"The X Files" Unusual Suspects (1997)

Director:

Kim Manners

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Vince Gilligan (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

16 November 1997 (Season 5, Episode 3)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

The origins of the Lone Gunmen are shown. At a computer and electronics show in a convention center in 1989 Baltimore...

Plot Keywords:

Arpanet | Tooth Extraction | Early Internet | FBI | FBI Agent

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Jan. 7

2:00 AM

SYFY

Unusual Suspects

#5.3

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully (credit only)
Richard Belzer	...	Det. John Munch
Signy Coleman	...	Susanne Modeski
Bruce Harwood	...	John Fitzgerald Byers
Tom Braidwood	...	Melvin Frohike
Dean Haglund	...	Richard 'Ringo' Langly
Steven Williams	...	Mr. X
Chris Nelson Norris	...	SWAT Lieutenant
Glenn Williams	...	Officer
Stuart O'Connell	...	SWAT Cop
Kenneth H. Hawryliw	...	Himself (as Ken Hawryliw)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Anderson	...	City Cop (uncredited)
Bob Boyd	...	Booking Sergeant (uncredited)
Harrison Coe	...	First Suit (uncredited)
Eric Knight	...	The Hacker Dude (uncredited)
Brad Loree	...	Second Suit (uncredited)

Directed by
Kim Manners

Writing credits
Chris Carter		(creator)
Vince Gilligan		(written by)

Produced by
Chris Carter	....	executive producer
Joseph Patrick Finn	....	producer
Vince Gilligan	....	supervising producer
R.W. Goodwin	....	executive producer
Ken Horton	....	consulting producer
Kim Manners	....	producer
Lori Jo Nemhauser	....	co-producer
Paul Rabwin	....	producer
John Shiban	....	co-producer
Frank Spotnitz	....	co-executive producer

Original Music by
Mark Snow

Makeup Department
Forest Sala	....	hair stylist
Thomas Newman	....	lab crew (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brett Dowler	....	second unit director

Art Department
Michael Dundas	....	lead hand painter
Lisa Goldsmith	....	buyer
Paula R. Montgomery	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Thierry J. Couturier	....	supervising sound editor
George Nemzer	....	sound effects editor
Michael T. Williamson	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Chris Flemington	....	on set effects

Visual Effects by
Ko Maruyama	....	digital effects artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Rusty Deluce	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera, second unit
Chris Helcermanas-Benge	....	still photographer
Rob Parisien	....	video playback operator

Editorial Department
Brian Q. Kelley	....	on-line editor (segments)

Other crew
Amir Barsoum	....	production assistant
Billy Brown	....	story editor
Kurt Bruun	....	production assistant
James Castle	....	title designer
Tim Minear	....	executive story editor
Lee Smith	....	researcher
Scott Steyns	....	playback coordinator
Tom Teotico	....	production assistant

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Chris Carter		creator

Original Music by
Ken Tamplin

Film Editing by
Christopher Cooke

Set Decoration by
Hamish Purdy

Costume Design by
Jenni Gullett		(1995-1998)

Makeup Department
Mark Alfrey	....	special makeup effects artist
Jane Aull	....	makeup artist
Ken Culver	....	foam technician
Fionagh Cush	....	makeup artist
Gabriel De Cunto	....	special makeup effects artist
Mike Fields	....	assistant special makeup effects artist
Kevin Haney	....	makeup artist
Camille Henderson	....	makeup artist
Glenn Hetrick	....	special makeup effects artist
Matthew Jorgensen	....	sculptor/painter: Tech Optic Nerve
Steve LaPorte	....	makeup artist
Norma Lee	....	hair stylist
Shauna Magrath	....	assistant makeup artist
Shauna Magrath	....	special makeup effects artist
Rodd Matsui	....	special makeup effects artist
Robert Maverick	....	special makeup effects artist
Ryan Nicholson	....	special makeup effects artist
Thomas Opitz	....	additional hair stylist
Leanne Rae Podavin	....	special makeup effects artist: multiple episodes seasons 4 & 5
Craig Reardon	....	makeup artist
Mark Shostrom	....	makeup artist
Perri Sorel	....	makeup artist
Rick Stratton	....	makeup artist
Bill Terezakis	....	flukeman designer
Julie Travis-Socash	....	makeup artist (as Julie Socash)
Jeanne Van Phue	....	makeup artist
Patricia Vecchio	....	assistant hair stylist
Patricia Vecchio	....	hair stylist
John Wheaton	....	makeup artist
Kim M. Ferry	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Frederick London	....	assistant hair stylist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Velvet Andrews-Smith	....	dga trainee (1999)
Tom Braidwood	....	first assistant director (episode "Gethsemany") (episode "Post-Mortem Prometheus, The")
Lynn K. D'Angona	....	first assistant director (final season)
Suzan Derkson	....	third assistant director
Pierre Henry	....	first assistant director: second unit
Alexis Hinde	....	trainee assistant director: second unit (1996-1998)
Jeffrey Hunt	....	dga trainee
Bill Millar	....	second unit director
Kevin Parks	....	first assistant director: second unit (season 5)
Canyon Prince	....	first assistant director: splinter unit (as Ryan Prince)
Brent Stanton	....	second second assistant director (day player)
Patrick Stark	....	trainee assistant director (season 5)
Dan Tohill	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Vaughan V. Baker	....	signwriter
David L. Bell	....	set dresser
Oana Bogdan	....	set designer
Chris Brewster	....	set dresser
Lisa A. Corbin	....	on-set dresser (seasons 6-9)
Marsha Daniels	....	set decoration office coordinator (season 9)
Michael Diner	....	assistant art director
Lori Gillis	....	set dresser
Alex Hill	....	storyboard artist
Sally Hudson	....	graphic artist (as Sally Hudson-Lawrence)
G. Andrew Hussey	....	set dresser
Kathleen Kasinger	....	assistant property master
Drew Kinney	....	set designer
Michael Kocurek	....	carpenter
Geoffrey Mandel	....	graphic artist
Karl J. Martin	....	set designer
Marta McLaughlin	....	assistant property master
Martin L. Mercer	....	concept artist
John Naehrlich	....	lead man
James Philpott	....	assistant art director
Kimberley Regent	....	property buyer: 1993
Mark Sakamoto	....	set dresser
Norm Spence	....	scenic artist
Tammy Troglin	....	art department assistant (season 9)
Neil Turkington	....	assistant props master
Alek Vila	....	graphic designer
Ross Walshe	....	scenic carpenter
Stacy Weddington	....	buyer (1999-2003)
Rick Willoughby	....	carpenter
Sean Will	....	paint laborer

Sound Department
Gregg Barbanell	....	foley artist
Alek Bromke	....	adr assistant: Toronto
Charles Bruce	....	sound effects editor (pilot)
Stephen Cheung	....	adr mixer (various episodes)
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer (various episodes)
Brent Ellingwood	....	utility sound
Gabrielle Gilbert Reeves	....	sound editor (as Gabrielle Reeves)
Mike Goodman	....	sound editor (as Michael Goodman)
Jeff Hamon	....	adr mixer: Vancouver
Jeff Hook	....	adr recordist (multiple episodes)
David Horner	....	adr mixer
Jerry Jacobson	....	sound effects editor
Scott C. Kolden	....	sound designer
Ira Leslie	....	sound editor
Eva Madden	....	sound assistant
Maciek Malish	....	sound editor
Kitty Malone	....	foley artist
Gary Marullo	....	foley artist
Peggy McAffee	....	sound effects editor (5 episodes)
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer
Roger Morris	....	adr mixer
Iain Pattison	....	adr mixer: Vancouver
James L. Pearson	....	sound editor
Yvonne Preble	....	foley artist
Christopher B. Reeves	....	adr editor
Christopher B. Reeves	....	dialogue editor
Joseph T. Sabella	....	foley artist (as Joe Sabella)
Marty Stein	....	dialogue editor
Cherie Tamai	....	assistant sound editor
Douglas A. Turner	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Doug Turner)
David F. Van Slyke	....	sound effects editor (as David Van Slyke)
Matthew West	....	sound effects editor (as Matt West)

Special Effects by
Chad Baalbergen	....	special effects
Adam Behr	....	animatronic puppeteer
Joel P. Blanchard	....	special effects technician
Thomas R. Burman	....	special effects makeup
Steve Fink	....	prosthetics technician (multiple episodes)
Joseph Hahn	....	special effects
Jeremy Hays	....	special effects
Barry Hebein	....	special effects assistant: Vancouver,B.C.
Chris Jones	....	special effects technician
Matthew Jorgensen	....	special effects makeup
G. Peter King	....	special effects
Jonathan Kombrinck	....	special effects technician
Daniel P. Murphy	....	special effects technician (1998-2001)
Richard Redlefsen	....	lab technician
Richard Redlefsen	....	sculptor
Fred Richards	....	special effects assistant: electronic effects 1995-1998
Ken Rudell	....	special effects technician
Steve Shines	....	special effects foreman (seasons 6-9)
Martin Simon	....	special effects technician (season 7 and 8)
Joseph Quinn Simpkins	....	special effects technician
Eric Vrba	....	special effects assistant (1995-1996)
Rich Knight	....	special effects properties (uncredited)
Robert Wesley Knight	....	special effects properties (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Brian Bell	....	digital artist
Christian Boudman	....	digital compositor
Steward Burris	....	computer graphic artist: North West Imaging & FX
Jennifer Champagne	....	digital artist (episode "Syncrony")
Christopher Chen	....	digital effects producer (season 3)
John Decker	....	digital artist
Roger Dorney	....	visual effects supervisor
Larry Ewing	....	visual effects producer: View Studios
Simon Holden	....	digital compositor
Jeremy Hunt	....	digital effects artist: The Sixth Extinction
Mark Kochinski	....	3D artist
Craig Kuehne	....	visual effects
Al Magliochetti	....	visual effects
Todd Perry	....	digital artist (episode "Syncrony")
Christine Petrov	....	compositor
Paul Patrick Quinn	....	visual effects producer
Tom Raycove	....	visual effects
Steven Joseph Rogers	....	digital artist: The Sixth Extinction
Thomas Schelesny	....	computer graphics artist
Scott Shields	....	visual effects coordinator
Siouxsie Stewart	....	visual effects coordinator: Encore Visual Effects
Michael Vaglienty	....	Flame artist
Martin Wells	....	colourist (season 3)
Bob Williamson	....	digital compositor
Niel Wray	....	digital effects artist
Bernice Kenton	....	visual effects vendor producer (uncredited)
Jim O'Hagan	....	digital artist: Editel (uncredited)

Stunts
James Bamford	....	stunt double: David Duchovny
Brett Bell	....	stunt double: David Duchovny
Joey Box	....	utility stunts
Nick Brett	....	stunts (2002)
Marla Casey	....	stunts
Mark Chadwick	....	stunts
Michelle Chaldu	....	stunt double
Lauro Chartrand	....	stunts
Bruce Comtois	....	stunts
Alex Daniels	....	stunts
Alex Daniels	....	utility stunts
Mike Desabrais	....	stunts
Joe Doserro	....	stunts
Bill Edwards	....	stunts
Tom Elliott	....	stunts
Jon H. Epstein	....	stunt coordinator
Jon H. Epstein	....	stunt double
Delaina-Lu Gamblin	....	stunt double
Andy Gill	....	stunts
Jes Hellwege	....	stunts
Toby Holguin	....	stunts
Terry James	....	stunts
John Koyama	....	stunts
Michael Langlois	....	stunts
Tom McComas	....	stunt performer
Jovan Nenadic	....	stunt double
J.J. Perry	....	stunts
Denney Pierce	....	stunts
Tim Rigby	....	stunts
Jimmy N. Roberts	....	stunts
Pat Romano	....	stunt rigger
Jacob Rupp	....	stunts
Felipe Savahge	....	stunts
Felipe Savahge	....	utility stunts
Rick Sawaya	....	stunt double
Kelly Sells	....	stunt double
Tim Sitarz	....	stunts
Lori Stewart	....	stunts
Justin Sundquist	....	stunts
Ronn Surels	....	stunts
Rob Wilton	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Gregory Beard	....	best boy grip
Mark Cohen	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
David Deever	....	video assist operator
Michael Derbas	....	camera operator
Jean-Luc Dinsdale	....	second assistant camera
Geoffrey James Dixon	....	electrician
Damon Doherty	....	key rigging grip
Brian Dzyak	....	second assistant camera: second unit
David Gray	....	still photographer
Stuart Haggerty	....	lamp operator
Dean Hannas	....	camera trainee
Brad Heiner	....	grip (2000)
Joe Hill	....	grip
David Hutton	....	second dolly grip
Jeffrey A. Johnson	....	best boy grip: second unit
Jordan Klein Sr.	....	underwater camera operator
Jill MacLauchlan	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Brandon Margulies	....	film loader: second unit
Todd McMullen	....	camera operator
Saubrie Mohamed	....	rigging gaffer (season 2)
Brett Peterson	....	grip
Canyon Prince	....	still photographer (as Ryan Prince)
Isabelle Rioux	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Mike Saad	....	second assistant camera: "b" camera, second unit (season 8)
James Salberg	....	dolly grip: "b" camera unit (seasons 4 and 5)
Claude Savard	....	camera trainee
Nick Shuster	....	assistant camera: second unit
A.J. Vesak	....	aerial director of photography
A.J. Vesak	....	director of photography: second unit
Larry Watson	....	still photographer
Peter Wilke	....	dolly grip (season 5)

Casting Department
Andy Henry	....	casting assistant (1998)
Kit Mallet	....	extras casting assistant
Scott Muller	....	casting assistant: Los Angeles (2000-)
Patrick Stark	....	extras casting assistant (season 1)
Camille St. Cyr	....	casting assistant (1998)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Vanessa Anderson	....	assistant dresser (as Vanessa Oepkes)
Candace Cruikshank	....	costume set supervisor: second unit
Sam Greenmun	....	promotional alien costume fabricator
Philip Maldonado	....	costumer
Gail L. Smith	....	set costumer (1993-1994)
Lee Sollenberger	....	set costumer

Editorial Department
Louis Eske	....	assistant editor: title sequence
Shannon Leigh Olds	....	assistant editor
Robert P. Schneider	....	on-line editor: opening sequence

Music Department
Lolita Ritmanis	....	orchestrator
John Rodd	....	orchestral scoring recordist
Jonathan Sacks	....	orchestrator

Transportation Department
Michael Avallon	....	driver
Barry Shelton	....	driver

Other crew
Scott Aguilar	....	location nurse
Michael Anthony	....	location scout
Alex Apple	....	location scout
Glen Barwise	....	photo double
Gary Bechtel	....	key assistant location manager
Sean Benbow	....	office production assistant
Stephen Benoit	....	production assistant
Darren Lynn Bousman	....	honey wagon attendant
Kai Bowe	....	wga trainee
Stephen Bridgewater	....	drama coach
Jaap Broeker	....	stand-in: David Duchovny
Bruce Bryant	....	title designer
Eamon Buehning	....	payroll accountant
Jim Castle	....	title designer
Michelle Chaldu	....	stand-in: Gillian Anderson
Rob Chalmers	....	personal assistant: Gillian Anderson
Marco Daxton	....	set supervisor
Byron Drinkle	....	playback coordinator (1992-1996)
Dana Dubé	....	animal trainer
Maggie Evans	....	assistant to producer
Danielle Faith Friedman	....	office production assistant (1993-1996)
Tom Gastall	....	production assistant
Jason Gibb	....	production assistant
Paul Giordano	....	key production assistant (season 5)
Rob Gomes	....	production assistant
Danny Ho	....	computer playback operator
Laura Irvine	....	production assistant
Jasper Jan	....	location intern
JoAnn Fregalette Jansen	....	choreographer
Carol Johnsen	....	title designer
Jacqueline V. Johnson	....	craft service
Jacqueline V. Johnson	....	first aid
Bonnie Judd	....	trainer
Timothy S. Kane	....	production assistant
Bridgette Kelley	....	script supervisor: Los Angeles
Cindy Kerber	....	researcher
Rich Knight	....	property maker: RK Industries
Steve Korkis	....	production assistant
David Kurvers	....	production assistant (1996-1997)
Lance Lanfear	....	additional extras background coordinator
Derek Lebrero	....	photo double
April D. Matthews	....	assistant accountant (as April Larsen)
Rob McCabe	....	utility stand-in (1999-2000)
Kathy McCurdy	....	assistant location manager
France Myung Metz	....	key assistant location manager (season 6)
Doug Meyer	....	additional production assistant
Daniela Nobili	....	voice director: Italian
Trent Othick	....	assistant to director
Joshua Owen	....	production secretary
Joseph Kelly Padovich	....	mechanic (last four seasons)
Allyn Partin	....	dialect coach
Lance Peverley	....	production assistant (season 5)
Jeff 'Doc' Porter	....	construction medic
Canyon Prince	....	production assistant (as Ryan Prince)
Canyon Prince	....	script supervisor: splinter unit (as Ryan Prince)
Lisa Ripley-Becker	....	assistant production coordinator
Darren Robertson	....	playback coordinator (1992-1996)
Jennifer Rosenbluth	....	production secretary
Caryn Shuken	....	location liaison
Alan A. Spence	....	set wireman (season 2)
Patrick Stark	....	production assistant (season 4)
Regan Steele	....	key production assistant (season 5)
Lynn Struiksma	....	set production assistant: second unit (season 7)
Rachel Swenson	....	assistant location manager
Rachael Taylor	....	production assistant (season 3 and 4)
James Thompson	....	production assistant
Marc J. Ventimiglia	....	key assistant location manager
Arlene Warren	....	stand-in: Gillian Anderson
Troy Waters	....	marine coordinator
Tim Weske	....	sword master
Lisa Womble	....	production assistant
Oorala J. Yamada	....	additional set production assistant (season 8)

Production Companies

• 20th Century Fox Television
• Ten Thirteen Productions

Distributors

• DeAgostini Japan (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Pro 7 (1998) (Germany) (TV)

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Richard Belzer guest stars as Det. John Munch, his character from the series "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the shootout scene in the warehouse towards the end of the episode, Mulder is wearing a wedding ring. Since this episode is set in 1989, it might have been possible that Mulder was previously married except that, earlier in the episode, the Lone Gunmen hack into the FBI mainframe and Langly reads out Mulder's Dossier which clearly states that Mulder is single.

Quotes:

Byers: [trying to explain some improbable events] That was the last we saw of him. Almost immediately the police got there. We panicked and hid. You know the rest
Det. Munch: Do I look like Geraldo to you? Don't lie to me like I'm Geraldo. I am not Geraldo!

Movie Connections:

References "Homicide: Life on the Street" (1993)

I heard it was a lone gunman.

When viewing this episode again to write this review, I was surprised by how much I liked it. I remember I liked it, but not this much. This is a near-perfect episode written by the amazing Vince Gilligan. It showed that the Lone Gunmen could carry an episode by themselves successfully. When an episode makes me forget about Scully, which is hard to do, you know that it has done its job. Even Mulder has very few scenes in Unusual Suspects, but the viewer doesn't care. Not only is it a well-written story, but I found it very intriguing to see the origins of the lone gunmen. Mulder indirectly forms their group, as they come together to help Susanne Modeski, for whom Mulder is searching. Signy Coleman does an outstanding job as the mysterious Susanne Modeski. Susanne is a tough woman, who can pull her own tooth out. Ouch! We see that Frohike has always been a pervert. The Lone Gunmen don't even like each other at first. They just work together to help a pretty lady. X returns to do his standard cover-up operation. I love how he just ignores the three stooges as his men are doing the clean-up, like they are invisible. Then, of course, he gives a line, which ends up being the name they take upon themselves. Unusual Suspects surprises you with how good it is, and thankfully, gets a sequel later on in season six.