Three of a Kind

Series:	The X-Files
Original Airdate:	5-2-1999
Production Number:	6ABX19
Date(s):	Unknown
Written by:	Vince Gilligan & John Shiban
Directed by:	Bryan Spicer

The Lone Gunmen encounter Susanne Modeski while infiltrating a defense contractors' conference in Las Vegas.

Summary

The episode opens in a high stakes poker game where Byers (of the lone gunmen) is thrown out after being exposed as a fraud at a government convention. Unbeknowst to the other gunmen Byers is harbouring an attraction to a long gone fellow conspirator and hoping to meet her at the convention.

The gunmen cleverly trick Scully into coming to Las Vegas using a text to speech programme. The lone gunmens friend Jimmy, uses his secret technique for gaining access to a secret meeting room where he believes he will learn about new assassination techniques employed by the government. Shortly after the gunmen and Scully learn of his 'suicide'. Byers tracks down the co-conspirator, Suzanne, who has seemngly had a turnaround in her perception of the government.

Scully and Langly are performing the autopsy when they are attacked by an agent who injects something into Scully who falls asleep. It turns out Suzanne is pretending to have switched sides so she can slow progress on the governments harmful initiatives. She works alongside the gunmen to set up her new husband who she discovers has been lying to her.

Background Information

Introductory Details

• Fox Mulder does not appear in this episode, but actor David Duchovny gives a voice performance, when the Lone Gunmen use voice editing software in order to phone Scully.

Locations

• Def Con '99, Las Vegas, Nevada.
• Clark County Morgue.

Memorable Quotes

• "In my medical opinion, beeeeeeeep" *claps hands* - Dana Scully's intoxicated explanation for Jimmy Belmont's cause of death, jumping in front of a moving bus.

Cultural References

• At the poker game, the defense contractor asks Byers about the "AE-135" unit. The AE-135 unit was the unit in 2001: A Space Odyssey that HAL 9000 claims has failed, causing the Odyssey to lose contact with Earth.
• Frohike asks the bouncer if he wants to "Thunderdome", a reference to the "Mad Max" films.
• Scully refers to the Gunmen as "The Three Stooges".
• Langly wears Motorhead and Snoozonica T-Shirts.

Other Episode Notes

• Jimmy states that he will have front row access to the unveiling of a new stealth assassination technology. This becomes vaguely prophetic when he becomes the first known victim of that same technology.

• The Lone Gunmen contact Scully as they need someone with authority to help with their investigation, but believe Mulder would be too well known to those in attendance.

Continuity

• This episode continues the storyline of Susanne Modeski trying to fight the government's development of mind control technology, first seen in "Unusual Suspects".

• After being injected, a drugged Scully is surrounded by a group of government suitors. One of these suitors is Morris Fletcher, who offers her a Morley cigarette. As Frohike drags her away, she gives Fletcher a smack on the butt, a throw back to Fletcher having smacked her on the butt when he traded bodies with Mulder in "Dreamland" and "Dreamland II".

Cast

Guest Stars

• Phil Abrams as Little Fritz
• John Billingsley as Timothy Landau (AKA "Timmy the Geek")
• Jeff Bowser as Redhead Geek
• Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike
• Kalena Coleman as Bus Driver
• Signy Coleman as Susanne Modeski
• Jason Felipe as Bald Geek
• Jim Fyfe as Jimmy the Geek
• Rick Garcia as News Anchor
• Dean Haglund as Richard Langly
• Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers
• Michael McKean as Morris Fletcher
• Brian Reddy as Big Fritz
• Charles Rocket as Grant Ellis
• George Sharperson as Security Guard
• Richard Zobel as Al

References

SEMICOLON-SEPARATED LIST OF ITEMS/LOCATIONS REFERENCED IN EPISODE (BUT NOT LINKED TO IF ALREADY LINKED IN SUMMARY OR GUEST STARS SECTIONS)

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