"Dæmonicus" is the third episode of the ninth season of the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...

'' and the show's 185th episode overall. It first premiered on the

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network in the United States on December 2, 2001. The episode was written and directed by executive producer

Frank Spotnitz Frank Charles Spotnitz is an American television screenwriter and executive producer, best known for his work on ''The X-Files'' and ''The Man in the High Castle''. Spotnitz is also the chief executive officer and founder of Big Light Production ...

. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

, or overarching fictional history, of ''The X-Files''. The episode earned a

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of 5.5 and its premiere was viewed by 5.80 million households. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics. The show centers on

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

special agents who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called

X-File In the fictional universe of the television series '' The X-Files'', an "X-File" is a case that has been deemed unsolvable or given minimal-priority status by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; these files are transferred to the X-Files unit. Th ...

s; this season focuses on the investigations of

John Doggett FBI Special Agent John Jay Doggett is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction- supernatural television series ''The X-Files''. With his FBI partners Dana Scully (season 8) and Monica Reyes (season 9), they work on the X-Files togethe ...

(

Robert Patrick Robert Hammond Patrick (born November 5, 1958) is an American actor. Known for portraying villains and honorable authority figures, he is a Saturn Award winner with four other nominations. Patrick dropped out of college when drama class sparke ...

Monica Reyes Monica Julieta Reyes is a fictional character in the Fox science fiction- supernatural television series ''The X-Files''. She is portrayed by Annabeth Gish. At first a Field Agent before becoming a Special Agent with the FBI, she works with he ...

(

Annabeth Gish Anne Elizabeth "Annabeth" Gish (born March 13, 1971) is an American actress. She has played roles in films ''Shag'', ''Hiding Out'', '' Mystic Pizza'', ''SLC Punk!'', ''The Last Supper'' and ''Double Jeopardy''. On television, she played Special ...

), and

Dana Scully Dana Katherine Scully, MD, is a fictional character and one of the two protagonists in the Fox science-fiction, supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by Gillian Anderson. Scully is a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Spec ...

(

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

). In this episode, Doggett, Reyes, and Scully investigate a series of bizarre killings that seem to be due to demonic possession but which Doggett believes is a hoax. The agents soon meet Josef Kobold (

James Remar William James Remar (born December 31, 1953) is an American actor. He has played numerous roles over a 40 year career, most notably Ajax in '' The Warriors'' (1979), Albert Ganz in ''48 Hrs.'' (1982), Dutch Schultz in '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...

), a man who seems to be playing some sort of demonic game. "Dæmonicus" was written by Spotnitz to develop the new settings for the show's Monster-of-the-Week episodes, as well as the series in general. One of the major steps taken was to move Scully from the X-Files office to the FBI Academy at Quantico. When creating Josef Kobold, the episode's antagonist, Spotnitz researched various crimes and criminals, until he learned about

Caryl Chessman Caryl Whittier Chessman (May 27, 1921 – May 2, 1960) was a convicted robber, kidnapper and serial rapist who was sentenced to death for a series of crimes committed in January 1948 in the Los Angeles area. Chessman was charged with 17 counts a ...

, a man who had been sentenced to death on a technical charge of kidnapping. Series co-star Robert Patrick had issues remembering and delivering his lines, due to the theme of demonic possession, which reportedly made him uneasy.

Plot

Following a bizarre double-murder with Satanic ritual overtones in

Weston, West Virginia Weston is a city in Lewis County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,943 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County, and home to the Museum of American Glass in West Virginia and the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum ...

(

) and

(

) are offered the case. Doggett and Reyes ask

(

) to do an autopsy on the murder victims. The agents come to the conclusion that one of the murder victims was somehow tricked into killing his wife, while evidence at the scene points to two perpetrators. A single clue, the word "Daemonicus", is left spelled out on a Scrabble board the victims had been playing before being attacked. When Reyes claims to have felt the presence of evil, Doggett responds with great irritation. Dr. Monique Sampson calls them, saying that the murders may be connected to an escaped mental patient, Dr. Kenneth Richman, and a guard, Paul Gerlach. Meanwhile, in a wooded area, the two perpetrators, both wearing demon masks, face each other some twenty paces apart. One of the perpetrators raises his gun and shoots the other. At the mental institution, the two agents interview Josef Kobold (

), the neighbouring patient of Richman. The answers Kobold gives are unsettling for the agents, as he says that one of the perpetrators has killed again, showing them the location and warning them of "something horrible" happening there. After the dead perpetrator's body is recovered, Scully performs an autopsy and discovers that the body belongs to Gerlach. The agents ask Kobold for help finding the remaining perpetrator. When speaking to Kobold, he suddenly speaks in a strange backward whispering and erupts in convulsions. Reyes hears the word "medicus," meaning "physician." After putting Kobold in the custody of another guard named Custer, Doggett and Reyes race to Sampson's home and find her dead, with a dozen hypodermic needles jammed into her face. During a one-on-one confrontation, Kobold taunts Doggett about his personal life before vomiting all over him. That night, the power suddenly goes out in the mental institution: Custer approaches Kobold's cell and witnesses him turning into a demon. Doggett phones Scully to tell her that Kobold claims Richman is at an old marina near

Annandale, Virginia Annandale () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Production

Writing and directing

"Dæmonicus" was written and directed by executive producer

, marking his third credit as a writer and first credit as director for the season. The episode also marked the second time that Spotnitz helmed an episode's directing, with the first being " Alone". "Daemonicus" is the first Monster-of-the-Week episode of

season nine A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, meaning a stand-alone episode unconnected to the series' wider

; as season nine was promoted as the "new" ''X-Files'', it was important to develop new settings for the show. One of these new settings was to move

from the X-Files office to the FBI Academy at Quantico. The scenes at the FBI Academy were shot at a lecture hall at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

. Spotnitz’s wife, Melissa, appears as one of the students in Scully’s class. Spotnitz later called Kobold, the episode's main antagonist, "the devil, in a cell." When creating Kobold, Spotnitz researched various crimes and criminals, until he came across the name of

, who had been sentenced to death on a technical charge of kidnapping. He was then able to connect the word "chessman" to the idea that, for Kobold, his crimes were all a game. Spotnitz wanted the villain to be a character that "could help", and not a character that would just tell the viewers "what ''The X-Files'' was again". Series co-star

had issues remembering and delivering his lines due to the theme of demonic possession, which reportedly "was freaking" him out. He later explained, "It was the first time that I couldn't do my lines. Usually I would show up, and they'd always put the camera on me first ut this timeI couldn't do it."Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 200

Filming

The finished episode contains several sequences of Josef Kobold vomiting. Spotnitz had not intended the finished product to feature all the shots but the editor at that time, Chris Cooke, "cut it that way." Spotnitz felt that it "was so completely over the top." To create the shots, the production crew used tubes which supplied the faux vomit. The tubes were discreetly fitted to actor

's mouth. Remar, in turn, only had to open his mouth during the shooting of the sequence. Spotnitz later joked that he had "a thing for vomiting". Note: To retrieve information, click "Season 9" and navigate to "Daemonicus"

Reception

"Dæmonicus" first premiered on the

network in the United States on December 2, 2001. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 5.5, meaning that it was seen by 5.5% of the nation's estimated households and was viewed by 5.80 million households. "Dæmonicus" was the 68th most watched episode of television that aired during the week ending December 2. The episode later aired in the United Kingdom on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on November 17, 2002. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics. Jessica Morgan of

Television Without Pity Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedy, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarca ...

gave the episode a "C" grade rating.

Robert Shearman Robert Charles Shearman, sometimes credited as Rob Shearman, is an English television, radio, stage play and short story writer. He is known for his World Fantasy Award-winning short stories, as well as his work for ''Doctor Who'', and his asso ...

and

Lars Pearson Lars Pearson (born 1973, in Iowa) is an American writer, high school teacher, editor, and journalist. He is the owner/publisher of Mad Norwegian Press, a publishing company specializing in reference guides to television shows including ''Buffy th ...

, in their book ''Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen'', rated the episode one-and-a-half stars out of five. The two criticized Spotnitz "

attention seeking Attention seeking behavior is to act in a way that is likely to elicit attention. Attention seeking behavior is defined in the DSM-5 as "engaging in behavior designed to attract notice and to make oneself the focus of others’ attention and admir ...

direction", citing the "strange cross fades" and "exaggerated camera angles" as detractors. Furthermore, they were critical about the story, writing that it was "all over the place". Ultimately, Shearman and Pearson concluded that the entry was an example of "this new season eedingto try a little harder" in order to become a success.Shearmand Pearson, p. 262 Zack Handlen of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave the episode a "C−" and wrote that while the episode had a lot of gruesome moments, such as the corpses with snakes inside of them and the gristly murders, the "meandering structure, over-emphasized grimness, and deadening pace render all of these elements inert". He also felt that, after " Nothing Important Happened Today"—which he called a "snooze-fest"—"Daemonicus" was a "disheartening ayto get back to monster of the week episodes". Other reviews were more positive. M.A. Crang, in his book ''Denying the Truth: Revisiting The X-Files after 9/11'', said the episode was "sluggishly paced" but praised the "wonderfully tense atmosphere" and Spotnitz's "stylish directing choices". In a season review, Michelle Kung from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' called the episode "worthy", but noted that it was overshadowed by the show's "ludicrous conspiracy plots".

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daemonicus 2001 American television episodes Television episodes about demonic possession Fiction about the Devil The X-Files season 9 episodes Television episodes set in Virginia Television episodes set in West Virginia Television episodes written by Frank Spotnitz