Blood (The X-Files)

"Blood"
The X-Files episode
Violent messages appear on an electronic devices. Series creator Chris Carter had been wanting to create an episode that featured a story revolving around digital readouts.
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 3
Directed by	David Nutter
Teleplay by	Glen Morgan James Wong
Story by	Darin Morgan
Production code	2X03
Original air date	September 30, 1994
Running time	43 minutes
Guest stars
William Sanderson as Edward Funsch John Cygan as Sheriff Spencer George Touliatos as Larry Winter Ashlyn Gere as Bonnie McRoberts Andre Daniels as Harry McNally Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers John Harris as Taber Gerry Rosseau as Mechanic William MacKenzie as Bus Driver Diana Steven as Mrs. Adams David Fredericks as Security Guard Kathleen Duborg as Mother B.J. Harrison as Clerk
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Host" Next → "Sleepless"
List of season 2 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Blood" is the third episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 30, 1994. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong and directed by David Nutter. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Blood" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.8, being watched by 8.7 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received mostly positive reviews.

In this episode, FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate a series of killings in Franklin, Pennsylvania. All the suspects appear compelled to murder after seeing violent messages on electronic devices.

"Blood" was inspired by writer Glen Morgan's own hematophobia and the controversy over malathion spraying in Southern California. The episode marked the second appearance of the Lone Gunmen in the series, as well as a guest appearance by porn actress Ashlyn Gere.

Plot

At a postal center in Franklin, Pennsylvania, Edward Funsch (William Sanderson) is informed that he will be fired at the end of the week due to budget cuts. After Funsch sits back down at his machine, he sees the words "Kill 'Em All" on the machine's digital display. At the Franklin Civic Center, a middle-aged man in a crowded elevator sees "No Air" displayed on the elevator's LCD, and is the only one who can see the message. Sweating and obviously claustrophobic, he again glances at the LCD. This time it flashes the words "Can't Breathe" and then "Kill 'Em All."

Agent Fox Mulder arrives at the civic center after what looks like a massacre; bodies lie on the sidewalk and in the foyer. Sheriff Spencer (John Cygan) explains that the suspect murdered four people from the elevator with his bare hands. His rampage ended when he was shot by a security guard. Spencer notes that in the last six months seven individuals have murdered twenty-two people. Mulder discovers that the electronic display on the elevator has been damaged, and the dead suspect has a green residue on his fingertips.

Agent Dana Scully reads Mulder's initial report back at Quantico. The only connection between murders that he can see is that the suspects all destroyed an electronic device at the time of the murders. Meanwhile, Bonnie McRoberts drops by a repair shop to pick up her car, where a message on an engine diagnostic display warns her the mechanic is going to rape her. She becomes violent and kills him with an oil can spout. When Mulder and Spencer question her the next morning, her kitchen microwave instructs her to kill them and she grabs a knife and attacks Mulder before Spencer shoots her.

Scully performs an autopsy on McRoberts' body and discovers high levels of adrenaline, physiologically signs of phobia, and the same substance found on the elevator killer. She hypothesizes that the substance, when combined with other neurochemicals, produces an LSD-like reaction. While Mulder and Scully build a case, Funsch becomes more psychotic, continuing to see violent messages on electronic gadgets. Blood is associated in some way with each incident; a volunteer asks Ed to donate blood at a department store and seconds later he sees violent images flash across a sales display of TV sets, followed by a message to buy a gun from the sporting goods department.

Late at night, while investigating an orchard, Mulder is sprayed by a crop-dusting helicopter and ends up in the hospital. There, Mulder sees the message "Do It Now" on a TV and realizes that when people exposed to the pesticide, which contains the chemical LSDM that provokes fear in insects, see these subliminal messages their phobias are exacerbated enough to cause them to kill. Eventually, after being confronted, city councilman agrees to stop the spraying and blood test the community, under the guise of a cholesterol study. Mulder and Scully, reading that Funsch had not been tested yet, arrive at his house to find it strewn with smashed electronic devices. Mulder deduces that blood is Ed's phobia and that he has seen the subliminal messages, and an empty rifle case signals that Funsch is going to act on his paranoia. Funsch positions himself at the top of a click tower overlooking a blood drive and begins shooting randomly. Mulder climbs up to Funsch and overpowers him; Funsch is taken away on a stretcher. Mulder receives a call from Scully and sees the message "All done. Bye Bye!" on his cell phone display. Scully calls out to Mulder but he is speechless.

Production

"Blood" contained a cameo appearance from porn actress Ashlyn Gere.

The genesis for "Blood" was Glen Morgan's own hematophobia, combined with the controversy over malathion spraying in Southern California and a note between writers Morgan and Wong that simply read "Postal Workers". In addition, series creator Chris Carter had been wanting an episode of The X-Files to feature a story revolving around digital readouts. Morgan and Wong decided to use the digital readout idea, crafting a script that turned "regular things," like fax machines and cell phones, into something "scary." The 1966 shooting massacre at the University of Texas was the inspiration for the story's climax, which was partially filmed at the University of British Columbia A replica of its clock tower's interior was used for several key scenes, however, because firearms were not allowed on location at the actual university.

The episode marks the second appearance of the Lone Gunmen in the series, as well as a guest appearance by porn actress Ashlyn Gere. Gere plays Bonnie McRoberts, the woman driven to attack Mulder after seeing a subliminal message on her microwave. Glen Morgan joked that The X-Files was so cutting edge that they used an adult film star who was still working in the industry—an allusion to an NYPD Blue episode that guest starred retired adult film actress Ginger Lynn.

Reception

"Blood" premiered on the Fox network on September 30, 1994, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on September 11, 1995. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 9.1, with a 16 share, meaning that roughly 9.1 percent of all television-equipped households, and 16 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 8.7 million households.

The episode received positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a B+, considering that despite the "convoluted plot" the episode "pays off in white-knuckle tension." Reviewer Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club labeled the episode "good" and described it as "a memorable episode, due in no small part to its humor", praising the "simultaneously absurd and frightening" story and William Sanderson's performance, and noting the ending was "the punchline [...] of Mulder's deepest fears, a group [The Syndicate] so secret that you never be sure they exist at all". Starpulse named the episode the tenth best of the series, defining it as "very creepy" and what turned The X-Files "from a mere creepfest to a show that offered real psychological thrills".

Footnotes

References

• Hurwitz, Matt; Chris Knowles (2008). The Complete X-Files. San Rafael, California: Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1933784724. 
• Delasara, Jan (2000). Poplit, Popcult, and the X-Files: Critical Exploration. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786407897. 
• Gradnitzer, Louisa; Pittson, Todd (1999). X Marks the Spot: On Location with The X-Files. Arsenal Pulp Press. ISBN 1551520664. 
• Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0061053309. 

External links

• "Blood" on The X-Files Wiki, an external wiki
• "Blood" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Blood" at TV.com