Sleepless (The X-Files)
"Sleepless" is the 4th episode of the second season and 28th overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on October 7, 1994. The episode was written by supervising producer Howard Gordon and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology, although it features the first on-screen appearances of recurring characters X and Alex Krycek, who are central to the show's continuity. Its closing scene also sets the stage for the subsequent story arc of Scully's abduction. "Sleepless" earned a Nielsen rating of 8.6 and was viewed by 8.2 million households. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics.
"Sleepless" | |
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The X-Files episode | |
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 | 44 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder is assigned a new partner, Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea). The two investigate a case where doctors and marines who were part of a sleep deprivation experiment are being killed off.
Howard Gordon, the episode's writer, 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 "unhappy" with the result.