The X-Files Beloved Homage To John Carpenter Is Actually A True Story
When they rewatch “Ice,” most fans of The X-Files assume that this episode was built from the ground up as an homage to John Carpenter. Certainly, the plot about a mysterious life form in an Arctic base that can secretly infect and take over victims is reminiscent of the director’s classic film The Thing. However, despite the episode’s many homages to Carpenter’s classic movie, “Ice” was originally inspired by a true story about scientists digging into ancient ice in Greenland and discovering worms inside of it.
An Ancient Icy Life Form
Before we can dive into the original inspiration for “Ice,” we need to quickly recap what this X-Files episode is all about. Mulder and Scully travel to a complex in Alaska to investigate a murder-suicide, and they get involved in a crazy tale of ancient (perhaps alien) life hidden inside 250,000-year-old ice. The life form in question is a creepy worm that can infect people, and most of the episode’s drama comes from Mulder and Scully trying to figure out who is infected, eventually drawing their guns on each other in a paranoid showdown.
Taking Inspiration From The Thing
Back when “Ice” first aired, X-Files fans assumed that the episode was written as an homage to The Thing thanks to that movie featuring researchers in a snowy outpost who must deal with mind-controlling alien parasites. The episode certainly plays up homages to Carpenter’s film, especially with a plot point involving an infected dog. Even the set for this episode was designed by a veteran crewman from The Thing (Graeme Murray), but while the writers cribbed heavily from the movie, “Ice” is one of those early X-Files episodes that was loosely based on true events.
It Started In Greenland
According to “Ice” co-writer Glen Morgan, this X-Files episode was inspired by a scientific article that he and his writing partner James Wong had read. The article was about researchers in Greenland who had, in Morgan’s words, “dug something 250,000 years old out of the ice.” This ended up being the perfect inspiration for the writers, who immediately asked “What if we do that?”
Horrible, Horrible Worms
What captivated them the most was that the ice in Greenland had been preserved for a quarter-million years, and these X-Files scribes were fascinated by the idea of ancient life from another era of the world. The real-world researchers’ actual discovery of worms may not sound like the kind of scary thing that Mulder and Scully typically investigate on the show. However, it was plenty scary for James Wong, who summed up his feelings on the matter quite simply: “worms are just horrible!”
A Turning Point For The X-Files
Because of its mixed inspirations, “Ice” ended up being a strong X-Files episode that was able to have its worm and eat it, too: it had plenty of great moments inspired directly by John Carpenter’s The Thing, but basing it on a true story helped the episode ultimately feel fresh and original. It was also a standout episode, one that stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson appreciated as a turning point in both series quality and character development. This season 1 episode paved the way for a killer season 2, but we can’t help but be glad the worm-fearing Wong left before then.
Otherwise, he might have had to work on “The Host,” an episode that would bring his ultimate fear to life: a giant Flukeman who attacks victims by hiding in the toilet. That’s one monster who gives the declaration “worms are just horrible” a brand new meaning.
