Sleepless (The X-Files)

"Sleepless"
The X-Files episode
Henry Willig's nightmare about the Vietnam War
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 4
Directed by	Rob Bowman
Written by	Howard Gordon
Production code	2X04
Original air date	October 7, 1994
Running time	43 minutes
Guest stars
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Steven Williams as "X" William B. Davis as "Cigarette Smoking Man" Tony Todd as Augustus Cole Jonathan Gries as Salvatore Matola Mitch Kosterman as Detective Horton Don Thompson as Henry Willig David Adams as Dr. Francis Girardi Claude de Martino as Dr. Saul Grissom Michael Puttonen as Dr. Pilsson Anna Hagan as Dr. Charyn Paul Bittante as Team Leader
Episode chronology
← Previous "Blood" Next → "Duane Barry"
List of season 2 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Sleepless" is the 4th episode of the second season, and 28th overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on October 7, 1994. "Sleepless" subsequently aired in the United Kingdom, Ireland and was eventually released for broadcast to mainland Europe. The episode was written by supervising producer Howard Gordon, and directed by Rob Bowman. "Sleepless" featured what would become the recurring character of Alex Krycek, portrayed by Nicholas Lea.

The episode centers around Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and his new partner Krycek investigating a case where doctors and soldiers who were part of a sleep deprivation experiment are being killed off. Although the episode earned a mediocre Nielsen household and syndication ratings in the United States compared to previous episodes of the season, it was generally well-received by fans and critics alike.

The episode's writer Howard Gordon was inspired by various cases of insomnia. During the first season, Chris Carter had written a similar themed episode, but stopped working on it when he became "un-happy" with the end-results.

Plot

In Manhattan, Dr. Saul Grissom finds a fire outside his apartment. By the time the fire fighters arrive they find no fire or fire damage, but do find Dr. Grissom, dead. Fox Mulder receives a tape cassette with his newspaper that includes Dr. Grissom's 911 call. Mulder brings it to Assistant Director Walter Skinner's attention, but a young agent, Alex Krycek opened the case first. Mulder calls former partner Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and asks her to perform an autopsy on Dr. Grissom's corpse. Mulder heads to the Grissom Sleep Disorder Center in Stamford, Connecticut and is confronted by Krycek soon afterwards, who's upset at Mulder for ditching him. The two head down to Quantico to see Scully, who says that Dr. Grissom's body shows no signs of a fire, but it seems as if his body believed it was burning.

In a Brooklyn apartment, Henry Willig, a Vietnam veteran, is approached by his fellow Marine, Augustus Cole. Suddenly a group of wounded Vietnamese soldiers appear and gun him down. Examining his corpse, Mulder and Krycek find a scar on his neck and realize he was in the Special Forces stationed in Vietnam in 1970, and one of only two survivors, the other being Augustus Cole. They head to the V.A. Medical Center in New Jersey where Cole is being held, only to find that he was discharged, despite the fact that his doctor doesn't remember doing so.

Mulder receives a phone call from the mysterious "X", who meets with him and gives him information on a secret military project that Dr. Grissom performed where he eradicated the need for sleep through lobotomy. "X" provides him with the name of another member of the squad who was mistakenly reported as killed in action, Salvatore Matola. A man matching Cole's description robs a drug store and the SWAT team members coming after him shoot each other. Mulder believes that Cole's years of sleeplessness have provided him with telekinetic abilities. Mulder and Krycek meet with Matola soon afterwards, who says that he hasn't slept in 24 years due to the experiment. He reveals that there was another doctor who was part of the squad, Dr. Girardi.

Mulder and Krycek head to the subway station, where Dr. Girardi is expected to arrive due to Dr. Grissom's funeral. Mulder sees Cole there, and Cole shoots Dr. Girardi, but this event is actually all in Mulder's head. In reality, Cole has captured Dr. Girardi and holds him hostage, about to show him a similar fate as his other victims. By searching surveillance equipment they track his location and find Dr. Girardi wounded. Mulder finds Cole, who is ready to kill himself. Krycek, thinking Cole is holding a gun instead of the Bible he is actually holding, shoots him. Mulder and Scully find all of their files on the case missing. Krycek reports to the "Cigarette Smoking Man" and others, telling them Scully is a bigger problem than they anticipated.

Production

Gordon in 2009, during the season seven finale screening of 24

Writer Howard Gordon was initially inspired to write this episode based on insomnia he was suffering at the time. Gordon, who wrote many episodes with Alex Gansa in season one made his solo writing debut with this episode. Originally Chris Carter had written a script for the first season, which shared the same theme as "Sleepless." Which was "What makes the perfect soldier?" He also liked the twist on sleep, being that "sleep is where demons are released in our dreams." These characters were haunted by their memories because they were not able to sleep. Carter sees this episode as one of his favorites.

This episode marked the first appearance of Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek. Carter had much interest in Krycek, because he replaced Dana Scully as Mulder's new partner. Lea had previously appeared as a different character in the first season episode, "Gender Bender." Bowman, who had directed "Gender Bender," thought that Lea "was a [...] strong choice for a fresh-out-of-Quantico FBI agent." When creating him, the writers always had in mind that he would be a recurring character, while they agreed if the character did not work they would kill him off.

"Sleepless" marked the first on screen appearance of Steven Williams as Fox Mulder's new source, "X." The character was originally intended to be a woman, and an actress was cast in the role, but after shooting her first scene the role was recast with Williams, an actor who had previous experience with writers Glen Morgan and James Wong. Natalija Nogulich, the actor who originally earned the role, was replaced because the writing staff felt she was not able to create the "right chemistry" between her co-stars.

Reception

"Sleepless" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.6, with a 15 share. It was viewed by 8.2 million households in the United States alone. Stephen Mark was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in 1995 in the category "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Editing for a Series - Single Camera Production", but did not win. Chris Carter enjoyed the episode, saying "I really love that show. It's a great idea, well executed. We had a good cast; Tony Todd was wonderful" and saying it was "beautifully directed by Rob Bowman. Entertainment Weekly rated "Sleepless" with a B+, considering that Tony Todd's performance "elevates a just-good story into a great one." Critical Myth gave the episode 7 out of 10, saying it was best remembered for its introduction of Alex Krycek. But the web site further stated that the episode was fairly decent and was a "fairly standard exploration" for the early season episodes.

Footnotes

References

• Edwards, Ted (1996). X-Files Confidential. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0316218081. 
• Lovece, Frank (1996). The X-Files Declassified. Citadel Press. ISBN 080651745X. 
• Lowry, Brian (1995). The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-Files. Harper Prism. ISBN 0061053309. 

External links

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