# Scotland Yard kept a secret dossier on Star Trek and the X-Files in the run up to the millennium **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 19, 2015, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357 "2015-05-19T11:27:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/1 "2015-05-19T11:27:51Z")
> **[Secret files reveal police feared that Trekkies could turn on society](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11611086/Secret-files-reveal-police-feared-that-Trekkies-could-turn-on-society.html)** > > Scotland Yard kept a secret dossier on Star Trek and the X-Files in the run up to the millennium amid security concerns > [@](#): > > It has emerged that Scotland Yard kept a secret dossier on Star Trek, The X-Files, and other US sci fi shows amid fears that British fans would go mad and kill themselves, turn against society or start a weird cult. > > The American TV shows Roswell and Dark Skies and the film The Lawnmower Man were also monitored to protect the country from rioting and cyber attacks. > > Special Branch was concerned that people hooked on such material could go into a frenzy triggered by the millennium leading to anarchy. > > An undated confidential report to the Metropolitan Police, thought to have been filed around 1998-99, listed concerns about conspiracy theorists who believed the end of the world was nigh. I can’t find a complete copy of the actual report online so it’s hard to say if or how much this story mis-characterizes the actual concerns. Apparently, there were no concerns about _Dr. Who_ or _Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy_, which seems strange. It’s not like the US is alone in creating cult SciFi. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/2 "2015-05-19T12:39:05Z")
Huh. Concerns about some sort of X-Files induced paranoia and mass insanity seem most plausible. After all, the entire show was about how the government is conspiring with aliens to experiment on you and colonize you and… something. The end of the world is always near, and there’s always a monster under your bed. IIRC there were even a few episodes with cults and mass suicides. Rewatching it decades later, I’m struck by how so many episodes are left unresolved. Mulder and Scully get away, but the monster is still out there, waiting for you, and the evil conspirators only have a minor setback which they deal with by getting rid of the witnesses. Star Trek is so full of techno-optimism that I have a hard time imagining any sort of trek-inspired cults or unrest. OTOH, what possible madness could Hitchhiker’s Guide inspire? A sudden outbreak of people carrying around their towel and not panicking? ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/3 "2015-05-19T12:58:04Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Star Trek is so full of techno-optimism that I have a hard time imagining any sort of trek-inspired cults or unrest. And yet the [Heaven’s Gate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_(religious_group)) cult took a fair amount of inspiration from _Star Trek_ and used a lot of Trek terminology, like “prime directive” and “away team,” and compared life outside the cult to living on the holodeck. Reportedly the cult did at least some recruiting at Star Trek conventions. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/4 "2015-05-19T13:28:26Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Huh. Concerns about some sort of X-Files induced paranoia and mass insanity seem most plausible. After all, the entire show was about how the government is conspiring with aliens to experiment on you and colonize you and… something. The end of the world is always near, and there’s always a monster under your bed. IIRC there were even a few episodes with cults and mass suicides. Rewatching it decades later, I’m struck by how so many episodes are left unresolved. Mulder and Scully get away, but the monster is still out there, waiting for you, and the evil conspirators only have a minor setback which they deal with by getting rid of the witnesses. > > Star Trek is so full of techno-optimism that I have a hard time imagining any sort of trek-inspired cults or unrest. > > OTOH, what possible madness could Hitchhiker’s Guide inspire? A sudden outbreak of people carrying around their towel and not panicking? I’m having trouble imagining any of them causing unrest. _Star Trek_ causing unrest is no less ridiculous than _Hitchiker’s Guide_ or _Dr. Who_ causing it. Apparently they thought US shows were potentially dangerous but not good old homespun UK shows. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/5 "2015-05-19T16:24:27Z")
Funny enough, there’s no mention of them watching _Millennium_. ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/6 "2015-05-19T18:20:56Z")
It sounds like the premise to a click bait ad - Read About This One Weird Trick An English Bureaucrat Discovered To Get PAID To Watch American TV! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/7 "2015-05-19T18:29:34Z")
It’s freakin hilarious. Who is the one who causes riots? Football hooligans (both types), upsetting cars, setting fires, causing all kinds of trouble, even causing deaths. Apparently who are we watching? Sci-fi fans. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/8 "2015-05-19T19:22:22Z")
Out of concern about the X-Files, they sort of became the X-Files. > [@davidm](#): > > Apparently they thought US shows were potentially dangerous but not good old homespun UK shows. Well, back in the day, all that head-scratching after the finale of the Prisoner probably sent quite a few people to the NHS. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/9 "2015-05-19T20:07:36Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Star Trek is so full of techno-optimism that I have a hard time imagining any sort of trek-inspired cults or unrest. Heh. Futurama has Star Trek banned after the Star Trek Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/10 "2015-05-19T20:09:47Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Heh. Futurama has Star Trek banned after the Star Trek Wars. There oughta be a law! ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/11 "2015-05-20T09:15:49Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I can’t find a complete copy of the actual report online so it’s hard to say if or how much this story mis-characterizes the actual concerns. Of course it mis-characterises the concerns – it’s an attention-grabbing newspaper article. Instead of “Secret files reveal police feared that Trekkies could turn on society”, a more sober headline might be “Police commission report following cult mass suicide” – which seems to have been what actually happened. > [@](#): > > An undated confidential report to the Metropolitan Police, thought to have been filed around 1998-99, listed concerns about conspiracy theorists who believed the end of the world was nigh. > “Fuel is added to the fire by television dramas and feature films mostly produced in America,” the report said. > "These draw together the various strands of religion, UFOs, conspiracies, and mystic events and put them in an entertaining storyline.” > It added: “Obviously this is not sinister in itself, what is of concern is the devotion certain groups and individuals ascribe to the contents of these programmes.” There’s no suggestion that they were actively investigating or monitoring Sci-Fi fans, or ever considered it. > [@davidm](#): > > Apparently, there were no concerns about _Dr. Who_ or _Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy_, which seems strange. It’s not like the US is alone in creating cult SciFi. Well, aside from a single TV movie, _Doctor Who_ had been off the air for about 10 years by the time the report was written, and _Hitchhikers_ TV series was a single season in 1981, so I can’t imagine they’d be very current concerns at the time. Besides which, as far as I can see, the actual report wasn’t “Ooo! Sci-Fi fans: they could turn nasty!”, but rather “Here are some things that potentially dangerous cultists have built their world-view from”. Yes, some TV series are mentioned, but so are religion and conspiracy theories. I’m moderately sure that the reason the Telegraph is spinning this as being about SFTV is in this bit: > [@](#): > > The secret briefing note was obtained from the Met under the Freedom of Information Act by Sheffield-based British _X-Files_ expert Dr Dave Clarke while researching a new book, _How UFOs Conquered the World_. (Notice how, in this one article, the document in question goes from being called a “dossier” to “a report” to “a note”) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/12 "2015-05-20T14:52:38Z")
You’re taking all the fun out of it. Of course it’s a mis-characterization. I wasn’t aware the Dr. Who wasn’t on the air at the time. I know that there have been new episodes more recently. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/13 "2015-05-20T15:05:07Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > You’re taking all the fun out of it. Ah, sorry. Bullshit news stories just really piss me off, sometimes. :o ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/14 "2015-05-20T17:16:03Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Ah, sorry. Bullshit news stories just really piss me off, sometimes. :o That’s okay. I also hate bullshit news stories, but this one is of no real consequence, and has a germ of truth, so I thought it would be fun to post it, but I understand your objections. ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/15 "2015-05-20T17:49:50Z")
Maybe some one there was a fan and did not have enough time to watch them at home? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/16 "2015-05-21T03:51:24Z")
Doctor Who was on hiatus from 1989 to 2005. I do have a towel around my neck while I’m typing. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/17 "2015-05-21T04:34:39Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Heh. Futurama has Star Trek banned after the Star Trek Wars. Were those before or after the Star Wars Trek (the vast migration of Star Wars fans)? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/18 "2015-05-21T05:07:11Z")
> [@Gothic](#): > > Maybe some one there was a fan and did not have enough time to watch them at home? My wife worked at a post office that was near a mental hospital, in the Caribbean. Suffice to say some patients sent some very ODD letters to various world leaders, nothing actually outright threatening but very odd. Like a rambling missive mentioning “finger prints of the mind” to the prime minister of the USA pleading for help from the shadowy figures harassing the writer and finger printing his mind.(got to read them because the protective services would bring a copy). As the only full time clerk she was visited by the US secret service multiple times, UK secret service multiple times, and various others. Even after she quit she heard from the current clerks the visits are a regular occurrence to this day. Always two agents too, always basically pointless and fruitless as often she couldn’t even identify the letter mailer. What is my point here? Well I bet these agents FIGHT over the arduous job of having to go to the Caribbean and investigate these odd mailings.😉 Just like I bet it was a arduous job watching full seasons of various sci fi shows as your job to make sure no threats were present.😉 LOL ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/19 "2015-05-21T05:10:11Z")
> [@grude](#): > > Like a rambling missive mentioning “finger prints of the mind” to the **prime minister of the USA** pleading for help from the shadowy figures harassing the writer and finger printing his mind.(got to read them because the protective services would bring a copy). Sounds sane. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357/20 "2015-05-21T05:24:27Z")
What? With Jurassic Park coming out in '93, everyone was terrified the raptors and T-Rexes would be feeding on us come 2000. Especially what with Y2K shutting down all the fences. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scotland-yard-kept-a-secret-dossier-on-star-trek-and-the-x-files-in-the-run-up-to-the-millennium/720357.md?page=2)