Deep Throat (The X-Files episode)
"Deep Throat" | |
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UFO. The scenes were later described by Chris Carter as featuring the "worst effects we've ever done" on The X-Files. | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 2 |
Directed by | Daniel Sackheim |
Written by | Chris Carter |
Production code | 1X01 |
Original air date | September 17, 1993 |
Running time | 45 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"Deep Throat" is the second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. This episode premiered on the Fox network on September 17, 1993. Written by series creator Chris Carter and directed by Daniel Sackheim, the episode introduces several elements which became staples of the series' mythology.
In this television series,
The episode introduces the character of Deep Throat, played by Jerry Hardin, who serves as Mulder's informant in the first season. The character was inspired by the historical Deep Throat and serves to bridge the gap between the protagonists and the conspirators they would investigate. The episode itself focuses on common elements of ufology, in a setting reminiscent of Area 51 and Nellis Air Force Base. It contains several special effects that Chris Carter later described as "good, given the [series'] restrictions";[1] although he singled out the scenes featuring blinking lights as being poorly executed.[2] In its initial U.S. broadcast, "Deep Throat" was viewed by approximately 6.9 million households and 11.1 million viewers and attracted positive reviews from critics.
Plot
In southwestern
Four months later, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) meet at a Washington bar to discuss the case. Mulder explains that Budahas, a test pilot, has not been seen since the raid and the military will not comment on his condition; the FBI has refused to investigate. Mulder claims that six other pilots are missing at the base, which is subject to rumors about experimental aircraft. While using the bar's restroom, Mulder is approached by a mysterious informant named "Deep Throat" (Jerry Hardin), who cautions him to avoid the case. He claims that Mulder is under surveillance, which later proves to be true.
Mulder and Scully travel to Idaho and meet with Budahas' wife, Anita, who claims her husband exhibited erratic behavior before his disappearance. She tells them about a neighbor–whom the agents visit–whose husband is also a test pilot who has been behaving oddly. Scully makes an appointment with the base's director, Colonel Kissell, but he refuses to talk when they visit his home. They are subsequently approached by Paul Mossinger, who identifies himself as a local reporter and refers them to a local
Visiting the base that night, the agents witness a mysterious aircraft performing seemingly impossible maneuvers in the sky. They flee when a black helicopter approaches, seemingly in pursuit of Emil and Zoe, a trespassing teenage couple. As Mulder treats Emil and Zoe to a meal at the diner, they tell the agents about the lights and how they believe the UFOs are launched from another nearby base. Meanwhile, Budahas is returned to his home with no memory of what happened. After leaving the diner, Mulder and Scully are confronted by black-suited agents, who destroy the photographs they have taken and order them to leave town.
An indignant Mulder sneaks onto the base with help from Emil and Zoe. He sees a triangular craft fly overhead and then is captured by soldiers who tamper with his memory. Meanwhile, Scully re-encounters Mossinger, whom she discovers is actually a security operative for the base. At gunpoint, she forces him to guide her to the base and exchanges him for Mulder. Having been denied the truth about the base, Mulder and Scully return to Washington. Days later, Mulder encounters Deep Throat while jogging at a local track. Mulder asks if "they" really are present on Earth; Deep Throat responds that "they have been here for a long, long time".[3][4]
Production
Conception and pre-production
This episode marked Hardin's first appearance as Deep Throat. Series creator Chris Carter said the character was inspired by the historical Deep Throat,[5] an informant who leaked information about the FBI's investigation of the Watergate scandal to journalists Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.[6] Also cited as an influence was X, the character portrayed by Donald Sutherland in the 1991 Oliver Stone film JFK.[5] Carter created the character to bridge the gap between Mulder and Scully and the shadowy conspirators working against them; describing Deep Throat as a man "who works in some level of government that we have no idea exists".[5] Carter was drawn to Hardin after seeing him in The Firm,[7] and described the casting as an "easy choice".[2] Hardin flew to Vancouver every few weeks to film his scenes. Carter called Hardin's portrayal "very, very good".[2]
According to Carter, it was evident that The X-Files was a "series in making" during this episode. The inspiration of the episode was
Filming
The scenes in which Mulder infiltrates the air base were shot at a real U.S. airbase. With a small budget and television schedule, Carter said the effects seemed "good, given the restrictions" they faced.[1] The UFO was digitally constructed, based around what visual effects supervisor Mat Beck described as a "sort of disco light rig" that was rented from a "party supplier".[1] Towards the end of filming the night-time scenes, the sun was beginning to rise, forcing crew member John Bartley to rig the angles to keep the scenes as dark as possible.[2] One scene, in which Mulder infiltrates the base, had already been rewritten to change its daytime setting to night; the rising sun forced the scene to be filmed as originally conceived.[5]
The house used for the exterior shots of the Budahas residence was reused in Carter's next series, Millennium, as the home of protagonist Frank Black. The house's owner was a flight attendant who frequently met cast and crew members as they traveled in and out of Vancouver.[8] The initial scene with Duchovny and Anderson in the bar was shot at a Vancouver restaurant called The Meat Market, which according to Carter was a much "divier location than the production designers would have you believe".[2] The Meat Market was the only bar the crew could find that had not been renovated in the wake of Expo 86 and retained a "well-travelled" feel. It later appeared in the third season episode "Piper Maru".[9] The roadside diner used for interior shots of the "Flying Saucer Diner" was remote enough from the other filming locations that a bus was made available to transport crew members, to save on travel expenses. Only key grip Al Campbell made use of this bus service, causing producers to abandon the idea until the fourth season episode "Herrenvolk".[10]
Guest star Seth Green said that despite being cast as "stoner kid" Emil, and having "cornered the market on the affable stoner in TV and film", he had never used cannabis before.[11] Green related that his first day on the set came just after Duchovny had finished filming his final scene; Green was impressed with Duchovny's demeanour and improvisational acting, and added that the two "just goofed off the whole time".[11]
Post-production
The scene in which Scully is sitting at her computer writing in her journal [...] came down as an edict because [Fox] wanted a summing up of the episode, and in the end, I think it made the episode better. That motif of Scully doing a voice-over as she types became a running story crutch for us when we needed to reinstruct the audience about where we are going, or where we had been.
—Carter on the episode's voiceover ending[12]
Carter claimed that the scenes with the flashing lights in the sky were the "worst effects we've ever done", given limits on money and time; he also commented that special effects were still in their infancy.[2] Beck was the special effects producer and supervisor during season one; he and Carter unsuccessfully tried to make the special effects look three dimensional and "better". According to Carter, the result looked like a "kind of hi-tech Pong game".[2]
This episode marks Mark Snow's debut as a solo composer for the series. Carter stated he and the production crew were "fearful" of using too much music in the episode, and the first season as a whole. Anderson's voiceover narration towards the end of the episode was inserted after complaints from Fox executives, who desired more closure. The executives felt that viewers were not supposed to be "confused" after watching and must have at least a slight idea of what was going on. The voiceovers became a common technique for the remainder of the series.[2]
Themes
Mossinger's warning to Mulder that some truths should be kept hidden from the public has been cited by scholars as representing the difficulty of forcing large organizations to take responsibility for wrongdoing.
Broadcast and reception
"Deep Throat" premiered on Fox on September 17, 1993, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on
In a first season retrospective in
Writing for The A.V. Club, Keith Phipps rated the episode an A−, finding it "almost like an extension of the pilot". Phipps felt the scene featuring Mulder's kidnapping to be "one of the scariest moments from the series' early days, as much for what it suggests as for what it shows".[26] Writing for website Den of Geek, Matt Haigh reviewed the episode positively, praising its decision not to answer all the questions it asks. Haigh noted that "the fact that we are left as clueless about what really happened as Mulder and Scully only enhances the viewing experience", finding such mystery to be "a rare thing indeed" on network television.[27] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode five stars out of five, finding it to be "much more confident in its pacing and tone" than the previous episode.[28] Shearman and Pearson felt that the episode was "a skillfully scripted story of cover-up and paranoia", and noted that "it sets up the overall themes of the show so well, it almost seems like a primer".[28]
"Deep Throat" was cited as beginning to "set the stage for the central conflicts" of the series.
Footnotes
- ^ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ Lowry 1995, pp. 102–103.
- ^ Lovece 1996, pp. 47–48.
- ^ a b c d Edwards 1996, p. 37.
- ^ Woodward & Bernstein 1974, p. 71.
- ^ Lovece 1996, p. 27.
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ Gradnitzer & Pittson 1999, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Gradnitzer & Pittson 1999, pp. 31–32.
- ^ a b Robinson, Tasha (September 13, 2007). "Seth Green | Film | Random Roles". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ Maccarillo, Lisa; Carter, Chris (December 1994). "A conversation with The X-Files' creator Chris Carter". Sci Fi Entertainment. Sci-Fi Channel.
- ^ Kowalski 2007, pp. 71–72
- ^ Lavery, Hague & Cartwright 1996, p. 149.
- ^ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b Lowry 1995, p. 248.
- Gannett Company, Inc.September 22, 1993. p. D3.
- ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ News Corporation. Archivedfrom the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
- ^ "X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season 1 | TV". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. November 29, 1996. Archived from the original on January 15, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- Austin Chronicle. Austin Chronicle Corporation. Archivedfrom the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- MediaNews Group. November 19, 1993. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- Star Media Group. p. D4. Retrieved June 24, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Janusonis, Michael (April 14, 1996). "'X-Files' episodes offered on tape". The Beaver County Times. Calkins Media. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
- ^ Phipps, Keith (June 20, 2008). "'Deep Throat' / 'Squeeze' | The X-Files/Millennium | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Archived from the original on November 22, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ Haigh, Matt (September 30, 2008). "Revisiting The X-Files: Season 1, Episode 2". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Archived from the original on February 11, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2012.
- ^ a b Shearman & Pearson 2009, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Bush 2008, p. 41.
- from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
- ^ Fretts, Bruce (February 19, 1999). "The 100 Greatest Moments in Television: 1990s | TV". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
References
- Bush, Michelle (2008). Myth-X. Lulu. ISBN 978-1-4357-4688-6.
- Edwards, Ted (1996). X-Files Confidential. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-21808-1.
- Gradnitzer, Louisa; Pittson, Todd (1999). X Marks the Spot: On Location with The X-Files. Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 1-55152-066-4.
- Flannery, Richard; Louzecky, David (2007). Kowalski, Dean A. (ed.). The Philosophy of The X-Files. ISBN 978-0-8131-2454-4.
- Lavery, David; Hague, Angela; Cartwright, Marla (1996). Deny All Knowledge: Reading The X-Files. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 0-8156-2717-3.
- ISBN 0-8065-1745-X.
- Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0-06-105330-9.
- ISBN 978-0-9759446-9-1.
- ISBN 0-684-86355-3.
External links
- "Deep Throat" on The X-Files official website
- "Deep Throat" at IMDb