Ghost in the Machine
From X-Files Wiki
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| Series: | The X-Files |
| Original Airdate: | October 29, 1993 |
| Production Number: | 1x06 |
| Date(s): | October 24, 1993 |
| Written by: | Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon |
| Directed by: | Jerrold Freedman |
The agents must survive in a building that is controlled by a murderous computer.
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[edit] Summary
In the Virginia headquarters of the (fictional) software company Eurisko, an argument between company founder Brad Wilczek and CEO Benjamin Drake ensues. Wilczek tells Drake that his recent, unspecified decisions are "killing my company" and angrily leaves. Later on, Drake writes a memo in which he proposes to end the "C.O.S. project," citing a "disastrous performance" and projected quarterly losses. Seeing this, the C.O.S. (Central Operating System), which is a computer that runs the entire building, sets up an elaborate booby trap, luring Drake into a bathroom with an overflowing faucet. While distracting Drake with a 4-1-1 phone call, the door to the bathroom shuts. Seeing that the door can't be opened either by hand or with a key card, Drake resorts to using an electronic key instead. However, when he put the key into the keyhole, a massive electric current sends him flying across the room, killing him.
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny)'s former partner in the Violent Crimes Section, Jerry Lamana recruits him and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) to investigate the case. Lamana hopes to recover his career with success on this case due to Drake's connections with the Attorney General. On their way to the Eurisko building, Mulder explains to Scully that the reason for Agent Lamana's apparent need for recognition is because of a case he bungled in Atlanta, Georgia, which resulted in the near-death of a federal judge.
Mulder and Scully enter the Eurisko building, under the studious eyes of the security cameras, operated by the C.O.S. As they ride the elevator up to Drake's office, the elevator stalls, causing Scully to call the front desk for help. As she does so, the elevator starts again. It turns out that the C.O.S. made the machine stall, and then downloaded Scully's contact information when she identified herself. The agents meet Claude Peterson, head of building security, who discovered the body.
Lamana steals Mulder's notes on the profile of the killer and presents them under his name. Mulder confronts him about this. The agents later meet and question Wilczek. Scully initially doubts Wilczek's involvement in his death, but when his voice is discovered to be that which was on the 4-1-1 phone call, Lamana heads out to arrest him. At his home, Wilczek tries to access the C.O.S. from his personal computer, but all of his attempts to enter the system are denied. Worried and frustrated, Wilczek gets in his car and begins driving to the Eurisko building and is followed by Lamana. Upon making it to the building, Wilczek makes his way to the C.O.S' control room, where his efforts to gain access are still denied. To his surprise, the C.O.S. talks to him, despite never being given a voice synthesizer. Lamana makes it to the building and gets on the elevator in order to arrest Wilczek. The C.O.S. stalls the elevator, then causes it to crash, killing Lamana.
Mulder meets with Deep Throat, who tells him that Wilczek developed an artificial intelligence and that the Defense Department is investigating. Mulder meets with the jailed Wilczek who has confessed to Lamana's murder despite the C.O.S. being responsible. Mulder convinces Wilczek to develop a virus that can destroy it. When Scully discovers the C.O.S. accessing her computer she joins Mulder and they head into the building. With the power out and access to the C.O.S. prohibited, Scully climbs through the air vents and is nearly killed by a giant fan, which she is able to destroy by firing it. Mulder meanwhile is permitted to access the C.O.S. by Peterson, who stops Mulder from using the virus once he gains access so that he can access it. Scully however arrives and holds him at gunpoint, permitted Mulder to use the virus and destroy the C.O.S.
During a second meeting with Deep Throat, Mulder recounts that Wilczek is being detained by the government and that no information is available on where he's being held. When Mulder asks Deep Throat if there is any chance the C.O.S. survived, Deep Throat assures him that Wilczek's virus was thorough and that no trace of the C.O.S's artificial intelligence was left. He also tells Mulder that scientists with the Defense Department have been examining the machine for any signs of "life" for the previous five days with no success. He believes the machine to be dead. At the Eurisko building Peterson directs a team trying to recover it, but has been directed by his superiors that the machine will be reduced to the scrap heap if there aren't results in six hours. Unbeknown to Peterson and his staff, the C.O.S. comes back to life soon after.
[edit] Background Information
- This is the second episode in which Jerry Hardin appears as Deep Throat. This fact is significant, as the writers had originally intended for Hardin to appear only in the episode, "Deep Throat".
- In this episode, Scully's phone number is given as (202) 555-6431. 555 is the standard prefix used in movies and television series, as it is not used by the phone company and therefore helps to prevent people from receiving hoax calls.
- The original script features more action in an elevator shaft than the final episode does. At the last moment, the sequence was deemed too expensive and was subsequently replaced by the scenes where Scully is pulled toward the blades of a huge fan. According to producer Howard Gordon, who wrote the episode with partner Alex Gansa, the rotating fan blades "looked good, and it was a hell of a lot cheaper".
- In a successful attempt to stop the spinning fan blades in this episode, Scully uses her gun for the first time in the series.
- Writer Howard Gordon once called this episode "one of my biggest disappointments", feeling that the artificially intelligent computer was less well-defined than its predecessors in 2001: A Space Odyssey and Demon Seed. According to Gordon, "Fox felt it was a bit too pedestrian to be an X-file, and it was one of those instances where I'd have to agree with them".
[edit] Guest Cast
[edit] Guest Starring
- Jerry Hardin as Deep Throat
- Rob LaBelle as Brad Wilczek
- Wayne Duvall as Agent Jerry Lamana
- Blu Mankuma as Claude Peterson
[edit] Featuring
- Tom Butler as Drake
- Gillian Barber as Agent Jane Spiller
- Marc Baur as Man in Suit
- Bill Finck as Sandwich Man
- Theodore Thomas as Clyde
[edit] References
SEMICOLON-SEPARATED LIST OF ITEMS/LOCATIONS REFERENCED IN EPISODE (BUT NOT LINKED TO IF ALREADY LINKED IN SUMMARY OR GUEST STARS SECTIONS)
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