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 goes to the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to continue his search for proof on extraterrestrial life.

The episode features the first appearance of an extraterrestrial, because series creator Chris Carter felt it was time to unveil one.

In the episode's prologue, Fox Mulder narrates a history of NASA's Voyager program and the now-defunct High Resolution Microwave Survey, which sought to contact extraterrestrial life in outer space.

At the Survey's abandoned observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, the equipment inside suddenly activates, indicating a response from an alien intelligence.

The two have a discreet meeting at the parking lot of the Watergate Hotel, where Mulder admits that he has been doubting his belief in the paranormal since Deep Throat's assassination.

Matheson directs Mulder to Arecibo, assuring the agent that he will try to hold off a Blue Beret UFO retrieval team said to be headed there in twenty-four hours.

Arriving at the Survey station, Mulder discovers a frightened Puerto Rican man, Jorge, who cannot speak English but draws a picture of an alien he claims to have seen.

Scully wakes Mulder up the next morning, finding him excited about the readouts and tapes of the signals—the proof of aliens he has sought for so long.

Upon his return to Washington, Mulder is admonished by Assistant Director Walter Skinner and the Smoking Man for his actions.

Mulder claims he still has enough evidence with the days missed to prosecute the subject of his assigned wiretap, and that his own phone calls were being monitored.

Investigating the tape reel, Mulder finds it blank due to a power surge during the storm, but vows to continue his work regardless.

[3] Before working on the series, Morgan had written a script with the same name as this episode about a man who goes to a telescope located in Chile.

In the end, McGavin finally agreed to appear on the show during its fifth season; he was first introduced in the episode "Travelers" as Arthur Dales, the agent who founded the X-Files.

[8] According to producer J. P. Finn, it was a struggle for the show to make the Greater Vancouver area resemble the tropical island of Puerto Rico, and that "if you look closely you'll see pine trees in the back[ground].

"[5] Gillian Anderson revealed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien that when she and Duchovny were filming the final scene escaping the Blue Berets, the actors portraying the soldiers had to pretend to shoot their guns and made their own sound effects, which caused the cast and crew to laugh "hysterically".

"[16] Bob Curtright, writing for the Los Angeles Daily News, called the episode "an engrossing chiller about potential contact from outer space.