Triangle (The X-Files)
Encyclopedia
"Triangle" is the third episode of the sixth season
of the television series The X-Files
, premiered by the Fox
network on November 22, 1998. The episode was written and directed by series creator Chris Carter
.
Fox Mulder
races to a luxury passenger liner
on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle
which has mysteriously appeared. Once there, he realizes he has travelled back in time
to September 3, 1939 and the outbreak of World War II
. Nazi
soldiers have boarded the ship in search of "Thor's Hammer", something that could ensure victory in the coming conflict. As Mulder arrives, the soldiers and the British
crew are fighting for control of the ship.
"Triangle" featured the main and recurring cast members such as Gillian Anderson
, William B. Davis
, Chris Owens
, James Pickens Jr. and Mitch Pileggi
playing their contemporary characters and other characters from 1939 on board the liner. The episode garnered a strong Nielsen household
and syndication ratings and was met with positive reviews from critics.
is found nearly-drowned at sea, having been shipwrecked. He is discovered and bought aboard by crewmembers on a British passenger ship
, the Queen Anne. When he is sent to meet the captain, he tries to explain that the Queen Anne disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle
in 1939, and claims that it has reappeared in 1998. The crew doesn't believe Mulder's claims and suspect he is a Nazi spy. At that moment, the Queen Anne is commandeered by Schutzstaffel
troops commanded by a figure reminiscent of the Smoking Man, who sets the ship's course for Nazi Germany
. Upon listening to a radio broadcast, Mulder realizes that the Queen Anne didn't travel to 1998, but rather he travelled back to 1939.
Meanwhile, in the present, the Lone Gunmen inform Scully that they have lost contact with Mulder, who had set out in search of the Queen Anne. Skinner
provides with information from the Pentagon
and Scully leaves with the Gunmen to find Mulder. Back on the Queen Anne, a British sailor tells Mulder that the Germans are looking for what they believe is a weapon called "Thor's Hammer". Mulder tells him that "Thor's Hammer" is not a weapon, but a scientist that will build a weapon. The sailor turns out to be a German spy, and a man strongly resembling Kersh takes control of the ship, steering back towards Jamaica
. Mulder tells them to turn around and go back to where they came from, but is taken down to the ballroom by Nazis.
Once there, Mulder is ordered to identify the scientist or they will begin shooting passengers. After they have killed two men, a woman on the ship who looks like Scully speaks up and says that they are killing innocent people for nothing, and that Mulder knows nothing. Mulder tells the Nazis that one of the men they shot was the scientist, but the real scientist steps forward. The Nazis prepare to execute Mulder and "Scully", but the engine is shut down before they can and British sailors descend upon the ballroom and begin fighting the Germans. In the midst of the chaos, Mulder and "Scully" escape. Meanwhile, Scully and the Lone Gunmen find the Queen Anne and board it, only to find that it is an empty ghost ship.
Back in 1939, as British soldiers fight Nazis in the ballroom, Mulder tells "Scully" that she has to turn the ship around and go back into the Triangle to get the ship out of the rift in space. Mulder grabs "Scully" and kisses her, "in case they never meet again." She then punches him, and he jumps overboard. Mulder then wakes up in a hospital, having been found in the present day floating among wreckage, surrounded by Scully, the Lone Gunmen and Skinner. He attempts to describe that he was in 1939 with Nazis, telling Scully that she was there with him, but they all think he is delirious. After Skinner and the Gunmen leave, Mulder calls Scully back and tells her that he loves her. She, thinking his confession is an effect of the drugs he has been given, rolls her eyes and leaves. As he is lying down, he winces as his cheek touches the pillow, the spot where 1939 Scully punched him still sore.
to be similar in style to Alfred Hitchcock
’s Rope
. Through manipulation of the camera, and editing, the episode is designed to look like it was shot in four uninterrupted eleven-minute takes. Each time the camera passes through a curtain, a cut is made. The final two acts of the episode also feature a sophisticated split-screen misé en scene. The episode has many references to The Wizard of Oz
. The ship's captain is named Yip Harburg. E.Y. (Yip) Harburg was the lyricist for The Wizard of Oz. The name of the ballroom singer is Almira Gulch, after The Wizard of Oz character who is also the Wicked Witch of the West
. Mulder's wrecked ship is called the Lady Garland, after Judy Garland
. When Mulder mentions that Skinner was there with him in 1939, Skinner replies, "with my dog Toto." The episode takes place in 1939, the year The Wizard of Oz was released. When Mulder knocks Jeffrey Spender
unconscious on the Queen Anne, he takes his uniform and position. In reality, it is the other way around: Spender has taken Mulder's position in the FBI. Anderson’s 1939 character is said to work for the OSS
– which was not established until 1942.
When transitions are made between the two different time periods, it often occurs as a side swipe rather than the traditional cut. Split screen is also used, but rather than displaying two different events, each side of the screen shows the same event from almost identical angles. When Scully runs around the corner, she does so at the same time as Mulder and the female bodyguard. This was filmed in such a way that as they passed each other in the hallway, they also passed into the opposite frame of the split screen.
on November 22, 1998 and in the United Kingdom
on January 19, 2000. The episode earned a Nielsen household rating
of 10.8, with a 16 share. It was viewed by 18.20 million households.
Emmy Awards by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:
It won the award for Sound Editing.
The X-Files (season 6)
The sixth season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on the Fox Broadcasting Network in the United States on November 8, 1998, concluding on the same channel on May 16, 1999, and contained 22 episodes. The series was developed by Chris Carter, who also serves as...
of the 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...
, premiered by the Fox
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...
network on November 22, 1998. The episode was written and directed 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 :...
.
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...
races to a luxury passenger liner
Passenger ship
A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...
on the edge of the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
which has mysteriously appeared. Once there, he realizes he has travelled back in time
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
to September 3, 1939 and the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
soldiers have boarded the ship in search of "Thor's Hammer", something that could ensure victory in the coming conflict. As Mulder arrives, the soldiers and the British
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...
crew are fighting for control of the ship.
"Triangle" featured the main and recurring cast members such as 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...
, William B. Davis
William B. Davis
William Bruce Davis is a Canadian actor, known for his role as The Smoking Man on The X-Files. He has also appeared in Stargate SG-1 as Damaris, a Prior of the Ori and as Mayor Tate on Smallville...
, Chris Owens
Chris Owens (actor)
Christopher Bradley "Chris" Owens is a Canadian actor.Owens was born in Toronto, the son of Jeannette, a jazz singer, and Garry Owens, a jazz drummer....
, James Pickens Jr. and Mitch Pileggi
Mitch Pileggi
Mitchell Craig "Mitch" Pileggi is an American actor. Pileggi is known for playing FBI assistant director Walter Skinner on the long-running popular series The X-Files. He also had a recurring role on Stargate Atlantis as Col. Steven Caldwell...
playing their contemporary characters and other characters from 1939 on board the liner. The episode garnered a strong Nielsen household
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...
and syndication ratings and was met with positive reviews from critics.
Plot overview
Fox MulderFox 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...
is found nearly-drowned at sea, having been shipwrecked. He is discovered and bought aboard by crewmembers on a British passenger ship
Passenger ship
A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freighters once common on the seas in which the transport of passengers is...
, the Queen Anne. When he is sent to meet the captain, he tries to explain that the Queen Anne disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and surface vessels allegedly disappeared under mysterious circumstances....
in 1939, and claims that it has reappeared in 1998. The crew doesn't believe Mulder's claims and suspect he is a Nazi spy. At that moment, the Queen Anne is commandeered by Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
troops commanded by a figure reminiscent of the Smoking Man, who sets the ship's course for Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. Upon listening to a radio broadcast, Mulder realizes that the Queen Anne didn't travel to 1998, but rather he travelled back to 1939.
Meanwhile, in the present, the Lone Gunmen inform Scully that they have lost contact with Mulder, who had set out in search of the Queen Anne. Skinner
Walter Skinner
FBI Assistant Director Walter Sergei Skinner is a fictional character 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...
provides with information from the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
and Scully leaves with the Gunmen to find Mulder. Back on the Queen Anne, a British sailor tells Mulder that the Germans are looking for what they believe is a weapon called "Thor's Hammer". Mulder tells him that "Thor's Hammer" is not a weapon, but a scientist that will build a weapon. The sailor turns out to be a German spy, and a man strongly resembling Kersh takes control of the ship, steering back towards Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. Mulder tells them to turn around and go back to where they came from, but is taken down to the ballroom by Nazis.
Once there, Mulder is ordered to identify the scientist or they will begin shooting passengers. After they have killed two men, a woman on the ship who looks like Scully speaks up and says that they are killing innocent people for nothing, and that Mulder knows nothing. Mulder tells the Nazis that one of the men they shot was the scientist, but the real scientist steps forward. The Nazis prepare to execute Mulder and "Scully", but the engine is shut down before they can and British sailors descend upon the ballroom and begin fighting the Germans. In the midst of the chaos, Mulder and "Scully" escape. Meanwhile, Scully and the Lone Gunmen find the Queen Anne and board it, only to find that it is an empty ghost ship.
Back in 1939, as British soldiers fight Nazis in the ballroom, Mulder tells "Scully" that she has to turn the ship around and go back into the Triangle to get the ship out of the rift in space. Mulder grabs "Scully" and kisses her, "in case they never meet again." She then punches him, and he jumps overboard. Mulder then wakes up in a hospital, having been found in the present day floating among wreckage, surrounded by Scully, the Lone Gunmen and Skinner. He attempts to describe that he was in 1939 with Nazis, telling Scully that she was there with him, but they all think he is delirious. After Skinner and the Gunmen leave, Mulder calls Scully back and tells her that he loves her. She, thinking his confession is an effect of the drugs he has been given, rolls her eyes and leaves. As he is lying down, he winces as his cheek touches the pillow, the spot where 1939 Scully punched him still sore.
Conception and writing
The episode was designed by 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 :...
to be similar in style to Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
’s Rope
Rope (film)
Rope is a 1948 American thriller film based on the play Rope by Patrick Hamilton and adapted by Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Sidney Bernstein and Hitchcock as the first of their Transatlantic Pictures productions...
. Through manipulation of the camera, and editing, the episode is designed to look like it was shot in four uninterrupted eleven-minute takes. Each time the camera passes through a curtain, a cut is made. The final two acts of the episode also feature a sophisticated split-screen misé en scene. The episode has many references to The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
. The ship's captain is named Yip Harburg. E.Y. (Yip) Harburg was the lyricist for The Wizard of Oz. The name of the ballroom singer is Almira Gulch, after The Wizard of Oz character who is also the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. Mulder's wrecked ship is called the Lady Garland, after Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
. When Mulder mentions that Skinner was there with him in 1939, Skinner replies, "with my dog Toto." The episode takes place in 1939, the year The Wizard of Oz was released. When Mulder knocks Jeffrey Spender
Jeffrey Spender
FBI Special agent Jeffrey Frank Spender is a fictional character in the American Fox television series The X-Files, a science fiction show about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of alien existence. Spender was in control of the X-Files office after Fox Mulder's and Dana Scully's...
unconscious on the Queen Anne, he takes his uniform and position. In reality, it is the other way around: Spender has taken Mulder's position in the FBI. Anderson’s 1939 character is said to work for the OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
– which was not established until 1942.
Filming
This episode uses very specific and thought out choices with regards to editing. The most distinctive feature of this episode is that it was all shot as a series of long takes, with very little use of cutting. The vast majority of scenes were filmed to appear on screen as single shots. While the crew managed to film some in single shots, others were edited to merely give this appearance, with cuts taking place when the screen goes dark, so as to be masked. With the exception of Mulder jumping off the S.S. Queen Anne, the only noticeable editing occurs between scenes, and when shifting the action between the two different time periods.When transitions are made between the two different time periods, it often occurs as a side swipe rather than the traditional cut. Split screen is also used, but rather than displaying two different events, each side of the screen shows the same event from almost identical angles. When Scully runs around the corner, she does so at the same time as Mulder and the female bodyguard. This was filmed in such a way that as they passed each other in the hallway, they also passed into the opposite frame of the split screen.
Filming locations
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA - RMS Queen MaryRMS Queen MaryRMS Queen Mary is a retired ocean liner that sailed primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean from 1936 to 1967 for the Cunard Line...
, Long Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach, CaliforniaLong Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, USA
Release
"Triangle" first aired in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on November 22, 1998 and 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 January 19, 2000. The episode earned a 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...
of 10.8, with a 16 share. It was viewed by 18.20 million households.
Reception
The episode was nominated for three 199951st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday, September 12, 1999. The awards show was hosted by Jenna Elfman and David Hyde Pierce. It was broadcast on Fox...
Emmy Awards by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:
- Writing
- Directing
- Sound Editing
It won the award for Sound Editing.