"The X Files" Deep Throat (1993)

Director:

Daniel Sackheim

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Chris Carter (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

17 September 1993 (Season 1, Episode 1)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Agents Mulder and Scully investigate the suspicious behaviour of a secret air force base in Idaho, coming into contact with government forces which threaten their careers and safety.

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Character Name In Title | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Jerry Hardin	...	Deep Throat
Michael Bryan French	...	Paul Mossinger
Seth Green	...	Emil
Gabrielle Rose	...	Anita Budahas
Monica Parker	...	Ladonna
Sheila Moore	...	Verla McLennen
Lalainia Lindbjerg	...	Zoe
Andrew Johnston	...	Colonel Robert Budahas
Jon Cuthbert	...	Commanding Officer
Vince Metcalfe	...	Kissell
Michael Puttonen	...	Motel Manager
Brian Furlong	...	Lead Officer
Doc Harris	...	Mr. McLennen

Runtime:

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:

Principle setting: Southwest Idaho.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Scully is asleep in the car and a UFO (presumably) flies overhead, the glass shatters in the back. However, later, when Mulder and Scully are being detained by the "National Security" guys, the back windshield is shown intact.

Quotes:

[Mulder and Scully have just asked two teens if they saw a flying saucer]
Scully: Mulder, did you see their eyes? If I were that high...
Mulder: Ooh! If you were that high, what?
Scully: Mulder, you could've shown that kid a picture of a flying hamburger and he would've told that's *exactly* what he saw.

Soundtrack:

The Truth

"Mr. Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time"

Deep Throat is the first proper episode of The X-Files, in that it features the now legendary title sequence and theme music, the catchphrase "The truth is out there" and, most importantly, the introduction of the show's famous "mythology" storyline, an arc which, unlike Twin Peaks' murder mystery, was allowed to stay partially unresolved until the definitive end of the series.

The complex ongoing plot line, which revolves around the possibility that the US government and military know about the existence of aliens and do everything in their power to hide the truth, begins when a mysterious man (Jerry Hardin), subsequently referred to as Deep Throat, approaches Mulder and advises him to suspend his most recent investigation. Mulder, being who he is, ignores the advice and follows a set of clues that lead him to an air base which supposedly contains the bodies of extraterrestrials. Once he gets there, though, he gets in more trouble than expected, and while Scully tries to save him they both realize there's a bigger secret being hidden, one that could cost them their jobs and possibly even their lives.

Unusually for a science-fiction show, The X-Files never really featured any overly heavy effects work (barring the 1998 movie), primarily because Chris Carter was more interested in the human aspect. This is especially clear in the mythology episodes, which look more like political thrillers than full-blown sci-fi blockbusters. Carter explicitly drew inspiration from the film All the President's Men, a fact that is confirmed by the informant being named Deep Throat (although the name is never actually used in this episode). The character in question is played with the right shade of mystery by Hardin, while a still-not-famous-at-the-time Seth Green provides some comic relief as a stoned teenager.

More than anything, though, this episode shows how The X-Files, like Twin Peaks before it and other serials after it, never gave any reassuring answers. Evidence of this can be found in the unsettling conversation between Mulder and Deep Throat: "They're here, aren't they?" "Mr. Mulder, they've been here for a long, long time". The rest, as they say, is television history.