Teliko 

Mulder believes a creature from an African folktale may be responsible for the disappearance of several black men in the Philadelphia area.

Director:

Jim Charleston (as James Charleston)

Writers:

Chris Carter (created by), Howard Gordon

Stars:

David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Carl Lumbly	...	Marcus Duff
Willie Amakye	...	Samuel Aboah
Laurie Holden	...	Marita Covarrubias
Brendan Beiser	...	Agent Pendrell
Zakes Mokae	...	Diabria
Bob Morrisey	...	Dr. Simon Bruin
Danny Wattley	...	First Officer
Maxine Guess	...	Flight Attendant
Bill Mackenzie	...	Bus Driver
Michael O'Shea	...	Lt. Madsen

Storyline

Scully is asked by Assistant Director Skinner to assist officials from the Center for Disease Control in determining the cause of a recent number of deaths in the Philadelphia area. All of the victims were African American and had lost their pigmentation, with their corpses looking albino-like. She finds the basic reason for the loss of pigmentation - their pituitary glands were necrotic - but not the actual cause. Mulder for his part thinks there is something far more sinister at work and contacts Marita Covarrubias at the U.N. who tells him of a similar incident on flight from West Africa some months before.

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Plot Keywords:

airplane | airplane bathroom | african immigrant | philadelphia pennsylvania | immigration lawyer | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

18 October 1996 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 2, North Shore Studios, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ten Thirteen Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The tagline for this episode was changed from the usual "The Truth Is Out There" to "Deceive, Inveigle, Obfuscate", a phrase repeated several times throughout the episode.

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Goofs

As Mulder and Scully are driving toward the abandoned building, the lock on Mulder's door is, between shots, open, then closed, and finally open again.

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Quotes

Diabria: Why has Samuel Aboah been arrested? You said his health was in danger. Why have I been lied to?
Dana Scully: Nobody has lied to you, sir.
Diabria: Then, please, release him immediately.
Dana Scully: We would like to do some more tests on him. We have to be certain his health hasn't been endangered and that he isn't endangering others.
Diabria: Then, why have you called me?
Dana Scully: As a translator. We'd like to be able to ask him some questions.
Diabria: About what?
Mulder: About Alfred Kittel and about several others young men that have gone missing since his ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The tagline at the end of the credits is changed to 'Decieve Inveigle Obfuscate'.

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Soundtracks

The X-Files
Written by Mark Snow
Performed by John Beal

User Reviews

Samuel Aboah, the new Victor Eugene Tooms

Season 4 of The X-Files was a new production crew building upon earlier Mythos. And so, this episode was overlooked.

There is a new "Victor Eugene Tooms" - Samuel Aboah (Willie Amakye) who can contort himself into a coffee can much like Tooms could. But where Tooms has an insatiable appetite for exactly five human livers per sleep cycle, Aboah has other physiological needs: as he as no pituitary gland.

This is also the first time we hear the phrase "Deceive, Inveigle and Obfuscate" which along with "Deny Everything" and "Apology is Policy" is added to the X-Files list of things that cannot be "programmed, categorized, or easily referenced".

Skully solves part of this conundrum from behind a microscope while Mulder chases down clues including tapping his new contact Marita Covarrubias, giving Mulder access to a man who tells him some remarkable stories from his African country of origin about a lost tribe of "Ghosts".

Never mind how Aboah can squeeze into a food cart in a hospital and escape from a Quarantine area, never mind how he can crawl into small storm drains. This guy can fit into any area his head can fit into, no matter how small.

So while in the American continent, as evolution produces Liver Eating, Long Lived aberrations, in Africa parallel evolution produces what we see here.

This episode plays out in darkened rooms and at night, where things that must not be seen are performed with impunity.