| "Sleepless" | |
|---|---|
| The X-Files episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Rob Bowman |
| Written by | Howard Gordon |
| Production code | 2X04 |
| Original air date | October 7, 1994 |
| Running time | 44 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Sleepless" is the 4th episode of the second season and 28th overall of the science fiction television series The X-Files, premiering on the Fox network on October 7, 1994. The episode was written by supervising producer Howard Gordon and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology, although it features the first on-screen appearances of recurring characters X and Alex Krycek, who are central to the show's continuity. Its closing scene also sets the stage for the subsequent story arc of Scully's abduction. "Sleepless" earned a Nielsen rating of 8.6 and was viewed by 8.2 million households. The episode received mostly 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. In this episode, Mulder is assigned a new partner, Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea). The two investigate a case where doctors and marines who were part of a sleep deprivation experiment are being killed off.
Howard Gordon, the episode's writer, was inspired by various cases of insomnia. During the first season, Chris Carter had written a similar themed episode but stopped working on it when he became "unhappy" with the result.