The Beginning (The X-Files)

The Beginning (The X-Files)

"The Beginning" is the first episode of the sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on November 8, 1998 in the United States. The episode was written by Chris Carter, and directed by Kim Manners. The episode helps explore the series' overarching mythology. "The Beginning" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.9, being watched by 20.34 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from television critics.

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. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In the episode, Mulder and Scully eagerly hunt for a deadly creature in the Arizona desert. What they find seems to support Mulder’s revived belief in aliens, but is discredited when the agents are not reassigned to the now re-opened X-Files, with Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) and Diana Fowley (Mimi Rogers) taking over instead.

"The Beginning" was the first episode of the series to not be filmed in Vancouver, Canada, after production was moved to Los Angeles at the behest of lead actor David Duchovny. The episode follows directly from The X-Files feature film (1998). The writers sought to bring back characters, such as Spender, Fowley, and Gibson Praise (Jeff Gulka) who had not been featured in the movie, but had played a pivotal role in the show's fifth season.