Scully gets mystical in gentle `X-Files' written/directed by Gillian Anderson.(The Orange County Register)

I admit it. For seven seasons I've often thought of level-headed scientist and FBI agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as the woman behind the man.

The man being agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) on ``The X-Files.''

I mean, Mulder has always had the most high-profile fun, the weirdest theories, the goofiest dialogue, the mopiest-dopiest `tude.

Soon, however, Scully could be the woman without the man _ since Duchovny, whose contract expires shortly, may opt not to return for an eighth year of ``X.''

If there is an eighth year, that is. ``The X-Files'' hasn't exactly smoked this season. One exception: its ``Cops'' homage.

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