"Paper Hearts" is the tenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on December15,1996. It was written by Vince Gilligan, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured guest appearances by Tom Noonan, Rebecca Toolan and Vanessa Morley. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, although it is tangentially connected to the series' wider mythology. "Paper Hearts" was viewed by 16.59million people in its initial broadcast, and received positive reviews, with critics praising Noonan's guest role.
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. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, and the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Mulder and Scully find that a child killer (Tom Noonan) who Mulder had helped to apprehend several years earlier had claimed more victims than he had confessed to; the resulting investigation uncovers a possible link to the disappearance of Mulder's sister, Samantha.
Gilligan came up with the concept for "Paper Hearts" when thinking about the series' longest running storyline, the abduction of Samantha Mulder; he came up with a story questioning whether Samantha had not been abducted by aliens, but was rather murdered by a child killer instead. "Paper Hearts" was written specifically with Tom Noonan in mind for the role of Roche, and was amongst the first television work the actor had done.
Plot
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) dreams of a red light that leads him to the corpse of a young girl buried in a park in Manassas, Virginia. When he awakens, he heads to the park and finds the girl's skeleton. The girl was determined to have been murdered by John Lee Roche (Tom Noonan), a serial killer who murdered thirteen girls throughout the 1980s; his modus operandi included cutting a heart out of the clothes of each victim. Mulder had captured Roche by deducing that he committed the murders while traveling as a vacuum cleaner salesman. Roche's hearts were never found, although he confessed to all of the murders.
Dana Scully's (Gillian Anderson) autopsy of the skeleton finds that the victim died in 1975, suggesting that Roche's killing spree started much earlier than the FBI had previously thought. The agents search Roche's old car, where they discover sixteen cut-out hearts. Mulder and Scully subsequently visit Roche in prison, hoping to learn the identities of the remaining two victims. Roche, however, tries to play mind games with Mulder. That night Mulder dreams of the night of Samantha's abduction, seemingly showing that his sister was abducted by Roche rather than aliens.
The next day, Mulder asks Roche where he was the night Samantha was abducted. Roche claims he was on Martha's Vineyard and had sold a vacuum cleaner to Mulder's father. Mulder later finds the vacuum in his mother's house. After convincing Walter Skinner to grant them further access to Roche, the agents question the killer and are told the location of one of his remaining victims. He also claims exactly what happened the night of Samantha's abduction. An autopsy of the body reveals it does not belong to Samantha. Roche tells Mulder the final body is Samantha's, but says that he will only reveal where it is if Mulder takes him to the scene of her abduction. Mulder secretly releases Roche from prison and brings him to Martha's Vineyard.
Upon arriving at his family's old summer house, Roche explains exactly what happened the night of Samantha's abduction. However, Mulder tells him that the house was bought by his father after Samantha's abduction, convincing him that Roche is not telling the truth. Mulder plans to bring Roche back to prison, but—following another dream about Samantha—awakens to find Roche gone, with his badge, gun, and phone stolen.
Using Mulder's credentials, Roche kidnaps a girl in Swampscott, Massachusetts, whom he met on his flight with Mulder to Boston. Scully and Skinner arrive and the agents head to the site of Roche's old apartment in Revere. They find him with the girl in an abandoned bus nearby. Roche holds a gun on the girl and tells Mulder that he'll never know for sure whether the last victim is Samantha or not if he kills him. As Roche starts to pull the trigger, Mulder shoots him dead. In his office, Mulder stares at the final cloth heart and puts it away, unsure of whether it belonged to Samantha or not.[1]
Production
"Paper Hearts" was written specifically with Tom Noonan in mind for the role of John Lee Roche.
"Paper Hearts" was written specifically with Tom Noonan in mind for the role of Roche, and was amongst the first television work the actor had done.[2] Noonan later recounted that "[the] crew really loves the show, and loves working on it... So it was really fun to do."[2] Writer Vince Gilligan came up with the concept for the episode when thinking about the series' longest running storyline, the abduction of Samantha Mulder. Gilligan came up with a story questioning whether Samantha had not been abducted by aliens, but was rather murdered by a child killer instead. He decided to help convince Fox Mulder of this through a series of prophetic dreams. The laser lights in Mulder's dreams were influenced by Gilligan's experience with laser holograms while he was a film student. The laser was supposed to be the color blue, but was changed to red in production to reduce costs. Wanting to include some kind of fetish for the killer, Gilligan settled on having Roche cut heart-shaped fragments from his victim's clothing, thinking that having him mutilate his victims' bodies would be going too far.[3]
Guest actor Tom Noonan, who played the killer John Lee Roche, recalled filming the scene in which his character is introduced, playing basketball in prison. Noonan, a capable basketball player, was asked to "downplay" how well he could play; although he regretted not being able to play against David Duchovny, who had played basketball for Princeton University.[4] Episode writer Vince Gilligan and director Rob Bowman assert that Duchovny's successful basketball shot in this scene was filmed in just one take, without special effects.[5] While the episode was the eighth produced in the season, it was the tenth aired, having been delayed to free up production resources for the two part episodes "Tunguska" and "Terma".[6] The episode's climactic scene was filmed in a "bus graveyard" in Surrey, British Columbia, a location which had been scouted months previously with the intention of eventually including it in an episode of the series; although filming at the location did not even last a full day despite the long wait to use it.[7]
Broadcast and reception
"Paper Hearts" premiered on the Fox network on December15,1996.[8] The episode's initial broadcast was viewed by approximately 16.59million people, which represented 16% of the viewing audience during that time.[9]
Both Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny consider this among the best episodes of the fourth season.[3]ComposerMark Snow was nominated for an Emmy Award for the music he produced for this episode.[10] He said of the episode's music, "It was a different kind of texture for the show. Light, magic, nothing terribly threatening". Snow received many requests for a recording of the music used at the end of the episode.[6]
Website IGN named "Paper Hearts" their sixth favorite standalone episode of the show, calling it "creepy and unsettling", and claiming Noonan's character was "one of the most disturbing villains to make an appearance in the series".[11] Noonan's acting has also been praised by Vince Gilligan, who says the "understated" manner in which Roche is portrayed "sends chills down [his] spine every time".[5]The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff reviewed the episode positively, rating it an A. She felt that Noonan's performance was "terrific", noting that the actor "makes Roche into one of the series' great human monsters"; and believed that the episode's premise was important to developing the character of Mulder further.[12] The website later named the episode the sixth best example of a television dream sequence, noting that it "suggest[s] how this methodical man [Mulder] might puzzle over cold cases in his subconscious".[13] The article also complimented the entry's metaphor that laser pointers were Mulder's mind that pointed "out bits of evidence his conscious brain missed all those many years ago."[13] Starpulse named it the second best episode of the series.[14]
Fox William Mulder is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series The X-Files, played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterrestrial or paranormal activity as those of a conspiracy theorist and supernaturalist; however, his skeptical but supportive partner, Special Agent Dana Scully, often finds them to be unexpectedly correct. He and Scully work in the X-Files office, concerned with unsolved FBI cases that are often revealed to be supernatural or extraterrestrial in nature. Mulder was a main character for the first seven seasons, but was limited to a recurring character for the following two seasons. He returns as a main character for the tenth and eleventh seasons.
The fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on October 4, 1996, concluding on the same channel on May 18, 1997, and contained 24 episodes. Following the filming and airing of the season, production began on The X-Files feature film, which was released in 1998 following the show's fifth season.
The fifth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on November 2, 1997, concluding on the same channel on May 17, 1998, and contained 20 episodes. The season was the last in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; subsequent episodes would be shot in Los Angeles, California. In addition, this was the first season of the show where the course of the story was planned, due to the 1998 The X-Files feature film being filmed before it, but scheduled to be released after it aired.
The seventh season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on November 7, 1999, concluded on May 21, 2000, and consists of twenty-two episodes. This season marks the end of various story lines; during this season, Fox Mulder learned the true fate of his sister, Samantha.
Samantha Ann Mulder is a fictional character in the television series The X-Files. She is the younger sister of FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder and the daughter of Teena and Bill Mulder. As a child, Samantha was abducted, ostensibly by aliens, and was never returned. It is this experience that drives her older brother Fox Mulder to join the FBI, and later take the reins of the X-Files section.
FBI Special agent Jeffrey Frank Spender is a fictional character in the American Fox television series The X-Files, a science fiction show about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of alien existence. Spender was in control of the X-Files office after Fox Mulder's and Dana Scully's forced leaves in "The Beginning". The X-Files office is concerned with cases with particularly mysterious or possibly supernatural circumstances that were left unsolved and shelved by the FBI. Portrayed by Canadian actor Chris Owens, Spender was a recurring character during the fifth and sixth seasons, before returning for the ninth season of The X-Files in a guest role. He returned for the eleventh season of the show.
"Unruhe" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on October 27, 1996, and was the first episode to air on Sunday night when the show was moved from Fridays to Sundays. "Unruhe" was written by Vince Gilligan, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured a guest appearance from Pruitt Taylor Vince. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Unruhe" earned a Nielsen rating of 11.7, being watched by 19.10 million people upon its initial broadcast.
"Memento Mori" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 9, 1997. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by series creator Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz. "Memento Mori" featured guest appearances by Sheila Larken, David Lovgren and Morris Panych. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Memento Mori" earned a Nielsen household rating of 15.5, being watched by 19.1 million people in its initial broadcast. The title translates from Latin as "remember that you will die."
"Small Potatoes" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States appropriately on April 20, 1997. It was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Cliff Bole. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Small Potatoes" received a Nielsen rating of 13.0 and was viewed by 20.86 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received positive reviews from critics, with many applauding the entry's humorous tone.
"Elegy" is the twenty-second episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by John Shiban and directed by James Charleston. The episode aired in the United States on May 4, 1997, on the Fox network. It is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology, although Scully's battle with cancer is an important plot point. "Elegy" earned a Nielsen rating of 10.6 and was seen by 17.1 million viewers upon its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from televisions critics; the performance of lead actress Gillian Anderson was especially praised.
"Demons" is the twenty-third episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on May 11, 1997 and in the United Kingdom on BBC One on February 25, 1998. It was written by R. W. Goodwin and directed by Kim Manners. The episode helps explore the series' overarching mythology. "Demons" received a Nielsen rating of 11.8, being watched by 19.1 million viewers in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from television critics, with many complimenting the episode's look into Mulder's mind.
"Kitsunegari" is the eighth episode of the fifth season of American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Vince Gilligan and Tim Minear, and directed by Daniel Sackheim. It aired in the United States on January 4, 1998 on the Fox network. "Kitsunegari" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.6, being watched by 19.75 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.
The X-Files Mythology – Volume 3 collection is the third DVD release containing selected episodes from the fifth to the eighth seasons of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episodes collected in the release form the middle of the series' mythology, and are centered on alien colonization efforts, the fall of the Syndicate, and Fox Mulder's abduction.
"Field Trip" is the twenty-first episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on May 9, 1999, in the United States and Canada, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on Sky1 on July 18. The episode was written by John Shiban and Vince Gilligan, from a story by Frank Spotnitz, and was directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Field Trip" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.5, being watched by 15.40 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics.
"Drive" is the second 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 15, 1998. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Drive" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.0, being watched by 18.5 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews from television critics.
"Bad Blood" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. Written by Vince Gilligan, directed by Cliff Bole, and featuring guest appearances from Luke Wilson and Patrick Renna, it aired in the United States on February 22, 1998, on the Fox network. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. The episode received a Nielsen rating of 12.0, being watched by 19.25 million viewers. In addition, "Bad Blood" received largely positive reviews, with many critics praising the episode's humor.
"Closure" is the eleventh episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files, and the 150th episode overall. It was directed by Kim Manners and written by series creator Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz. The installment explores the series' overarching mythology and is the conclusion of a two-part episode revolving around the final revelation of what really happened to Fox Mulder's sister, Samantha. Originally aired by the Fox network on February 13, 2000, "Closure" received a Nielsen rating of 9.1 and was seen by 15.35 million viewers. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics; many felt that the final reveal was emotional and powerful, although some were unhappy with the resolution.
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.
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.
