Ice (The X-Files)
| "Ice" | |
|---|---|
| The X-Files episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | David Nutter |
| Written by |
Glen Morgan James Wong |
| Production code | 1X07 |
| Original air date | November 5, 1993 |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Ice" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, which premiered on the Fox network on November 5, 1993. It was directed by David Nutter and written by Glen Morgan and James Wong. The debut broadcast of "Ice" was watched by 10 million viewers in 6.2 million households and received positive reviews from critics, who praised its tense atmosphere.
The plot of the episode sees FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate the deaths of an Alaskan research team. Isolated and alone, the agents and their accompanying team discover the existence of extraterrestrial parasitic organisms which drive their hosts into impulsive fits of rage.
The episode was inspired by an article in Science News about an excavation in Greenland, and series creator Chris Carter also cited John W. Campbell's 1938 novella Who Goes There? as an influence. Although the producers hoped that "Ice" would save money by being shot in a single location, it ended up exceeding its production budget.
A mass murder–suicide occurs among a team of geophysicists at an outpost in Icy Cape, Alaska. FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) head for the outpost, accompanied by physician Dr. Hodge (Xander Berkeley); toxicologist Dr. Da Silva (Felicity Huffman); geologist Dr. Murphy (Steve Hytner) and Bear (Jeff Kober), their pilot. With the scientists' bodies the group finds a dog, who attacks Mulder and Bear. Scully notices black nodules on its skin, and suspects that it may be infected with bubonic plague; she also notices movement beneath its skin. Although Bear (who was bitten by the dog) becomes ill and develops similar nodules on his body, autopsies reveal no such nodules on the bodies of the scientists.
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