File:QuagmireXFiles.jpg

Frame showing "Big Blue", a prehistoric sea serpent, gliding across a lake a night.

A screenshot from "Quagmire", an episode of The X-Files. Copyright Fox. Screenshot from Season 3

Quagmire (The X-Files)

Full Frame

Yes

To illustrate a poignant scene in the episode (infobox). The shot is "the subject of sourced commentary":

• The scene of Big Blue at the end of the episode was originally intended to feature a rubber sea serpent pulled through the water by a boat, but the producers decided to use digital effects. (Expanded upon in the "Production" section). Furthermore, many critics negatively commented on the scene: Paula Vitaris of Cinefantastique noted that the "shot destroys the story's ambiguity. A large ripple in the water would have been much more clever." (Expanded upon in the "Reception" section.)
• The image represents a sequence that's presence significantly increase readers' understanding of the topic, and thus, its omission would be detrimental to that understanding. Describing the sequence solely using words (a digital snake-creature in the water) does not do the image justice, nor does it adequately describe the situation to the reader, nor does it show, in detail, the intricacy of the digital effects.

No free images known for this episode

Believed fair use because

• It does not limit the copyright owner's rights to sell the related product
• Aids commentary on the plot outline
• Poignantly illustrates the related episode
• It illustrates the significant moment which characterises the episode in question