Pilot

Special Agent Dana Scully is assigned to investigate, and debunk, an unassigned project dubbed "The X-Files," a burial ground for mysterious and unsolved FBI cases linked to the paranormal. Scully is instructed to contact Fox Mulder, an agent who has become obsessed with investigating the otherwise forgotten X-File cases. Mulder is working on a case involving a series of mysterious deaths scattered across the United States where all of the victims have two strange red marks on the their skin. Mulder and Scully fly to Oregon to investigate the death of Karen Swenson, a high school student who died mysteriously, and whose corpse is marked with two red welts. The agents exhume the body Ray Soames, one of Karen's classmates. When Soames' casket is opened, however, a strange humanoid carcass is discovered inside. The corpse turns out to be that of an orangutang, and X-rays reveal an unidentified metal object implanted in the creature's nasal cavity. Mulder and Scully question Billy Miles and Peggy O'Dell, classmates of Swenson and Soames who were injured in an automobile accident and have since been institutionalized. Miles has been reduced to a near vegetable state, while O'Dell has been confined to a wheelchair. Mulder and Scully are driving along the highway, they are blinded by a strange light from the sky. The light drains the energy from their car, bringing it to a halt. Mulder looks at his watch and realizes that they lost nine minutes. They return to their motel where Mulder tells Scully his life story. An anonymous phone call tips the agents that Peggy O'Dell was killed as she ran along the highway. They return to the hotel to find their rooms have been set on fire, destroying all evidence gathered in the case. The agents are confronted by Theresa Nemman, daughter of the coroner who originally performed the autopsies on the victims. She admits she too bears the red marks on her skin, and describes how a bright light appeared in the sky the evening she was hanging out with her friends Billy Miles and Peggy O'Dell. Mulder hypothesizes that Billy Miles is under the control of an alien force. He adds his belief that Billy killed Peggy O'Dell. The agents return to the forest and both Detective Miles and Mulder witness Billy carrying Theresa to the spot in the woods where the other bodies had been found. A mysterious light illuminates Billy, and a strong wind swirls around him. Moments later the light fades and the winds die, and Billy stands over Theresa not knowing where he is or how he got there. The welts having vanished from his skin. When Scully hands in her report, to much of the surprise of her supervisors, the metal object removed from the corpse was not destroyed with all of the other evidence. Scully kept it on her and turns it into them as the single remaining piece of physical evidence of what had transpired. The metal object is taken by The Cigarette-Smoking Man and filed away alongside several others inside a massive government warehouse in the basement of the Pentagon.

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Name                Rating

Meredith M................10
Michael B.................10
Dena C.....................9
Christina O................8
Julie C....................8

Average Rating       9.1

"I was heavily into the U.F.O phenomenon, reading most of the major books and magazines on the subject, and seeing all of the U.F.O. films and documentaries that I could find when I saw a promo on T.V. for a show that dealt with this phenomenon called The X-Files. Is the U.F.O phenomenon real? As Dana Scully would say, "Probably not." One can maintain, however, that 1 out of a million false U.F.O incidents might be real. It is this possibility that keeps people fascinated by the subject. They, like Fox Mulder, want to believe. As if it were a metallic communion wafer from outer space, the U.F.O has been swallowed by the faithfull around the world. If man is made in the image of God then the U.F.O is the perfect god for our times. It is technologically advanced, it is here one minute and gone the next, and it leaves nothing behind to show it once existed but burned radioactive grass. It was my interest in U.F.O's that made me endevour to add this pilot episode to my then growing collection of tapes filled with U.F.O related t.v. programs. I had missed it when it first aired and the first episode I saw of The X-Files turned out to be "Ice" which intrigued me and turned me into a fan of the show, with it's John Carpenter's "The Thing" -a creepy story, so well made by television standards. I saw the Pilot when it aired for the second time, though, and have seen it four or five times since. The episode really captures that wonder that the U.F.O phenomenon inspires. It's one thing to see a science fiction story with aliens. It's quite another to see one with a possibility that it might be real. Like the caption reads, 'The truth is out there.'"
-Michael B.-

"It's an awesome episode, but now that I'm attending college at the University of Oregon in Oregon, the state in which the episode was supposed to have taken place, I have a very important criticism. Not only does Agent Mulder mis-pronounce the state of Oregon twice, but the people who are supposed to be Oregonian inhabitatants also mis-pronounce the state name. We can excuse Mulder's garble of the state considering he is supposed to be from Washington DC, but that's no excuse for the supposed 'inhabitants' to slander the state name! Needless to say, the real people who live here in this wonderful state are a bit miffed. For further reference, Oregon is not pronounced /or-E-gone/, it's pronounced /or-i-gin/ (both being short i sounds)."
-Gypsy M.-

"The pilot episode was a great start for The X-Files. It contains all the aspects that an ideal episode has - humor, conspiracy, a spooky factor, and a bit of shippyness. I love the way the two agents meet, each revealing much about their personalities in that scene in Mulder's office Mulder making his wisecracks and getting excited that there might be aliens involved in the case, Scully being the skeptic and relying on science for answers. I like this episode better every time I see it. I especially like the scene in the rain. The only way I'd change this episode would be to make it somewhat scarier."
-Julie C.-

"The Pilot episode of The X-Files was a marvelous way to begin the series. It was funny with the cute arguments between the newly paired up Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, yet scary with the alien abductions. The Pilot also showed the early chemistry between David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Still, it's hard to give this episode higher than an 8 just because there have been so many more episodes that blow this one away. A great start of The X-Files"
-Christina O.

"This was an excellent episode. When they got assigned to be partners together and Mulder was reluctant, and then later proved his trust."
-Meredith M.-

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