"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.
"Little Green Men" was written specifically as a way for Mulder to question his belief in aliens. The episode features the first appearance of an extraterrestrial, because series creator Chris Carter felt it was time to unveil one. In addition, the episode introduces the character of Senator Richard Matheson. Matheson was named after the sci-fi/horror writer Richard Matheson, who wrote many episodes of The Twilight Zone.
Since the closure of the X-Files, the FBI has reassigned Mulder to a low-level wiretap while his former partner, Dana Scully, has returned to teaching at the FBI Academy. The two have a discreet meeting at the parking lot of the Watergate Hotel, where Mulder admits that he has been doubting his belief in the paranormal since Deep Throat's assassination. Mulder flashes back to the night when his sister, Samantha, was abducted.
Mulder is summoned to a meeting with Richard Matheson, a U.S. senator who is a patron for his work. Matheson directs Mulder to Arecibo, assuring the agent that he will try to hold off a Blue Beret UFO retrieval team said to be headed there in twenty-four hours. Arriving at the Survey station, Mulder discovers a frightened Puerto Rican man, Jorge, who cannot speak English but draws a picture of an alien he claims to have seen. Meanwhile, Scully, unaware of Mulder's whereabouts, goes to his apartment looking for him. Reviewing a list of flights from Washington, Scully tracks Mulder down to Puerto Rico.
Mulder discovers a signal, possibly originating from an extraterrestrial intelligence. During a storm, Jorge panics and runs outside; Mulder finds him dead of fright. When Scully goes to an airport to fly to Puerto Rico, she realizes she's being tracked by a couple but manages to lose them. Meanwhile, as Mulder examines Jorge's corpse, the room shakes. The door opens and the shadowy figure of an alien appears; Mulder tries to shoot it, but his gun malfunctions and he passes out. Scully wakes Mulder up the next morning, finding him excited about the readouts and tapes of the signals—the proof of aliens he has sought for so long. However, the Blue Beret team arrives, forcing them to flee with only a tape reel.
Upon his return to Washington, Mulder is admonished by Assistant Director Walter Skinner and the Smoking Man for his actions. Mulder claims he still has enough evidence with the days missed to prosecute the subject of his assigned wiretap, and that his own phone calls were being monitored. Skinner then demands that the Smoking Man leave the room, and decides to not discipline Mulder. Investigating the tape reel, Mulder finds it blank due to a power surge during the storm, but vows to continue his work regardless.[1]
This episode was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by David Nutter.[2] Originally, the season two premiere was supposed to be written by series creator Chris Carter. In the rough draft of this version, Mulder would have been sent to Moscow. Carter, however, assigned the episode to Morgan and Wong, and the story changed accordingly.[3] Before working on the series, Morgan had written a script with the same name as this episode about a man who goes to a telescope located in Chile. The script was never turned into a finished product, but Morgan liked various elements of it, so he cannibalized parts for "Little Green Men".[4] The episode was specifically written for Mulder to question himself and his beliefs,[5] and according to Morgan and Wong, one of the main themes of the episode is "the idea that we all have to fight our own little green men and carry on."[3]
Senator Matheson was named after the sci-fi/horror writer Richard Matheson, who wrote many episodes of The Twilight Zone.[6] Matheson was originally to recite the episode's opening monologue. Darren McGavin, the former star of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, was the casting directors' first choice for the role, but they were unable to cast him. (McGavin was later sought out to play Mulder's father William, but he again eluded the staff. In the end, McGavin finally agreed to appear on the show during its fifth season; he was first introduced in the episode "Travelers" as Arthur Dales, the agent who founded the X-Files.)[7] Matheson was then played by Raymond J. Barry.[1]
Filming
During film, the Plaza of Nations doubled for Miami Airport.[8] At the airport, Scully pretends to read the fictional Miami Post Tribune but closer inspection reveals that she is actually reading the "Facts And Arguments" page from The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper. The flight manifest that Scully scans in search for Mulder is a list of X-Files fans.[7] The Puerto Rican scenes were filmed at the Seymour Demonstration Forest in North Vancouver District.[8] According to producer J. P. Finn, it was a struggle for the show to make the Greater Vancouver area resemble the tropical island of Puerto Rico, and that "if you look closely you'll see pine trees in the back[ground]."[5]Gillian Anderson revealed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that when she and Duchovny were filming the final scene escaping the Blue Berets, the actors portraying the soldiers had to pretend to shoot their guns and made their own sound effects, which caused the cast and crew to laugh "hysterically".[9]
The episode marks the first visualization of Samantha's abduction by aliens. Although there are discrepancies between the depiction of her abduction in this episode and Mulder's description of it in both "Pilot" and "Conduit", Carter has attributed this to the unreliability of Mulder's hypnosis-induced memories.[7] The episode also features the first appearance of extraterrestrials, as Carter thought it would be a good moment to reveal them.[6][10] The image of the alien was stretched in post-production to make it look taller and skinnier.[11] The writers for the episode researched various abductee reports and conspiracy theories in order to get the right feel for the episode and make the aliens appear realistic and not too "fanciful".[4]
The episode makes several mentions to the Voyager program and the Voyager Golden Record; for instance, while in Senator Matheson's office, Mulder and Matheson listen to Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F. First Movement, which is the first piece of music on the Voyager record.[12] In addition, the episode relies heavily on mentions of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program, the collective name for a scientific surveys undertaken to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Morgan later explained, "I always wanted to do something with the SETI background. Hope that kids at school check out SETI, because it was factual as to what exists."[3]
Broadcast and reception
"Little Green Men" premiered on the Fox network on September 16, 1994.[2] This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 10.3, with a 19 share, meaning that roughly 10.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and nineteen percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 9.8 million households.[13] In addition, the episode won its time period among the "advertiser-friendly" 18-49 age ratings group.[14]
The episode garnered a largely positive reception from critics. Entertainment Weekly wrote that the episode "Powerfully depicts both Mulder's gnawing sense of defeat and his bond with Scully, strangely growing stronger with separation" before concluding that the episode was "fairly standard."[15] The site ultimately gave the episode a B.[15] Reviewer Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club positively compared and contrasted the episode to the cartoon Scooby Doo, Where Are You? writing that, "I used to be a huge "Scooby Doo" fan. [...] Of course, none of [the villains] were really monsters. [...] The X-Files exploited a simple truth: we all want to believe. We might be afraid of what's lurking in the dark, but isn't there always a bit of wishing inside that fear? A hope that what we think we know isn't everything there is to know. That just once it might be nice to reach for a zipper and instead find nothing but cool scales."[16] Handlen ultimately called the episode "Essential."[16] Reviewer Dan Barrett from the 400 Club wrote that "The X-Files is off to a stonking good start with this season 2 opening."[17] Bob Curtright, writing for the Los Angeles Daily News, called the episode "an engrossing chiller about potential contact from outer space."[18] He compared the episode positively to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and noted that the episode was "both scary and wondrous" and "offer[ed] no pat answers that might tend to blow the credibility."[18]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 five stars out of five, writing that the episode was not "what the fans were expecting, and its reputation isn't great. But I think this clever and claustrophobic little take, which does so much not only to refresh the show but to analyze what it's actually about, is one of the very best."[19]
Hurwitz, Matt & Knowles, Chris (2008). The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series the Myths and the Movies. New York, US: Insight Editions. ISBN978-1-933784-72-4.
Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN0-06-105330-9.
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.
Deep Throat is a fictional character on the American science fiction television series The X-Files. He serves as an informant, leaking information to FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder to aid Mulder's investigation of paranormal cases, dubbed X-Files. Introduced in the series' second episode, also named "Deep Throat", the character was killed off during the first season finale "The Erlenmeyer Flask"; however, he later made several appearances in flashbacks and visions. In the season 11 episode "This", his real name is ostensibly revealed to be Ronald Pakula.
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.
"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.
"Sleepless" is the 4th episode of the second season and 28th overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on October 7, 1994. The episode was written by supervising producer Howard Gordon and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology, although it features the first on-screen appearances of recurring characters X and Alex Krycek, who are central to the show's continuity. Its closing scene also sets the stage for the subsequent story arc of Scully's abduction. "Sleepless" earned a Nielsen rating of 8.6 and was viewed by 8.2 million households. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.
"Ascension" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on October 21, 1994. It was written by Paul Brown, directed by Michael Lange, and featured guest appearances by Steve Railsback, Nicholas Lea, Steven Williams and Sheila Larken. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology.
"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.
"End Game" is the seventeenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on February 17, 1995. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by Frank Spotnitz. "End Game" featured guest appearances by Megan Leitch, Peter Donat, Brian Thompson and saw Steven Williams reprise his role as X. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology. "End Game" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.2, being watched by 10.7 million households in its initial broadcast. It received positive reviews from critics.
"The List" is the fifth episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It was first broadcast in the United States on the Fox network on October 20, 1995. "The List" was written and directed by series creator Chris Carter. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' larger mythology. "The List" received a Nielson household rating of 10.8, being watched by 16.72 million people on its initial broadcast, and received mixed to positive reviews from critics.
"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.
Volume 1 of The X-Files Mythology collection is a DVD release containing selected episodes from the first to the third seasons of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episodes collected in the release form the beginning of the series' mythology, and are centred on alien abduction at the hands of "colonists". Several of the elements introduced in the collected episodes arose through necessity during production, as working around the pregnancy of lead actress Gillian Anderson led to both the creation of unifying plot thread and the introduction of several recurring characters.
"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.
"Without" is the second episode of the eighth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on November 12, 2000, on Fox and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on February 18, 2001. It was written by executive producer Chris Carter and directed by Kim Manners. The episode helps to explore the series' overarching mythology and continues from the seventh season finale, "Requiem", and season eight premiere, "Within", in which Fox Mulder was abducted by aliens who are planning to colonize Earth. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 9.0 in the United States and was seen by 15.1 million viewers. As with the previous episode, "Within," it was generally well-received by critics, although some detractors criticized various plot points.
"E.B.E." is the seventeenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on February 18, 1994. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by William Graham. The episode introduced the recurring characters of The Lone Gunmen, played by Bruce Harwood, Dean Haglund and Tom Braidwood; and saw Jerry Hardin reprise his role as Deep Throat. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology. "E.B.E." earned a Nielsen household rating of 6.2, being watched by 5.8 million households in its initial broadcast; and received positive reviews from critics.
"Duane Barry" is the fifth episode of the second season and 29th episode overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering in the United States and Canada on October 14, 1994. The episode was written and directed by executive producer Chris Carter. "Duane Barry" received a Nielsen rating of 8.9 and was viewed by 8.5 million households. The episode received largely positive reviews from critics.
"Tooms" is the twenty-first episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on April 22, 1994. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by David Nutter. The episode featured Mitch Pileggi's first appearance as Assistant Director Walter Skinner and saw Doug Hutchison and William B. Davis reprise their roles as Eugene Victor Tooms and the Cigarette Smoking Man, respectively. "Tooms" received positive reviews from critics, and it earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.6, being watched by 8.1 million households in its initial broadcast.
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.
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