"The X Files"
Drive (1998)

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Vince Gilligan (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

15 November 1998 (Season 6, Episode 2)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

With Mulder trapped in a car by a seemingly deranged man, Scully races to determine if the man is suffering from a deadly illness and if Mulder is in danger of becoming the next victim. |

Plot Keywords:

Title Spoken By Character | Fictional Government Agency | Romantic Tension | Glock | FBI

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Timothy Agee	...	EMT (as Tim Agee)
Junior Brown	...	The Farmer
Frank Buckley	...	The Nevada News Anchor
Ken Collins	...	Gas Station Attendant
Mark Craig	...	Trooper #1
Bryan Cranston	...	Patrick Crump
Harry Danner	...	CDC Doctor
Michael O'Neill	...	The Patrol Captain
James Pickens Jr.	...	FBI Assistant Director Alvin Kersh
Art Pickering	...	Germ Suit Cop
Wiley M. Pickett	...	Trooper #2 (as Wiley Pickett)
Linda Porter	...	Elderly Woman
Mindy Seeger	...	Coroner
Scott Alan Smith	...	Prison Doctor (as Scott A. Smith)
Janine Venable	...	Vicky Crump
Tegan West	...	Navy Lieutenant

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After about 15 minutes, during the scene in which Crump tosses out Mulder's cellphone while being chased by police, as Mulder says: "How about if we just pull over and let me out, too, huh? I must be cramping your style" something looking like camera equipment (probably filming the shots with Crump in the backseat) is visible, actually blocking what little view we have of Crump pointing his gun at Mulder.

Quotes:

Mulder: [to P. Crump] ... and it's Mr. Mulder to you, ya peanut picking bastard.

Movie Connections:

References Speed (1994/I)

Gone In 45 Minutes

As much as 'The Beginning' showed that we're still going to get "classic" x-files, Drive showed that the X-Files was going to explore new territory. They start by giving us a unique teaser to Drive, with the news camera footage. It was an interesting transition from the the TV to the real events. I would've liked it even better if they had kept that news footage camera for the entire teaser and not cut to the inside of the car. Upon viewing this episode live back in 1998 I was thinking, "Am I on the right channel?" That first autopsy by Scully flooded me with big words that I don't understand. I think she learned her lesson to ALWAYS wear a mask before performing an autopsy. Silly Scully! What is the deal with the lighting in the autopsy lab? It's as dark as a tomb in there! How are they supposed to see what they're doing in there? Assistant Director Kersh gets his first lines in this episode. I have no love lost for that man. He is the third recurring character in a row that is introduced that you love to hate, the first two being Diana Fowley and Jeffrey Spender. I guess the producers felt that there was too much love going on for Mulder, Scully and Skinner. So they needed to add some characters to give our favorite agents some grief and incite our ire as fans. I love the quarantine suits worn by Scully and her team with the cool helmet light bulbs. Boy. It's really smoky or foggy in DRY northern Nevada at night. Can we say the word "effect"? Drive is a cool episode, but looking at route 36 on my U.S. atlas, there's no way Mulder could've maintained a speed of 70-100 MPH on that road. If he had been on I-80, the freeway, maybe. But no way on a state road with that many curves. All of the filming inside the car looked very authentic. Excellent job by Rob Bowman. It looks nothing like the old days of the obvious blue screen or clip of passing scenery outside a car window on a stage. This was a fun episode, but some of the inaccuracies keep it from being a great episode. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, so hold on for a fast ride!