Campbell's 1938 novella Who Goes There? - are undeniable. Davis) speak for the first time, but the episode provides viewers with the introduction of FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner ( Mitch Pileggi), who we'd soon be seeing with considerable regularity.Īn episode that takes place at an arctic outpost after a mass murder-suicide, the only survivor of which is a dog, and a plot that causes Mulder, Scully, and some fellow scientists to succumb to paranoia that someone might be under the influence of an alien creature? Okay, yes, the similarities to John Carpenter's The Thing - itself an adaptation of John W. There are two other notable occurrences in "Tooms," and we'd be remiss if we didn't mention them: not only do we get to hear the Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Hutchison really gives his all in the performance, but arguably never more so than in "Tooms," when he bursts forth from his nest completely in the nude. There are a number of gross moments involving bile, including one that results in one of Mulder's funniest lines in the history of the series: "Is there any way I can get it off my fingers quickly without betraying my cool exterior?" Doug Hutchison plays Tooms in both episodes, and it's hard to imagine that anyone else could've made the character come across quite as creepy, and not just because of the effects-enhanced eyes, either. The "monster" in question is actually a man by the name of Eugene Tooms, but he definitely possesses some monstrous qualities, in particular a taste for human livers and an ability to stretch and squeeze his body into narrow spaces. Sounds like a solid pilot to us.Īlthough these two tales are told at different points during the first season, the fact that they find Mulder and Scully going after the same "monster of the week" make it more than reasonable to tackle both of them in the same entry. Not every soon-to-be regular element of The X-Files is in place from the get-go, but there's plenty enough here that the series was able to capture viewers' attention straight out of the gate. It's a great way to set up the "he wants to believe / she doesn't" dynamic between the partners while also providing some moments that reveal Scully's willingness to admit her inability to explain certain events. Immediately thereafter, they're off to Oregon to investigate a series of unexplained deaths which Mulder believes may be somehow linked to alien abductions. Not only do we learn that she was assigned to serve as a "debunker" of sorts for Mulder's wild theories about the strange cases that land in his lap, but viewers are actually given the opportunity to witness the first meeting between Scully and Mulder in the latter's basement office, a sad spot he describes as being designated for "the FBI's Most Unwanted." Indeed, the series provides us with the not-so-secret origin of how Dana Scully was initially assigned to the oft-dismissed, occasionally-ridiculed department of the FBI known as the X-Files. More than a few TV shows have kicked off with a pilot episode that bears no resemblance to what the series would eventually become, but in the case of The X-Files, it's hard to imagine a better way to introduce the concept, the central characters, or the ongoing mystery that continues throughout the entirety of its run.
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