creative for him anymore. Just because he hasn't been in a hit movie doesn't mean he's not a great actor. It's luck whether or not you're going to be in a movie that makes money."

Speaking of TV, The X-Files took a lot of heat, both from critics and fans, when it moved from Vancouver to Los Angeles this season. The fans bemoaned the lack of spooky, misty locales. The critics bemoaned a loss of purpose, alleging that the series had lost its impetus. Both factions overlooked the truth, which is that the X-Files has always been patchy, in the great way that only truly innovative, imaginative and risk-taking television can be.

Yet, this year, The X-Files hit the nail on the head, rather consistently. Among a slew of killer weirdo episodes, there was the inspired Cops hybrid, a perfect example of a show delighting in the deconstruction of its own myths. Duchovny was slated to direct the episode, but that didn't work out. "I just had too much other work. To direct, you need not to be in the preceding episode so you can do prepping , and they just didn't write me out." Another wild and risky hit was the Duchovny-penned-and-directed episode in which Mulder and Scully went to Hollywood and were played in a movie by Garry Shandling and Duchovny's wife, Tea Leoni.

Duchovny smiles at the memory of working with his wife. "She didn't need any direction," he enthuses. "She was really phenomenal, and she'd do stuff that I would never think to tell her, and she's just really always right. She's gifted."

Does this mean that we can expect a joint venture out of the Duchovny-Leoni household, other than daughter Madelaine? "Objectively, I'd like to work with her because I think she's so great," Duchovny says cautiously. "Personally, I would be a little afraid to work with her because I think it's a little icky when you start using your relationship publicly. If I wasn't married to her, she'd be the first person I would want to work with.."