Schizogeny

"Schizogeny" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on January 11, 1998. It was written by Jessica Scott and Mike Wollaeger, directed by Ralph Hemecker, and featured guest appearances by Bob Dawson, Myles Ferguson, Katharine Isabelle, Chad Lindberg, and Sarah-Jane Redmond. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Schizogeny" earned a Nielsen household rating of 12.9, being watched by 21.37 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed to negative reviews, with several critics calling it the worst episode of The X-Files.

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 this episode, Mulder and Scully become convinced that a greater evil may be lurking in the community when a teenager is suspected of murdering his stepfather.

"Schizogeny", written by first-year staff writers Scott and Wollaeger, became humorously known as "The Killer Tree Episode" amongst the cast and crew. Many of the scenes shot for "Schizogeny" were filmed on a real orchard named Hazelgrove Farms near the small town of Fort Langley, British Columbia. The episode utilized various post-production techniques, in order to clear up vocal issues and to censor one line, which Fox's standards and practices department had issues with.