Duane Barry
The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files.
In the episode, Mulder becomes involved in a hostage situation with an escaped psychiatric patient, named Duane Barry (Steve Railsback), who claims to be terrified of frequent alien abductions.
Nine years later, Barry has become a violent patient in a mental institution, refusing to take his medication and insisting that the aliens are coming back for him.
He attacks a security guard and steals his gun, taking head psychiatrist Dr. Hakkie hostage before escaping.
But since he can't remember where the abduction site is located, Barry heads to a travel agency and holds the three clerks hostage along with Dr. Hakkie.
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Alex Krycek (Nicholas Lea) are summoned to the ensuing hostage situation by Agent Lucy Kazdin (CCH Pounder), since Barry insists that he is an alien abductee.
Mulder acts as a hostage negotiator, calling Barry in order to earn his trust so that the standoff may be peacefully resolved.
Mulder talks to Barry, who claims that the aliens performed painful tests on him and put tracking devices in his body.
Against Kazdin's orders, Mulder tells Barry that he believes his story, convincing him to release the remaining hostages.
Later, at a supermarket, Scully swipes the implant across a checkout scanner, causing the machine to malfunction while displaying a strange serial number.
[3] Much of Carter's inspiration for the episode came from reports of Phineas Gage, who underwent a personality change after a blasting accident drove an iron rod completely through his head[3] The aliens' use of a dental drill on Barry was inspired by a neighbor of Carter who said that he was abducted and that the aliens drilled holes into his teeth, which a dentist analyzed and said could not be done with any equipment he knew.
[3] For the experiments, Railsback was put in a plaster model of his back as he was lifted by a hydraulic device, and had water squirted on his mouth for the dental drill.
[13] Director of Photography John Bartley also received a nomination for Outstanding Achievement Award for Episodic Television by the American Society of Cinematographers.
Matt Roush from USA Today said Railsback's performance as Barry rivaled that of his portrayal of Charles Manson in the 1976 television miniseries Helter Skelter.
[17] San Jose Mercury News said Railsback gave what was to be the "ultimate X-Files performance" in 2002 after the show had been cancelled.
[18] Robert Shearman, in his book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, gave the episode a glowing review and rated it five stars out of five.
