The X-Files (season 5)
The X-Files | |
---|---|
Season 5 | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 20 |
Release | |
Original network | Fox |
Original release | November 2, 1997 May 17, 1998 | –
Season chronology | |
The fifth season of the
The fifth season of the series focused heavily on
Debuting with high viewing figures and ranking as the eleventh most watched television series during the 1997–98 television year in the United States, the season was a success, with figures averaging around 20 million viewers an episode. This made it the year's highest-rated Fox program as well as the highest rated season of The X-Files to air. Critical reception from television critics was generally positive.
Plot overview
The show centers on
Later, as a
Production
Writing
Due to the pending release of The X-Files feature film, this was the first season where the course of the season was planned in advance, as it had to set up for the film.[11] Originally, the season was supposed to be the show's last.[12] In this manner, the finale was originally supposed to have segued the television series into a movie franchise. David Duchovny explained, "we were saying, 'Okay, we're going to do five. We'll get out of here at five.' And then five came around, and no one was going anywhere."[13] The series proved to be so lucrative for Fox that two additional seasons were ordered. Thus, the season was created in a way to segue into the 1998 film, as well as the sixth season premiere, "The Beginning".[14]
Filming
Due to the necessity of filming reshoots for the upcoming movie, both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny are absent in places throughout the season. For instance, the episodes "Unusual Suspects" and "Travelers"—both of which being flashback episodes—do not feature Anderson's character Dana Scully at all.[15] In fact, the former was written entirely as a stop-gap episode when the show's producers were forced to start production of the fifth season in the last week of August in Vancouver, but still needed series stars Duchovny and Anderson for the filming of The X-Files movie in Los Angeles. The producers decided to create an episode dedicated to The Lone Gunmen, and writing duties were assigned to Vince Gilligan.[16] Other episodes such as "Chinga" and "Christmas Carol" feature minimal appearances by Duchovny's character Fox Mulder.
The season's fifth episode, "The Post-Modern Prometheus", written and directed by Carter, was filmed entirely in black-and-white—in homage to James Whale's 1931 film version of Frankenstein.[17] The director of photography, Joel Ransom, had to spend longer than usual lighting each scene because of the grayscale. The stormy skies in the episode, added to emulate the atmosphere of old Frankenstein movies, were a visual effect. Carter also used a wide-angle camera lens throughout the episode, which forced the actors to act directly to the camera, rather than to each other. According to Carter, it also enabled him to give scenes in the episode a more surreal staging than was usual for the show.[18]
This season finale, "
Crew
Carter served as executive producer and showrunner and wrote seven episodes. Frank Spotnitz and John Shiban were both promoted to co-executive producer and wrote seven and five episodes, respectively. Vince Gilligan was promoted to supervising producer and contributed six scripts. Tim Minear joined the series for his only season on the series as an executive story editor and wrote two episodes. Writing team Billy Brown and Dan Angel joined the series as story editors for this season only and provided the story for one episode. Writing team Jessica Scott and Mike Wollaeger wrote one freelance episode.[20] Special guest writers for this season included author Stephen King, who co-wrote one episode with creator Chris Carter, and cyberpunk novelists William Gibson and Tom Maddox, who wrote their first of two episodes for the series.[20][21] Other producers included producer Joseph Patrick Finn, producer Paul Rabwin, and co-producer Lori Jo Nemhauser who previously served as post-production supervisor.[20]
Producing-director
Cast
Main cast
Starring
- David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder
- Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully[a]
- ^ Anderson does not appear in "Unusual Suspects" and "Travelers".
Also starring
- Mitch Pileggi as Deputy Director Walter Skinner
- William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man
- Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek
Recurring cast
- Melvin Frohike
- John Fitzgerald Byers
- Richard Langly
- Chris Owens as Jeffrey Spender
- John Neville as Well-Manicured Man
- First Elder
- John Moore as Third Elder
- Margaret Scully
- Pat Skipper as Bill Scully
Guest cast
- Laurie Holden as Marita Covarrubias
- Cassandra Spender
- Michael Kritschgau
- Second Elder
- Scott Blevins
- Steven Williams as X
- Diana Fowley
- Alien Bounty Hunter
- Dean Aylesworth as Young Bill Mulder
- Jeff Gulka as Gibson Praise
Episodes
Episodes marked with a double dagger (‡) are episodes in the series' Alien Mythology arc.[nb 1]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code [20] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
98 | 1 | "Redux"‡ | R. W. Goodwin | Chris Carter | November 2, 1997 | 5X02 | 27.34[22] |
Scully helps Mulder fake his death, but comes under intense scrutiny; Skinner is suspected as the traitor inside the FBI; and Mulder breaks into the Department of Defense in a desperate bid to save Scully, but while doing so he finds himself facing the truth about the aliens he has been chasing. | |||||||
99 | 2 | "Redux II"‡ | Kim Manners | Chris Carter | November 9, 1997 | 5X03 | 24.84[22] |
While Scully lies on her deathbed; Cigarette Smoking Man makes an important decision in helping Mulder. But even as events come to a climax, Mulder finds his belief in his crusade has all but collapsed. | |||||||
100 | 3 | "Unusual Suspects" | Kim Manners | Vince Gilligan | November 16, 1997 | 5X01 | 21.72[22] |
The origins of the Lone Gunmen are explored. In 1989, two salesmen and a federal employee join forces when they meet Susanne Modeski, a woman who claims that she is being pursued by her violent ex-boyfriend, an FBI agent named Fox Mulder. We learn how agent Mulder came to meet three friendly and familiar faces. | |||||||
101 | 4 | "Detour" | Brett Dowler | Frank Spotnitz | November 23, 1997 | 5X04 | 22.88[22] |
On the way to an FBI convention in Florida, Mulder and Scully stop to help in the investigation of the mysterious disappearance of three people in the woods, where a pair of invisible humanoids lurk. | |||||||
102 | 5 | "The Post-Modern Prometheus" | Chris Carter | Chris Carter | November 30, 1997 | 5X06 | 18.68[22] |
Filmed in black-and-white, Mulder and Scully investigate a letter from a single mother that leads them to a small town where a modern-day version of Frankenstein's monster lurks, Jerry Springer is an obsession, and Cher plays a significant part. | |||||||
103 | 6 | "Christmas Carol"‡ | Peter Markle | Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz | December 7, 1997 | 5X05 | 20.91[22] |
Home for the holidays, Scully is haunted by dreams which hint at a strange connection to a dead woman's daughter. | |||||||
104 | 7 | "Emily"‡ | Kim Manners | Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz | December 14, 1997 | 5X07 | 20.94[22] |
Scully fights to protect her daughter's life, while Mulder discovers her true origins. | |||||||
105 | 8 | "Kitsunegari" | Daniel Sackheim | Vince Gilligan & Tim Minear | January 4, 1998 | 5X08 | 19.75[22] |
When 'Pusher' Modell escapes from prison, Mulder and Scully race to catch him before he can take revenge against his favorite target – Agent Mulder. | |||||||
106 | 9 | "Schizogeny" | Ralph Hemecker | Jessica Scott & Mike Wollaeger | January 11, 1998 | 5X09 | 21.37[22] |
When a teenager is suspected of murdering his stepfather, Mulder and Scully become convinced that a greater evil may be lurking in the community. | |||||||
107 | 10 | "Chinga" | Kim Manners | Stephen King & Chris Carter | February 8, 1998 | 5X10 | 21.33[22] |
Scully takes a vacation to Maine, where she encounters a bizarre case where the victims appear to have inflicted wounds upon themselves – apparently at the behest of a strange young girl. | |||||||
108 | 11 | "Kill Switch" | Rob Bowman | William Gibson & Tom Maddox | February 15, 1998 | 5X11 | 18.04[22] |
While investigating the strange circumstances of the death of a reclusive computer genius rumored to have been researching artificial intelligence, Mulder and Scully become targets of an unlikely killer capable of the worst kind of torture. | |||||||
109 | 12 | "Bad Blood" | Cliff Bole | Vince Gilligan | February 22, 1998 | 5X12 | 19.25[22] |
While investigating bizarre exsanguinations in Texas, Mulder kills a teenage boy whom he "mistakes" for a vampire. Awaiting a meeting with Skinner, Mulder and Scully attempt to get their stories "straight" by relating to each other their differing versions of what happened during their investigation. | |||||||
110 | 13 | "Patient X"‡ | Kim Manners | Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz | March 1, 1998 | 5X13 | 20.21[22] |
Scully forms a bond with Cassandra Spender, a woman who claims to have been abducted by aliens. While Mulder's disbelief in the alien conspiracy is now questioned, he finds himself with more personal threats at the FBI. | |||||||
111 | 14 | "The Red and the Black"‡ | Chris Carter | Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz | March 8, 1998 | 5X14 | 19.98[22] |
With Cassandra Spender missing, and her son Jeffrey angrily attempting to push his way up in the FBI, Mulder has Scully put under hypnosis to learn the truth. The Syndicate, meanwhile, quicken their tests for the alien vaccine, sacrificing their own to do so. | |||||||
112 | 15 | " William A. Graham | John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz | March 29, 1998 | 5X15 | 15.06[22] | |
In 1990, a bizarre murder leads young agent Fox Mulder to question a former FBI Agent who investigated one of the first X-Files dating back to the 1950s – a case which may have involved Mulder's father. | |||||||
113 | 16 | "Mind's Eye" | Kim Manners | Tim Minear | April 19, 1998 | 5X16 | 16.53[22] |
Agents Mulder and Scully investigate a murder that seems to have been committed by a blind woman, but Mulder suspects that her involvement is not what it seems. | |||||||
114 | 17 | "All Souls" | Allen Coulter | Story by : Billy Brown & Dan Angel Teleplay by : Frank Spotnitz & John Shiban | April 26, 1998 | 5X17 | 13.44[22] |
The unexplained death of a young handicapped girl prompts Father McCue to ask Scully for her help, but her investigation leads her to a mystery she's afraid to understand. | |||||||
115 | 18 | "The Pine Bluff Variant" | Rob Bowman | John Shiban | May 3, 1998 | 5X18 | 18.24[22] |
Scully begins to grow suspicious of Mulder, whose increasingly strange behavior suggests he may be serving another agenda. | |||||||
116 | 19 | "Folie à Deux" | Kim Manners | Vince Gilligan | May 10, 1998 | 5X19 | 17.63[22] |
Mulder and Scully encounter a delusional man who believes his boss may be a monster – and is willing to pay any price to prove it. | |||||||
117 | 20 | "The End"‡ | R. W. Goodwin | Chris Carter | May 17, 1998 | 5X20 | 18.76[22] |
Investigating the murder of a chess player, Mulder and Scully meet a boy who may be the embodiment of everything in the X-Files. This episode marks the first appearance of Diana Fowley . |
Reception
Ratings
The fifth season of The X-Files debuted with "Redux I" on November 2, 1997. This episode earned a
Reviews
Michael Sauter of Entertainment Weekly gave the season an "A−", writing that it "proves the show was—even then—still at its creative peak (if only for another year or so) and full of surprises".[26] He praised the new additions to the series' mythology and concluded that "many stand-alone episodes now look like classics".[26] Francis Dass, writing for the New Straits Times, noted that the season was "very interesting" and possessed "some [...] truly inspiring and hilarious" episodes."[27] Not all seasonal reviews were glowing. Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique called the season "a mixed bag of episodes".[28]
The episodes themselves received varied responses from critics. Several were culled out as highlights of the series. "The Post-Modern Prometheus" was heralded as a classic by several reviewers[29][30] and was called the finest stand-alone episode produced by the series by another.[31] The episode "Bad Blood" was praised by critics for its mix of horror and comedy. Dass called the episode "an absolute gem" and "the most hilarious X-Files episode I have ever seen."[27] The episode has also appeared on various "Best-Of" lists of The X-Files.[32][33][34] Other episodes fared worse. "Schizogeny" was derided by critics: The A.V. Club reviewer Emily VanDerWerff noted that the episode "might be the very worst episode of The X-Files"[35] "Chinga", written by Stephen King, was criticized for having a poor story. Vitaris called the entry "a major disappointment" and wrote that it "isn't scary in the least".[36]
Accolades
The fifth season earned the series a record of sixteen
DVD release
The X-Files – The Complete Fifth Season | |||||||
Set details[20] | Special features[20] | ||||||
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Release dates | |||||||
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 3 | |||||
May 14, 2002 | December 27, 2004 | November 11, 2002 |
Notes
- ^ The episodes were included in the DVD collections The X-Files Mythology, Volume 2 – Black Oil and The X-Files Mythology, Volume 3 – Colonization, released by Fox.
- ^ "The End" was viewed by 18.76 million viewers whereas "Redux I" was viewed by 27.34 million viewers.[22] Subtracting the two figures and then dividing them by 27.34 million, which represents the largest possible audience, yields a percent decrease of 31.4 percent.
- ^ "The End" was viewed by 18.76 million viewers whereas "Gethsemane" was viewed by 19.85 million viewers.[22][23] Subtracting the two figures and then dividing them by 19.85 million, which represents the largest possible audience, yields a percent decrease of 5.5 percent.
References
- R.W. Goodwin (director); Chris Carter (writer) (May 18, 1997). "Gethsemane". The X-Files. Season 4. Episode 24. Fox.
- R.W. Goodwin & Kim Manners (directors); Chris Carter (writer) (November 2–9, 1997). "Redux". The X-Files. Season 5. Episode 1 & 2. Fox.
- ^ Meisler (1998), pp. 259–270
- ^ Meisler (1999), pp. 27–46
- ^ Kim Manners (director); Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz (writers). "Patient X". The X-Files. Season 5. Episode 13. Fox.
- ^ Meisler (1999), pp 173–184
- ^ Chris Carter (director); Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz (writers). "The Red and the Black". The X-Files. Season 5. Episode 14. Fox.
- ^ Meisler (1999), pp. 187–196
- ^ R. W. Goodwin (director); Chris Carter (writer). "The End". The X-Files. Season 5. Episode 20. Fox.
- ^ Meisler (1999), pp. 269–280
- ^ Carter, Chris et al. (1998). The Truth Behind Season 5 (DVD). The X-Files: The Complete Fifth Season: Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ Hurwitz and Knowles (2008), p. 117
- ^ a b Hurwitz and Knowles (2008), pp. 131–133
- ^ Hurwitz and Knowles (2008), p. 139
- ^ Hurwitz and Knowles (2008), p. 119
- ^ Meisler (1999), p. 24
- ^ Meisler (1999), pp. 84–85
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b Meisler (1999), p. 281
- ^ Fox.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ Fridman, Sherman (February 4, 2000). ""X-Files" Writer Fights For Online Privacy" (news article). News Briefs. Newsbytes PM. Retrieved July 13, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Meisler (1999), p. 284
- ^ a b c Meisler (1998), p. 298
- ^ a b c Kessenich (2002), p. 12
- ^ a b "The Final Countdown". Entertainment Weekly. No. 434. May 29, 1998. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- ^ a b Sauter, Michael (May 14, 2002). "The X-Files: The Complete Fifth Season". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
- ^ a b Dass, Francis (April 20, 2000). "A Late 'X-Files' Collection". New Straits Times. Retrieved July 29, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Vitaris, Paula (October 1998). "X-Files: A Mixed Bag of Episodes and a Feature Film Pave the Way for Season Six". Cinefantastique. 30 (7/8): 27.
- Daily News. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Liner, Elaine (November 29, 1997). "'X-Files' Marks the Spot Once Again – Tale of Alien Encounter Proves Show's Classiness". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
- ^ Green, Lionel (July 22, 2008). "'The X-Files' Was a Rare Magic". Sand Mountain Reporter. Southern Newspapers. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
- ^ Bricken, Rob (October 13, 2009). "The 10 Funniest X-Files Episodes". Topless Robot. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- ^ Collura, Scott; et al. (May 12, 2008). "IGN's 10 Favorite X-Files Standalone Episodes". IGN. Retrieved November 15, 2011.
- The Montreal Gazette. July 24, 2008. Archived from the originalon March 21, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (May 11, 2011). "'Schizogeny'/'Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense' | The X-Files/Millennium | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- ^ Vitaris, Paula (October 1998). "Fifth Season Episode Guide". Cinefantastique. 30 (7/8): 29–50.
- ^ "The X-Files". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
- ^ "HFPA — Award Search". GoldenGlobes.org. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
Bibliography
- Hurwitz, Matt; Knowles, Chris (2008). The Complete X-Files. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-933784-80-9.
- Kessenich, Tom (2002). Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files. Trafford Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55369-812-8.
- Meisler, Andy (1998). I Want to Believe: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Vol. 3. Harper Prism.
- Meisler, Andy (1999). Resist or Serve: The Official Guide to The X-Files. Vol. 4. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-257133-3.
External links
- The X-Files at IMDb