Piper Maru
"Piper Maru" | |
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The X-Files episode | |
Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 15 |
Directed by | Rob Bowman |
Written by | Frank Spotnitz Chris Carter |
Production code | 3X15 |
Original air date | February 9, 1996 |
Running time | 44 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"Piper Maru" is the fifteenth episode of the
The show centers on
"Piper Maru" was written to showcase two visual images Chris Carter had wanted to include in a script "since the beginning of the show". The first of these was that of a deep-sea diver finding a still-living pilot trapped in the wreckage of a World War II-era fighter plane and the second was that of a black-and-white flashback taking place in a submarine. The title of the episode is a reference to the names of Gillian Anderson's daughter, who had been born during the production of the second season.
Plot
Piper Maru, a French salvage vessel, is exploring the Pacific Ocean. Gauthier, a member of the ship's crew, dives down into the sea and finds a sunken fighter plane from World War II. He is shocked to find a man alive in the plane's cockpit, with what looks like black oil in his eyes. When Gauthier returns to the surface, he has become possessed by the black oil.
In
Scully visits an old friend of her father's, Commander Christopher Johanson (Robert Clothier), seeking information about the plane. Johanson admits that he had been sent to find a sunken bomber aboard the submarine Zeus Faber, and recalls how many aboard the sub suffered from radiation burns while he joined a mutiny against his commanding officer, who succumbed to the black oil. Meanwhile, Mulder visits Gauthier's home and finds him passed out, covered in the black oil; he has no memory of his experience. Mulder finds a letter from a salvage broker, and visits the broker's "secretary" Jeraldine. Mulder follows Jeraldine after her office is invaded by several armed men.
Both Mulder and Joan track Jeraldine to Hong Kong, where Mulder learns that she is a middleman selling government secrets. Mulder tracks down Jeraldine and handcuffs himself to her. Arriving at her office, Mulder finds Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) waiting inside, having been selling the contents of the digital tape. Krycek escapes through a window while Jeraldine is shot by a group of men coming down the hallway. Mulder unlocks the handcuffs and escapes. Meanwhile, Joan walks down the hall and encounters the men, creating a flash that causes them all to suffer from the radiation burns.
Meanwhile, Skinner is initially confronted by several men, including the
Production
Conception and writing
Conception of the episode originated in two visual images series creator
Frank Spotnitz began working on the episode immediately after writing the earlier third-season episode "731", fleshing out the rest of the concept while on a flight out of Minneapolis. Spotnitz ended up writing his ideas on a magazine, not having brought paper with him, and included in his outline the investigation of Scully's sister's murder and the reintroduction of Alex Krycek.[6] The title of the episode is a reference to the first and middle name of Gillian Anderson's daughter, who had been born during the production of the second season. The name Gauthier, used for the French diver and his wife, was a reference to special effects producer David Gauthier.[7]
Filming and post-production
The episode's cold open was filmed in a water tank, using a replica P-51 Mustang plane which had been designed by the art director.[5] Bowman also needed to direct a scene in which Gillian Anderson would react to a memory of playing with her sister as a child; the scene involved digitally compositing the children playing into Anderson's footage. Bowman asked Anderson to act towards a tree as though it were her sister, later telling her "I'm going to tell everybody I can that you just did that great reaction to a tree".[8] Bowman also reshot the episode's ending, as originally Duchovny and Lea were to walk past the camera and continue off-screen. Feeling this was not effective, he replaced this with a walking shot which continued straight towards and into the camera, noting that "Nick will jump in front of a truck if he think it will make a scene better".[8]
The on-screen appearances of the black oil were achieved through visual effects, with the shimmering oil effect being digitally placed over the actors' corneas in post-production. The crew went through various iterations to find the two "right" types of fluids. According to physical effects crewman David Gauthier, they used a mix of oil and acetone, which he believed gave the substance a more globular look.[9] Special effects technician Mat Beck was able to digitally bend the oil effect around the shape of the actors' eyes.[10]
The man in the plane in the teaser, Robert Maier, worked as a construction coordinator on the show,[11] and felt that his part in the episode fulfilled a "life-long dream" of working as a stuntman.[10] Nicholas Lea's name was purposely left until the ending credits in order to preserve the sense of surprise.[12]
Reception
It's at this point in the mythology that the onus subtly shifts from Scully coming up with alternate theories of what's going on that make just as much sense as what Mulder's saying to the show desperately trying to keep Scully from knowing things so she can fit into her predetermined "skeptic" role. It mostly works here, because she's busy grieving her sister and being angry that the case into her sister's murder has been closed and coming up with knowledge about radiation burns and stuff, but it becomes more and more of a problem as the series goes along and it becomes more and more obvious that Mulder was right all along.
—The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff[13]
Ratings
"Piper Maru" premiered on the
Reviews
"Piper Maru" received positive reviews from critics. In an overview of the third season in
The introduction of the sentient black oil in this episode has also been met with positive criticism. The oil has been described as "the most original and frightening creation of The X-Files' mythology",[13] as "one of the best parts of the show"[18] and has been listed as number two on Den of Geek's "Top 10 X-Files Baddies" countdown, where it was described as "a central part" of the series' mythology.[19]
Gillian Anderson considered the episode an emotionally difficult one, saying "Piper Maru was challenging. There was something about it – having to pull from the past ... how it brought the present and the past together. It was just good to play."[20] Director Kim Manners complimented Anderson's performance, stating "you look at season one and look at season three and that girl exploded as an actress in terms of talent and capability."[21] The 2004 film Alien vs. Predator featured an icebreaker named the Piper Maru, the naming of the ship being a nod to this episode.[22]
Footnotes
- ^ Lowry, pp. 161–164
- ^ Lovece, p. 211
- ^ Fox.
- ^ Edwards, p. 166
- ^ a b Edwards, p. 167
- ^ Edwards, pp. 166–167
- ^ Lowry, pp. 164–165
- ^ a b Edwards, p. 168
- ^ Chris Carter, Dave Gauthier, Howard Gordon, Kim Manners, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz (2005). Threads of Mythology. The X-Files Mythology, Volume 2 – Black Oil (DVD). Fox.
- ^ Fox.
- ^ Lovece, pp. 103–105
- ^ Lowry, p. 165
- ^ a b c VanDerWerff, Emily (August 1, 2010). ""Syzygy"/"Grotesque"/"Piper Maru"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
- Goodwin, R.W.; et al. (2001). The X-Files: The Complete Third Season (booklet). Beverly Hills, California: 20th Century Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b Lowry, p. 251
- ^ "X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season 3 | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. November 29, 1996. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- ^ Keegan, John. "Piper Maru". Critical Myth. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
- ^ a b Semlyen, Nick De; White, James (October 2013). "The 20 Greatest X-Files Episodes". Empire. Bauer Media Group. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013.
- ^ Moore, John (July 20, 2008). "The Top 10 X-Files Baddies". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- ^ Lowry, p. 164
- ^ Hurwitz, p. 83
- ^ Turner, Matthew. "Alien Vs Predator (15)". View London. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
Bibliography
- Edwards, Ted (1996). X-Files Confidential. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-21808-1.
- Hurwitz, Matt; Knowles, Chris (2008). The Complete X-Files. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-933784-80-9.
- Lovece, Frank (1996). The X-Files Declassified. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-1745-X.
- Lowry, Brian (1996). Trust No One: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0-06-105353-8.
External links
- "Piper Maru" on The X-Files official website
- "Piper Maru" at IMDb