So I bet you are all wondering, Who is Jim Thornton and how to he became the man you know today. He did not just wake up one day surrounded by X-Files props and wardrobe. Let me tell you a story.
Jim was the youngest in his family. His mother was a hard working single mom in a time when being a single mom wasn't noble. She did her best for her family but things were always tough. Jim was alone a lot because his brothers and sisters were much older and as you can imagine he could get into trouble a lot.
Television was a constant for Jim and one day he found "Kolchak The Night Stalker" The show was scary for a young kid but Jim loved the feeling of being afraid, he loved the mystery and the sense of Kolchak against the establishment. This began Jim's love of the horror genre. This is a love that continued though his life.
Time went on and Jim got older, he began to get into more trouble. Eventually he was emancipated. This opened a door to all the things a kid his age should not be exposed to. It wasn't long before his world was totally different. Jim's days were spent doing whatever he had to, to get by another day. His nights were about the party, alcohol, and drugs.
Fast forward to Jim in his early 20's married with two young sons. Not much had change he was still living day to day his family was the group of people he partied with. His life was how to survive another day and the party. Some would call it the Rock Star Lifestyle only without the money so grimier. Jim was stuck in the cycle.
And then in September of 1993 Jim happened upon the premier of a new show. As he watched he felt the familiarity of Kolchak. It brought him back to a simpler time in his life. He sat and watched. For one hour, he didn't drink, he didn't party. The next week Jim actually watched again, on purpose. And so it went, The X-Files became the one hour a week he wasn't partying. He resisted the urging of the group to join them in the party and watched and through the hour of clarity he realized he wanted to change his life.
The X-Files saved Jim's life with its conspiracy, it's monster of the week, it's Kolchak feel, by giving him something to look forward to. It had become his new drug of choice. It would still be a long and difficult journey but he was on the road to recovery.
One day he is at the mall with his sister and he happened upon a set of the Showcase trading cards. He was excited at the idea of owning something from the show that meant so much to him because at this time there really wasn't a lot of merchandise available. They bought the cards. After that it was a T.V. Guide. The X-Files grew in popularity and as it did so did the amount of merchandise available. Jim had to have it all, but unlike you or I, Jim needed multiples.
From commercial merchandise Jim moved on to promotional items; video ads, a poster from the local VHS/DVD rental shop, etc. Next came crew gifts and then production items. Connections were being made and one day the offer came to actually own a piece of the show. The X-Files Preservation Collection, though unnamed and still without purpose had been born.
Things happened fast from this point on. There was always another prop, a piece of wardrobe to be saved, As The X-Files save him, he would now save The X-Files. In gratitude to Chris Carter, in honor to all the people behind the scenes, for the admiration of the guest stars and the actors we have all come to know and love, The X-Files Preservation Collection will preserve, restore and display the pieces of the show that saved his life.