Paper Clip

"Paper Clip" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 29, 1995. It was directed by Rob Bowman, and written by series creator Chris Carter. "Paper Clip" featured guest appearances by Sheila Larken, Melinda McGraw and Nicholas Lea. The episode is one of those that explored the overarching mythology, or fictional history of The X-Files. "Paper Clip" earned a Nielsen household rating of 11.1, being watched by 17.2 million people in its initial broadcast. "Paper Clip" has received highly positive reviews from critics; it is generally considered by both critics and cast/crew as being among the best episodes of the series. The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder and Scully investigate information gleaned from secret government records, finding that a Nazi scientist working as part of Operation Paperclip may have been responsible for creating a race of human-alien hybrids. "Paper Clip" concludes a three-episode storyline, carrying on from the second season finale "Anasazi" and the third-season premiere "The Blessing Way". The creators of the series likened themes of the episode to the Star Wars trilogy, referring to the revelations about Mulder's father, and Sophie's Choice, referring to how William Mulder was forced to choose Fox or Samantha to be taken.