Fallen Angel 

It may not be as confident, or even fully developed as future episodes of this type, but "Fallen Angel" is one of many X Files concerned with UFO and alien encounters and the government conspiracy to keep knowledge of such activity hidden from the general public.

Mulder takes it upon himself to visit a site in Wisconsin that has been, apparently, affected by a large train wreck. He sees no evidence of such an incident, but just after taking some photos his personal investigation is interrupted as he is taken and detained on the orders of Commander Calvin Henderson (Marshall Bell). Scully turns up, eventually, and informs Mulder that he is in big trouble and that they need to return to provide a defence of his actions. Mulder is, of course, more concerned with the ongoing events in the area as opposed to his own job security and he starts to uncover even more evidence of something being covered up when he is befriended by a UFO enthusiast named Max Fenig (Scott Bellis).

More interesting for the scenes featuring Deep Throat (Jerry Hardin) than the actual alien activity, this episode was written by Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa and the two men do a decent job of tentatively starting the ball rolling on what would become the defining essence of The X Files, the grand conspiracy.

Director Larry Shaw does fine with the material but it's not a strong episode, certainly when compared to the many others covering similar ground. Anderson and Duchovny don't get to have as much fun although it's good to see The X Files in real jeopardy, possibly due to be shut down once officials build up their case against Mulder. Marshall Bell is good in his role and Scott Bellis also does well.

Overall, this is a perfectly acceptable episode. It's just not a great one.