Sleepless

Season 2, Episode 4, Aired
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Episode Summary

Mulder reluctantly accepts a new partner, Agent Alex Krycek, and requests a strange case because someone put an audio tape in his morning paper. When his request is granted they investigate the deaths of several Green Beret soldiers who participated in a sleep deprivation experiment during the Vietnam war. But before long it becomes clear that not one of these men have slept in over 20 years.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (12)

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  • Cute not so innocent agent Krycek

    10
    "Perfect"
    By mrsKrycek, Apr 25, 2009 Report Abuse
    Krycek is soooo hot! okay now that im done with that-
    Mulder reluctantly accepts a new partner, Agent Alex Krycek, and requests a strange case because someone put an audio tape in his morning paper. When his request is granted they investigate the deaths of several Green Beret soldiers who participated in a sleep deprivation experiment during the Vietnam war. But before long it becomes clear that not one of these men have slept in over 20 years. mulder and krycek have an uncomfortable relationship. mulder doesn't like krycek, and krycek is sick of being ditched like someones bad date.moreless

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  • We meet Krycek... And his hidden agenda

    8.5
    "Great"
    By OnePerCentClub, Sep 21, 2008 Report Abuse
    Trust no one. It seemed like Mulder didn't follow this advice when he meets Krycek and isn't careful enough to hide the top secret documents in a safer place. The whole story about creating better soldiers by don't allowing them to sleep ever again is not that bad at all. But I guess is physically impossible since sleep in basic in human beings life. But again, it's believable and it was well written.
    Mulder continues to look for Scully's opinion and approval and she looks eager to help him, to not let him get "lost".
    So Krycek is not who we think he is (and he is a coward). Mulder made a huge mistake in taking him to Scully. He's with Cancer Man, and the tattletale tells CSM that Scully is a problem. "Every problem has a solution" is his answer. And he will take care of it.
    Mulder knew what was coming, he knew something bad was going on and he wasn't careful.moreless

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  • Good acting

    8.5
    "Great"
    By Ting13, Sep 07, 2007 Report Abuse
    This episode has some interesting aspects. It introduces Kryceck, and marks the first on-screen appearence of X.

    I like Nicholas Lea's performance in this episode. He plays Kryceck as a rookie who is eager to prove himself, and almost overplays that aspect of the character. Which works well, since Kryceck really isn't who Mulder thinks he is. So what you end up with is Lea doing an excellent job of portraying Kryceck, doing a good but not excellent job of pretending to be green.

    I also really like the scene with X in this episode. I like that right from the start he is portrayed differently from Deep Throat. Deep Throat was always calm and fatherly towards Mulder, and had a lot of information which he had held for years and years. X is a lot younger for one thing, which means it would have been odd to see him act fatherly, and it's evident that he hasn't had all the information that he has for as long as Deep Throat had. And I like that he isn't as calm as his predecessor; he is slightly irritated and clearly a bit scared. It makes him a very human character. He is afraid of ending up like Deep Throat and is clearly helping Mulder for some other reason than to be helpful to Mulder in particular. The character is well written, a great replacement for Deep Throat, and Steven Williams is brilliant in his scene.

    As for the rest of the episode, the plotline is interesting enough. I like the plotlines that deal with things that aren't necessarily paranormal, and this episode had a touch of that as well as of paranormal things. Tony Todd was interesting to see in his role. But it felt a bit like the case storyline didn't get as much time as it needed. Though since the episode also included the things with Kryceck and X that is understandable.moreless

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  • Pivotal stuff

    9.2
    "Superb"
    By RJNeb2, May 28, 2007 Report Abuse
    There is a little moment in the midst of the excitement of this thrilling episode (no 4 in Season 2, and the fourth excellent episode in a run) that cuts through the plot and reveals the human side of "The X Files". Mulder and Scully are having one of their inevitable cellphone conversations when she comments that his new partnership with rookie agent Alex Krycek seems to be working out well and he quips back that it's nice not having everything he does questioned. And then the two of them lapse into a short silence as they both realise how desperately much they miss each other. No huge chunks of expository dialogue required, just a short silence that tells us acres of information about how close these two agents have become. And this is further underlined when at the end of the episode, Scully asks Mulder if he trusts his new informant and Mulder can't answer the implication being all too clear that there is only one person he can trust. Which is all for the better really, considering that this episode ends with what can only be described as a shocking revelation. But we'll come back to that.

    There's a hell of a lot going on in "Sleepless" that it's to everyone's credit that it's all accomplished within the 45 minute timeframe. Not content with treating us to a truly enthralling X File about some Vietnam vets, operated on during the war, who have had their ability to sleep surgically removed, the episode premise broadens out to encompass just where such a "gift" might take you. The hallucinatory quality of Augustus Cole's predicament (and only him, mind, none of the other vets are so hellbent on revenge to have acquired this skill) adds yet another wrinkle to the plot. One too many, some might argue, but not really. It adds some justification to his murderous spree. Whilst also giving us some cool ways for people to die. (As a footnote, the fact that the sleepless soldiers experiment can ultimately be judged to be a failure makes an interesting counterpoint to the more successful experiment of supersoldiers which is Season 9's mytharc.)

    On top of this, we have the introduction of Krycek. Mulder of course is almost hostilely resistant to the idea of being given another agent to work with, especially one so apparently green. But the truth of the matter is that Skinner was well within his rights to give the case to Krycek seeing as he genuinely unearthed it, and didn't spuriously come across it thanks to some anonymous tip-off in the way that Mulder did. Krycek himself is keen and persistent and proves to be sufficiently dogged in his attempts to keep up with Mulder that he has to relent and let him in. Interestingly, when Mulder does expound his wacko theory, Krycek's reaction is not one of scepticism but of acceptance. More interestingly, this doesn't enthuse Mulder. It's almost as if he needs Scully's resistance and questioning attitude to help him enlarge and strengthen his own theories. Furthermore, into the heady mix concocted for this episode, we have the first appearance of X, Mulder's new high-echelon informant. In only one scene, actor Steven Williams brings a brutish intensity to his part. Gone is the avuncular chumminess of Deep Throat, X seems like a much more dangerous and subversive character. What Mulder must make of him can only be surmised, for he's not yet at liberty to trust him, though the file that X hands over is crucial in the cracking of the case. Except the case is not cracked. Augustus Cole may now finally be able to sleep, but all evidence from both Mulder and Scully's ends of the investigation disappear, leaving them with nothing. Quite why this particular case warrants such close attention from the mysterious powers that be is rather odd, and presumably Skinner would be wondering what his two newly assigned agents have been working on, but that is all actually immaterial. It opens the door to a piece of double-crossing subterfuge that none of us saw coming. Krycek is working in league with the Cigarette Smoking Man. Not only that, but they are working together to destroy the X Files and presumably Mulder himself. With the disbandment of the X Files at the end of Season 1, we all naturally assumed that this was merely a temporary measure and that Mulder and Scully would be together again. Indeed it hasn't proved to be too big an impediment thus far. But Krycek's chilling words to CSM that "Scully is a much larger problem" (she certainly is at 8 months pregnant!) indicate that there is now a very real element of danger. Now we are really uncertain about the fate of our two lead characters. So "Sleepless" is an instrumental and riveting episode in laying down the groundwork for the next few episodes and the introduction of the show's mythology, when the programme would attain some extraordinary creative heights. 9/10moreless

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  • No sleep make soldiers bad boys.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By farscapefanuk, Apr 20, 2007 Report Abuse
    This episode was about a group of soldiers who has 'sleep' removed from their minds in an opperation during the Vietnam war in 1970. They did it to become the perfect soldier who never needs to sleep, they could be on guard 24 seven. But over time the soldiers became sick of no sleeping, so one by one they died off and now only two are remaining after another body turns up. Mulder gets the case from his new myterious source but is assigned a new agent to work with Agent Alex Krychek. This is the first appearence of this guy but he returns several times from here on in to rival Mulder.

    Overal this was a good episode. Scully was left out due to her pregnacy, but the new guy is evil, he is reporting to CSM OMG. So he tells CSM that Scully is a bigger problem than they ever imagined. Really good episode.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • It seems that what Cole was holding when he was shot was a bible, not a gun, but his illusion powers made Alex see a gun instead of a bible. Edit

  • Notes

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    • Mitch Kosterman reprises his role of Detective Horton from 'Genderbender'. Edit
    • At the end of the episode, Tony Todd's character Cole contemplates suicide by jumping onto a rusty, sharp pole from 40 feet. This is exactly the same way Tony Todd's character dies in the movie The Rock. Edit
    • Writer/Producer Howard Gordon recommended Nicholas Lea for the part of Alex Krycek after seeing him perform in Season 1's "Genderbender." Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Mulder: There's been a mistake here. Another agent's been attached to the case. Krycek: That would be me. I'm Krycek. Alex Krycek. Edit
    • Krycek: Reassigning them to other areas seems to have only strengthened their determination. Scully's a problem. A much larger problem than you described. CSM: Every problem has a solution. Edit
    • Mulder: Who are you? X: Who I am is irrelevant. Mulder: Why are you trying to help me? X: You think I want to be here, Agent Mulder? I don't want to be here. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Character Name: Saul Grissom Saul Grissom has the same last name as American astronaut Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (1926-1967). Saul Grissom dies after being trapped in his apartment during an apparent fire. Gus Grissom and two other astronauts (Ed White and Roger Chaffee) died after being trapped in the Apollo 1 spacecraft during the 1967 launchpad fire. Edit
    • Character Name: George Hale When Scully's class is interrupted by the news that there is a phone call for her, the caller's name (it's actually Mulder) is given as Dr. George Hale. George Ellery Hale, Sc.D., Ph.D., LL.D. is, apparently, one of Mulder's heroes. In Little Green Men, Mulder tells Scully that Hale believed that his best ideas were whispered into his ears by elves, and that his (Mulder's) own life had been a struggle to hear, believe and verify what his own elves were trying to tell him. Hale was one of the most influential astronomers of all time. He won numerous scientific awards, founded two observatories and mentored Edwin Hubble, discoverer of the expanding universe phenomenon and namesake of the space telescope. Edit

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