| "Unusual Suspects" | |
|---|---|
| The X-Files episode | |
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:TXF_Unusual_Suspects.jpg) Promotional image for the episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 3 |
| Directed by | Kim Manners |
| Written by | Vince Gilligan |
| Production code | 5X01 |
| Original air date | November 16, 1997 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
"Unusual Suspects" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files and the 100th episode overall. It was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Kim Manners and it originally aired in the United States on November 16, 1997 on the Fox network. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 13.0, being watched by 21.72 million people in its initial broadcast and received mixed to moderately positive 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. "Unusual Suspects", however, functions as a flashback episode: in 1989, two salesmen and a federal employee join forces when they meet Susanne Modeski, a woman who claims that she is being pursued by her supposedly violent ex-boyfriend, an FBI agent named Fox Mulder. A sequel to the episode was later filmed during the series' sixth season, entitled "Three of a Kind".
The concept for having an episode dedicated to The Lone Gunmen arose when the show's producers were forced to start production of the fifth season in the last week of August in Vancouver, but still needed series stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson for the filming of The X-Files movie in Los Angeles. Duchovny appears in a reduced capacity in the episode, while Anderson is absent entirely. Writing duties fell to Vince Gilligan, who initially drafted a story about nanotechnology, before changing to the origins of The Lone Gunmen on behest of series creator Chris Carter. In addition, "Unusual Suspects" serves as a cross-over with the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street, featuring Richard Belzer's Detective John Munch character.