D.P.O. (6 Oct. 1995)
"The X Files" D.P.O. (original title)

A local teen discovers he has gained great electrical powers after surviving being struck by lightning.

Director:

Kim Manners

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator), Howard Gordon

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Giovanni Ribisi

Cast

Episode cast overview:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Darin Peter Oswald
Jack Black	...	Bart 'Zero' Liquori
Ernie Lively	...	Sheriff Teller
Karen Lorre	...	Sharon Kiveat (as Karen Witter)
Steve Makaj	...	Frank Kiveat
Peter Anderson	...	Stan Buxton
Kate Robbins	...	Mrs.. Oswald
Mar Andersons	...	Jack Hammond
Brent Chapman	...	The Traffic Cop
Jason Griffith	...	Paramedic #1 (as Jason Anthony Griffith)

Storyline

A local teen discovers he has gained great electrical powers after surviving being struck by lightning.

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Plot Keywords:

struck by lightning | car crash | defibrillator | cow | playing a video game | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (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:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Astadourian Lightning Observatory is named for Mary Astadourian, chief researcher and office manager at 1013 Productions, as well as Chris Carter's personal assistant.

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Quotes

Fox Mulder: I found it between Miss April and the Women of the Ivy League.

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Crazy Credits

Almost every episode ends with a fade to black and the words "Executive Producer Chris Carter." At the end of the episode "D.P.O.," a character is flipping through channels on television, and stops on one showing Carter's credit. At the end of the episode "Post-Modern Prometheus", the final shot of Mulder and Scully turns into a comic-book frame, and a hand flips the comic book shut to reveal the book end cover with Carter's credit.

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Connections

References Power Instinct (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Ring the Bells"
Performed by James

User Reviews

2 future stars shine in entertaining episode

DPO is another episode that I remember seeing way back in the 90s and recently had the chance to watch again.I still enjoyed it a lot and it brought back memories of that particular time in my life. DPO stands for Darin Peter Oswald and as the title suggests the episode is all about him.Hes a small town slacker who works as a mechanic and spends his spare time hanging around the arcades with his friend "Zero",and longing after his schoolteacher,Sharon Kiveat.However he also possesses a special gift,having the ability to apparently channel electricity through his person and focus it on who/whatever is unlucky to get in his way.This is where M&S come in after the number of electricity related deaths in Darin's small town attract their attention.Despite the skepticisms of the local police chief they soon realize Darin had something to do with the deaths.Can they manage to rein him in before his frustration at being rejected in love and his feelings of inadequacy send him spiraling out of control? A Couple of other things to note: The episode featured 2 then relatively unknown actors who would subsequently rise to greater fame:Giovanni Ribisi in the title role and funnyman Jack Black as his friend "Zero".Ribisi is especially good here and he really has the moody teenager persona down to a tee. The opening sequence is tense and exciting and the music(Ring the Bells by James)and action combine very well and peak together in a dramatic climax.The scenes where DPO uses his gift and "strikes" are also handled well and some of these scenes are quite spectacular looking. So to sum up my feelings DPO is a pretty solid X-file.I would put it in the same category as "Pusher",as it features a human character with an extraordinary gift.Its probably not one of my absolute fave eps but its not too far off either.I give it 8.5/10.