"The X Files" Avatar (1996)

Director:

Jim Charleston

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Howard Gordon (teleplay)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

26 April 1996 (Season 3, Episode 21)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner is the prime suspect in a homicide involving a woman he was with the night of her death...

Plot Keywords:

Prostitute | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Tom Mason	...	Detective Waltos
Jennifer Hetrick	...	Sharon Skinner
William B. Davis	...	Cigarette Smoking Man / CGB Spender
Amanda Tapping	...	Carina Sayles
Malcolm Stewart	...	Agent Bonnecaze
Morris Panych	...	The Gray-Haired Man
Michael David Simms	...	Senior Agent
Tasha Simms	...	Jay Cassal
Stacy Grant	...	Judy Fairly
Janie Woods-Morris	...	Lorraine Kelleher
Brendan Beiser	...	Agent Pendrell

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Mulder and Scully are examining the dead prostitute, you can see her eyes moving beneath her eyelids.

Quotes:

[In the posh apartment of a Madame]
Scully: Business is booming.
Mulder: I think you mean banging.

Succulent Succubus?

After viewing Avatar, I find it to be on the more underrated episodes of the x-files. I was blown away while watching it recently. I noticed that David Duchovny helped out with this story, and he does a bang up job with Howard Gordon. It starts out with a pretty freaky teaser, Mulder seeing the old woman, and then finding the woman with a grotesquely broken neck. I like when episodes have cool transitions from one scene to another. A scene I refer to here is when it goes from the tape outline of the woman's body to the woman's body at the morgue in the fading tape outline's frame. I really liked the actress who played Skinner's wife, Sharon. Jennifer Hetrick plays the part so naturally. It's a pity they did not recur her character in the series. It was cool to see Skinner with hair in his wedding picture. Other things I liked was having Agent Pendrell make an appearance, and the episode featured touching music. Also, another dimension is added to Skinner's Vietnam death experience. One thing that bugged was the actress who played the hooker's boss. It appeared she spoke through gritted teeth. In the aired episode, CSM only has a non-speaking role. In a deleted scene, however, he has a big conversation with Skinner, which would've altered the episode dramatically, I believe. Commentary by Chris Carter states simply that the scene was unnecessary for the already heightened tension. I disagree. That scene brings up points that are later fleshed out in Zero Sum from season four. Avatar is a deep, touching episode, that explores the other side of Skinner, and does not get enough credit.