"Sein und Zeit" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files.
"Sein und Zeit" earned a Nielsen household rating of 8.4, being watched by 13.95 million people in its initial broadcast.
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 this episode, Mulder becomes obsessed with a number of children who have vanished while investigating the bizarre disappearance of a young girl from her home.
"Sein und Zeit" was written as the first part of a two-part arc that would eventually reveal what had happened to Samantha Mulder.
Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) asks to be a part of the investigation looking for a little girl, Amber Lynn LaPierre, who disappeared from her home in Sacramento, California.
Mulder's superior, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), initially denies his request, noting that the investigation is not an X-file, but simply a missing persons case.
It is found she overdosed on sleeping pills after she burned all her pictures of Samantha and placed tape around her baseboards and turned the gas in the oven on.
However, unlike that episode, "Sein und Zeit" and its second part "Closure" set out to actually answer the question of Samantha's disappearance.
[2] Several accidents hindered the production of the episode, the first of which revolved around a fake ransom note that included the threatening line "Don't do anything or we'll kill your baby".
However, there was one critical scene that still needed to be filmed: a short sequence of a TV news anchor reporting on the events of the episode.
To overcome the issue, producer Paul Rabwin got creative; he eschewed asking Fox for more money by instead reaching out to Robert Penfold, a local TV correspondent who was based out of Los Angeles.
According to Rabwin, "We went to his studio setup, inserted a visual of a busy newsroom behind the correspondent, added some pictures of the kidnapped children, and we had our scene.
[8] She was particularly pleased with the grimness of the story; she noted that it was largely about the way in which Mulder's "belief system [is] eradicated before his very eyes" after the suicide of his mom.
VanDerWerff was also pleased with Duchovny's performance, writing that he "brings the intense mania to Mulder that has always made the character work at his best.
"[9] Tom Kessenich, in his book Examinations, gave the episode a largely positive review, writing "'Sein Und Zeit' not only served as a reminder of Fox Mulder's ongoing pain it provided yet another clue that, although its journey is nearing its completion, The X-Files still knows how to make the ride an enjoyable one.
"[10] 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 five stars out of five.