The Sixth Extinction
Encyclopedia
"The Sixth Extinction" is the first episode of the seventh season
of the science fiction
television series The X-Files
. In "The Sixth Extinction" Assistant Director Skinner tries to discover what is wrong with Mulder while Scully investigates the mysterious alien artifact on the African coastline.
Skinner goes to visit Kritschgau, now unemployed and living in a lowly apartment, convincing him to come to the hospital with him. Kritschgau believes that Mulder has mind reading abilities and injects him with a drug to slow down his brain activity. Skinner gets him back to his bed by the time Diana Fowley and his doctor arrive. With his mind reading abilities, Mulder is able to tell Skinner that he knows about him being indebted to Krycek and Diana Fowley's connections with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Scully, with Dr. Barnes' help, is able to translate some of the spaceship, which contains information on genetics and various human religions. Dr. Barnes starts going out of control, however, and armed with a machete refuses to let Scully or Ngebe leave. Kritschgau and Skinner put Mulder under additional tests to verify his abnormal brain activity. Dr. Barnes realizes that the craft is bringing dead fish back to life, but Scully and Ngebe take the opportunity to knock him out and escape. Scully sees the vanishing man again in the car as they drive off.
Skinner and Kritschgau again inject Mulder the drug to slow down his brain activity, but this time they are caught by Fowley and Mulder goes into a seizure. Dr. Barnes kills his driver, but the driver soon comes back to life and kills him. Scully returns to the U.S. and sees Mulder at the hospital. On the African coast Ngebe arrives with the police, finding Dr. Barnes dead and the spaceship missing.
said of the episode's origins, "We've destroyed all the stuff about Mulder's father, the project, and the Syndicate. All the things that had sustained us for six years were suddenly gone. We had no crutches. From that point on, every time we sat down to write a mythology show, we knew it was going to be a completely different challenge." Chris Carter
saw the episode as a transitional episode, stating "I felt that, with "The Sixth Extinction", I was just playing a supporting role and that the episode, essentially the middle episode of a three-episode arc, was just a transitional episode to get us to 'Amor Fati
', which was really less about the mythology and more about Mulder's choices in life."
David Duchovny
and Gillian Anderson
both had other commitments as the season began, resulting in the producers delaying filming for this episode. It ended up being filmed third in the season, after the episodes "Hungry" and "The Goldberg Variation". Carter wrote the episode at the same time as Duchovny was working on the next episode, "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
". Kim Manners
said preparations were confusing since it wasn't known at the time how the storyline would unfold. Spotnitz said of the end result, "For me, it was a lot like a fifties monster movie with Scully out on the beach with this guy going nuts with a machete, the bug attacks, and the sea of blood. Yeah, it was supposed to be serious business but, overall, I thought it was shaping up as a pretty entertaining hour."
The producers had to move the filming of the beach sequences from the previous episodes due to changes in the tides at that time of year. Similar to the previous episode, the spaceship was computer-generated. The sequence where the locals are boiled by the ocean water was accomplished using underwater filming of stuntmen under various degrees of make up. Fifty thousand dead crickets were rented from a local entomologist for the scene where Scully's tent was attacked by bugs. The live insects were portrayed by blowing popcorn and packing foam at Anderson with fans and editing it into insects in post production.
of 10.6, with a 15 share. It was watched by 18.76 million viewers.
The X-Files (season 7)
The seventh season of The X-Files commenced airing in the United States on November 7, 1999, concluded on May 21, 2000, and consists of twenty-two episodes. The X-Files is an American serial science fiction-horror-thriller television series. Season seven took place after the destruction of the...
of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series The X-Files
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...
. In "The Sixth Extinction" Assistant Director Skinner tries to discover what is wrong with Mulder while Scully investigates the mysterious alien artifact on the African coastline.
Part I
Scully sits in a tent on the African coast looking at satellite photographs of the spacecraft half-buried in the coast. A man appears in her tent but immediately vanishes after which her entire tent is swarmed by insects. Back in the U.S., Skinner visits Mulder at Georgetown Memorial Hospital, where he is kept in a padded cell. When he goes in the cell, Mulder attacks him, giving him a torn shred of his hospital gown that says "Help Me" in blood. Scully is visited by Dr. Amina Ngebe, a colleague of Dr. Merkmallen's. She warns Scully to not tell any of the locals about the swarm or the mysterious figure. Soon afterwards, one of the locals working on excavating the ship is burned by the water in the ocean, which has turned to boiling. Dr. Barnes arrives soon after, and the ocean turns blood red. Skinner visits a heavily drugged Mulder, who writes down "Kritschgau".Skinner goes to visit Kritschgau, now unemployed and living in a lowly apartment, convincing him to come to the hospital with him. Kritschgau believes that Mulder has mind reading abilities and injects him with a drug to slow down his brain activity. Skinner gets him back to his bed by the time Diana Fowley and his doctor arrive. With his mind reading abilities, Mulder is able to tell Skinner that he knows about him being indebted to Krycek and Diana Fowley's connections with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Scully, with Dr. Barnes' help, is able to translate some of the spaceship, which contains information on genetics and various human religions. Dr. Barnes starts going out of control, however, and armed with a machete refuses to let Scully or Ngebe leave. Kritschgau and Skinner put Mulder under additional tests to verify his abnormal brain activity. Dr. Barnes realizes that the craft is bringing dead fish back to life, but Scully and Ngebe take the opportunity to knock him out and escape. Scully sees the vanishing man again in the car as they drive off.
Skinner and Kritschgau again inject Mulder the drug to slow down his brain activity, but this time they are caught by Fowley and Mulder goes into a seizure. Dr. Barnes kills his driver, but the driver soon comes back to life and kills him. Scully returns to the U.S. and sees Mulder at the hospital. On the African coast Ngebe arrives with the police, finding Dr. Barnes dead and the spaceship missing.
Production
Frank SpotnitzFrank Spotnitz
Frank Spotnitz is an award-winning American television writer and producer, best known for his work on The X-Files television series.-Biography:...
said of the episode's origins, "We've destroyed all the stuff about Mulder's father, the project, and the Syndicate. All the things that had sustained us for six years were suddenly gone. We had no crutches. From that point on, every time we sat down to write a mythology show, we knew it was going to be a completely different challenge." Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
saw the episode as a transitional episode, stating "I felt that, with "The Sixth Extinction", I was just playing a supporting role and that the episode, essentially the middle episode of a three-episode arc, was just a transitional episode to get us to 'Amor Fati
The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
"The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati" is the second episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati" concludes a trilogy of episodes featuring Mulder's severe reaction to the appearance of an alien artifact...
', which was really less about the mythology and more about Mulder's choices in life."
David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
and Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
both had other commitments as the season began, resulting in the producers delaying filming for this episode. It ended up being filmed third in the season, after the episodes "Hungry" and "The Goldberg Variation". Carter wrote the episode at the same time as Duchovny was working on the next episode, "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati
"The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati" is the second episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati" concludes a trilogy of episodes featuring Mulder's severe reaction to the appearance of an alien artifact...
". Kim Manners
Kim Manners
Kim Manners was an American television producer, director and child actor best known for his work on The X-Files and Supernatural.-Early life:...
said preparations were confusing since it wasn't known at the time how the storyline would unfold. Spotnitz said of the end result, "For me, it was a lot like a fifties monster movie with Scully out on the beach with this guy going nuts with a machete, the bug attacks, and the sea of blood. Yeah, it was supposed to be serious business but, overall, I thought it was shaping up as a pretty entertaining hour."
The producers had to move the filming of the beach sequences from the previous episodes due to changes in the tides at that time of year. Similar to the previous episode, the spaceship was computer-generated. The sequence where the locals are boiled by the ocean water was accomplished using underwater filming of stuntmen under various degrees of make up. Fifty thousand dead crickets were rented from a local entomologist for the scene where Scully's tent was attacked by bugs. The live insects were portrayed by blowing popcorn and packing foam at Anderson with fans and editing it into insects in post production.
Reception
The episode had a Neilsen household ratingNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of 10.6, with a 15 share. It was watched by 18.76 million viewers.