Biogenesis (16 May 1999)
"The X Files" Biogenesis (original title)

An artifact with strange engravings on it is found off of the coast of Africa. When a rubbing of these engravings is shown to Mulder, confusing noises happen inside his head. The agents ... See full summary »

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator), Chris Carter,

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi

Cast

Episode credited cast:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ayo Adeyemi	...	First African Man
Michael Chinyamurindi	...	Dr. Solomon Merkmallen
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Bill Dow	...	Dr. Charles Burks
Michael Ensign	...	Dr. Barnes
Chet Grissom	...	Detective
Nicholas Lea	...	Alex Krycek
Samuel Kwaku Minta	...	Young Man
Benjamin Ochieng	...	Second African Man
Mimi Rogers	...	Agent Diana Fowley
Murray Rubinstein	...	Dr. Steven Sandoz
Warren Sweeney	...	Dr. Harriman

Storyline

An artifact with strange engravings on it is found off of the coast of Africa. When a rubbing of these engravings is shown to Mulder, confusing noises happen inside his head. The agents look to uncover the origin of this mysterious artifact and to find out why it is having a singular effect on Mulder.

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Plot Keywords:

artifact | gallup new mexico | microvideo | holy bible | navajo code talker | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

16 May 1999 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Leo Carrillo State Beach - 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Ten Thirteen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the opening teaser, footage is used from the X-Files movie of the cavemen walking through a snowstorm.

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Quotes

Dana Scully: [voiceover] From Space, it seems an abstraction - a magician's trick on a darkened stage. And from this distance one might never imagine that it is alive. It first appeared in the sea almost four billion years ago in the form of single-celled life. In an explosion of life spanning millions of years, nature's first multicellular organisms began to multiply... and then it stopped. 440 million years ago, a great mass extinction would kill off nearly every species on the planet leaving the vast ...

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Connections

Features The X Files (1998)

User Reviews

Spinning Artifacts

Whenever Scully does voice-overs in the teasers, I feel like I'm getting a science lesson, replete with big words I don't understand. Scully does it again in Biogenesis, the season finale for season six. I love the use of the crazy monkeys when Dr. Merkmallen is meeting with Dr. Barnes. The monkeys can sense that something is not quite right with that artifact. Why is it that animals are always the first to sense these things? After seeing the crime scene, Scully asks Mulder the question all of us are wondering; what his motives are after the syndicate has been destroyed. What do you still have left to find? --My sister-- The original quest is still alive. One thing I've always liked about the x-files is the casting of minor guest roles such as landlords or a store manager. They are very minor roles, but they get the perfect actors for them. They do it again with the landlord of Dr. Sandoz. He only has a few lines, but he is so convincing in that small role, as if he really is a landlord. Also, that Dr. Barnes is a very creepy guy. He is very well cast. I like the continuation of S.R. 819. Krycek has Skinner by the you-know-whats and he has to spy on Mulder and Scully and record their conversations. Though what Dr. Barnes needs that tape for is beyond me. It's fun to see Chuck Burks return. After the death of Pendrell, Chuck is our FBI office comic relief, though in a different way. We also get a shot of the pencils in the ceiling of Mulder's office during the Chuck scene. It's funny that they used the over-used cliché of horses neighing when trouble is approaching, this time in the form of Alex Krycek, coming to kill Dr. Sandoz. If horses can always detect trouble like that, then we need to have horses at all security checkpoints in airports instead of humans. Could've prevented 9-11, perhaps. I love the final shot of Scully standing before the spaceship submerged in water. One of the best final shots ever in an x-files episode. Biogenesis is a very fun episode. It takes the mythology in a new and interesting direction.