Ice

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 for me is a science fiction episode classic flick, that really reminds me on John Carpenter's The Thing. Only that the episode has their own plot and their own idea of the story. Glen Morgan and James Wong put as on a test with a science fiction classic horror flick about a mystery with what happened to geophysicists at an outpost in Icy Cape, Alaska. Mulder and Scully fly there to investigate this case with three other scientists and a pilot, that fly them to the outpost. Ice is my favorite episode in the first season and it is the best one for me of all time. The episode is brilliant and intelligent, so you have to understand what the episode is all about.

"You might not be who you think you are."

Plot: When an Arctic research team mysteriously kill each other and themselves only days after drilling deeper into the ice than ever before, Mulder and Scully accompany a team of doctors and scientists to investigate. They discover an organism which infects living creatures and amplifies the host's feeling of anger and paranoia, and the new team starts to deteriorate as they wonder who among them are killers. Guest starring Xander Berkeley and Felicity Huffman.

This horror flick in a John Carpenter's The Thing style is about a worms an alien creatures. When a worm get's inside of you, you become paranoid and you get filed with anger, until you start killing people. To destroy those worms the only way is that you put into a host two worms together at the same time and they both destroy each other. But if you try to get a stand up alone worm out of your body you die.

Mulder and Scully doubts in each other and they both point a gun on each other, they only discovered that they aren't affected, but one of those scientist is and he/she killed the other scientist Dr. Denny Murphy (Steve Hytner). On the end of the episode it turns out that Dr. Nancy Da Silva (Felicity Huffman) was infected, and she killed Dr. Murphy, than she tried to infect Mulder with the last living worm, but Mulder and Scully grabbed her and they put worm inside her and they destroy it.

The only living scientist in this episode is Dr. Hodge (Xander Berkeley).

See I love this episode because you have two famous actors in here one of the actors is Xander Berkeley. Who also played John Connor's (Edward Furlong) foster dad Todd Voight. That is why I love the 90's movies and TV shows, they had a beautiful cast and movies and TV shows that aren't made today.

Xander Berkeley did a perfect job playing the character Dr. Hodge, I love his performance to death.

The second actor is Jeff Kober who is underrated actor who played a numerous roles in movies as a villain.

I love this episode to death, I mentioned in early of my review that the episode reminds me of John Carpenter's The Thing. In The Thing the plot was set on an ice, isolated base in Antarctica in here the plot is set on Icy Cape, Alaska. In The Thing The American scientists discover a decimated Norwegian base some miles distant. Everyone is dead, and only the half charred remains of some unidentifiable thing left to smolder outside the compound might offer any answers to what may have happened. The Thing is brought back to the American base and, too late, the scientists realize that it is alive and lethal.

In this episode you have worms that are organism who infects living creatures and amplifies the host's feeling of anger and paranoia. In The Thing (1982) you have a shape-shifting creature who has the ability to absorb and copy the DNA of any life-form it consumes, allowing it to take on its appearance, memories, and mannerisms.

Again Ice is a classic horror Science fiction flick for me and my favorite kick ass episode Monster-of-the-Week that I love to death! Season 1 is a classic kick ass season with episodes that are really good, joy and fun to watch with an open mind.

This is a perfect 10 for incredible writing and acting of the cast including a wonderful performance from Gillian Anderson who really was brilliant, intelligent and genius in this episode Ice.

The first season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on September 10, 1993, and concluded on the same channel on May 13, 1994, after airing all 24 episodes.

"Ice" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, which premiered on the Fox network on November 5, 1993. It was directed by David Nutter and written by Glen Morgan and James Wong.

10/10 Grade: Bad Ass Seal Of Approval Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Starring: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Xander Berkeley, Felicity Huffman, Steve Hytner, Jeff Kober, Ken Kirzinger, Sonny Surowiec Director: David Nutter Producers: Chris Carter, Joseph Patrick Finn, Glen Morgan, James Wong Screenplay: Glen Morgan, James Wong Rated: R Running Time: 46 minutes

"Ice" was an episode that aired way back when The X-Files was still a fledgling series, and perhaps more so than any other episode at that time, proved what a powerhouse of actors and writers 1013 had in their arsenal. After a rather average stretch of standalones, "Ice" delves into the paranoia and un-solidified trust between Mulder and Scully. Paranoia had always been a driving force behind the scripts of early episodes, but not until this one did it really hit home run. In a script that puts Mulder and Scully at each other's gunpoint, the intensity of its scenes are thicker than the crystalline phase of water it's named after.

Morgan and Wong's premise is straightforward: a research team in Alaska is found dead, ostensibly having done each other in, and the FBI is called in to investigate, with the assistance of a doctor, toxicologist, professor and pilot. When a vicious dog attacks the pilot (Jeff Kober, who I always forget isn't actually Steven Tyler), and causes him to behave in a quarrelsome manner, it's clear that something out of the ordinary is going on.

Although the basic plot of "Ice" is not far removed from John Carpenter's classic horror film "The Thing," the addition of Mulder and Scully and the first real test of their partnership make for some memorable moments. The real crux of the dilemma is that everyone is a potential candidate for infection (of an acetylcholine-hungry arctic worm that coincidentally bears similar qualities to the black oil from later seasons). Scully's barely masked horror and Mulder's instinctive inclinations do not keep them from being potential suspects; they realize this. Ironically it is the team of Hodge (Xander Berkeley of 24) and Da Silva (Felicity Huffman of Desperate Housewives and Transamerica) who falter in their unquestioning trust.

Perhaps even more so than the web of mythology arcs that dominated the show's later years, "Ice" is really what the heart of The X-Files is all about. Trust, vulnerability, friction, the fear of the outsider on the inside. This script would serve as an archetype for a countless number of subsequent episodes ("Darkness Falls," "Firewalker," "Dod Kalm," "Agua Mala" and so on and so forth). All of those varied in quality, but it can be confidently stated that none matched the cutting intensity of this seminal predecessor. This is widely regarded as one of the series's finest hours, and with a plot that still provides chills (pardon the pun) some seventeen years later, it's not hard to comprehend why. 10 out of 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

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