This Interactive Map Plots Every 'X-Files' Location

The new X-Files mini-season is debuting this Sunday, and while I'm trying to keep my excitement in check, I can't help but be immensely hopeful that the new six-episode installment will kick major ass.

Luckily, I can occupy myself in the meantime with this exhaustive data visualization project from fellow fan Jane Roberts. Roberts plotted the purported location of each episode (not where it was actually filmed) from the first seven seasons on an interactive map, where clicking each pinpoint gives the name and synopsis of the corresponding episode.

It's a fitting way to view the scope of the show. One of the many great things about the series—aside from its peyote-trip inventiveness and smoldering co-lead chemistry—is the places Mulder and Scully visit on their weekly quests for truth. Under a consistently dove-grey sky, the agents visit unremarkable suburbs and tiny rural towns where secrets are hard to hide. Most of the locations are forgettable, interchangeable: dots on a map.

And Roberts notes that X-Files fever peaked right when the internet took off, enabling fans of the show to chat about their reactions, share theories and make fansites. On the project website, Roberts writes: "Had mapping been as accessible then as it is today, I believe the X-Philes [would have] interacted with the show through mapping the locations visited by Agents Scully and Mulder."

The six sequel episodes feature most of the original cast (yes, even the Smoking Man), as well as the best writers and directors from the original series run. Make sure you're up to date.