The X-Files

Revelations - S3-E11

Continuity mistake: Kevin's mother uses her car to hit the 'devil' and shatters the bottom right of the windscreen. The following shots, including the crash into the ditch, show the car with the windscreen undamaged. (00:28:59 - 00:29:22)

Paper Clip (3) - S3-E2

Visible crew/equipment: When Mulder and Scully enter the abandoned mine through a doorway, the viewer can see at right in the distance a number of people sitting on a wall, and one crouching in front of the wall with what looks like a dog. They are sitting still, but there is still movement there. (00:16:00)

Bad Blood - S5-E12

Visible crew/equipment: I don't know if this is visible in all formats, but on the newest UK release on DVD, watching in widescreen, it's amazingly obvious. When Mulder recovers from the vampire attack, he gets up from the floor and breaks up a chair to make a stake. There is a shot of his feet as he smashes the legs off and bends to pick up a piece. In the bottom left hand corner of the screen, you can see a crew member's hand carefully and quickly placing a piece of wood on top of the pile for Mulder to pick up.

Darkness Falls - S1-E20

Plot hole: At The End, a man is attacked while standing in the light of his automobile's headlights. Supposedly, though, the bugs were terrified of light. (00:38:45)

Signs and Wonders - S7-E9

Visible crew/equipment: A mic boom operator is visible on the left hand side of the screen wearing a white t-shirt, beige shorts, and sneakers. He's carrying the boom mic and following Mulder and Scully. You can see him when Mulder and Scully arrive at the "Church of God with Signs and Wonders" for the first time...when Mulder delivers the line "That's funny, I knew a couple Catholic schoolgirls who were experts at it." (00:08:20)

Ascension (2) - S2-E6

Continuity mistake: When Mulder is in the tram car ascending the mountain to rescue Scully, he pulls all of the things out of under the top left-hand seat, but when the scene moves to Krycek in the booth, you don't see any of the things that Mulder threw out. (00:19:40 - 00:20:50)

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Scully goes to Mulder's room, thinking she has the marks, after he has checked her we see Scully's hair is behind her collar, but when the shot changes to her going to sit down, her hair is now hanging out. (00:26:05)

Chaz1003

Shadows - S1-E6

Continuity mistake: Howard Graves' tombstone states that he died on the 5th of October, but the opening scene's date stamp says the 22nd of September, when it was supposed to be two weeks after Graves had died. (00:11:40 - 00:19:55)

Ghost in the Machine - S1-E7

Revealing mistake: While the computer is being infected with the virus, Peterson turns away from the screen to face Scully. Two seconds later, after the shot of Scully, the same shot is shown again but in reverse so that Peterson turns back to the screen. It's more obvious if you look at the weird way his eyes blink in the reversed shot. (00:39:50 - 00:41:32)

darren-c

The X-Files mistake picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: The first time Scully walks into Mulder's office, we see his "I want to Believe" poster in full view. Later on in the scene, we see papers stacked in front of it. (00:05:00)

Tithonus - S6-E10

Factual error: Lewis Brady had a "Felon wanted by the FBI" file in 1929, but the FBI wasn't called the FBI until 1935; until then it was just the "Bureau of Investigation." (00:34:30)

The X-Files mistake picture

Squeeze - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: When Tooms is in the cell right at The End, we see when his food is being brought over to him on the tray that there is a drink and a bun, when the shot changes to the other side of the door the drink and bun have swapped sides. When the shot changes back to the other side of the door, the tray is now the other way around and then when the shot goes back to the other side the whole tray has now disappeared. (00:39:40)

Chaz1003

The X-Files mistake picture

Squeeze - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: When Scully is having lunch with her friend just after the intro, we see at one shot from behind her she is holding a knife, then when the shot changes she is no longer holding it. (00:04:20)

Chaz1003

More quotes from The X-Files

Trivia: Scully's father and the man Mulder thought was his father were both named William. Mulder's actual father, Cancer Man, was played by William B Davis. Scully and Mulder's son was also named William.

More trivia for The X-Files

Show generally

Question: In a vast majority of the episodes, whenever Mulder and Scully investigate some mysterious or paranormal phenomenon, Mulder believes that some unknown force is responsible but Scully always has a rational explanation for what is happening. In other episodes, when Scully herself is caught up in something mysterious, she is the believer but Mulder is the skeptic. In those episodes, why would Mulder be skeptical about an unexplained phenomenon considering that he a was witness to his own sisters abduction and he saw many strange things that defied explanation while working for the F.B.I.?

Answer: As he stated many times throughout the series, Mulder needed Scully to be sober and skeptical. Whenever Scully's skepticism wavered and she started questioning her own rationality, Mulder would try to restore her sense of skepticism, because he needed her to be clear-thinking.

Charles Austin Miller

Answer: A variety of reasons. Just because Scully saw something unusual does not mean that it was. Mulder always needs concrete proof before he'll believe there's some otherworldly explanation for unexplained phenomena. He's too experienced to take a novice's explanation as fact. It is also a plot by device by the writers to switch the tables on the characters to make it more interesting and to let viewers see another side of their relationship.

More questions & answers from The X-Files

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.