"The X Files" Per Manum (2001)

Director:

Kim Manners

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Chris Carter (written by) ...

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

18 February 2001 (Season 8, Episode 13)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Scully stumbles upon a woman whose abductee experience and symptoms are amazingly similar. The fear now is that both their upcoming births will be to non-human offspring. |

Plot Keywords:

FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files | Conspiracy

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Robert Patrick	...	John Doggett
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jay Acovone	...	Duffy Haskell
Steven Anderson	...	Dr. James Parenti
Adam Baldwin	...	Knowle Rohrer
Diana Castle	...	Delivery Nurse
Elizabeth Cheap	...	Second Nurse
Megan Follows	...	Kath McCready
Victoria Gallegos	...	Receptionist
Jennifer Griffin	...	Dr. Miryum
Tonja Kahlens	...	Agent Robin Kersh
Alexandra Margulies	...	Second Associate
David Purdham	...	Dr. Lev
Christopher Stanley	...	Agent Joe Farah
Saxon Trainor	...	Mary Hendershot
Karl T. Wright	...	First Associate

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When she wakes up in the hospital room, and Doggett tells her that she is fine and so is her baby, Scully asks, "What about Miss Henderson?" The woman's name is Henderschott.

Quotes:

Scully: Hi.
Mulder: Hi.
Scully: Come on in.
Mulder: Thanks.
Scully: Can I take your coat?
Mulder: No, I can't stay. I've got to get back to the office for a while.
Scully: Obviously you've had some time to think about my request.
Mulder: It's... it's not something that I get asked to do every day. But I am absolutely flattered. No, honestly.
Scully: Okay, if... if you're trying to politely say "no", it's okay. I understand.
Mulder: See what's weird is... this sounds, and this sounds really weird, I know, but I just wouldn't want this to come between us.
[...]

Never give up on a miracle.

Per Manum gets us back to the theme of Scully's pregnancy, which, along with Mulder's disappearance, has become the primary focus of the mythology episodes.

Per Manum was written by Frank Spotnitz and Chris Carter. They tell us a very interesting story about Scully's pregnancy, making us wonder what Scully's baby really is. To make the story even more interesting, flashbacks of Mulder and Scully discussing Scully's desire to have a baby are shown. The shots of moving back and forth between the present time and the flashbacks are brilliant. Kim Manners, the director, has the camera rotate to a spot, usually a door, that opens up to be Mulder. Then it rotates back to the present time.

Scully's theme by Mark Snow is predominant throughout this episode. The beautiful score helps drive through the emotions that Scully is struggling with.

I like the set of Zeus Genetics and how it is all white. It gives it an other-worldly feel.

Gillian Anderson's acting is top-notch in this episode. Of note is when she is waiting for Mulder to tell her whether or not he will donate his sperm to her. Her body and facial expressions are unparalleled.

It's got to be difficult for Doggett to be kept in the dark all the time. When Scully continues to withhold her pregnancy from Doggett, it makes you wonder when or if she will ever completely trust him. She said she didn't tell him because she felt "they" would use it against her to take her off the x-files and she wouldn't be able to find Mulder. So, she still felt like Doggett would blab her pregnancy to her superiors if he found out.

Per Manum is a very touching and interesting episode. The flashbacks with Mulder make it even better and help it to be one of the best episodes of season eight.