The Unnatural (The X-Files)

Infobox Television episode | Title = The Unnatural
Series = The X-Files
Season = 6
Episode = 6X19
Airdate = April 25, 1999 (Fox)
Production = 6ABX20
Writer = David Duchovny
Director = David Duchovny
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Prev = Milagro
Next = Three of a Kind

"The Unnatural" was the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of "The X-Files" science-fiction television series created by Chris Carter.

Plot

Arthur Dales' brother, who is also named Arthur Dales, recounts a tale about a talented alien baseball player named Josh Exley who hid amongst an all-African-American team in Roswell, New Mexico, during the 1940s

Notes

At the beginning of the episode, a gang resembling the Ku Klux Klan corner Josh Exley.

Darren McGavin, who played the first Arthur Dales in two previous episodes, filmed two scenes before illness forced him to step down from the project. M. Emmet Walsh was called in, and the script rewritten, to accept the changes. McGavin’s scenes are included on the DVD.

The name of the team Josh Exley plays for is the "Grays," which is possibly based on the real-life Negro League baseball team the "Homestead Grays." This could also be a reference to the supposed race of aliens known as the Greys, that is often the basis for many films and television shows, including The X-Files. The character of Josh Exley himself is a thinly veiled reference to Negro League legend Josh Gibson, who played for the Homestead Grays for some time. Like his on-screen counterpart, he was rumored to have broken several of Babe Ruth's home run records. Mulder is also seen wearing a Gibson jersey in the last scene.

The title of the episode is an offhand reference to the title of Bernard Malamud's baseball novel The Natural, which was later adapted and remade in 1984 as a well-known film starring Robert Redford.

Arthur Dales informs Mulder that both he and his brother are named Arthur Dales, as are his sister and pet goldfish.

Arthur Dales calls Mulder "Agent MacGyver".

Guest Star/Stars

*Jesse L. Martin as Josh Exley
*M. Emmet Walsh as Arthur Dales

External links

*
* [http://www.tv.com/the-x-files/show/61/summary.html?q=x-files&tag=search_results;title;1 The Unnatural] at TV.com