"Two Fathers" is the eleventh episode of the
sixth season and the 128th episode overall of the
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
''. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on February 7, 1999, on the
Fox Network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom on
Sky1
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
. It was written by executive producers
Chris Carter and
Frank Spotnitz
Frank Charles Spotnitz is an American television screenwriter and executive producer, best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''The Man in the High Castle''. Spotnitz is also the chief executive officer and founder of Big Light Production ...
and directed by
Kim Manners
Kim Manners (January 13, 1951 – January 25, 2009) was an American television producer, director and actor best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''Supernatural''.
Early life
Kim Manners was raised in a show business family. His fathe ...
. The episode earned a
Nielsen rating
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
of 11.5, a total of 18.81 million viewers. The episode received mostly positive reviews.
The show centers on
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
special agents
Fox Mulder
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 extraterrest ...
(
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...
) and
Dana Scully
Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two Protagonist, protagonists in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science-fiction, supernatural fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anders ...
(
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film ''The House of Mirth'' ...
) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called
X-File
In the fictional universe of the television series ''The X-Files'', an "X-File" is a case that has been deemed unsolvable or given minimal-priority status by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; these files are transferred to the X-Files unit. The ...
s. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. "Two Fathers" follows a story which would lead to the destruction of the
Syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest.
Etymology
The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Frenc ...
: with the unexpected return of
Cassandra Spender
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
and the
alien rebel
The Colonists are an extraterrestrial species and are also the primary group of antagonists in the science fiction television show, ''The X-Files'', as well as the first ''X-Files'' feature film. The mystery revolving around their identity and ...
s, members of the Syndicate prepare themselves for the
final invasion.
"Two Fathers" was written in order to eliminate the Syndicate and relaunch the series' mythology. With the series being shot in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, many members of ''The X-Files'' crew had to adjust scenes and filming techniques in order to achieve the "dark and gray feel" that had been a result of filming in
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. The episode is the first of a two-part episode and continues with the episode "
One Son
"One Son" is the twelfth episode from the sixth season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It first aired on February 14, 1999, on the Fox network. The episode was written by series creator Chris Carter and Fr ...
".
Plot
In a train car, doctors in chemical suits are making incisions on an unseen patient's stomach; green fluid seeps out of the wounds, which heal themselves. When Dr. Eugene Openshaw arrives, he is informed that their twenty-five-year-old project is finally completed. Moments later,
rebel aliens begin to appear and start burning all the doctors, the survivor being Dr. Openshaw and a patient,
Cassandra Spender
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
, who had been missing for over a year.
Walter Skinner
FBI Assistant Director Walter Sergei Skinner is a fictional character portrayed by American actor Mitch Pileggi on ''The X-Files'' and its short-lived spin-off ''The Lone Gunmen'', both broadcast on Fox.
In the science fiction-supernatural se ...
takes her son,
Jeffrey Spender
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 (along with his ...
, to the scene, where he meets with his mother. Cassandra refuses to talk with Jeffrey about what happened to her because she knows that he won't believe her. She asks for
Fox Mulder
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 extraterrest ...
(
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, producer, director, novelist, and singer-songwriter. He is known for portraying FBI agent Fox Mulder on the television series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002, 2016-2018) and as write ...
). Spender then 'asks' Mulder to join him to meet his mother, but Mulder sees it as an attempt to entrap him. Later on, Dr. Openshaw informs the
Cigarette Smoking Man
The Cigarette Smoking Man (abbreviated CSM or C-Man; sometimes referred to as Cancer Man or the Smoking Man) is a fictional character and one of the primary antagonists of the American science fiction drama television series ''The X-Files''. He s ...
(
William B. Davis
William Bruce Davis (born January 13, 1938) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as the Cigarette Smoking Man on ''The X-Files''. Besides appearing in many TV programs and movies, he founded his own acting school, the William Davis Ce ...
) about the completion of the project, saying he needs to kill his former wife since she is the first successful alien-human hybrid. The Cigarette Smoking Man's reaction leads to Dr. Openshaw's death. Meanwhile, one of the Syndicate elders is killed by an alien rebel, who then takes on his form.
Mulder and partner
Dana Scully
Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two Protagonist, protagonists in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science-fiction, supernatural fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anders ...
(
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film ''The House of Mirth'' ...
) go over the crime scene photos from the train car incident and immediately recognize similarities to murders from
a year earlier. Afterwards, Mulder and Scully visit Cassandra at the hospital who informs them that the
aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
are here to destroy all life on
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, further stating that this alien threat moves through the Universe to colonize other planets. She claims that a rebel force of aliens are mutilating their faces to prevent infection by the black oil.
Alex Krycek
Alex Krycek is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction- supernatural television series ''The X-Files''. Alex Krycek is played by Nicholas Lea. He is initially introduced in the second season as a partner for FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder ...
reports to the Syndicate on the rebel's recent attacks. The rebel, masquerading as the elder he killed, proposes that the Syndicate align themselves with the rebels. The Cigarette Smoking Man seems to recognize that the elder has opposed his own previous opinion—that siding with the rebels is suicide.
Mulder and Scully use the computer on the X-Files' office to find the Cigarette Smoking Man's real identity, that he is Agent Spender's father, C.G.B. Spender. Their unauthorized entry at the X-Files office is discovered by Agent Spender, resulting in both agents' immediate suspension from the FBI. Agent Spender, who then reports to the Cigarette Smoking Man demanding the truth, but is refused. Scully meets with Mulder, telling him that C.G.B. Spender is likely another alias and that the man is linked with Mulder's father,
William
William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
, who he had worked with on the
secret state project. The Cigarette Smoking Man decides to give Agent Spender more responsibility by having him kill the alien rebel masquerading as a Syndicate elder. Spender fails in his task, but Krycek comes to his aid and finishes. Krycek reveals to Spender that his father was responsible for his mother's (Cassandra's) abductions and that his role is to protect his father's stake in the project. This fact upsets Agent Spender.
The Cigarette Smoking Man then reveals everything to Agent
Diana Fowley
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files (film), The X-Files'' and ''The X-Files: I Want to Believe. ...
, who agrees to help him. Mulder tells Skinner that Cassandra is in danger because she is the first successful alien-human hybrid; Skinner goes to the hospital to check on Cassandra but finds her gone. Cassandra, having escaped from the hospital, arrives at Mulder's apartment and demands that he shoot her because she is the embodiment of fifty years of work by the Syndicate — an alien-human hybrid that will trigger colonization if the aliens learn of her existence. Just then, someone bangs on the apartment door.
[Meisler, pp. 135–144]
Production
The plan to eliminate the Syndicate and relaunch the series' mythology in a new direction was originally conceived in September 1998.
[Meisler, pp. 156–157] Director
Kim Manners
Kim Manners (January 13, 1951 – January 25, 2009) was an American television producer, director and actor best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''Supernatural''.
Early life
Kim Manners was raised in a show business family. His fathe ...
stated "I've said for years that the show really resolved itself, if you will, by accident. The whole story line of the Syndicate and the bees and the aliens and the chips in the neck, they all seemed to just accidentally fall into place and create an intriguing, mysterious storyline that eventually got so mysterious and so intriguing that Chris had to blow it up, because he couldn't deal with it anymore."
The original script featured various flashback sequences, with actors
Peter Donat
Peter Donat (born Pierre Collingwood Donat; January 20, 1928 – September 10, 2018) was a Canadian-American actor.
Early life
Pierre Collingwood Donat was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Marie (née Bardet) and Philip Ernst ...
,
William B. Davis
William Bruce Davis (born January 13, 1938) is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as the Cigarette Smoking Man on ''The X-Files''. Besides appearing in many TV programs and movies, he founded his own acting school, the William Davis Ce ...
and
Veronica Cartwright
Veronica Cartwright (born April 20, 1949) is a British-American actress. She is known for appearing in science fiction and horror films, and has earned numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
As a child actress, sh ...
all appearing around twenty-to-thirty years younger. The production crew applied various types of makeup on the actors to "de-age" them. However, the writers eventually came to the conclusion that it "just didn't
..work", so they cut out most of that storyline, which ultimately led to the creation of a whole new direction in which the Cigarette Smoking Man provided a monologue explaining the history of the project instead. The first scene was shot in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
.
The scene in which
Jeffrey Spender
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 (along with his ...
visited his mother,
Cassandra Spender
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
, was shot in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Those members of ''The X-Files'' crew who had moved with the show from
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
to Los Angeles still had problems adjusting to the changes when filming an episode. They were forced to adjust to changes in the sunlight, since Vancouver had this "dark and gray feel" compared to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
's sunny atmosphere. Kim Manners felt it was difficult to "get
ing
Ing, ING or ing may refer to:
Art and media
* '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film
* i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group
* The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes''
* "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...
used to" the new filming area. This episode marks the first time new stock footage was used for the
J. Edgar Hoover Building
The J. Edgar Hoover Building is a low-rise office building located at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Planning for the building began in ...
in over five years.
The
Second Elder
The following is a list of characters on ''The X-Files'', an American science fiction television series first broadcast in September 1993 and followed by two feature films: ''The X-Files'' and '' The X-Files: I Want to Believe.'' These characters ...
's house was in a relatively expensive neighborhood in Los Angeles. Manners stated that he was "very nervous" when filming this scene because the crew needed to create a fire inside the house, which was done by Kelly Kerby and Bobby Calvert. When the
faceless alien attacks the Second Elder, a special effects crew member can be seen behind a window "running with his rig", according to Manners.
Release and reception
The episode earned a
Nielsen household rating of 11.5, with a 16 share. It was viewed by a total of 18.81 million viewers in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
[Meisler, p. 294] The episode was the third highest rated episode of the sixth season.
The episode debuted in the United States and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
on February 7, 1999, at the
Fox Network
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations an ...
. The episode aired in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on
Sky1
Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
on May 16, 1999, and received 0.72 million viewers, making it the third most watched episode that week.
[ Note: Information is in the section titled "w/e April 19–25, 1999", listed under Sky 1] Veronica Cartwright
Veronica Cartwright (born April 20, 1949) is a British-American actress. She is known for appearing in science fiction and horror films, and has earned numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
As a child actress, sh ...
was nominated for an
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series" for her role in this episode and "
One Son
"One Son" is the twelfth episode from the sixth season of the American science fiction television series ''The X-Files''. It first aired on February 14, 1999, on the Fox network. The episode was written by series creator Chris Carter and Fr ...
",
and the make-up department was nominated for an Emmy award in the category "Outstanding Makeup for a Series" and won.
The episode was later included on ''
The X-Files Mythology, Volume 3 – Colonization
''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 releas ...
'', a DVD collection that contains episodes involved with the alien
Colonist
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer.
Settle ...
's plans to take over the earth.
The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. Tom Kessenich, in his book ''Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files'' wrote positively of the episode, saying it "wonderfully" developed the show's characters as "it unveiled many of the answers to the questions that have been dangling about for some time without using Mulder or Scully as conduits for many of these answers."
[Kessenich, p. 37] The main reason behind creating a resolution to the
Syndicate
A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest.
Etymology
The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Frenc ...
arc was that
Chris Carter thought the series was going to be cancelled by early 2000. While promoting the episode, Carter said it would give many long-waited answers but at the same time create new ones. Earl Cressey from
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
named "Two Fathers," along with its follow-up "One Son," as one of the "highlights of season six."
Joyce Millman from
''Salon'' magazine said the episode (along with "One Son") was one "of the most coherent,
..almost unbearably tense, hours in the series' run". ''
The Michigan Daily
''The Michigan Daily'' is the weekly student newspaper of the University of Michigan. Its first edition was published on September 29, 1890. The newspaper is financially and editorially independent of the University's administration and other stu ...
'' reviewer Melissa Runstrom said "Two Fathers" along with "One Son" and
season finale
A season finale (British English: last in the series; Australian English: season final) is the final episode of a season of a television program. This is often the final episode to be produced for a few months or longer, and, as such, will try to ...
"
Biogenesis
Spontaneous generation is a superseded scientific theory that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes were commonplace and regular. It was hypothesized that certain forms, such as fleas, could arise fr ...
" were the highlights of the
sixth season.
Emily VanDerWerff of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' awarded the episode a "B−" rating.
[ She concluded that the episode is an example of "propulsive fun" and applauded its myriad of attention-grabbing sequences.][ However, she was critical of its plot, noting that "the series pretty much just picks Cassandra to be the answer to a lot of questions" concerning the show's mythology.] Not all reviews were so glowing. Paula Vitaris from ''Cinefantastique
''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine.
History
The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/editor ...
'' gave the episode a mixed review and awarded it two stars out of four. Vitaris wrote positively of the episode's filming, writing, "visually, the episode looks good but the scenes in the hangar are eye-poppers, with doors slowly opening and aliens walking forward, obscured by bright light."[ However, she criticized the episode's plot, noting that "Two Fathers" was "heading straight down a path already trodden by dozens of books, short stories, movies, and other television shows."][
]
Footnotes
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
{{good article
1999 American television episodes
Television episodes directed by Kim Manners
Television episodes written by Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Television episodes written by Frank Spotnitz
Television episodes set in Maryland
The X-Files season 6 episodes
Television episodes set in Virginia