Pusher (The X-Files)
Encyclopedia
"Pusher" is a 1996 episode of The X-Files
television series
. It was the seventeenth episode broadcast in the show's third season. "Pusher" surrounds the agents' pursuit of a serial killer who can convince people to do whatever he says.
of that color, causing a collision. Modell flees the scene.
Agent Frank Burst, the only surviving agent from the car crash tells agents Fox Mulder
and Dana Scully
about his pursuit of Modell -- nicknamed 'Pusher' -- who has carried out a number of contract killings over the past two years, making the acts appear to be suicide
. Mulder spots the word "ronin
" written on the car involved in the crash, and is able to track down Modell's classified ad in a mercenary magazine. Mulder believes that Modell has the psychic
ability to "push" people to do his will. Using the phone number in the ad, the agents track down Pusher to a golf course, where he makes a SWAT
team member cover himself in gasoline and light himself on fire. Mulder finds Modell exhausted in a car nearby, arresting him.
Modell is arraigned but uses his skills to make the judge let him go. The agents look into Modell's past and find that he applied for the FBI and claims to have been trained in Japan. Scully thinks he's nothing but a little man who desires to feel big. By writing the word 'PASS' on a piece of paper and putting it in his shirt pocket, Modell is able to pass security and enter FBI headquarters. He "pushes" an agent there, Holly, into looking up information on Mulder for him. When Assistant Director Skinner
arrives Modell convinces Holly that Skinner was a man who mugged her and she sprays him with mace. She apologizes later for the incident, saying that it was as if he was in her head. Scully is unable to explain how Modell has his power, but now agrees with Mulder's theory that he can push people into doing whatever he wants.
Agents burst into Modell's apartment but find it empty. They find cans of energy drinks in the fridge and medicine for epilepsy. Mulder suspects that a brain tumor has given Modell psychokinetic ability, but that it burns up a lot of energy, forcing him to constantly consume the energy drinks. Mulder believes that he is dying and wants to go out in a blaze of glory. Modell calls, and talks agent Burst into a heart attack over the phone while they try to trace him. The agents track Modell down to a hospital and Mulder heads inside.
At the hospital Modell gets a technician and guard to kill each other. Mulder realizes that Modell has been coming here due to a brain tumor, but is found by Modell. Scully heads inside and finds the two sitting at a table with the dead guard's revolver. Modell forces Mulder to play Russian roulette
with him. Despite Scully's pleading, Mulder pulls the trigger first at Modell and then himself, the hammer falling on an empty chamber both times. Modell then makes him aim the gun at Scully, and he is on the verge of shooting her. At the last instant she sees a fire alarm in a mirror and pulls it in desperation, breaking Modell's concentration. Mulder instantly switches his aim to Modell and pulls the trigger; the bullet is fired and Modell is severely wounded.
Visiting him in the hospital afterwards, the agents discuss the fact that his tumor was operable but he refused treatment due to the ability it gave him. Mulder says he was just a little man, but this was something that made him feel big.
wrote the episode seeking to have a tense cat and mouse game between Fox Mulder
and Pusher, concluding with a scene of Russian roulette in the final segment. This scene met some resistance from the network, but ultimately remained in the episode. The Flukeman, from the episode "The Host
" appears on a tabloid in the opening scene. Foo Fighters
singer Dave Grohl
appeared as an uncredited extra during the scene where Modell enters FBI headquarters.
Rob Bowman said of Robert Wisden
's performance "I thought Robert Wisden was great as Pusher. He is a very energized kind of confident actor with lots of ideas of his own. It took me about a day and a half to get him into it, and then I never had to speak to him again, because he had that look in his eyes. I would walk up to talk to him about the scene and I could see that he was already there. Mitch Pileggi
was disappointed in the fact that the episode featured his character, Walter Skinner
, getting beat up, something which had occurred in multiple episodes already by this point: "I was feeling a little uncomfortable with him getting his ass kicked so much, and I think the fans were, too." The character of Modell would later return in the fifth season episode "Kitsunegari
".
named it the third best standalone X-Files episode of the entire series.
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
. It was the seventeenth episode broadcast in the show's third season. "Pusher" surrounds the agents' pursuit of a serial killer who can convince people to do whatever he says.
Plot
Robert Patrick Modell walks through a supermarket, buying a large supply of energy drinks. Before he can leave, Modell is surrounded and arrested by FBI agents. While being escorted away in a police car, he repeatedly talks about the color cerulean blue. Modell's talking seemingly causes the driver to not see an approaching big rigBig Rig
Big Rig was a punk band from the San Francisco Bay Area fronted by singer/songwriter Jesse Michaels. Michaels performed with the group after the breakup of his previous project, Operation Ivy, and before forming the band Common Rider....
of that color, causing a collision. Modell flees the scene.
Agent Frank Burst, the only surviving agent from the car crash tells agents Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
and Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
about his pursuit of Modell -- nicknamed 'Pusher' -- who has carried out a number of contract killings over the past two years, making the acts appear to be suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Mulder spots the word "ronin
Ronin
A or rounin was a Bushi with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the death or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege....
" written on the car involved in the crash, and is able to track down Modell's classified ad in a mercenary magazine. Mulder believes that Modell has the psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
ability to "push" people to do his will. Using the phone number in the ad, the agents track down Pusher to a golf course, where he makes a SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
team member cover himself in gasoline and light himself on fire. Mulder finds Modell exhausted in a car nearby, arresting him.
Modell is arraigned but uses his skills to make the judge let him go. The agents look into Modell's past and find that he applied for the FBI and claims to have been trained in Japan. Scully thinks he's nothing but a little man who desires to feel big. By writing the word 'PASS' on a piece of paper and putting it in his shirt pocket, Modell is able to pass security and enter FBI headquarters. He "pushes" an agent there, Holly, into looking up information on Mulder for him. When Assistant Director Skinner
Walter Skinner
FBI Assistant Director Walter Sergei Skinner is a fictional character in the American FOX television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence...
arrives Modell convinces Holly that Skinner was a man who mugged her and she sprays him with mace. She apologizes later for the incident, saying that it was as if he was in her head. Scully is unable to explain how Modell has his power, but now agrees with Mulder's theory that he can push people into doing whatever he wants.
Agents burst into Modell's apartment but find it empty. They find cans of energy drinks in the fridge and medicine for epilepsy. Mulder suspects that a brain tumor has given Modell psychokinetic ability, but that it burns up a lot of energy, forcing him to constantly consume the energy drinks. Mulder believes that he is dying and wants to go out in a blaze of glory. Modell calls, and talks agent Burst into a heart attack over the phone while they try to trace him. The agents track Modell down to a hospital and Mulder heads inside.
At the hospital Modell gets a technician and guard to kill each other. Mulder realizes that Modell has been coming here due to a brain tumor, but is found by Modell. Scully heads inside and finds the two sitting at a table with the dead guard's revolver. Modell forces Mulder to play Russian roulette
Russian roulette
Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger...
with him. Despite Scully's pleading, Mulder pulls the trigger first at Modell and then himself, the hammer falling on an empty chamber both times. Modell then makes him aim the gun at Scully, and he is on the verge of shooting her. At the last instant she sees a fire alarm in a mirror and pulls it in desperation, breaking Modell's concentration. Mulder instantly switches his aim to Modell and pulls the trigger; the bullet is fired and Modell is severely wounded.
Visiting him in the hospital afterwards, the agents discuss the fact that his tumor was operable but he refused treatment due to the ability it gave him. Mulder says he was just a little man, but this was something that made him feel big.
Production
Vince GilliganVince Gilligan
Vince Gilligan is an American writer, director and producer. He is the creator of the highly acclaimed television series Breaking Bad. Gilligan has also worked on the hit series The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen. He is a graduate of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University...
wrote the episode seeking to have a tense cat and mouse game between Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
and Pusher, concluding with a scene of Russian roulette in the final segment. This scene met some resistance from the network, but ultimately remained in the episode. The Flukeman, from the episode "The Host
The Host (The X-Files)
"The Host" is the second episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 23, 1994. It was written by Chris Carter, directed by Daniel Sackheim, and featured guest appearances by Darin Morgan. The episode is a...
" appears on a tabloid in the opening scene. Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
singer Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl
David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter for Foo Fighters; the former drummer for Nirvana and Scream; and the current drummer for Them Crooked Vultures...
appeared as an uncredited extra during the scene where Modell enters FBI headquarters.
Rob Bowman said of Robert Wisden
Robert Wisden
Robert Charles Wisden is a British actor who has an extensive career in Canadian and American television. In 2000 he won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for The Sheldon Kennedy Story .-Career:Wisden moved with his...
's performance "I thought Robert Wisden was great as Pusher. He is a very energized kind of confident actor with lots of ideas of his own. It took me about a day and a half to get him into it, and then I never had to speak to him again, because he had that look in his eyes. I would walk up to talk to him about the scene and I could see that he was already there. Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi
Mitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
was disappointed in the fact that the episode featured his character, Walter Skinner
Walter Skinner
FBI Assistant Director Walter Sergei Skinner is a fictional character in the American FOX television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence...
, getting beat up, something which had occurred in multiple episodes already by this point: "I was feeling a little uncomfortable with him getting his ass kicked so much, and I think the fans were, too." The character of Modell would later return in the fifth season episode "Kitsunegari
Kitsunegari
"Kitsunegari" is a 1998 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the eighth episode broadcast in the show's fifth season. When an influential former killer who was arrested by Mulder and Scully escapes, the agents search for him but discover that he is not their only concern.- Plot :In...
".
Reception
This episode earned a Neilsen household rating of 10.8, with an 18 share. It was viewed by 16.20 million people. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
named it the third best standalone X-Files episode of the entire series.