Ice

Mulder and Scully are sent to the Arctic along with a few specialists to explain why a team of Geophysicists killed one another.

This is up there with Tooms as contender for series one's best episode. This is pure horror, as my title indicates it is very much an homage to The Thing, plus it has that vibe Agatha Christie created, where one by one the numbers dwindle, and nobody knows who's next, or who's guilty.

This still has the scare factor, watch as paranoia mounts up, and everyone begins to suspect one another.

The unease between Mulder and Scully is brilliant, they are still developing as partners, but here the relative lack of knowledge about one another plays a part.

A great cast featuring Felicity Huffman, they are all on top form.

Superb, 10/10

A team varied between Scully and Mulder, two other scientists, a pilot, and the guy who plays Bana on Seinfeld, go up to an Arctic research post where all members have died off by either killing each other or killing themselves. They discover there's a worm- a virus- that is parasitic to the point of madness and death. The problem is, after a certain dog lashes out, anyone could be infected, but who? This is not just my favorite episode of season 1, but also one of my favorites from the show. The Arctic environment encloses the characters and, of course like Carpenter's the Thing, it's a lot of fun watching these even-tempered characters suddenly start to flip out in dramatic scenes. And the visual effects of the worm and its effects under the skin are cheesy, I didn't mind them at all. The drama between the characters ends up working more than it would usually because of the tension and because all of the actors (including the Bana guy) understand what's going on in the story. And, as usual, I loved the ambiguity of the ending. Highly recommended.

"Ice" is Glen Morgan and James Wong's take on "The Thing", and is a wonderfully executed homage (right down to the production of and sets in the episode and the cinematography, there are several shout-outs to John Carpenter's 1982 classic). It never feels too dependent on the well-known story, however, thanks to a unique X-Files spin on the situation through Mulder and Scully.

As is always expected there are a couple of hilarious lines ("Before anyone passes judgment, may I remind you, we are in the Arctic."), and the supporting characters are excellent here (as is the cast, featuring the guy who played Bania on "Seinfeld" and Felicity Huffman). "Ice" is one of few season one episodes which looks just as good as later episodes on the show. The photography is quite sophisticated (although nowhere near what Bartley would accomplish with, say, season 3's "Grotesque"), and the direction from relatively frequent X-Files director David Nutter is excellent, keeping the atmosphere as claustrophobic as possible. In addition, Mark Snow's score here is better than anything he had done previously on the show, and the special effects work is excellent.

Although "Squeeze" is excellent, "Ice" was the show's first great episode, an all-around triumph of mood and atmosphere, and with a fine script by X-Files regulars James Wong and Glen Morgan.

9/10

This episode is another of my honorable mentions, it's pretty much "The X-Files" doing "The Thing" which is cool since that's one of my favorate films of all time and it's obvious that Chris Carter is a fan of that film so this is kinda his homage to that film.

I really like the use of the bunker, you really feel the small space and you even feel the old from both inside and out. Even love that red lighting in places, which reminds me of the Argento films, in a way it ads to the fear as it reflects the heat (or cold) tenchion and paranoia building up by the minute.

There is just a palpable feeling of isolation and paranoia thoughout this episode as we are just in constant suspense from the fact that there is some viral strain of unknown origin loose in the bunker which means anyone can get it and be a carrier. And to make matters worse even if your not a carrier you can't really run away because the bunker is located in the middle of the artic, with sub zero tempitures on all sides; so yeah Mulder and Skully are trapped in a deathtrap.

I really love the psychological aspect of this episode as we see each of the characters are just loosing it, mainly Mulder and Skully which is surreal as both are usually people that keep their cool. Mulder we see already is heated up with tencion as he smells already something rotten is going on in Denmark. Skully despite keeping her usual cool icy demineor we see is cracking a little herself. Thoughout the ordeal she is struggling to keep things and herself together which is about as hard as trying to keep chunks of ice drifting away from each other.

I also really like the who dunnit aspect as throughout the episode we are never really sure who is really infected, whether it be one or all. Throughout it I was just constantly guessing, as there is no real way to deduce who it could be which just turns up the degrees of danger to a record high.

In the words of John Carpenter "Man is the warmest place to hide."

Rating: 4 stars

A true stand out episode from season 1 is what Ice is.An artic location,claustrophobic conditions and a general feel of paranoia looming in the freezing air makes this is a must see episode from season one.The previous occupants of the artic station Mulder,Scully and four others go to have either killed each other or killed themselves.A virus is bringing out murderous aggression and is responsible for bringing out deadly paranoia and fear.Mulder and Scully actually begin to question each others sanity.Tension is that high.The writers have to receive great credit for creating that sort of scenario where the atmosphere is so tense Mulder and Scully come into conflict in such a direct manner