Blood (The X-Files) - Production

Production

The genesis for "Blood" was Glen Morgan's own hematophobia, combined with the controversy over malathion spraying in Southern California and a note between writers Morgan and Wong that simply read "Postal Workers". In addition, series creator Chris Carter had been wanting an episode of The X-Files to feature a story revolving around digital readouts. Morgan and Wong decided to use the digital readout idea, crafting a script that turned "regular things," like fax machines and cell phones, into something "scary." The 1966 shooting massacre at the University of Texas was the inspiration for the story's climax, which was partially filmed at the University of British Columbia A replica of its clock tower's interior was used for several key scenes, however, because firearms were not allowed on location at the actual university. Although he was not credited, this episode marks the first time that Darin Morgan, Glen's brother, helped with a script of The X-Files. Darin was asked to help flesh out the episode's story. He would later contribute the second season episode "Humbug".

The episode marks the second appearance of The Lone Gunmen, a trio of conspiracy theorists consisting of John Fitzgerald Byers (Bruce Harwood), Richard Langly (Dean Haglund) and Melvin Frohike (Tom Braidwood). The characters first appeared in the first season episode "E.B.E." to make Mulder appear more credible. Initially only intended to appear in that episode, they were brought back as recurring characters starting with "Blood" due to their popularity on the Internet. The episode also has a guest appearance by pornographic actress Ashlyn Gere. Gere plays Bonnie McRoberts, the woman driven to attack Mulder after seeing a subliminal message on her microwave. Glen Morgan joked that The X-Files was so cutting edge that they used an adult film star who was still working in the industry—an allusion to an NYPD Blue episode that guest starred retired adult film actress Ginger Lynn.