Today I’m discussing two episodes; Blood and Sleepless. Neither are particularly memorable as I look back on the series as a whole, but Blood does have an appearance by the Lone Gunman and Sleepless guest stars horror icon Tony Todd.
Blood
Series writer Glen Morgan drew inspiration for Blood from his own hematophobia (irrational fear of the sight of blood) and from the spraying of insecticides that are prevalent in farming communities in Southern California. As you can imagine, the episode follows people who are exposed to insecticide and start believing that electronics are telling them to kill people. Much like the previous episode that I wrote about last week, The Host, environmental issues caused by humans are the culprit leaving the episode without a singular villain but points to humanity’s careless behavior as a whole that leads to our own downfall.
When Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate a gruesome scene in which someone killed four people in an elevator, an autopsy by Scully reveals high levels of adrenaline on the body and when combined with neurochemicals, it can act like LSD and cause people to hallucinate.
The Lone Gunman are the ones who make the link to LSDM, a pesticide, after Mulder brings samples of dead flies to them. Their time in this episode is short, but they are instrumental in helping solve the case. And seeing them always makes me a bit giddy for I love their endearing paranoia.
Watching this episode now, I wonder if the entire thing wasn’t designed to test Mulder’s limits, both emotionally and mentally. Skinner and the Smoking Man are keeping him from reopening the X-Files. The whole episode mimics the manipulation that he deals with within the bureau. It was Chris Carter who wanted to do an episode about digital readouts telling people what to do, so I hope this episode was an intentional metaphor for the series as a whole.
Sleepless
Howard Gordon, the writer of Sleepless, was inspired by several bouts with insomnia. While the episode features Tony Todd, I’m more interested in the fact that this episode introduces Alex Krycek (actor Nicholas Lea). By the end of the episode, he informs the Smoking Man that their constant refusal to reopen the X-Files has only strengthened Mulder’s resolve and that Scully is a bigger problem than they had imagined.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The case Mulder and Krycek are assigned to follows Vietnam veteran Augustus Cole (Tony Todd) as he projects his consciousness into others to kill them. It is Mr. X, the person who replaced Deep Throat as Mulder’s informant, who informs Mulder that there was a doctor who had eradicated the need to sleep through lobotomy and sends Mulder looking for a man named Salvator. The episode really plays off of the Vietnam War guilt themes, making Cole’s character a bit deeper than just being your standard villain.
Fun Fact: when I was watching The White Lotus this spring, I knew I had seen Jon Gries before he appeared on that show and I couldn’t figure out where. Turns out, it was this episode. He plays Salvator, one of Cole’s victims.
At the end of the episode, Mulder ends up shooting Augustus Cole after believing the man had a gun. Really, this episode could have done more with Tony Todd. The man is a brilliant actor, and while he turns in a great performance here, much of the episode is spent on the conspiracy against Mulder and Scully. Both Mulder and Scully find that their case files are missing. And then we see Krycek giving intel to the higher ups at the FBI.
If you are unfamiliar with Tony Todd’s prolific career, one of his more memorable roles was in 1992’s Candyman starring Virginia Madsen and Xander Berkeley. The film itself plays out almost like an X-File with the main character researching her thesis on urban legends finds herself as the urban legend’s next victim. Many episodes of The X-Files find Scully in similar situations where she becomes the victim of the person they are investigating. Throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s, Todd appeared in multiple Star Trek series, Andromeda, Hercules, Xena, and Stargate. Essentially, he guest starred his way though that part of his career.
From there, he would go on to do so many more horror films and would solidify himself as the horror icon many of us know and love today. He had a cameo in Hatchet, a brilliant horror film shot in New Orleans. The special effects are intentionally cheesy with the villain running around in a tricked out muscle suit and buckets of blood being thrown on trees. More recently, Todd had a recurring role as a mortician in the Final Destination movies, the last of which he has poignant monologue about living life to it’s fullest. He died in real life soon after the project completed filming of stomach cancer in 2024.
While neither of these episodes are among my favorites, they do set up Krycek and Mr. X as recurring characters and give the viewer a deeper look into some of the conspiracies that continue even without the X-Files to investigate. I’m also grateful that Tony Todd was in the show even if it was only for one episode.
I’ve been watching The Outer Limits recently, the original episodes from the 1960s. There are some great self contained stories with surprisingly effective visuals. I thought of them when I was watching these two episodes this morning. Much like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits told stories about the human condition as well as paranormal science with a horror edge that I’m surprised aired on television in that era.
I’m currently be digging into the Outer Limits reboot that began airing in 1995. I believe that The X-Files’ success during it’s first two seasons really allowed for the reboot of The Outer Limits to move forward. The show was also a huge part of my teen and college years and I have not rewatched it since then so seeing Jeff Bridges and Kim Coates star in the series premiere makes me a bit giddy. The Outer Limits went all out getting guest stars and I believe it had The X-Files to thank for that. The popularity of the science fiction show paved the way for others to find a place in pop culture.
Next week, discussing four episodes during which Scully is kidnapped to coincide with the maternity leave that Gillian Anderson had planned. The camera angles this far this season were mostly chest up on Scully so it wouldn’t be as noticeable that she was eight months pregnant.
Until next week, the truth is out there.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
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Becky Tyler Art and Photography 
Today I’m discussing two episodes; Blood and Sleepless. Neither are particularly memorable as I look back on the series as a whole, but Blood does have an appearance by the Lone Gunman and Sleepless guest stars horror icon Tony Todd.
Blood
Series writer Glen Morgan drew inspiration for Blood from his own hematophobia (irrational fear of the sight of blood) and from the spraying of insecticides that are prevalent in farming communities in Southern California. As you can imagine, the episode follows people who are exposed to insecticide and start believing that electronics are telling them to kill people. Much like the previous episode that I wrote about last week, The Host, environmental issues caused by humans are the culprit leaving the episode without a singular villain but points to humanity’s careless behavior as a whole that leads to our own downfall.
When Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate a gruesome scene in which someone killed four people in an elevator, an autopsy by Scully reveals high levels of adrenaline on the body and when combined with neurochemicals, it can act like LSD and cause people to hallucinate.
The Lone Gunman are the ones who make the link to LSDM, a pesticide, after Mulder brings samples of dead flies to them. Their time in this episode is short, but they are instrumental in helping solve the case. And seeing them always makes me a bit giddy for I love their endearing paranoia.
Watching this episode now, I wonder if the entire thing wasn’t designed to test Mulder’s limits, both emotionally and mentally. Skinner and the Smoking Man are keeping him from reopening the X-Files. The whole episode mimics the manipulation that he deals with within the bureau. It was Chris Carter who wanted to do an episode about digital readouts telling people what to do, so I hope this episode was an intentional metaphor for the series as a whole.
Sleepless
Howard Gordon, the writer of Sleepless, was inspired by several bouts with insomnia. While the episode features Tony Todd, I’m more interested in the fact that this episode introduces Alex Krycek (actor Nicholas Lea). By the end of the episode, he informs the Smoking Man that their constant refusal to reopen the X-Files has only strengthened Mulder’s resolve and that Scully is a bigger problem than they had imagined.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. The case Mulder and Krycek are assigned to follows Vietnam veteran Augustus Cole (Tony Todd) as he projects his consciousness into others to kill them. It is Mr. X, the person who replaced Deep Throat as Mulder’s informant, who informs Mulder that there was a doctor who had eradicated the need to sleep through lobotomy and sends Mulder looking for a man named Salvator. The episode really plays off of the Vietnam War guilt themes, making Cole’s character a bit deeper than just being your standard villain.
Fun Fact: when I was watching The White Lotus this spring, I knew I had seen Jon Gries before he appeared on that show and I couldn’t figure out where. Turns out, it was this episode. He plays Salvator, one of Cole’s victims.
At the end of the episode, Mulder ends up shooting Augustus Cole after believing the man had a gun. Really, this episode could have done more with Tony Todd. The man is a brilliant actor, and while he turns in a great performance here, much of the episode is spent on the conspiracy against Mulder and Scully. Both Mulder and Scully find that their case files are missing. And then we see Krycek giving intel to the higher ups at the FBI.
If you are unfamiliar with Tony Todd’s prolific career, one of his more memorable roles was in 1992’s Candyman starring Virginia Madsen and Xander Berkeley. The film itself plays out almost like an X-File with the main character researching her thesis on urban legends finds herself as the urban legend’s next victim. Many episodes of The X-Files find Scully in similar situations where she becomes the victim of the person they are investigating. Throughout the 1990’s and early 2000’s, Todd appeared in multiple Star Trek series, Andromeda, Hercules, Xena, and Stargate. Essentially, he guest starred his way though that part of his career.
From there, he would go on to do so many more horror films and would solidify himself as the horror icon many of us know and love today. He had a cameo in Hatchet, a brilliant horror film shot in New Orleans. The special effects are intentionally cheesy with the villain running around in a tricked out muscle suit and buckets of blood being thrown on trees. More recently, Todd had a recurring role as a mortician in the Final Destination movies, the last of which he has poignant monologue about living life to it’s fullest. He died in real life soon after the project completed filming of stomach cancer in 2024.
While neither of these episodes are among my favorites, they do set up Krycek and Mr. X as recurring characters and give the viewer a deeper look into some of the conspiracies that continue even without the X-Files to investigate. I’m also grateful that Tony Todd was in the show even if it was only for one episode.
I’ve been watching The Outer Limits recently, the original episodes from the 1960s. There are some great self contained stories with surprisingly effective visuals. I thought of them when I was watching these two episodes this morning. Much like The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits told stories about the human condition as well as paranormal science with a horror edge that I’m surprised aired on television in that era.
I’m currently be digging into the Outer Limits reboot that began airing in 1995. I believe that The X-Files’ success during it’s first two seasons really allowed for the reboot of The Outer Limits to move forward. The show was also a huge part of my teen and college years and I have not rewatched it since then so seeing Jeff Bridges and Kim Coates star in the series premiere makes me a bit giddy. The Outer Limits went all out getting guest stars and I believe it had The X-Files to thank for that. The popularity of the science fiction show paved the way for others to find a place in pop culture.
Next week, discussing four episodes during which Scully is kidnapped to coincide with the maternity leave that Gillian Anderson had planned. The camera angles this far this season were mostly chest up on Scully so it wouldn’t be as noticeable that she was eight months pregnant.
Until next week, the truth is out there.
Discover more from Becky Tyler Art and Photography
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
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