The Worst X-Files Episode, According To IMDb

"The X-Files" was a series that had what is perhaps the platonic ideal of a structure for a scripted TV show. By alternating episodes involving a "Monster-of-the-week" and shows dealing with the series' overarching mythology of conspiracies and extraterrestrial activity, the series managed to be both an EZ-on, EZ-off episodic procedural, a genre anthology show, and a serialized saga that rewarded constant viewing. Thus, longtime fans could feel their investment paying off while new fans could jump on board at just about any point during the show's original 9-season run.

The only detriment to this near-perfect setup is the fact that it invited the possibility of as many low points as it did high ones. While certain sections of the fandom have their general preferences for which overall seasons were best and which weren't, even the most adoring fan of "The X-Files" will admit its propensity to be uneven, with a gem of an episode often residing right next to a huge stinker. Even this accepted truth has its nuance, for, unlike a series such as "Twin Peaks," whose fans have a solid consensus regarding which episodes are the ones newcomers should avoid or proceed into with caution, the picks for worst "X-Files" episodes are much broader and more subjective.

If you're going strictly by the numbers (as per IMDb), then the 18th episode of season 3, entitled "Teso Dos Bichos," is the worst-ever "X-Files" episode. However, one need only look into the reasons why this episode has been awarded such a dubious honor to realize that perhaps it's not strictly about its quality. That, plus the existence of far more odious and obnoxious episodes of the series, means "Teso Dos Bichos" may simply be the victim of a bum rep.

To be clear: "Teso Dos Bichos" is not some hidden gem of an episode of "The X-Files." Written by John Shiban and directed by Kim Manners, the show is a riff on B-movie animal horror, with FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigating a series of deaths in Boston that end up being linked to an artifact from South America. The episode evokes several films produced in the '40s and '50s by Val Lewton (so much so that Shiban names a character in the episode after him), the exoticism/cursed object paranoia of that era (as seen in "The Twilight Zone" episode entitled "The Jungle"), and even "killer cat" schlock of the '70s and '80s (like "The Uncanny" and "Uninvited"). In other words, it's a schlocky episode of the series; cheesy fun at best, lazy junk at worst.

Although the episode would certainly have never been a highlight of the show, it gained its abominable reputation for the most part thanks to how much the cast and crew abhorred making the episode. According to the book "The Complete X-Files" by Matt Hurwitz and Chris Knowles, the episode was originally scripted to contain scenes of large groups of house cats attacking Mulder and Scully, but director Manners couldn't manage to get the cats the production hired to even look menacing, let alone attack. That, added to the fact that Anderson has a bad cat allergy, meant Manners could only do so much with the episode's underwhelming finale, and the constant rewrites the episode went through during production didn't make the rest of filming feel any smoother, either. In the end, all of this plus the lackluster final product led the cast and crew to proclaim "Teso Dos Bichos" their most hated episode and that attitude only spread to the fans and, eventually, the episode's IMDb rating.

Again, if you're only going by numbers, then the IMDb rating of "Teso Dos Bichos" — a measly 5.9 out of 10 — makes it seem like the one episode of "The X-Files" you'd most want to skip. There is another episode of the show with the same exact IMDb rating, however, and it's one that's far more deserving of the title of "Worst X-Files Episode." This is the 20th episode of the season 7, entitled "Fight Club."

Directed by Paul Shapiro and written by series creator Chris Carter, "Fight Club" sees Mulder and Scully investigating a pair of doppelganger twins who, when near each other, cause a literal and figurative ruckus. While the concept holds some promise, the execution is one of the most inept and grating things you'll ever see in your life. The episode was made during a period when the future and direction of "The X-Files" was in flux — star Duchovny would depart the show at the beginning of the following season — and when the series had begun to lean into its notoriety and popularity as being irreverent and self-aware. While a good number of the comedy episodes of the series are delightful, Carter proves himself to simply not have a knack for comedy as a writer. Not helping matters is the fact that Kathy Griffin is the guest actor portraying the twins; if you think her schtick is delightful, you might get a kick out of the show, but for those who find her hard to take, prepare to have double trouble.

While "Fight Club" has as much if not more of a right to lay claim to being the worst episode of "The X-Files," there are several other episodes from the series' 11 seasons (and two feature films) that others might nominate over both "Fight Club" and "Teso Dos Bichos." Sadly, when it comes to "The X-Files," one cannot trust numbers alone to give them all the answers. The truth, as they say, is still out there.