The X-Files
Australian Conne-X-ion
Episode Guide
"Drive"
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Episode 6ABX02
Title: Drive
First Screened in Australia: February 17, 1999
Repeated in Australia:April 19, 2000
First Screened in the USA: November 15, 1998
Credits:
Director: Rob Bowman
Writer: Vince Gilligan
Starring:
Guest Stars:
- Bryan Cranston as Patrick Crump
- Janine Venable as Vicky Crump
- Junior Brown as The Farmer
- Michael O'Neill as the Patrol Captain
- Bob Peters as the Idaho News Anchor
- Frank Buckley as the Nevada News Anchor
- Mindy Seeger as The Coroner
- Harry Danner as the CDC Doctor
- James Pickens Jr. as A.D. Kersh
- Scott A. Smith as the Prison Doctor
- Ken Collins as the Gas Station Attendant
Awards:
Bill Roe, director of photography, won the 1999 American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement Award for his work on "Drive".
Plot:
An armed man infected with a deadly pathogen climbs into Mulder's car and instructs the agent to keep the vehicle in constant motion.
sofcom
My Rating: 7/10
An almost interesting idea that just doesn't pull it off. There's some good scenes, the opening news flash is quite effective and the gas station scene is funny but overall there's no real intensity despite all the speed. The episode would have received only 6/10 if not for the futile ending as Mulder arrives in California only to have Crump's head explode. Mulder's pain is believable in this instance. The Kersh meeting sees the die-hard fans add another name to their hate list.
Notable Quotable:
Scully: (on phone) Mulder, it's me. You know how to pick them, I'll tell you that.
Mulder: It's Mr. Mulder to you, you peanut-picking bastard.
Mulder: You think the government did this to you?
Crump: Hell, yeah. Who else? You see it all the time on the TV.
Scully: Big piles of manure.
Where Have I Seen That Face Before?
I'm a major "Seinfeld" fan and the first time I saw this episode I didn't recognise Bryan Cranston (Patrick Crump). He's none other than Tim Whatley, Seinfeld's dentist! Seinfeld fans will appreciate the Jewish tirade against Mulder because Whatley converted to Judaism "for the jokes" which really ticked Jerry off! Cranston has also appeared in "Saving Private Ryan", "Clean Slate", "Kissing Miranda", "Amazon Women", "Private Offering" and Tom Hanks' "That Thing You Do" and "The Rockford Files" and is star/writer/director of the 1999 movie "Last Chance". After this episode aired he got the role of Hal Wilkerson in the very funny "Malcolm In The Middle".
You probably won't recognise the face from his acting work but you may recognise the voice. Junior Brown (The Farmer) is a legendary musician who has just one other acting credit, the movie "Still Breathing". Fans of Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly would have heard Paul name-checking Junior Brown in a song on his latest CD "Words And Music" called "I'd Rather Go Blind".
The Pain Factor
For the second consecutive episode Scully and Mulder suffer no real physical pain, unless you count Mulder being cooped up in a car for a long period dying for a pee and Scully being sprayed with an exploding head!
