It was a quick kill, even by Fox's standards. Less than a handful of episodes after the network premiered Harsh Realm, they pulled the plug on the virtual-reality series, the latest -- and possibly last -- endeavor from X-Files creator Chris Carter. Dismissed by critics and audiences alike as little more than Matrix-lite, Harsh Realm scored a 3.7/6 rating upon its October 8th debut, premiering fourth in its timeslot and trailing even its lackluster lead-in, Ryan Caufield: Year One. The deadly duo merited the worst Friday night ratings in Fox's history, eclipsing Brimstone, Beyond Belief and even Carter's previously canceled series Millennium in terms of audience disinterest. The network which aired Shocking Behavior Caught on Tape (to a 8.2/4 rating in Harsh Realm's time slot) was becoming a disaster series of its own, and three episodes after its debut, Harsh Realm headed for that virtual reality in the sky.

Poor ratings leading to a quick termination is nothing shocking, but for Carter, this indicated changing times. How could the latest brainchild of Fox's golden boy merit the same fate as NYPD Doogie? Carter's answer, was, of course, conspiracy ("I have a feeling we're a victim of a much bigger problem at Fox"), and it is a theory he should be familiar with. After all, according to X-Files star David Duchovny, who is currently suing the network, Harsh Realm was an integral part of the hush money contract Fox gave the series creator to keep him quiet on their shady syndication deals.

Adding to the mix is the lawsuit alleged by James Hudnall and Andrew Paquette, the writer and artist, respectively, behind the Harsh Realm comic book that was the basis for the series. Filed three days after the pilot aired, the suit asserts that Carter withheld creator credit and seeks damages from Fox as well as Harris Comics, the press that releases the comic book. Hudnall and Paquette's claim is well-founded. "Created by Chris Carter" proclaimed the pilot, with a small thank you to Harris -- without mention of Hudnall or Paquette -- thrown in the end for good measure. The second episode of the series added a cursory mention of the creators in the fast-rolling end credits, and at press time neither Carter or Fox have commented on the omission.

Hudnall, however, has plenty to say, and in this iluminating interview with The 11th Hour (held October 15, a week prior to the series cancellation) he speaks out on his difficulties with 1013, Carter and bringing his acclaimed comic to television.

The 11th Hour Webmagazine: I hear that you decided to sue.

James Hudnall: You know, we gave them every chance in the world to try to work this out ahead of time, but they wouldn't budge. And it's Carter, not Fox. They don't care. Fox doesn't care if we get credit or not -- why should they care? It doesn't mean a thing to them. It's Carter.

11th: Do you think he has a personal thing against you?

Hudnall: No, I think that he just is an egotistical freak. He doesn't want to give anyone credit. He became famous because of what? Because he's the creator of The X-Files. He doesn't want to give creator credit to anyone else. That's ludicrous in this case because he optioned it, and everyone knows it. So to say, "Oh, I created it" is just so ridiculous. It makes him look stupid.

11th: The press and publicity for the series has often made reference to the fact that Harsh Realm is based on your comic. This isn't anything secret. Why would he neglect to give you credit now?

Hudnall: Good question. The only thing I can think of is that he must believe his own hype. There's this thing in Hollywood that I find really repulsive, and that is that there are people who are writers who, in order to get credit on a screenplay, will change fifty percent of it to become the sole screenwriter. Whoever wrote the script first can get their name knocked off. There are people who will change as much as they can, just so they can say that they changed it enough, that it's their script. That's what I think is going on here. I think Carter thinks that all these changes he made makes it his. He's put his mark on it.
   But this is not just the typical Hollywood thing of doing a new version of something. He's actually changing it for the sake of saying he created it. And that is just appalling, on one hand, and to not even give any credit or any mention of the comic that's worth a damn... The only thing there is is a tiny mention at the end of the show that goes by incredibly fast. It says "Special thanks to the comic Harsh Realm published by Harris Publications." It doesn't say our name. It doesn't say what the thanks are for. It's placed where no one is ever going to see it or notice it.

11th: One of the things I noticed in the pilot is that he has named the dog after Dexter Green, the main character in your comic. Is that supposed to be a slight or a tribute?

Hudnall: That's another thing that I can't understand. I thought it was a slight, my agent thought it was an homage. I liked the dog -- it's a great character, the way it's handled. The problem I have is, the way he has treated me, it makes me think that it's a slight. He has never acknowledged me. He has never called. No one from 1013 has ever called or said anything to me.

11th: They haven't spoken to you since they optioned the comic?

Hudnall: From day one, they never had anything to do with me. They never responded to any of the letters I sent them, which were friendly. They were like, 'Hey, I'm a fan of The X-Files, I'm glad that you're doing this, and I would sure love to have a chance to pitch some scripts your way, for the show.' And nothing. That's when I started to see that something wasn't right, that something bad was going to happen.