Bad Blood (22 Feb. 1998)
"The X Files" Bad Blood (original title)

After Mulder drives a stake through the heart of a would be vampire, he and Scully review what happened before they meet Assistant Director Skinner. Their recollection of the case is ... See full summary »

Director:

Cliff Bole

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator), Vince Gilligan

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Luke Wilson

Cast

Episode cast overview:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Luke Wilson	...	Sheriff Hartwell
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Patrick Renna	...	Ronnie Strickland
Forbes Angus	...	Funeral Director
Brent Butt	...	Coroner

Storyline

After Mulder drives a stake through the heart of a would be vampire, he and Scully review what happened before they meet Assistant Director Skinner. Their recollection of the case is significantly divergent. They had gone to Texas to investigate a death by exsanguination and Scully thinks that someone is playing at being a vampire. Her autopsy finds a high level of chlorohydrate in the dead man's system. There's soon a second victim and she finds that both victims had eaten pizza. As she recalls it, she saved an incapacitated Mulder and tried to capture the culprit. Mulder's recollection is somewhat different. It was he, not Scully who developed the key clues in the case including the fact that the victim's shoes were untied and then discovering a second victim in a runaway RV. Before they can speak to Skinner, they have to return to Texas when the vampire Mulder killed seems to have disappeared.

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | reference to gertrude stein | vibrating bed | myth | reference to dracula

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1998 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 2, North Shore Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Ten Thirteen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The end of the previous episode, "Kill Switch", ended with the words "Bite Me".

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Goofs

When Mulder breaks the chair in the motel room during his version of the story a hand is seen placing a stake onto the remnants of the chair. This is possibly deliberate because it adds to the comedic value of the two-story theme for this particular episode, with Mulder and Scully arguing about minute details.

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Quotes

Scully: [waiting to speak to Skinner about Mulder's "staking" a suspect] Mulder, just keep reminding them that you were drugged.
Mulder: [impatiently] Shhh!
Walter Skinner: [enters room] Agents...
Mulder: [interrupting] I was drugged!

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Connections

References Rain Man (1988)

User Reviews

My #1 Episode

"Bad Blood" is my absolute favourite stand-alone X-File episode. Watching the story being played out by first Scully's view and then Mulder's was original and funny. This episode pokes fun at the way each agent sees the case--always differing from the others point of view. It really displays the difference of views and opinions in Mulder and Scully's partnership.

Bad Blood is packed full of laughs and great one-liners, and the character of Lucius Hartwell (played by an amazing Luke Wilson!) is hilarious. I love Mulder's interaction with him. The storyline isn't bad either, but, really, what's not to love about the guv'meant peepuhl, vampires and big buck teeth? 10/10