"The X Files" Paper Hearts (1996)

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Vince Gilligan (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

15 December 1996 (Season 4, Episode 10)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A recurring dream of Mulder's leads him to discover the 14th victim of a serial killer whom he caught years before as a detective...

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Title Spoken By Character | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Tom Noonan	...	John Lee Roche
Byrne Piven	...	Robert Sparks
Rebecca Toolan	...	Mrs. Teena Mulder
Jane Perry	...	Day Care Operator
Vanessa Morley	...	Young Samantha Mulder
Edward Diaz	...	El Camino Owner
Paul Bittante	...	The Local Cop
Carly McKillip	...	Caitlin Ross

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Tom Noonan plays a role as a serial killer, a role that he previously played in Manhunter (1986) and Last Action Hero (1993).

Quotes:

Mulder: Scully, do you believe that my sister Samantha was abducted by aliens? Have you ever believed that? No. So what do you think happened to her?
Scully: What are you saying you believe now?
Mulder: I don't know. I don't know what happened. I don't know what to believe. I just know that I have to find out now.

Movie Connections:

References "The Magician" (1973)

The Mad Hatter

Paper Hearts has become one of my favorite episodes since I started watching the series again. I remember watching it earlier on when I was more into the mytharc of the series and wanting to know about the conspiracies and I remember being disappointed that this episode leads you to believe that you would get answers about Mulder's sister and then you don't. But you know after rewatching it and knowing the final outcome and being able to focus on other aspects of this episode it really is great. I love the acting performances both by Duchovny and Gillian Anderson and the guest star performances are just as good. I almost want to like Roche when I first meet him. He acts like he and Mulder are just old friends that haven't seen each other in a while. This works very well for a serial killer because actually the exact opposite is the case. The music was another high point of the episode for me. It doesn't happen often that we get an original score for just one episode but this is done here and it is just eerie enough yet soothing to the point that you actually feel like you are in Mulder's dream with him. All in all this is a great episode and I give it a 10/10.