Pusher/Background Information

==Background Information==
===Story & Script===
*Writer developed this episode from an idea for a movie that he'd thought up. He had either never found a way to make the concept work as a movie or had never written it, but found, through the medium of The X-Files, a method of telling the story, about a man who had the ability of bending people to his will. Gilligan called the man "Pusher" because the character was capable of pushing people into harming themselves.
* The character of Modell has been compared to Vince Gilligan's later creation, Walter White, from AMC's Breaking Bad.https://www.thecompanion.app/2022/08/12/x-files-vince-gilligan/
*Gilligan's main objective in writing this episode was to set up a tense game of cat-and-mouse between Mulder and Pusher, real name Robert Patrick Modell. The thing Gilligan consciously tried to do was to have the two characters together as much as possible so as to emphasize how much alike they were.
*Upon turning in a draft of the script, Gilligan, very proud of what he had written, predicted to that it constituted the best work that he himself would ever do for the series. Carter reacted in annoyance, telling Gilligan that he shouldn't think that way because the goal, as Carter saw it, was to always better oneself.
*Chris Carter enjoyed the sequence at this episode's end where Mulder, in the knowledge that Pusher is capable of possibly forcing Mulder to turn his own gun on himself, follows Pusher inside the hospital unarmed, but Pusher still manages to manipulate Mulder into turning a gun on himself.
*In the script, Mulder wonders if the tiny camera he straps on can receive the Discovery Channel. , knowing of his character's penchant for erotica, changed the reference to the Playboy Channel.
*The first note back from the Fox network was to say that Russian roulette could not be included in the episode. Gilligan was alarmed, since the game was integral to the final act. Fox's Broadcast Standards and Practices department even sought to strengthen their point by consulting the other networks, which claimed to have never had a Russian roulette scene in an hour-long drama series, despite the game's use in such films as The Deer Hunter, which had also prompted concern when it was shown on television. Fox was reportedly worried about making sure that they didn't give impressionable kids any bad ideas, but Gilligan's argument to this concern was that he had not been responsible for inventing the lethal game. He was nevertheless ultimately surprised that the production crew of The X-Files were allowed to show the game on television, with some helpful, creative blocking by director .
* was unhappy with the scene in which Holly, pushed by Modell, attacks Walter Skinner. Pileggi was not thrilled about being brutalized by a diminutive woman, especially since Skinner had been beaten up so often in recent episodes. Pileggi thought the fans also felt this way and was teased by about the scene. In fact, because so many characters were bruised and beaten up (Burst, Modell and Kerber in the car crash, Holly's unseen attack, Collins lighting himself on fire, and Skinner), makeup artist Fern Levin found this episode to be one of her most difficult assignments.
===Cast & Established Characters===
*The production crew found difficulty with casting this episode's title character, as they couldn't find anyone they particularly liked for the role. Gilligan suggested Harvey Fierstein for the role and Chris Carter even considered Lance Henriksen; the casting process for this episode was in Henriksen's pre- days. As would often happen on The X-Files, actor Robert Wisden came in to audition when it was almost too late, impressed the production crew and was consequently given the role. Subsequently, several members of production crew were notably impressed with the results of this last-minute casting selection, including Carter and Gilligan themselves.
*The title character would reappear in the episode . As a result, this is the third of only three characters who would appear in more than one episode, the other two being (who appeared in the episodes and ) and Donald Pfaster (who appeared in 's and 's ).
*Dave Grohl - former drummer of Nirvana and current lead singer of the Foo Fighters - as well as his former wife, Jennifer Youngblood-Grohl, can be seen in the background as Modell enters the FBI building. Grohl regarded this brief cameo as his own acting debut.
===Effects===
*The series' visual effects unit were called upon to make a last-minute fix, when it was realized that a sign in the courtroom did not read "Loudoun County", as it should have done, but was spelled, "Loudon County". The effects team digitally moved the letters around and added a "u" on the sign, so that it read correctly.
===Other Episode Notes===
*This episode is the second of four in which security entrances to the J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building can be seen. A completely different entrance appears in the pilot episode, while security entrances can be seen in the first and last episodes of Season 3 - "The Blessing Way" and "Talitha Cumi", respectively - as well as in the episode "S.R. 819".
*The cover of a tabloid newspaper, entitled the World Weekly Informer, and the cover of a magazine named American Ronin appear in this episode. Although both publications are fictional, a different issue of each appears later in the series, with the World Weekly Informer reappearing in the episode "Small Potatoes" and American Ronin reappearing in "Dæmonicus", an episode of the series' ninth and final season.
*A sketch of the Flukeman can be seen on the cover of the World Weekly Informer. The Flukeman originally appeared in the episode "The Host" and would later be referenced by Scully in the Season 4 episode "The Field Where I Died".
*An inset picture on the cover of World Weekly Informer is arranged next to a small headline that announces, "Depravity Rampant on Hit TV Show" and actually features props master Ken Hawryliw on his birthday, beside a female strip-o-gram artist.
*Similarly, the cover of the American Ronin magazine has, as its cover star, Danielle Faith Friedman - a production assistant on The X-Files.
*Among the cultural references in this episode, an easy-listening version of Johnny Mathis' "Misty" is playing as background muzak in the grocery store and Mulder asks Scully if she never saw Yojimbo. Next to the Japanese dictionary is a book in Russian Cyrillic, "Война и Мир", which is "War and Peace" and is most likely quite rare. Modell mentions Mel Cooley, Scully sees television footage of Svengali and makes notes of this, Detective Burst asks Modell if the Grinch that Stole Christmas did his decorating and Mulder jokingly references the Playboy Channel.
*Modell mentions an instance on which Scully previously shot Mulder. This is a reference to the finale "Anasazi".
===Cast and Characters===
*Roger R. Cross (S.W.A.T. Lieutenant Brophy) previously played Private Kittell in episode "Fresh Bones".
*Steve Bacic ( Will Collins) previously played 2nd Officer in episode "Soft Light" and Charlie in "The Host".
*Don MacKay (Judge) previously played Warden Joseph Cash in episode "Beyond the Sea".
*D. Neil Mark (Deputy Scott Kerber) previously played S.W.A.T. Team Officer in episode "".
*Meredith Bain Woodward (Defense Attorney) previously played Dr. Ruth Slaughter in episode "Ascension".
*Ernie Foort (Lobby Guard) previously played Security Guard in episode "The Blessing Way".
Category:Background Information