Gillian Anderson was so wrapped up while The X-Files was on the air that she never got to appreciate the quality until years after it ended.

The truth was out there for a long time that The X-Files was an incredible show - well, for about half its run, at least. But Dana Scully herself, Gillian Anderson, didn't realize it at the time, not acknowledging The X-Files' high notes until well after it went off the air for the first time in 2002.

Appearing on the Smartless podcast (via EW), Gillian Anderson remembered the interference she ran into that pushed her to block out the success of The X-Files. She added,

Gillian Anderson isn't the only one who was ready by this point, as The X-Files saw a dramatic dip in quality after season five, with a strong argument for anything after season six. Really, when we think about the show's best episodes, we're talking ones like "Squeeze" (season 1), "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" (season 3), "Bad Blood" (season 5), and more from the first half of the series. Who is really out there defending the post-Mulder episodes? After the ninth season went off the air, there were gaps in releases of more material, with movie The X-Files: I Want to Believe coming in 2008 and two additional seasons arriving in 2016 and 2018.

Where do you think The X-Files truly lost its way? What are your favorite episodes from the show? Make us believe in the comments section below.