"The X Files" Alone (2001)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Frank Spotnitz

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Frank Spotnitz (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

6 May 2001 (Season 8, Episode 19)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

A bizarre reptilian creature captures Doggett and his new Mulder-obsessed partner underground and only a X-Files deposed Mulder can help them. |

Plot Keywords:

Liver Eating Mutant | Reference To Oprah Winfrey | Title Spoken By Character | FBI | FBI Agent

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Robert Patrick	...	John Doggett
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jay Caputo	...	Salamander Man
Zach Grenier	...	Dr. Herman Stites
Jolie Jenkins	...	FBI Agent Leyla Harrison
Lisa Kaseman	...	Pathology Assistant
Tony Ketcham	...	Gary Sacks
James Otis	...	Arlen Sacks

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

This is the last "Monster of the Week" episode to include David Duchovny. His final three appearances on the program would be part of the long running "Mythology" arc.

Quotes:

Mulder: Hey. Ready to roll?
Scully: Yeah, let me just get my keys.
Mulder: Hey, don't forget this. Relax the back, breathe in, breathe out.
Scully: How do you know all these things, Mulder?
Mulder: I'm unemployed. I've got a lot of time on my hands. Oprah, I watch a lot of Oprah.
Scully: Thank you for doing this with me.
Mulder: What's the matter?
Scully: I don't know, I... Maybe it's hormones or... I just, I'm feeling so strange about all of this.
Mulder: This, having a baby, this?
Scully: No. No. Leaving work, I guess. I mean I... I walked out of that office today feeling like a deserter.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The X Files (1998)

How does a Sno-cat run when it's out of gas?

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

With Mulder kicked out of the FBI, and Agent Scully going on maternity leave, Doggett is left alone to manage the x-files, or so he thinks. Shortly after Scully leaves, Agent Leyla Harrison shows up to tell Doggett that she is her new partner.

Frank Spotnitz wrote and directed this episode. On the audio commentary for the episode, Spotnitz reveals that he wanted this episode to be more about the characters than the monster. He said this was because it was Duchovny's final Monster of the Week episode and he wanted to do a tribute to Mulder and Scully. So he intentionally wrote a very basic monster so that the focus wouldn't be on it.

Spotnitz accomplished his goal well. Scully reminisces over some mementos from previous cases. She even gives her Apollo 11 medallion from Mulder to Doggett to thank him. Agent Harrison is used as a character to represent the X-Files fans. She herself is a fan of Mulder and Scully, working on all their travel expenses in accounting. Spotnitz also said that we wanted to include Danny in the episode, but couldn't because of time restraints.

As always, Mulder shows great concern for Scully. We even get to see Mulder eating sunflower seeds for one last time.

I still can't believe that Mulder would tell Doggett to fire at the sound of this voice AND that Doggett would actually fire at the sound of Mulder's voice. Luckily, Doggett hits his target half-blind.

As Spotnitz himself admits, Alone doesn't have a great story or monster. It's all about the characters, and that's why I like it. Mulder is even nice to Doggett. Alone is a fine tribute to Mulder and Scully and all the x-philes who have watched the show over the years.