The Netpicker's Guide to The X-Files

The Netpicker's Guide to The X-Files

Season 1

Pilot (The X-Files)
Dr. Scully is given the assignment to watch over the activities of a certain Agent Mulder and decide if his work is worthwhile to the FBI. He takes her to investigate the murder of several high school classmates in Oregon whom he believes have been experimented on by aliens.

If Mulder lost nine minutes, and Scully lost nine minutes, and the car lost nine minutes, how come Mulder's watch didn't lose nine minutes?

Maybe the FM's watch was analog (?) whilst the car had an electrical clock (run off the car battery) and DS & FM's brains suffered. from: Michael Bird In the pilot, the first time Scully gets into Mulder's office, look at the poster "I want to believe" then look at it on the next picture, there are tons of papers and stuff at its bottom. Is Mulder's office haunted ? from: Francois Nguyen

Deep Throat
Mulder and Scully head out to Ellens Air Force Base in Idaho, against the wishes of some very mysterious and powerful people. The investigation begins with the disappearance of one of the test pilots and leads to the implication of possible experimentation on UFOs by the military.

1.The rear window reappears after its shattered I don't know if they carry spare rear windows in the USA but it seems rather strange. from: Mark Owen (placed in the correct episode by Bob Potter)

2. In DT when one of the MIB's removes the magazine from Scully's gun , there is only one round in the magazine. Something tells me you would expect them to have more then 1 round in the magazine. Unless she had been shooting at street signs as they drove down the road :-) from: Shadows

Squeeze
A gruesome murder without motive, clear M.O., or point of entry bears resemblance to an X-File killer. However, the X-File cases took place in 1933 and 1963. Mulder and Scully attempt to track down and stop this century old killer.

1.Why couldn't Eugene just squeeze himself out of the handcuffs?

2. When Mulder realizes that Tooms is going after Scully he tries calling her at home. We learn that Tooms has cut off Scully's line. Fine. So WHY didn't Mulder try her cellular? -Kymberlee

Conduit
A woman who claims to have seen a UFO as a child has her teenage daughter disappear while on a camping trip. The signs seem to indicate alien involvement. But the key to solving the mystery may be the woman's young son instead of the missing daughter.

1. As a native Iowan, born & raised 20 miles south of Spirit Lake, I know very well there are no mountains on the other side of what ever they saw fit to pass off as Spirit Lake.

2. Why was Scully - a medical doctor - giving Ruby CPR when she was "alive, but unconscious"? Isn't that rather dangerous? Doesn't "alive" imply reparation and heart beat? from: Alex

Shadows
When two very odd corpses appear in Philadelphia, Mulder and Scully are requested to take a look at them. The investigation turns up a secretary whose employer recently committed suicide and a strange force which seems to protect her.

1. Not only did Graves die on the 5th, and Scully journal in the next episode was the 4th, but in the security video where Lauren Kyte was attacked but the Isphahan it was dated 09/22/93 even though it was supposed to be about 2 weeks AFTER Graves had died. I can only guess they mean 10/22/93.....

2. I don't know whether this occurs throughout the whole series, but I particularly noticed it in "Shadows". In several instances, the cars that appear on-screen clearly have no license plates, or at least license plates with the numbers blacked out. This can be seen when Mulder and Scully's car crashes, in the FBI vehicle compound, and in the HTG car park just before Lauren complains about the reassignment of Howard Graves' car parking space. from: Alex

Ghost in the Machine
Following the electrocution of a computer company's CEO, Mulder's old partner asks for help with the case. With the advice of Deep Throat, Mulder and Scully must stop the murderer, all the while fighting off the defense department and the building itself.

1. How did the Eurisko computer turn on Scully's machine? It takes a mechanical switch to turn on a computer.

Well, actually, as far as Scully's computer turning itself on in The Ghost In The Machine (while I thought the episode was rather hokey, and I must admit I complained about this myself), I have seen devices that you can hook up to your computer that will turn it on (or off, presumably ) remotely. I suppose this is for traveling corporate-types, or people who are running a BBS (so that they can reset it if it locks up) or some such thing. Anyway, such devices _do_ exist (although ominously, I can't find any in the catalogs I have on hand), though I find it difficult to believe that Scully would: (a) have one on her system, and (b) have her machine autoboot to a terminal-esque program anyway. (Then again, maybe _PC Anywhere_ would do the trick -- a computer would have little problem trying all permutations of a password). Opinions?

Not necessarily. My Macintosh Quadra 840av has a system program which automatically turns the computer on and off at some selected time (kind of like a coffee machine coming on before you wake up). These are fairly common devices for Macintosh remote computing. PowerKey Remote ($49) by Sophisticated Circuits and Remote/WakeUp Cable ($50) by Farallon Computing are just two examples. from: Paul Mrozek

(Much other speculation not included. If you want to continue on this one take it to comp.* :)

The *real* question that should be asked is: seeing somebody remotely accessing her files, why did she not just unplug the modem from the phone socket? And what was the modem doing on auto-answer anyway? :-) from: Boz

2. In Ghost in the Machine Scully spools through a DAT tape while sitting at a desk. Unfortunately, DAT tape machines do not make that type of spooling noise. The noise used was the type of noise made by analog tape machines! This surely wasn't an oversight as the sound recorder/dubbing editor would have known the difference and so I assume that it was done because more people would recognize the sound of analog audio tape spooling as opposed to digital audio tape spooling. It is still annoying to those that know the difference. from: Nic Hibberd

3. A elevators emergency breaks are mechanical, it is impossible (by government regs/elevator design) for one to have its breaks switched off electronically. It requires the moving physical restraints. Therefore, the person could not have been killed by a falling elevator. from: Steven Herod

4. Eurisko computer is calling Scully's computer. Phone rings on Scully's bedside cabinet & Scully picks it up and hears the modem squeaking. Scully goes to her computer and sees someone (or something) accessing her computer files... she then picks up the phone besides her computer & calls for a trace. Shouldn't that telephone be busy also ?... I mean... I don't think there is a link between the computer in the workroom and the phone in the bedroom while the phone on the computer table has no link. from: Ronald de graaf

Just to add my own two cents to that, in my house, if any of the phone extensions are picked up while I'm on-line I loose my connection. Eurisko was still going at it even after Scully picked up the bedroom extension. Kymberlee

5.When Mulder's ex-partner gets killed, the elevator falls down, right? And he appears to be pushed to floor by the g-forces. But if the elevator is falling down, he should be 'stuck' to the ceiling, not the floor!

Ice
When the Arctic Ice Core project's final transmission is a crazed scientist saying "We are not who we are," Mulder and Scully become part of an investigative team sent to the Alaskan site. Upon arrival, they discover that the unearthing of an unearthly parasite could spell trouble for them as well.

1. When Mulder points the gun at the dog you hear his cocking the hammer on the gun. The Glock 19 has an internal hammer so unless it makes that noise when you depress the first stage of the trigger...(having never shot the Glock before I can't say for sure.. Anyone???....)

You're right, the Glock has no external hammer to cock. It is, however, a very good gun not used by the FBI. from: Rob

2. When Richter talks into the recorder, he says, "It stops, right here, right now.' But when it gets played back to Scully there's a pause that wasn't there before.

3. At the end of the episode "Ice", we see Hodge informing Mulder and Scully that the AICP base was torched by the Army (or CDC or some other U.S. govt. agency, I can't quite remember). Now if they're up in Alaska, and it's supposed to be freezing cold out (we see Hodge blowing into his hands to warm them up, and Mulder crossing his arms, shivering a bit) then why don't we see their breath? from: Rhea Tia Virginia

4. At the end of the episode "Ice", we see Hodge informing Mulder and Scully that the AICP base was torched by the Army (or CDC or some other U.S. govt. agency, I can't quite remember). Now if they're up in Alaska, and it's supposed to be freezing cold out (we see Hodge blowing into his hands to warm them up, and Mulder crossing his arms, shivering a bit) then why don't we see their breath? from: Rhea Merana

5. Alaska is a place often depicted in films and on TV, but never accurately. In this particular X-File episode, Mulder and Scully supposedly take off from Nome airport... on a sunny, obviously summer day. (It looked a lot like L.A....) There are no trees in Nome, for starters. If it is summer in Nome, it is certainly summer 100 miles north at Icy Cape or whatever the name of the place they went was. North of the Arctic circle, in the summer, it never gets dark. Never. Not even a little. Yet, when they land at Icy Cape, it is winter, they are caught in a snowstorm, and it is dark. Nope - doesn't work like that. There are a few other inconsistencies, like the fact there is no air force base up there (it's been awhile since I watched the episode.. I think they claim it's in Nome, or Unalakleet or something...). But those type of geographic errors are common in episodes. The blatant lack of knowledge of what it's like in the Arctic however was a little hard to swallow... from: szn

6. After the dog is cured, Hodge says he passed both worms in his stool. The worm attached itself to the brain stem, so how did it get to the Colon? I assume he meant that both worms were still in one piece, but that is impossible. In order to pass out of the rectum material first has to pass through the Gastro-Intestinal tract, and there are only two ways to get into that system: through the mouth (which wasn't the case) or through the Bile Duct, which can only transfer Bile, a liquid. from: the Nussbaum Family

Space
After a space shuttle launch is aborted and evidence of some bizarre sabotage is found, a NASA worker asks Mulder and Scully to take a look around. Meanwhile, the former astronaut who is in charge of the mission is apparently haunted by something he encountered during a spacewalk on a previous mission.

1. If Dr. Scully is able to tell the paramedics to give Belt 10 mg of something-or-another, and warns Mulder of an aneurysm, how come when they first find Belt she just stands there instead of giving first aid?" She should have been authoritative before and after the break .

2. Why did Mulder call for a Doctor with Scully present in Space?

3. Aren't hospital windows made so that people *can't* jump out of them?

4. Michelle Generoo has a car accident and has quite an amount of blood on her head, and a cut on he eyebrow. Later she has no cuts visible.

5. Lt. Col. Marcus Aurelius Belt is shown on a shuttle mission in 1977, when the space shuttle was first flown in 1981.

Fallen Angel
Mulder is tipped off by Deep Throat about a government cover-up of a UFO crash site. He is not the only one interested, as he discovers a fellow UFO enthusiast whose appearance seems rather coincidental. So the military tries to keep Mulder away while trying to bring a certain other being in. But when he is discovered, Mulder's position in the FBI is jeopardized.

1. In "Fallen Angel" a 'laser fence' is set up around the woodland area to try to monitor anything entering or leaving. This would need a fantastically stable foundation for the fence posts to be fixed into to ensure alignment of the laser source and target. Assuming that each length between posts was only 50m and that each post originated a new beam rather than just reflecting the beam from the last post to the next then it would only take 0.01 degrees of movement of a source post to cause a deflection error of 1 cm at the target post. Simply poking the posts into soft, decomposing woodland undergrowth just wouldn't give the stability required. Of course this doesn't even begin to take into account problems caused by false triggers from birds, rabbits, falling leaves etc.... from: Anthony

2. In Fallen Angel, when Max has a seizure and Mulder helps him lie down, Mulder notices a v-shaped scar behind Max's right ear. Later when Mulder is back at the hotel, he tells Scully that Max has a scar behind his LEFT ear.

3. There is a problem in that same scene in the way they've spliced takes together. When Mulder gets Max a glass of water, Max tucks his hair behind his right ear (so the scar will be exposed later) and pushes his hair off his shoulder/collar. When Max drinks the water, his hair is once again forward on his shoulder (although still tucked!).

4. At the hospital the doctor reports that the deputy and the others came in with 5th and 6th degree burns over 90% of their body. In my first aid classes we were taught that 4th degree was the worst sort of burn a person could get. In 4th degree the body is burned to the bone. If that's true then what would be *left* of a person who had 5th or 6th degree burns over that much of the body? It would seem that a person burned that severely would be reduced to ash. Kymberlee

5. Scully finds a bottle of Pills in Max Fenig's caravan. The drug is Melleril and Scully immediately concludes that Max suffers from Schizophrenia, that it is exclusively used for this.... This is not so.

Melleril : Thioridazine Hydrochloride.

Actions:
Melleril is a phenothiazine derivative with more specific psychosedative action than other tranquilizers. In low doses Melleril is anxiolic an psychorelaxant. In addition, it is effective in mild depressive conditions. Patients treated with Meleril remain active, they become co-operative and establish better contact with their environment. Melleril selectively controls exaggerated reactions to irritation and stress, with a minimal effect on motor activity. In high doses Melleril is a neuroleptic with minimal antiemetic activity and minimal extrapyramidal effects, notably parkinsonism. It has a wide therapeutic margin and is well tolerated in the recommended dosage range.

Indications:
General medicine: Anxiety, mixed anxiety-depression, tension and agitation,
psychosomatic disorders, emotional disturbances accompanied by anxiety and
tension, sleep disturbances. Geriatrics: Senile agitation and confusional states, anxiety and mixed anxiety-depression, insomnia. Pediatrics: Anxiety, tension and agitation, difficulties of concentration, behavioral disorders, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, sleep disturbances. Psychiatry: Adults, (outpatients and hospitalized patients): agitation, anxiety, tension and thought disturbances in schizophrenia, manic psychoses, exogenous and endogenous psychoses, severe neuroses, alcohol withdrawal syndrome and in manic or agitated depressive states; organic brain syndrome; intractable pain. Children: childhood schizophrenia, severe behavioral disorders in mental retardation and psychopathy.

ref: Thomas, Jack. Ph.D., M.S.Sc, F.R.Pharm.S., F.P.S., "Prescription
Products Guide" Volume TWO, 1991. Pf 1074.

So Max could have been taking Melleril for many things rather than Schizophrenia.

from: MGB.
6. The caption at the beginning of the episode states:

Townsend, Wisconsin
12:57 a.m. Day 1
At this time the UFO crashes into the forest, the police officer calls for a fire crew as it has set fire to the surrounding area. Shortly afterwards the police officer is burned to a crisp. 35 min. later the fire crew arrives, and they too are burned,' 5th and 6th degree burns to over 90% of their bodies.' Pronounced D.O.A at the nearby hospital. Fox Mulder is briefed by 'Deep Throat' as to the situation, he leaves for Wisconsin with the information that he has probably only got 24 hrs. We see the first scene of Mulder in Townsend, the outside of his hotel. The caption reads:
Budget Rest Motel
Townsend, Wisconsin.
12:57 a.m. Day 1
Same day, same time. Obvious error here, either that or Mulder is a really fast worker.

Eve
Mulder and Scully check out the curious murder of a man in Connecticut. When they discover that another man in California was killed simultaneously in the same manner, the uncanny resemblance of the two men's daughters seems more than coincidental. So, when the first child disappears, the two decide to keep an eye on the remaining child. What they find isn't alien, but rather something much more familiar.

1. Where did they put the blood they drained out of the bodies? And what was the point in the neck wounds? Was this a plot device to throw us off track?

I think Mulder mentioned that the first murder occurred right before it rained and the blood was washed away. But if that was the case, why wasn't the body soaking wet? I'm not sure if there was a mention of the blood disappearing in the case of the second father. The neck wounds were the points from which the blood left the bodies.

2. If Tina Simmons had the Eve-strength to get her father into the swing without leaving signs of a struggle, how'd Mulder manage to restrain her with one arm and Cindy with the other?

3. Sally Kendrick, the adult Eve said she had *extra* chromosomes (aneuplody) of normal chromosome sets (I forget which ones she said... but it doesn't matter) which is absolutely FATAL (in higher animals) except for X, 13,18 and/or 21, all of which lead to severe retardation. Multiple extra chromosomes would result in spontaneous abortion of the fetus very early in development... long before birth.

I don't know about you all, but that jives with my genetics class. Not only should they have not been superintelligent, they shouldn't have been born! -Kymberlee

4. In Eve: in the end, when Eve 8 enters the Litchfield prison, she is handed no flashlight, whereas with Mulder and Scully the importance of the flashlight had been seriously stressed.

5. Also, it took Deep Throat to get two FBI agents into that place; so how did EVE 8 ever enter that far. from: Elias

And for that matter, didn't *anyone* notice that Sally Kendrick looked an awful lot like the prisoner she was going to see. I know they said that no one had gotten a good look at her, but we're supposed to believe that Eve 8 had been in there for the past several years with *no one* seeing what she looked like? -Kymberlee

6.When the girls and Eve are in the motel room, their drinks are in takeaway paper cups. However when Mulder later picks up the cup, it has miraculously turned to glass. Granted it may have been easier to see the green residue in a glass, but they should have corrected the earlier scene. from: Katrina McDonnell

Fire
An old flame of Mulder's tries to enlist his aid to protect a visiting Parliament member and lights a small spark of jealousy in Scully. Mulder must overcome his fear of fire to take on the hot-headed pyrokinetic serial killer.

1.When Scully is typing on the computer, this is the exact same shot they used when she was typing in 'squeeze'. Even the photos on the desk are the same. from: Angela

2.While on the phone requesting a fax of the suspect's composite drawing, Scully looks at her watch. It's the type of watch with both analog and digital display. Initially the digital display reads: "4:22:11" but the analog display reads: "5:05". THEN, five seconds later, the analog display is seen to read: "4:50." from: Luke

Beyond the Sea
After Scully's father passes away, her skepticism is tested by a prisoner on death row who claims that by using recently gained psychic powers, he can help catch a kidnapper. Without Mulder's guidance, she must decide for herself whether or not the man's visions are truth or a by-product of her grief.

1. When Scully is in her car waiting at the intersection and looks around and notices the "water falling" and the angel, there are a couple of shots of the things she sees interposed with shots of her as she notices them. In one of those shots of her (at least on the show I saw) she is reversed: her hair is suddenly parted on the wrong side, she looks up at her rear vision mirror which is now to her left (which is the correct side in Aussie cars but I think should be on her right in USA vehicles) and the car lights behind her can also be seen over her left shoulder - i.e. it now looks as though she is driving a car with the steering wheel on the right side of it not the left side as you guys have it.

2. Captain Scully is wearing an admiral's rank badge (the star on his shoulder). from: Alexander Lum

GenderBender
A series of sexually related killings confound the two agents who aren't certain if the murderer is male or female. The clues lead them to a small Amish-like community called the Kindred in Massachusetts who are more puzzling than the serial killer.

1. Why are the Kindred hanging out their laundry and chopping wood when it's raining outside? Didn't Mulder and Scully find THAT a bit weird?

2. After the part where the head Kindred woman tells Mulder and Scully "I asked you not to interfere," Mulder leads Scully away. From one camera angle, he is leading her away by the hand. In the same scene, but from a different camera angle, he has his arm around her. When we go back to the first camera angle, he is once again leading her away by the hand. from: Rhea Merana

Lazarus
During a trap set for a bank robber, a fellow agent and friend of Scully's is shot by the criminal, whom Scully shoots in turn. While the agent is brought back from apparent death, he takes on the persona of the dead criminal whom he has chased for nearly a year. Scully sticks with him during his "trauma," but Mulder believes that he is not who he is.

1. The Kidnappers use Scully's Cellular phone and Mulder says they can't trace it.

Wrong. :) They can easily triangulate the call fairly quickly. The NSA maybe but not the FBI agents. I mean have you ever tried fox hunting :-) someone ?? Maybe if they were on the phone for a few hours you could send the agents out with a scanner type device, plus you need the frequency its operating on.. I wasn't too into tech babble but its not that simple. Plus the signal is oh.. however the signal is relayed though those towers so maybe the phone company could tell you where it traveled though(the signal) but I find it unlikely...

We now *know* this isn't true since that's how Cancer Man finds Mulder in "Anasazi". -Kymberlee

2. When Scully is trying to convince Jack to be Jack and not Dupree, she reminds him of his birthday - Feb 23, 1957. Then, when she is looking at the "Happy 35th" watch, she says that she gave it to him 3 years ago, which would be 1991. If Jack Willis was born in 1957, he would have only been 34 in 1991, not 35. Did I do the math wrong or did anyone else notice this? -Kymberlee

3. If Jack was a diabetic then why did it take so long for him to go into a coma without insulin. I didn't keep track of the number of hours/days since he was "revived", but it was several days. And there was a brief bit of dialogue that he had passed his medical and psychological tests with flying colors. How can you pass without the results of blood and urine tests? If this was a "FBI approved" doctor who had the agent's history, wouldn't s/he have asked Jack how his diabetes was getting along which would have been a clue to the dude inhabiting Jack's body that his new body had a problem he had to deal with?

4. "Dupree" cut the fingers off his old body in order to get his wedding ring. Why did it perfectly fit his "new" body? -Kymberlee

5. At one point in the episode (when Scully is held by Jack/Dupree) she tells him he's suffering from a 'hypo'glycemae (or something, I don't know the exact word in English) because he didn't get his insulin. This is not true: he was suffering from a HYPERglycemae. If he was suffering from a 'hypo' he would have too little glucose in his blood and a dose of insulin would then probably kill him (I've had diabetes for 17 years now, so... *8) ) from: Rutger van Bergen

6. When Willis is practicing at the target range, we see eight bullet holes in a close-up of the cardboard target, including one almost on the white dot in the center of the target. Immediately after this we see Willis fire five more shots, but there are still only eight holes in the target when he retrieves it. (Was he so good he shot through the existing holes? ;) Also, when Willis signs the birthday card on top of the target, the pattern of bullet holes has changed (most noticeably, his near-bullseye is missing). from: Scott Lindsay

Young at Heart
A criminal captured by a younger, fresh-from-the-academy Fox Mulder seems to be making good on his promise of vengeance against the agent. Now an older, wiser Mulder must attempt to find this elusive stalker who may not be wiser...or older.

In the part where Mulder and Scully are in the Opera building near the end, John Barnett takes the cello girl hostage and just before Mulder shoots him. In the near full body camera shot Mulder is wearing his black ear piece (security), but when the camera goes to the close-up shot of his head and his gun he is not wearing it. from: John Donald

E.B.E.
After a downed UFO crashes near Iraqi airspace, an unmarked truck carrying its occupant is assailed in Tennessee, causing multiple UFO sightings. Drawn by the event, Mulder and Scully find themselves tracking the trailer, with the help and hindrance of Deep Throat.

1. In the scene where Mulder and Scully breach the power plant with the help of the lone gunmen, they come across an MP guarding a door. Looking closely, the MP is wearing the rank of Sergeant Major on his uniform. By the way, I am an MP myself.

2. No where in the army would a SGM be guarding a door himself. They occupy staff level positions. In fact, very rarely would you see anything above an E-6 (Staff Sergeant) doing any of the "dirty work" that the rest of us low-ranking peons do.

3. The SGM looks awfully young to be a SGM. Promotions are quite slow, especially in the MP Corps.

4. When Mulder pushes past the MP, a whole squad of MP's mysteriously appears to chase him. The SGM never used any form of communication to alert them, other to report the initial presence of the two. Even if backup responded based on the original call, only a few soldiers would have responded, not a squad. And even if the whole squad did respond, let's deal in reality. Half of them would have been out on a smoke break, they other half would have been snoozing (mentally or physically).

5. All of the MP's are in Class 'A' uniform. Although there are a few places where MP's still work in Class 'A's, they are few and far between. It would have been more believable to dress them in BDU's, with the ugly green pistol belts they make us wear, not the nice leather gear.

6. When Mulder and Scully are about to go into the truck with the "rescued" alien in it, Scully in one camera shot has her flashlight, and in the next she doesn't have it and has moved one step forward. from: John Donald

7.Scully and Mulder follow a truck which might contain some alien devices. They are stopped by a white flash and the car is stopped. As soon as the flash disappears, they can see the truck in front of them. But a detail is quite strange: the truck is facing them. We can see the front of the truck facing the front of their car as if it was driving in the opposite way. And it is highly improbable that it was the result of an alien operation because the flash shutdowns all electrical devices but doesn't turn around trucks. from: Frederic Le Garrec

8. In the scene where Mulder and Scully pull out to follow the truck, you can see something briefly in the back window. It appears to be the camera, and I think, a light or mirror. If it's a reflection of a billboard. from: Max

Shapes
The shooting of a Native American draws Mulder's attention as the murderer believed he had shot an animal of some sort. But an Indian myth and some strange evidence seem to indicate the possibility of lycanthropy, the very phenomenon which opened the very first X-File.

1. During the investigation of Joe Goodensnake's death, Mulder finds tracks in the mud - A couple human steps, and then some animal steps, all on the same track. From the description that Ish gave Mulder, and what we saw Lyle go through in the bathroom, transforming from man to beast was very painful and it took a couple of minutes. So it doesn't seem possible that when Joe Goodensnake was possessed he could go through the transformation and still continue walking a normal path. from: Karla Jameson

2. When Lyle is in the bathroom transforming into the beast, you see him tear the shower curtain with his nails... a couple minutes later, when you see his hand split open, the nails are short and dull. How did he rip the curtain? from: Terra Colwell

3. When Scully is outside the bathroom, why can he hear her say "I want to take you to the hospital" and she can't hear him when he's howling incredibly loudly? The keyhole alone should have let her hear him. from: alice

4. When Mulder and the Sheriff are talking to the old Indian man, the Sheriff turns into the light and you can apparently see very clearly his makeup line :) from: alice

5. Why couldn't Mulder call Scully on the cellular? It seems to me that this was ONLY a plot device-if he can call her from inside a boxcar buried in a CANYON really far from where she is, you would think she would be able to pick up his call from within a car (also in F. Emasculata, Mulder received a call from within his car, so it can't be that the car was blocking reception. from: alice

6. When the old Indian describes his childhood experience with the creature, he describes all the same stuff that happens later to Parker. Then he ends his description with "... but his eyes, they were still human. And they begged me to kill him." However when Parker changes into the Manitou his eyes are the FIRST thing to change!

Darkness Falls
Mulder pulls some strings to be assigned to a case involving the disappearance of 30 loggers in Washington state. They discover that the loggers, in illegally cutting down a tree, faced a punishment far worse than what the judicial system would have done. Now the two agents must try to avoid the same dark fate.

1. Spinney goes up the mountain to rescue Mulder, Scully and the Ranger. No problems with his vehicle. Then when they go down the mountain, they get a flat because those spikes are in the road. If any terrorists are in the woods, the bugs are going to get them. So, where did the spikes come from? Did the bugs set them?

Spinney probably set the spikes before the tree that released the bugs was cut down. Having set those spikes, Spinney knew were to avoid them when going up the mountain. However, he probably just forgot about the spikes in his haste to go down the mountain. from: Paul Mrozek

2. Why did Spinney get killed by the bugs when he was standing in the headlights of the car in "Darkness Falls"?

My guess is that the bugs began to swarm on his unlit side, he panicked, and left the path of the headlights. The bugs did also seem FAR more aggressive when not in an enclosed space... hmm, this might have something to do with air currents allowing pheromones to spread more freely thus promoting swarming, or perhaps the breeze would remove waste byproducts faster...

This explanation worked for me until I saw "Soft Light". If the bugs swarmed on Spiney's unlit side when he was in the headlights, then the bugs should have swarmed on *everyones'* unlit sides in the cabin or where ever else they were. Remember that they only had one light bulb left so they must have had shadows on their backs. "Soft Light" made me realize that unless they are in soft light, there would be a shadow and a dark place for them to swarm. -Kymberlee

3. Why DIDN'T they build a fire? I could believe that this might never occur to an FBI agent, but the park ranger (or the ecoterrorist, or the loggers...) certainly SHOULD have thought of fire. Perhaps they feared burning down the forest?

4. We may also want to mention strange special effects or anomalies. For example, when they are riding in the jeep down the hill it looks like there's another vehicle following them. I think this is a reflection off the camera lens and it looks pretty weird.

5. When they find the ancient felled tree, the stump that Mulder clambers up onto to investigate the growth rings has a distinctive crack at the center and the growth rings are irregular in shape. However the stump that we get a close up of has no crack and regular circular rings.

6. Is there a normal answer for the fact that in Darkness Falls somebody said that another group disappeared many years before? If they also had the insect problem, how did the insects die. It seemed that they had a lot of problems, killing them with chemicals. So why didn't the insects kill more people? And how did they get caught on a tree???

Tooms
Eugene Tooms, a mutant killer brought in by Mulder and Scully, is released based on psychiatric re-evaluation and lack of evidence. So Mulder sets out to prevent Tooms from killing for the fifth and final liver he needs, while Scully attempts to locate more definitive evidence. Both tasks made more difficult by their superiors insistence that they work by the book.

1.They made a very big deal about how Tooms lived at 66 Exeter for 60 years, coming out every 20 years to eat 5 livers and then hibernate. How did he pay the rent for those years he was hibernating? We know he didn't own the building because it was sold and turned into a mall and he wouldn't have sold his hibernating place. - Kymberlee

2.Tooms built a nest under the base of an escalator, which led to his eventual demise. Tooms was killed when the escalator was turned on, which dragged him under and apparently to his death. This would imply that the escalator was traveling DOWN, to pull him back under the escalator base. But before the episode ended, the camera shows a trail of blood traveling UP the escalator on the top side, to demonstrate that Tooms was killed. from: Jason

3. Just how long was Tooms locked up? In "Squeeze" 66 Exeter Street was shown as a derelict condemned building. In "Tooms" it's this shiny new shopping mall. I don't know much about the building trade but wouldn't it take longer than the seemingly few months Eugene was locked up to build something like that? from: Sally-Ann

Born Again
A little girl is tied to the deaths of two Buffalo policemen, but the possibility that she is the murderer is ludicrous. So Mulder and Scully begin an investigation of the eight year old, turning up evidence that may help to solve a nine year old murder case. A case Mulder believes was the death of the girl's past life.

1. Why did Mulder, a trained psychologist, and another psychologist confuse Multiple Personality Syndrome with Schizophrenia?

2. When Michelle is working with Mulder and the computer guy (Harry) on the computerized mugshot of the man Michelle saw in the room when Barballa was killed Mulder asks her about the guy's hair. Mulder asks if it's dark like his or lighter like Michelle's. Michelle says it's like hers, which was blond. Harry then gives the picture DARK hair and no one corrects him. -Kymberlee

3. How do M&S get to Buffalo so soon after the guy went out the window? They're still taking pictures and examining the scene when M&S get there. The female cop (name?) had to call the FBI, someone had to assign them the case... Even if she asked for them specifically, this would still take time. That's not even including travel time. from: Lisa

Roland
A mentally handicapped janitor seems to be the only suspect in the murders of two members of a propulsion research team. Yet the evidence of advanced theoretical work seems to eliminate the possibility, until Mulder and Scully uncover his relationship to a scientist whose brain has been cryogenically preserved.

1. Can a human being really hold onto a grill by the fingertips for as long as a few seconds in a thousand-mile-an-hour wind?

Yes, if he is a mountain climber or has performed any like sport his finger strength is incredibly high! Watch the 'free form' mountain climbers do their stuff. from: Michael Bird

2. What went through several of our minds here at a Chemical Engineering department (fluid flows), was why, oh why, did a fluid mechanist (sp?) run to stand in front of the fan as it started up. If he was a half decent scientist, he would have known to stand in the corner to one side of the fan (there was a space there), out of the direct line of the wind, and in an area of 'stagnant flow'. The wind will be at its maximum where he stands, but the flow will be at a minimum (and quite possibly fairly calm) to one side. from: Simon Beale

Erlenmeyer Flask
When Deep Throat points out a news story about a fugitive who apparently drowned, Mulder and Scully cannot see what makes it special. But with his insistence, they discover evidence of secret government experimentation with extraterrestrial DNA. However, the evidence and everyone who has seen it is quickly being eliminated.

1. Did anyone do a freeze-frame on the sign glimpsed briefly during the opening car chase of The Erlenmeyer Flask? It says: "Vancouver Drydock Company Ltd." Oops! And then there was the CN (Canadian National) engine pulling the train, also seen during the chase...

I suppose the train could have been transporting goods from Canada into the U.S. using their own engines.

Since I live in the Burlington of Burlington-Northern Railroads, I called down the rail yard to check on this. According to the nice man who answered the phone, CN engines almost never come down to the U.S. So it is unlikely that the above is the case.

2. Before Scully handed over the alien fetus, why didn't she take a tissue sample for further use. Those two never seem to have good solid evidence, and Scully let good solid evidence pass by. from: Nathan Morris

3. "Erlenmeyer Flask." Why the heck would Scully try to pet an animal that was clearly a research subject? I can't imagine anyone in the medical or scientific community doing such a thing (well, maybe in your *own* lab, but not somewhere else, where you wouldn't have all the details of the research and the condition of the animal. Or know him/her personally). from: Ann

Season 2

Little Green Men
Long after the shutdown of the X-Files division, Mulder finds his own belief in the truth waning. So when an old friend gives him a new reason to believe, he goes alone to an abandoned SETI program site in Puerto Rico. Concerned, Scully tries to contact him before someone else does.

1. This is really major - in the pilot, Mulder tells Scully that he and his sister were in bed when Sam was abducted. In LGM they were both wide awake and arguing in the living room. It would seem to me, that if the whole show is based on one man's obsession, they should keep the cause of that obsession consistent. - Kymberlee

2. That was not the Miami Int'l airport. 20 cent phones?? Give me a break! I am pretty sure that it was Vancouver, B.C. Airport.

Or perhaps, not an airport at all, but a sound stage in Vancouver, and the phone was an old prop. :-) After all, 20 cents in Vancouver is even less than 20 cents in the USA

I think the _better_ reason for commenting that it couldn't be Miami Int'l is that Scully was wearing her trench coat (which was, of course, because she was pregnant). from: Jeff

3. I am from Puerto Rico, and have visited the Radio Telescope at Arecibo many times. It is not closed-up as depicted in the episode, but a vibrant research facility with many research projects going on. They even have a Home Page in the WWW. from: Rachel Hull

4. If the fence surrounding the observatory was locked so that Mulder had to climb the fence to get in, how did Scully get her truck in to park it outside so it would be conveniently waiting for their getaway? Did she run down the fence, or what? I know she was anxious to get to Mulder, but geez. from: Kathleen Jenkins

5. Radio transmissions with a wide bandwidth does not mean that the source is close by. It means that the transmission is covering a lot of frequencies. Radio transmissions with a narrow bandwidth does not mean that the source is far away. It means that the transmission is covering a small range of frequencies.

Distance has nothing to do with this! Granted it would be easier to pick up a 100 watt signal than a 1 watt signal, but that also depends on the type of antenna used to pick up the signal(s) in question. from: Barney O'Borg

6. When Scully is trying to find out what happened to Mulder she types in his computer password as 'trustno1' This has 8 digits, but I'm sure I can make out 9 key presses AND a 'return'. from: Mark Ottow.

7. In the beginning, Mulder cuts open the chain that keeps the door locked to the interior of the lab. The Hispanic guy is in the bathroom already, with no windows in sight. So how did he get there? (an explanation has been offered that aliens placed him, there, however I would think that after time trapped in a locked building w/o food he would be weak, sick or dead.) from: Jon

8. Scenery slip up: There's a lot of pines and evergreens in Puerto Rico these days... :) from: the Weasel

9. According to the looks of Mulder's printer, he has an ink jet, but the sound effects are that of a laser writer. from: the Weasel

10. In the "Miami" airport, someone (I think it is Scully, but I am not sure) is sitting down reading a newspaper. On the front page, it has the name of a Miami newspaper. However, when the back page is shown, it is unmistakably the Toronto Globe and Mail. from: Geoffrey Funnell

11. Why did Mulder make his pathology-like observations ("no burns, no puncture wounds...") while the man was fully clothed? I know he said he's not an actual pathologist, but isn't couldn't it be possible for aliens to burn the skin, but not the clothes? from: Lisa

The Host
A man's decomposed body is found in the sewers of Newark, NJ and Mulder is given this supposedly routine murder case. But after Scully's autopsy turns up a parasite living inside the body and a sewer worker is attacked and bitten by something, it opens up a whole new can of worms.

1. Scully is quoting to Mulder from a book all about flukes (Trematodes). However, the stuff she is quoting is wrong! She states that flukes or flatworms have a scolex with hooks and suckers. I'm sorry, that is the distinguishing characteristic of cestodes (tapeworms to you uninitiated). Trematodes have no scolex and definitely NO hooks. from: Jo Holloway

2. A&A Anderson Tank doesn't exist in Newark. BUT, it does exist with the same phone number in Vancouver. That's a long drive to pick up a load of cra*. from: the Weasel

3. The impellers in sewage-sucker-trucks chop their load into little itty bitty pieces, which should have chopped up Mr. FlukeMan. from: the Weasel

4. They try to depict Newark. My father is an Officer of their P.D. And he laughed at the lame attempt at the uniforms and cars. They could have sent for pictures. Also, Newark does not have that many trees anywhere

Blood
A recent rash of killings in the small town of Franklin, PA brings Mulder to profile the murderers. A task made more difficult by the fact that none of them had any previous history of violence and all died at the end of their berserker rages. The only clues he has is some destroyed electronics and an unknown organic substance.

1. After the woman kills the mechanic, Mulder and Co. are going over the crime scene. Mulder takes the clipboard off the wall to examine it. Like a good agent, he's wearing white rubber gloves. But when he runs his finger down the page, his right hand is bare! And the very next line is a Mulderism -- he goes to shake hands and says, "Pardon my rubber." from: Constantine Rye

2. Franklin Community College somehow had the tower at the University of British Columbia taken down and then reassembled at Franklin for the shooting scene! from: the Weasel

Sleepless
An audio cassette hidden in his morning paper brings Mulder to request the case of a scientist's death consistent with burning, despite the lack of any evidence of any flames or burns. He is given his request...along with a new partner. But together they must find the murderer before the case can be laid to rest.

We see Scully at the beginning, teaching a class around a corpse. We see her students taking down notes...now correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that when we get a shot of one of the student's notebooks, we see that the pages are totally blank. from: Rhea Merena

Duane Barry
An ex-FBI agent escapes from a mental hospital and holds several people hostage in a travel agency. Mulder and Krycek are sent in to help with the negotiations since the man claims to have been a UFO abductee. Part one of two.

1. Duane forgot 'RESOLUTION' when listing off FBI strategy. Maybe he didn't plan on resolving the situation? from: the Weasel

2. Duane couldn't tell that one of the EMTs was Mulder from the phone? from: the Weasel

3. Duane Barry walks away from Mulder to doc, saying 'I'm tired of all the B.S.!!', but you can see his lips say the word 'bullshit!'. Must have been too harsh in the editing room, but you really can make out his REAL word!! from: the Weasel

4. A scanner at the supermarket wouldn't read out an alien code. It would get to the end of the digits used in UPC codes then hit an error. Besides, something microns wide can't be read by those systems. Also there's the question of compatibility across systems that would make this scene improbable. It's like trying to read a diskette with a CD player... unless the supermarkets are run by aliens... from: the Weasel

5. Duane lived in Pulaski, VA. After his alleged abduction, he was sent to a mental health hospital in Marion, VA. There he kidnaps a doctor and drives into downtown Richmond, VA, and holds several workers in travel agency hostage. It's a 5+ hour drive from Marion to Richmond. Wouldn't the VA State Police have been able to somehow set up roadblocks to stop him somewhere? Even though he's former FBI, I doubt he could be that good. from: Jeff Crigger

6. How come Duane Barry was talking with the police (or Mulder) on a SANYO cordless phone when there wasn't electricity?!? [I have the same phone, and believe me, it shouldn't be working.] from: Jonathan Amiran

Ascension
Returning home to find the phone message left by Scully, Mulder immediately sets off to locate Duane Barry, but is unable to make any headway until a police video from a traffic violation yields a clue which lifts his spirits. Part two of two.

1. In the "Ascension" scene with Scully on the table and the infamous unexplained "stomach pump," it starts out just metal on flesh; when we cut away and return, there's all kinds of medical tape/gauze on her midsection where the pump is connected... from: Dan Amrich

2. In "Ascension" Duane Berry takes Scully to the mountain, yes it is in Virginia or W. Virginia. The mountain is most likely a ski resort, it has to be since trams are very expensive (and are used only for very long high altitude rides) and I doubt there is one in operation east of the Rockies, so the place should get a reasonable amount of snow, so where is it? from: Dave

3. Unless I read my atlas wrong, Rt. 229 does NOT lead to the Blue Ridge Pkwy. It does lead to Rt. 211, which does go to the BRP. from: Lisa

4. Again, my map reading ability may be lacking, but Rt. 229 doesn't appear to be anywhere near the town where the cop was shot. from: Lisa

5. In the hallway scene with Mr. X the time is given as 11:45 am. Why is it so dark? Mood lighting? from: Lisa

6. In the very next scene, in Skinner's office, the time is given as 8:11 am. No date change was given, and everyone is dressed the same. Is it supposed to be 21 hrs later, or was that wrong?

3
Despite Scully's absence, Mulder finds the strength to continue his work on the recently reopened X-Files. When he recognizes a Los Angeles killing as the work of the Trinity murderers, a trio of killers with a fetish for drinking blood, it gives him work in which to immerse himself.

1. If the sun is creeping towards John, then the sun's SETTING, not RISING.

2. Have you ever noticed that the blue dumpsters in the alleys says BEL instead of BFI? BFI is of course a major waste removal contractor. BEL is a demon-god of the Old Testament. I'm sure they chose the letters because they were close enough to BFI to look real, but not a copyright violation. I'm also sure they chose them for what they spelled. The first time I noticed this was during the vampire episode. How appropriate! from: Paul Rydeen

One Breath
Scully mysteriously appears in a Washington D.C. hospital, kept alive almost entirely by machines. Frustrated by his inability to help her, Mulder drives himself crazy trying to find the people responsible. Though his quest for vengeance could make him exactly like those whom he despises.

1. In the episode "One Breath", Mulder signs the sheet for Scully while she is in a Coma and the signature is different to the one on his F.B.I. card in the credits.

2.How come the doctors didn't notice the large hole in her belly? Or notice the branched DNA?

3. Mulder's Laser Printer has the 'Hewlett Packard' portion of the name taped over. Only LaserJet 4 can be seen.

Fire Walker
A malfunction in a robot designed for volcanic exploration yields evidence of a life form living in the caves. When this life form seemingly causes the death of a member of the research team, Mulder and Scully are flown out to the site to investigate before anyone else dies.

1. The scientists are exposed to a silicon-based, fungus like parasite that is completely undetectable until it bursts out of their neck to spread spores There are several problems with the science in this. First, the fungi grow from nearly weightless spores to fungi that are about 9 inches in length and must weigh about a pound. They are silicon based, but there is nearly no silicon in the human body. The scientists would have had to be munching on beer bottles to get enough silicon in their bodies. from: Joe Gottman

2. The fungi were extremely efficient parasites, so they must have evolved as parasites. But, since the scientists were the first humans to visit the volcano, there must have been natural hosts that the parasites evolved to infect. There was no sign of any such hosts: the only silicon life form that was found was the parasite. from: Joe Gottman

3. To an organism that lives in the enormous heat of a volcano, the human body would seem rather cold at just 98.6 degrees. from: Joe Gottman

4. The parasites burst out the neck. The human neck is extremely crowded already, containing the spine, windpipe, esophagus, and major arteries and veins. I doubt there was enough room in the neck for the parasite to live without putting major pressure on one of these organs, enough to cause obvious physical symptoms from: Joe Gottman

5. When O'Neil dies, didn't you all see the puff of spores come flying out of the crack in the door? If it only takes one spore to infect someone, I think that at least one would have gotten into Scully. from: the Weasel

Red Museum
Several Wisconsin teens are found wandering outside in their underwear with "He is one" scrawled on their backs. Mulder and Scully travel to investigate this aberrant behavior, though the strangest thing in this meat-producing area is a cult of vegetarian "walk-ins."

1. I don't know of a camcorder that can film through a peephole. I'd buy double-sided glass, but the back was BROWN PAINT!) from: the Weasel

2. When Mulder and Scully are eating dinner at Clay's rib place (or wherever it was) Mulder goes outside to see what the kids are yelling at. He removes his napkin once, then again as he's walking along. from: Angela

Excelsius Dei
Mulder and Scully's latest case begins with the rape and battery of a nurse in a Massachusetts convalescent home. What makes it an X-File is her claim that her attacker was invisible. But upon their arrival, they discover that the unrest is not limited only to the live-in residents.

1. The Episode aired on Friday December 16, 1994 was titled "EXCELSIUS DEI" but on the show the name on the metal gate at the entrance said "EXCLESIS DEI". Which is the correct spelling?

2. The doctor tells Scully and Mulder that he has been experimenting on the Alzheimer's patients with a drug called Deprenyl. So far, so good. There is such a drug, and it has been studied as a possible treatment for Alzheimer's due to it's memory, intelligence, and mood elevating effects. The doctor also tells Dana and Fox that the drug increases acetylcholine levels. Acetylcholine is a chemical which acts as a neurotransmitter (it carries messages between nerve cells). There is another chemical in the brain called dopamine which also acts as a neurotransmitter. Here is where the show is in error: Deprenyl primarily effects dopamine levels in the nervous system, not acetylcholine. Scully does some research and later in the show announces that the doctor is right, and that elevated acetylcholine levels can cause psychosis. That may be true (at very high levels), but Deprenyl doesn't influence acetylcholine metabolism, as the writers of the episode apparently believe. I suspect one of them read a book on smart drugs, got mixed up on some of the terminology, and didn't bother to refer back to the source to get the facts straight. from: Bill Cobb

3. When the bathroom was filling up with water, quite a few people thought that shooting a few holes in the door would have solved the problem but there is a far better solution. Break the bathroom window ! When Mulder and Scully leave the bathroom after viewing Hal Arden's 'plumbing', the light from a large window can be seen on the wall. Wouldn't the window break under the pressure of water anyway ? Those outside should have grabbed a fire ax, or something. Water had only just started to come through the bottom door sill when Scully ran off to turn off the water at the mains. A bathroom of that size, even allowing for some space above the top of the door, would hold tons of water. Wouldn't the bathroom floor have collapsed under the weight into the basement?. from: Scrooge

4. Gung refers to his "prefecture", which is the name for a district in China, but is eventually repatriated to Malaysia where there are no prefectures. from: Scrooge

Aubrey
In a dream, a policewoman experiences the memory of a serial killing and unearths the body of the FBI agent sent to investigate it nearly 50 years ago. When the serial killer strikes again, Mulder and Scully work with the detective to determine the killer's identity.

1. (I suppose this could fit in a number of episodes, but it was brought to my attention in the context of this one - K.) Mulder and Scully are in a car going somewhere, trying to get there as fast as they can. Mulder is driving and Scully is riding shotgun. They pull over to the right side of the road, and the place that they are going is located on the right side of the road. As soon as Mulder stops, Scully is out of the car and headed for the house... But Mulder gets there first! I don't understand how he can put the car in park, kill the engine, unbuckle his seatbelt, get out of the car, go around the car, and still make it to the house before her. from: Karla Jameson

2. When BJ is digging for the body down in the cellar, we see Mulder and Scully come down the stairs. Watch closely and you'll notice that Scully trips over down the stairs and Mulder grabs her to steady her. from: Angela

3. In the beginning, when Mulder and Scully are in the office talking, Scully is reading a file. Several times, she flips the page over, but when we see her from Mulder's point of view, the page is not overturned. from: Angela

4. If the body was that close to the surface, why hadn't it been discovered sooner? from: Lisa

5. Tillman tells Mulder and Scully about the recent murder and states that only two other people know about the 'sister' markings. A detective arrives (not knowing what they have been talking about) and says "Excuse me sir, there's been another one". Another what ? Another 50 year old body ? In context with what has been said is OK but otherwise it is somewhat contrived. No it's not OK. We're supposed to think that this detective just arrived from, or from talking to someone at the pool where the body was found. Ergo, they know it's not a 50 year old body. Unless that detective was the same one Tillman refers to when he says that the three people who know about the first body were him, the coroner and "one of his men", then that man's statement would indicate a leak in the department, or a slip-up by the writers. - Kymberlee Why didn't Scully and Mulder call Mrs. Thibideaux and warn her not to be home when they "discovered" that B.J. had become Cokely? It would have been a lot faster than driving over there. from: Scrooge

Irresistible
A female corpse, dug-up and mutilated, is brought to Mulder's attention by a Minnesota agent claiming it as the work of aliens. Mulder believes otherwise and is vindicated when a similarly mutilated prostitute is found. Meanwhile Scully has to deal with how this case seems to be affecting her.

1. In the scene where the killer drives around the city of Minnesota looking for a prostitute, there was a bus driving pass in the background with the sign "UBC". I think the sign stands for "University of British Columbia" in Vancouver.

2. In "Irresistible", when Donny's cruising down the street, we have a view of the street with some cars and a bus running down it. The problem is, the destination sign (for lack of a better term) on the bus says UBC, which is the University of British Columbia in Vancouver!

3. How did Mulder and Bocks know that it was Donny Pfaster who ran Scully off the road? I mean, Minneapolis is a big place. Anybody could have run her off the road from: Rhea Merana

4. OK, so they don't depresurize the cargo holds (as I suspected earlier) because pets frequently ride in there. If *that's* the case, then wouldn't they have to keep the hold relatively warm? Wouldn't that start decomposition? What did they do? Ship the prostitute in a cooler? - Kymberlee

5. In Irresistible have you noticed Ray Soams grave (from Pilot) in the grave yard at the beginning? from: Graham

6. At the beginning, Mulder, Scully and Bocks are looking over an unearthed grave in the rain. Wouldn't they have needed to have the grave covered to keep any evidence from washing away? from: Scrooge

7. We never see that Pfaster has a gun - his murder was committed with a knife. So WHY didn't Scully shoot Pfaster when he ran her off the road to avoid being kidnapped? Didn't the FBI teach her any self-preservation techniques? from: Scrooge

8. Scully pushed Pfaster backwards into the bath tub and he is soaked from the waist down - his left arm is soaked to the elbow. In the next shot he is dry! from: Scrooge

Die Hand, Die Verletz
Some teenagers' feign an occult ritual in an attempt to score and inadvertently cause the murder of one of their group. When Mulder and Scully are called to look into the matter, the town's real worshippers attempt to hide their tracks though they fear that the boys' attempt to "get some," got them more than they thought.

1. The Coriolis Effect is subject to many myths. One is that it causes water to flow down a drain clockwise. In all actuality it causes certain systems, for example, low pressure systems, to rotate counterclockwise. It does not, however, have a great effect on systems smaller than say, a hurricane. This is why 80% of tornadoes rotate counterclockwise, just like hurricanes, but 20% of tornadoes... rotate clockwise.

2. When Shannon dies after slitting her wrists from Ms. Paddock's demonic suggestion, Paddock says that she ran in when she heard the girl fall off the stool. From my experience working with attempted suicides, to actually die from slitting one's wrists takes a while, even after she would have passed out and fallen off the stool. Plus, unless she had practically cut her hands off, the wounds would have started to clot over before she actually died...which is why suicides who really want to go out this way submerse their wounds in water (i.e. a bath), to prevent clotting.

That's true, and it's double-true as she cut her wrists in a 90 degrees angle to her under arm. That's the wrong way to do it any way you want to, as cutting your wrists in the length of the arms makes the wound a lot larger and so more probable lethal. If she would have done it that way, it might even be that she WOULD have died without water... from: Rutger van Bergen

3. How did the python managed to get Ausbury's hand out of the handcuffs when it swallowed him? As far as I know, pythons have no teeth to chew their prey - they just swallow it in *one* piece. Anyway - the handcuffs still looked o.k. afterwards, they were even still locked, and there was no blood on the floor or on the handcuffs (which would have been there, if the python had ripped off Ausbury's hand). from: Antje Reinecke

4. I am a biology major at S.U.U. and I remember laughing at a line of Scully's. She either said frog fall then the family Bufonidae, or toad fall and the family Ranidae. Toads are from the family Bufonidae, and frogs from the family Ranidae. I also believe that most documented cases of such falls are usually toads. from: Mary Israel

5. Pythons only grow to 12 feet at best, with a head the size of your hand (fingers extended). How could such an animal eat a full grown man, who is in one piece? Even though snakes can dislocate their jaws, a snake that size would have to have so much extra skin around its mouth that it would look like a basset hound. Also, we see the snake starting at his feet - snakes eat their prey head first. from: Scrooge

I suppose the last could be attributed to the fact that the "snake" was really Mrs. Paddock and maybe she didn't know this about snakes. -K. (Whose 8th grade science teacher was named Mrs. Paddock...very creepy :)

6. When Mulder & Scully are in the basement of the teacher's house, Mulder was holding the flashlight pointed at Scully, yet he jerked his head, like "come here"? If his flashlight was in her eyes, there was no way is she going to see him move his head. She'd be lucky to see his shadow, since it was supposed to be pitch black......no power..

7. Mulder & Scully broke the law when they looked to see who checked out the witchcraft book from the library. Patron records (who checked out what) are confidential and you need a warrant to look at them. (If this seems silly to you, picture a fundamentalist group who wants to remove a book on homosexuality from a high school library demanding to know which students have checked it out - or, from another era, the government demanding to know who checked out the Communist Manifesto from the public library. Information is powerful stuff, and yes, I am a librarian.) I suppose they could have gotten one, or the local police did, but I think it more likely that they never even considered or thought about this issue. from: Scrooge

8. After finding Shannon's step-father, why weren't our fearless agents concerned about the location of a missing ferocious man-eating python? from: Scrooge

9. Why would Mrs. Paddock feed an embalmed pig embryo to the snake? Snakes only eat live prey and would want nothing to do with one that smelled like formaldehyde. from: Scrooge

Colony
A newspaper ad placed to locate a certain doctor sets off the murder of several people with the same face. When Scully and Mulder locate another look-alike, they work to find him before the killer does. Coming to Mulder's aid is another familiar face, but one he wasn't expecting. Part one of two.

1. OK, as was pointed out by several people, Scully couldn't call Mulder's cellular because it was destroyed when he was hit by the car. BUT, why didn't Mulder call SCULLY on *her* cellular when he reached her machine? - Kymberlee

Chris Carter was asked this same question at the Pasadena X-Files convention; the man couldn't find an answer. from: Rhea Merana

2. Scully gets on the bus for Germantown alone (she is the only one getting on at that stop) But when she sits down and finally calls Mulder to tell him what she is doing, the Alien is *already* on her bus. How did he know what bus she'd be on? - Kymberlee

3. Sorry, Wrong Number: Scully dials 1225, not 1236 to check the v-mail. Also, they take off after the 1st message, not bothering with the rest.

4. Mulder brings in the report for Skinner, but walks right out still holding the thing! from: the Weasel

5. Wrong Messages: While Mulder's away, here are the different messages... 1) Hi, this is Fox Mulder. Please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. 2) Hello this is Fox Mulder, leave a message please. from: the Weasel

6. In the beginning, Mulder is wearing an oxygen mask when he's in the tub. Scully comes in and talks to the doctor and we can see Mulder in the background - no oxygen mask. When we see him again in the next shoot, the mask is back on.

7. "Samantha" and "Gregor" enter the apartment and take off their coats. Gregor hears a door slam and looks out the window to see our heroes getting out of the car and coming to their building. Exactly five seconds pass as Gregor looks up at Samantha and she hides -- and the doorbell rings! How did they and "Agent Chapel" get up to the second floor so fast -- transporter? from: Constantine Rye

End Game
1. In the episode End Game the day after Samantha fell in the river, the people drag the body out of the lake. Soon Scully is called over to look at the body because it's deteriorating notice the fumes don't bother her. In "Colony" the police guy was killed from the fumes after shooting the clone guy, and it effected Mulder at the end. Wouldn't it also effect Scully?

2. Scully uses the X sign in Mulder's window to get Mr. X to call because she wants to know where Mulder is. Mr. X turns up and won't speak to her, presumably because he was expecting Mulder. Yet the whole point is that he already knows where Mulder is, so why did he turn up in the first place? (Apart from to make an excellent scene with Skinner). from: keV

Fearful Symmetry
The death of a federal construction worker and the destruction of various property can only be tied to an escaped elephant. Yet the witnesses claim to have seen no animals which might have caused the turmoil. So, Mulder and Scully check out the local zoo whose claim to fame is that they've never had a successful animal birth.

1. Sophie's signing was pretty bad. I don't expect a gorilla to be as clear as a person, but when Willa said that Sophie said, "Baby / go flying / light", it looked more like "Baby / finish / light" or something. I didn't see the sign for "flying" or anything like it from her. I don't think we're supposed to believe that Willa was making up what Sophie said - because only people who sign would know that. Also later in the show Mulder shows Willa what Sophie said before disappearing. I read his signing as "he / god / help / he / god". I couldn't read Sophie's signing through the "transporter" effect. I can see how "he/god" might look like man, but the sign in the middle was clearly "help" not "save". - Kymberlee

2. Wouldn't the animals have to be taken twice in order for the aliens to achieve what they wanted? Once to artificially inseminate them and then again to "harvest" the embryo. I admit to having a limited base of knowledge on animal reproduction, but I doubt there would be enough evidence of a pregnancy only a few hours after the insemination, for a doctor trained in human physiology to detect. If that is the case, then why didn't the aliens have problems returning them the first time? New transporter operator? :) -Kymberlee

3. Why is it that all of the kidnapped animals were returned "2 miles southwest" (or whatever) from the zoo - EXCEPT- the tiger who just happened to be returned inside the zoo while that W.A.O. guy was prowling around. It THEN left the zoo grounds. How did it get outside of the zoo gates? -Kymberlee

I have a problem with the whole teleporting/cloaked animal concept; that and Mulder's "...astrological variation..." *shudder*. The idea of the animals returning at least WEST of the zoo has merit if we assume that the abductors are in a craft that _is not_ moving in respect to the rotation of the Earth -- in which case, the craft would be traveling a relative speed (to a ground observer) of around 600 mph to the WEST. I calculated out that the aliens would a) transport the critter to the craft, b) remove the critter baby, c) and return the critter in 12 seconds -- but the animal should be returned to a point WEST, not southwest, of the zoo. There might be some slight variation due to the axial tilt of the Earth, but the animals should all return to a point WEST of the zoo.

Now, it would be easier if a) the aliens do a preliminary teleport to get the animals outside of their cages (say metal mucks up their teleporter), b) they suspend the animal in a teleport beam and extract the animal baby via the teleporter (similar to the biofilter in Star Trek), and then c) beam the animal back -- this process would take a shorter time than to physically remove the baby...unless the aliens can change the flow of time around their craft which would render the above observations moot!

However, an animal slightly out of sync with our time would appear to be invisible... from: Barney O'Borg

Yes, but if they are out of sync with our time and invisible, how could they hurt someone? If their physical mass isn't "with us" enough for light to bounce off of it, how can is bounce a person or a car across the street? -Kymberlee

4. If Willa hits the tiger with the dart gun, the cat won't be brought down for another few minutes at LEAST. So walking in there by herself was a really stupid move, especially for a Zoo Keeper. from: the Weasel

5. At one point, Mulder is explaining why the animals reappear some distance from the zoo, and says something about the aliens not having the *astrological* coordinates right. If Mulder doesn't know the difference between astrology and astronomy, how can anyone take his alien theories seriously? from: Scrooge

Dod Kalm
The last known position of the U.S.S. Argent was in the Norwegian equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle until a boatload of survivors is found. What particularly catches Mulder's inquisitive eye is that all of these sailors appear to have aged many decades in the course of days.

1. If my understanding of free-radicals is correct, eliminating them (or killing them or whatever) *would* stop the forward process of aging, but HOW did they reverse it at the end of the show? -Kymberlee

A lot of Oil of Olay? :) Alpha Hydrox compound? :) Release the Chicago 7! (then they'd be free radicals, right? :) Barney O'Borg (Not that he's serious, but I found this too funny to pass up K.)

2. If Mulder's dehydration, due to his sea sickness, contributes to his aging to the point where even untainted water won't help him, why would drinking alcohol, something that can seriously dehydrate you, extend the life of the captain. It can't be that he didn't drink the water, since he was obviously exposed to the agent. from: Gary Villa

3. The Ship they were on was not an American warship, it was Canadian. HMCS MacKenzie as near as I can tell. I'm in the Canadian Navy and served on a vessel very similar. This really bothered me seeing a Canadian vessel being done up to look American. from: Dave Winter

4.They've just shown the Dod Kalm episode here in Norway. And well, the spoken Norwegian left a great deal to be desired. Why cast a Russian as a Norwegian? When Henry Trondheim interrogates Halvorsen supposedly in Norwegian, I couldn't even tell what they were saying until I read the Norwegian subtitles (which covered the English ones on-screen)! And in any case, the guy playing Trondheim was easier to understand than the Russian. from: Cristina

5. The ship is decrepit, the engine is unrecognizable, everything is covered with residue and people turn into salt. So tell me this: Where can I buy one of those amazing flashlights? They don't corrode, decay or run out of power. from: Greg Barnes

6. Near the start, Mulder is looking at a map and talking about the disappearances of several boats. He says that one of these boats left Leeds, and he points at the UK as he does this. Leeds (UK) is quite a way inland and as far as I know does not have any ports! from: danny nicholson

Humbug
Mulder and Scully must find the paranormal among the abnormal when they are sent to investigate a long standing series of ritualistic killings which match no known patterns. The latest of which was the death of the "alligator man," just one of many sideshow acts around which the town of Gibsontown, FA is built.

Scully pretends to eat a bug. She takes the bug with her right hand but when she shows Mulder the bug it is in her left hand. from: Melanie Oh

The Calusari
A photograph taken just prior to the death of a two year old boy yields evidence of some supernatural intervention which piques Mulder's curiosity. When another death in the family occurs, the grandmother of the remaining child requests the aid of some Romanian ritualists in order to cleanse the home of evil.

1. In the scene at the amusement park, Charlie's dad has two ice cream cones in his left hand. One has two scoops on it, the other has one. He begins to hand the one with two scoops to Charlie. The camera then cuts to a different angle, from Charlie's perspective, and (*whoops!*) Charlie takes the ONE-SCOOP cone from his Dad's hand! from: the Weasel

2. When Charlie is questioned by Karen Kosseff the FBI social worker, they sit in a kind of playschool. We first see a big yellow toy fish "facing" the door. Then we see Mulder and Co. behind the two-way mirror. Then we are back in the room where the big yellow fish TAIL is facing the door. Then we are back behind the mirror, where we can see through the glass the yellow fish HEAD facing the door. Later when Charlie has some sort of attack, Mulder and Scully rush into the room and we can see for the last time the yellow fish TAIL facing the door. from: Stephan Roy

F. Emasculata
Mulder and Scully find themselves sent to a penitentiary in order to participate in the retrieval of two escaped convicts. Confused as about the reason for FBI involvement, they look a little deeper and discover an highly contagious and deadly disease has infected many of the inmates, and possibly the two escapees as well.

1. Wrong Aseptic Technique Part I: Scully, smack dab in the middle of a possibly contagious and obviously deadly contagion only puts on a mask and gloves? She should KNOW she should wear a surgical suit.

2. Wrong Aseptic Technique Part II: Scully reaches out with her tweezers to pick up the bug out of the pustule on the dead prisoner, WITHOUT HER MASK ON! Then, when she looks at the bug up close, she HAS her mask on... I don't know anyone that can put on a mask one-handed that fast. from: the Weasel

3. In the episode "F.Emasculata" the guy in the jungle at the beginning finds an animal which has the pustules. The animal has a gray elephant-like hide and tusks. What was it ? There are no elephants in the rain forests of Costa Rica nor are there warthogs or wild boar. A feral pig would have hair.

4.In the beginning of F. Emasculata you can see huge beetle-like critters crawling around on the corpses of the animal and the scientist. These insects are called "Madagascar hissing cockroaches". if I'm not mistaken, the island of Madagascar is off the coast of Africa, nowhere near central America. Those little guys do NOT belong there!!!! from: wanda beers

Soft Light
An ex-student of Scully's asks Mulder and Scully to help her with her first investigation concerning a number of disappearances with very few clues. Mulder ponders the idea of spontaneous human combustion but rethinks it when they find a man who is afraid of his own shadow.

1. I didn't know black holes were subjective in what they swallow. Whenever a *person* stepped into Chester's shadow, the person and their clothes were swallowed by the "dark matter". Why didn't the moving black hole swallow other matter it contacted like the floor? What would have happened if Chester put his arm into his own shadow? -Kymberlee

2. In "Soft Light", when Mulder and Scully are chasing Chester through the trains, we see the markings on the side of one of the trains, and it's for VIA rail. As far as I know, VIA only runs in Canada!

3. Dr. Banton unscrews two burning light bulbs with his bare hands. Ouch! Try it yourself and see what happens. from: Paul Rydeen

4. When the two cops confront Banton in the alley, his strong shadow is definitely shining one way only. A cop steps on it and vaporizes. Then the other cop on the other side dies the same way. But the lighting didn't change, so how can this be? from: Paul Rydeen

5. When Banton's former partner at Polarity Magnetics tells Scully about their experiments with quarks and gluons and mesons and such, she says that nobody knows for sure whether they exist. Nobody but every physics student in the world, Dana! from: Paul Rydeen

6. In the Soft Light episode Mulder asks Detective Ryan for the name of the first victim.(Margaret Wysnecki). They then go to her house and find that she worked at a cigarette company (along with half of Richmond) and that she was at the railway station. But why did she get killed? She seems to have no connection to Chester Ray Banton, except that he killed her. Why was he at her house? from: Kathryn If I'm remembering right, she was killed just because she stepped in his shadow. I don't think he was "out to get her." What I'd like to know is how did they connect her disappearance with Banton? Maybe they said and I just need to watch the ep. again. - Kymberlee

7. After the meeting with Dr. Chris Davey, we cut to Mulder sitting in the train station trying to figure out what Dr. Benton was doing in the video. We see an overhead shot of the station, which shows a column in the far distance. Watch carefully: the shot never loses sight of the column, and you can see random passerby's walk towards the column, but NO SCULLY. As the camera moves downwards to focus on Mulder in the foreground, Scully suddenly appears from behind the column, as if she had been walking towards it all this while! Obviously, she had been standing behind the column until her cue to come out, but we're not supposed to know that! Did she beam down to behind the column from somewhere? from: stephanie)

8. In the beginning Banton walked backward and his shadow goes under the door and kills the guy. Shadows can't go under doors :-)

9. The rookie detective (Scully's friend) gets turned to a small pile of ash but at the funeral there is a coffin.

10. When Mulder and Scully are interrogating Banton he says his shadow 'changes matter into energy'. Now, assuming the average person weighs at least 70 kg, this would produce about 6 million million million Joules of energy (according to Einstein's equation E = m * c squared). I think this would produce a bit more than a faint blue glow on the ground. More likely it would blast a fairly large chunk out of the planet. from: Richard Burr

Our Town
Dudley, Arkansas is the site of the latest investigation for Mulder and Scully, who are sent to find a missing poultry inspector. The case takes a twist when another poultry worker is shot after she goes insane, giving Mulder a hunch that the townsfolk really are what they eat.

1. In the episode "Our Town", when Scully was doing the autopsy, the scene showed her looking at a slide of Paula's brain through a microscope. I know Scully didn't need a lot of Paula's brain to prepare a slide, but how did she obtain a piece of it without cutting her head open? I'm not too sure about this, but Scully also said that the disease wasn't communicable or degenerative, so how did the people in the town get it if they didn't eat the heads? (which were cut off and locked up in Mr. Chaco's cupboard) Was it in their blood or something? from: Andrew Chong

The only thing I could guess is that the disease could have been attacking the white and gray matter of the victims' brains which goes all the way down the spine. Perhaps *that* was what they ate that caused it to spread. But you are right, it wasn't explained. -Kymberlee

2. In "Our Town" the people contracted Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)(that's the correct spelling)and it showed up in the brain tissue within a matter of weeks, whereas my mother, a pathologist, claims that it takes several years for it to show up.

Anasazi

The trust that Mulder and Scully is sorely tested when Mulder begins acting strangely. His aberrant behavior is compounded when the Lone Gunmen direct him to a hacker who managed to break into some very closely guarded files. So, the Smoking Man quickly takes action while Scully investigates Mulder's abnormal behavior. Part one of two.

1. In the scene where the Lone Gunmen visit Mulder, they hear a gunshot from outside and Mulder immediately rushes out to investigate. He runs to the old woman's apartment & finds that she has shot her husband. About 10 to 15 seconds after Mulder arrives at the old woman's apartment, the police arrive at the scene. How could they get there so quickly? It's almost as if they were standing just outside the building. from: Rod Oto

I counted. It was 10 seconds. Talk about service :) - Kymberlee

2. In the scene where Scully goes to see the woman at the Offices of the Navajo Nation to try to get the file translated, there is a visual boo-boo. As Scully stands up to leave, you can see the reflection of a boom mike moving in one of the picture frames on the wall directly in front of her. from: Rod Oto

3. Here's a continuity error. Watch the end of the scene where Mulder and Scully are looking at the coded files in their office. After Mulder has his tantrum he goes to see Skinner. At this time he does not have or reach for his suit coat, but when he gets up to see Skinner he has it on. -Kymberlee

4. About Mulder's tantrums: Mulder goes nuts and decks Skinner. For that he gets hauled up in front of the FBI's version of a court martial and is threatened to be suspended without a chance for re-instatement. Wouldn't an organization like the FBI do a physical and mental exam of someone who had suddenly gone off the edge like that before invoking such extreme punishment? Wouldn't such a physical include blood and urine tests? Wouldn't those tests have detected the LSD type substance being introduced to Mulder by his tap water? It probably would have nailed his butt to the wall for doing drugs, but that's another issue. -Kymberlee

5. What happens after Scully shoots Mulder ? How does a petite woman like Scully handle an unconscious 6'1" man? She could not have gotten help from someone she could trusted, since the police were on their way. from: Martine

6. When Mulder wakes up, sometime after being shot by Scully, she states that he's been out for 36 hours. Well I thought he was pretty well shaven for a guy who's been out of commission for that long. I doubt very much that Scully or anyone else would have had the opportunity or inclination to shave him while he was unconscious. from: Martine

7. In "Anasazi" Mulder calls Scully from his father's house after he was killed. We see blood all over his hands. When he gets to Scully's place, his hands are clean. When did he have either the time or the presence of mind to wash his hands?

8. In Anasazi when the boy opens the door to the boxcar there is dirt everywhere, in all the cracks, but when the army stand on the top of the car all the dirt has been swept away, even from the door. Maybe the boy was vacuuming to pass the time. from: Kathryn

9. I think Scully says in her interview that she has worked with Mulder for a year and a half. However, the first X-File was in March '92 if I'm not mistaken. from: Ann Vanderlaan

10. Why WAS Mulder's water drugged?

11. We're now at the end of the second season and Scully's name *still* isn't on the door to the basement office. What's the deal? from: Leikin Sky

.
www.fortunecity.com

Season 3

The Blessing Way
The Smoking Man works quickly to recover the stolen computer files, but finds himself thwarted by a man whom he hope is dead. Meanwhile, Scully finds herself at a loss for her next step and turns to her family for support, since Mulder is otherwise engaged fighting for survival. Part two of three.

1. In the "Anasazi," Scully gets grazed across the forehead by a bullet intended for Mulder. We see blood. In "Blessing Way", no scar or mark of any kind. Boy, she heals fast! :) from: Raenna (or is it Ray9na? :)

2. In the helicopter scene where the soldiers get out and search Scully's car. First of all, it's a civilian helicopter. I suppose they rented it. Also, these guys are all wearing desert camouflage BDU's. I was stationed in the desert in California for 18 months and we couldn't get permission to wear them. And finally, the male soldier searches Scully while the female checks the trunk. The female should've performed the search. from: Grace

3. In both The Blessing Way & The Paper Clip, the object of everyone's search is the computer backup tape that everyone (from Mulder to the "bad" guys) refers to as a DAT (digital audio tape). Although DAT tape drives are becoming more popular for computer backup, the tape they use as a prop in the show is a DC2120 tape, the type commonly used in popular QIC-80 style drives such as the Colorado and Conner. To call such a tape a "DAT" would be like referring to an old style 8 Track tape as a Cassette. from: Stephen

4. As far as the uncopyable computer tape goes there is an easy way to copy that or any other tape. There many commercial programs as well as a ton of shareware programs for the job. They just simply tap the stream of characters going to the screen. Even if the reading program uses direct hardware access there is still an IRQ activated to acknowledge the character. So you either tap the character stream before running the program or you tap the ACK IRQ and dump it to a file. For examples look at Renju, Last resort, Dumper etc. Most computer magazines have advertisements for them if you take the time to hunt. Used for those irritating times when something doesn't save or crashes when you do. I'm sure that the files would have been worth the effort to reformat the text. from: The digit

5. If the Thinker's purpose was to distribute the information, WHY in the world did he encode his copy??? from: Simon

6. When talking about the tape containing the Secret Files, Mulder says it cannot be copied or printed. We see it can be displayed on screen, so doesn't Mulder's computer have a PrintScreen Key ? from: Christophe

The Paper Clip
Reunited, Mulder and Scully locate an old scientist from Nazi Germany, pardoned through Operation Paper Clip. The information he gives them leads to their discovery of something which could mean their deaths. Part three of three.

1. Why is it that such a big secret had an unlocked back door? I mean, if they needed the code to (or a small thermonuclear device) to get in through the front, I would think that the back door would be as guarded. As it was, it seemed that it was just a claptrap wooden door! -Kymberlee

2.In the second episode of the season Skinner claims that he was neither able to make a digital or hard copy of the encrypted data downloaded by the hacker. However, Scully and Mulder gave the Navaho code talker a copy of the file to decode. Did Scully and Mulder hand copy the entire file in code off the screen for the code taker to translate? Not likely as Mulder was still recovering. How then did Scully get a hard copy for both the woman in the office in Washington D.C. and the code talker to look at? from: Michael Ahern and Ralph Baldino

3. I believe it was "Operation Paperclip," not "Project Paperclip" like they said. from: Paul Rydeen

4.Werner von Braun was NOT a part of Paperclip - he defected before the end of the war. from: Paul Rydeen

5. If Albert knows what the file says why doesn't he just tell Mulder and Scully??? from: Ryan Bloom

6. The Well Manicured Man gives Mulder and Scully a big hint, pointing them toward the mining company in West Virginia, and even hinting at what the access code would be. He asks, "Do you know what Napier's constant is?", and Scully replies, "Yes". Too bad the editor/writer (or whoever) didn't. When the agents get to the mining company, they start entering the code "27828" as the PIN access code in the doors. They explain that Napier's constant is the base for all natural logarithms. This is true. However, Napier's constant is 2.71828..., so the 5-digit code should have been 27182, not 27828. The code they entered was wrong! from: Darren Terry

7. Mulder was shot in the shoulder (a clean entrance-exit wound), and then was in the desert for over a day! I know that Blessing Way ritual was pretty powerful, but come on! Did it really completely heal his shoulder? The next time we see Mulder, he's kicking in his door and aiming a gun at Skinner as if nothing had happened. With a .45 caliber bullet, he could easily have lost his arm... from: Darren Terry

8. If it was "impossible" to copy the code, why didn't they just camcord it off the monitor? from: Victor Lucas

9. When Mulder runs out side to see the space craft, he leaves the door open for about five camera shots of the door, but when he goes back to the door it is closed. There was no wind as we would have seen the wind effects on Mulder (hair moving).

10. At the Mine, Mulder drives a blue car similar to Scully's. But later when they escape, it is not shown how they got to the diner, later at the diner skinner takes them home in his car, looks like they just lost their car!

11. In "Conduit", the X-File on Samantha Mulder's disappearance gives her name as Samantha T. Mulder. The medical file in the mountain in "Paperclip" has her listed as Samantha Ann Mulder. from: Alex

12. In The Paper Clip Samantha's medical file is shown. Not only is the name changed but the date of her birth is as well in the Conduit it is shown as 1/22/64 and now it is 11/21/65.

D.P.O.
Mulder is skeptical over a coroner's report regarding the fifth person to be struck by lightning in a small Oklahoma town. Their investigation into the latest death seems to point to the only person to have survived a lightning strike, an emotionally-charged youth.

1. During this episode DPO shows a control over many electrical items like changing the traffic lights and restarting someone's heart. Would this not require an intimate knowledge of electrical circuitry and the amount of voltage required? Since Darren was a remedial student it is unlikely that he knew this information. from: Jonathan

2. When DPO takes the charge from the lightning in the cow field it's powerful enough to burn an imprint of his shoes into wood. How come it didn't melt the soles of his shoes?

Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
Skeptical of a famous psychic's predictions regarding the murder of several prognosticators, Mulder instead finds someone who he believes truly can predict the future. Though catching the killer could prove difficult, particularly if the murderer can also see into his future.

In his dream, CB says "lying naked in a field of red tulips", but when they show him he's wearing a t-shirt and underwear. Not that I would have liked to see CB naked, but it's inconsistent. from: Lisa

The List
A death row inmate's promise of reincarnation for the purpose of avenging the injustice of his execution begins to be fulfilled with the death of one of the Florida prison's guards. The fear of his retribution has everyone scrambling to determine if they are on the list of his five victims, including Mulder and Scully who are trying to determine how he has returned to execute his tormentors.

THIS ONE IS GRAPHIC I've seen a tape of an electrocution before and it didn't look like that. The electricity causes your eyes to pop way out and bleed from the corners. Neech (sp?) has his shut tight. They usually put a mouthguard in to keep you from biting your tongue off. It sticks way out when the electricity is turned on. Neech had his teeth gritted. These are involuntary muscle reactions caused by the electricity. Also, they don't put one electrode on each side of your head. They put one on your head and the other on your lower leg so the electricity will flow through your heart and stop it.

2shy
Meeting insecure women through an on-line service, a serial killer seduces his prey with the right words. However, Mulder and Scully determine these killings are far from ordinary by the presence of a strange substance coating the victims, a substance which seems to digest the fatty acids in flesh.

1. The agent in "2shy" got his list of possible targets by reading files off of Encanto's reformatted hard drive. This can't be. When you delete files, sometimes you can use software to undelete them. This is because the data isn't actually erased. DOS just labels these files as OK to write over if needed. However, when you reformat your hard drive, DOS erases everything on there irretrievably. All the little magnetic zeroes and ones point back to zero. There is nothing there to recover. You can't undelete what isn't there. It's just like formatting a blank disk. from: Rydeen Alley

From the "Okay, okay, you can quit telling me" department ... This is not true. The FBI has access to a device called a Hyper Sensitive Magnetic Reader (or something like that), which is more than capable of reading a reformatted hard (or floppy) drive. In fact, it's actually capable, in some instances, of reading a fire-damaged disk (believe it or not). Such a device was used to recover computer records at the Branch Dividian Compound in Waco. It's also capable of pulling up an image from a video tape once that tape has been recorded over (somehow, I guess the atoms in the magnetic media still retain an impression of the earlier data, or something).

2. The building shown (twice) as the establishing shot for Cleveland police hqs is actually the First District Police Hqs Building in Washington, D.C., just a couple blocks south/southwest of the Capitol. I recognize it because the office building right behind it in the shot (400 Virginia Avenue) is where I worked for seven years supporting the space physics division at NASA Hqs (the NASA building proper is just diagonally across the street from the police station, almost exactly where the camera must have been to take the shot). It was a kick to see my old workplace on the X-Files, even if it was mislabeled. from: Tony J. Boatright

3. In 2Shy, the goo or whatever gets stuck in the people's mouth, gave one woman chemical burns. Scully pulls the goo out of the woman's mouth and doesn't get burned. from: Jen Grady Then later Mulder and Scully touch what they say is hydrochloric acid. If a human being touched HC acid it would immediately eat through their skin. from: Jesse Dubus

4. In 2shy there are several shots of Macintosh screens, but the mice used all had three buttons - I've only seen mice with one button connected to a Mac. from: MGB.

5. When Scully is doing the autopsy she says that the date is August 29 this must be wrong since in DPO and CBFR are set in September. from: John Donald

6. When Mulder talks to the first victim's roommate she tells him about the On-line service, he then immediately calls Scully ("Can I use your phone?") and tells her that he has already called the on-line service! When did he have time to do that? from: John Donald

7. Why in the world did Ellen lock Encanto *in* her apartment (the chain lock), after showing that she was clearly nervous about having him come in that late at night? - Kymberlee

The Walk
Another failed suicide attempt by a patient in a military hospital interests Mulder with the talk of a "phantom soldier" which has prevented the man's death. The general in charge is at first opposed to the FBI's involvement until the invisible killer begins stalking him. But none believe when the primary suspect is a quadriplegic.

1. The 2 star General is wearing unit crests on his shoulder loops on the green class 'A's. According to AR (Army Reg) 670-1, general officers wear only rank on the shoulder loops. However, GO's do have freedom in modifying their uniforms, from what I understand, so...he may be in the right.

2. The female adjutant (captain) appears to be wearing infantry branch insignia on her green class 'A's. Females are not permitted to either enlist or commission into the infantry branch.

3. Everyone addresses the Lieutenant Colonel (the guy that burns himself up) as "Lieutenant Colonel". Once again, according to AR 670-1, the proper way to address a Lieutenant Colonel is "Colonel", not "LTC". Along the same lines, all generals go by "general", Private First Classes are addressed "Private" and all SGT's go by "sergeant", except first sergeants, sergeants major and command sergeants major.

4. Another MP faux pas. All MP's in this episode are wearing badges. Although AR 670-1 still provides guidance for the wearing of the MP badge, it simply is not done and rumored to be unauthorized.

5. Furthermore, since the threat to the general was elevated, not only would he have uniformed MP's guarding his quarters, he should have also been detailed plainclothes security agents.

6. When they show the exterior of the police station. Not only is it surrounded by a large amount of trees, but they label it with something like "substation B". I know if you look at a map of eastern Pennsylvania, Allentown looks pretty small in comparison to Philadelphia. But having lived in Allentown for all of my 19 years I know that the police station is in the heart of the city with no trees, not to mention that it not sectioned off alphabetically. Actually that part of the city where the station is located looks a bit like Philly. True, "it's shot in Vancouver", but you would think they would put a little effort into their exterior shots. from: Brian Lentz

Oubliette
When a young girl is kidnapped from her home, a fast food worker miles away collapse on the job, apparently experiencing exactly what the child is feeling. When Mulder learns that the woman was kidnapped and held hostage for years as a child, he begins to believe that she may be the key to help find the missing girl.

1. Mulder and Scully were talking about how Lucy had her own blood as well as the kidnapped girl's blood on her blouse. Lucy was blood group O+ and Amy is B+. Mulder claimed that 1 in 5 people have this blood type (20%). This is not true. According to the American Association of Blood Banks Technical Manual (11th Ed.) the frequency of whites having blood group B (whites being the predominant ethnicity in Easton, Washington) is only 11% in whites nationwide, and 60% of whites nationwide are Rh +. These two genes assort independently so only 6.6% of the population would be B+, a far cry from 20%. from: Collin Magennnis

2. Scully stops Mulder while doing CPR on the drowned girl after just a few seconds, which is patently WRONG.... drowning victims, and particularly cold-water drowning victims (rivers near Seattle are plenty cold, I used to live there) have been known to be revived up to 45 minutes or more after commencing CPR. Scully as an MD/pathologist/whatever should have known this, since I do (with only a ten-years-expired Red Cross first aid certification to my name). from: Robert Green

Nesei
A mail order videotape of an alien autopsy blossoms into a much more complicated investigation when Mulder and Scully find the distributor of the tape murdered in his own home apparently by a high-ranking Japanese diplomat. Following up individual leads, Scully finds herself recognized by complete strangers while Mulder tries to find out more about the origin of the video. Part one of two.

1. Near the end when the man enters the bathroom at the bus depot to kill the person, it looks like he goes into the woman's bathroom. I viewed this frame by frame and to me it looks like the stick figure on the door of the bathroom has a dress on indicating a woman's bathroom. from: Deanna & Craig

2. When Senator Richard Matheson tells Mulder about the four Japanese Nationals had been murdered, Matheson says that the murders had occurred several weeks ago in Knox (I think), TN. But when Mulder bring Scully up to speed a scene or two later, he tells her that someone must have been able to identify the four doctors who were performing the autopsy because they were murdered YESTERDAY. from: Jeannine F. Delwiche

3. The trail leads him to Allentown, PA where Scully is introduced to a quasi-U.F.O. support group. My problem with the episode is when they show the exterior of the police station. Not only is it surrounded by a large amount of trees, but they label it with something like "substation B". I know if you look at a map of eastern Pennsylvania, Allentown looks pretty small in comparison to Philadelphia. But having lived in Allentown for all of my 19 years I know that the police station is in the heart of the city with no trees, not to mention that it not sectioned off alphabetically. Actually that part of the city where the station is located looks a bit like Philly.

731
Scully takes X's advice to heart and investigates more into the implant she removed from her neck. Mulder, having ignored the advice given him, finds himself trapped on the train with a Japanese scientist and the man sent to kill him. Part two of two.

1. According to the map the Welcome Wagon gave me when I moved to the state, there IS no "Blue Earth", Iowa. -Kymberlee

2. Mulder ran the card through the door lock BACKWARDS? It would be like if you feed your bank card into the ATM slot the wrong way. If the magnetized strip isn't in contact with the scanner, there's nothing there but plastic for it to scan. from: Velvet

3. In "731," the producers took a shortcut in making up the Japanese scientist's diary. They only wrote out one page of text, then copied it over and over again to make up the rest of the book. The one page, at least, is authentic Japanese written for the production; the word "uchuu-jin," meaning "alien" (lit., "outer space-person") appears in the text.

4. Mulder's trail leads him to Allentown, PA where Scully is introduced to a quasi-U.F.O. support group. My problem with the episode is when they show the exterior of the police station. Not only is it surrounded by a large amount of trees, but they label it with something like "substation B". I know if you look at a map of eastern Pennsylvania, Allentown looks pretty small in comparison to Philadelphia. But having lived in Allentown for all of my 19 years I know that the police station is in the heart of the city with no trees, not to mention that it not sectioned off alphabetically. Actually that part of the city where the station is located looks a bit like Philly.

Revelations
A search for stigmatics turns up a young boy in Ohio whom Mulder and Scully immediate travel to protect. They feel that he may be the next choice of a fanatic who has murdered eleven people claiming to be stigmatics. But when it appears that this boy may be legitimate, Scully starts believing she was the one who was chosen.

1. Why was Kevin removed from his mother's custody so quickly after he started bleeding in school? The teacher and all the kids saw him start to bleed in front of the classroom, when he hadn't been bleeding before that. The mother was no where around, so how could they *possibly* think she caused it. It also takes a *lot* more than one questionable incident before social services will remove a child. - Kymberlee

2. Scully gives up on the autopsy of Owen because his body hasn't begun to decay in the normal fashion, and she believes that his corpse is redolent of flowers. She pitches his condition to Mulder as one ascribed to so-called "Incorruptibles" (Saints Cecelia and Francis Xavier, among others). Scully claims to have picked up this bit of Catholic lore from her catechism.

Now, if Dana Scully grew up anywhere under the purview of the Baltimore Archdiocese, her source for this would have been an infamous little blue paperback entitled "The Baltimore Catechism." (I went to Catholic schools in California, and we used it even way out there.) I have a fairly complete series of these catechisms, and I can promise you that no such mention is made in any of the editions I possess, which cover the period from 1951 through 1968.

There is a reference to the alleged incorruptibility of Saint Francis Xavier's earthly remains in "Lives of the Saints" (a work under the imprimatur of the Archbishop of New York, in my edition), but to the best of my knowledge, incorruption following death has been ascribed under Canon Law to only one individual: Jesus Christ. He and his mother Mary are proclaimed (as a matter of official doctrine) to have been assumed directly into heaven, where the both the location and incorruptibility of their physical persons becomes a matter of metaphysical speculation.

So if the big hairless dude smells like Aunt Min's perfume fourteen hours after his demise, the Roman Catholic Church has absolutely nothing official to say about his condition. from: Jim McCauley

3. Another Graphic One! Despite artistic depictions of Christ having been nailed to the cross through the palms of his hands, that's just not how people were crucified. The hands are held together by cartilage and the weight of a human would effectively pull the nail through the hand in a relatively short amount of time. That's why when people were crucified they were nailed up by the wrist, just below where the two small bones of your forearm meet. Here, we have some bones meeting in a much more solid fashion. That link can support a human's weight for three days easily. So... If the boy was truly a stigmatic and bore the marks of the crucifixion of Christ, why were the marks in the wrong place?

4. When the little boy has the stigmata, it appeared on both sides of the hands, just like the wounds of Jesus. However, in the final scenes, when the rich guy falls into the grinder, and Scully rescues the boy, you can see that the bandages are on the back of his hand. Maybe it was a new bandage, and the orientation of the hand kept the blood from the palm flowing while the bandage on the back of the hand did not soak through? from: Ronnie Chen

5. In the episode Revelations, the boys father is in an institution, presumably in Ohio; at least in the USA. Well, when the list of his medication is shown, there are a couple of problems. First, let me say that three of the medications (haloperidol, loxapine, and chlorpromazine) make sense, but the fourth medication -LARGACTIL-is in error. Not only is it a brand-name of chlorpromazine; making it a therapeutic duplication, but it is not available in the USA, it is a CANADIAN DRUG!!!!! from: Muffy

6. There is a scene where Scully is in the school nurse's office with the little boy who's hands are bleeding. She asks the school nurse if the boy's temperature has been taken. The nurse pulls out a red-tipped thermometer and sticks it in the boys mouth. Scully asks the kid if he's OK. His reply should have been "no- the nurse just put a rectal thermometer in my mouth." I'm pretty sure that universally, blue thermometers are for oral, red is for rectal.

War of the Coprophages
While waiting out the fumigation of his apartment, Mulder stumbles into a Massachusetts town where it appears that cockroaches have been attacking and killing several residents. Upon consulting Scully, he is told that it's probably just a load of crap.

1. In this episode I was viewing the way the roach's moved in the wall's at the house. The roach's were there one second, but when she turned on the light they disappeared after a second. I know roach's are fast. But the aren't that fast, he started to walk away. He would have killed bout a hundred of them at a time. from: Matt Tyre

2. In the credits, Dr. Bambi is listed as "Chick". It should at least have been Bambi. from: Patrick Lee

3. In The War of the Coprophages, in the beginning when Mulder is telling Scully about the Roach exterminator being killed by roaches he mentions two other deaths that have already happened. Later in the show he says she was right about all the deaths. He only lists the ones we saw and makes no mention of the first two. So what happened to them? from: Dana D.

4. It's a little hard to distinguish an error from a joke in this episode, but this seems weird to me. When Mulder gets to the Alternative Fuel Research Plant, we see Dr. Ekerle's office window. It says, "Dr. Jeff Ekerle - chief science officer." Who does this guy think he is? Mr. Spock? Shouldn't it be something like "Chief Research Scientist" or something? I don't know what he would be an officer of. -Kymberlee

Syzygy
The murder of several high school students in the small town are believed to be the work of a Satanic cult through the machinations of the two girls truly at fault. The tension between Mulder and Scully and that of the townsfolk rises because of the fear and anger, though an astrologer insists it's because it is written in the stars.

1. In this episode Scully says that she and Mulder have been working together for 2 years. This is odd because the date indicated in the Pilot is March, 1992. They've actually been working together for 4 years. from: Luke E

2. Stellar objects do not behave according to the time schedule that humans use, especially not down to the exact second. If the alignment of the planets was the influence, then the tension should gradually build up, and gradually go away, not build up over a period of days, then disappear at the very second of midnight. The planets don't move that quickly! In the very end of this episode, Mulder looks at the clock on the wall as the two girls are dueling it out. At the exact sound of midnight, everything stops. from: Ronnie Chen

Grotesque
A three year murder investigation by one of the FBI's finest behavioral scientists comes to a close with the arrest of an artist who claims to have been possessed by an evil force. But when the deaths continue, it is up to Mulder to get inside the killer's head to find this gargoyle.

1. When Scully and Mulder enter John Mostov's cell, Scully says something to the affect of, "Why are you on the floor?" In return Mulder says, "He's been busy." We then see a shot of the ground with a drawing of a gargoyle on it. The man says that yes he drew it and then in the next camera shot we see that the man is in a strait jacket. Now if he is in a strait jacket there is no way he could draw on the floor and for that matter there were no drawing supplies around him and he wouldn't be aloud to have them anyway. from: Ryan

2. In Grotesque, Mulder describes a Gargoyle as some sort of mythical beast that swam around in the Seine (sp?). Give me a break! I don't know much about Parisian mythology, but I'm pretty sure that there never was any such legend. I am however, VERY sure that the word gargoyle is French for 'water spout', and gained its common meaning from the water spouts at Notre Dame, shaped like the common image we now have of gargoyles. By the way, the actual name for what we think of as a gargoyle is 'grotesque' - hence the name of the episode. from: Liz Kyonka

Apocrypha
Mulder returns from Hong Kong with the hopes of retrieving the lost digital tape, only to have Krycek slip from his grasp. Meanwhile Scully spearheads the investigation of Skinner's attacker in the hopes that it will resolve the case of her sister's murder. Part two of two.

1. I wasn't convinced by that miniature submarine used in the black-and-white flashback sequence. The way it was shown, it looked like the toy it was. As it moved away from the camera, it slowly went out of focus. Something a large ship wouldn't do, but what a small scale model would. from: Lawrence Sufrin

2. Skinner is receiving a blood transfusion, but the blood is not on an intravenous delivery pump (it should be) from: MWH

3. He has cardiac telemetry leads attached to his chest but no cardiac monitor. I have never seen a patient who needed surgical monitoring and post-operative monitoring suddenly not need monitoring during transport. from: MWH

4. The naso-gastric tube (N-G tube) from his nose is totally unbelievable. #1 It is placed and taped very poorly. #2 It is not attached to a drainage canister (at least I couldn't see one). #3 There was no drainage coming from the tube-highly unlikely in a patient just returning from abdominal surgery. I mean, if there's nothing there to drain, why place an N-G tube? from: MWH

5. The phrase "steady Demerol" is used. This is rather confusing. Is he being given Demerol around the clock (with out having to ask for it) OR is he on a patient-controlled-analgesia [PCA] pump (I didn't see one) OR is there Demerol in the IV (unlikely, Demerol is not recommended for continuous infusion. from: MWH

6. Scully says "Looking for a male...with blood type B+...know that from the waitress's description." The waitress can tell the guys blood type?? Just by looking at him?? from: MWH

7. Mulder, hospitalized for a observation after a head injury, has telemetry (cardiac) monitor lead on. WHY?? This is a young, healthy man with a HEAD injury. Unless he has some here-to-fore unknown cardiac dysrhythmia, he would not have these leads on. from: MWH

8. When Scully gets to the room, she finds Skinner has just been transferred, yet the room is already clean and totally made-up. Unless the housekeepers in that hospital work at warp speed, this would not happen, it's just too d*** fast. from: MWH

9. Skinner is alone in the back of the ambulance with an IV infusing. In real life, patients with IV's are accompanied by a nurse during transfer. from: MWH

10. The only other person in this "Advanced Life Support Unit" (If we are to believe what we read on the side of the ambulance) is the driver. NO WAY! There would have been 2 paramedics/EMTs on the crew; one to drive and one to initiate or administer life support if necessary. from: MWH

11. Mulder had passed out when the car crashed into the ditch. He woke up in time to see the bright flash, but wasn't conscious when the agents took Krychek out of the car. Mulder later recalls (when in the hospital) that he has seen this.

Pusher
A man is apprehended yet escapes after he claims to be the hired killer of 14 people whose deaths had previously been ruled as suicides. The man, who seems to have the ability to control others, desires a challenge, leaving clues for Mulder and Scully to follow as he sets up his contest of wills.

1. At the point in the episode when Scully, Mulder, and the local PD are searching the suspect's apartment, the Pusher calls the local PD detective on the phone. The Pusher proceeds to "talk the guy to death," but Mulder and Scully yell at him to hand up the phone. They try to intervene, but are physically restrained by other local PD types. Doesn't it seem strange that low ranking local PD types would interfere with the FBI in an FBI case? My impression has always been that the FBI sort of waltzes in and takes over, but we're to believe in this instance, they're insignificant and easily overruled. from: Bob Shier I would add that my first reaction to that was that Pusher clearly had control over the other police officers. But if that were the case a.) why weren't they having heart attacks? and b.) why didn't he have similar control of Scully and Mulder? - Kymberlee

2. Mulder, Scully, and the SWAT team go to Fairfax Mercy Hospital which should really be just Fairfax Hospital. The electronic map indicated that the hospital was on/near Chain Bridge Road in Fairfax County, Virginia . . . it is actually on Gallows Road. from: Cyd

3. When Mulder was looking for Pusher in the hospital, Mulder heard, and radioed back to others that he had heard, two gunshots and ran towards the sound. He found a hospital technician and the hospital security guard dead of gunshot wounds to the head. Mulder surmised that Pusher had willed the guard to shoot the technician and then to shoot himself. When Mulder viewed the bodies, he saw the guard's revolver and more than two spent casings on the ground near the bodies. The Problems here are two shots heard, but more than two spent casings. And revolvers don't eject casings. Someone has to open the revolver and empty the spent casings out. from: Kevin Mocello

4. At the end, if the room was full of oxygen for that patient on some type of life support, then wouldn't they risk having the room blow up when Mulder shot Pusher? from: Kelli

5. When Scully is showing some nice x-ray films of DNA to Skinner in the hospital. She says that they're PCRs. PCR is a DNA replication technique. It just gives more DNA. What she had there looked a lot more like RFLPs, (RFLP = Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms) which would be a series of bands that constitute a molecular "fingerprint". PCR would be the way to get a hold of a lot of DNA from a small amount, but RFLPs are the way to give the bands that are unique among people. from: Debrah

Teso Dos Bichos
1. The only museum of natural history in Boston isn't called the Museum of Natural History, It is called the Pebody Museum or the Harvard Museum. from: Jes

2. The Pebody Museum isn't surrounded by houses like it was shown in the episode, it is surrounded by large brick buildings containing labs, a coffee shop, and other Harvard facilities. from: Jes

Favourite Links

	empire movie mag a good site for movie buffs

Email me on:
[email protected]

This page has been visited

times.