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{{About|the X-Files episode|the band|X-Cops (band)}}
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{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox television episode
| image = X-cops.png
| alt=A man in a sheriff's uniform is talking to a man with black hair dressed in brown jacket. The film quality is deliberately low-quality.
| caption = [[Fox Mulder]] talking to Deputy Wetzel about the monster. The episode was filmed in the same style as the reality television series ''[[Cops (TV program)|Cops]]''.
| season = 7
| episode = 12
| series = [[The X-Files]]
| guests =
*[[Judson Mills]] as Deputy Keith Wetzel
*Perla Walter as Mrs. Guerrero
*Dee Freeman as Sergeant Paula Duthie
*[[Lombardo Boyar]] as Deputy Juan Molina
*Solomon Eversole as Ricky
*J. W. Smith as Steve
*Curtis C. as Edy
*Maria Celedonio as Chantara Gomez
*Frankie Ray as Crackhead
*[[Tara Karsian]] as Coroner's Assistant
*Daniel Emmett as Cameraman
*John Michael Vaughn as Soundman<ref name="x-cops plot">[[#Shapiro|Shapiro (2000)]] pp. 141{{en dash}}52.</ref>
| writer = [[Vince Gilligan]]
| director = [[Michael W. Watkins|Michael Watkins]]
| length = 44 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/tv-season/the-x-files-season-7/id283986578 |title=The X-Files, Season 7 |publisher=[[iTunes Store]] |access-date=September 22, 2012}}</ref>
| production = 7ABX12<ref name="DVD"/>
| airdate = {{Start date|2000|02|20}}
| prev = [[Closure (The X-Files)|Closure]]
| next = [[First Person Shooter (The X-Files)|First Person Shooter]]
| season_article = The X-Files season 7
| episode_list = List of The X-Files episodes
}}
"'''X-Cops'''" is the twelfth episode of the [[The X-Files season 7|seventh season]] of the American science fiction television series ''[[The X-Files]]''. Directed by [[Michael W. Watkins|Michael Watkins]] and written by [[Vince Gilligan]], the installment serves as a "[[Villain of the week|Monster-of-the-Week]]" story—a stand-alone plot unconnected to the [[Mythology of The X-Files|overarching mythology]] of ''The X-Files''. Originally aired in the United States by the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network on February 20, 2000, "X-Cops" received a [[Nielsen rating]] of 9.7 and was seen by 16.56&nbsp;million viewers. The episode earned positive reviews from critics, largely due to its unique presentation, as well as its use of humor. Since its airing, the episode has been named among the best episodes of ''The X-Files'' by several reviewers.
''The X-Files'' centers on [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) special agents [[Fox Mulder]] ([[David Duchovny]]) and [[Dana Scully]] ([[Gillian Anderson]]), who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called [[X-File]]s. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal; the skeptical Scully was initially assigned to debunk his work, but the two have developed a deep friendship. In this episode, Mulder and Scully are investigating an X-File that takes place during an episode of the Fox reality television program, "[[Cops (TV program)|Cops]]." Mulder believes he is hunting a werewolf, but discovers that the monster is actually feeding on fear. While Mulder embraces the publicity of "Cops," Scully is frustrated by the presence of the film crew.
"X-Cops" is a fictitious crossover with "Cops." The episode was inspired by "Cops," which Gilligan enjoyed watching. He pitched the idea several times to series creator Chris Carter and the series writing staff. The idea was met with a mixed reception, but Gilligan was eventually given the green light to produce the episode because the series was nearing its end with the conclusion of the seventh season. In keeping with the format of the real-life "Cops" program, the entire episode was shot on videotape and featured several members of the "Cops" crew. The episode has been thematically analyzed for its use of postmodernism and its presentation as reality television.
==Plot==
The episode begins with the "Cops" theme song before cutting to Keith Wetzel ([[Judson Mills]]), a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. He and the ''Cops'' film crew are at Willow Park, California, a fictitious high-crime district of Los Angeles. Mrs. Guererro (Perla Walter) reports a monster in her neighborhood. Wetzel visits her home to investigate. Wetzel followed the creature around a corner, expecting to find a dog. But when he saw what it was, he ran back to the crew screaming for them to flee. They ran back to Wetzel's police car, but the windows were smashed, blocking their view. After the X-Files theme song, Wetzel, an injured man, claims to have encountered gang members. The police soon surround Mulder and Scully, believing them to be criminals. But the police soon realize that Mulder and Scully are FBI agents investigating an alleged werewolf that killed a man during the last full moon. Mulder and Scully interview Mrs. Guerrero, who describes the monster to a sketch artist. To Mulder's surprise, Mrs. Guerrero describes not a werewolf, but the horror movie villain [[Freddy Krueger]].
Ricky, the sketch artist, is shortly later found murdered nearby. A broken pink fingernail at the scene leads Mulder and Scully to a local prostitute, Chantara. When the agents track down Chantara, whose face is [[pixelization|pixelated]], she claims that her [[pimp]] attacked Ricky and fears that he will kill her. She pleads with the agents for protection. Mulder and Scully have Wetzel guard Chantara while they assist the police in the raid of a [[Crack cocaine|crack house]]. The two are drawn back outside when Wetzel encounters the entity, wildly shooting at it. Inside a police car, the agents find Chantara with her neck broken. When Mulder questions Wetzel, he admits that he thought he saw the "wasp man", a monster his older brother told him about when he was a kid. Though other deputies express skepticism, an officer finds flattened bullets; indicating they physically impacted something, though no trace is found of what they struck. Mulder formulates a theory that the entity [[shapeshifter|changes its form]] to correspond with its victims' worst fears. Wetzel, Ricky, and Chantara all expressed fear shortly before their run-ins with the entity; it was visible to them, but not to others. The agents think that Steve and Edy may be the entity's next target because they were in the vicinity of Ricky's attack. They head to their house, only to find the couple in the middle of an argument. After Edy expresses fear of a separation from Steve, the couple reconciles. Based on this situation, Mulder proposes that the entity ignored Steve and Edy because they did not exhibit ''mortal'' fear.
Mulder believes that the entity travels from victim to victim like a contagion. At his request, Scully performs an autopsy on Chantara's body at the morgue. During the procedure, a conversation between Scully and the coroner's assistant ([[Tara Karsian]]) causes the latter to panic about a [[Hantavirus]] outbreak. The entity suddenly kills her with the disease. When Mulder discusses the death with Scully, he realizes that Wetzel is in danger of being revisited by the entity. The agents and police return to the crack house, where the entity has trapped an injured Wetzel in an upstairs room. The agents are unable to enter the room until the morning comes when the entity disappears and spares Wetzel's life.
==Production==
===Conception and writing===
[[File:Chris Carter (July 2008).jpg|The concept of the episode was approved by series creator [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]] in the show's [[The X-Files season 7|seventh season]], after it had been vetoed several times before.|upright|thumb|right|alt=A man with white hair is looking and smiling at the camera.]]
"X-Cops" was inspired by the Fox television program ''Cops'', which [[Vince Gilligan]] (the writer of this episode) describes as a "great slice of [[Americana (culture)|Americana]]."<ref name="all things">[[#Shapiro|Shapiro (2000)]] p. 152.</ref> Gilligan first pitched the idea during the show's [[The X-Files season 4|fourth season]] to the ''X-Files'' writing staff and series creator [[Chris Carter (screenwriter)|Chris Carter]],<ref name=cine/> the latter of whom was concerned that the concept was too "goofy".<ref name=hurwitz>[[#Hurwitz|Hurwitz and Knowles (2008)]], p. 179.</ref> Fellow writer and producer [[Frank Spotnitz]] concurred, although he was more uncomfortable with Gilligan's idea of using [[videotape]] instead of [[Film stock|film]]; the show's production crew liked to use film to create "effective scares",<ref name="all things"/> and Spotnitz worried that shooting exclusively on videotape would be too challenging as the series would be unable to cut and edit the final product.<ref name="all things"/> During the show's [[The X-Files season 7|seventh season]], Carter relented. Many critics and fans believed, erroneously, that the seventh season of ''The X-Files'' would be the show's last.<ref name=nydn>{{cite news|last=Mink|first=Eric|title='X Files' Boldy Goes Thru 7th Season|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2000-02-18/entertainment/18139386_1_x-files-alien-conspiracy-cops|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000218000000/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2000-02-18/entertainment/18139386_1_x-files-alien-conspiracy-cops|archive-date=February 18, 2000 |access-date=December 7, 2011|newspaper=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|publisher=[[Mortimer Zuckerman]]|date=February 12, 2000}} [http://duchovny.net/articles2/x_cops_nydn.htm Alt URL]</ref> Similarly, Carter felt that the show had nearly run its course,<ref>{{cite news |last=Pergament |first=Alan |date=January 18, 1999 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23106108.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106001430/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-23106108.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 6, 2013 |title=Chris Carter Feels 'X-Files' Will End By Spring of 2000 |newspaper=[[The Buffalo News]] |publisher=[[Berkshire Hathaway]] |access-date=August 6, 2009}}</ref> and seeing the potential in Gilligan's idea, he decided to [[green-light]] the episode.<ref name="all things"/> Gilligan noted that "the longer we've been on the air, the more chances we've taken. We try to keep the show fresh&nbsp;... I think [Carter] appreciates that".<ref name=cine/> "X-Cops" was not Gilligan's first attempt at writing a cross-over. Almost three years before, he had developed a script that would have taken the form of an ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'' episode, with unknown actors playing Mulder and Scully and [[Robert Stack]] appearing in his role as narrator. This script was later aborted, and re-written as the [[The X-Files season 5|fifth-season]] episode "[[Bad Blood (The X-Files)|Bad Blood]]".<ref name="othercross">[[#Meisler2|Meisler (1999)]] p. 170.</ref>
Gilligan reasoned that, because Mulder and Scully would appear on a nationally syndicated television series, the episode's main monster could not be shown, only "hinted at".<ref name=cine/> Gilligan and the writing staff applied methods previously used in the [[psychological horror]] film ''[[The Blair Witch Project]]'' (1999) to show as little of the monster as possible while still making the episode scary.<ref name=cine>{{cite journal|last=Persons|first=Dan|title=The X-Files: The Making of 'X-Cops'|journal=[[Cinefantastique|CFQ]]|date=October 2000|volume=32|issue=3|pages=28{{en dash}}29}}</ref> [[Michael W. Watkins|Michael Watkins]], who directed the episode, hired several real Sheriff's deputies as extras for the episode. Casting director Rick Milikan later explained that the group needed "actors who could pull off the believability in just normal off-the-cuff conversation of cops on the job."<ref name="all things"/> During the crack house scene, real [[SWAT team]] members were hired to break down the doors.<ref name="s153"/> Actor Judson Mills later explained that, because there were few cameramen and owing to the manner in which the episode was filmed, "people just behaved as if we were [real] cops. I had other cops waving and giving their signals or heads-up the way they do amongst themselves. It was quite funny".<ref name=cine/>
===Filming and post-production===
{{quote box|width=28em|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|What was surprising to all of us was how little time it took to shoot. We basically did one or two takes of something and that was it.|source=—Gillian Anderson, discussing the videotaping  of "X-Cops"<ref name="s153"/>}}
When members of ''The X-Files'' staff asked ''Cops'' producer [[John Langley]] about a potential cross-over, the crew of ''Cops'' liked the idea and "offered their total cooperation."<ref name="all things"/><ref name=cine/> Gilligan even attended the shooting of an episode. Inspired by ''Cops'', Watkins' directing style was unique for this episode, and he even directly filmed some of the scenes himself. He also brought in [[Bertram van Munster]], a cameraman for ''Cops'', to shoot scenes to give the finished product an authentic feel.<ref name=hurwitz/> In an attempt at realism, other staff members from ''Cops'' participated in the production: Daniel Emmet and John Michael Vaughn, two ''Cops'' crew members, were featured during the episode's climax. During rehearsals, Watkins kept the cameras away from the set, so that when videotaping commenced, the cameramen's unfamiliarity would create the "unscripted" feel of a [[Documentary television series|documentary]]. In addition, a ''Cops'' editor was brought in "to insert the trademark blur over the faces of innocent bystanders."<ref name="all things"/> "X-Cops" was filmed in [[Venice, Los Angeles]] and [[Long Beach, California]].<ref name="all things"/>
Due to the nature of the shooting schedule, the episode was relatively cheap to film and production moved at a quick pace. Initially, the actors struggled with the new [[cinéma vérité]] style of the episode, and several takes were needed for scenes during the first few days, but these problems receded as taping progressed. On one night, three-and-a-half pages of script were shot in only two hours; the normal rate for ''The X-Files'' was three to four pages a day.<ref name="s153"/> Both Watkins and Mills likened the filming process to live theater, with the former noting, "In a sense, we were doing theater: we were doing an act or half of a whole act in one take."<ref name=cine/> Anderson called the performance "fun" to shoot, and highlighted "Scully getting pissed off at the camera crew" as her favorite part to play.<ref name=hurwitz/> She further noted that "it was interesting to make the adjustment to playing something more real than you might play for television."<ref name=hurwitz/>
Although recorded to create the illusion that scenes were recorded in single takes, the episode employed several camera tricks and effects. For the opening shot, a "surreptitious cut" helped to replace actor Judson Mills with a stunt person when the cop car is overturned by the monster.<ref name=cine/> Usually, an episode of ''The X-Files'' required editors to make between 800{{en dash}}1200 film cuts, but "X-Cops" only required 45.<ref name="s153"/> During post-production, a minor argument broke out between Vince Gilligan and the network. Originally, Gilligan did not want the ''X-Files'' logo to appear at any time during the episode. He stressed that he wanted "X-Cops" to feel like an "episode of ''Cops'' that happened to involve Mulder and Scully."<ref name="s153"/> The network, fearing that people would not understand that "X-Cops" was actually an episode of ''The X-Files'', vetoed this idea. A compromise was eventually reached: the episode would open with the ''Cops'' theme song, but ''The X-Files'' credits would also appear after the opening scene. In addition, the [[Bumper (broadcasting)|commercial bumpers]] would feature red and blue lights flashing across ''The X-Files'' logo while dialogue is heard in the background, in a similar fashion to the ''Cops'' logo.<ref name="s153">[[#Shapiro|Shapiro (2000)]], p. 153.</ref> The episode also features a disclaimer at the beginning informing viewers that the episode is a special installment of ''The X-Files'' to prevent watchers from thinking that the show "has been preempted this week by ''Cops''".<ref name=hurwitz/>
==Themes==
Several critics, such as M. Keith Booker, have argued that "X-Cops" is an example of ''The X-Files'' delving into the [[postmodernism|postmodern]] school of thought.<ref name=strangetv/> Postmodernism has been described as a "style and concept in the arts [that] is characterized by the self-conscious use of earlier styles and conventions [and the] mixing of different artistic styles and media".<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of postmodernism|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/postmodernism?view=uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106083239/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/postmodernism?view=uk|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 6, 2015|work=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|access-date=September 1, 2012}}</ref> According to Booker, the episode helps to "identify the series as postmodern [due to its] cumulative summary of modern American culture", or, in this case, the show's merging with another popular television series.<ref name=strangetv>[[#Booker|Booker (2002)]], p. 125.</ref> The episode also serves as an example of the series' "self-consciousness in terms of its status as a (fictional) television" show.<ref>[[#Yang|Leslie-McCarthy (2007)]], p. 146.</ref>
According to [[Jeremy G. Butler|Jeremy Butler]]'s book ''Television Style'', the episode, along with many other [[Found footage (film technique)|found footage]]-type movies and shows, helps to suggest that what is being promoted as "live TV", is actually a series of events that have already unfolded in the past.<ref name=style>[[#Butler|Butler (2012)]], p. 150.</ref> Even though the episode is "self-conscious", "reflexive", and humorous, the real-time aspects of "X-Cops" "heighten[s] the sense of realism within the episode", and makes the result come across as hyper-realistic.<ref name=reality>[[#Friedman|Friedman (2002)]], p. 22.</ref> This sense of realism is further heightened by the near lack of music in the episode; aside from the title theme, [[Mark Snow]]'s soundtrack is not to be heard.<ref>[[#Sipos|Sipos (2010)]], p. 237.</ref>
==Broadcast and reception==
"X-Cops" was first broadcast in the United States on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] network on February 20, 2000.<ref name="DVD">{{cite AV media notes |title=The X-Files: The Complete Seventh Season  |last1=Manners |first1=Kim |display-authors=etal|type=booklet |publisher=[[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]]|location=[[Los Angeles]]}}</ref> Watched by 16.56&nbsp;million viewers, according to the [[Nielsen ratings]] system, it was the second-highest rated episode of the season, after "[[The Sixth Extinction (The X-Files)|The Sixth Extinction]]". It received a Nielsen rating of 9.7, with a 14 share among viewers, meaning that 9.7&nbsp;percent of all households in the United States, and 14&nbsp;percent of people watching television at that time, tuned into the episode.<ref name="comp">[[#Shapiro|Shapiro (2000)]], p. 281.</ref> On May 13, 2003, "X-Cops" was released on DVD as part of the complete seventh-season box set.<ref>{{cite AV media |last=Manners|first=Kim |year=2006 |title=The X-Files: The Complete Seventh Season |medium=DVD |publisher=[[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]]|location=[[Los Angeles]]|display-authors=etal}}</ref>
[[File:Vince Gilligan 2010.jpg|"X-Cops", written by [[Vince Gilligan]], received praise from critics, largely due to its unique format as well as its use of humor.|upright|thumb|right|alt=A man with black glasses and a black mustache and beard is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a black shirt.]]
Initial critical reaction to the episode was generally positive, although a few reviewers felt that the episode was a gimmick. Eric Mink of the ''[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]'' described it as "nifty" and "exceptionally clever."<ref name=nydn/> While noting that "''The X-Files'' hasn't exactly smoked this season", Kinney Littlefield from the ''[[Orange County Register]]'' called "X-Cops" a stand-out episode from the seventh season.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-5747618_ITM | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730223230/http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-5747618_ITM | archive-date=July 30, 2012 | title=Scully Gets Mystical in Gentle 'X-Files' Written/Directed by Gillian Anderson | publisher=[[Freedom Communications]] | date=April 7, 2000 | access-date=December 27, 2011 | last=Littlefield | first=Kinney | newspaper=[[Orange County Register]] | url-status=dead | df=mdy-all }}</ref> Stegall wrote of Vince Gilligan: "top honors must go to Vince Gilligan, whose work on ''The X-Files'' is consistently the sharpest and most consistent."<ref name="stegall">{{cite web|last=Stegall |first=Sarah |title=Don't Boggart That Cop |url=http://www.munchkyn.com/xf-rvws/xcops.html |publisher=The Munchkyn Zone |access-date=May 2, 2012 |year=2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915034505/http://www.munchkyn.com/xf-rvws/xcops.html |archive-date=September 15, 2011 }}</ref> Tom Kessenich, in his book ''Examinations'', gave the episode a largely positive review. He called the entry "one of the most entertaining episodes of the season" and "60 minutes of pure fun".<ref name="kess">[[#Kessenich|Kessenich (2002)]], p. 113.</ref> Rich Rosell from Digitally Obsessed awarded the episode 5 out of 5 stars and wrote that "some might view it as a stunt, but having Mulder and Scully be part of a spot-on ''Cops!'' parody (complete with full "Bad Boys, bad boys" intro) is just brilliant stuff".<ref>{{cite web|last=Rosell|first=Rich|title=The X-Files: The Complete Seventh Season|date=July 27, 2003|url=http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=4807|publisher=DigitallyObsessed|access-date=January 14, 2012|archive-date=May 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529055901/http://www.digitallyobsessed.com/displaylegacy.php?ID=4807|url-status=dead}}</ref> Not all reviews were positive. Kenneth Silber from [[Space.com]] gave the episode a negative review and wrote, "'X-Cops' is a wearisome episode. Watching the agents and police repeatedly run through the darkened streets of Los Angeles after an unseen—and uninteresting—foe evokes merely a sense of futility. The use of the format of the Fox TV show ''Cops'' provides some transient novelty but little drama or humor."<ref>{{cite web|last=Silber |first=Kenneth |title=TV Review: The X-Files {{en dash}} 'X-Cops' |url=http://space.com/sciencefiction/tv/xfiles_712_000222.html |publisher=[[Space.com]] |date=July 23, 2000 |access-date=January 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050207164659/http://space.com/sciencefiction/tv/xfiles_712_000222.html |archive-date=February 7, 2005 }}</ref>
Later reviews praised the episode as one of the show's best installments. [[Robert Shearman]], in his book ''Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen'', rated the episode four stars out of five.<ref name="shearman">[[#Shearman|Shearman (2009)]], pp. 216{{en dash}}17.</ref> Describing the episode as "funny", "clever", and "actually quite frightening", Shearman wrote positively of the faux documentary style, likening it to ''The Blair Witch Project''.<ref name="shearman"/> Zack Handlen of ''[[The A.V. Club]]'' awarded the episode an "A{{en dash}}" and called it "witty, inventive, and intermittently spooky".<ref name="av club">{{cite web|last=Handlen|first=Zack|title='Closure'/'X-Cops' {{!}} The X-Files/Millennium|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-x-files-closure-x-cops-1798175453|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|publisher=[[The Onion]]|access-date=January 13, 2013|date=January 12, 2013}}</ref> He argued that the episode was a late-series "gimmick episode" and compared it to the last few seasons of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]''; although he reasoned that ''House'' relied on gimmicks to prop itself up, "X-Cops" is "the work of a creative team which may be running out of ideas, but still has enough gas in the tank to get us where we need to go."<ref name="av club"/> Furthermore, Handlen felt that the show used the ''Cops'' format to the best of its ability and that many of the scenes were humorous, startling, or a combination of both.<ref name="av club"/>
Since its airing, "X-Cops" has appeared on several best-of lists. [[Montreal]]'s [[The Gazette (Montreal)|''The Gazette'']] named it the eighth best ''X-Files'' episode, writing that it "pushed the show to new post-modern heights."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=ab9b65d4-0347-48c9-a2fa-46c444fda92c |title=Top Drawer Files: The Best Stand-Alone X-Files Episodes |publisher=[[Postmedia Network]] |date=July 25, 2008 |access-date=November 16, 2011 |newspaper=[[The Gazette (Montreal)|The Gazette]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321062738/http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/story.html?id=ab9b65d4-0347-48c9-a2fa-46c444fda92c |archive-date=March 21, 2014 }}</ref> Rob Bricken from [[Topless Robot]] named it the fifth funniest ''X-Files'' episode,<ref>{{cite web|last=Bricken|first=Rob|title=The 10 Funniest X-Files Episodes|url=http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/10/the_10_funniest_x-files_episodes.php?page=2|date=October 13, 2009|work=Topless Robot|publisher=[[Village Voice Media]]|access-date=December 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612031817/http://www.toplessrobot.com/2009/10/the_10_funniest_x-files_episodes.php?page=2|archive-date=June 12, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and Starpulse described it as the funniest ''X-Files'' episode, writing that when the series "did comedy, it was probably the funniest drama ever on television".<ref>{{cite web|last=Payne|first=Andrew|title='X-Files' 10 Best Episodes|url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/Andrew_Payne/2008/07/25/x_files_10_best_episodes|publisher=Starpulse|access-date=November 16, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219002540/http://www.starpulse.com/news/Andrew_Payne/2008/07/25/x_files_10_best_episodes|archive-date=December 19, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[UGO]] named the episode's main antagonist as one of the greatest "Top 11 X-Files Monsters," noting that the creature is a "perfect [Monster-of-the-Week] if only because the monster in question is a living, breathing metaphor, a never-seen specter that shifts to fit the fears of the person witnessing it."<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 11 X-Files Monsters |url=http://www.ugo.com/movies/top-xfiles-monsters-monster |work=[[UGO Networks]] |publisher=[[IGN Entertainment]] |date=July 21, 2008 |access-date=March 1, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714040959/http://www.ugo.com/movies/top-xfiles-monsters-monster |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}</ref> Narin Bahar from ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' named the episode one of the "Best Sci-Fi TV Mockumentaries" and wrote, "Whether you see this as a brilliantly post-modern merging of fact and fiction or shameless cross-promotion of two of the Fox Network's biggest TV shows, there's lots of nods to the real ''Cops'' show in this episode".<ref name=sfx/> Bahar praised the scene featuring the terrified lady telling Mulder that Freddy Krueger attacked her—calling the scene the "best in-joke"—and applauded the two series' cohesion.<ref name="sfx">{{cite news|last=Bahar|first=Narin|title=Best Sci-Fi TV Mockumentaries {{en dash}} The X-Files {{en dash}} X-Cops|url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/09/24/best-sci-fi-tv-mockumentaries/5/|access-date=July 27, 2012|newspaper=[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]|date=September 24, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926193919/http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/09/24/best-sci-fi-tv-mockumentaries/5/|archive-date=September 26, 2011|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite book|last=Booker|first=M. Keith|title=Strange TV: Innovative Television Series from The Twilight Zone to The X-Files|year=2002|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|location=[[Santa Barbara, CA]]|isbn=9780313323737|ref=Booker}}
*{{cite book|last=Butler|first=Jeremy|title=Television Style|year=2012|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|location=[[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon-on-Thames, UK]]|isbn=9780415965118|ref=Butler}}
*{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=James|title=Reality Squared: Televisual Discourse on the Real|year=2002|publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]]|location=[[New Brunswick, New Jersey|New Brunswick, NJ]]|isbn=9780813529899|ref=Friedman|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/realitysquaredte0000unse}}
*{{cite book |title=The Complete X-Files |first1=Matt |last1=Hurwitz |first2=Chris |last2=Knowles |publisher=Insight Editions |location=[[San Rafael, CA]] |year=2008 |isbn=9781933784724 |ref=Hurwitz}}
*{{cite book | last = Kessenich | first = Tom | title = Examinations: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6{{en dash}}9 of the X-Files | publisher = [[Trafford Publishing]] | location = [[Bloomington, Indiana|Bloomington, IN]] | year = 2002 | isbn = 9781553698128 | ref = Kessenich | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/examinationsunau0000kess }}
*{{cite book|author=Leslie-McCarthy, Sage|editor=Yang, Sharon|title=The X-Files and Literature: Unweaving the Story, Unraveling the Lie to Find the Truth|year=2007|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|location=[[Cambridge, UK]]|isbn=9781847182395|chapter=''The X-Files'': Continuing the Psychic Detective Legacy|ref=Yang}}
*{{Cite book  | last = Meisler  | first = Andy  | title = Resist or Serve: The Official Guide to The X-Files, Vol. 4  | publisher = [[HarperCollins]]  | location = [[New York City, NY]]  | year = 1999  | isbn = 9780061073090  | ref = Meisler2  | url = https://archive.org/details/resistorserve00meis  }}
*{{cite book|year=2000|author=Shapiro, Marc|title=All Things: The Official Guide to the X-Files Volume 6|publisher=[[Harper Prism]]|location=[[New York City, NY]]|isbn=9780061076114|ref=Shapiro|url=https://archive.org/details/allthings00shap}}
*{{cite book | year=2009 | first1=Robert |last1=Shearman | title=Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen|publisher=[[Mad Norwegian Press]]|location=[[Des Moines, Iowa|Des Moines, IA]]|isbn=9780975944691|ref=Shearman}}
*{{cite book|last=Sipos|first=Thomas|title=Horror Film Aesthetics: Creating The Visual Language of Fear|year=2010|publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]]|location=[[Jefferson, NC]]|isbn=9780786449729|ref=Sipos}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{wikiquote|The_X-Files|The X-Files}}
* {{IMDb episode|0751264|X-Cops}}
{{The X-Files episodes|7}}
{{Cops}}
[[Category:2000 American television episodes]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Crossover television]]
[[Category:Found footage television episodes]]
[[Category:Reality television series parodies]]
[[Category:Television episodes written by Vince Gilligan]]
[[Category:The X-Files season 7 episodes]]
[[Category:Television episodes about werewolves]]