The X-Files (season 8)
Episodes
Episodes marked with a double dagger () are episodes in the series' Alien Mythology arc.

The X-Files (season 8)

Section Title: Episodes
Table Section Text: Episodes marked with a double dagger () are episodes in the series' Alien Mythology arc.

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Prod. code	US viewers (millions)

162	1	"Within"	Kim Manners	Chris Carter	November 5, 2000	8ABX01	15.87

An FBI taskforce is organized to hunt for Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) but Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) suspects the taskforce leader, Special Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick), and instead chooses to search for her lost partner with Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi).

163	2	"Without"	Kim Manners	Chris Carter	November 12, 2000	8ABX02	15.1

At a remote school in the Arizona desert, Doggett, Scully, Gibson and Skinner – as well as a host of students and agents – do not know who to trust as the bounty hunter works among them; and – in a spaceship close by – Mulder is experimented on.

164	3	"Patience"	Chris Carter	Chris Carter	November 19, 2000	8ABX04	13.3

Having been assigned to the X-Files, John Doggett joins Scully to investigate a series of gruesome killings that appear to be the work of a bat-like creature.

165	4	"Roadrunners"	Rod Hardy	Vince Gilligan	November 26, 2000	8ABX05	13.6

Working alone, Scully pursues a cult that worship a slug-like organism; but in her efforts to save an injured stranger, she discovers she's in over her head.

166	5	"Invocation"	Richard Compton	David Amann	December 3, 2000	8ABX06	13.9

Having been kidnapped for ten years, a little boy mysteriously reappears but has not aged one bit. While the case stirs up painful memories for Doggett, suspicion stirs that the boy is not all he seems.

167	6	"Redrum"	Peter Markle	Story by : Steven Maeda & Daniel Arkin Teleplay by : Steven Maeda	December 10, 2000	8ABX03	13.2

After his wife is murdered, a lawyer friend of Doggett's tries to clear his name of the crime but the days regress backwards.

168	7	"Via Negativa"	Tony Wharmby	Frank Spotnitz	December 17, 2000	8ABX07	12.37

Doggett and Skinner work to avert the murderous spree of a religious cult leader, while Scully takes time off to deal with the early stages of her pregnancy.

169	8	"Surekill"	Terrence O'Hara	Greg Walker	January 7, 2001	8ABX09	13.3

The fatal shooting of a realtor while alone in a cinderblock jail cell has Doggett hoping motive will yield more than method, but they soon learn that there is more to this case than meets the eye.

170	9	"Salvage"	Rod Hardy	Jeffrey Bell	January 14, 2001	8ABX10	11.7

Doggett and Scully encounter a dead man who is still living – only somewhat changed. What they discover is a man made of metal, enacting vengeance on those he believes created him.

171	10	"Badlaa"	Tony Wharmby	John Shiban	January 21, 2001	8ABX12	11.8

When a mystic smuggles himself out of India, Scully and Doggett give chase as his murderous spree starts terrorising two families in suburban Washington, D.C.

172	11	"The Gift"	Kim Manners	Frank Spotnitz	February 4, 2001	8ABX11	14.6

Doggett comes upon an old case about a professed 'soul-eater' that Mulder kept secret from Scully, which he hopes will ultimately prove the truth behind Mulder's abduction.

173	12	"Medusa"	Richard Compton	Frank Spotnitz	February 11, 2001	8ABX13	13.8

A string of bizarre deaths in the tunnels of the Boston subway system sees Doggett join a team of professionals underground to investigate.

174	13	"Per Manum"	Kim Manners	Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz	February 18, 2001	8ABX08	16.0

Scully becomes personally involved when she encounters several women who had no way of naturally conceiving but who claim to have been abducted and impregnated with alien babies.

175	14	"This Is Not Happening"	Kim Manners	Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz	February 25, 2001	8ABX14	16.9

Doggett calls on another agent, Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), to assist in the Mulder case, but Scully's fears about finding him come to a head with the sudden recovery of abductees seized at the same time.

176	15	"Deadalive"	Tony Wharmby	Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz	April 1, 2001	8ABX15	12.4

Three months after Mulder's funeral, a former abductee awakens from the dead and Scully pins her hopes on resurrecting her partner.

177	16	"Three Words"	Tony Wharmby	Chris Carter & Frank Spotnitz	April 8, 2001	8ABX18	N/A

Mulder secretly conducts his own investigation after a man is gunned down on the White House lawn attempting to inform the President of a planned alien invasion.

178	17	"Empedocles"	Barry K. Thomas	Greg Walker	April 22, 2001	8ABX17	12.46

Reyes enlists Mulder's help investigating a killer's connection to the unsolved homicide of Doggett's son but Mulder soon finds himself clashing with Doggett.

179	18	"Vienen"	Rod Hardy	Steven Maeda	April 29, 2001	8ABX16	11.8

Mulder and Doggett are asked to investigate several deaths aboard an oil rig, but Mulder is convinced the rig is carrying an alien black oil; meanwhile a heavily pregnant Scully attempts to protect Mulder in absentia.

180	19	"Alone"	Frank Spotnitz	Frank Spotnitz	May 6, 2001	8ABX19	12.7

With Scully on maternity leave, Doggett is paired with an enthusiastic young agent named Layla Harrison who knows everything about the X-Files, and her apotheosis of Mulder and Scully leads to him learning a thing or two.

181	20	"Essence"	Kim Manners	Chris Carter	May 13, 2001	8ABX20	12.8

Mulder, Skinner and Doggett come up against the horrible consequences of the Syndicate's pact with the aliens, as a hybrid attempts to erase all evidence of the tests – including Scully's soon-to-be-born baby.

182	21	"Existence"	Kim Manners	Chris Carter	May 20, 2001	8ABX21	14.00

Mulder, Doggett and Skinner face off with the alien replicants as they desperately try to expose the conspiracy within the FBI.

Sentence(s)

"This is Not Happening", was viewed by 16.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode of the series, in terms of viewers.

final_sentence: "This is Not Happening", was viewed by 16.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode of the series, in terms of viewers.