The X-Files season 9
The X-Files | |
---|---|
Season 9 | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 20 |
Release | |
Original network | Fox |
Original release | November 11, 2001 May 19, 2002 | –
Season chronology | |
The ninth season of the American
For this season, former series' leads Duchovny and Anderson scaled back their involvement with the show, with Duchovny only starring in the two episodes that formed the season finale, "
Season nine received mixed reviews from critics and garnered a negative reaction from many long-time fans and viewers, partially because Duchovny did not make regular appearances on the show, after fulfilling his contract in the previous season. During this year, ratings for the season fell dramatically. Critics blamed it on what they considered an increasingly incoherent story arc, while the cast and crew ascribed the drop in viewership to the September 11 attacks. Regardless, Fox eventually decided to cancel the series.
During the airing of season eight, Carter and The X-Files production team created and aired a
Plot overview
After the
"The show has been Mulder's quest for the truth. It was that for seven years and for part of the eighth year. But I really think that with the introduction of John Doggett last year, [...] a baton was passed [...] literally he [Mulder] handed over the X-Files office to Doggett." |
— Frank Spotnitz talking about the possibility of a "Mulder-less" season.[2] |
After Scully begins to miss Mulder, a complete stranger—the "Shadow Man" (Terry O'Quinn)—offers his service to drive Mulder out of hiding. Scully takes the offer, but unknowingly gets herself and Mulder in even more danger. The "Shadow Man", is revealed to be a "Super Soldier" bent on killing Scully and Mulder. After a chase through a quarry, the "Shadow Man" is destroyed after being exposed to magnetite.[3] Later, Scully, Doggett, and Reyes find evidence of a dangerous UFO cult which has uncovered a second spacecraft similar to one Scully studied in Africa three years ago. Misled by the FBI, the agents enlist the help of The Lone Gunmen to protect Scully's son after they learn that the cult intends to kill the child. The cult, however, is successful in kidnapping the child.[4] Concurrent with these events, Doggett is run over by a car, which sends him to the hospital. As Follmer and the "Toothpick Man" (Alan Dale) try to uncover the plans of the three agents, Scully and Reyes leave Washington, D.C. to find Scully's son.[5]
Doggett finds a strange disfigured man in the X-Files office; believing he is Mulder, Scully has his DNA tested, and the results reveal him to have the same pattern as Mulder. The disfigured man sticks a needle into William, which the other agents believe to be a virus of some kind, but it is later revealed to be a cure for William's powers. The unnamed man is later revealed to be Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens), Mulder's half-brother.[6] In the season finale, Mulder returns from hiding in the attempts of finding classified information at an army base. He is caught, however, after allegedly killing an apparently indestructible "Super Soldier", which causes him to be tried before a military tribunal. With the help of Kersh, Scully, Reyes, Doggett, Spender, Marita Covarrubias (Laurie Holden) and Gibson Praise (Jeff Gulka), Mulder breaks out, and Mulder and Scully travel to New Mexico to find an old "wise man", later revealed to be the "Cigarette Smoking Man" (William B. Davis). He tells the two that aliens will begin colonizing the planet on December 22, 2012. Cigarette Smoking Man appears to be killed by a missile, launched under the command of Knowle Rohrer (Adam Baldwin), who is revealed to be alive and well. Mulder and Scully escape, but become fugitives on the run from the FBI. The final scene of the season features the two in a motel room facing an uncertain—but possibly hopeful—future.[7]
Production
Development
Following the eighth season of The X-Files, David Duchovny announced that he would be completely leaving the show.
With the news of the impending end of the series, the crew members decided to wrap up long-running plots. "Jump the Shark", the final episode to feature the Lone Gunmen, served as a de facto series finale for the cancelled X-Files spin-off series The Lone Gunmen.[15] Executive producer and co-writer Frank Spotnitz had to fight to get the episode made; the studio informed Spotnitz that they did not want to bring the characters back in any capacity, as Fox reportedly "hated [the] characters".[16] Similarly, "Release" was written to create closure to the story of the murder of Doggett's son.[16][17]
The show's crew and actors had a range of opinions about the show's finale, "The Truth". Carter said of the finale, "It's the end—you don't get another chance. So you'd better put everything you've ever wanted to put into the episode. There were things to distract from what was going on. The band was breaking up." Gish said, "It did feel like a big movie set. We were on location, there was an enormous budget, and everyone came back." Davis said, "It was great that they brought us all back in the finale, that they found a way to get us all in again." Pileggi said, "I can remember the last day on the set. We shot a scene with Gillian and myself, and that was it. And then I had to say goodbye to another family, another crew. I almost teared up, and Gillian was standing there looking at me saying 'Okay, go ahead, big guy; get through this.' It was tough." Patrick said, "It was pretty euphoric, and sad, and all those emotions you can imagine. A chapter's closing, and we're all moving on to something new and exciting. And yet we were all going to miss each other." Kim Manners called the final scene "truly one of the most emotional experiences I've ever witnessed in my life."[18] Former lead actor Duchovny said, "In some ways, psychically I didn't really leave. It was nice to be able to – I'm just really happy that I was able to come back and finish it."[19]
Casting
With "
After the departure of Duchovny, the show garnered much criticism by fans and critics alike, with many saying that the bond between Mulder and Scully was what actually kept the show together for the first seven seasons of the show.[20] Realizing his importance in the series, Chris Carter and his crew opened negotiations with Duchovny in the hopes that he would reprise his character for the finale. Initially, they were unsure if he would appear, but he eventually elected to return. Spotnitz said, "My impression from talking to him was that he still cares about the show. He's still invested in it and certainly cares about [Mulder]. And I think he recognized that it was the best thing for the show and the audience [for him] to come back and give closure to nine years of the series."[20] Not only did Duchovny return for the finale, he also returned to write and direct the episode "William"; he even had a small cameo in the episode, appearing as a reflection in Scully's eye.[21] Three episodes later, Duchovny returned as an actor for the season finale, "The Truth".[20]
Crew
Chris Carter served as executive producer and showrunner for the season and wrote nine episodes, including the two-part season premiere and season finale, as well as important mytharc episodes. Spotnitz continued as executive producer and wrote seven episodes, plus receiving story credit for an additional episode. Vince Gilligan continued as executive producer and wrote three episodes. John Shiban was promoted to executive producer and wrote two episodes, plus receiving story credit for an additional episode. David Amann was promoted to supervising producer and wrote two episodes. Steven Maeda was promoted to executive story editor and wrote two episodes. A former writer for The Lone Gunmen Thomas Schnauz joined the writing staff as a story editor and wrote two episodes. Duchovny received story credit for a single episode.[22]
Manners continued as co-executive producer and directed the most of episodes of the season with eight, including the two-part season finale. Tony Wharmby directed three episodes. Series creator Chris Carter directed two episodes. Co-executive producer Michelle MacLaren and series writer John Shiban each made their directorial debuts, directing one episode. Series writers Frank Spotnitz and Vince Gilligan each directed an episode, after previously directing their first episodes in the previous season. The remaining episodes were directed by Dwight Little, Cliff Bole, and cast member David Duchovny.[22]
Cast
Main cast
Starring
- Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully
- Robert Patrick as Special Agent John Doggett
- Annabeth Gish as Special Agent Monica Reyes
- Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Walter Skinner[a]
- David Duchovny as Fox Mulder[b]
Also starring
- James Pickens, Jr. as Alvin Kersh
- Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek
- William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man
Recurring cast
- Cary Elwes as Assistant Director Brad Follmer
- Melvin Frohike
- John Fitzgerald Byers
- Richard Langly
- Toothpick Man
Guest starring
- Adam Baldwin as Knowle Rohrer
- Jeff Gulka as Gibson Praise
- Margaret Scully
- Lucy Lawless as Shannon McMahon
- Chris Owens as Jeffrey Spender
- Laurie Holden as Marita Covarrubias
- Michael McKean as Morris Fletcher
- Steven Williams as X
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 [22] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
183 | 1 | "Nothing Important Happened Today"‡ | Kim Manners | Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz | November 11, 2001 | 9ABX01 | 10.60[23] |
John Doggett begins his investigation of Deputy Director Alvin Kersh and search for Fox Mulder. | |||||||
184 | 2 | "Nothing Important Happened Today II"‡ | Tony Wharmby | Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz | November 18, 2001 | 9ABX02 | 9.41[24] |
Shannon McMahon, a former Marine associate of Doggett's, reveals to Doggett that she is a " Super Soldier ." This leads them to a clandestine laboratory where secret experiments are taking place aboard a naval ship. | |||||||
185 | 3 | "Dæmonicus" | Frank Spotnitz | Frank Spotnitz | December 2, 2001 | 9ABX03 | 8.67[25] |
With X-File together—a series of satanic ritual killings. | |||||||
186 | 4 | "4-D" | Tony Wharmby | Steven Maeda | December 9, 2001 | 9ABX05 | 8.74[26] |
A vicious murderer threatens Doggett and Reyes and then vanishes. Doggett is shot and Brad Follmer discovers that Reyes' gun was used. | |||||||
187 | 5 | "Lord of the Flies" | Kim Manners | Thomas Schnauz | December 16, 2001 | 9ABX06 | 9.94[27] |
Scully, Doggett and Reyes investigate when a teenager dies while performing a daredevil feat for a television show, but his death is soon revealed to be caused by a disturbing family secret. | |||||||
188 | 6 | "Trust No 1"‡ | Tony Wharmby | Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz | January 6, 2002 | 9ABX08 | 8.35[28] |
Scully is hopeful about reuniting with Mulder when a complete stranger offers new information about what drove him into hiding. Yet her trust in the stranger may place Mulder in even more danger. The tagline of this episode is "They're Watching." | |||||||
189 | 7 | "John Doe" | Michelle MacLaren | Vince Gilligan | January 13, 2002 | 9ABX07 | 8.67[29] |
With no knowledge of his identity or his past, Doggett is found wandering a dusty Mexican town. While he struggles to piece together his memory, he finds himself embroiled in a smuggling plot. Across the border Scully and Reyes attempt to find him. | |||||||
190 | 8 | "Hellbound" | Kim Manners | David Amann | January 27, 2002 | 9ABX04 | 7.78[30] |
Reyes takes the lead while investigating an X-File case surrounding a man found skinned alive. When she discovers that he had visions of a similar thing, she calls on Scully's expertise to help with the investigation. | |||||||
191 | 9 | "Provenance"‡ | Kim Manners | Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz | March 3, 2002 | 9ABX10 | 9.72[31] |
When rubbings from the spaceship resurface, the FBI hides its investigation from the X-Files. Meanwhile, Scully is forced to take drastic measures when she discovers a threat to William. | |||||||
192 | 10 | "Providence"‡ | Chris Carter | Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz | March 10, 2002 | 9ABX11 | 8.44[32] |
Distrustful of both Skinner and Follmer, Scully circumvents the FBI's investigation into William's kidnapping and performs her own, assisted by Reyes and The Lone Gunmen. | |||||||
193 | 11 | "Audrey Pauley" | Kim Manners | Steven Maeda | March 17, 2002 | 9ABX13 | 7.99[33] |
Awakening in a surreal hospital—which a companion believes to be Death's Waiting Room—after being hit by a car, a comatose Reyes struggles to wake herself up before her organ donor card is acted upon. | |||||||
194 | 12 | "Underneath" | John Shiban | John Shiban | March 31, 2002 | 9ABX09 | 7.29[34] |
Doggett is determined to find an error in the DNA evidence that freed the convicted "Screwdriver Killer", whom he nearly caught in the act 13 years earlier. | |||||||
195 | 13 | "Improbable" | Chris Carter | Chris Carter | April 7, 2002 | 9ABX14 | 8.62[35] |
In the race to catch a serial killer, Scully and Reyes find themselves relying on numerology, their powers of deduction, and a mysterious, card-playing stranger. | |||||||
196 | 14 | "Scary Monsters" | Dwight Little | Thomas Schnauz | April 14, 2002 | 9ABX12 | 8.24[36] |
Special agent Leyla Harrison takes Reyes and Doggett on a drive into the mountains after a woman stabs herself repeatedly and her widowed husband refuses to let anyone see their son. | |||||||
197 | 15 | "Jump the Shark" | Cliff Bole | Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz | April 21, 2002 | 9ABX15 | 8.59[37] |
When Yves Adele Harlow . | |||||||
198 | 16 | "William"‡ | David Duchovny | Story by : David Duchovny & Frank Spotnitz & Chris Carter Teleplay by : Chris Carter | April 28, 2002 | 9ABX17 | 9.68[38] |
Doggett finds a strange, disfigured man in the X-Files office and, on a whim of Scully's, they test his DNA. The surprising answers they find become even more surprising when William's life is put on the line. | |||||||
199 | 17 | "Release" | Kim Manners | Story by : John Shiban & David Amann Teleplay by : David Amann | May 5, 2002 | 9ABX16 | 7.78[39] |
When one of Scully's students displays an inordinate ability to profile serial killers, his insights reopen the homicide case of Doggett's son, Luke. | |||||||
200 | 18 | "Sunshine Days" | Vince Gilligan | Vince Gilligan | May 12, 2002 | 9ABX18 | 10.33[40] |
Doggett, Reyes, Scully and Skinner stumble on to a bizarre homicide case where the main suspect is Oliver Martin, a man with an unusual obsession with The Brady Bunch. | |||||||
201 202 | 19 20 | "The Truth"‡ | Kim Manners | Chris Carter | May 19, 2002 | 9ABX19 9ABX20 | 13.25[41] |
After not knowing Mulder's whereabouts for the last year, Skinner and Scully learn he's being held for the homicide of a military man he couldn't possibly have killed: Anasazi cliff dwelling ruin along with the Cigarette Smoking Man . |
Reception
Ratings
The first episode of the season, "Nothing Important Happened Today", gathered 10.6 million viewers, whereas the second part gathered 9.4 million viewers.
Reviews
Sabadino Parker from
DVD release
The X-Files – The Complete Ninth Season | |||||||
Set details[22] | Special features[22] | ||||||
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| ||||||
Release dates | |||||||
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | |||||
May 11, 2004 | June 7, 2004 | July 27, 2004 |
Notes
- ^ The episodes were included in the DVD collection The X-Files Mythology, Volume 4 – Super Soldiers, released by Fox.
References
- ^ Kim Manners & Tony Wharmby (directors); Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz (writers). "Nothing Important Happened Today". The X-Files. Season 9. Episode 19 & 20. Fox.
- ^ a b c "Frank Discussion". The X-Files Magazine. February 2002. Retrieved on October 1, 2009.
- ^ Tony Wharmby (director); Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz (writers). "Trust No 1". The X-Files. Season 9. Episode 6. Fox.
- ^ Kim Manners (director); Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz (writers). "Provenance". The X-Files. Season 9. Episode 9. Fox.
- ^ Chris Carter (director); Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz (writers). "Providence". The X-Files. Season 9. Episode 10. Fox.
- ^ David Duchovny (director); Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz & Duchovny (writers). "William". The X-Files. Season 9. Episode 16. Fox.
- ^ Kim Manners (director); Chris Carter (writer). "The Truth". The X-Files. Season 9. Episode 19 & 20. Fox.
- ^ "Duchovny Quits X-Files". BBC News. May 18, 2001. Retrieved July 5, 2009.
- ^ a b Spelling, Ian. (February 2002) "Doggett's Pursuit". The X-Files Magazine. Retrieved on October 1, 2009.
- ^ a b ScFiWire staff (November 21, 2001). "The X-Files". ScFiWire.
- ^ The Hollywood Reporter staff (October 15, 2001). "TV Talk". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Fleming, Michael; Adalian, Josef (July 20, 2000). "Patrick Marks 'X-Files' Spot". Variety. Retrieved November 27, 2009.
- Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b c d Spotnitz, Frank et al. (2002). The Truth Behind Season 9 (DVD). Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ Spotnitz, Frank, Gilligan, Vince & Shiban, John (2002). Audio Commentary for "Jump the Shark" (DVD). Fox Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b Fraga, pp. 218–219.
- ^ Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 208
- ^ Hurwitz and Knowles, pp. 208–209
- ^ "'X-Files' Season Finale Airs Tonight". CNN. May 19, 2002. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
- ^ a b c KJN (March 5, 2002). "X-Files Gets Set to Jump the Shark". IGN. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Kessenich, p. 204
- ^ Fox.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ "Broadcast & Cable Nielsens: Week Ending December 16, 2001". Ratings Ryan. February 25, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ a b Kessenich, p. 193
- ^ Goodman, Tim (January 18, 2002). "'X-Files' creator ends Fox series". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ Associated Press (May 2002). "Prime-Time Nielsen ratings". Associated Press Archive.
- ^ Kissell, Rick (May 21, 2002). "Peacock struts its stuff". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
- ^ Parker, Sabadino (May 15, 2002). "I Don't Believe It". PopMatters. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ^ Linder, Brian (January 18, 2001). "X-Files Exits After 9 Seasons". IGN. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
- Salon. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ^ Tucker, Ken (November 16, 2001). "The X-Files (1993–2002)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
- ^ Weinbloom, Elizabeth (June 2, 2002). "'THE X-FILES'; A Botched Romance". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
- ^ "The Nearly Ex Files". The New York Times. October 10, 2002. Retrieved August 17, 2009.
- ^ Adams, Sam; et al. (May 7, 2012). "One bad apple...we can live with that: 31 rotten parts of otherwise fantastic wholes". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-5170-0903-8.
Bibliography
- Fraga, Erica (2010). LAX-Files: Behind the Scenes with the Los Angeles Cast and Crew. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-4515-0341-8.
- 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 1-55369-812-6.
External links
- Season 9 on TheXFiles.com
- The X-Files at IMDb