Miracle Man (The X-Files)
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"Miracle Man" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of the American
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
television series ''
The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...
'', premiering on the
Fox network Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...
on March 18, 1994. It was written by
Howard Gordon Howard Gordon (born March 31, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is well known for his work on the Fox action series '' 24'' alongside the Showtime thriller '' Homeland'', which he co-developed with Alex Gansa and Gideon Raf ...
and series creator Chris Carter, directed by
Michael Lange Michael Lange (born March 1, 1950) is an American television director and record producer. Biography Early life Born and raised just outside New York City,
, and featured guest appearances by R. D. Call and
Scott Bairstow Scott Hamilton Bairstow (born April 23, 1970) is a Canadian former actor known for his roles as Newt Call on the syndicated western television drama '' Lonesome Dove: The Series'' and as Ned Grayson on the American television drama series ''Part ...
. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider
mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
, although plot elements relate to the abduction of Mulder's sister
Samantha Samantha is an English feminine given name in use since the 17th century that is of uncertain derivation. It is now in popular use worldwide due to various popular culture influences. Etymology Some etymologists have suggested Samantha might ...
. It is one of several season one episodes that establish the centrality of the childhood trauma to Mulder's character. "Miracle Man" earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.5, being watched by 7.1 million households in its initial broadcast; and received mixed reviews from critics. The show centers on
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
agents
Fox Mulder Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterr ...
(
David Duchovny David William Duchovny ( ; born ) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He received his breakthrough with the role of Fox Mulder in The X-Files franchise, earning Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...
) and
Dana Scully Dana Katherine Scully, M.D., 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) Spe ...
(
Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the dr ...
) 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. When Mulder and Scully receive a video tape of a
faith healer Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
whose latest patient died mysteriously, the agents come to believe the healer's ministry may be covering up several murders. "Miracle Man" was the first episode of ''The X-Files'' written by Gordon without the aid of his long-term collaborator
Alex Gansa Alex Gansa is a screenwriter and producer. He co-developed the Showtime series '' Homeland'' with Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff. He was also one of the series' executive producers and showrunners. Gansa produced and wrote a number of scripts f ...
. Carter helped Gordon flesh out the details of the episode. Exterior shots for the episode were filmed on location in Steveson,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada, which had previously been used in the earlier first season episode "
Gender Bender A gender bender is a person who dresses up and presents themselves in a way that defies societal expectations of their gender, especially as the opposite sex. Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck. The concept of gender ...
".


Plot

In 1983, a young boy, Samuel Hartley, appears at the scene of a car accident and pushes his way past an emergency crew. He opens a
body bag A body bag, also known as a cadaver pouch or human remains pouch (HRP), is a non-porous bag designed to contain a human body, used for the storage and transportation of shrouded corpses. History In the United States, the apparent first docu ...
and commands the severely burnt cadaver inside to "rise up and heal." Samuel's father, Calvin, convinces a fireman to let him continue. The body inside the bag comes alive, grabbing Samuel's hand. Ten years later,
Dana Scully Dana Katherine Scully, M.D., 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) Spe ...
shows
Fox Mulder Fox William Mulder () is a fictional FBI Special Agent and one of the two protagonists of the Fox science fiction-supernatural television series ''The X-Files'', played by David Duchovny. Mulder's peers dismiss his many theories on extraterr ...
a videotape of a religious service led by the now-grown Samuel (
Scott Bairstow Scott Hamilton Bairstow (born April 23, 1970) is a Canadian former actor known for his roles as Newt Call on the syndicated western television drama '' Lonesome Dove: The Series'' and as Ned Grayson on the American television drama series ''Part ...
), who has become an
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
faith healer Faith healing is the practice of prayer and gestures (such as laying on of hands) that are believed by some to elicit divine intervention in spiritual and physical healing, especially the Christian practice. Believers assert that the healing ...
for a ministry run by Calvin. The video shows a supposed healing which later left the follower dead. The agents travel to Clarksville,
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, where they attend a service featuring an enthusiastic sermon by Leonard Vance, the man whom Samuel raised from the dead a decade earlier. The agents learn from Calvin that Samuel has gone missing. Samuel eventually turns up drunk at a local bar, his faith shaken by the death. He is taken into custody. The agents doubt his ability, but he is able to convince Mulder that he knows the latter has lost a sister—
Samantha Samantha is an English feminine given name in use since the 17th century that is of uncertain derivation. It is now in popular use worldwide due to various popular culture influences. Etymology Some etymologists have suggested Samantha might ...
—at a young age. Mulder has been seeing visions of Samantha, and continues to see them. At Samuel's bail hearing, the courtroom fills with a swarm of
locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...
s, which Samuel claims is a sign of God's wrath against him. Once he is released, Samuel returns to his ministry and attempts to heal a woman in a wheelchair. However, she suffers a
seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...
and dies, which leads to Samuel's second arrest. An autopsy reveals the woman died of
cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
poisoning, while Mulder and Scully find evidence that the swarm of locusts, which were actually common
grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...
s, was guided by someone to the courtroom through the building's ventilation system. Mulder believes Samuel to be innocent. However, the local sheriff, Maurice Daniels, allows two of his men to beat Samuel to death in his cell. At his home, Vance is confronted by a ghostly vision of Samuel, who accuses him of betraying the church and perpetrating the murders. Vance confesses and blames his bitterness at having been resurrected with such a scarred and deformed visage. Mulder and Scully, who have been able to trace a large purchase of grasshoppers to Vance, arrive to find the man dying of cyanide poisoning from his own glass of water. He confesses to the agents before falling dead. As the agents prepare to finish work on the case, they receive a phone call and learn that Samuel's body has gone missing from the morgue, and witnesses have seen him walking around, badly bruised. Meanwhile, Daniels is arrested by one of his deputies for questioning by the
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
over Samuel's death. As Mulder and Scully leave Tennessee, Samuel's ministry closes down, and Mulder sees one last vision of his missing sister before he gets into his car.


Production

"Miracle Man" was the first episode of ''The X-Files'' written by
Howard Gordon Howard Gordon (born March 31, 1961) is an American screenwriter and producer. He is well known for his work on the Fox action series '' 24'' alongside the Showtime thriller '' Homeland'', which he co-developed with Alex Gansa and Gideon Raf ...
without the aid of his long-term collaborator
Alex Gansa Alex Gansa is a screenwriter and producer. He co-developed the Showtime series '' Homeland'' with Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff. He was also one of the series' executive producers and showrunners. Gansa produced and wrote a number of scripts f ...
.Lowry, p.142 The pair had worked on several other series before ''The X-Files'', and had also contributed the episodes "
Conduit Conduit may refer to: Engineering systems * Conduit (fluid conveyance), a pipe suitable for carrying either open-channel or pressurized liquids * Electrical conduit, a protective cover, tube or piping system for electric cables * Conduit cur ...
", "
Ghost in the Machine The "ghost in the machine" is a term originally used to describe and critique the concept of the mind existing alongside and separate from the body. In more recent times, the term has several uses, including the concept that the intellectual part ...
", "
Fallen Angel Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven. Such angels are often described ...
" and "
Lazarus Lazarus may refer to: People *Lazarus (name), a surname and a given name * Lazarus of Bethany, a Biblical figure described as being raised from the dead by Jesus * Lazarus, a Biblical figure from the parable of the Rich man and Lazarus * Lazar ...
" to the series so far. Series creator Chris Carter recalls being asked to collaborate on the episode, saying, "Howard came to my house, and said, 'Help me out,' so we went to my living room and put up this bulletin board and in a matter of hours we came up with this story".Edwards, p.67 Originally the script had called for more overt religious imagery, though censors at the
Fox network Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an American commercial broadcast television network serving as the flagship property of Fox Corporation and operated through Fox Entertainment. Fox is based at Fo ...
objected to depictions of faith healer Samuel being beaten to death whilst in a cruciform pose, leading to scenes being cut.Cantor, p.228 Exterior shots of the town were filmed on location in Steveson,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
, Canada—a location which had previously been used in the earlier first season episode "
Gender Bender A gender bender is a person who dresses up and presents themselves in a way that defies societal expectations of their gender, especially as the opposite sex. Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck. The concept of gender ...
".Gradnitzer and Pittson, p.43 Scenes set in the home of Reverend Hartley were shot in a mansion in the Langley area, with the crew taking advantage of an old filled-in swimming pool in the building to set up the necessary equipment.Gradnitzer and Pittson, p.45–46 All of the scenes set in the faith healer's tent were filmed in one day, and involved over three hundred extras. Producer
R. W. Goodwin Robert W. Goodwin (born 1943), billed as R. W. Goodwin, is an Australian-born American television producer and director best known for his work as senior executive producer of ''The X-Files''. He lives in Bellingham, Washington. He also directed ...
felt that the greatest difficulty in creating the episode was the challenge in finding enough actors in the
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
area who could portray a convincing
Southern United States accent In the United States, a Southern accent or simply Southern is the phonology, sound system of the modern Southern American English, Southern regional dialect of American English. Most English of the Southern United States, particularly as spo ...
, leading to the hiring of a dialect coach to prevent the cast from sounding "like they were coming from fifteen different parts of the South".Edwards, pp.68–69


Broadcast and reception

"Miracle Man" premiered on the Fox network on March 18, 1994. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.5 with a 13 share, meaning that roughly 7.5 percent of all television-equipped households, and 13 percent of households watching TV, were tuned in to the episode. A total of 7.1 million households watched this episode during its original airing.Lowry, p.248 In a retrospective of the first season in ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', the episode was rated a B−. Scott Bairstow's guest role was praised, though it was noted that "an ultimately contrived plot and a stereotypical Bible-thumping Southern milieu make for a case more suited to
Jessica Fletcher Jessica Beatrice "J. B." Fletcher () is a fictional detective and writer and the main character and protagonist of the American television series ''Murder, She Wrote''. Portrayed by award-winning actress Angela Lansbury, Fletcher is a best-sel ...
than Mulder and Scully". Zack Handlen, writing for ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an 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 created in ...
'', described it as "a largely predictable story that hits all the middle-of-the-road marks", finding the religious imagery to have been used to little effect. Matt Haigh, writing for Den of Geek, felt that the identity of the killer was one of the few endings amongst first season episodes that he had found genuinely surprising, though he attributed this to the episode's focus on Mulder's personal history. The use of Mulder's visions of his sister Samantha as a motivation for his actions in this episode has been seen as "opening up" the overarching search for the truth about her through the series.Parish, p.136 The plot for "Miracle Man" was also adapted as a novel for young adults in 2000 by
Terry Bisson Terry Ballantine Bisson (February 12, 1942 – January 10, 2024) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was best known for his short stories, including " Bears Discover Fire", which won the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and " T ...
.


Footnotes


References

* * * * *


External links

* {{The X-Files episodes, 1 1994 American television episodes Television episodes written by Chris Carter (screenwriter) Evangelicalism in popular culture Television episodes set in Tennessee The X-Files season 1 episodes Television episodes written by Howard Gordon Fiction set in 1983 Television episodes set in the 1980s Television episodes set in the 1990s it:Episodi di X-Files (prima stagione)#Omicidi del terzo tipo