One Breath/Background Information

==Production==
*The title of this episode is from William Scully's speech to his daughter.
*This episode represents the third part in a trilogy that also includes the episodes and . Although "Duane Barry" ends with a cliffhanger as well as the legend "TO BE CONTINUED", "Ascension" does not; this episode is therefore an indirect follow-on rather than a direct sequel.
*This episode was originally inspired by Mulder actor challenging writers and to write an episode that would be similar for Duchovny to what 's "Beyond the Sea" had been for Scully actress .
*The original intent for this episode was that it would be based entirely upon Raising the Dead, a non-fiction book that Glen Morgan had read. The book was written by surgeon Richard Selzer and detailed dreams he had apparently experienced while being comatose for twenty-three days in 1991. According to the book, Selzer had also been declared dead during his coma, a fate that Skinner includes as part of his recollections to Mulder in this episode, before the writer underwent a period of recovery over three weeks. Morgan was fascinated by the book and had been wanting to plan an episode around it, ever since the beginning of 1994. He originally thought it would be a great opportunity for Duchovny, but the comatose character was changed to Scully after the series' production staff were forced to deal with actress Gillian Anderson's pregnancy.
*The writing duo of Morgan and Wong also intended to feature a side of the paranormal that they felt was very hopeful - the phenomena of angels, hope and peace - because the series, so far, had been, at least in Morgan's opinion, very dark and bleak. Morgan believed that the whole theme of the episode was summed up by Scully's sister, Melissa, when she says to Mulder, "Just because the belief is positive and good doesn't make it silly or trite."
*This episode is the first in the series to feature the idea of Dana Scully having a sister and the first in which that specific sibling appears. This episode is also the second of only two that feature an appearance by the sisters' father, William, and the only time - apart from a possible background appearance, in a single scene of "Beyond the Sea" - that the sisters' brother, Charles, appears. Similarly, William Scully was never named before this episode but the naming of his eldest son - Bill, Jr. - in this episode marks the first time that his name can be inferred. This is all consistent with the comparatively heavy use and introductions of the Scully family by Morgan and Wong, having previously written "Beyond the Sea", which not only includes the aforementioned first appearance of William Scully and the possible presence of his rarely seen son, Charles, but also the introduction of William's wife and his children's mother, Margaret, who also reappears in this episode.
*The role of Melissa Scully, Dana's sister, was written specifically for actress , who had previously worked on The Commish, a series created by Morgan and Wong.
*The character of Nurse Owens was named after Morgan's grandmother.
*The alias "The Thinker" was inspired by the Internet pseudonym "DuhThinker", used by Yung Jun Kim - a highly knowledgeable online fan of The X-Files.
*This episode also marks a development of the character "X", after frustrations had arisen regarding , the actor portraying this character. Even though Glen Morgan had initially complained that the character was too similar to "", he believed that Steven Williams was a good actor and that this allowed the writers to include the scene where X performs an execution. Morgan also came to define the two characters by realizing that, whereas Deep Throat had been willing to lose his own life for revealing the secret, X was still scared and his character was figuratively somewhere between Mulder and Deep Throat.
*Director Robert Goodwin initially instructed Morgan and Wong to minimize the scene in which the Cigarette Smoking Man is confronted by Mulder, due to Goodwin's assumption that actor would be able to do little more than appear, smoking a cigarette - the task that Davis had originally been hired to perform, for the episode of . Despite similar fears from other members of the production crew, Morgan argued that Davis, an acting teacher, was also a capable actor. Goodwin discussed the character of the Cigarette Smoking Man and his role in the episode with Davis, and the director was ultimately impressed by the actor's performance.
*This episode was originally planned to be produced immediately after but was not ready to be filmed when time for its production initially came and "3" was therefore produced first, as an extra episode, resulting in Season 2 ultimately having twenty-five episodes, rather than the twenty-four that was the standard quantity for each season.
*This was the first episode filmed after Gillian Anderson gave birth to her first child. The filming of her scenes from this episode began on 5 October 1994, ten days after the delivery of her daughter, Piper. "It was rough," she admitted. "I was on Tylenol and codeine." () Anderson spent much of her time on the set lying on tables or beds in a hospital gown. Occasionally, she fell asleep between takes while filming these scenes. According to James Wong, the biggest problem in the creation of the episode was in postproduction, when the production crew, who unfortunately could do nothing about the problem, realized that signs of Anderson's recent pregnancy were highly noticeable.
*This episode was, according to in or before 1996, one of the most popular episodes of The X-Files. Although Carter thought that some people at didn't like the episode, due to the fact that its paranormal content is minimal, the episode was received on the Internet as one of the series' best. Director Robert Goodwin noted that the episode was highly unusual for The X-Files because it was more about human emotions, drama and relationships than about the series' usual material. James Wong admired the episode, appreciating Duchovny's performance herein.
*For his work on the episode, Director of Photography John S. Bartley, was nominated for an Emmy award in the category of Cinematography for a Series.
== Goofs ==
* When Mulder signs his resignation his signature is clearly different than the one that can be seen in his ID in the opening.
==Trivia==
*Mulder's return of Scully's crucifix necklace to her follows on from him finding it in "Ascension".
*Although he is merely referenced in this episode, "The Thinker" later appears in the Season 2 finale, "Anasazi".
*Similarly, even though this episode shows William Scully, Jr. in his boyhood only, an adult version of the character (played by Pat Skipper) subsequently appears in the finale, , before returning in 's as well as the two-parter and . Child versions of both him as well as his sister, Dana, reappear in Christmas Carol.
*The Cigarette Smoking Man's address, 900 West Georgia, is the address of the Fairmont Hotel, Vancouver.
*In this episode, the "2" from the number "42" on Mulder's apartment door is shown as missing.
*The bible verse on Scully's tombstone is cited incorrectly. It actually comes from 1 John 5:6, not 5:7 as actually shown.
==Cast and Characters==
*Jay Brazeau (Dr. Daly) previously played Professor Varnes in episode .
*Lorena Gale (Nurse Wilkins) previously played Ellen Bledsoe in episode .
Category:Background Information