766:, Emily VanDerWerff rated the episode a B, noting that the move to a global scale detracted from the series' overall relevance. VanDerWerff felt that "the action setpieces in this episode and the next one are really terrific", and praised William B. Davis' portrayal of The Smoking Man. However, she described "Tunguska" as being "one of the first really unfocused mythology episodes in the show's run", and found the plot of the episode to not be moving the series forward enough, noting that "for the first time, Mulder feels less like he's driving the action and more like he's a messenger boy".
738:"Tunguska" just doesn't work as well because it abandons the central idea of the conspiracy's American-ness, the idea that the American government is out there, ready to snatch you at a moment's notice and do nasty things to you, that said government has been up to this for a long, long time. The move to make the conspiracy a global one must have seemed smart at the time, but it also robs the series of something essential, of a sense that the worst monsters are the ones who purport to have our own best interests at heart.
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were cut due to time constraints. A scene featuring Scully briefing
Skinner on the events of the episode was also cut, as it was felt that it was "redundant" within the narrative, repeating information that had already been shown to the audience. David Duchovny's father was present during production
521:
Skinner is approached by the
Smoking Man, who demands that the pouch be returned. The courier breaks into Skinner's apartment and searches for the pouch, only to be thrown off Skinner's patio by Krycek. Meanwhile, Dr. Sacks cuts into the fragment, but inadvertently releases the black oil inside; the
581:
Skinner and Scully meet with
Senator Sorenson, who questions them on the death of the courier and the location of Agent Mulder. Mulder talks with a fellow prisoner who tells him that innocent people have been captured and brought here to be subjected to experiments. Immediately afterwards guards
565:
to appear before
Senator Sorenson's panel over the missing pouch; when Skinner questions Scully about Mulder's whereabouts, she is not forthcoming. Meanwhile, as Mulder and Krycek hike through the forests of Krasnoyarsk, the former theorizes that the fragment may be tied to the
502:. The courier leads the agents on a pursuit through the airport, but drops the pouch before escaping. The pouch is revealed to carry a seemingly unremarkable rock. Mulder has Krycek confined at the high rise apartment of Assistant Director
582:
burst into the room and inject Mulder with a syringe. When Mulder awakens he is in a large room bound with chicken wire along with many other prisoners. Black material is dumped onto his face, infecting him with the black oil.
665:
split between three camera crews working simultaneously. By dawn, only four of the sixty required shots had not been filmed, and these were later completed on a sound stage. Additional scenes shot for the episode featuring
630:, and it was felt that this two-part story was a good place to expand upon this, allowing the production crew to "stretch the limits" of their resources and imagination. The inspiration for the oil-containing rocks was
675:
of the episode, leaving the actor to enjoy the shoot, although the crew described production as expensive and "stubbornly trouble-plagued". "Tunguska" marked the fourth appearance in the series by
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391:. The story offered the writers a chance to expand the scale of the series' mythology globally, although production of the episode was described as troublesome and expensive.
762:, in The Munchkyn Zone, wrote positively of the entry and gave it a 5 out of 5 rating. Stegall highlighted the "taut storyline" and the "excellent direction". Writing for
606:" were conceived by the writers when they were trying to conceive a "big and fun canvas" to tell stories. They decided to create a story connected to the Russian
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had ended a few years earlier. The writers desired to expand the series' mythology globally, a concept that continued into the
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raid on a terrorist cell found to be harbouring Alex Krycek were filmed in a single night, requiring sixty individual film
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hearing on Mulder's whereabouts. "Tunguska" is a two-part episode, with the plot continuing in the next episode, "
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752:"Tunguska" received mostly positive reviews from critics. Based on an advance viewing of the episode's script,
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and provides the documents needed to travel there. Mulder reluctantly brings along Krycek, who is fluent in
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felt it was natural to create an arms race-like story between the United States and Russia, being that the
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described this episode, along with "Terma", as being action-heavy and "lots of fun".
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meteorite, while the gulag setting was inspired by the works of
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I Want to
Believe: The Official Guide to the X-Files Volume 3
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camp, but are captured by the taskmasters and thrown into a
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rated "Tunguska" an A−, praising the "arms race" plotline.
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group. Mulder's tipster within the group is revealed to be
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Television episodes written by Chris Carter (screenwriter)
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viewers watched this episode during its original airing.
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fragment that might contain fossilized alien bacteria.
1016:"X Cyclopedia: The Ultimate Episode Guide, Season IV"
333:. The episode helped explore the series' overarching
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432:. Senator Sorenson threatens to hold Scully in
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1506:Television episodes written by Frank Spotnitz
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747:'s Emily VanDerWerff on the episode's scope.
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598:meteorite inspired the episode's script.
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778:"Tunguska" received a nomination for a
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413:) as she is brought before a
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704:"Tunguska" premiered on the
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976:Meisler (1998), p. 298.
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907:Meisler (1998), p. 103.
856:Meisler (1998), p. 102.
712:. The episode earned a
624:feature film adaptation
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1313:The Field Where I Died
1111:Meisler, Andy (1998).
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374:United States Senate
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161:Marita Covarrubias
152:Well-Manicured Man
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1051:The Munchkyn Zone
1047:"Krycek Disarmed"
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946:
940:
925:
921:
920:(narrator).
918:Chris Carter
912:
889:
874:
870:
867:Chris Carter
861:
834:
830:
811:Chris Carter
805:
777:
753:
751:
741:
737:
718:12.2 percent
703:
656:
649:
643:
620:fifth season
601:
580:
559:John Neville
548:
520:
489:
473:Nicholas Lea
438:
400:
398:
382:
339:
331:Fritz Weaver
327:Nicholas Lea
323:John Neville
319:Chris Carter
296:
284:
282:
267:The X-Files
266:
247:
236:
186:as Dr. Sacks
175:Fritz Weaver
148:John Neville
130:Nicholas Lea
103:Running time
70:Chris Carter
33:
25:
15:
1369:Never Again
1228:The X-Files
1182:The X-Files
1000:January 16,
951:Los Angeles
949:(booklet).
823:John Shiban
819:Kim Manners
706:Fox network
612:John Shiban
572:slave labor
540:Krasnoyarsk
524:hazmat suit
469:Alex Krycek
407:Dana Scully
358:Dana Scully
311:Kim Manners
303:Fox network
298:The X-Files
202:Brent Stait
198:as Prisoner
134:Alex Krycek
60:Kim Manners
56:Directed by
35:The X-Files
1485:Categories
1446:Gethsemane
1390:Unrequited
1285:Herrenvolk
1141:"Tunguska"
1071:CAS Awards
1030:January 7,
722:18 percent
586:Production
563:subpoenaed
422:Fox Mulder
346:Fox Mulder
106:44 minutes
95:1996-11-24
66:Written by
1411:Synchrony
786:Footnotes
780:CAS Award
695:Reception
642:'s books
516:meteorite
453:black oil
354:black oil
335:mythology
51:Episode 8
1470:Category
1425:Zero Sum
1334:Tunguska
1276:Season 4
1186:episodes
1024:Archived
829:(2005).
670:and the
616:Cold War
285:Tunguska
269:season 4
237:Previous
170:Pendrell
43:Episode
26:Tunguska
1383:Kaddish
1196:Seasons
930:(DVD).
839:(DVD).
732:Reviews
700:Ratings
687:" and "
544:Russian
250: →
235:←
93: (
38:episode
1439:Demons
1306:Unruhe
1299:Teliko
1123:
1100:
774:Awards
689:Avatar
663:setups
608:gulags
500:Russia
415:Senate
1432:Elegy
1341:Terma
681:Pilot
604:Terma
576:gulag
498:from
378:Terma
254:Terma
1292:Home
1145:IMDb
1121:ISBN
1098:ISBN
1032:2012
1002:2012
825:and
683:", "
659:SWAT
648:and
632:NASA
528:coma
508:NASA
395:Plot
329:and
248:Next
83:4X09
1404:Max
1143:at
932:Fox
881:Fox
841:Fox
708:on
691:".
549:In
510:'s
461:FBI
405:to
380:".
342:FBI
305:on
168:as
159:as
150:as
141:as
132:as
123:as
45:no.
1487::
1266:11
1261:10
1049:.
1018:.
993:.
981:^
953::
924:.
898:^
873:.
849:^
833:.
821:,
817:,
793:^
654:.
578:.
546:.
436:.
325:,
256:"
244:"
1448:"
1444:"
1441:"
1437:"
1434:"
1430:"
1427:"
1423:"
1420:"
1416:"
1413:"
1409:"
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1399:"
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1329:"
1325:"
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1308:"
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1301:"
1297:"
1294:"
1290:"
1287:"
1283:"
1249:9
1244:8
1239:7
1234:6
1222:5
1217:4
1212:3
1207:2
1202:1
1173:e
1166:t
1159:v
1129:.
1106:.
1034:.
1004:.
957:.
934:.
883:.
843:.
743:—
685:3
557:(
534:(
483:(
471:(
424:(
409:(
368:(
360:(
348:(
283:"
252:"
240:"
97:)
28:"
24:"
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