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The X-Files: Piper Maru (1)

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A French salvage ship searching for a lost WWII fighter plane unknowingly surfaces an alien which appears in the form of black oil and has the ability to jump hosts. Mulder heads to Hong Kong to investigate the salvage broker who sold the information to the French and he encounters Krycek, who has been selling information from the MJ Documents. As Mulder prepares to take Krycek back to the US, the alien makes its way to Hong Kong and takes control of Krycek. Add a recap »

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Writers:: Frank Spotnitz Chris Carter

Director:: Rob Bowman

Stars:: David Duchovny (Special Agent Fox Mulder); Gillian Anderson (Special Agent Dana Scully)

Recurring Role:: Lenno Britos (Hispanic Man); Mitch Pileggi (Assistant Director Walter Skinner); Morris Panych (Gray-Haired Man); Nicholas Lea (Alex Krycek)

Guest Star:: Kimberly Unger (Joan Gauthier); Rochelle Greenwood (Waitress); Joel Silverstone (1st Engineer); David Neale (Guard); Tom Scholte (young Johansen); Robbie L. Maier (WWII Pilot); Tegan Moss (young Dana Scully); Darcy Laurie (2nd Engineer (uncredited)); Richard Hersley (Captain Kyle Sanford (uncredited)); Christine Viner (young Melissa Scully (uncredited)); Peter Scoular (Sick Crewman (uncredited)); Russell Ferrier (Medic); Robert Clothier (Commander Chris Johansen); Jo Bates (Jeraldine Kallenchuk); Stephen E. Miller (Wayne Morgan); Ari Solomon (Bernard Gauthier); Paul Batten (Dr Seizer)

In the movie Alien vs. Predator, the crew arrive in Antarctica on an ice breaker called Piper Maru. edit »
Michael Bubl� guest starred in this episode; however he was uncredited. He was a sailor in Commander Johanson's memory. edit »
Factual Error: When the support crew loses contact with Gauthier in the submersible, the communications technician is told to "try another frequency" (a statement verified in the subtitles). However, since radios don't work underwater, there are no frequencies to change; the only communication is by wire, which may carry more than one channel, but a disruption in cable-based communications affects all channels simultaneously. edit »
When Skinner walks into the cafe (the time he gets shot) another man is just walking out, leaving a table with a used glass and coffee cup. The waitress is in the back, getting Skinner a cup of coffee (she couldn't have cleaned the other table yet), but when we look over Skinner's shoulder you can see that the other table is cleared and has a clean coffee cup (turned upside down) on it. edit »

For this episode, Gillian Anderson received her first Best Actress Emmy Award nomination. edit »
The deep-sea diver Gauthier is named after the shows effects supervisor, Dave Gauthier. edit »
This episode's title and the name of the ship featured are named after Gillian Anderson's daughter, Piper Maru Anderson, who was born during season 2.
'Maru' was particularly fitting as it is the Japanese word for 'ship', but no, Gillian didn't name her daughter after a boat; it also means 'flower' in Polynesian. edit »

Dr. Seizer: Whatever these men came in contact with, it was man- made. Levels like this just don't appear in nature.
Mulder: Not on this planet. edit »
Scully: You know, it's strange. Men can blow up buildings, and they can be nowhere near the crime scene. But we can piece together the evidence and convict them beyond a doubt. Our labs here can recreate out of the most microscopic details their motivation and circumstance to almost any murder. Right down to a killer's attitude towards his mother and that he was a bedwetter. But in the case of a woman... my sister... who was gunned down in cold blood in a well-lit apartment building by a shooter who left the weapon at the crime scene, we can't even put together enough to keep anybody interested.
Skinner: I don' think this had anything to do with interest.
Scully: If I may say so, sir. It has everything to do with interest. Just not yours and not mine. edit »
(Mulder & Scully discussing the details of a new case that Mulder believes may have something to do with the remains of a UFO)
Mulder: I checked. It's thousands of miles away from any test sites. (Scully smiles, then laughs) What?
Scully: I'm just constantly amazed by you. You're working down here in the basement, sifting through files and transmissions that any other agent would just throw away in the garbage.
Mulder: Well that's why I'm in the basement Scully.
Scully: You're in the basement because they're afraid of you, of your relentlessness and because they know that they could drop you in the middle of the desert, and tell you the truth is out there, and you would ask them for a shovel.
Mulder: Is that what you think of me?
Scully: Well, maybe not a shovel. Maybe a backhoe.
Mulder: Well that's good because there's some garbage in San Diego I want you to help me dig through. edit »
[Mulder, Scully and Morgan looking at something underwater through a videotape]
Morgan: What the hell is that?
Mulder: Looks like the fuselage of a plane.
Scully: It's a North American P-51 Mustang.
Morgan: Yeah it sure is.
Mulder: I just got very turned on. edit »
(at the salvage broker's office)
Mulder: I've got a letter here, typed on [Mr. Kallenchuk's] stationery. Maybe you typed it for him?
Jeraldine: Sorry. I don't type. edit »

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9.4
10
heart_sark
member since: Apr 2, 2007
Piper Maru (1)
The Bottom Line: "Series classic"
Freaky black oil ...Continue »
04/20/07 08:08pm | report abuse
9
10
Anon67683
member since: Oct 20, 2006
Piper Maru (1)
The Bottom Line: "Series classic"
Black Gold ...Continue »
03/05/07 02:31am | report abuse
8.1
02
danideathstrike
member since: May 9, 2006
Piper Maru (1)
The Bottom Line: "Another great installment"
Thank god it wasn�t �Dod Kalm� part 2 ...Continue »
07/11/06 01:24am | report abuse
10
10
SleepTight
member since: Jun 16, 2005
Piper Maru (1)
The Bottom Line: "Series classic"
The one with the oil ...Continue »
04/26/06 10:47am | report abuse
8.8
20
Ummagnumma
member since: Jan 26, 2006
Piper Maru (1)
The Bottom Line: "Cleverly plotted"
A two-part barn burner. ...Continue »
03/23/06 12:46pm | report abuse