"The X Files" Kill Switch (1998)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
William Gibson (written by) ...

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

15 February 1998 (Season 5, Episode 11)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Two U.S. marshals, several street-level criminals, and a computer software pioneer (Donald Gelman) are...

Plot Keywords:

FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files | Conspiracy

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Kristin Lehman	...	Esther Nairn / Invisigoth
Kate Luyben	...	Nurse Nancy
Tom Braidwood	...	Melvin Frohike
Dean Haglund	...	Richard 'Ringo' Langly
Bruce Harwood	...	John Fitzgerald Byers
Peter Williams	...	Jackson
Rob Daprocida	...	Bunny
Patrick Keating	...	Donald Gelman
Jerry Schram	...	Boyce
Steve Griffith	...	Paramedic #1
Ted Cole	...	Paramedic #2

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Massachusetts metal-core band Killswitch Engage took its name from this episode.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Mulder and Scully examine Charles Figgis' body at the crime scene, the boom mic briefly dips in and out of the shot.

Quotes:

Mulder: Call my doctor. You have to call my doctor. Call Doctor Scully.

Soundtrack:

Twilight Time

And you thought C.O.S. was nasty.

Kill Switch re-visits the idea of artificial intelligence(AI) gone rogue, a concept first explored in season one's "Ghost in the Machine". Computer stuff always fascinates me, so it's easy for me to like episodes with this subject matter. It's interesting, that right after the teaser, Mulder and Scully come upon Donald Gelman's laptop which still has command on the screen to hit "enter" to initiate program. If only Mulder had known, a big mess could have been avoided, if he had pressed that button. It's funny to see Scully's complete disbelief in AI. Her skepticism is to the extreme in this episode. The Lone Gunmen are featured in Kill Switch, which is always a bonus. Mulder's "virtual" experience is quite entertaining, especially when we get to see "Kung-Fu Scully". She kicks some nurse butt. A little nitpick with a continuity error: Scully and Esther are walking through the woods and you can see snow falling behind them. Two seconds later, they come up to the camper and there is no snow anywhere and not even falling. It's not a negative thing, just a cool nitpick. I actually find some of the AI stuff harder to believe than the paranormal happenings that the agents normally investigate. Kill Switch is a cool, fun, and interesting episode that shouldn't be missed.