Jose Chung's From Outer Space

Plot

In Klass County, Washington, two teenagers, Harold and Chrissy, are driving when their car dies. They get out, a UFO shows up, and they get taken by two grey aliens. Then a bigger, different kind of alien shows up, and the greys freak out and start talking in English. Later, writer Jose Chung talks to FBI Agent Dana Scully for a book about alien abductions.

Scully remembers that Chrissy's clothes were found inside out, which points to date rape, but Harold said aliens took them. Mulder has Chrissy hypnotized; she says she was on a spaceship with grey aliens, and one read her mind. Harold's version is different: he says they were stuck in a cage with Chrissy, and a grey alien in a nearby cage kept saying "This is not happening." Mulder is sure they were abducted.

Scully tells Chung about interviewing a power company worker named Roky Crikenson, who said he saw the abduction and wrote a screenplay about it. He claims men in black, played by Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek, told him he just saw Venus. Roky also says he met a third alien, Lord Kinbote, who took him to the Earth's core. Mulder had Chrissy hypnotized again; this time she says the military abducted her and brainwashed her into thinking it was aliens.

Chung then talks to a sci-fi fan named Blaine, who says he saw Mulder and Scully pick up an alien body. Blaine says Mulder screamed when he saw it, and that "Scully"—who Blaine insists was a man in disguise—threatened him to keep quiet. Blaine says Mulder let him film Scully doing an autopsy, and the "alien" turned out to be a U.S. Air Force pilot in a costume. The military showed up to take the body, but Mulder tricked them into giving up the name of another missing pilot, Lieutenant Jack Schaefer.

Production

Writer Darin Morgan developed disparate ideas for the episode long before writing the script. He was inspired by works on hypnosis and the theory that UFOs are real ships piloted by the U.S. military rather than aliens. The narrative style was influenced by a casting session where an actor mimicked Truman Capote's vocal style, leading Morgan to create the character of writer Jose Chung. Morgan wanted Rip Taylor for the role, but Charles Nelson Reilly was cast instead.

Jesse Ventura played one man in black, and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek played the other; Morgan had wanted Johnny Cash for that role. Lord Kinbote was played by series stuntman Tony Morelli. This episode was Morgan's last for the series before its 2016 revival, as he could not keep up with the show's pace. He later wrote the similarly themed "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense" for the TV series Millennium.

Reception

"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" first aired on Fox on April 12, 1996. The episode was seen by 16.08 million viewers, earning a Nielsen rating of 10.5 and a 19 share, meaning 10.5 percent of all TV-equipped homes and 19 percent of homes watching TV at that time were tuned in. The cast and crew were enthusiastic about the episode. Gillian Anderson considered it one of her favorite installments of the third season, describing it as dessert and saying it kept the show fun and worthwhile.

Chris Carter praised writer Darin Morgan, calling him a one-in-a-million comic voice and noting that the show's success allowed it to take creative risks that a less established series could not. Co-producer Paul Rabwin called the episode an instant classic, comparing it to iconic episodes of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek. Assistant director Tom Braidwood enjoyed working with Charles Nelson Reilly, saying Reilly captivated everyone on set and gave each crew member a nickname. Executive producer Robert Goodwin said that casting Reilly was the most enjoyable part of making the episode.