The X-Files - 2.

US Airdate: January 27, 1995

writers: Glen Morgan & James Wong

director: Kim Manners

STARRING:

David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder

Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully

Guest Cast:

Phyllis H. Paddock ............. Susan Blommaert

Jim Ausbury .................... Dan Butler

Shannon Ausbury ................ Heather McComb

Barbara Ausbury................Michele Goodger

Pete Calcagni .................. Shawn Johnston

Deborah Brown..................P. Lynn Johnson

Paul Vitaris.......................Doug Abrahams

Sheriff John Oakes.............Larry Musser

Jerry Stevens.....................Franky Czinege

Dave Duran........................Travis McDonald

Andrea...............................Laura Harris

A MURDER WITH RITUALISTIC TRAPPINGS BRINGS MULDER AND SCULLY INTO A SMALL TOWN WHOSE OCCULT SECRETS DATE BACK SEVEN GENERATIONS.

The school board of a small New Hampshire town closes a routine meeting with an invocation to the Lords of Darkness; a teenager is killed in a ritualistic manner. Mulder and Scully check out the local sheriff's fears of a "cult" operating in the vicinity, and discover that the town and high school are the focus of rumors of witchcraft and devil-worship going back seven generations. Meanwhile, the hysterical confessions of abuse and intimidation from several students lead them to the town's most upstanding and conservative citizens. A weird substitute teacher, a troubled teenager and a basement painted the color of blood all figure in their search for a demonic killer. Mulder and Scully are taken by surprise, and are led to slaughter in the school gymnasium.

Writers Glen Morgan and James Wong left the show after this episode to develop and produce "Space: Above and Beyond". The line "It's been nice working with you" was a parting gift to the cast and crew.

The opening credits contain a reference to Super Bowl XXIX, with the producers, both longtime Chargers fans, listed as James "Chargers" Wong and Glen "Bolts, Baby" Morgan. The Chargers were humiliated two days later, but no one believes these credits jinxed them.

"Crowley" High School is named for British ceremonialist Aleister Crowley, whose theories on "magick" shocked his contemporaries and heavily influenced the development of modern Wicca.

More lucky real-life xphiles mentioned in this episode: Characters Paula Vitaris and Deborah Brown, The Ausbury family (named for Jill Ausbury), Jerry (the boy who is killed) is named after Jerry Jones, host of the AOL X-Files forum. And school pscychologist Pete Calcagni is named after the husband of another AOL fan.

The satanic substitute teacher, Mrs. Paddock, is suitably named, since an Old English definition of 'paddock' is 'toad'.

Paul: "Well if he wants to be young I have no problems with Grease or Annie or.."

Psych: "Doesn't Grease have the F-word?"

____________________________________________________________

Cop: "What do you think?" (pointing out a stump)

Mulder: "I think with a few turquoise chips, a picture of John Wayne and three cans of schelack, it would make a pretty nice coffee table."

____________________________________________________________

Scully: "I mean, there's nothing weird about..." (toads start falling from the sky, then stop)

Mulder: "So, lunch?"

Scully: "Mulder, toads just fell from the sky!"

Mulder: "Guess their parachutes didn't open. What did you say about this place not feeling odd?"

____________________________________________________________

Sheriff: "I know he and his friends listened to devil music."

Mulder: "The Night Chicago Died?"

____________________________________________________________

Mulder: "Better hide your Megadeth albums."

____________________________________________________________

Mulder: "I didn't want to excite his already clearly aggravated imagination."

____________________________________________________________

Mrs. Paddock: "Extra credit will be given for dissecting the heart."

____________________________________________________________

Mrs. Paddock: "Some kids just have trouble dissecting things."

____________________________________________________________

Psych: "It's high school. It's normal for students to display abnormal behavior."

____________________________________________________________

Scully: "The FBI recently concluded a 7-year study and found little or no evidence of the existence of occult conspiracies."

Psych: "And J Edgar Hoover never admitted to the existance of the Mafia."

____________________________________________________________

Jim: "I would kill anyone who did the things to Shannon that she claims."

Mulder: "Not a very Christian tenet."

Osbury: "We skip over the ancient rituals that we didn't want to do."

Mulder: "Like drinking grape juice instead of wine at communion? Did you really think you could call up the devil and ask him to behave?"

____________________________________________________________

(discussing the possiblity that the man was eaten by a snake)

Scully: "That's impossible. It would take a large python hours to consume and weeks to digest a human body."

Mulder: "You really do watch the Learning Channel."

____________________________________________________________

Paul Vitares: "It [the showers] will make the blood easier to clean up."

____________________________________________________________