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 the origins of an alien autopsy Mulder believes is real. The investigation uncovers Japanese involvement and sees Mulder smuggle himself onto a secret cargo train to find out more. "Nisei" is a two-part episode, with the plot continuing in the next episode, "731".
Inspired by the atrocities committed by Unit 731, a Japanese research program during World War II, "Nisei" was originally intended to be a stand-alone mythology episode, but was lengthened into two separate parts. The episode featured several scenes that required stunt work, which David Duchovny performed himself. The episode's title refers to the term nisei, meaning the son or daughter of an Issei couple born outside Japan.
Plot
In Knoxville, Tennessee, a mysterious train car is left in a rail yard. After dark, a group of Japanese scientists enter the car and conduct an autopsy on an alien body. The scene is recorded and transmitted via satellite. Suddenly, a strike team storms the car and kills the scientists, taking the alien corpse away in a body bag. Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) purchases an edited video of the autopsy. He believes the tape is authentic, but Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is skeptical.
When the agents go to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to track down the distributor of the tape, they find him murdered. At the scene, they pursue and capture a Japanese man, Kazuo Sakurai, who is identified as a high-ranking diplomat. Walter Skinner appears and orders Sakurai released. Before doing so, Mulder searches his briefcase (which he did not turn in to the authorities) and finds both a list of Mutual UFO Network members and satellite images of a ship. The Lone Gunmen identify the ship as the Talapus, a salvage vessel docked in Newport News, Virginia. Meanwhile, Sakurai is killed by an assassin called the Red-Haired Man.
Scully investigates the MUFON group, discovering several women who claim to recognize her from her abduction experience. They have similar implants to Scully's, and inform her that they are all dying of cancer. Meanwhile, Mulder goes to the Newport News shipyard and searches the Talapus. Armed men arrive and scour the ship, but Mulder manages to escape. That night, he discovers a warehouse where a craft is being fumigated by a hazmat team. Mulder believes the craft to be of alien origin, recovered by the Talapus.
Skinner later confronts Mulder over the briefcase (which is now in Scully's possession), the absence of which has caused an international incident with Japan. He refuses to assist Mulder any further with his case. Mulder meets with SenatorRichard Matheson, who gives him the details on the autopsy and links it with the larger conspiracy of the alien-human hybrids. Mulder investigates further, discovering that the Japanese scientists were members of the notorious Unit 731 during World War II; like Victor Klemper, they were recruited by the U.S. government to develop the hybrids. Mulder believes that the scientists killed on the videotape were working on a secret railway, transporting test subjects.
After sharing her MUFON findings with Mulder, Scully runs her implant through the FBI labs to gather technological information about it. She analyzes the autopsy video, realizing that one of the scientists seen, Dr. Ishimaru, experimented on her during her abduction. Meanwhile, Mulder goes to West Virginia and tracks down the secret train car, watching a group of Japanese men place what seems to be an alien-human subject on board. Meanwhile, another Japanese scientist, Dr. Shiro Zama, waits for the train at a station in Ohio; he is forced to board after his bodyguard is killed by the Red-Haired Man in the restroom. The Red-Haired Man follows Zama aboard the train, which is headed for Vancouver, Canada.
Mulder tracks the train to the Ohio station, but learns it has just left when he arrives. Meanwhile, Scully goes to her apartment and is met by X, who warns her to keep Mulder from getting on the train, as the scientists are aware of his presence. Scully calls Mulder, who has managed to drive ahead of the train and is just about to jump onto it from a bridge. Despite Scully's pleas, Mulder jumps onto the top of the train as it speeds past below.[1]
Production
Lead actor David Duchovny performed the stunt involving his character jumping on a train by himself.
Writing
The idea to create a story involving the 731 unit came from series creator Chris Carter. He noted, "Unit 731 first came to my attention at the same time as it did for a lot of other people, when I read it in the New York Times about what the Japanese did to prisoners of war during the Second World War."[2] Carter decided that an episode based around former war criminals who had received "clemency so [Americans] could use their science" would be "interesting".[2]
Frank Spotnitz was assigned writing duties for "Nisei", which was originally intended to be a stand-alone mythology story and to air as the seventh episode of the third season. However, as Spotnitz developed his script, the episode hit several logistical snags. Most notably, Spotnitz's script featured several scenes filmed on trains: Chris Carter explained, "We found that we were going to have some trouble shooting with trains." Eventually, the sheer scope of the episode caused co-executive producer R. W. Goodwin so much trouble that he wanted to scrap the story. Spotnitz explained, "Goodwin called Chris and said, 'This is unproducable. […] you've got to throw out the script, basically.' I was devastated, and Chris [said] 'Let's make it a two-parter.'"[3] So, the episode was bumped back to number nine and was lengthened to a two parter, resulting in it being delayed several weeks.[2]
Filming
A co-executive producer called this episode and its second part "731" logistically huge.[4] The stunt where Mulder jumped on a moving train was worked on for six weeks. While there was some alarm in having David Duchovny do the stunt, the actor, who had previously performed his own stunts on an aerial lift in the episode "Ascension", was willing to do it and considered it a fun experience.[3] The producers used trained rangers to play the soldiers in the teaser, part of an attempt to keep the show grounded in reality at all times. An 11-year-old boy was used to play the dead alien on the autopsy table. The boy's twin sister was used to play the alien on the train car. Both underwent extensive makeup including oversized dark contact lenses to create the effect of the alien eyes.[4][5]
After watching the video bought by Mulder, Scully criticizes it citing the 1995 alien autopsy video—a hoax made by Ray Santilli, a British video producer. Coincidentally, Fox ended up re-airing the alien autopsy video the night following this episode's original air date.[5] The episode features the first appearance of Agent Pendrell, who appeared in several other episodes in the third and fourth seasons. Pendrell was named after a street in Vancouver.[6] The title, "Nisei", refers to the term used, in countries of North and South America, to specify the son or daughter of an Issei couple born outside Japan. The term nisei Japanese American refers to nisei living in the United States.[4]
Themes
Jan Delasara, in the book PopLit, PopCult and The X-Files argues that episodes like "Nisei" and "731," or the earlier episode "Paper Clip," show the public's trust in science "eroding." Delasara proposes that "arrogated" scientists who are "rework[ing] the fabric of life," are causing the public's faith in science to fade drastically, "a concern", she notes, "that is directly addressed by X-Files episodes". Moreover, she notes that almost all of the scientists portrayed in The X-Files are depicted with a "connection to ancient evil", with the lone exception being Agent Scully. In "Nisei," and later in "731", the scientists are former Japanese scientists who worked during WWII for the infamous 731 unit. In their attempts to create a successful human-alien hybrid, they become the archetypical scientists who "[go] too far," a serious factor that Delasara argues "'alienates' [the public] further from science and its practitioners."[7]
Reception
"Nisei" premiered on the Fox network on November 24, 1995.[8] The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.8 with a 17 share, meaning that roughly 9.8 percent of all television-equipped households, and 17 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode.[9] A total of 16.36 million viewers watched this episode during its original airing.[9] "Nisei" later won two Emmy Awards: one for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Editing for a Series" and one for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Drama Series."[10]
"Nisei" received largely positive reviews. In a retrospective of the third season in Entertainment Weekly, "Nisei" was rated an A. The review noted that the episode contained "lots of excitement for Scully", though it also described Mulder's plot thread as "equally gripping".[11] Writing for The A.V. Club, Emily VanDerWerff rated the episode an A−, calling it "a hell of a lot of fun". VanDerWerff described the cliffhanger ending as "just phenomenal", and felt that the episode had "the drive of a big-budget action film". However, she noted that it was becoming evident by this stage that the series' mythology was becoming "too big to ever resolve wholly satisfactorily".[12] Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a largely positive review and awarded it three-and-a-half stars out of four.[13] Vitaris noted that, despite the teaser and first act being "promising enough", the episode "slides downhill rapidly with a storyline that crosses the border into ludicrous."[2] Vitaris called the scene where soldiers kill prisoners "a scene more disturbing than anything else previously seen on The X-Files."[13] Furthermore, she wrote that the final scene between Mulder and Scully was "beautifully written and acted."[13]
Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, were slightly more critical and rated the episode three-and-a-half stars out of five. The two criticized the plot—despite calling the action sequences "quite breathless"—noting that "it seems rather funny: an entire team of black ops are sent to a small boat, but Mulder is still able to evade them without their noticing."[14] They also called the episode "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles reinvented as an action movie."[14]
Shearman, Robert; Pearson, Lars (2009). Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen. Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN978-0-9759446-9-1.
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.
"The Walk" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by John Shiban and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode aired in the United States on November 10, 1995, on the Fox network. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "The Walk" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.4, being watched by 15.91 million people in its initial broadcast. Critical reception was mixed.
"731" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on December 1, 1995. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by Frank Spotnitz. "731" featured guest appearances by Stephen McHattie, Steven Williams and Don S. Williams. The episode helps explore the series' overarching mythology. "731" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12, being watched by 17.68 million people in its initial broadcast.
"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.
"Leonard Betts" is the twelfth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 26, 1997. It was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz, directed by Kim Manners, and featured a guest appearance by Paul McCrane as Leonard Betts/Albert Tanner. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. Aired following Super Bowl XXXI, "Leonard Betts" became Fox's debut Super Bowl lead-out program since the network acquired NFL broadcast rights in 1994.
"Max" is the eighteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on March 23, 1997. It was directed by Kim Manners, and written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter. "Max" featured guest appearances by Joe Spano, Tom O'Brien and Scott Bellis, and saw the final appearance of Brendan Beiser as special agent Pendrell. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Max" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.6, being watched by 18.34 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Emily" is the seventh episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz and directed by Kim Manners. The episode explores the series' overarching mythology. The episode premiered in the United States on December 14, 1997, on the Fox network, earning a Nielsen household rating of 12.4 and being watched by 20.94 million people in its initial broadcast. It received mixed reviews from television critics.
"Patient X" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by series creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, directed by Kim Manners and aired in the United States on March 1, 1998, on the Fox network. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.6, being watched by 20.21 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received moderately positive reviews from critics.
"All Souls" is the seventeenth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode originally aired on the Fox network on April 26, 1998. The episode's teleplay was written by Frank Spotnitz and John Shiban, from a story by Dan Angel and Billy Brown; it was directed by Allen Coulter. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the mythology, or overarching fictional history, of The X-Files. "All Souls" received a Nielsen household rating of 8.5 and was watched by 13.44 million viewers in its initial broadcast. It received mixed reviews from television critics.
"The Beginning" is the first episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on November 8, 1998. The episode was written by Chris Carter, and directed by Kim Manners. It helps explore the series' overarching mythology. "The Beginning" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.9, being watched by 20.34 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.
"The Unnatural" is the 19th episode of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, which first aired on April 25, 1999, on the Fox network. Written and directed by lead actor David Duchovny, the episode is tangentially connected to the wider mythology of The X-Files, but narratively functions as a "Monster-of-the-Week" story. "The Unnatural" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.1, and its first broadcast was watched by 16.88 million people. The episode received positive reviews from critics, and was well-liked by members of the cast and crew, including series creator Chris Carter and co-star Gillian Anderson.
"The Sixth Extinction" is the first episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It was first shown on the Fox network on November 7, 1999, in the United States. The episode was written by Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners. "The Sixth Extinction" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.6, being watched by 17.82 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Sein und Zeit" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The German language title directly references Martin Heidegger's best known work, translated as "Being and Time" in English. It premiered on the Fox network on February 6, 2000, in the United States. The episode was written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Michael Watkins. The episode helped to explore the series' overarching mythology. "Sein und Zeit" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.4, being watched by 13.95 million people in its initial broadcast. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Alone" is the nineteenth episode of the eighth season and the 180th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on May 6, 2001 on Fox, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on Sky1 on June 14, 2001. It was written and directed by executive producer Frank Spotnitz. "Alone" earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.5 and was viewed by 12.7 million viewers. It received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
"Deadalive" is the fifteenth episode of the eighth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and was directed by Tony Wharmby. It explores the series' alien mythology story arc. Following its North American premiere on April 1, 2001, it received a Nielsen household rating of 7.3 and was watched by 12.4 million viewers. It garnered mixed reviews; while most critics were happy with the return of actor David Duchovny, some criticized the episode's plot holes. It later won the show's last Emmy Award, for Outstanding Makeup.
"Per Manum" is the thirteenth episode of the eighth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 18, 2001. Written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter, and directed by Kim Manners, the episode helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. "Per Manum" received a Nielsen rating of 9.4 and was watched by 9.61 million households. Overall, 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.
"This Is Not Happening" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season and the 175th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on February 25, 2001, on the Fox Network, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Kim Manners, and forms part of the series' overarching mythology. The episode received a Nielsen household rating of 9.7 and was watched by 16.9 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode of the season. "This Is Not Happening" was received positively by television critics.
The mythology of The X-Files, sometimes referred to as its "mytharc" by the show's staff and fans, follows the quest of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder, a believer in supernatural phenomena, and Dana Scully, his skeptical partner. Their boss, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, was also often involved. Beginning with season 8, another skeptic named John Doggett, and Monica Reyes, a believer like Mulder, were also introduced. The overarching story, which spans events as early as the 1940s, is built around a government conspiracy to hide the truth about alien existence and their doomsday plan. Not all episodes advanced the mythology plot, but those that did were often set up by Mulder or Scully via an opening monologue.
"Three Words" is the sixteenth episode of the eighth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It first aired in the United States and Canada on April 8, 2001, on Fox. Written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Tony Wharmby, it explores the series' overarching mythology. It earned a Nielsen rating of 7.6, viewed by 7.77 million households, and received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
