Drive (The X-Files) - Broadcast and Reception

Broadcast and Reception

"Drive" first aired in the United States on November 15, 1998. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.0, with a 16 share, meaning that roughly 11.0 percent of all television-equipped households, and 16 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 18.50 million viewers. The episode aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky1 on March 14, 1999 and was watched by 0.70 million viewers, making it the sixth most viewed episode that week. Fox promoted the episode with the tagline "He'll stop at nothing." "Drive" won the award for "Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography – Regular Series" from the American Society of Cinematographers.

The episode received largely positive reviews. Zack Handlen from The A.V. Club wrote positively of the episode, awarding it an A, and writing that the entry was "a great example of the engine that keeps great television moving." Handlen noted that the climax of the episode was "as moving as it is suspenseful" and drew parallels between Bryan Cranston's portrayal of Mr. Crump and his eventual portrayal of Walter White from Breaking Bad, noting that both illustrate the idea that "you have to keep moving. If you stop, you die." Review website IGN named it the ninth best standalone X-Files episode of the entire series and complimented the interaction between Crump and Mulder, writing "it's the interplay between Mulder and Crump that makes this episode a standout. Crump here is an antagonistic yet heartbreaking character, and as he and Mulder become unlikely allies in their 'drive,' 'Drive' in turn becomes a memorably scary X-Files episode because of the perhaps most frightening element of the show's world ever: mankind itself, and the governments that supposedly protect us." John Keegan from Critical Myth gave the episode 8/10 and wrote, "Overall, this episode was one of the strongest episodes of the sixth season, especially in terms of character development. Both Mulder and Scully demonstrate how they have changed since the events of the film, in small but recognizable ways. A hidden gem for the sixth season!" Colin Ellis from The Dashing Fellows called "Drive," "arguably one of the best episodes post-Fight the Future of ." Tom Kessenich, in his book Examination: An Unauthorized Look at Seasons 6–9 of the X-Files wrote positively of the episode, saying "hank God for 'Drive', which taps into the idea of Speed, the hit movie starring Reeves, but pushes it in an excitingly different direction." Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a largely positive review and awarded it three stars out of four. Although she slightly criticizing the case being investigated as "pure hokum", Vitaris praised Mulder and Scully's teamwork, and their ability to work together despite being separated.