The effects of the biological weapon, which causes rapid degeneration of human flesh. The special effects and mood for the scene were critically applauded.
Episode no.
Season 5 Episode 18
Directed by
Rob Bowman
Written by
John Shiban
Production code
5X18
Original air date
May 3, 1998 (1998-05-03)
Running time
45 minutes
Guest appearances
Daniel von Bargen as Jacob Haley
J.B. Bivens as Field Agent
Armin Moattar as Goatee Man
Sam Anderson as Leamus
Michael MacRae as August Bremer
Kate Braidwood as the Usherette
Ralph Alderman as the Manager
Trevor Roald as Martin
Kett Turton as Brit
Douglas Arthurs as Skin-Head Man
John B. Lowe as Dr. Leavitt
Michael St. John Smith as the CIA Operative[1]
Episode chronology
← Previous "All Souls"
Next → "Folie à Deux"
The X-Files season 5
List of episodes
"The Pine Bluff Variant" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by John Shiban and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode aired in the United States on May 3, 1998 on the Fox network. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology, or fictional history. "The Pine Bluff Variant" received a Nielsen household rating of 11.4 and was watched by 18.24 million viewers in its initial broadcast. It received largely positive reviews from television critics as well as fans on the internet.
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, Scully grows suspicious of Mulder when she thinks he may be helping a terrorist organization. Scully begins to wonder if he is now a traitor to the FBI. It is eventually revealed that Mulder is working as a mole in the group, and he is trying to stop them before they are able to use a biological weapon—that may have been created by members of the U.S. government—which causes rapid degeneration of human flesh.
"The Pine Bluff Variant" was based on the idea of Mulder going undercover, a topic that Shiban had wanted to work on for a majority of the fifth season. Shiban argued that the concept worked for the series because the theme of Mulder questioning his beliefs was a major element of the fifth season. The episode was indirectly influenced by the 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, written by John le Carré. The title is also a reference to the Pine Bluff Arsenal, a real United States military base with stockpiles of chemical weapons.
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and 22 Related for: The Pine Bluff Variant information
"ThePineBluffVariant" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by...
Universal Soldier: The Return. Von Bargen played the maniacal sorcerer Nix in Clive Barker's Lord of Illusions and the Sheriff in The Postman. He played...
Forrest Gump. He is also known as the assistant manager of the Hotel Royale in Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Royale", and as Mike Seaver's adversarial...
capacities on The X-Files, its spin-off The Lone Gunmen, Star Trek: Enterprise, Smallville, Supernatural, Legend of the Seeker, Breaking Bad, and The Vampire...
role in the television series Dead Last (2001). Turton was also featured in the television series Millennium (1997), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show...
Archived from the original on June 11, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2012. (subscription required) Handlen, Zack (July 23, 2011). ""ThePineBluffVariant" / "In Arcadia...
"These springs are situated high on the mountain side north of the North Fork of Elder Creek, 35 miles west of Red Bluff. Six springs here rise in a cemented...
The Scarborough Bluffs, also known as TheBluffs, is an escarpment in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. There are nine parks along...
Hamburg, Pennsylvania • Union Pacific #2907 is preserved at the Arkansas Railroad Museum in PineBluff, Arkansas. List of ALCO diesel locomotives List of MLW...
economic center. The largest city in the state's eastern part is Jonesboro. The largest city in the state's southeastern part is PineBluff. In the 21st century...
below PineBluff. They expected to incorporate with the Caddo of Louisiana, but were refused permission by the United States. Successive floods in the Caddo...
Doriston Dorreen Dugan Lake Duncan Bay Dunsmuir Eagle Bluff Earls Cove East Arrow Park East Gate East Pine Eastbourne Echo Bay Ecoole Eddy Edelweiss Eholt Ekins...
more than a dozen variant spellings of the word in historical literature. Though often translated as "land of trembling earth", the name is likely derived...
similarly to "Pine") "Jam" (to rob or steal from someone) "Kawal" (to scam, synonymous with finesse) [originates from Somali] "Keep Six" (to be on the lookout...
division. The battery accompanied Marmaduke in an expedition against the Union garrison of PineBluff, Arkansas, seeing action at the Battle of PineBluff on...
boreal forest dominated by spruce and pine trees" and that the "Clovis people likely came from the south, not the north, perhaps following wild animals...
disasters that occurred either in the United States, at diplomatic missions of the United States, or incidents outside of the United States in which a number...
burger is vegan due to the use of vegan sandwich sauce and a vegan cheese alternative. The McPlant is also sold in a non-vegan variant (with cheese and egg-based...
areas of the west. The term Midwestern has been in use since the 1880s to refer to portions of the central United States. A variant term, Middle West,...
immigrants camped on thebluff on the west side of the river after making the crossing. The remains of the trail leading up to the top of thebluff are still visible...
Allen Barra wrote that the book "is now recognized by Earp researchers as a hoax".: 154 A variant of the story, popularized in the movie Tombstone, holds...
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