"The X Files" Pilot (1993)

Director:

Robert Mandel

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Chris Carter (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

10 September 1993 (Season 1, Episode 0)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

trust no one

Plot:

A young F.B.I. agent is assigned watchdog duty over a fellow agent, but finds herself drawn into his investigations of paranormal and unexplained phenomena.

Plot Keywords:

TV Series Pilot | Reference To Steven Spielberg | Brassiere | X Files | Female In Bra And Panties

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Charles Cioffi	...	Section Chief Scott Blevins
Cliff De Young	...	Dr. Jay Nemman (as Cliff DeYoung)
Sarah Koskoff	...	Theresa Nemman
Leon Russom	...	Detective Miles
Zachary Ansley	...	Billy Miles
Stephen E. Miller	...	Coroner John Truitt
Malcolm Stewart	...	Dr. Glass
Alexandra Berlin	...	The Orderly
Jim Jansen	...	Dr. Heitz Werber
Ken Camroux	...	Third Man in Blevins' Office
Doug Abrahams	...	Patrolman #1 (as Doug Abrams)
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Katya Gardner	...	Peggy O'Dell (as Katya Gardener)

Runtime:

46 min | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

In the scene on the plane, the man who is sitting behind Scully is David Duchovny's father.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Mulder and Scully return to the cemetery to find the empty graves they begin to work out what's been going on and Scully says, "And the force summoned Theresa Nemman's body into the woods tonight." But it was Peggy O'Dell who was summoned that night and was killed running across the highway. Theresa Nemman phoned Mulder to tell him Peggy had been killed and approached the agents for protection at the scene of the hotel fire. She describes her previous experiences of having been summoned to the woods but she wasn't summoned that night. She is summoned the next night.

Quotes:

[Mulder has just spray-painted a giant X on the road]
Special Agent Dana Scully: What the hell was that about?
Special Agent Fox Mulder: Oh, you know, probably nothing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fight Club (1999)

Irresistible protagonists, cult trademarks, well-written dialogs, banal story but puzzling investigation and overall fascinating universe

I was just a teenager when it first aired and as many other viewers I was mesmerized by its so many brilliant ideas and fascinating elements. Fifteen years have passed since I first saw it and all I can say is that it hasn't aged. But now it's even more interesting because you can relate it to the great productions that haven't been released in the past few years. For example I only discovered Twin Peaks later so watching it I was able to compare their music and visuals for example. The efforts done to make The X-Files fictional world believable is really impressive. But of course all the work would be wasted without the most important and appreciated element in the series, its characters. Dana Scully and Fox Mulder are as charismatic and likable as they used to be. From their very first scenes you can already feel the chemistry between Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Moreover the time has passed but our memories haven't faded as seeing the "I Want To Believe" poster, the X mark and other fan goodies is as delightful as it used to be. The dialogs are also pure candies for viewers interested in decrypting everything single words as they contribute to clearly identify the characters. Scully is the skeptical and rational scientist and Mulder is the freaky but brilliant FBI agent opened to most paranormal and conspiracy theories. In fact they reminded me of the duality between Jack Sheppard and John Locke from Lost, science versus faith. It's quite fascinating as it demonstrates how much influence the series had on a generation of artists, writers and directors for example, eager to develop their creativity and open their mind to new realms of wonders. The contrast between Scully and Mulder is also further developed thanks to the recurring jokes the second always say in the less expected scenes. I also greatly appreciated their investigation as the puzzle to solve didn't seem like it could be. Scully always had a rational theory and was looking for evidences when Mulder kept fast forwarding. However they both walked in the fog and events were so broken that you never knew what would happened next. So even if the story wasn't that original, even back in 1993, I think all these elements greatly contributed to make this pilot a model of its kind. Last but not least you couldn't write such a review without mentioning the Cigarette Smoking Man. From the very first minutes you could feel his dark and enigmatic presence at every corner. Moreover the last scene he's featured in was really a smart move as it opened a book full of myths, driving the experience even further and convincing the few skeptical viewers to stick around a little more.