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Braidwood concedes that he didn’t have much voice in the matter but has enjoyed his return to acting. “I always missed it,” he says, and in the last year he’s been mulling over doing stage work if time permits during the summer. 

Born during September 27, Braidwood acted in theater before finding steady employment behind the scenes on shows like “Danger Bay” and “21 Jump Street”-- the latter a credit he shares with “The X-Files” co-executive producers Glen Morgan and James Wong, who created the character and thus inadvertently launched his second career. 

Despite his duties as an A.D., Braidwood says his periodic appearances are fun for the crew (who have labeled a bicycle he rides around the studio the “Frohike Mobile”) and by no means an imposition….

Lone Gunmen scenes, he adds, “are usually done pretty quick and dirty. We say, ‘Did we get all our words out okay? Alright, move along.’”

…Based on Frohike’s lecherous nature in past episodes, in fact, Braidwood says he’s fond of telling people that it’s “pretty tough being the only romantic interest on a major TV hit.” 

Dean Haglund

…Well known on the Vancouver stand-up comedy and improvisation circuit, Haglund won the part of the Lone Gunmen’s most flamboyant member from more than 30 aspirants who auditioned. 

Born July 29, Haglund remains a member of the improvisational Theatersports team-- whose stage works include such spooks as “Star Trick: The Next Improvisation” and “Free Willy Shakespeare.”

…Haglund didn’t meet Harwood until he got the part of Langly, having initially read for it with a number of other actors. “Even the audition was weird, ‘cause I was on the phone for half the… audition,” he jokes. 

Since he usually spends Friday night on stage, Haglund was almost entirely unfamiliar with the show, though his role has lured some of the show’s die-hard fans, X-Philes, out to see him live. “They watch a bunch of shows, they get really partied up and come to see me. They start screaming, and I’ve got to perform with my friends saying, ‘Wow, who are these guys?’” Haglund says, while adding that there are also still folks on the comedy club circuit who’ve never heard of the show….

Bruce Harwood

“I don’t get funny lines,” says Bruce Harwood of his role as Byers, the most nattily attired of the Lone Gunmen. 

Not that he’s complaining, since he clearly relishes his part in the series….

Harwood, born April 29, sees the character of Byers-- known for his severe suits-- as a professional who moonlights as a conspiracy theorist. Like Haglund, he had zero familiarity with the show before being cast and had no idea the trio would ever appear again until being called back for a second episode, “When I came on set I started hearing weird stories about how popular we were,” he says.

Harwood actually attributes wardrobe to part of the Gunmen’s appeal, because they look so incongruous together, with Langly a long-haired rock ‘n’ roll type, Byers looking like a neatly trimmed professor, and Frohike a classic dirty old man…. “That’s why they work,” Harwood suggests. “That’s how it visually defines itself.”

The Gunmen play a clearly defined role, he adds, by moving the plot along in an interesting way, sharing their paranoid conspiracy theories with Mulder and thus providing necessary back story. Still, as a late convert to the show, Harwood notes wryly that once he started watching the series he couldn’t figure out at first “why if Mulder has all these people helping him he’s nowhere near the truth.” 

That said, Harwood is eager for the trio to provide Mulder with all the help he can handle, for as long as he needs it, to keep himself working. “At least four or five times a year,” he adds quickly. “We’re counting on that.” 

Philes

…Fans of “The X-Files” wasted no time in coining their own nickname: “X-Philes”, the “phile” derived from the Greek word ‘philos’, meaning “to love.” 

“The X-Files” launched its own World Wide Web site on June 12, 1995, but fans were becoming involved in the series well before that. Delphi, the on-line service, estimates that 25,000 people go in and out of sessions pertaining to the show on a monthly basis, more than all other Fox series available via the service combined. 

At least four regular on-line sessions are schedules, with a Sunday night David Duchovny Fan Club (one group of female fans held a “virtual birthday party” for the actor on his birthday, including gifts; another group call themselves the David Duchovny Estrogen Brigade), a Tuesday discussion of paranormal phenomena, a post-show party each Friday, and another hour discussing the series on Saturday. There’s also a less formal but not-to-be-outdone Gillian Anderson Testosterone Brigade, who by all accounts tend to be a bit more restrained than their feminine counterparts. 

The Internet has even prompted fans to forge in-person relationships….

On top of that, “The X-Files” conventions have proliferated since the first San Diego gathering was attended by roughly 2,500 people in June 1005. A total of 20 conventions have been scheduled through the end of calendar-year ‘95…. 

…Carter, too, makes it clear that he feels a special affinity for, and duty to, the show’s core audience. “I felt,” he says, referring to his early close encounters of the ‘net kind, “as if I was working for these people.”

TRIVIA

Tom Braidwood’s favorite episode is “Dod Kalm.” 

Dean Haglund’s favorite episode is “Tooms.”

Bruce Harwood’s favorite episode is “Humbug.”

“Colony”: In the old-fashioned know-how department, after a technician devoted hours to creating a sound effect for the alien stiletto, which the writers had told him they wanted to “sound like alien technology,” co-producer Paul Rabwin settled the matter by vocally making a “Phffft” sound into the microphone. 

“Fearful Symmetry”: Episode titles in the series are always obscure, and this one comes from William Blake’s poem “The Tyger”.... The construction site where the tiger is shot is also named Blake Towers after the poet. 

“Die Hand Die Verletzt”: The characters “Paul Vitaris” and “Deborah Brown” are named after prominent on-line X-Philes. “Crowley” High School evokes the memory of British ceremonialist Aleister Crowley, whose theories on “magick” shocked his contemporaries and heavily influenced the development of modern Wicca. Airiong on the eve of Super Bowl XXIX, the producers-- long-suffering San Diego Chargers fans-- also indulged themselves in a little personal gag in the opening credits, where they were listed as James “Chargers” Wong and Glen “Bolts, Baby” Morgan. 

“The Blessing Way”: Certain Navajo scholars had alerted the producers to some cultural inaccuracies depicted in “Anasazi,” so Chris Carter was invited to attend a Navajo night chant and the Native American Church Peyote Ritual in preparing “Blessing Way,” which is named for an actual chant. Carter considers attending the ritual a great honor but does admit jokingly that it was “excruciatingly painful to sit on the ground, Native American-style, for eight hours” during the ceremony. 

“The Blessing Way”: A tag at the end of the episode reads, “In Memoriam. Larry Wells. 1946-1995.” Wells was a costume designer on the series. 

“Paper Clip”: “Paper Clip” also carries a memoriam, this one to Mario Mark Kennedy, 1966-1995, a major fan of the show who had organized on-line sessions on the Internet. Kennedy died in a car accident. 

CONCLUSION

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Pileggi returned to the U.S. and, having done some acting in high school and at a junior college, “just started messing around with it….”

The muscular, 6’2” actor (who says he’s “a basket case” if he doesn’t work out every day and, in what must be an imposing sight, loves to Rollerblade) subsequently was cast in Shocker, a movie directed by horrormeister Wes Craven. The producers were looking for someone “evil in a sexy kind of way” to play the role of psychotic killer Horace Pinker, and Pileggi won the part from a field of about 50 contenders. His audition, in fact, was so scary that producer Marianne Maddalena moved her chair away from him, taking a seat on the other side of the room. “She was sweating,” he recalls. “It was actually very funny.” 

…Pileggi auditioned for “The X-Files” unsuccessfully two or three times before he was cast as Skinner. Prior to that session he remembers thinking, “‘Why are they calling me back in? They didn’t hire me before.’ So I went in with a bit of an attitude for this meeting [about playing] Skinner. I was kind of grumpy and not in very good humor, and fortunately, Chris thought I was acting, ‘cause it suited the character.” 

Only later did Pileggi learn that he had lost out on earlier parts by a hair, or lack thereof. The burly actor (who remains Los Angeles casting director Rick Millikan’s proudest “find” and tends to get considerable notice from women around the set) was shaving his head at the time, which was why executive producer Chris Carter couldn’t envision him in those roles. In retrospect, because they would have been one-shots, “and then Skinner wouldn’t have been available to me.” 

…”Up to this point it’s just the situation he’s [Skinner] been put in,” he says, suggesting that Skinner also wants to find the truth but goes about it by more conventional means than his subordinates. 

Concerning End Game: “Steven [Mr. X] came up with some wonderful ideas,” Pileggi says. “He’s the one that suggested that Skinner head-butt him back, and when he said that I said, ‘Yeah, that’s really great.’ I think that’s something Skinner would have done: ‘Head-butt me? Well here, take this.’” 

Pileggi recalls director Rob Bowman telling him to use more force shoving Williams against the elevator wall, and on the next pass he nearly put him through it. “The whole back of the elevator started coming out. We just about knocked it down,” he notes. 

Pileggi also received a number of letters from Vietnam veterans due to the story Skinner relates about his tour of duty during “One Breath,” which the actor found particularly gratifying. The character is clearly developing his own following among fans as well, though Pileggi quickly points out that everything is relative based on the time he spends with “The X-Files” stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. “I go out to dinner with David and it’s like they don’t even see me, which is all right,” he chuckles. 

…After all his traveling, in fact, Mitch PIleggi sounds like someone who’s found home. “This is what an actor dreams about-- either having a feature career or getting a series [character] on a quality show like this,” he says. “I just couldn’t be happier.”

Steven Williams

…“I am still in the dark as much as the audience is about X,” he says, referring to the character he began playing near the start of the show’s second season, a high-level government source who has taken Deep Throat’s place in helping Agent Fox Mulder, albeit with some reluctance and a decidedly ruthless streak. “They keep me so in the dark it’s pathetic.”

Still, the likable actor (who, in contrast to his character’s grim demeanor, has a disarming and ready laugh) wouldn’t have it any other way-- except, perhaps, for more advance notice as to when he’ll be needed to shoot and some assurance that I won’t suffer the same fate as his predecessor, Deep Throat. Demonstrating X’s savvy survival instincts, in fact, Williams isn’t above urging people to lobby for him to hang around. 

…He landed the role on “The X-Files” at the last minute (an actress had originally been cast in the part), based to some degree on his relationships with some fellow “Jump Street” alumni, including producer/director David Nutter and co-executive producers Glen Morgan and James Wong…. 

Despite his congenial nature, Williams says he has no problems getting himself into the stony frame of mind required to play X…. “It’s just automatic,” he says. “They go, ‘Action,’ and bam, I’m Mr. X. I’m just able to switch on and off like that and trick people.”

Although the actor initially considered trying to learn what makes X tick, ultimately he decided he’d be better off maintaining a certain mystery. “The less I know about him, the more interesting he becomes. That’s the way I’ve been playing him,” says Williams. “The biggest thing about X is that he’s a survivor. He’s said that: ‘I don’t want to die.’ While he is icy and cold, you can see fear in this man. 

“I thought about trying to do all that stuff [to prepare], and then I thought, ‘No, this is working for me.’” For that reason, Williams has done his job the old-fashioned way. As he puts it: “You read the words and look at the situation, and you put yourself there.”

Acting has put Williams in a lot of different places. Born January 7 in Memphis, Tennessee, until age nine he was raised principally by his grandparents (his parents had divorced), living in a farming community where his grandfather was a baptist minister. 

After a stint in the army, Williams worked as a shoe salesman in Chicago, quitting his job in 1972 to begin modeling and later working with a children’s theater group. The modeling led to commercials, stage work, and eventually two nominations for the Joseph Jefferson Award. 

…In a field fraught with unemployment, Williams notes, “From the moment I started doing this I’ve never had to do anything else. I’ve always been able to make a living acting… thank God.” 

….Williams says he also enjoys the nasty streak he’s allowed to exhibit on “The X-Files”, from his cold-blooded execution of another operative in the episode “One Breath” (“I like that iciness, that coldness”) to X’s brutal encounter in an elevator with Assistant Director Skinner in “End Game.” Close friends have been most startled by the character, he says, telling him, “Man, you’ve tapped into a dark side of yourself.”

According to Williams, he actually helped stage X’s tussle with Skinner, having developed an interest in fight choreography and the martial arts while working with Chuck Norris on the second “Missing in Action” movie. “In these close quarters, I said, ‘How ‘bout a nice head-butt for openers?’” Williams recalls. “Skinner is the same type of guy, so he head-butts… back…. These aren’t guys who are interested in having a long fight. They’re interested in taking you out and getting out of there.” 

Williams has done most of his work with David Duchovny, who he describes as “a pleasant guy” if not exactly a drinking buddy. Still, the two aren’t above sharing a laugh to break the tension, especially when someone flubs a line. “The stuff is so heavy sometimes that you’ve got to do the other side just to lighten it up,” he says. 

While he felt a bit constrained at the outset, Williams is pleased with the way his role has unfolded and doesn’t even mind the fact that he plays one of the few recurring characters in primetime without a regular name. Asked what he thinks X’s John Hancock might be, the actor pauses, admitting that he hasn’t given the notion much though. “Leroy,” he says after a beat, laughing loudly. “Leroy Williams. Which is why he calls himself ‘Mr. X.’”

Nicholas Lea

Despite appearing in a relatively small number of episodes, Nicholas Lea-- who has made his presence felt as FBI Agent Alex Krycek… says his affiliation with “The X-Files” has already paid dividends when casting people in Los Angeles to recognize him from the show. “That instantly breaks the ice,” he says, “especially for an actor who is from Vancouver and doesn’t know anybody down there.” 

Lea didn’t take up acting full time until the age of 25, after going to art school and singing in a band. After the group broke up he met an acting coach and, having always wanted to give it a try, took the plunge headfirst. “I went and quit my job the next day and started acting,” he says, admitting now that he perhaps felt “a little bit bulletproof at that point.” 

After landing parts in Vancouver-based television shows and some low-budget features, Lea earned his first real exposure with a recurring role in ABC’s “The Commish”, where he also met his girlfriend, Melinda McGraw, who played Scully’s sister Melissa on “The X-Files”. 

Lea did more than 30 episodes of “The Commish”, turning up on “The X-Files” in the first-season installment “Genderbender”.... The one-shot role particularly impressed director Rob Bowman, who kept him in mind for a return and immediately though of him for Krycek….

Born on June 22, Lea was the only actor considered in Vancouver for the part, which he thought would simply be a three-episode arc. When he heard he had been cast, Lea remembers running into the gym where Melinda was working out and screaming with joy. 

…Krycek brought with him an ill-defined past. “That’s an actor’s job really, to come in with a history of who that person is,” Lea explains, saying he did research on the FBI and wrote an entire back story “about who this guy was and where he was from. Hopefully, then, the decisions that you make in a show are, like anybody, motivated from their past. There’s a whole psychology that goes behind that.” 

Krycek’s traitorous doings earned him the nickname “Ratboy” along the Internet, as well as a small cadre of admirers who call themselves “The Ratnicks.” Lea says he’s honored to have merited that kind of attention from fans. 

Lea has done most of his scenes with David Duchovny, and the two have become friends, though it would be difficult to tell based on their self-choreographed fight in the second-season finale “Anasazi.” “It was really nasty,” Lea says. “That’s what we were after-- not your regular TV fight.” 

…Lea adds that he’ll remain ready to put on the character of Krycek-- and whatever nickname the show’s fans may be calling him-- at a moment’s notice. “I’ll always drop whatever I’m doing to come up here and do this,” he states, emphasizing his affection for “The X-Files” crew. 

“They’re the best group of producers I’ve ever worked with, and they’ve given me a huge opportunity here. It’s easy to go through this business and get jobs and go, ‘Yeah, see you later,’ but these guys here have really opened up something for me, and that’s priceless.”

William B. Davis

…Davis did smoke once but quit long before his stint on “The X-Files” and puffs herbal cigarettes while playing the menacing character known as the Cigarette-Smoking Man…. 

The well-traveled actor and drama teacher appeared in “The X-Files” pilot as a shadowy figure who participates in covering up material found by agents Mulder and Scully, but he didn’t actually speak a line until “Tooms,” 20 episodes and several months later. Davis directed and taught acting for most of his professional life until he took some acting classes as a brush-up technique to help his teaching. “I started thinking, ‘Maybe I’ve learned something here, telling people all this time what to do,’” he recalls, before beginning to pursue acting in earnest around 1980. 

Born in Toronto on January 13, Davis started out as a child actor, then attended the University of Toronto and later the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After directing theater in England for five years he returned to Canada, where he was involved in theater and then radio for the Canadian Broadcasting Co. 

Davis continued to teach and still serves as director of the William Davis Centre for Actor’s Study, having moved to Vancouver to run the Vancouver Playhouse Acting School in 1985….

The Cigarette-Smoking Man has little or no history on which to base the character, and in Davis’s eyes not much of a personal life about which to theorize. “I think he’s just burnt,” he says. “‘Workaholic’ would be to underestimate him. There is no other life, there is no other purpose, than what he is pursuing.”

Davis laughs at the question of whether the character has a more conventional name but finds plenty of implied symbolism in how he’s presented, particularly in the juxtaposition of evil with fire. Although reluctant to come out and say that he’s in essence playing the Devil, “What other name could I have but Lucifer?” he asks with a sheepish smile, quickly adding that the Cigarette-Smoking Man sees himself not as evil but rather as being “on a crusade to save the world.” 

The Canadian native does admit that the role presents one constant challenge, since the tall, distinguished-looking actor clearly has a bit of an accent that he has to concentrate on masking in playing a lifelong Washington bureaucrat. “I have to watch my vowel sounds,” Davis says. 

With his acting career occupying more of his time, Davis has scaled back a bit on teaching. His students, meanwhile, have taken an interest in and developed admiration for his on-screen work, with one even suggesting that the Cigarette-Smoking Man himself is an alien who thrives on carbon monoxide. Davis shrugs it all off. “Back in the days when I was still silent,” he says, with a smile that bears little resemblance to his character, “people asked me to give classes on how to ‘look’ sinister.”

TRIVIA

Mitch Pileggi's favorite episode is "End Game."

Steven Williams's favorite episodes are "End Game" and "One Breath."

Nicholas Lea's favorite episode is "Duane Barry."

William B. Davis's favorite episodes are "End Game" and "Anasazi."

“End Game”: “End Game” is also memorable for the confrontation between X and Skinner. Mitch Pileggi recalls taking a few accidental shots to the groin in slamming Steven Williams against (and nearly through) the fake elevator wall. Williams suggested the dueling head-butts, saying there was a psychological as well a s a physical aspect to the encounter. The scene grew out of a need to have Scully discover where Mulder was, since only X knew. Finally, Carter simply told writer Frank Spotnitz, “Why can’t we just have Skinner beat the information out of X?” 

“The Blessing Way”: The episode contains several interesting nuances relating to the series both on and off-screen-- such as having Krycek, played by Nicholas Lea, shoot Melissa Scully, played by his real-life girlfriend Melinda McGraw. Mulder also talks in his sleep about wanting sunflower seeds, having discussed inheriting his father’s taste for them in the second-season episode, “Aubrey.” 

CONCLUSION

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…Eventually, it’s suggested they shift some action from the second act into the first in order to achieve the proper sense of pacing. The move requires some reconfiguration of other plot elements, but once those are blocked out the producer and other writers seem content. “That works for me,” says Carter, sending the show’s writer off to do another rewrite. 

Carter’s daily schedule, however, is just beginning. The writers’ session is followed by what’s known as a concept meeting-- a teleconference with the staff in Vancouver to grapple with various production issues before the begin filming a new episode…. 

Other issues involve the number of extras they can use….

Because money is always an issue, and time a luxury the crew usually doesn’t have, compromise and ingenuity remain key….

The producers also pride themselves on finding means of scavenging resources, then developing different ways to capitalize upon them. A prime case involves the crew getting access to a Canadian Navy destroyer that was then used in three different episodes, including “Dod Kalm”... and “End Game”.... “It’s fun,” Carter says, “to make something out of nothing.” 

Episodes must be plotted down to the most minute details-- in part because Carter is a perfectionist, and in part because the show is under a microscope now, with fans picking and nitpicking every conceivable aspect. Issues raised include what sort of garb Native Americans depicted should wear, with an emphasis on being as faithful as possible to tribal customs. (A Navajo group has complained because a character wore his hair down, something the elders in that tribe wouldn’t normally do, in the episode entitled “Anasazi.” Carter subsequently visited a Navajo reservation and attended one of their ceremonies.) 

From a more practical standpoint, the Vancouver team wants to know whether they can wardrobe the actors in blue jeans because some postproduction special effects shots use blue-screen, which essentially eliminates that color. 

The L.A. staffers are also assured that a shoot-out sequence will be top-notch, with bullet hits and ricochets plus a movie-style car explosion. Can it be done? “The answer’s yes… with disclaimers,” quips Beck good-naturedly adding, “One big disclaimer: How much money you got?” 

…The crew clearly takes enormous pride in the series, which presents them with such challenges on almost a daily basis and allows them to put their skills to the fullest possible use. Some freely admit, in fact, that they’ve been spoiled by their involvement with "The X-Files" and would have a hard time working elsewhere. “They’d have to drag me kicking and screaming off this show,” Gauthier says. 

The same goes for makeup special effects supervisor Toby Lindala…. Still, Lindala has proven up to most any task, with the Flukeman-- a costume his crew created in 10 days that had to weather water and other shooting ordeals-- still his proudest accomplishment. “That was probably the most insane undertaking for a time period,” says Lindala, who worked a 28-and 28-hour day during that stretch to get the suit ready in time. Even so, Lindala grew up watching monster movies and isn’t complaining, relishing the opportunities the show has provided to fool around with such projects. “I love making ‘em,” he says. 

Goodwin, a veteran producer who has worked on such series as "Life Goes On" and "Mancuso FBI", now tries to provide more lead time to prepare such major undertakings, but in most instances Lindala and his team (four people, including Lindala, work full time in that area) have just seven days’ notice to put a makeup effect together, and his services are needed in virtually every episode. 

…Careful planning remains the main hedge against both cost and time crunches, with Goodwin pointing out that in television time essentially translates directly into money. “The quicker you have to do it, the more it costs,” he says, adding that while some in the industry are tempted to cut corners, “My motto is, ‘Quality, whether they want it or not.’” 

…Kim Manners, also one of the show’s pool of directors, lauds Carter for treating each installment like a mini-movie. The process gives the individual directors-- who in episodic television, which is dominated by executive producers, are often viewed as transient guns for hire-- the opportunity to truly ply their trade. “He insists that you go out and be a filmmaker,” Manners says. “He doesn’t want you just go out and be a traffic cop.” Because of that freedom, he adds, the show is “the zenith of my career.” 

…Unlike most television shows that shoot on location, on "The X-Files" whoever scripted that particular episode goes to Vancouver to scout out locations and do other preparatory work. “To make sure,” as story editor Frank Spotnitz puts it, “everything is in sync with what the writer had in mind,” from casting to production design. In the cryptic vernacular of the show, the process stems from commitment to “purity control.” 

…For the episode in question, that means co-executive producer Howard Gordon, the only member of the writing staff other than creator Chris Carter who has been with the show virtually since the beginning, has made the sojourn to Vancouver. “As a writer, you don’t get that experience on any other show,” says Gordon. 

…Other matters have also arisen, some remarkable in their degree of minutia. Gordon’s script for the episode being prepared, for example, contains a seemingly innocuous reference to being “in the mood for some Quarter Pounders,” and Fox’s legal department wants them to clear the wording with McDonald’s…. “That’s a great line,” says an only slightly exasperated Manners…. Hours later, it’s decided to change to a more generic term rather than hassle the legal issue. 

…A later shot involves disposing of the [dead] cow, and Gordon-- a city kid from New York-- has actually researched the matter…. …But in light of McDonald’s headache, Carter has another suggestion. “How ‘bout if we just have a truck with golden arches on the side?” he jokes, spurring laughs from everyone in the room. 

…The attention to detail, again, proves remarkable, driven by Carter’s commitment to perfection. 

The entire process involved in shooting an episode of "The X-Files", from the first day of preparation to the last day of postproduction, usually takes six to eight weeks, with the seven days of preparation key to ensuring that the eight days of production that follow go smoothly-- though even the enormous effort that goes into planning can never account for every detail that can delay filming and raise blood pressure rates all around. In the middle of the season, as time grows shorter, there’s occasionally been as little as five weeks from prep to air. 

Just two days before shooting is to begin, Manners, Gordon, Carter, and co-executive producer R.W. Goodwin cram into a small audition room, where they’re scheduled to see more than 20 actors in just over an hour….

Manners, Gordon, and about 15 crew members, including special effects ace Dave Gauthier, production designer Graeme Murray, and others from various departments, later embark on a technical survey. They pile into an air-conditioned bus to scout out all the locations that will be involved in the upcoming shoot, usually a six-to-eight hour pilgrimage. “And this is the easy part,” laughs set decorator Shirley Inget. 

Carter follows the group to the door but has too much work at the office to come along. “I’m gonna miss this one, you guys,” he tells them, which is met with a collective “Aw” from the bus. 

…The bunch straggles back to the studio around 7:30 P.M., almost eight hours after their departure. On a near-by soundstage, meanwhile, Bowman is directing stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, trying to keep the level of enthusiasm up with another long night of work to do. Shooting is frequently a tedious process, with long lapses between the action as shots are set up. The two stars carry out an emotional scene in front of an elevator that isn’t really an elevator, with a crew member behind the soundstage wall sliding a wooden door closed to approximate the effect. “I love it!” Bowman proclaims as the scene ends, watching the shot through a monitor and lauding his star as “One-take Duchovny.” 

Outside, Anderson’s baby, Piper… plays with various staff members as well as her father, assistant art director Clyde Klotz, who’s just returned from the technical survey. Piper shows off her mother’s piercing eyes and frolics later with Duchovny’s dog, Blue (his constant companion on the set), both seemingly fascinated with and a bit perplexed by the other. "The X-Files" is, indeed, a family affair, underscored when Goodwin brings his 10-year-old son and a friend into the production office the next morning, the latter collecting autographs from everyone on that week’s script. 

A short time later Duchovny and Anderson arrive, enjoying a few quiet moments while Piper plays nearby in a small red tub, watched carefully by her nanny. …Though he isn’t shooting that day, actor Mitch Pileggi (who seems to create quite a stir among the female office staff) also pops by to look over dailies, or raw footage, of a fight sequence featuring him shot earlier in the week.  

…Bowman has to deal with five actors (Anderson, Duchovny, and Gunmen Dean Haglund, Bruce Harwood, and Braidwood) in a relatively confined space, so the staging will be critical. After Bowman aligns them one way, Duchovny suggests an alternative in handling the shot, and various configurations are tried. As they begin rehearsing, everyone still seems a bit punchy, and the mood is light. Haglund keeps wanting to call a Nazi scientist “Kempler” instead of “Klemper”, and Duchovny has a hard time not laughing each time Braidwood (who comes up roughly to the actor’s chin) approaches him, with Frohike supposed to act relieved to see Mulder alive after the events that closed the second season. “Did you ever see the Star Trek where Spock thought that Kirk died?” Duchovny tells him with his trademark deadpan delivery. ‘That’s what you want to be doing.”