"Drive" continues an excellent stretch of episodes forming the canvas for season six and is one of the better stand-alone representatives of its particular year. As its title would imply it is a very driving episode, with tension escalating from the news-camera teaser all the way to the tragic final act. Though Mulder and Scully are dispatched to investigate surfeits of suspicious fertilizer, the two agents get caught up in a high-speed road trip when Mulder crosses paths with Patrick Crump (Bryan Cranston), who lived close to a military facility where electromagnetic experiments took place. As a result the frequency in his skull (forgive my scientific unenlightenment) is increasing, and unless Mulder can escort him west and at increasingly higher speeds, his head will explode. Forgive the far-fetched premise and you have one hell of a thrilling episode, penned by the great Vince Gilligan. "Drive" works well as an engaging isolated story, but also in the grander scheme of the overarching plot, where Mulder and Scully have been stripped of their former privileges and are forced to take greater risks on their pursuit of The Truth. This makes the build-up to the episode's denouement all the more exciting. I give it a 9/10.
10 Reviews
Gone In 45 Minutes
Muldernscully19 January 2007
As much as 'The Beginning' showed that we're still going to get "classic" x-files, Drive showed that the X-Files was going to explore new territory. They start by giving us a unique teaser to Drive, with the news camera footage. It was an interesting transition from the the TV to the real events. I would've liked it even better if they had kept that news footage camera for the entire teaser and not cut to the inside of the car. Upon viewing this episode live back in 1998 I was thinking, "Am I on the right channel?" That first autopsy by Scully flooded me with big words that I don't understand. I think she learned her lesson to ALWAYS wear a mask before performing an autopsy. Silly Scully! What is the deal with the lighting in the autopsy lab? It's as dark as a tomb in there! How are they supposed to see what they're doing in there? Assistant Director Kersh gets his first lines in this episode. I have no love lost for that man. He is the third recurring character in a row that is introduced that you love to hate, the first two being Diana Fowley and Jeffrey Spender. I guess the producers felt that there was too much love going on for Mulder, Scully and Skinner. So they needed to add some characters to give our favorite agents some grief and incite our ire as fans. I love the quarantine suits worn by Scully and her team with the cool helmet light bulbs. Boy. It's really smoky or foggy in DRY northern Nevada at night. Can we say the word "effect"? Drive is a cool episode, but looking at route 36 on my U.S. atlas, there's no way Mulder could've maintained a speed of 70-100 MPH on that road. If he had been on I-80, the freeway, maybe. But no way on a state road with that many curves. All of the filming inside the car looked very authentic. Excellent job by Rob Bowman. It looks nothing like the old days of the obvious blue screen or clip of passing scenery outside a car window on a stage. This was a fun episode, but some of the inaccuracies keep it from being a great episode. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, so hold on for a fast ride!
"You see it all the time on TV."
classicsoncall24 July 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Holy smokes! With Mulder essentially trapped inside a car as a result of being hijacked by one Patrick Crump (Bryan Cranston), it's Scully coming up with a theory on what's going on with Crump, and the need for him to be traveling in a westerly direction at high speeds. The cause of Crump's malady has to do with an unintended power surge at a Naval Research Station that knocked out TV reception over a four state area, with an attendant catastrophic result on humans and animals. It's a fairly implausible idea the writers came up with, but hey, a premise along the same lines worked for the 1994 flick "Speed", only this time the bomb (so to speak), was inside Crump's head.
It's interesting to me how almost all the questions Scully came up with at the naval station were generally met with a 'classified' response. Goes to show how far the government will go in it's efforts to maintain secrecy over what they're doing. Though the stories here are fictional, there are enough real life examples to confound anyone attempting to learn the truth about something that disputes a government official position or finding.
With Scully and Mulder repeatedly being called on the carpet for interfering in X-Files type investigations, their new boss Kersh (James Pickens Jr.) ominously puts things on the line for Mulder when he tells him "You can always quit". When that happened, I wondered whether Mulder could have possibly gone off and found a source of funding to continue his own type of research a la The Lone Gunmen. Unwilling to continue investigations involving 'big piles of manure', I had to laugh, because he already did one with Scully in "War of the Coprophages".
It's interesting to me how almost all the questions Scully came up with at the naval station were generally met with a 'classified' response. Goes to show how far the government will go in it's efforts to maintain secrecy over what they're doing. Though the stories here are fictional, there are enough real life examples to confound anyone attempting to learn the truth about something that disputes a government official position or finding.
With Scully and Mulder repeatedly being called on the carpet for interfering in X-Files type investigations, their new boss Kersh (James Pickens Jr.) ominously puts things on the line for Mulder when he tells him "You can always quit". When that happened, I wondered whether Mulder could have possibly gone off and found a source of funding to continue his own type of research a la The Lone Gunmen. Unwilling to continue investigations involving 'big piles of manure', I had to laugh, because he already did one with Scully in "War of the Coprophages".
Bryan Cranston and Vince Gilligan's first team up, a decade before Breaking Bad. "Drive" is an intense and unique X-File
SLionsCricketreviews3 January 2018
Warning: Spoilers
"Drive" was written by Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad (and Better Call Saul) fame and guest starred Bryan Cranston as a man who is forced to drive to no end in order to stay alive. "Drive", besides being one of the most memorable, entertaining and intense experiences of The X-Files to this point, bears even more significance on television, more precisely, modern television. It is the episode that ultimately ensured in Gilligan's mind that Bryan Cranston was the final piece in the puzzle to Breaking Bad and won him the lead role of Walter White.
"Drive" has one of the single most memorable and distinctive of cold opens in The X-Files to this point. It is as good as ones like in "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Home" to name but two. It opens on what appears to be a breaking news television broadcast that details a pursuit in which an unnamed man with an apparent female hostage continues to elude police on a highway. The man is soon apprehended and the 'hostage' is guaranteed safety. As the man is cuffed, the woman suddenly and mysteriously dies, as if by a gunshot wound. Cut to credits.
What an emphatic way to open up "Drive" and my god does Vince Gilligan follow through on the promise of the cold open. This is such a distinctive episode of the show and it is just about as good as any X-Files episode can be that sees Scully and Mulder divided for the runtime. There is so much happening, both in terms of plot and story that are exciting and absorbing and maintain the episode's high intensity. The relationship between Mulder and Bryan Cranston's Mr. Crump is a joy to watch on screen, memorable, funny, nasty and even touching at instances and all this is accomplished with barely giving any backstory as to who Mr. Crump is. It is a testament to the writing of Vince Gilligan, the performance of Bryan Cranston and the direction of one of the show's top calibre directors, Rob Bowman that this episode works as well as it does without being reduced to a gimmicky Speed homage or rip off if you will.
It is also an episode that as I mentioned feels distinctive within the show's collection of episodes and its unique flavour is much needed given how repetitive the show can at times feel. It is also an episode that perfectly utilizes both Scully and Mulder. The former is just open minded enough and incredibly competent and efficient in her work to assist and guarantee Mulder's safety and the latter, even when held at gunpoint and forced to drive endlessly and elude law enforcement displays a depth of empathy for the victim and 'villain' of the episode. As such, "Drive" is brimming with freshness and when a show goes on for five seasons and can wear itself on the repetitive formula that the show thrives on, such changes are a welcome refreshment.
I adored "Drive". It escalates in tension throughout, at times reaching points of unbearable tension and the guest performance of Cranston coupled with the writing and direction (what incredible cinematography, particularly for the driving sequences and the bio-hazardous monitoring of Mr. Crump's place which feels very extraterrestrial aesthetically) make it a truly fine episode. It takes the premise of the movie Speed, restructured that so that the suspense sustains a high peak for the duration of the episode and effectively takes the passengers on the bus and reduces it to its bare minimum of Mulder and Mr. Crump. That dynamic is so strong and the suspense superbly defined that the episode works wonderfully well on the whole. A visceral and deeply intense episode that also without which, the fate of the hit show Breaking Bad (a significant part of the landscape of modern television) could have been very different.
"Drive" has one of the single most memorable and distinctive of cold opens in The X-Files to this point. It is as good as ones like in "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" and "Home" to name but two. It opens on what appears to be a breaking news television broadcast that details a pursuit in which an unnamed man with an apparent female hostage continues to elude police on a highway. The man is soon apprehended and the 'hostage' is guaranteed safety. As the man is cuffed, the woman suddenly and mysteriously dies, as if by a gunshot wound. Cut to credits.
What an emphatic way to open up "Drive" and my god does Vince Gilligan follow through on the promise of the cold open. This is such a distinctive episode of the show and it is just about as good as any X-Files episode can be that sees Scully and Mulder divided for the runtime. There is so much happening, both in terms of plot and story that are exciting and absorbing and maintain the episode's high intensity. The relationship between Mulder and Bryan Cranston's Mr. Crump is a joy to watch on screen, memorable, funny, nasty and even touching at instances and all this is accomplished with barely giving any backstory as to who Mr. Crump is. It is a testament to the writing of Vince Gilligan, the performance of Bryan Cranston and the direction of one of the show's top calibre directors, Rob Bowman that this episode works as well as it does without being reduced to a gimmicky Speed homage or rip off if you will.
It is also an episode that as I mentioned feels distinctive within the show's collection of episodes and its unique flavour is much needed given how repetitive the show can at times feel. It is also an episode that perfectly utilizes both Scully and Mulder. The former is just open minded enough and incredibly competent and efficient in her work to assist and guarantee Mulder's safety and the latter, even when held at gunpoint and forced to drive endlessly and elude law enforcement displays a depth of empathy for the victim and 'villain' of the episode. As such, "Drive" is brimming with freshness and when a show goes on for five seasons and can wear itself on the repetitive formula that the show thrives on, such changes are a welcome refreshment.
I adored "Drive". It escalates in tension throughout, at times reaching points of unbearable tension and the guest performance of Cranston coupled with the writing and direction (what incredible cinematography, particularly for the driving sequences and the bio-hazardous monitoring of Mr. Crump's place which feels very extraterrestrial aesthetically) make it a truly fine episode. It takes the premise of the movie Speed, restructured that so that the suspense sustains a high peak for the duration of the episode and effectively takes the passengers on the bus and reduces it to its bare minimum of Mulder and Mr. Crump. That dynamic is so strong and the suspense superbly defined that the episode works wonderfully well on the whole. A visceral and deeply intense episode that also without which, the fate of the hit show Breaking Bad (a significant part of the landscape of modern television) could have been very different.
Need for speed XXXL
Sleepin_Dragon13 September 2022
Mulder gets trapped in car with a passenger desperately in need of speed.
Awesome, first class episode, I'd even be so bold as to place it in my top twenty episodes of all, maybe even into the top ten. Killer pacing, this flies by at an incredible pace, with both Mulder and Scully successfully deployed equally.
A bit of gore for people to enjoy, with enough spills and thrills to keep you on your toes. I like the character of Kersh, it'll be interesting to see where they go with him, right now he feels like an angry headmaster.
Bryan Cranston put in the most awesome performance here as Crump, a genuinely knockout presence, his scenes in the car with Mulder were first class, some real venom in their interactions back and forth.
Once again you have to hand it to the production team, this episode looks terrific, it defies the fact that it was made over twenty years ago from the date of me writing this review.
Wonderful episode, a real thrill ride.
10/10.
Awesome, first class episode, I'd even be so bold as to place it in my top twenty episodes of all, maybe even into the top ten. Killer pacing, this flies by at an incredible pace, with both Mulder and Scully successfully deployed equally.
A bit of gore for people to enjoy, with enough spills and thrills to keep you on your toes. I like the character of Kersh, it'll be interesting to see where they go with him, right now he feels like an angry headmaster.
Bryan Cranston put in the most awesome performance here as Crump, a genuinely knockout presence, his scenes in the car with Mulder were first class, some real venom in their interactions back and forth.
Once again you have to hand it to the production team, this episode looks terrific, it defies the fact that it was made over twenty years ago from the date of me writing this review.
Wonderful episode, a real thrill ride.
10/10.
Bryan Cranston
elmodaddysgirl29 September 2019
Bryan Cranston was brilliant in this episode. It was a good episode from start to finish. If not for Bryan Cranston I would've rated it a 9/10. He definitely put the cherry on top. Not to mention Scully's last line "Big piles of Manure ".
I don't think this is what Incubus had in mind
Sanpaco139 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Drive was an enjoyable episode with a dark ending. Basically a man and his wife are infected in their inner ear by a high pitched sound wave being emitted by some military equipment. Some favorite parts of mine from this episode are Mulder's dialogue in the car, and the scene where Scully goes in with the Hazmat team and find the little old deaf lady completely unaffected by what they thought was a virus. The ending of course is tragic in its realism because it leads the viewer to believe that they are going to actually be able to pull off this elaborate plan to save the victim but when Mulder arrives the man is already dead. 8/10
Vince Gillian expertise
smithpg19 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Any Gillian episode of X-Files were always some of my favorites. This episode also showed Vince how much of a range Cranston had and directly led to him fighting for Bryan on Breaking Bad.
This was a very simple episode with no real supernatural aspect to it. It is mostly just Mulder and Cranston's character driving west to try and keep his head from exploding. It is also one of the most affecting episode of the show. The ending is predictable, but that was never the point of the episode. The point was the vulnerability of two guys in a very personal way. Well worth a watch even years later. Vince Gillian at his finest.
This was a very simple episode with no real supernatural aspect to it. It is mostly just Mulder and Cranston's character driving west to try and keep his head from exploding. It is also one of the most affecting episode of the show. The ending is predictable, but that was never the point of the episode. The point was the vulnerability of two guys in a very personal way. Well worth a watch even years later. Vince Gillian at his finest.
stop ur bitching - a great ep
hansenmv200218 February 2010
Cool action - yeah the premise has been done - but not this way - that's the trick. hey folks - SHOCK - it's an X-File.
To me - it's cool that Scully/Mulder have almost no scenes together -- they have to adapt, rely on each other's intrinsic sense about what's really going on - and each other's adaptation skills. They read into each other's moves and get the job done.... (sort of).
Oh yeah --- really good acting -- do these people get paid to do this? Or- a slow day when the convenience store doesn't call them into work. (hey - Duchovny - where's the day-old donuts?? Malcolm - get to school...)
To me - it's cool that Scully/Mulder have almost no scenes together -- they have to adapt, rely on each other's intrinsic sense about what's really going on - and each other's adaptation skills. They read into each other's moves and get the job done.... (sort of).
Oh yeah --- really good acting -- do these people get paid to do this? Or- a slow day when the convenience store doesn't call them into work. (hey - Duchovny - where's the day-old donuts?? Malcolm - get to school...)
Go West Young Man (AND STEP ON IT!)
Twins6524 July 2006
Another decent offering from the pen of Vince Gilligan.
A pre-"Malcolm in the Middle" Bryan Cranston plays Patrick Crump, a deranged guy who eventually hijacks Mulder via gunpoint and has him driving west at high speeds. It has something to do with his severe head ringing (& possible deadly combustion--his wife just experienced it), and the pressure only seems to be relieved by heading towards the left coast. Only Mulder could relate to this guy's plight, and actually bond with his captor before the all night ride is completed.
Meanwhile, Scully seems to have solved the case with a possible remedy for Mr. Crump, and will meet them at the ocean. Check it out to see if our Dynamic Duo can hook up at the Pacific and somehow rectify Mr. Crump's big problem.
A pre-"Malcolm in the Middle" Bryan Cranston plays Patrick Crump, a deranged guy who eventually hijacks Mulder via gunpoint and has him driving west at high speeds. It has something to do with his severe head ringing (& possible deadly combustion--his wife just experienced it), and the pressure only seems to be relieved by heading towards the left coast. Only Mulder could relate to this guy's plight, and actually bond with his captor before the all night ride is completed.
Meanwhile, Scully seems to have solved the case with a possible remedy for Mr. Crump, and will meet them at the ocean. Check it out to see if our Dynamic Duo can hook up at the Pacific and somehow rectify Mr. Crump's big problem.
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