Three Words (8 Apr. 2001)
"The X Files" Three Words (original title)

A man is shot on the White House lawn with a disk titled "Fight the Future"; Mulder, on the brink of expulsion from the X-Files, investigates while Doggett uses an old friend from the ... See full summary »

Director:

Tony Wharmby

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator), Chris Carter,

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Robert Patrick

Cast

Episode credited cast:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Robert Patrick	...	John Doggett
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Adam Baldwin	...	Knowle Rohrer
Joe Basile	...	Lead Guard
Tom Braidwood	...	Melvin Frohike
Gary Bristow	...	Howard Salt
Dean Haglund	...	Richard 'Ringo' Langly
Bruce Harwood	...	John Fitzgerald Byers
Dwight Hicks	...	Prison Armed Guard
Nelson Mashita	...	Dr. Lim
Jonathan Murad	...	Intercom Guard
James Pickens Jr.	...	FBI Deputy Director Alvin Kersh
Ric Sarabia	...	Prison Trustee

Storyline

A man is shot on the White House lawn with a disk titled "Fight the Future"; Mulder, on the brink of expulsion from the X-Files, investigates while Doggett uses an old friend from the military, Knowle Rohrer, as an insider to the possibility of a conspiracy.

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Plot Keywords:

the white house | shot in the head | data disk | freight train | title spoken by character | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 2001 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television, Ten Thirteen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Agent Doggett is told that to access the secret database, the password is three words; "Fight the Future". Fight the Future is the name of the first X-Files movie.

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Quotes

John Doggett: Fight the future.

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Connections

References Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

User Reviews

Who says you can't go home again?

Mulder is back on the job. In Three Words, Mulder jumps right back into the thick of things without missing a beat. Only this time, there is a slight obstacle: Agent Doggett. Mulder doesn't approve of this addition to the X-Files team and shows his disapproval immediately.

I think Mulder sends the first text message seen in the X-Files in this episode. Just an interesting tidbit.

Mulder is very sarcastic in this episode, even towards Scully. I think it stems from his disapproval of Doggett and how we feels things will be once Scully goes on maternity leave. The entire episode is filled with awkwardness as no one quite knows how to act with each other now that Mulder's back.

The Lone Gunmen make a fine appearance in this episode. Instead of just offering some exposition in their headquarters, they get to go black ops with Mulder to get the census data.

I love the awkward feel of the episode as everyone tries to adjust to each other. Also, the friction between Mulder and Doggett is real and palpable. We see for the first time that Knowle Rohrer is not who he appears to be, leading to the super soldier mythology in season 9.

Three Words is a good old-fashioned action-oriented myth/arc and maintains an exciting pace. I have three words for this episode: I love it.