Other than the convoluted mythology and end-of-series missteps, I love pretty much everything about The X Files. There are even a bunch of Robert Patrick episodes I think are pretty cool.

But one of my favorite things about the series lately, now that it’s seven years gone, is watching episodes and realizing just how many now-famous (and in a few cases, then-famous) people were on the show. Hardly an episode goes by wherein I don’t go, “hey, that’s so-and-so,” or at least “hey, that’s the girl in the new commercial for that detergent!”

(I watch way too much TV, I know.)

What follows is a list of 15 names recognizable to most contemporary television/film buffs. Only one of these people did not appear on The X Files. Can you figure out which one it is without resorting to IMDB?

Ryan Reynolds

Jack Black

Garry Shandling

Lily Tomlin

Luke Wilson

Sherilyn Fenn

Tom Noonan

Seth Green

Giovanni Ribisi

Felicity Huffman

Donal Logue

Lili Taylor

Jane Lynch

Shawnee Smith

Cary Elwes

Yes, I’m completely psyched that So You Think You Can Dance is back.

Why? Because it’s pretty much the only “reality competition” in existence that actually showcases and rewards the talents of its participants. American Idol is just looking for product; America’s Got Talent is just looking for freaks. (Bring back Project Greenlight, and I’ll praise that one, too. Gulager! Gulager! Gulager!)

And it’s not just that Dance hinges on creative passion and real chops. The show also celebrates a niche art form about which most consumers of pop culture above the age of, oh, let’s say thirteen couldn’t care less – unless, of course, it’s on a major network during prime time. So for a few years, kids and their parents will remember that dance is inspired, and rich in tradition, and freakin’ HARD, and the kids will want to dance and their parents will support them. After that, most of ‘em will lose interest (did I mention it’s freakin’ HARD?), and the show’s numbers will drop, and it will be canceled. But for that time, the gifted contestants will get exposure, and work. And not all of the kids will forget – a few of ‘em will get hooked, and keep the art alive.

Somebody should produce a reality competition for aspiring novelists. Yeah, I know, it sounds boring – but so is sitting around a failing campfire in the rain on the other side of some island from the resort, in theory. You’ve got to spice it up, with the drinking and the raging battles of ego and the crippling bouts of depression, and when a contestant is voted off each week, they’ll be dispatched in a manner from classic or pop or cult lit, like being eaten by a clown or a shark, or being shot by a double-crossing femme fatale, or being walled up inside a wine cellar alive, or whatever.