Biogenesis (The X-Files)

"Biogenesis"
The X-Files episode
An alien shipwreck on the beach in Côte d'Ivoire. The episode questioned whether or not aliens were involved in past great extinctions, the creation of religion, and the development of the human race.
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 22
Directed by	Rob Bowman
Written by	Chris Carter Frank Spotnitz
Production code	6ABX22
Original air date	May 16, 1999 (1999-05-16)
Running time	45 minutes
Guest appearances
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Mimi Rogers as Diana Fowley William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man Michael Chinyamurindi as Dr. Merkmallen Murray Rubinstein as Dr. Sandoz Michael Ensign as Dr. Barnes Floyd Westerman as Albert Hosteen Bill Dow as Charles Burks Chef Grissom as Detective Sheila Tousey as Native American Nurse Warren Sweeney as Geoff Harriman Samuel Kwaku Minta as Yelling Man Ayo Adeyemi as African Man Benjamin Ochieng as Second African Man Marty Zagon as Landlord
Episode chronology
← Previous "Field Trip" Next → "The Sixth Extinction"
List of episodes

"Biogenesis" is the twenty-second episode and the sixth season finale of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States and Canada on May 16, 1999, on the Fox Network, and aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on July 25, 1999, on Sky1. It was written by executive producers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, and directed by Rob Bowman. "Biogenesis" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.4, being watched by 15.86 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from critics.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In the episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a bizarre rock inscribed with Navajo writing found in Côte d'Ivoire, and the death of the African scientist involved. While its appearance in Washington begins to affect Mulder's mental health, leading him to turn to Agent Fowley for help; a disturbed Scully—determined to disprove the theory that life on Earth began with aliens—heads to New Mexico and finds a dying Albert Hosteen—who has discovered that the rock includes passages from the Bible, and a map of the human genome. While Mulder breaks down in a mental institution, Scully journeys unexpectedly to Africa.

"Biogenesis" was a story milestone for the series, along with "The Sixth Extinction" and "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati," and introduced new aspects to the series' overarching mythology. The episode was written due to series creator Chris Carter's fascination with the possibility that extraterrestrials were involved in the great extinctions that had happened millions of years ago.