Mulder: A tobacco employee that doesn’t smoke– Isn’t that kind of like a GM executive who drives a Ford? If this was a hit it seems unnecessarily high-profile. It kind of draws attention to itself, don’t you think?
Written by: Steven Maeda & Greg Walker
Directed by: Kim Manners
Original Air Date: April 16th, 2000
Principal Setting: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Episode Summary:
A potential witness in a high-profile tobacco case under Skinner’s supervision is found dead in his bathroom from mysterious circumstances. Skinner asks Mulder and Scully to assist him in the investigation. They find a man who smokes a unique kind of cigarettes, the second-hand smoke of which, has deadly results for the inhaler.
Personal Commentary:
This was an interesting episode about a tobacco company that finds out when you try to make a “healthier” cigarette, it goes terribly wrong. The use of bugs will give you the jeepers creepers and Mulder’s life really is at risk and it’s Scully this time that saves his life by, for the first time ever, saving his life with nicotine.
Other than Mulder’s life being in dire risk and needing lots of nicotone patches at the end, it’s mostly a sub-par episode.
Episode Grade: C
Favorite Scene:
Fun Facts:
- The scenes featuring shots of beetles crawling out corpses were shot and filmed using real insects, as well as real actors.
- The fictional tobacco company, Morley, is the same brand of cigarettes that CGB Spender has smoked throughout the series.
Faces You May Recognize:
- Tobin Bell is famous for playing Jigsaw in the horror franchise Saw. He has also appeared in shows Revelations and 24.
- Dennis Boutsikaris has been in several shows including Better Call Saul, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and ER. He has also co-starred in the movies W. and The Bourne Legacy.
201 Days of the X-Files Blog 