Firewalker (18 Nov. 1994)

When scientists watch as their camera picks up a moving shadow on the inside of a smoldering hot volcano too hot for any living creature to survive, Mulder and Scully investigate the strange occurrence.

Director:

David Nutter

Writers:

Chris Carter (created by), Howard Gordon

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Bradley Whitford

Cast

Episode cast overview:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Bradley Whitford	...	Daniel Trepkos
Leland Orser	...	Jason Ludwig
Shawnee Smith	...	Jessie O'Neil
Tuck Milligan	...	Dr. Adam Pierce
Hiro Kanagawa	...	Peter Tanaka
David Kaye	...	Reporter
David Lewis	...	Vosberg
Torben Rolfsen	...	Technician

Storyline

Mulder and Scully investigate strange occurrences at a volcano site where at least one scientist has died. A robotic video showed the scientist lying dead at the bottom of a crater where temperatures have reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit. They can then see a shadow cross the body. Once on the site, they find terrified survivors and what Mulder believes is an unknown silicon-based organism, the first of its kind. With different members of the team seemingly infected, Scully and Mulder quarantine the entire group until they know exactly what they are dealing with.

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Plot Keywords:

medical gloves | rubber gloves | surgical gloves | sterile gloves | latex gloves | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 1994 (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:

43 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The set used for the exterior of the field base camp was later sold to the production company responsible for the TV series The Sentinel (1996).

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Goofs

(at around 4 mins) The dead body seen on the TV screen is still moving.

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Quotes

Mulder: I'm going to find Trepkos.
Scully: What if he's already dead?
Mulder: Then he'll have a lot of trouble answering my questions.

User Reviews

A very good episode, unfairly dismissed as a 'remake' of "Ice"

Prior to this viewing, "Firewalker" was one of only five X-Files episodes I had only seen once. I figured there was no need to watch it again, because I found it neither bad nor good, and just boring. Imagine my surprise as I re-watched "Firewalker" and found it very entertaining, and actually a very good episode in every way.

If you've read any of my comments on "The X-Files" episodes you would know that I am not a fan of Howard Gordon (who would go on to become the boss at "24", a show I'm really not a fan of), especially with his former writing partner Alex Gansa, not that I like him much on his own either. I find his scripts to be generally flat and uninspired, and the dialogue to be fairly poor, which is something you can usually expect great things from when it comes to "The X-Files". With "Firewalker" I think he's done extremely well, in spite of the inconsistencies others have pointed out. I still prefer "Ice" (which certainly is very similar to this) because it's got an absolutely classic script with memorable dialogue, but "Firewalker" is still a fine episode.

"Firewalker" actually has a much stronger atmosphere (thanks to the creepy and mysterious volcano setting) and group of guest characters than "Ice" does. Another IMDb user noticed that you could read Trepko and Jesse's characters as parallels to Mulder and Scully, which is not only a sound observation, but something I can't believe I didn't pick up on. David Nutter (who also directed "Ice") returns and does a great job of creating genuinely claustrophobic atmosphere. The guest cast is outstanding as well.

"Firewalker" is not a great episode, but it's very good, almost surprisingly so, and deserves more credit than it gets.

8/10