The X-Files
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Episode Guide
"Alone"

• David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder
• Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully
• Robert Patrick as Special Agent John Doggett

• Jolie Jenkins as Agent Leyla Harrison
• Mitch Pileggi as AD Walter Skinner
• Tony Ketcham as Gary Sacks
• James Otis as Arlen Sacks
• Lisa Kaseman as Pathology Assistant
• Zach Grenier as Herman Stites
• Jay Caputo as Salamander Man

With Scully on leave due to her impending delivery and Mulder still barred from his official investigative duties, Doggett, with the aid of a new and very green FBI agent, finds himself hot on the trail of a deadly creature. But when the situation turns and they become the hunted, Mulder and Scully must race against time to rescue them.
Sofcom

The Next Files

Along with writing a good deal of the episodes, wrangling two shows at once and, of course, politely answering the questions of pesky journalists, Frank Spotnitz will now add directing to his long list of duties as executive producer on The X-Files. He has decided to take up the reins on the 19th episode of Season Eight, "Alone." During the last week of February, with fellow writers/executive producers Vince Gilligan and John Shiban waiting patiently outside his office door, Spotnitz sat down at a coffee table covered in script pages and conceptual drawings-across from a bulletin board on which dozens of notecards traced the progression of the episode's storyline-to give The X-Files Official Magazine the scoop on his directorial debut and a quick "state of the X-Files" report.

The X-Files Official Magazine: What made you decide to direct an episode?
Frank Spotnitz: It was probably a foolish move on my part [laughs]. I was persuaded I should just finally take the leap while I still could. It never seemed to be a good time to do it-in fact, this is still not a good time to do it-but I wanted to do it not knowing what next year holds; whether I'm gonna be back, whether Mulder would be back. I just decided to take the opportunity while it presented itself.

The X-Files Official Magazine: What can you tell us about the storyline?
Frank Spotnitz: I'm still writing it, which is the scary part because it's in prep and I haven't finished the script. I haven't figured out the story yet, so it's a bit crazy. It's the last stand-alone of the season and it's really the last Mulder and Scully investigation, even though it involves Agent Doggett as well, so it's got a lot of nostalgia to it.

The X-Files Official Magazine: How is prep going?
Frank Spotnitz: Well, today's my first day of prep, and I'm sitting here still trying to figure out the story, so it's a little stressful. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to being a director and getting to do all the cool things like look at these illustrations I've got set on my coffee table [laughs].

The X-Files Official Magazine: What are some of the main factors you've had to consider in integrating Mulder back into the episodes?
Frank Spotnitz: We're mindful of using David Duchovny as an actor to the fullest and really taking advantage of the time we have with him. And then I think we're also mindful of the future of the show, the future of the movies-if there are going to be movies-and how to service both the show and the movies and be true to our fans and their hopes and expectations for this character.

The X-Files Official Magazine: Any word yet on Season Nine?
Frank Spotnitz: I think there's certainly a lot of interest in there being a Season Nine, and Chris [Carter] has said he would like for there to be a Season Nine, but there's a lot of business and deal-making and all that stuff that's gonna happen, so it's very much in the air who would be here for Season Nine.