Season 2, Episode 24: Our Town

Synopsis

George Kearns, a poultry inspector with the Chaco Chicken plant in Arkansas vanishes after trying to get a roll in the hay; Mulder notes the sighting of a foxfire, a burn mark in a field, and a deranged man found in 1961 in the same town. The local authority, Sheriff Arens, helps the agents with the case. Mulder finds that the inspector wanted to shut down the plant for various violations.

Paula Gray, the woman Kearns was chasing, is killed after holding the plant's floor manager at knifepoint after experiencing hallucinations. Gray is the granddaughter of the company's owner, Walter Chaco; Scully finds that she was suffering from Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease, characterized by spongelike holes in the brain. Gray is also apparently 47 years old, though she doesn't look it.

More people come down with the disease, despite the fact that it's supposed to be very rare. Several sets of bones are found in a river that serves as a runoff from the plant, and Mulder suspects that the townspeople are using cannibalism to prolong life. Scully is kidnapped (again?!?) and brought to a cannibalistic ritual. Chaco berates the group for turning on their own with a separate murder, and ends up getting killed. Mulder comes to the rescue, and Arens is found to be the grand executor. Chaco Chicken is shut down, and Scully finds that Chaco was shot down during World War II and spent some time with a cannabalistic tribe. He was 93 years old, though he certainly didn't look it.

Timothy Webber, who I overlooked from his appearance in "Tooms," played Jerome in Men in Trees and Harris Miller in North of 60. Gabrielle Miller, here playing Paula Gray, recently had a long run on the show Corner Gas.

Episode Body Count

George Kearns: axed in a ritual ceremony.

Paula Gray: shot and killed by Sheriff Arens after holding the Chaco Chicken floor manager hostage.

At least eight people: Scully isolates at least nine victims from the bones found in the river, including Kearns.

78 more people: Scully says 87 people have disappeared from within a 200-mile radius of the town in the past 50 years, and are presumed dead. I'm guessing Kearns and the others found are included in that tally.

Doris Kearns: killed after trying to let Mulder and Scully know about the fishy business of the town.

Walter Chaco: beheaded by the cannibals.

Sheriff Arens: shot and killed by Mulder as he tries to execute Scully.

And just like that, again thanks to Mulder's historical research, there's another Deadliest of Season and of Show. I'm very tempted to count the chickens seen in the plant, but then I realized that I probably should have been counting the ribs back in "Red Museum." So, belatedly...

"Food doesn't count!"

Humans: 91
Creatures: 0
Aliens: 0

Cumulative Body Count (48/202 episodes, 0/2 movies)

Humans: 503
Creatures: 29
Aliens: 23

Grand Total: 555

Season 2, Episode 4: Sleepless

Synopsis

A prominent sleep disorder doctor dies in his apartment after reporting a fire; however, no signs of the blaze are found at the building. Mulder manages to get assigned to the case after being tipped off about it, and is joined by a new partner named Alex Krycek. Scully's autopsy finds all of the secondary signs of death by fire, as if the doctor believed he was burning.

A man named Augustus Cole visits an old military buddy, who is subsequently found dead with wounds that suggest gunshots but have no external trauma. Mulder and Krycek find that the doctor, Cole, and the newly dead man were all part of the same Marine unit during the Vietnam War. Mr. X visits calls Mulder to visit him in person and gives him a report showing how the military was looking into ways to remove the necessity of sleep in soldiers, and how the dead men were part of such an experiment.

Mulder thinks Cole, who hasn't slept in 24 years, may have developed the ability to project his consciousness onto other people. Another surviving member of the experimental squad tells the agents that the squad went AWOL and were responsible for a terrible massacre, and that Cole may be seeking justice for those who died.

Mulder and Krycek look for Cole and another doctor who took part in the experiments. They find Cole after he nearly kills the doctor with a vision. Mulder tries to talk to Cole, who is despondent after so long without sleep, but Krycek kills him after believing Cole is pointing a gun at Mulder. The episode concludes with the revelation that Krycek is a plant from the Cigarette-Smoking Man and his cronies.

Tony Todd, who plays Cole, was also the Candyman in a series of horror movies bearing that name. Jon Gries, who plays Salvatore Matola, played Broots for several episodes of The Pretender as well as Roger Linus on Lost.

Episode Body Count

Dr. Saul Grissom: dies after thinking that his apartment is on fire.

Henry Willig: dies after believing he has been shot multiple times.

Augustus Cole: shot and killed by Krycek.

Humans: 3
Creatures: 0
Aliens: 0

A few serious wounds aren't confirmed as deaths. And then there were the 4,000-plus confirmed kills Mr. X mentions regarding the experimental squad, presumably including a massacre that kills over 300 people...

"Such figures, while reflecting the tragic cost of war, serve to artificially inflate the tally of investigation deaths and therefore don't count!"

Cumulative Body Count (28/202 episodes, 0/2 movies)

Humans: 219
Creatures: 11
Aliens: 9

Grand Total: 239

Season 1, Episode 7: Ghost in the Machine

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The X-Files Body Count Begins!

Against better judgment, I've decided to start a third blog, though this one will at least have a start and a finish. I'm going to go through The X-Files again and keep track of the body count of humans, monsters, and aliens. The show's been off the air for some time, but I'm guessing there's still a big enough fan base out there and TV body counts are popular on the Interwebs these days. Be sure to tell all your friends.

So I'll start the first of the 202 episodes and two movies tonight, watch episodes as I'm able (hopefully fairly steady during the summer when not much is on, likely less so once seasons start up again), and eventually get a full count of however many people and creatures bite the dust on the show. Beginning estimate: 1,689.

A few disclaimers: I've seen most of the series before, so I know that some people don't remain dead, but I'll approach this as if it's the first time I'm watching it and scratch people off if it's applicable. Also, it will follow the rules of Gimpy from Undergrads:

"Alternate dimensions don't count!"