The Lone Gunmen (TV series)

The Lone Gunmen
Genre	Conspiracy fiction Science fiction[1] Thriller Drama[2] Comedy[3]
Created by	Chris Carter Vince Gilligan John Shiban Frank Spotnitz Based on characters created by Glen Morgan and James Wong
Starring	Bruce Harwood Tom Braidwood Dean Haglund Stephen Snedden Zuleikha Robinson
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	43 minutes
Production company(s)	Millennium Canadian Productions Ltd. Ten Thirteen Productions 20th Century Fox Television
Distributor	20th Television
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	March 4 – June 1, 2001
Chronology
Related shows	The X-Files Millennium

The Lone Gunmen is an American conspiracy fiction thriller drama television series created by Chris Carter, Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz. The program originally aired from March 4, 2001, to June 1, 2001, on Fox. It is a spin-off of Carter's science fiction television series The X-Files and a part of The X-Files franchise, starring several of the show's characters. Despite positive reviews, its ratings dropped.^[4] The show was canceled after thirteen episodes. The last episode ended on a cliffhanger which was partially resolved in a ninth season episode of The X-Files entitled "Jump the Shark".

The series revolves around the three characters of The Lone Gunmen: Melvin Frohike, John Fitzgerald Byers, and Richard Langly, a group of investigators who run a conspiracy theory magazine. They had often helped FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files.

Series overview

Whereas The X-Files deals mainly with paranormal events and conspiracies to cover up extraterrestrial contact, The Lone Gunmen draws on secret activity of other kinds, such as government-sponsored terrorism, the development of a surveillance society, corporate crime, and escaped Nazis. The show has a light mood and elements of slapstick comedy. The trio are alternately aided and hindered by a mysterious thief named Yves Adele Harlow.

In the premiere episode, which aired March 4, 2001, members of the U.S. government conspire to hijack an airliner, fly it into the World Trade Center, and blame the act on terrorists to gain support for a new profit-making war. The episode aired six months prior to the September 11 attacks.^[5]

Cast and characters

John Fitzgerald Byers

Portrayed by Bruce Harwood. Byers was born in Sterling, Virginia on November 22, 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and was named after the fallen president – his parents were originally planning to name him Bertram after his father. Byers idolized his namesake, but he always had suspicions about the real cause of his death.^[6] Byers worked as a public affairs officer for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Baltimore until May 1989. Byers appears to have some working knowledge of medicine, genetics, and chemistry.^[7]

Melvin Frohike

Portrayed by Tom Braidwood. Frohike was born circa 1953 in Pontiac, Michigan. Prior to joining the Lone Gunmen, he was an acclaimed tango dancer in Miami. On giving up the tango, he toured the country with hippies before founding Frohike Electronics Corp., specializing in cable intrusion hardware.^[8]

Richard "Ringo" Langly

Portrayed by Dean Haglund. Langly was born circa 1968/69 in Saltville, Nebraska. He showed an aptitude for computers from an early age, which was frowned upon by his parents.^[9] Langly is The Lone Gunmen's expert in computers, hacking and programming. He is possibly the most paranoid of the Gunmen, taping all incoming phone calls, including those from Fox Mulder.

Yves Adele Harlow

Portrayed by Zuleikha Robinson. Harlow is a femme fatale thief who sometimes works with the Lone Gunmen trio (although sometimes she is their rival). The alias Yves Adele Harlow is an anagram for Lee Harvey Oswald. It was later revealed in The X-Files episode "Jump the Shark" that Yves' real name is Lois Runtz.

Jimmy Bond

Portrayed by Stephen Snedden. Though Bond shares the bravery and physicality of his namesake, he initially appears to be rich but not very bright, and is fascinated with the Lone Gunmen, who often consider him a nuisance. His saving grace is his boundless optimism, coupled with an idealistic view that the jaded Gunmen wish they still held.

Production

Filming

The series was filmed in Vancouver, Canada and in New York, United States.^[10]

Broadcast and release

Episodes

Episodes are approximately 43 minutes in length.

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	"Pilot"	Rob Bowman	Chris Carter & Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz	March 4, 2001	1AEB79	13.2[5]
While the Lone Gunmen are thwarted in their attempt to steal a computer chip by Yves Adele Harlow, Byers receives news of his father's death, and the trio soon find themselves unraveling a government conspiracy concerning an attempt to fly a commercial aircraft into the World Trade Center, with increased arms sales for the United States as an intended result.
2	"Bond, Jimmy Bond"	Bryan Spicer	Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz	March 11, 2001	1AEB01	8.2[5]
While searching for the killer of an infamous hacker, the three Lone Gunmen find a fourth member when they stumble upon a practice of a football team for the blind.
3	"Eine Kleine Frohike"	David Jackson	John Shiban	March 16, 2001	1AEB02	5.4[5]
With help from Yves, Frohike attempts to convince a woman suspected of being a Nazi war criminal that he is her long-lost son—and survive to talk about it.
4	"Like Water for Octane"	Richard Compton	Collin Friesen	March 18, 2001	1AEB03	8.9[5]
While searching for a water-powered car, the Gunmen encounter missile silos, rude government clerks, and cows.
5	"Three Men and a Smoking Diaper"	Bryan Spicer	Chris Carter	March 23, 2001	1AEB04	4.9[5]
The Lone Gunmen turn into babysitters while working to expose the truth behind a murder linked to a Senator seeking reelection.
6	"Madam, I'm Adam"	Bryan Spicer	Thomas Schnauz	March 30, 2001	1AEB06	6.1[5]
A man contacts the Lone Gunmen, believing his life has been stolen after being abducted by aliens. They end up getting caught in a love triangle involving a one-eyed stereo salesman, brainwashing, and a wrestling dwarf.
7	"Planet of the Frohikes"	John T. Kretchmer	Vince Gilligan	April 6, 2001	1AEB05	N/A
The Lone Gunmen receive an email from an ingenious chimp, a self-named Simon White-Thatch Potentloins, attempting to escape a government laboratory.
8	"Maximum Byers"	Vincent Misiano	Vince Gilligan & Frank Spotnitz	April 13, 2001	1AEB07	6.3[5]
At the behest of a man's mother, Byers and Jimmy Bond pose as prisoners on Death Row in a Texas penitentiary to prove the man's innocence.
9	"Diagnosis: Jimmy"	Bryan Spicer	John Shiban	April 20, 2001	1AEB08	5.3[5]
While recovering in a hospital, Jimmy begins to suspect that his doctor is a wanted killer. Meanwhile, the Gunmen attempt to stop a man who kills grizzly bears to sell their gallbladders.
10	"Tango de los Pistoleros"	Bryan Spicer	Thomas Schnauz	April 27, 2001	1AEB10	3.9[5]
Yves and Frohike go undercover as tango dancers to stop a man from selling government secrets.
11	"The Lying Game"	Richard Compton	Nandi Bowe	May 4, 2001	1AEB09	5.1[5]
While investigating the death of Byers' college roommate, The Lone Gunmen find evidence implicating FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner.
12	"All About Yves"	Bryan Spicer	Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz	May 11, 2001	1AEB12	5.3[5]
The Lone Gunmen team up with Man in Black agent Morris Fletcher to find Yves. What they uncover is Romeo-61, a secret government organization responsible for decades of major incidents.
13	"The Cap'n Toby Show"	Carol Banker	Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz	June 1, 2001	1AEB11	3.6[5]
The Lone Gunmen try to solve the murders of two FBI agents who were working undercover on Langly's favorite TV series.

"Jump the Shark" (The X-Files episode)

No.	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	Production code	U.S. viewers (millions)
197	9.15	"Jump the Shark"	Cliff Bole	Vince Gilligan & John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz	April 21, 2002	9ABX15	8.6[11]
When Morris Fletcher approaches FBI agents Dana Scully, John Doggett, and Monica Reyes with information related to the super soldiers, they turn to the Lone Gunmen. But the Gunmen and Jimmy Bond are already knee-deep in a bio-terrorist’s plot to release a deadly toxin, and his links to the mysterious Yves Adele Harlow.

Nielsen ratings

U.S. television ratings for The Lone Gunmen

Season	Timeslot (ET)	Premiered		Ended		Rank	Viewers (in millions)
		Date	Premiere viewers (in millions)	Date	Finale viewers (in millions)
1	Friday 9:00 pm (episodes 3, 5-13) Sunday 9:00 pm (episodes 1-2, 4)	March 4, 2001	13.2	June 1, 2001	3.6	#111[12]	5.3

Although the debut episode garnered 13.23 million viewers, its ratings began to steadily drop.^[5]

Home video release

Fox Home Entertainment officially released the series (along with the episode of The X-Files titled "Jump the Shark" which finishes the cliffhanger that ended The Lone Gunmen as an additional episode) on a three-disc Region 1 DVD set in the United States on March 29, 2005. In the UK, it was released on January 31, 2006.

Impact

Reviews

The Lone Gunmen received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Julie Salamon of The New York Times gave it a favorable review, stating it is "well done: shrewdly filmed, edited and written".^[13] Los Angeles Times writer Howard Rosenberg gave the series a moderately positive review, saying a "bit of it is pretty funny".^[14] Aaron Beierle, writing for DVD Talk, awarded the show 4 stars out of 5. Beierle considered the stories "enjoyable, intelligent and well-written" and described the characters as "terrifically memorable".^[15] Eric Profancik, writing for DVD Verdict, stated the material is "pretty good" and described the plots as "strong and unusual stories".^[16]

Awards

The pilot episode earned a CSC Award by the Canadian Society of Cinematographers for Best Cinematography - TV Drama.^[17]

Awards for The Lone Gunmen

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Episode	Result
2001	Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards[17]	Best Cinematography in TV Drama	Robert McLachlan	"Pilot"	Won

References

1. "The Lone Gunmen: Season 1". IGN. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014.
2. "The Lone Gunmen". Fox Connect. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014.
3. Perenson, Melissa J. "Chris Carter taught us to trust no one, but wants us to trust The Lone Gunmen". Syfy. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004.
4. The Warehouse - Ratings for the Lone Gunmen tv show
5. "The Lone Gunmen – Series – Episode List". TV Tango. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014.
6. Kim Manners (director); Vince Gilligan (writer) (November 16, 1997). "Unusual Suspects". The X-Files. Season 5. Episode 3. Fox.
7. R.W. Goodwin (director), Glen Morgan & James Wong (writers). "One Breath (X-Files Episode)". The X-Files. Season 2. Episode 8. Fox.
8. Bryan Spicer (director); Thomas Schnauz (writer). "Tango de los Pistoleros". The Lone Gunmen. Season 1. Episode 10. Fox.
9. Kim Manners (director), Vince Gilligan, John Shiban & Frank Spotnitz (writers). "The Cap'n Toby Show". The Lone Gunmen. Season 4. Episode 8. Fox.
10. "Filming Locations". IMDb.
11. "The X-Files – Series – Episode List". TV Tango. Archived from the original on November 10, 2011.
12. "The Bitter End". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. June 1, 2001. Archived from the original on October 1, 2013.
13. Salamon, Julie (March 3, 2001). "Television Review; Even More Truth Is Out There". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on November 18, 2010.
14. Rosenberg, Howard (March 3, 2001). "Lone Gunmen Is a Microchip Off the Old Files". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on March 7, 2014.
15. Beierle, Aaron (March 29, 2005). "Lone Gunmen: Complete Series". DVD Talk. Internet Brands. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014.
16. Profancik, Eric (May 25, 2005). "The Lone Gunmen: The Complete Series". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on December 30, 2005.
17. "The Lone Gunmen - Awards". IMDb. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009.

External links

• Official website
• The Lone Gunmen at the Internet Movie Database
• Perenson, Melissa J. "Three Men and a conspiracy seek the truth solo in The Lone Gunmen". Sci Fi Channel. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004.
• Perenson, Melissa J. "Chris Carter taught us to trust no one, but wants us to trust The Lone Gunmen". Sci Fi Channel. Archived from the original on June 3, 2004.