The doll is incinerated in the microwave. Despite mixed critical reviews, several of the episode's scenes, such as this one, were praised by critics for their creepiness.
"Chinga" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the Americanscience fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by noted author Stephen King and series creator Chris Carter, and directed by Kim Manners. The episode aired in the United States on February 8, 1998, 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. "Chinga" earned a Nielsen rating of 12.8 and was viewed by 21.33 million viewers. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.
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, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Scully takes a vacation to Maine, where she encounters a bizarre case where the victims appear to have inflicted wounds upon themselves—apparently at the behest of a strange young girl.
"Chinga" was co-written by noted horror author Stephen King after he asked to pen an episode of The X-Files. Carter rewrote portions of King's final draft, resulting in a shared writing credit for the entry. The supermarket shots were filmed in an actual supermarket, a first for the series, according to art director Greg Loewen. Chinga, the titular evil doll, was created by sewing together various doll parts, including an oversized head and a wig created from multiple hairpieces.
Plot
In Ammas Beach, Maine, Melissa Turner and her young daughter Polly go to the store; Polly carries with her an old doll that she calls "Chinga". Customers watch Polly and her mother, and Polly doesn't like it. Suddenly, Melissa sees a phantasmal vision of the store's butcher, Dave, on the edge of death. Melissa, terrified, decides to leave, but suddenly everyone in the store begins to claw at their eyes. Meanwhile, Dave, after seeing a monstrous reflection of Chinga, is compelled by an outside force to stab himself in the eye, killing himself.
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is coincidentally in the area on vacation, and, after stumbling upon the carnage in the store, telephones Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Mulder, true to character, speculates that it might have been caused by dark magic or witchcraft. Scully dismisses Mulder's hypothesis and instead decides to watch the store's closed-circuit television recordings to gain a better understanding of what happened. She notices that, of all the customers in the store, only Melissa and Polly are not compelled to injure themselves. The police chief of Ammas Beach, Jack Bonsaint, offhandedly mentions that Melissa is rumored to practice witchcraft.
Bonsaint tells Scully that Melissa had formerly been married to a local fisherman, but he was killed when a hook on his winch ripped through his skull. Later, it is revealed that he found Chinga in a lobster trap and gave it to Polly as a present before he died. Bonsaint also reveals that a daycare teacher named Jane Froelich had once slapped Polly over her behavior. Meanwhile, Melissa and Polly meet with her friend, Buddy Riggs, a police deputy, at an ice cream shop. Melissa confides in Riggs that she has been having horrific visions of people dying. Riggs is startled and suggests that Melissa and Polly use his cabin to get away from Amma Beach. While Riggs and Melissa chat, Polly asks one of the workers for more cherries on her ice cream, but the worker insists that she needs to pay for them. Just then, the worker's hair gets caught in the mixer, but Riggs saves her from death.
Scully and Bonsaint visit Froelich, who accuses Melissa of being the scion of a witch family. She also claims that Melissa has passed her evil onto Polly. Meanwhile, while heading out to Riggs' cabin, Melissa sees a bloody image of Froelich and decides to return to Amma Beach to save Froelich. While Melissa races back, Froelich is confronted by the enlarged Chinga and is forced to kill herself with a shard of a phonograph record. Soon thereafter, Melissa sees a vision of Riggs, and as expected, the deputy is forced to bludgeon himself to death with his own nightstick. At her home, Melissa has a final vision, this time seeing herself with a hammer embedded in her head. She decides to end the madness once and for all by burning Chinga. However, the doll somehow manages to extinguish the matches that Melissa lights.
Scully and Bonsaint drive to Melissa's house and witness Melissa manically trying to burn her house down—with her, her daughter, and Chinga all trapped inside. Chinga eventually overpowers Melissa, forcing her to grab hold of a hammer and beat herself. Scully and Bonsaint burst into the house, and Scully quickly tosses the Chinga doll into a microwave, where it bursts into flames and melts. The power over Melissa is lifted and she stops beating herself. In the final scene, a fisherman is seen pulling up a lobster trap, inside of which is the burned doll.[1]
Production
"Chinga" was co-written by noted author Stephen King.
The episode was co-written by horror author Stephen King. King initially approached series co-star David Duchovny and informed him that he was a fan of the show and wanted to work on an episode.[2] After contacting series creator Chris Carter, he was hired as a guest writer (after first being offered the chance to write an episode of Millennium). During the writing process, King worked remotely at his home in Maine, sending drafts of the script for Carter to rewrite. Carter heavily edited the story, because, as he explained, "Stephen wasn't used to writing for Mulder and Scully [...] the Mulder-and-Scully story in his original draft didn't quite work".[2] Carter helped finalize the draft, with one of his biggest changes being the separation of Mulder and Scully.[2]Kim Manners, the director for the episode, later said, "I was very excited to be able to direct a Stephen King piece, and when it was all said and done, there was very little Stephen King left in it. The nuts and bolts were his, but that was really one of Chris' scripts."[3]
During filming, Gillian Anderson struggled with delivering her lines. She explained, "The way the script was originally read to me, initially seemed to me as if Scully kind of stepped up to the plate and played along with the sheriff's humor".[2] Thus, she performed her lines in a "tongue in cheek" manner before Carter called her and told her that her lines were not meant to be humorous; he also informed her that the production staff was having to "edit out a lot of stuff" to correct the issue.[2]
Several of the episode's scenes were shot on location. For instance, the gas station scene was filmed at a real gas station across from the series' production headquarters. Likewise, the supermarket scenes were filmed in a real store named "Shop Easy" located in Port Coquitlam.[2][4] The scenes required the supermarket to close before the Christmas holiday and be installed with up-right freezers.[4] Reportedly, during the self-mutilation scene in the supermarket, a real customer stumbled onto the set, saw the commotion, and hurriedly left in a panic.[4] The "Death Under Glass" scene featuring Dave the Butcher with a knife in his eyes was created in post-production with the help of a computer. Special effects supervisor Laurie Kellsen-George tested the scene on her nine- and eleven-year-old sons, explaining, "I gauge a lot of the show by whether my kids can stand them or not. If they can't, I figure I succeeded [...] 'Chinga' bothered them a lot."[2]
Chinga, the titular evil doll, was created by sewing together various doll parts. An oversized doll's head was then attached to the body and fitted with "the world's largest wig".[2] Unbeknownst to either Carter or King, the word "Chinga" is a colloquial Spanish swear word.[2] Most of the makeup effects were created by artist Toby Lindala, who "appreciated the chance to [work on] a Stephen King project".[2]
Reception
"Chinga" premiered on the Fox network in the United States on February 8, 1998.[5] It earned a Nielsen rating of 12.8, with an 18 share, meaning that roughly 12.7 percent of all television-equipped households, and 18 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode.[6] It was viewed by 21.33 million viewers.[6] The episode later debuted in the United Kingdom on Sky One on April 19, 1998.[7] However, because the title "Chinga" is a Mexican-Spanish swear word "equivalent to 'fuck' and in very common usage", the episode was retitled "Bunghoney" when it aired in the UK.[8]
"Chinga" received mixed reviews from critics. Anna Redman of HELLO! Canada was positive toward the episode, and referred to it as "one of the series' best episodes".[9] Erin McCann of The Guardian listed "Chinga" as one of the "13 best X-Files episodes ever".[10] Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club gave a mixed review, awarded it a C−, and called it an episode that "seems like one of those ideas that sounds really, really great until someone thinks about for more than a minute."[11] Handlen argued that King was a wrong fit for The X-Files and that the resultant script was King "being asked to marry his voice to Carter's".[11] He derided the plot and wrote that it was written "like someone (Darin Morgan, only not funny at all) doing a parody for the most familiar King tropes."[11] Handlen, however, did praise the violence in the episode, noting that he is "a sucker for gore", but ultimately called the episode "lousy".[11]
Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode two-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "clumsy".[12] The two argued that the premise of "Chinga" would have been better suited to a book or short story, as is King's forte. However, its translation to television resulted in an episode "so on the nose, it makes you wince."[12] Despite this, Shearman and Pearson complimented Carter's rewrites as well as the various jokes thrown throughout the episode.[12] Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a largely negative review and awarded it one star out of four.[13] She called the entry "a major disappointment" and wrote that it "isn't scary in the least". Vitaris even argued that "it's unintentionally funny" and that the scenes with Mulder that are supposed to play as humor do not.[13] Vitaris wrote that the episode was like the third season entry "Pusher", except with less focus; ultimately, the episode degenerates into "watching people get killed in various gruesome ways while Scully and Vonsant finally collect enough information […] in the nick of time."[13]
Despite the lackluster reception the episode garnered, several critics considered the entry scary. Katie Anderson from Cinefantastique named the scene wherein Dave the Butcher kills himself as the eighth "Scariest Moment" in The X-Files.[14]Television Without Pity named the episode the ninth "Most Nightmare-Inducing" episode of the series, noting that "[t]his Stephen King-penned episode is your classic demonic doll story."[15]
Hurwitz, Matt; Knowles, Chris (2008). The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series the Myths and the Movies. New York, US: Insight Editions. ISBN978-1933784724.
Meisler, Andy (1999), Resist or Serve: The Official Guide to The X-Files, Vol. 4, London: HarperCollins, ISBN0-00-257133-1
Shearman, Robert; Pearson, Lars (2009). Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen. Mad Norwegian Press. ISBN978-0975944691.
Marita Covarrubias is a fictional character on the American science fiction television series The X-Files. She was initially introduced as an informant, leaking diplomatic information to FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder to aid his investigation of paranormal cases, dubbed X-Files. However, she was revealed to be an agent of the secretive Syndicate, although ultimately betraying that organization on several occasions. Introduced in the fourth season opener "Herrenvolk", the character remained a recurring presence until the series' finale, "The Truth".
"The Field Where I Died" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode originally aired in the United States on November 3, 1996, on the Fox network. It is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 12.3 and was seen by 19.85 million viewers upon its initial broadcast.
"El Mundo Gira" is the eleventh 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 January 12, 1997. It was written by John Shiban and directed by Tucker Gates. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "El Mundo Gira" received a Nielsen rating of 13.3 and was viewed by 22.37 million people in its initial broadcast, and received mixed to negative reviews from television critics.
"Never Again" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by producers Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode aired in the United States on February 2, 1997, on the Fox network and in the United Kingdom on BBC One on December 3, 1997. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. The episode received a Nielsen rating of 13 and was viewed by 21.36 million viewers. It received mostly positive reviews from television critics.
"Kaddish" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by producer Howard Gordon and directed by Kim Manners. The episode originally aired on the Fox network on February 16, 1997. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot unconnected to the series' wider mythology, or overarching history. The episode received a Nielsen household rating of 10.3 and was viewed by 16.56 million viewers. It received moderately positive reviews from critics.
"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.
"Zero Sum" is the twenty-first episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on April 27, 1997. It was directed by Kim Manners, and written by Frank Spotnitz and Howard Gordon. "Zero Sum" included appearances by William B. Davis, Laurie Holden and Morris Panych. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Zero Sum" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.7, being watched by 18.6 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode has received mixed to positive responses from critics.
"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.
"Gethsemane" is the twenty-fourth and final episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on May 18, 1997. It was directed by R.W. Goodwin, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "Gethsemane" featured guest appearances by Charles Cioffi, Sheila Larken and Pat Skipper, and introduced John Finn as recurring character Michael Kritschgau. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Gethsemane" earned a Nielsen household rating of 13.2, being watched by 19.85 million people in its initial broadcast.
"Redux" is the two-part fifth season premiere of the science fiction television series The X-Files. "Redux" first aired on November 2, 1997, on Fox in the United States, with "Redux II" airing on November 9. Both episodes subsequently aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Both episodes were written by series creator Chris Carter, with "Redux" directed by R. W. Goodwin and "Redux II" helmed by Kim Manners. "Redux" became the second-most-watched episode ever broadcast, earning more than 27 million viewers in the United States alone. The first part of the episode received mixed to negative reviews, whereas the second part received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"Detour" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by executive producer Frank Spotnitz and directed by Brett Dowler. The episode aired in the United States on November 23, 1997, 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. "Detour" received a Nielsen rating of 13.2, being watched by 22.8 million viewers, and received mixed reviews from television critics.
"Christmas Carol" is the sixth 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 Peter Markle. The episode explores the series' overarching mythology. The episode premiered in the United States on December 7, 1997 on the Fox network, earning a Nielsen household rating of 12.8 and being watched by 20.91 million people in its initial broadcast. It received moderately positive reviews from television critics, with many complimenting Gillian Anderson's performance.
"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 Red and the Black" is the fourteenth 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 Carter and aired in the United States on March 8, 1998, on the Fox network. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.0, being watched by 19.98 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received moderately positive reviews from critics.
"The Pine Bluff Variant" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth 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 May 3, 1998 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, or fictional history. "The Pine Bluff Variant" received a Nielsen household rating of 11.4 and was watched by 18.24 million viewers in its initial broadcast. It received largely positive reviews from television critics as well as fans on the internet.
"The End" is the 20th and final episode of the fifth season, and 117th overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on May 17, 1998. "The End" subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on March 17, 1999, on BBC One. The episode was written by executive producer Chris Carter, and directed by R. W. Goodwin. "The End" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.9, being watched by 18.76 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive reviews from television critics.
"How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on December 13, 1998. It was written and directed by series creator Chris Carter, and featured guest appearances by Edward Asner and Lily Tomlin. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.6, being watched by 17.3 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, although some reviews criticized the episode for over-simplifying the characters.
"The Rain King" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 10, 1999. "The Rain King" was written by Jeffrey Bell and directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "The Rain King" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.5, being watched by 21.2 million people in its initial broadcast. Critical reception to the episode was mostly mixed, with reactions ranging from negative to positive.
"Biogenesis" is the twenty-second episode and the sixth season finale of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on May 16, 1999, on the Fox Network, and aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on July 25, 1999, on Sky1. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. "Biogenesis" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.4, being watched by 15.86 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from critics.
"Tempus Fugit" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on March 16, 1997. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by Frank Spotnitz and series creator Chris Carter. "Tempus Fugit" featured guest appearances by Joe Spano, Tom O'Brien and Brendan Beiser, and saw the return of Scott Bellis as alien abductee Max Fenig. The episode helped to explore the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Tempus Fugit" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.9, being watched by 18.85 million people in its initial broadcast. The title translates from Latin as "time flies."
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.
