"Theef" is the fourteenth episode of the seventh season of the

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 A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

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 ...

''. It premiered 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 ...

in the United States on March 12, 2000. It was written by

Vince Gilligan George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American screenwriter and filmmaker. He is best known as the creator, primary writer, executive producer, and occasional director of the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Brea ...

John Shiban John Shiban is an American television writer and producer. Career Shiban worked in both capacities on ''The X-Files'', its spin-off '' The Lone Gunmen'', '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', ''Smallville'', ''Supernatural'', '' Legend of the Seeker'', ''B ...

, and

Frank Spotnitz Frank Charles Spotnitz (born 1960) is an American television writer and film producer, producer. He is best known for his work on the series ''The X-Files'' (1995-2002) and its spin-off The Lone Gunmen (TV series), ''The Lone Gunmen'' (2001), an ...

and directed by Kim Manners. 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 ...

. "Theef" earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.4, being watched by 11.91 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to positive 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 ...

special 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. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate the murder of a prominent doctor's father-in-law, who was found with the word "theef" written on the wall in blood. After a string of follow-up accidents, Mulder suspects hexcraft may be the source of threats against the doctor's family. "Theef" was written in a short period during the show's Christmas break after another script was dropped by the series. The main concept of the episode was "modern medicine versus backyards supernatural arts". The episode featured several noted actors, including

Billy Drago Billy Eugene Burrows (November 30, 1945 – June 24, 2019), known professionally by his stage name Billy Drago, was an American television and film actor. Drago's films, where he was frequently cast as a villain, included Clint Eastwood's wester ...

, who played the role of

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.James Morrison, who was a former cast member of the science fiction series '' Space: Above and Beyond'', which was created by former ''X-Files'' writers Glen Morgan and James Wong. Series creator Chris Carter later called the episode "very well cast".

Plot

Dr. Irving Thalbro is staying the night with his daughter and her family in

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

, including her husband Dr. Robert Wieder ( James Morrison). In the middle of the night, Irving finds a pile of dirt shaped like a man in his bed. Irving is eventually discovered by Wieder hanging from the ceiling with the word "theef" painted in Irving's blood on the wall. While investigating the next morning,

(

) notices the graveyard dirt in Irving's bed and believes it may be caused by a hoodoo hex.

(

), however, believes that the doctor committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

by slitting his own throat, writing on the wall, and hanging himself. After the

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

, it is determined that Irving suffered from a

prion A prion () is a Proteinopathy, misfolded protein that induces misfolding in normal variants of the same protein, leading to cellular death. Prions are responsible for prion diseases, known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSEs), w ...

disease called kuru, which has not been found in the United States before. Mulder believes that kuru was given to him by a hex that caused him to go mad. The Wieders then find a family

photo A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. The process and pra ...

missing from their bedroom, and a "hoodoo man", later revealed to be named Orell Peattie (

), is seen placing the faces cut from the picture into various poppet dolls. Ms. Wieder collapses after another pile of graveyard dirt is found in her bed. Her skin then sprouts

lesions A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by injury or diseases. The term ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin meaning "injury". Lesions may occur in both plants and animals. Types There is no de ...

as the "hoodoo man" stands by the pool talking to the poppet. Peattie visits Dr. Wieder at work but refuses to tell him why he is committing these hexes against his family. Wieder does some research of his own and finds a bracelet in a

Jane Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used in the British, Canadian, and American legal systems, when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law ...

file that he believes may be connected. Mulder consults an expert in the

occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...

, who notes that, in order to commit hexes, the man must draw energy from a

charm Charm or Charms may refer to: Arts and entertainment * The Charms, an American garage rock band * Otis Williams and the Charms, an American doo-wop group * The Charm (Bubba Sparxxx album), ''The Charm'' (Bubba Sparxxx album), 2006 * Charm (Danny! ...

and place blood, hair, and a picture of the victim inside a poppet in order to follow through with the hexes. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wieder is burned to death during an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

, and the "hoodoo man" is found taking her poppet out of a

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

. The word "theef" is also found branded in Mrs. Wieder's chest. Wieder tells the agents about the man who came to see him and the Jane Doe case. After investigating, it is revealed that Jane Doe was Lynnette Peattie, who had previously died in a bus crash. Wieder gave her an overdose of

morphine Morphine, formerly also called morphia, is an opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin produced by drying the latex of opium poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as an analgesic (pain medication). There are ...

, euthanizing her due to her pain. Mulder assumes the man is her father and that he feels Wieder stole his family away from him. Mulder decides to

exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...

Lynette's body and take away her father's power, but when they exhume the casket there is no body inside. Meanwhile, Peattie's

landlady A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...

sneaks into his apartment for pain medication and finds Lynette's body in his bed. Immediately, she contracts a flesh-eating disease. After hearing about the incident on the news, Mulder goes to Peattie's apartment and finds the body, now headless. Peattie finds the Wieder family, whom Scully is protecting, and makes a poppet with Scully's hair and photo inside. He places nails in the doll's eyes, which causes Scully to go blind. Peattie breaks into the house, takes Scully's

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

, and stabs a poppet of Wieder, causing the doctor to collapse in pain. Wieder gets Peattie to admit that he's taking out his own guilt about not being able to save Lynette by blaming him instead. Mulder shows up, finds Scully's doll, and removes the nails from it, allowing her to regain her vision and shoot Peattie. He is placed in a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

while Lynnette's body is shipped back to her home in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

Production

Writing

The script for "Theef" was written by

, and

during the production crew's Christmas break after a previous script was scrapped at the last minute. After mulling over options, the three decided to craft a story about "modern medicine versus backyards supernatural arts". Gilligan later joked that "I think I was enlisted for the fact that I'm Southern, and they thought I was the closest thing they had to a

hillbilly ''Hillbilly'' is a term historically used for White people who dwell in rural area, rural, mountainous areas in the United States, primarily in the Appalachian region and Ozarks. As people migrated out of the region during the Great Depression, ...

on the staff".Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 179 Producer David Amann explained that the inspiration for the story was the question, "What if you have a doctor who is prosperous but has a dark page from his past that comes back to haunt him?" Spotnitz later elaborated that the story initially was "going to be how do you get rid of something you can't get rid of". However, the writers soon found this storyline difficult to develop, and, by Spotnitz's own admission, the story "started to evolve into a '' Cape Fear'' type of situation". The episode's script was finalized by the writers in December 1999 and Kim Manners was selected as the episode's director.

Casting, directing, and makeup

According to series creator Chris Carter, the episode "was very well cast". Actor Billy Drago was cast as Orell Peattie, a decision that Carter later called "especially lucky". His son, Darren E. Burrows, had previously been cast as Bernard in a sixth-season episode, "

Monday Monday is the day of the week that takes place between Sunday and Tuesday. According to the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 8601 standard, it is the first day of the week. Names The names of the day of the week were co ...

." The actor who played Dr. Wieder, James Morrison, was a former cast member of the science fiction series '' Space: Above and Beyond'', and had previously been cast as detective Jim Horn in an episode of ''

Millennium A millennium () is a period of one thousand years, one hundred decades, or ten centuries, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...

'' called "

Dead Letters ''Dead Letters'' is the fifth album by Finnish band The Rasmus released in 2003. It was released later in 2004 in the US, UK and Australia. Their previous album, ''Into (album), Into'', had seen some success in some parts of Europe, particularl ...

". Morrison would later get acclaim as Bill Buchanan on the future Fox series '' 24''. Actress Leah Sanders was a childhood friend of John Shiban who had not been in contact for 20 years. When she was coincidentally cast as a background character, Shiban was reportedly delighted. Kim Manners found "Theef" was difficult to shoot because the cast and crew had inadequate time to prepare. He explained, "It was kind of a rush thing and we got the script very late. We were totally winging it while we were shooting it". In Manners's opinion, the entire episode only "came together" during

post-production Post-production, also known simply as post, is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording indivi ...

editing: "When I looked at the footage, it was like I was looking at somebody else's film. But it cut together real nice and the end result was that 'Theef' turned out to be a decent little episode". Manners later admitted that the episode was his only credit for the series during which he experienced illness. With Manners out for a day due to his sickness, Rob Bowman took over directing duties for a day.Shapiro, p. 179 Cheri Montesanto-Medcalf, one of the show's makeup creators, was extremely pleased with Drago's makeup in the episode. She later noted, "I remember Billy Drago was awesome–he looked so creepy after makeup. I just wanted this guy to look super-creepy and disturbing to look at, but real enough that you might be scared if you looked out your window at night and saw him standing there".

Broadcast and reception

"Theef" first aired in the United States on March 12, 2000. This episode earned a

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...

of 7.4, with an 11 share, meaning that roughly 7.4 percent of all television-equipped households, and 11 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 11.91 million viewers.Shapiro, p. 281 The episode aired in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Sky1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989 ...

on June 18, 2000 and received 0.71 million viewers, making it the third most watched episode that week. Note: Information is in the section titled "w/e June 12–18, 2000", listed under Sky 1 Fox promoted the episode with the tagline "Voodoo curse? Tonight, the dark powers of black magic have chosen their next victim... Agent Scully." The episode was nominated and won a

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

by the

Academy of Television Arts & Sciences The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), also colloquially known as the Television Academy, is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the Television in the United States, television industry in the United S ...

for Outstanding Makeup for a Series.Hurwitz and Knowles, p. 241 Emily VanDerWerff of ''

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 ...

'' awarded the episode a "B+", and called it "the strongest straight-up, non-experimental standalone the season’s had so far," as well as one of "the strongest 'scary' episode since season five." She praised the guest cast—mostly notably Drago and Morrison—and wrote that the writers of the episode were able to successfully make the character deaths in the episode count in a way that moved the audience. VanDerWerff's main criticism of the episode was that it painted Peattie "as a backwoods hick and a rather broad stereotype of one." Tom Kessenich, in his book ''Examinations'', gave the episode a moderately positive review. Despite slightly criticizing the episode utilizing a voodoo-based plot, which he called " otterribly original", he concluded that "there's nothing wrong with a little modern medicine vs. practical magic confrontation. And I definitely enjoyed how Scully had her envelope pushed once again".Kessenich, p. 120 Rich Rosell from Digitally Obsessed awarded the episode 4 out of 5 stars, noting, "writer Vince Gilligan gets fairly serious in this ep concerning a series of deadly hexes cast upon a doctor and his family, as well as some cryptic scrawlings. There's plenty of bad mojo going around as the X-Files team gets to dig deep into the dark side of the magick arts, with Scully at one point losing her sight, thanks to a vengeful hex doll. Spooky". ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' later named the episode's main antagonist, Orell Peattie, as one of "The Scariest X-Files Monsters". Paula Vitaris from ''

Cinefantastique ''Cinefantastique'' is an American horror, fantasy, and science fiction film magazine. History The magazine originally started as a mimeographed fanzine in 1967, then relaunched as a glossy, offset printed quarterly in 1970 by publisher/ ed ...

'' gave the episode a moderately mixed review and awarded it two-and-a-half stars out of four. She concluded that "although 'Theef' is burdened with some illogical plot developments and some underdeveloped characterization, overall it is a decent installment of ''The X-Files''". Several other reviews were more mixed. Kenneth Silber from

Space.com Space.com is an online publication focused on outer space, space exploration, astronomy, skywatching and entertainment, with editorial teams based in the United States and United Kingdom. Launched on July 20, 1999, the website offers live coverag ...

was critical of the episode, noting that the main antagonist is "a veritable caricature of backwoods stupidity and thus hard to take seriously". He did, however, compliment the sympathetic qualities of Dr. Wieder and his family. Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book ''Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen'', rated the episode two-and-a-half stars out of five, noting that the episode was "just too unambitious an

to be anything more than a collection of moments, only some of which work".Shearman and Pearson, pp. 218–219

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* {{The X-Files episodes, 7 2000 American television episodes Television episodes set in California Television episodes directed by Kim Manners Television episodes written by Vince Gilligan Television episodes written by Frank Spotnitz The X-Files season 7 episodes Fiction about Voodoo Television episodes about euthanasia Television episodes about magic Television episodes about revenge Television episodes about families