The X-Files

The X-Files (1993)

11 mistakes in Ghost in the Machine

(12 votes)

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

Ghost in the Machine - S1-E7

Audio problem: When Jerry uses the elevator, the voice of the computer reads out the floors as "twenty-third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor" etc, missing out the "twenty-" prefix until the 29th floor. The DVD subtitles list these numbers with their prefix, so this was not intentional. (00:21:10)

darren-c

Ghost in the Machine - S1-E7

Other mistake: Near The Beginning, we see security camera footage from a computer watching Drake type a letter about cancelling the COS project. The footage is too low to be shot by the security camera. It's the regular camera that continues the scene since there is a cut to it from the monitor (and the shot pans to the right before Drake is killed). Many TV shows and movies forget to line up the POV shots from security cameras, using the real footage instead.

manthabeat

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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.

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