Provenance (The X-Files)

"Provenance"
The X-Files episode
Episode no.	Season 9 Episode 9
Directed by	Kim Manners
Written by	Chris Carter Frank Spotnitz
Production code	9ABX10
Original air date	March 3, 2002
Running time	44 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
James Pickens, Jr. as Alvin Kersh Cary Elwes as Brad Follmer Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Sheila Larken as Margaret Scully Neal McDonough as Motorcycle Man/Comer Denis Forest as Lone Man McNally Sagal as Overcoat Woman James Parks as Agent Terry Sullivan Alan Dale as Toothpick Man Joe Colligan as Driver Agent Brian Catalano as Passenger Agent Randy Hall as U-Haul Driver James Riker as Baby William Travis Riker as Baby William Laura Leigh Hughes as Kersh’s Assistant
Episode chronology
← Previous "Hellbound" Next → "Providence"
List of The X-Files episodes

"Provenance" is the ninth episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on March 3, 2002. The episode was written by series creator Chris Carter and executive producer Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Kim Manners. "Provenance" helps to explore the series' overarching mythology. The episode received a Nielsen household rating of 5.5 and was watched by 5.8 million households and 9.7 million viewers. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics.

The show centers on special agents of the FBI who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files; this season focuses on the investigations of John Doggett (Robert Patrick), Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). In this episode, when rubbings from the spaceship resurface the FBI hides its investigation from the X-Files. Meanwhile, Scully is forced to take drastic measures when she discovers a threat to William.

"Provenance" introduced the character of the Toothpick Man, played by Alan Dale. This character became the leader of the New Syndicate and worked within the FBI during the show's ninth season. The episode makes reference to rubbings from an alien wreck, a direct continuation from the plots of the sixth season finale "Biogenesis" and the seventh season opener "The Sixth Extinction".

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