Born Again (The X-Files)

"**Born Again**"
"Born Again"
The X-Files episode
	A fish-tank ornament visible in the static of a video recording
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 22
Directed by	Jerrold Freedman
Written by	Alex Gansa; Howard Gordon
Production code	1X21
Original air date	April 29, 1994
Running time	44 minutes
Guest appearances
	Brian Markinson as Tony Fiore; Mimi Lieber as Anita Fiore; Maggie Wheeler as Detective Sharon Lazard; Dey Young as Judy Bishop; Andrea Libman as Michelle Bishop; P. Lynn Johnson as Dr. Shiela Braun; Dwight Koss as Detective Barbala; Matthew John Dyson;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "Tooms"	Next →; "Roland"
	The X-Files season 1
	List of episodes

"Born Again" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on April 22, 1994. It was written by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, and directed by Jerrold Freedman. The episode featured guest appearances by Brian Markinson and Maggie Wheeler. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology.

The show centers on FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. When Mulder and Scully are called to New York State to investigate the death of a police officer, they come to believe that a young girl present during the incident may be the reincarnation of another officer murdered years earlier.

"Born Again" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.2, being watched by 7.7 million households in its initial broadcast, and received mixed reviews from critics. Additionally, several crew members disliked the episode, most notably Gordon and Duchovny. Gordon felt that the episode was too similar to the other episodes that had been aired, whereas Duchovny bluntly stated that he "detested" the episode.