Teliko - Broadcast and Reception

Broadcast and Reception

"Teliko" originally aired on the Fox network on October 18, 1996. The episode marked the final time that an episode of the series aired on a Friday. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.3, with a 20 share, meaning that roughly 11.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 20 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. "Teliko" was seen by 18.01 million viewers on first broadcast.

The episode received generally mixed reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly gave "Teliko" a grade of "C–", finding it similar to the first season episode "Squeeze". Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave it a "B–", also noting its similarity to "Squeeze" and finding that it had uncomfortable racial overtones. However, he did feel that the climax was "wonderfully tense" and "one of the better climaxes the show's done". Sarah Stegall awarded the episode two stars out of five, also noting the similarities to "Squeeze". She criticized the depiction of Mulder and Scully, commenting that the two lacked quality scenes together. She did compliment the scene where Agent Pendrell is disappointed at not seeing Scully, describing it as the highlight of the episode. In his book The Nitpicker's Guide for X-Philes, author Phil Farrand pointed out an inconsistency in the episode; before the timeline of the episode, Aboah only kills four men in three months, but during the duration of the episode he kills two men in a matter of days.