"D.P.O." is the third episode of the third season of television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on October 6, 1995, on Fox, being written by Howard Gordon and directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a stand-alone episode, like most episodes of The X-Files, and follows the normal Monster-of-the-Week pattern of the show. "D.P.O." earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.9, being watched by 15.57 million people in its initial broadcast, and received positive reviews.
The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a series of lightning-related deaths in Oklahoma, which are eventually connected to the only person, an emotionally charged youth, to have survived a series of lightning strikes that killed five other local men.
The original concept for the episode was a one line concept card stating "Lightning Boy" that had been tacked to a board in series creator Chris Carter's office since the first season. The episode contained several scenes of elaborate lightning effects. Notably, a "lightning machine" used for the sequence where Darin is struck by lightning was created by Special Effects Supervisor David Gauthier and buried under the ground.
Plot
At a video arcade in Connerville, Oklahoma, two young men, Jack Hammond and Darin Peter Oswald, argue over a game of Virtua Fighter 2. Hammond pushes Oswald to the ground, after which the power in the arcade mysteriously shuts down—except to a jukebox, which plays "Ring the Bells" by James. This causes Hammond to leave, but when he goes outside to start his car, he finds the same song playing on the radio. He is then fatally electrocuted through the ignition. Oswald, who witnesses Hammond's death, returns to the game.
Hammond is the latest of five local men who have died due to lightning-related causes, causing Fox Mulder and Dana Scully to investigate. Scully talks to Bart "Zero" Liquori, the arcade owner and Oswald's friend, who was present the night Hammond died. Mulder finds Oswald's high scores on the game's display, realizing that he was playing that night; Oswald was the first of the victims, and the only one to have survived. Elsewhere, Oswald is at work at an auto repair shop when his boss's wife, Sharon Kiveat, walks in. He then tries talking to her, but she nervously rebuffs him; it is revealed that he had hit on her the day before, and she turned him down. When the agents arrive and question Oswald, he claims to have not witnessed anything. However, Mulder's cell phone mysteriously overheats in Oswald's presence, to which he acts unsurprised.
Alarmed by the FBI's presence, Zero visits Oswald at his home that night; a drunk and rowdy Oswald dismisses Zero's worries and summons lightning to strike down nearby cattle. The lightning strikes him instead, but he appears unharmed. The next day, the agents visit the scene and find a melted shoe print in the ground, linking it to Oswald. Meanwhile, Oswald uses his abilities to manipulate local traffic lights, causing a car accident. The agents visit Oswald's home and find a cut-out picture of Kiveat, Oswald's former high school teacher, inside a porn magazine.
At the scene of the car accident, Oswald's boss suffers an oddly timed heart attack; Oswald then saves him by using his electrical powers as a makeshift defibrillator, much to the paramedics' surprise. The agents question Sharon at the hospital, who claims that he told her about his powers. The agents also go through Oswald's medical records, showing that he exhibited acute hypokalemia—electrolytic imbalance in his blood. Oswald is brought in for questioning by the agents, but he proclaims his innocence and is eventually released by the local sheriff. Later, Oswald, believing that Zero ratted him out to the agents, uses his powers to strike him dead with lightning.
After learning of Oswald's release, the agents rush to the hospital to protect the Kiveats, but the power goes out when they arrive and Zero's corpse appears in the elevator when its door slides open. Oswald confronts Scully and Sharon, and the latter fearfully agrees to leave with him in return for her husband's safety. The sheriff arrives and tries to stop him. While pursuing a fleeing Sharon, Oswald summons lightning but ends up striking himself once again and, in the process, kills the sheriff. Oswald is put in a psychiatric hospital, although the local district attorney has no idea how they will be able to prosecute him. As the agents observe Oswald, he uses his powers to change the channels of the TV in his room while the song "Live Fast, Diarrhea" by The Vandals is heard.[1][2]
Production
Giovanni Ribisi had to audition twice before being cast as title character Darin Peter Oswald.
The genesis of this episode can be traced back to a note card reading "Lightning Boy" that series creator Chris Carter had tacked to a board in his office since the first season. Carter's idea had not developed much beyond that two-word idea until the show's writers decided to approach the boy's power "as a metaphor for disenfranchised adolescence".[3] Writer Howard Gordon described the episode's concept as "Beavis and Butt-head electrified".[4] "D.P.O." followed a string of mythology episodes, which Gordon believes caused this episode to suffer, conceptually.[3] Then-story editor Frank Spotnitz claims that the writers initially thought about referencing the developments of these mythology episodes in "D.P.O.", but this plan was nixed due to Carter's desire to keep the mythology and monster-of-the-week episodes separate.[4]
Giovanni Ribisi auditioned for the role of Darin twice: during his first try-out, Carter was dissatisfied with his performance, but after casting director Rick Millikan championed his cause and secured him another audition, Carter reconsidered his initial opinion.[5] Spotnitz later described Ribisi's performance as "really, really good".[4] The sheriff, Teller, was named after Teller from illusion and comedy duo Penn & Teller. The pair had wanted to appear on an episode of the show, but when conflicting schedules precluded this from happening, this reference was added instead.[3] The "Astadourian Lightning Observatory" is fictional, and was named after Carter's executive assistant, Mary Astadourian.[3] Darin Oswald was named after X-Files writer Darin Morgan.[3]
Special effects supervisor David Gauthier created a unique "lightning machine" for the episode; the device, concealed in the ground, used mirrors and special generators to create the effect of lightning striking. The device was very powerful, producing 2.9 million cd of luminous intensity, and producing enough energy to "singe the grass." To keep Ribisi out of harm's way, he stood on a raised platform, which was hidden by special camera angles. The final effect was "augmented by sparks and smoke."[3] A special anti-fire product was applied to the costumes of the actors hit by lightning.[6]
According to art director Graeme Murray, the scene in which Darin manipulates traffic lights required the construction of special street lights and a billboard, which could then be manipulated by the crew. This turned out to be "the biggest construction event" for the art crew.[4] The farmhouse used for Darin's home, situated in Albion, British Columbia,[7] had been used during the production of the movies Jennifer Eight (1992) and Jumanji (1995).[3] The producers had difficulty securing permission to use a dead cow in the episode, due to concerns over animal rights groups. The art crew tried to create a faux-dead cow, but it did not look real. Consequently, the producers reached out to a slaughterhouse and were able to use a real corpse.[4]
During the filming of this episode, director Kim Manners' best friend was killed. Due to the horrific nature of this turn of events, the production crew were willing to replace him with another director, but he insisted on completing the episode.[3]
Reception
"D.P.O." was first broadcast in the US on October 6, 1995, on Fox.[8] The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 10.9, with a 20 share, meaning that roughly 10.9 percent of all television-equipped households, and 20 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode.[9] The episode was watched by 15.57 million viewers.[9]
Entertainment Weekly gave "D.P.O." a B+, considering that despite the lack of action, it managed to "keep you glued" for the photography and "truly hilarious sociopathic high jinks".[10] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the same grade, praising Ribisi and Black's performances and "sequences that confidently walk the tricky line between horror and broad comedy", and marking it as the point where "the show's direction, always good, made the leap from consistently interesting to look at to consistently cinematic."[11] Jane Goldman, in The X-Files Book of the Unexplained felt like the combination of Howard Gordon's "acutely observed dialogue" and Ribisi's "compelling performance" made Darin Oswald "one of season three's most memorable characters".[12] Writing for Den of Geek, Nina Sordi put "D.P.O." only behind "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" as the best standalone season 3 episode, praising Ribisi's "all quiet, creepy power that eventually explodes into homicidal rage" and Jack Black's "weary and ultimately doomed sidekick".[13] The plot for "D.P.O." was also adapted as a novel for young adults in 1996 by Neal Shusterman, under the title Voltage and the pseudonym Easton Royce.[14][15]
The second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on September 16, 1994, concluded on the same channel on May 19, 1995, after airing all 25 episodes. The series follows Federal Bureau of Investigation special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, portrayed by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson respectively, who investigate paranormal or supernatural cases, known as X-Files by the FBI.
The third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on Fox in the United States on September 22, 1995, concluded on the same channel on May 17, 1996, and contained 24 episodes. The season continues to follow the cases of FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, portrayed by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson respectively, who investigate paranormal or supernatural cases, known as X-Files by the FBI.
"Squeeze" is the third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 24, 1993. "Squeeze" was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong and directed by Harry Longstreet, with Michael Katleman directing additional footage. The episode featured the first of two guest appearances by Doug Hutchison as the mutant serial killer Eugene Victor Tooms, a role he would reprise in "Tooms". "Squeeze" is the first "monster-of-the-week" episode of The X-Files, unconnected to the series' overarching mythology.
"Fire" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on December 17, 1993. It was written by series creator Chris Carter, directed by Larry Shaw and featured guest appearances by Mark Sheppard and Amanda Pays. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Fire" earned a Nielsen household rating of 6.8, being watched by 6.4 million households in its initial broadcast; and received mostly positive reviews from critics.
"F. Emasculata" is the twenty-second episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It first premiered on the Fox network in the United States on April 28, 1995. It was written by series creator Chris Carter and staff writer Howard Gordon, and directed by Rob Bowman. "F. Emasculata" received a Nielsen rating of 8.9 and was watched by 8.5 million households. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.
"Little Green Men" is the first episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on September 16, 1994, in the United States and on BBC Two in the United Kingdom on August 28, 1995. The episode was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by David Nutter. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology. "Little Green Men" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.3, being watched by 9.8 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews from critics.
"The Host" is the second episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on September 23, 1994. It was written by Chris Carter, directed by Daniel Sackheim, and featured guest appearances by Darin Morgan. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "The Host" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.8, being watched by 9.3 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received positive reviews, praising the creepiness of the antagonist.
"Blood" is the third episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 30, 1994. The teleplay was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong from a story by Darin Morgan, and was directed by David Nutter. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Blood" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.8, being watched by 8.7 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews.
"Soft Light" is the twenty-third episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It originally aired on the Fox network on May 5, 1995. It was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by James A. Contner. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology, although it marks the breakdown in relations between Mulder and his informant X. "Soft Light" received a Nielsen rating of 8.5 and was watched by 8.1 million households. The episode generally received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
"Red Museum" is the tenth episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on December 9, 1994. It was written by Chris Carter, directed by Win Phelps, and featured guest appearances by Mark Rolston, Paul Sand, Bob Frazer, and Robert Clothier. The episode helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. "Red Museum" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.4, being watched by 9.9 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Excelsis Dei" is the eleventh episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered in the United States on the Fox network on December 16, 1994. It was written by Paul Brown and directed by Stephen Surjik. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Excelsis Dei" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.9, being watched by 8.5 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics; although some complimented the episode's effects, others were critical of the way the show handled rape.
"Fresh Bones" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 3, 1995. It was written by Howard Gordon, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured guest appearances by Kevin Conway, Daniel Benzali, and Matt Hill. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Fresh Bones" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.3, being watched by 10.8 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Anasazi" is the twenty-fifth episode and season finale of the second season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on May 19, 1995. It was written by series creator Chris Carter based on a story he developed with lead actor David Duchovny. The episode was directed by R. W. Goodwin, and featured guest appearances by Peter Donat, Nicholas Lea, Mitch Pileggi and Floyd Red Crow Westerman. The episode helped explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Anasazi" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.1, being watched by 9.6 million households in its initial broadcast; and received positive reviews from critics.
"The Blessing Way" is the first episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 22, 1995. It was directed by R.W. Goodwin, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "The Blessing Way" featured guest appearances by Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Peter Donat and Jerry Hardin, and introduced John Neville as the Well-Manicured Man. The episode helped explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "The Blessing Way" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.3, being watched by 19.94 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics.
"War of the Coprophages" is the twelfth episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 5, 1996. It was written by Darin Morgan, and directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "War of the Coprophages" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.1, being watched by 16.32 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, who praised its humorous tone.
"Hell Money" is the nineteenth episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files and 68th episode overall. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on March 29, 1996. It was written by Jeffrey Vlaming and directed by Tucker Gates. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Hell Money" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.9, being watched by 14.86 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is the 20th episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on April 12, 1996, on Fox. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by Rob Bowman. "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.5, being watched by 16.08 million people in its initial broadcast, and also received praise from critics.
"Quagmire" is the twenty-second episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on May 3, 1996. It was written by Kim Newton and directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a "Monster of the Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Quagmire" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.2, being watched by 16 million viewers in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics.
"Talitha Cumi" is the twenty-fourth episode and the season finale of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on May 17, 1996, in the United States. The teleplay was written by series creator Chris Carter, based on a story he developed with lead actor David Duchovny and was directed by R. W. Goodwin. The episode is one of several that explored the series' overarching mythology. "Talitha Cumi" achieved a Nielsen household rating of 11.2, being watched by 17.86 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.
"Paper Clip" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 29, 1995. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "Paper Clip" featured guest appearances by Sheila Larken, Melinda McGraw and Nicholas Lea. The episode is one of those that explored the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Paper Clip" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.1, being watched by 17.2 million people in its initial broadcast. "Paper Clip" has received highly positive reviews from critics; it is generally considered by both critics and cast/crew as being among the best episodes of the series.
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