-- "One of the ideas Chris and I had discussed for years before we actually introduced Gibson Praise was that the reason so much paranormal phenomena occurs in the world of the XF is because in fact we are part alien," said Frank Spotnitz. "That there's something alien about human beings, and that's why there's telekinesis and psychics and all these other things. So that led to the creation of the Gibson Praise character who was the missing link whose incredible ability demonstrated that we are in fact related to aliens and so indirectly proves that alien life exists. So therefore he must be destroyed, he must be killed, hence the assassination attempt at the chess match."
-- "That was a casting coup," added Spotnitz. "Finding Jeff ... Jeff Gulka, who just had this wonderful stillness and presence and soulfulness that you just wouldn't expect in a little boy, and we just fell in love with him and couldn't bring him back enough because he was such a great character and brought so much to the role."
-- Mulder mentions that if Gibson had not moved at the end of the chess match, he would have caught a bullet "in the back of the neck." Is that the only way to kill part-aliens as well?
-- The hospital where Gibson was located was called Inget Murray Hospital, named for set designers Shirley Inget and Graham Murray, who were nominated for an Emmy (Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction) for their work on "Jose Chung's From Outer Space". They did an excellent job of destroying the office they created (by fire), ensuring that the "Mulder's Office" set wouldn't have to be moved to Los Angeles.
-- When Mulder, Scully and Fowley first approach Gibson Praise, he is watching The Simpsons episode "The Cartridge Family." Later, he's watching an episode of The Silver Surfer (also a sometimes nickname for Chris Carter), and later still an episode of King of the Hill called "Shins of the Father." All three were Fox animated shows.
-- The assassin was held at Fort Marlene. Fort Marlene was the same facility from Season 1's "The Erlenmeyer Flask" -- the one Scully infiltrated so she could take the alien fetus. While there is no real-life Fort Marlene, there is a Fort Dietrich in Frederick, Maryland -- a site known for its experimentation with biological weapons. Marlene Dietrich was a famous German actress. The X-Files location playfully references the real location by substituting the first name of the actress.
-- The shooter was played by actor Martin Ferrero who was perhaps best known at that time for playing the lawyer gobbled up by a T-Rex while in the john in Jurassic Park.
-- Great work by Gillian Anderson after she sees Mulder and Fowley sharing a private moment. She makes the quick walk-by and U-turn in the hospital hallway after seeing some hand-holding, and then about 15 seconds of silence and a deep sigh while sitting in the car. As usual, she speaks loudest when she says nothing at all. Why is Fowley bothering her so much? Is it because Mulder never told her about this woman? Or because she never stopped to consider that there was once another female partner in his life - personal and/or professional (one who gets to call him "Fox")? Or is it that she's now wondering if maybe she does have feelings other than "just friendship" for Mulder that she's been pushing aside, only to have them surface when a threat is at hand? So much to ponder in that 15 seconds of silence.
О, да, это шикарная сцена!
-- The last shot with Mulder's back to the camera is not David Duchovny but his stand-in Steve Kiziak. Вот я так и знала, что это не Дэвид был, затылок не похож
Прикольно, спереди главное сняли Дэвида, а сзади нет, в другой день что ли снимали
-- The chess game between Gibson and his opponent in the teaser of this episode was just that - a tease for the larger chess match that was the X-Files. In this game, CSM sees himself as the grandmaster moving and manipulating all the pieces--and he gives us clues to the strategy throughout: "Control the board. Know which men to sacrifice and when." "It's all a game. You just take their pieces, one by one, until the board is clear." And in the end, Mulder says, "This was all strategized - every move." Just like chess. In this chess game, I would assign the pieces this way: The Consortium guys are the Rook - the most powerful piece on the board, except for the Queen. Krycek is the Knight, because the Knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces to work toward the objective. Skinner is the Bishop, since you have one light square Bishop and one dark square Bishop and sometimes it's hard to tell just which side Skinner is on. In chess, the Pawn is the least powerful piece on the board, but it has the potential to become equal to the most powerful. Gibson Praise, Diana Fowley, Jeffrey Spender, and countless others - they are all Pawns in the game. Mulder is, of course, the King - the most important piece; when he is trapped, his whole army loses. And Scully is the Queen - the most powerful piece on the board, a place Scully occupies for many reasons. The ultimate aim in the game of chess is to win by trapping your opponent's king - checkmate. The definition of checkmate is "utter defeat."
-- In order to be with his Canadian-based crew for their final episode together, Chris Carter directed much of the second-unit filming for "The End." On the last day of shooting, first assistant director Tom Braidwood announced to his crew that the abandoned hospital corridor they were filming in was the identical site of the first scene, of the first day, of the early first-season X-Files episode he first worked on. "And I was so nervous that I yelled 'action' before the director did," said Braidwood.
-- Once & Future Retreads: Many actors who had recurring roles on the series appeared in this episode, including Mitch Pileggi (Water Skinner), The Lone Gunmen actors, William B. Davis (Cigarette-Smoking Man), Nicholas Lea (Krycek), Mimi Rogers (Fowley), Jeff Gulka (Gibson Praise), Chris Owens (Jeffrey Spender), Don S. Williams (First Elder), George Murdock (Second Elder), John Moore (Elder #3), and John Neville (The Well-Manicured Man). Michael Shamus Wiles (Black-Haired Man) played the same role in "En Ami." John Trottier who played a clinician played George Peacock in "Home.)
-- On Saturday, April 25, the X-Files's Vancouver wrap party -- one of the hottest tickets in town -- was held at the Pacific Space Center, Vancouver's main planetarium and science center, and was a mammoth, rollicking success. Dancing, imbibing, and high-decibel recollecting continued well into the morning.
-- On Tuesday, April 28, David Duchovny filmed his final scene and, after posing for many group snapshots and handing out his farewell gifts -- autographed basketballs -- to each one of his Vancouver coworkers, left for Los Angeles.
-- The next day the cast and crew gathered at Riverview Hospital, in the Vancouver suburb of Coquitlam, for the fifth season's final day of principal photography. A strenuous -- in fact, nearly impossible -- schedule was laid out on the call sheet: nine scenes; eight separate camera setups; and a workday that would last from mid-morning to midnight and beyond.
-- No matter, the work began at an unflagging pace. In the large circus of trucks and other production vehicles gathered in the hospital parking lot, crew members tended to the actors and hustled large pieces of equipment to wherever they were needed.
-- From the big generator truck, thick black power cables snaked into obscure, odd-shaped corners of the hospital, where -- as director Bob Goodwin controlled things from his seat next to the video monitor -- the X-Files team endeavored to simultaneously race the clock, do justice to Chris Carter's script, and put the finishing touches on the 1997-1998 season.
-- As the day wore on and the workload dropped slightly, the X-Filers began to gather quietly in small groups exchanging addresses, signing scrapbooks and T-shirts, posting for quick pictures. Chris Carter, his own work finished for the day, joined them outside the hospital and was quickly surrounded by groups of smiling coworkers. He laughed and reminisced with them all.
-- At around 7 p.m. something extraordinary happened: Dozens of people from the show's production office, may of whom rarely, if ever, set foot on location, began to arrive at Riverview. They joined perhaps 80 of their friends and coworkers in squeezing into the corridors surrounding an unused hospital storage room, where the set for the Lone Gunmen's office had been erected.
-- This was Gillian Anderson's final scene: a serio-comic passage in "The End" in which Dana Scully asks Frohike, Langly, and Byers -- who were dressed in their p.j.'s, bathrobes, and (in Frohike's case) bunny slippers -- to help her solve yet one more unsolvable mystery. "Action!" said Bob Goodwin, his wife Sheila Larkin (who played Margaret Scully in the series) sitting beside him. Chris Carter stood nearby, watching intently.
-- The filming proceeded with Anderson perhaps a bit more tense and emotional than the scene required. Several dozen camera angles, nervous flubs, makeup touch-ups, and alternate line readings later, Goodwin announced that he was satisfied. "Okay, cut! Print it!" he said. The set was silent for a moment until a stunned realization set in. In a few moments, Anderson was to leave the set for the last time. In a few hours she would leave for Los Angeles. In a month and a half the X-Files movie would premiere. In just three months, filming for the sixth season -- with a new crew, new plot lines, new challenges, and new triumphs -- would begin.
-- The moment passed. The onlookers burst into applause. Anderson nearly burst into tears; the actress asked her friends to gather around her. From a large cardboard box she held up a bathrobe inscribed "Goodnight Everybody. I Love You Forever, G.A." She invited everyone to visit her trailer, say their farewells, and pick up their own commemorative copy -- their gift from her -- afterward.
-- More applause. The actress fought to maintain her composure. And lost. "I wish there was something that could express the way I love you all," she said, her eyes shining and her voice breaking. "You made it all so special. I will miss you all so much."
-- "It was interesting to be not just leaving Vancouver but lighting the X Files on fire," Chris Carter said. "The whole thing felt like the end of a world, sort of, for us. I'll always look back on those five years and that fifth season in particular since it was really an emotional farewell as a big milestone in my life."
-- On April 29, 1998, The X-Files's daily call sheet for "Day 8 of 8," included several pages of the usual important information about crew and cast schedules and location requirements. Attached to the back of this, however, were two personal letters. The first one was from producer Joseph Patrick Finn to his crew. It read:
To: The Crew
From: J.P.
I will always remember your indomitable spirit, your tireless stamina, your generosity to one another and your insatiable appetite for fun. Never lose these qualities. Thanks for all the wonderful memories.
(Signed) J.P.
-- The second was from executive producer R. W. Goodwin. It read:
Dear Everyone:
I was going to try to get around to speak to each of you personally, but I realized with my schedule this week it's impossible, so I'm writing this instead.
Thank you all for a wonderful five years. Every one of you has worked so hard and with such great talent to create the best television show ever made, and it's an experience I'll never forget. Time after time, directors and actors have said to me that they thought you were the best group of people they ever worked with. Of course, you are. After all, I'm the one who put you together, and everyone knows how smart I am.
Seriously, you have all performed well above the call of duty, and you've done it graciously and so perfectly it's almost hard to believe. I'll never forget all the struggles and stresses and all of the incredible things we've created, but most of all, I won't forget all the good times and laughs.
I won't say good-bye because I'm not going anywhere and I know we'll be working together soon on something else. So long for now. I love you all.
(Signed) Bob
-- Except for the "Pilot" and "Little Green Men," in the first five seasons, Bob Goodwin directed the first and last episode of each season. "The End" was the last episode he directed.