"The X Files" Pilot (1993)

Director:

Robert Mandel

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Chris Carter (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

10 September 1993 (Season 1, Episode 0)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

trust no one

Plot:

A young F.B.I. agent is assigned watchdog duty over a fellow agent, but finds herself drawn into his investigations of paranormal and unexplained phenomena.

Plot Keywords:

TV Series Pilot | Reference To Steven Spielberg | Brassiere | X Files | Female In Bra And Panties

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Charles Cioffi	...	Section Chief Scott Blevins
Cliff De Young	...	Dr. Jay Nemman (as Cliff DeYoung)
Sarah Koskoff	...	Theresa Nemman
Leon Russom	...	Detective Miles
Zachary Ansley	...	Billy Miles
Stephen E. Miller	...	Coroner John Truitt
Malcolm Stewart	...	Dr. Glass
Alexandra Berlin	...	The Orderly
Jim Jansen	...	Dr. Heitz Werber
Ken Camroux	...	Third Man in Blevins' Office
Doug Abrahams	...	Patrolman #1 (as Doug Abrams)
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Katya Gardner	...	Peggy O'Dell (as Katya Gardener)

Runtime:

46 min | Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The original script for this episode called for Mulder and Scully to howl at the moon at one point.

Goofs:

Continuity: Mulder and Scully are standing out in the rain when Mulder tells Scully that Billy Miles brought the others out into the woods. In the next scene, at the hospital, it is daytime, sunny, and both Mulder and Scully are dry.

Quotes:

Special Agent Dana Scully: Do you have a theory?
Special Agent Fox Mulder: I have plenty of theories.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Fight Club (1999)

Solid start to a great TV series

A lot of pilot episodes for TV in general are overrated (as much as I dislike that word, I think it fits here). There are exceptions of course, the Twin Peaks pilot perhaps the most obvious and best example, but I think they tend to be shaky affairs in general.

"The X-Files" pilot isn't bad by any stretch, and few fans would consider it one of the best episodes, so it isn't particularly overrated either. It is, however, a solid, involving 46 minutes. Flawed, but still quite good.

I don't think Duchovny and Anderson are quite as good here as they would later be, and I found some of the writing cringe-worthy, in addition the production and cinematography don't seem up to the standard of much of the series (granted the first season generally looks quite cheap, but John Bartley still used some inventive methods with his cinematography that Thomas Del Ruth would never bother with), and the music is often corny and very late 80's/early 90's. That said, this is still a good, solid start to the series, and a good story let down by an uneven script and some other issues.

It's quite remarkable, however, how well-developed the characters already feel after just one episode.

A couple of extra notes:

Gillian Anderson looks particularly scrumptious here, and even has a very rare gratuitous underwear scene for the guys and lesbians to enjoy. The first issue of the X-Files comics series by Topps comics was an adaptation of this episode written by Roy Thomas and featuring art by John Van Fleet, and actually sorts out a lot of the issues with the quality of the production, acting, and script in the televised version. It's worth seeking out.

7/10