page_title: Little Green Men (The X-Files)
section_title: Writing and casting
hierarchical_section_title: Little Green Men (The X-Files) / Production / Writing and casting
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Die Töne der Erde Español: Sonidos de la Tierra English: Flying board Voyagers 1 and 2 are identical "golden" records, carrying the story of Earth far into deep space. The 12 inch gold-plated copper discs contain greetings in 60 languages, samples of music from different cultures and eras, and natural and man-made sounds from Earth. They also contain electronic information that an advanced technological civilization could convert into diagrams and photographs. The cover of each gold plated aluminum jacket, designed to protect the record from micrometeorite bombardment, also serves a double purpose in providing the finder a key to playing the record. The explanatory diagram appears on both the inner and outer surfaces of the cover, as the outer diagram will be eroded in time. Currently, both Voyager probes are sailing adrift in the black sea of interplanetary space, having left our solar system years ago. Français&#160;: Disque d'or des sons de la Terre Português: Disco de Ouro contendo Sons e Saudações do Planeta Terra.
context_page_description: "Little Green Men" is the first episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 16, 1994 in the United States. It was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on August 28, 1995. The episode was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong, and directed by David Nutter. The episode helped explore the series' overarching mythology. "Little Green Men" earned a Nielsen household rating of 10.3, being watched by 9.8 million households in its initial broadcast. The episode received largely positive reviews from critics.
  The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully 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 the episode, Mulder goes to the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to continue his search for proof on extraterrestrial life. Meanwhile, Scully attempts to aid him after being separated following the closure of the X-Files.
  "Little Green Men" was written specifically as a way for Mulder to question his belief in aliens.
context_section_description: This episode was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong and directed by David Nutter. Originally, the season two premiere was supposed to be written by series creator Chris Carter. In the rough draft of this version, Mulder would have been sent to Moscow. Carter, however, assigned the episode to Morgan and Wong, and the story changed accordingly. Before working on The X-Files, Morgan had written a script with the same name as this episode about a man who goes to a telescope located in Chile. The script was never turned into a finished product, but Morgan liked various elements of it, so he cannibalized parts for "Little Green Men". The episode was specifically written for Mulder to question himself and his beliefs, and according to Morgan and Wong, one of the main themes of the episode is "the idea that we all have to fight our own little green men and carry on."
  Senator Matheson was named after the science fiction and horror writer Richard Matheson, who wrote many episodes of The Twilight Zone. Matheson was originally to recite the episode's opening monologue. Darren McGavin, of Kolchak: The Night Stalker fame, was the casting directors' first choice for the role, but they were unable to cast him. (McGavin was later sought out to be Mulder's dad, but he again eluded the staff. In the end, McGavin finally agreed to appear on the show during its fifth season; he was first introduced in the episode "Travelers" as Arthur Dales, the agent who founded the X-Files.) Matheson was then played by Raymond J. Barry.
caption: The episode contains numerous references to the Voyager program and, more specifically, the Voyager Golden Record.
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