Ice (The X-Files)

"Ice" is the eighth episode of the first season of The X-Files which was originally broadcast November 5 1993. It dealt with extraterrestrial parasitic organisms. It was written by Glen Morgan and James Wong and directed by David Nutter. Guest stars included Xander Berkeley and Felicity Huffman.

Plot
When an Arctic research team mysteriously kill each other and themselves only days after drilling deeper into the ice than ever before, Mulder and Scully accompany a team of doctors and scientists to investigate. They discover an organism which infects living creatures and amplifies the host's feeling of anger and paranoia, and the new team starts to deteriorate as they wonder who among them are killers.

Guests

 * Xander Berkeley as Dr. Hodge
 * Felicity Huffman as Dr. Nancy Da Silva
 * Steve Hytner as Dr. Denny Murphy
 * Jeff Kober as Bear
 * Ken Kirzinger as Mr. Richter
 * Sonny Surowiec as Mr. Campbell
 * a mealworm as the alien organism

Production notes
The overall setting of a remote icy research base overcome by an extraterrestrial creature is somewhat similar to that of the Who Goes There? novelette by John W. Campbell, as well as the movie The Thing directed by John Carpenter. Just as in the novelette and movie, people don't trust each other because they are unsure if they are what they seem to be. One of the team members in the episode is named Campbell, probably as a homage to the novelette author.