The Post-Modern Prometheus

"The Post-Modern Prometheus"
The X-Files episode
Scully (left) and Mulder (right) take The Great Mutato (center) to a Cher concert. The episode was filmed in black-and-white, in a stylistic nod to the 1931 film Frankenstein.
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 5
Directed by	Chris Carter
Written by	Chris Carter
Production code	5X06
Original air date	November 30, 1997
Running time	46 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Tracey Bell as Cher Lloyd Berry as Old Man Pollidori Stewart Gale as Izzy Berkowitz Chris Giacoletti as Booger Dana Grahame as Reporter Jean-Yves Hammel as Izzy's Friend C. Ernst Harth as Huge Man Vitaliy Kravchenko as JJ John O'Hurley as Dr. Francis Pollidori Chris Owens as The Great Mutato Xantha Radley as Waitress Miriam Smith as Elizabeth Pollidori Jerry Springer as Himself Pattie Tierce as Shaineh Berkowitz Jean-Yves Hammel as Goat Boy
Episode chronology
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List of The X-Files episodes

"The Post-Modern Prometheus" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files and originally aired on the Fox network on November 30, 1997. Written and directed by series creator Chris Carter, "The Post-Modern Prometheus" is a "Monster-of-the-Week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the overarching mythology of The X-Files. "The Post-Modern Prometheus" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.5, being watched by 18.68 million viewers upon its initial broadcast. The episode was nominated for seven awards at the 1998 Emmys and won one. The entry generally received positive reviews; some reviewers called it a classic, with others calling it the most striking stand-alone episode of the show's fifth season.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully was initially assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate reports of a mysterious creature that has impregnated a middle-aged woman. They find that the "monster", nicknamed The Great Mutato, is the genetic creation of a Frankenstein-like doctor. The Great Mutato is at first ostracized, but later accepted, by his community.

Carter's story draws heavily on Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and particularly on James Whale's 1931 film version of the story. The script had been written specifically with singer Cher and actress Roseanne Barr in mind, but both were unavailable at the time of shooting. Talk-show host Jerry Springer appeared as himself, and Chris Owens—who appeared in later episodes as FBI agent Jeffrey Spender—played The Great Mutato. The episode was filmed in black-and-white, with a sky backdrop created to imitate the style of old Frankenstein films. Owens wore makeup and prosthetics that took several hours to apply.