‘Avatar’ is a mediocre X-Files episode that redefined one character for the better

When Assistant Director Skinner, played by Mitch Pileggi, arrived at the end of The X-Filesseason 1, nobody liked him. While Agent Mulder (David Duchovny) had managed to convince Agent Scully (Gillian Anderson) of the validity of the X-Files, the rest of the FBI still regarded Mulder as a pariah within the agency. So when Skinner was introduced as their direct supervisor, he appeared to be yet another bureaucrat intent on undermining their work, which was only underlined by the unspeaking presence of the mysterious Cigarette Smoking Man in Skinner’s very first scene.