Broadcast and Reception
"Fresh Bones" premiered on the Fox network on February 3, 1995. The episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.3, with a 19 share, meaning that roughly 11.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 19 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 10.8 million households. "Fresh Bones" was the highest rated episode of the first two seasons.
The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Writer Gordon stated that director Bowman did a great job in mining his script for chills. In their book, X-Treme Possibilities, authors Keith Topping and Paul Cornell praised the episode, including Benzali's performance and the sequence in the graveyard at the end of the episode. Series creator Chris Carter called the episode one of the ones he was most proud of from the second season, stating that Gordon did a good job with the script and Bowman did a great job with the directing.
Not all of the reviews were glowing. Entertainment Weekly gave the episode a B- and a more mixed review, writing that the episode was "Not one for the ages, despite some jarring moments (car meets tree, Scully's hoodoo hallucinations, and that final shot — whoa)." Reviewer Todd VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave the episode an C and wrote that "the biggest problems here are the lack of focus and the chaotic pacing. The episode rumbles along in first gear for about three-quarters of its running time and then abruptly shifts into high gear at the end, moving toward an apocalyptic finish that doesn't feel wholly earned. There's good stuff in 'Fresh Bones,' but the bulk of the episode disappoints."
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