Deep Throat (The X-Files episode)
Encyclopedia
"Deep Throat" is the second episode of the first season
of the American science fiction
television series The X-Files
. It premiered on the Fox network
on September 17, 1993. It was written by series creator Chris Carter
, directed by Daniel Sackheim
, and featured the first of several guest appearances by Jerry Hardin
as the eponymous Deep Throat. The episode received a strong Nielsen household rating
compared to other season one episodes. It has received generally positive reviews, and introduced several elements which would become staples of the series' mythology
.
When FBI
special agents Fox Mulder
(David Duchovny
) and Dana Scully
(Gillian Anderson
) investigate a possible conspiracy in the US Air Force, Mulder meets a mysterious informant who warns him to stay away from the case. Undeterred, Mulder continues in his investigation and comes closer to the truth than ever before, only to have it snatched away from him again.
, near Ellens Air Force Base, military police conduct a raid on the home of Colonel Robert Budahas, who has stolen a military vehicle and barricaded himself inside. The MPs discover Budahas in his bathroom, trembling and covered in rashes.
Four months later, Fox Mulder
and Dana Scully
meet at a Washington
bar to discreetly discuss the Budahas case. Mulder explains that Budahas, a test pilot
, has not been seen since the raid and that the military will not comment on his condition; the FBI
, for its part, has refused to investigate the matter. Mulder claims that six other pilots have gone missing in action
at Ellens Air Force Base, which is subject to rumors about its development of experimental aircraft. While using the bar's restroom, Mulder is approached by a mysterious informant named "Deep Throat", who warns him to leave the matter alone. He also warns that Mulder is being kept under surveillance, which later proves to be true.
Upon arriving in Idaho, Mulder and Scully meet with Budahas' wife, Anita, who claims that her husband exhibited erratic behavior before his disappearance. She takes them to a neighbor whose husband, also a test pilot, is exhibiting similar behavior. Scully obtains an appointment with the base director Colonel Kissell, but he refuses to meet with them when they stop by his home immediately afterwards. The agents subsequently meet local reporter Paul Mossinger, who refers them to the Flying Saucer Restaurant. While discussing the existence of UFOs with the owner, Mulder obtains directions to Ellens Air Force Base.
Mulder and Scully drive to the base, where they stay until late at night. Scully, who has been sleeping in the car while Mulder keeps watch on a nearby hill, is awakened when the rear windshield of the car shatters. Shortly afterwards, an excited Mulder shows her a mysterious aircraft performing seemingly impossible maneuvers in the night sky. However, Mulder and Scully are forced to flee when a black helicopter
approaches, seemingly in pursuit of Emil and Zoe, a trespassing teenaged couple.
While Mulder treats the pair to a meal at a local diner, they tell him and Scully about the frequent appearances of the lights Mulder saw, and of the nearby base from which they believe the UFOs are launched. Meanwhile, Budahas is returned to his home, but his memory has been erased. After leaving the diner, Mulder and Scully are confronted by a group of black-suited agents, who destroy the photographs they have taken and order them to leave the town.
An indignant Mulder sneaks into Ellens Air Force Base with help from Emil and Zoe. When he arrives there, he sees a triangular shaped craft fly overhead, but he is soon captured by soldiers and has his memory tampered with. Meanwhile, a panicked Scully reencounters Mossinger, who she discovers is actually a security operative for the base. Holding him at gunpoint, she forces him to guide her to the base where she exchanges him for Mulder. Mulder and Scully, defeated, return to Washington. Days later, Mulder encounters Deep Throat again while jogging at a local track. Mulder asks Deep Throat if "they" really are present on Earth. Deep Throat responds "Mr. Mulder, they have been here for a long, long time."
. Hardin would play the character several more times in the show's first season, with sporadic appearances in later seasons. According to series creator Chris Carter
, it was evident that The X-Files
was a "series in making" during this episode. The episode was inspired by common ufology
. Believers in aliens have for long thought that Nevada
's Area 51
and Nellis Air Force Base
have alien technology captured during 1947's Roswell UFO incident
. The name Ellens Air Force Base was derived from the name of Carter's old college girlfriend, whose last name was Ellens. The story's military project was inspired by a rumor that the United States Air Force
had started a project named the Aurora Project. Carter said he remembered people talking about this rumor and that its inclusion in the story was a "nod" to that rumor.
and Gillian Anderson
in the Flying Saucer bar was shot at a Vancouver restaurant called The Meat Market, which according to Carter was a much "divier location than the production designers would have you believe." The surname for the two guest character
s, Budahas, came from an old high school friend Carter knew whose name was Bob Budahas. The name became a running joke for The X-Files crew over the course of the show. Duchovny and Anderson had never used a gun or held one before joining The X-Files, so they were trained before filming on how to hold them properly so they could appear to be "real FBI agents".
Carter created the character Deep Throat because he was interested in providing an inside contact for Mulder. Deep Throat was originally inspired by Carter's favorite film, All the President's Men
, and Carter further stated in the audio commentary
that picking Jerry Hardin
for the role was an "easy choice". Hardin was an American actor living in the United States, so he flew up to Vancouver every few weeks to film short scenes with him interacting with the different characters. Carter called Hardin's portrayal "very, very good".
the "worst effects we've ever done" on the show. He explained that the main reasons for the effects being poor were money and time; he also commented that special effect
s were still in their infancy. Mat Beck was the special effects producer and supervisor during the first season
of the show; he and Carter tried to make the special effects look three dimensional and "better", but were unable to do it. According to Carter, the result looked like a "kind of hi-tech Pong
game."
The scenes in which Fox Mulder
infiltrates the air base were shot at a real United States airbase. With a small budget and a television schedule to think of, Carter said the effects seemed "good, given the restrictions" they had. The UFO was digitally made, and was created by a "sort of disco light rig" that was rented from a "party supplier". Carter commented on Daniel Sackheim
's shooting, saying it was "shot well". Towards the end of filming these night-time scenes, the sun was beginning to rise so crew member John Bartley had to rig the angles to keep the scenes as dark as possible.
's debut as a solo composer for the series. Carter stated he and the production crew were "fearful" of using too much music in the episode, and the first season
as a whole. Anderson's voice over narration towards the end of the episode was inserted after complaints from Fox, who desired more closure to the events of this episode. Fox's complaints were that viewers were not supposed to be "confused" after watching an episode of the series, but must have the slightest idea of what was going on. The voiceovers became a common X-Files technique for the remainder of the series.
on September 17, 1993, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom
on BBC Two
on September 24, 1994. This episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.3 with a 14 share, meaning that in the US, roughly 7.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 14 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 6.9 million households.
In a retrospective of the first season in Entertainment Weekly
, the episode was rated a B+, with praise given to Hardin's "world-weary" performance, though the review noted that that the "querulous, ominous tone" of the episode was "a little awkward, but full of promise of things to come". Adrienne Martini of the Austin Chronicle
called the episode "fun to watch", describing it as "great TV"; whilst the San Jose Mercury News
called the titular character "the most interesting new character on television", also calling the episode "strange but marvellous". Michael Janusonis of The Beaver County Times
was more critical of the episode, calling it "an acquired taste" and noting that it "sort of diddled out in the end", lacking "a completely satisfactory resolution".
With elements such as Mulder's first informant Deep Throat, and the affirmation of the wider conspiracy that was to become known as the Syndicate
, "Deep Throat" has been cited as beginning to "set the stage for the central conflicts" of the series. IGN
s Dan Iverson felt that the episode served to "open the door to the possibilities of this series". The episode was listed by Entertainment Weekly as number 37 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Television Moments" of the 1990s.
The X-Files (season 1)
The first season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on September 10, 1993 and concluded on the same channel on May 13, 1994 after airing all 24 episodes....
of the American science fiction
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
television series The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. It premiered on the Fox network
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on September 17, 1993. It was written by series creator Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
, directed by Daniel Sackheim
Daniel Sackheim
Daniel Sackheim is an American TV and film director. He has directed several episodes of the TV show The X-Files, 3 episodes of Harsh Realm, House, and Life, the last two of which he also served on as an executive producer.-External links:...
, and featured the first of several guest appearances by Jerry Hardin
Jerry Hardin
Jerry Hardin is an American actor who has made many television and film appearances. He played illegitimate heir, Wild Bill Westchester, in the failed 1982 television series Filthy Rich. One of his most recognizable roles was that of the character Deep Throat in the series The X-Files...
as the eponymous Deep Throat. The episode received a strong Nielsen household rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
compared to other season one episodes. It has received generally positive reviews, and introduced several elements which would become staples of the series' mythology
Mythology of The X-Files
The mythology of The X-Files, sometimes referred to as its mytharc by the show's staff and fans, follows the quest of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder , a believer in supernatural phenomena, and Dana Scully , his skeptical partner. Their boss, FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner was also often...
.
When FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
special agents Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
(David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
) and Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
(Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
) investigate a possible conspiracy in the US Air Force, Mulder meets a mysterious informant who warns him to stay away from the case. Undeterred, Mulder continues in his investigation and comes closer to the truth than ever before, only to have it snatched away from him again.
Plot
In southwestern IdahoIdaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, near Ellens Air Force Base, military police conduct a raid on the home of Colonel Robert Budahas, who has stolen a military vehicle and barricaded himself inside. The MPs discover Budahas in his bathroom, trembling and covered in rashes.
Four months later, Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
and Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
meet at a Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
bar to discreetly discuss the Budahas case. Mulder explains that Budahas, a test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
, has not been seen since the raid and that the military will not comment on his condition; the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, for its part, has refused to investigate the matter. Mulder claims that six other pilots have gone missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
at Ellens Air Force Base, which is subject to rumors about its development of experimental aircraft. While using the bar's restroom, Mulder is approached by a mysterious informant named "Deep Throat", who warns him to leave the matter alone. He also warns that Mulder is being kept under surveillance, which later proves to be true.
Upon arriving in Idaho, Mulder and Scully meet with Budahas' wife, Anita, who claims that her husband exhibited erratic behavior before his disappearance. She takes them to a neighbor whose husband, also a test pilot, is exhibiting similar behavior. Scully obtains an appointment with the base director Colonel Kissell, but he refuses to meet with them when they stop by his home immediately afterwards. The agents subsequently meet local reporter Paul Mossinger, who refers them to the Flying Saucer Restaurant. While discussing the existence of UFOs with the owner, Mulder obtains directions to Ellens Air Force Base.
Mulder and Scully drive to the base, where they stay until late at night. Scully, who has been sleeping in the car while Mulder keeps watch on a nearby hill, is awakened when the rear windshield of the car shatters. Shortly afterwards, an excited Mulder shows her a mysterious aircraft performing seemingly impossible maneuvers in the night sky. However, Mulder and Scully are forced to flee when a black helicopter
Black Helicopter
Black Helicopter is a United States Boston, Massachusetts based hard rock band on Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace! independent record label. The band performed at North East Sticks Together in 2005 and 2006....
approaches, seemingly in pursuit of Emil and Zoe, a trespassing teenaged couple.
While Mulder treats the pair to a meal at a local diner, they tell him and Scully about the frequent appearances of the lights Mulder saw, and of the nearby base from which they believe the UFOs are launched. Meanwhile, Budahas is returned to his home, but his memory has been erased. After leaving the diner, Mulder and Scully are confronted by a group of black-suited agents, who destroy the photographs they have taken and order them to leave the town.
An indignant Mulder sneaks into Ellens Air Force Base with help from Emil and Zoe. When he arrives there, he sees a triangular shaped craft fly overhead, but he is soon captured by soldiers and has his memory tampered with. Meanwhile, a panicked Scully reencounters Mossinger, who she discovers is actually a security operative for the base. Holding him at gunpoint, she forces him to guide her to the base where she exchanges him for Mulder. Mulder and Scully, defeated, return to Washington. Days later, Mulder encounters Deep Throat again while jogging at a local track. Mulder asks Deep Throat if "they" really are present on Earth. Deep Throat responds "Mr. Mulder, they have been here for a long, long time."
Conception
This episode marked Jerry Hardin's first appearance in the role of Deep Throat, who was named after the Watergate informantDeep Throat
Deep Throat is the pseudonym given to the secret informant who provided information to Bob Woodward of The Washington Post in 1972 about the involvement of United States President Richard Nixon's administration in what came to be known as the Watergate scandal...
. Hardin would play the character several more times in the show's first season, with sporadic appearances in later seasons. According to series creator Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
, it was evident that The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
was a "series in making" during this episode. The episode was inspired by common ufology
Ufology
Ufology is a neologism coined to describe the collective efforts of those who study reports and associated evidence of unidentified flying objects . UFOs have been subject to various investigations over the years by governments, independent groups, and scientists...
. Believers in aliens have for long thought that Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
's Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
and Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Combat Command .-Overview:...
have alien technology captured during 1947's Roswell UFO incident
Roswell UFO incident
The Roswell UFO Incident was the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extra-terrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of...
. The name Ellens Air Force Base was derived from the name of Carter's old college girlfriend, whose last name was Ellens. The story's military project was inspired by a rumor that the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
had started a project named the Aurora Project. Carter said he remembered people talking about this rumor and that its inclusion in the story was a "nod" to that rumor.
Pre-production
The scene with David DuchovnyDavid Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
and Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
in the Flying Saucer bar was shot at a Vancouver restaurant called The Meat Market, which according to Carter was a much "divier location than the production designers would have you believe." The surname for the two guest character
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
s, Budahas, came from an old high school friend Carter knew whose name was Bob Budahas. The name became a running joke for The X-Files crew over the course of the show. Duchovny and Anderson had never used a gun or held one before joining The X-Files, so they were trained before filming on how to hold them properly so they could appear to be "real FBI agents".
Carter created the character Deep Throat because he was interested in providing an inside contact for Mulder. Deep Throat was originally inspired by Carter's favorite film, All the President's Men
All the President's Men
All the President's Men is a 1974 non-fiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, two of the journalists investigating the first Watergate break-in and ensuing scandal for The Washington Post. The book chronicles the investigative reporting of Woodward and Bernstein from Woodward's initial...
, and Carter further stated in the audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
that picking Jerry Hardin
Jerry Hardin
Jerry Hardin is an American actor who has made many television and film appearances. He played illegitimate heir, Wild Bill Westchester, in the failed 1982 television series Filthy Rich. One of his most recognizable roles was that of the character Deep Throat in the series The X-Files...
for the role was an "easy choice". Hardin was an American actor living in the United States, so he flew up to Vancouver every few weeks to film short scenes with him interacting with the different characters. Carter called Hardin's portrayal "very, very good".
Special effects
The scenes with the flashing lights are according to Chris CarterChris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
the "worst effects we've ever done" on the show. He explained that the main reasons for the effects being poor were money and time; he also commented that special effect
Special effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
s were still in their infancy. Mat Beck was the special effects producer and supervisor during the first season
The X-Files (season 1)
The first season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on September 10, 1993 and concluded on the same channel on May 13, 1994 after airing all 24 episodes....
of the show; he and Carter tried to make the special effects look three dimensional and "better", but were unable to do it. According to Carter, the result looked like a "kind of hi-tech Pong
Pong
Pong is one of the earliest arcade video games, and is a tennis sports game featuring simple two-dimensional graphics. While other arcade video games such as Computer Space came before it, Pong was one of the first video games to reach mainstream popularity...
game."
The scenes in which Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
infiltrates the air base were shot at a real United States airbase. With a small budget and a television schedule to think of, Carter said the effects seemed "good, given the restrictions" they had. The UFO was digitally made, and was created by a "sort of disco light rig" that was rented from a "party supplier". Carter commented on Daniel Sackheim
Daniel Sackheim
Daniel Sackheim is an American TV and film director. He has directed several episodes of the TV show The X-Files, 3 episodes of Harsh Realm, House, and Life, the last two of which he also served on as an executive producer.-External links:...
's shooting, saying it was "shot well". Towards the end of filming these night-time scenes, the sun was beginning to rise so crew member John Bartley had to rig the angles to keep the scenes as dark as possible.
Music
This episode marks Mark SnowMark Snow
Mark Snow is an American composer for film and television.Born in New York, he grew up in Brooklyn, graduating from the High School of Music and Art and, afterwards, the Juilliard School of Music...
's debut as a solo composer for the series. Carter stated he and the production crew were "fearful" of using too much music in the episode, and the first season
The X-Files (season 1)
The first season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox network in the United States on September 10, 1993 and concluded on the same channel on May 13, 1994 after airing all 24 episodes....
as a whole. Anderson's voice over narration towards the end of the episode was inserted after complaints from Fox, who desired more closure to the events of this episode. Fox's complaints were that viewers were not supposed to be "confused" after watching an episode of the series, but must have the slightest idea of what was going on. The voiceovers became a common X-Files technique for the remainder of the series.
Broadcast and reception
"Deep Throat" premiered on the Fox networkFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
on September 17, 1993, and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on September 24, 1994. This episode earned a Nielsen household rating of 7.3 with a 14 share, meaning that in the US, roughly 7.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 14 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 6.9 million households.
In a retrospective of the first season in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, the episode was rated a B+, with praise given to Hardin's "world-weary" performance, though the review noted that that the "querulous, ominous tone" of the episode was "a little awkward, but full of promise of things to come". Adrienne Martini of the Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
called the episode "fun to watch", describing it as "great TV"; whilst the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
called the titular character "the most interesting new character on television", also calling the episode "strange but marvellous". Michael Janusonis of The Beaver County Times
The Beaver County Times
The Beaver County Times is a daily newspaper published in Beaver, Pennsylvania, United States. The Times is a direct descendant of many of Beaver County's newspapers, starting with the Minerva, first published in 1807, and generally believed to have been the county's first newspaper...
was more critical of the episode, calling it "an acquired taste" and noting that it "sort of diddled out in the end", lacking "a completely satisfactory resolution".
With elements such as Mulder's first informant Deep Throat, and the affirmation of the wider conspiracy that was to become known as the Syndicate
Syndicate (The X-Files)
The Syndicate is a fictional "shadow government" group featured in The X-Files television show and feature film created by Chris Carter. They were also known as The Elders, The Consortium, and The Group...
, "Deep Throat" has been cited as beginning to "set the stage for the central conflicts" of the series. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
s Dan Iverson felt that the episode served to "open the door to the possibilities of this series". The episode was listed by Entertainment Weekly as number 37 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Television Moments" of the 1990s.