3.17 Pusher
US Airdate: February 23, 1996
writer: Vince Gilligan
director: Rob Bowman
STARRING:
David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully
Guest Cast:
Holly ...... Julia Arkos
Agent Collins ..... Steve Bacic
Defense Attorney .... Meredith Bain Woodward
SWAT Lieutenant ..... Roger R. Cross
Lobby Guard ..... Ernie Foort
Lead SWAT Cop ..... Darren Lucas
Judge ........ Don MacKay
Deputy Scott Kerber ...... D. Neil Mark
Agent Frank Burst ..... Vic Polizos
Prosecutor ....... Brent Sheppard
Robert Patrick Modell aka Pusher ...... Robert Wisden
A KILLER WHO INFLUENCES PEOPLE WITH HIS MIND PLAYS CAT AND MOUSE GAMES WITH THE FBI, AND ZEROES IN ON MULDER AS A WORTHY OPPONENT.
Was it murder or suicide? A man claims to have committed fourteen "perfect" murders by making them look like suicides, and his confessions include so much crime-scene detail that he convinces the FBI. But when he escapes from custody by mesmerizing a young deputy into driving into the path of an oncoming truck, the agent in charge of the case calls on Agents Mulder and Scully for help.Mulder is convinced that Robert Modell, who calls himself "Pusher", is exerting psychic control over people through his voice. Using his ability to cloud people's minds, Pusher is able to walk freely into the heart of the FBI, seeking an opponent worthy of his mettle. He settles on Oxford-trained Fox Mulder as his adversary, and taunts him by inducing a heart attack in another agent in front of Mulder's own eyes. Scully discovers a deadly secret about Pusher that tells the agents that their quarry has nothing to lose. But just when Mulder thinks he has Pusher trapped, the tables are turned on him and he finds himself in a deadly game, in which the stakes are his and Scully's lives.
Notes
Title refers to Modell's ability to "push" people, and control their minds through telepathy.
Modell picks up a tabloid newspaper in the checkout line and the front cover has a picture of Flukeman from "The Host" and a picture in the top corner that we're still trying to figure out. I think Carter just threw that in to drive us nuts!
Look for Dave Grohl (of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters) and his wife, Jennifer Youngblood-Grohl, in a cameo. The scene where Modell gets into the FBI building.
Eagle eye xphiles swear that Doug Hutchinson (Tooms) is the dead technician in the hospital, but no confirmation yet.
Quotes
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Pusher: "Let's get this show on the road... " (pulls down flap of man in front of him, exposing the FBI letters)
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Pusher: (face in register turnstyle that is spinning) "Turn this thing off!"
Frank: "You're Pusher, I presume?"
Pusher: "You must be Frank BURST. You know I gotta tell ya, hah, ya got the greatest name."
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Mulder: " Ro-neen. It's a samurai without a master. (on Scully's look) What, you never saw Yojimbo?"
Scully: "Still, what does it mean?"
Mulder: "Means I bet I know ten to one what this guy's got stacked on the back of his toilet."
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Scully: "Mulder, I'm still not sure what we're looking for."
Mulder: "Samurais without masters have to advertise."
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Scully: "Inducing someone to buy hair color is a little different than inducing them to drive in front of a speeding truck."
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Scully: "Well even if he could push his will, why would he...he cause an accident when he himself was in the car?"
Mulder: "Maybe he REALLY didn't want to go to jail."
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(reading from paper)
Mulder: "Well, look at this. 'I solve problems. OSU.' "
Scully: "OSU... Ohio State University?"
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Mulder: (after looking in Japanese dictionary) "OSU, hey, osu, it's a Japanese word, it means "to push".
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Mulder: (waking Scully) "Hey. I think you drooled on me."
Scully: (sleepily) "Uh... sorry."
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Pusher: "...You and your pretty partner seem awfully close. Do you work well together?"
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Scully: "So, he's a killer AND a golfer."
Mulder: "Rings a bell, huhm? Let's go, G-woman."
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Pusher: (to Mulder) "Betcha five bucks I get off."
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Pusher: (to Mulder) "I believe you owe me five dollars."
Mulder: (takes out fiver, but as he's looking at his wallet says) "Hey, your shoe's untied. (Pusher looks down) Made you look. How do YOU do it?"
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Mulder: "...Modell psyched the guy out... he put the whammy on him."
Scully: "Please explain to me the scientific nature of the "whammy"."
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Scully: "...I'm just looking for an explanation a little more mundane than the whammy."
Mulder: "Well, he's laughing at us, Scully."
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Skinner: (to Mulder) "And you're saying this same mysterious phenomenon is the reason I have a size 7 heel mark on my face."
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Mulder: (investigating the fridge) "Hey Scully, check this out. Mango Kiwi Tropical Swirl. Now we KNOW we're dealing with a madman."
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Frank: "What's up, Modell? How ya doin? Long time no see. Told ya we knew where you lived. Nice apartment, Modell. Who does your decorating? The Grinch who stole Christmas?"
Modell: "Ha ha ha! Agent Frank Burst. The guy with the great name!"
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Mulder: (admiring video camera gear) "Think I can get the Playboy channel?"
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Season Three Episodes / Next Episode: Teso dos Bichos
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