Ice (5 Nov. 1993)
"The X Files" Ice (original title)

Mulder, Scully and 3 scientists travel to the arctic to investigate what happened to the previous team of scientists sent there, and discover what they believe is a new life-form that makes its host want to kill other people.

Director:

David Nutter

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator), Glen Morgan,

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Xander Berkeley

Cast

Episode cast overview:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Xander Berkeley	...	Dr. Hodge
Felicity Huffman	...	Dr. Nancy Da Silva
Steve Hytner	...	Dr. Denny Murphy
Jeff Kober	...	Bear
Ken Kirzinger	...	Richter
Sonny Surowiec	...	Campbell

Storyline

Mulder and Scully head off to Alaska when the scientists working on the Arctic Ice Core project have seemingly gone crazy and killed each other. The project team had just beaten the record for the deepest core sample when they soon began to act oddly. Along with two scientists and a helicopter pilot, the agents arrive at the deserted post and soon find that an ancient micro-organism from one of the deep core samples is responsible. The helicopter pilot is the first affected and has to be restrained. One other of the group is also infected and the chief scientist in the group thinks it's Mulder.

---

Plot Keywords:

suicide pact | nome alaska | caged animal | dog | hypothalamus | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 November 1993 (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:

46 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The aircraft flying Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and the team to the Arctic station is a New Zealand registered (ZK-CKT) Cessna 185D s/n 185-0929. As the ZK is part of the registration it makes it easy to identify as a New Zealand aircraft but makes it possible the footage is from outside New Zealand if the aircraft operated domestic only the ZK prefix would not be physically required on the aircraft as part of the registration.

---

Goofs

(at around 2 mins) The agents arrive at what is called "Doolittle Airfield Nome, Alaska". There is a Nome airport, and the smaller "Nome City Field", but no Doolittle Field in real life.

---

Quotes

Fox Mulder: This is Agent Mulder. We have a serious biological hazard. Request air pick-up and quarantine procedures. Over.
[static]
Fox Mulder: Come in, Doolittle Airfield.
Doolittle Airfield: We copy, Agent Mulder. This area is under a heavy storm and no aircraft can get out for the next day. Maybe the military base in Kotzebue can set up a quarantine. Advise immediate evacuation. The arctic storm is bearing in your direction. Over.
Fox Mulder: We were told we'd have three clear days of weather. Over.
Doolittle Airfield: Welcome to the top of the world, sir.

---

Connections

References The Thing (1982)

User Reviews

as cool a homage to the Thing you're likely to see

A team varied between Scully and Mulder, two other scientists, a pilot, and the guy who plays Bana on Seinfeld, go up to an Arctic research post where all members have died off by either killing each other or killing themselves. They discover there's a worm- a virus- that is parasitic to the point of madness and death. The problem is, after a certain dog lashes out, anyone could be infected, but who? This is not just my favorite episode of season 1, but also one of my favorites from the show. The Arctic environment encloses the characters and, of course like Carpenter's the Thing, it's a lot of fun watching these even-tempered characters suddenly start to flip out in dramatic scenes. And the visual effects of the worm and its effects under the skin are cheesy, I didn't mind them at all. The drama between the characters ends up working more than it would usually because of the tension and because all of the actors (including the Bana guy) understand what's going on in the story. And, as usual, I loved the ambiguity of the ending. Highly recommended.