Wetwired
Encyclopedia
"Wetwired" is the 72nd episode and the twenty-third episode of the third season
of the science fiction
television series The X-Files
. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on May 10, 1996 on FOX
, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was written by the show's visual effect designer Mat Beck, and directed by Rob Bowman.
"Wetwired" follows FBI Special agents Fox Mulder
and Dana Scully
investigate a series of murders committed by ordinary citizens angered after seeing illusory images, Scully's trust in Mulder is put to the ultimate test. The episode earned a high Nielsen household and syndication ratings, it was generally well received by fans and critics alike.
(David Duchovny
) is tipped off to the case by the mysterious Plain-Clothed Man, who provides him with a newspaper article discussing the case. Mulder and partner Dana Scully
(Gillian Anderson
) visit the man, and his doctor, Dr. Stroman, in a psychiatric hospital and are told the man killed five people, believing them to all be the same person.
Mulder and Scully visit the murderer's house, where Mulder sees a repairman working on the cable line. They find hundreds of video tapes of the news. Scully believes all the violence the man watched on TV may have led him to the murders, something Mulder doesn't believe. That night Scully watches the tapes, seeing if there are any clues to why the man committed murder. She steps outside for a break and sees Mulder in a car talking to the Cigarette Smoking Man. The next day Mulder denies the conversation took place. The next day a similar murder occurs when a woman thinks she sees her husband in a hammock with another woman; in reality she's killed her neighbor who was in a hammock with his dog. Mulder sees the same cable repairman near the house, who escapes from him. Climbing up on the telephone pole Mulder finds a device inside the cable box.
Mulder brings the device to the Lone Gunmen, who tell him it's emitting some kind of signal. Mulder contacts Scully, who is growing increasingly paranoid. Hearing possible clicks
while on the phone with Mulder, she frantically searches her hotel room for monitoring devices. When Mulder knocks at her door, Scully fires her weapon at it and runs off. Mulder believes her to be suffering from paranoid psychosis. The Lone Gunmen believe the device to be some sort of mind control device. Mulder wasn't affected due to his color blindness. The police find a body they believe to be Scully, but Mulder confirms that it isn't her. Mulder is unable to contact Scully's mother, leading him to go to her home. He finds Scully there, who aims a gun at him. Scully claims Mulder never trusted her and blames him for her abduction and her sister's murder. Scully's mother calms her down and she is hospitalized.
Mulder believes that the mind control device turns people's fears into dementia. Mulder tries to contact Dr. Stroman with no success. He traces Dr. Stroman's location to an empty hotel room where he finds cigarettes in the ash tray. Using the phone log for the room Mulder tracks Stroman to a house where he spots him meeting with the cable repairman. By the time Mulder enters however, shots ring out and Mulder finds both men dead, with X responsible for their murders. X used a third party to inform Mulder, knowing he had orders to kill the men, but Mulder wasn't able to piece things together in time. Mulder calls him a coward but X tells Mulder that Mulder needs him. Later, X meets in a car with the Cigarette Smoking Man.
had scheduling conflicts due to his work on the series L.A. Heat, resulting in the creation of the Plain Clothed Man, who appeared as a messenger for X. Paul Rabwin provided narration for a television show heard in the background during the episode. Dana Scully's motel room was constructed within a studio soundstage, as well as The Lone Gunmen
's office. The episode had late sound problems causing post-production to drag into the night/early morning prior to its broadcast.
Williams called his scene with the Cigarette Smoking Man
(William B. Davis
) at the end of the episode one of his favorite scenes with the show. Rob Bowman said of the episode, "I dug the script. I felt it was a good old-fashioned show, and people who didn't like "Jose Chung's From Outer Space
" would like "Wetwired" because all the bad boys are back. A good clean steak-and-potatoes type of episode."
The X-Files (season 3)
Season three of the television show The X-Files ran from 1995–1996.Chris Carter, the series creator, was still the lead writer - writing eight episodes - and the sole executive producer. Glen Morgan and James Wong continued their roles as co-executive producers, though they began to write...
of the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on May 10, 1996 on FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, and subsequently aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was written by the show's visual effect designer Mat Beck, and directed by Rob Bowman.
"Wetwired" follows FBI Special agents Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
and Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
investigate a series of murders committed by ordinary citizens angered after seeing illusory images, Scully's trust in Mulder is put to the ultimate test. The episode earned a high Nielsen household and syndication ratings, it was generally well received by fans and critics alike.
Plot
A man mistakenly kills his wife, believing her, as well as the police who soon arrive, to all be someone else. Fox MulderFox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
(David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
) is tipped off to the case by the mysterious Plain-Clothed Man, who provides him with a newspaper article discussing the case. Mulder and partner Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
(Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
) visit the man, and his doctor, Dr. Stroman, in a psychiatric hospital and are told the man killed five people, believing them to all be the same person.
Mulder and Scully visit the murderer's house, where Mulder sees a repairman working on the cable line. They find hundreds of video tapes of the news. Scully believes all the violence the man watched on TV may have led him to the murders, something Mulder doesn't believe. That night Scully watches the tapes, seeing if there are any clues to why the man committed murder. She steps outside for a break and sees Mulder in a car talking to the Cigarette Smoking Man. The next day Mulder denies the conversation took place. The next day a similar murder occurs when a woman thinks she sees her husband in a hammock with another woman; in reality she's killed her neighbor who was in a hammock with his dog. Mulder sees the same cable repairman near the house, who escapes from him. Climbing up on the telephone pole Mulder finds a device inside the cable box.
Mulder brings the device to the Lone Gunmen, who tell him it's emitting some kind of signal. Mulder contacts Scully, who is growing increasingly paranoid. Hearing possible clicks
Telephone tapping
Telephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
while on the phone with Mulder, she frantically searches her hotel room for monitoring devices. When Mulder knocks at her door, Scully fires her weapon at it and runs off. Mulder believes her to be suffering from paranoid psychosis. The Lone Gunmen believe the device to be some sort of mind control device. Mulder wasn't affected due to his color blindness. The police find a body they believe to be Scully, but Mulder confirms that it isn't her. Mulder is unable to contact Scully's mother, leading him to go to her home. He finds Scully there, who aims a gun at him. Scully claims Mulder never trusted her and blames him for her abduction and her sister's murder. Scully's mother calms her down and she is hospitalized.
Mulder believes that the mind control device turns people's fears into dementia. Mulder tries to contact Dr. Stroman with no success. He traces Dr. Stroman's location to an empty hotel room where he finds cigarettes in the ash tray. Using the phone log for the room Mulder tracks Stroman to a house where he spots him meeting with the cable repairman. By the time Mulder enters however, shots ring out and Mulder finds both men dead, with X responsible for their murders. X used a third party to inform Mulder, knowing he had orders to kill the men, but Mulder wasn't able to piece things together in time. Mulder calls him a coward but X tells Mulder that Mulder needs him. Later, X meets in a car with the Cigarette Smoking Man.
Production
This episode was written by the show's visual effects supervisor, Mat Beck. Beck drew inspiration from debates about television violence and his desire to explore the effect that television has on people. The initial concept was more complex, requiring Beck to study neurology texts, but became more simplified as the episode developed. Actor Steven WilliamsSteven Williams
Steven Williams is an American actor of films and television.Williams was born in Memphis, Tennessee and raised in Chicago. He is known for his role as Captain Adam Fuller on the Fox Network's hit TV series 21 Jump Street from 1987-91.He played Lt. Burnett on the CBS drama series The Equalizer in...
had scheduling conflicts due to his work on the series L.A. Heat, resulting in the creation of the Plain Clothed Man, who appeared as a messenger for X. Paul Rabwin provided narration for a television show heard in the background during the episode. Dana Scully's motel room was constructed within a studio soundstage, as well as The Lone Gunmen
The Lone Gunmen
The Lone Gunmen are a trio of fictional characters, Richard "Ringo" Langly, Melvin Frohike and John Fitzgerald Byers, who have recurring roles on the American television series The X-Files. They also starred in a short-lived spin-off, also called The Lone Gunmen. The name was derived from the lone...
's office. The episode had late sound problems causing post-production to drag into the night/early morning prior to its broadcast.
Williams called his scene with the Cigarette Smoking Man
Cigarette Smoking Man
The Smoking Man is a fictional character and the antagonist on the American science fiction television series The X-Files. He serves as the arch-nemesis of FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder. Although his name is revealed to purportedly be C.G.B...
(William B. Davis
William B. Davis
William Bruce Davis is a Canadian actor, known for his role as The Smoking Man on The X-Files. He has also appeared in Stargate SG-1 as Damaris, a Prior of the Ori and as Mayor Tate on Smallville...
) at the end of the episode one of his favorite scenes with the show. Rob Bowman said of the episode, "I dug the script. I felt it was a good old-fashioned show, and people who didn't like "Jose Chung's From Outer Space
Jose Chung's From Outer Space
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is the 20th episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on April 12, 1996, on FOX. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by Rob Bowman...
" would like "Wetwired" because all the bad boys are back. A good clean steak-and-potatoes type of episode."