Stephen King may be known for his impressive and well-crafted horror novels, but back in the ’90s, he wrote an episode of the beloved sci-fi TV seriesThe X-Files. While King hasn’t written the screenplays for all the movies based on his work, he is no stranger to penning stories for the big and small screen. He wroteCat’s Eye, the 1989 version ofPet Sematary,Maximum Overdrive, andA Good Marriage, just to name a few. He also put his own spin on the TV world of Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny).
WhileThe X-Filesreturned to TV for seasons 10 and 11 which aired in 2016 and 2018, there could be more episodes coming in the future.Deadlinereported in March 2023 that a reboot is in the works with Ryan Coogler at the helm. With so much love for the popular sci-fi series even today, it’s the perfect time to take a look back at the episode ofThe X-Filesthat Stephen King wrote.
What Episode Of X-Files Did Stephen King Write?
Stephen King wrote season 5, episode 10 ofThe X-Filescalled “Chinga.” It aired on February 8th, 1998. King wrote the episode along with Chris Carter, a writer and director on the sci-fi series. WhileThe X-Fileshas overarching mysteries like The Smoking Man, this episode tells a simpler yet still comprehensive story about an evil doll. It has several elements of classic King stories, from a small town to an eerie atmosphere.
“Chinga” is about a little girl named Polly (Jenny-Lynn Hutcheson) Turner who has a creepy doll with that name. When she and her mother, Melissa Turner (Susannah Hoffman) are in a shop in Ammas Beach, Maine, the butcher named Dave (Harrison Coe) takes his own life by stabbing his eye. Dave is driven to do this by seeing Chinga in a mirror, which freaks him out. Moments before he dies, the other people in the shop start touching their eyes violently, which is definitely a striking and terrifying image.
The opening sequence of the episode makes it clear that Chinga is asscary as a horror movie evil doll. It seems that Chinga can make people do terrible things, and Melissa and Dave are examples of only two people who have been affected by her. Melissa sees Dave injure himself before he actually does.
As Mulder and Scully investigate the case, Scully takes a more practical and logical approach, which fans expect by this point in the popular TV series. She wonders why Polly and Melissa are fine when the others in the shop have been driven to cause themselves pain. They learn that people in town say that Melissa is a witch.
SomeStephen King movies change his endings for the better, as his fans often say that this is something that he struggles with at times. It’s fair to say that the conclusion of the Stephen KingX-Filesepisode “Chinga” leaves a lot to be desired. Melissa feels that the only thing she can do is set fire to her home, which would hopefully destroy the doll. But instead, this puts her own life at risk along with her daughter Polly’s. Mulder and Scully save them all and Scully puts the doll in a microwave.
What Was The Reaction To Stephen King’s X-Files Episode?
Stephen King is of course a beloved author and there are manygreat non-horror movies based on King’s work. Even though he is most closely associated with the horror genre, he has delved into sci-fi before. Fans of both King andThe X-Fileswere definitely interested in seeing what type of episode he would write. Unfortunately, the response to the Stephen King episode ofThe X-Filescalled “Chinga” wasn’t very positive.
Like theworst movies based on King’s novels, “Chinga” is considered to be fairly lackluster.The A.V. Clubgave the episode a C- rating and said that the storyline isn’t very compelling or layered. That seems to be the main problem that fans and critics have with it. There are plenty of horror movies about killer dolls or dolls that make people do horrible things, and when compared to those, this episode doesn’t stand out.
The X-Filesfans have differing opinions on the Stephen King episode “Chinga.” Some have posted on Reddit that they didn’t enjoy it and thought it was a lackluster episode. However, other fans liked it and felt that it was entertaining. For the most part, though, the critical reaction to “Chinga” was that it’s a cheesy episode. Despite that, it’s still fun to see what the famed author came up with, and “Chinga” is still a memorable part of the series.
