Schizogeny
It was written by Jessica Scott and Mike Wollaeger, directed by Ralph Hemecker, and featured guest appearances by Bob Dawson, Myles Ferguson, Katharine Isabelle, Chad Lindberg, and Sarah-Jane Redmond.
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.
"Schizogeny", written by first-year staff writers Scott and Wollaeger, became humorously known as "The Killer Tree Episode" amongst the cast and crew.
Many of the scenes shot for "Schizogeny" were filmed on a real orchard named Hazelgrove Farms near the small town of Fort Langley, British Columbia.
In Coats Grove, Michigan, a teenager with anger management issues named Bobby Rich gets into an argument with his stepfather Phil about yard work.
Later the mysterious man from earlier tells Mulder that Matthews' father's death ended a blight that had been killing trees in the town.
[2] Due to it being Scot and Wollaeger's first episode, "Schizogeny" took a long time to write and, according to executive producer Frank Spotnitz, "went through many, many incarnations and versions.
[3] While much of "Schizogeny" was filmed on a real orchard named Hazelgrove Farms near Fort Langley, British Columbia,[2][3] the sinking mud scenes were shot on a soundstage at Lion's Gate Studios that was fitted with over 200 hazelnut trees.
The shot that called for Karin Matthews' lifeless body to sink into the mud required a stunt woman to be slowly lowered into the pit, which necessitated the crew supplying her with oxygen, given how deep the tank was.
[3] Toby Lindala and his art department created all of the props used in the episode, including the moving tree roots and the corpse of Karin Matthews' father.
Lisa's house, for instance, was next to a large willow, which was fitted with a fake tree limb twenty feet long to give it a more menacing feel.
The producers secured permission from the Canadian government to retrieve the branch, and then hoisted it into the air before dropping it onto a retired police car.
"[7] Furthermore, St. James felt that "the more Scott and Wollaeger try to continue explaining this and tie it into the idea of child abuse, the less it attains any of the power or tragedy they want it to have.
"[8] Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, rated the episode three-and-a-half stars out of five.
The two wrote positively of the first part of the episode, noting that "director Ralph Hemecker [brings] the eeriness to the fore, and [makes] this a more honest-to-truth scary slice of X-File than has been offered in ages.
