Hubbry Logo
TelikoTelikoMain
Open search
Teliko
Community hub
Teliko
logo
7 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Teliko
Teliko
Teliko
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

"Teliko"
The X-Files episode
The pigment loss of one of the black victims. To achieve this look, several layers of cover-up cream and white powder needed to be applied.
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 3
Directed byJames Charleston
Written byHoward Gordon
Production code4X04[1]
Original air dateOctober 18, 1996 (1996-10-18)
Running time43 minutes[2]
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Home" 		Next →
"Unruhe"
The X-Files season 4
List of episodes

"Teliko" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by Howard Gordon and directed by James Charleston. The episode originally aired in the United States on October 18, 1996, on the Fox network. It is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Teliko" earned a Nielsen rating of 11.3, being watched by 18.01 million people upon its initial broadcast.

The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. In this episode, Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate the unexplained deaths of several African and African-American people whose skin color has turned white as the result of either a rare medical disorder or a bizarre curse.

The episode features the second appearance by Laurie Holden as Marita Covarrubias, following her debut in the fourth-season premiere "Herrenvolk". Carl Lumbly guest stars as a social worker. Inspired by the topics of racial discrimination, "Teliko" explores xenophobia and prejudice. The make-up effects in the episode were difficult to apply and took several hours to be completed. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, who compared the episode to older episodes of the series. The racial topics of the episode drew mixed attention.

Plot

[edit]

On an international airline flight, an African man enters the bathroom, where he is attacked by a man exhibiting albino traits. The attacker leaves the bathroom with his normal black skin tone. Before the plane lands in the United States, a flight attendant discovers the victim in the bathroom, devoid of his skin pigmentation.

Three months later, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) calls in Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and informs her that four African American men have been kidnapped in Philadelphia. One of them has been found dead exhibiting depigmentation. A specialist from the CDC believes that the men have died from a disease, and has requested Scully to investigate the case. Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) joins Scully and has some of the evidence samples from Sanders' autopsy analyzed by Agent Pendrell, who finds a seed from a rare West African passionflower. Mulder takes the seed to his UN informant Marita Covarrubias and asks for her help; she provides him with information on the incident on the plane.

Meanwhile, Samuel Aboah (Willie Amakye), an African immigrant who is seeking citizenship, attacks a young black man while he is waiting for a bus, kidnapping him. Investigating the disappearance, Mulder predicts that another seed will be found. They have Marcus Duff (Carl Lumbly), a social worker who is helping Aboah apply for citizenship, cross-reference the names from the flight with those applying for permanent residency or a work visa. This leads them to Aboah, who runs when they try to question him and is discovered after squeezing himself into a drainage pipe. Aboah appears to have no symptoms of disease when he is analyzed at a local medical center, but Scully plans to examine him more.

Mulder sees Diabra, a diplomat from Burkina Faso. Diabra tells him an old folk tale of the Bambara people about the Teliko, which were nocturnal "spirits of the air". Meanwhile, Scully examines a PET scan of Aboah, which shows that he has no pituitary gland. Aboah escapes the hospital and meets Duff in a car; he paralyses Duff in the same manner as his other victims and inserts a long metal object up his nose. A policeman finds Duff and requests an ambulance, and the police tell Mulder and Scully that they are sweeping the area for Aboah. Driving around, Mulder tells Scully that he thinks Aboah is the mythical Teliko.

The agents stop at a demolition site after Mulder remembers that Pendrell found asbestos fibers on Sanders' body. After they split up, Mulder is paralyzed and taken into a duct by Aboah. Scully, having heard Mulder's shouts for help, tracks him in the duct and is able to get him out, finding the depigmented bodies of the other victims. Aboah gets the drop on Scully, but Mulder's look alerts her, and she quickly turns around and shoots him. In her field journal, Scully writes that Aboah is struggling to survive while awaiting trial. She muses that Aboah's condition and survival may be discovered by science, but humans have a fear of an alien among them which causes them to "deceive, inveigle, and obfuscate".[3]

Production

[edit]
The concept of the episode originated from Howard Gordon, who wanted to write an episode with an immortal antagonist.

Writer and executive producer Howard Gordon was originally working on an episode about someone who appeared to be immortal, but after discussions with consulting producer Ken Horton he added in the notion of xenophobia and "melanin-sucking albino vampires". Series creator Chris Carter approved the storyline, but the first draft of the script was met with disapproval by the writing staff, and the story was restructured and rewritten.[4] As the episode entered pre-production, Carter asked Gordon to refine the script to give it a purpose, and it was then that Gordon came up with the theme of "deceive, inveigle, and obfuscate".[4] This phrase is first spoken by Scully in conversation with Mulder after the post mortem on Owen Sanders, the fourth missing man. Mulder later throws the same phrase back at her in frustration as he leaves the Mt Zion Medical Center (where Aboah has been examined) to meet Diabra, the Burkinabe diplomat. And Scully finally uses the phrase in her field journal during her closing sentiments.[5] The phrase also replaces the usual "The Truth is Out There" tagline during the title sequence of the episode.[6]

Carter also came up with Aboah's weapons used to extract the pituitary gland that he kept hidden in his esophagus.[6] "Teliko" is Greek for "end", though "Téliko" is the name of a "spirit of the air" in Bambara mythology which is sometimes thought to be an albino.[6] Fellow writer John Shiban suggested that the Teliko emerge from the country of Burkina Faso based on his former job of programming foreign air-mail rates for a computer software company.[6]

Casting for the episode was difficult, as the production team wanted real Africans. They auditioned every one they could find, including an African theater troupe that was passing by.[6] The role of Marcus Duff eventually went to Carl Lumbly, who was known for his role on CBS's Cagney & Lacey.[6] The role of Aboah went to Willie Amakye, a Ghanaian Olympic runner who had just returned to his home in Southern California from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.[6] To appear albino, Amakye's skin underwent several layers of cover-up cream, layers of white powder, and a little pink powder for color. He also wore contacts for the transparent pink eyes.[6] Amakye's hair was dyed orange for post-production special effects to change it back and forth from black and white.[6] As revealed on his resident alien card, Aboah's birthday is September 25, a reference to the birthday of Gillian Anderson's daughter.[6]

"Teliko"'s opening sequence makes use of an airplane cabin set built for the later season episodes "Tempus Fugit" and "Max", though the set's hydraulic shaking rig had not been completed yet.[6] Composer Mark Snow used African drums, flutes, and chants in his score for the episode. He also used samples from "The Bulgarian Women's Chorus", a recording known in Southern California in promotion for a local radio station.[6][7] Compositions by Snow often utilized elements of African tribal drums, but "Teliko" features rather prominent usage.[8]

Themes

[edit]

What sustains The X-Files' imagining of otherness is not merely the strangeness of the esoteric, but its coding as opposed to the Law and to civic order. Mapped onto the chronotopes of the dark alleyways of the inner city, this other of the civic order is then easily imagined as that other which resists the Law or, more usually, fails to be fully integrated into the civil order. In the "Teliko" example I have noted from the X-Files, this other is of course the illegal immigrant who lives among the ethnic minorities of his own color and preys upon them. Thus, the image of otherness in The X-Files is conjoined to a major concern of political systems in the West.

—Prof. Ato Quayson of the University of Toronto on the themes of the episode.[9]

"Teliko" explores the concept of the other, with characters of a different race representing the "other".[8][10] In the episode, the US and its culture are treated as the norm, wherein the African culture in the episode is depicted in an intimidating way. African folk tales, which are not often considered strange in their own context, are presented in the episode as ominous and bizarre.[10] The episode also prominently features African tribal music, and Howard Gordon claimed that linking the supernatural ethnic character to the tribal music added a more "exotic" feeling to the character.[11] However, Allan F. Moore, in his book Analyzing Popular Music, argues that the usage of the music in this episode reinforces a "culturally dangerous slippage between the others."[8]

By making the character seem more unnatural, he exudes in many ways an "extraterrestrial" quality to him.[11] Charles D. Martin mused in The White African American Body that "blackness is clearly attached to racial identity" in the episode, commenting that the episode equates the cultural understanding of race to mere skin color.[12] Martin cites Mulder's joke about Michael Jackson as a self-aware comment on "another contemporary white negro" which reinforces a stereotype.[13]

Zoe Detsi-Diamanti, in her book The Flesh Made Text Made Flesh, commented on the episode's depiction of race.[14] She argues that the episode makes the point that a "perfectly normal" black man looks a certain way, pointing out that the episode states that a black man is defined by a "certain skin pigment".[14] Any exception to this norm is depicted in a negative manner, with science being the only answer to unnatural phenomena.[14] Dean Kowalski agreed with the analysis in The Philosophy of The X-Files, commenting that one of the main themes of the episodes revolved around science's attempt to explain folk theories and paranormal phenomena.[15] The episode's antagonist Aboah, escapes the FBI by fitting into a dinner cart, a feat that was compared to slaves escaping in unconformable slave ships.[16]

Broadcast and reception

[edit]

"Teliko" originally aired on the Fox network on October 18, 1996.[1] The episode marked the final time that an episode of the series aired on a Friday.[17] This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 11.3, with a 20 share, meaning that roughly 11.3 percent of all television-equipped households, and 20 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. "Teliko" was seen by 18.01 million viewers on first broadcast.[18]

The episode received generally mixed reviews from critics. Entertainment Weekly gave "Teliko" a grade of "C−", finding it similar to the first season episode "Squeeze".[19] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club gave it a "B−", also noting its similarity to "Squeeze" and finding that it had uncomfortable racial overtones. However, he did feel that the climax was "wonderfully tense" and "one of the better climaxes the show's done".[20] In his book The Nitpicker's Guide for X-Philes, author Phil Farrand pointed out an inconsistency in the episode; before the timeline of the episode, Aboah only kills four men in three months, but during the duration of the episode he kills two men in a matter of days.[21]

Footnotes

[edit]

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Teliko

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
"Teliko" is the third episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. Written by Howard Gordon and directed by James Charleston, it originally premiered on the Fox network on October 18, 1996. In the episode, FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigate a series of murders in Philadelphia where young African-American men are found dead with their skin completely drained of pigmentation, appearing albino. Mulder attributes the killings to the Teliko, a mythical spirit from West African folklore described as an air entity that feeds on human pigment by extracting it through the nose, often associated with albinism. The perpetrator is revealed to be an immigrant from Burkina Faso who requires melanin harvested from victims to sustain his condition, leading to confrontations involving diplomatic immunity and cultural clashes. The episode has drawn commentary for its handling of racial themes, including the targeting of black victims by an African antagonist and the use of tribal motifs, which some critics have viewed as reinforcing stereotypes despite the folklore basis. As a "monster-of-the-week" story disconnected from the series' overarching mythology, it exemplifies The X-Files' exploration of paranormal creatures rooted in global traditions, though it received mixed reception for narrative pacing and thematic depth.

Episode Synopsis

Plot Summary

In , a joint FBI-local police investigates the disappearances of four young African-American men over three months, with the latest victim, Owen Jarvis, found dead exhibiting total of his skin, hair, and irises, rendering him ghostly pale. by Scully reveals no external trauma but confirms targeted at the , which controls pigmentation hormones, leading her to hypothesize a rare medical condition akin to or synthetic biological experimentation. Mulder, however, identifies traces of Adenia volkensii seeds—native to —on the body, linking the case to about the teliko, an invisible air spirit that drains victims' life essence, specifically melanin-regulating hormones, to sustain itself. Another youth, Alfred Kittel, vanishes from an airport, his body later discovered in a restroom with identical and pituitary drainage. Tracing connections to a flight from , Mulder and Scully question Samuel Aboah, a recent immigrant from that region who arrived around the time of the first disappearance; Aboah, appearing healthy despite subtle anomalies, denies involvement but flees custody. Further inquiry with an African community leader reveals teliko lore: a being that must consume pituitary extracts from dark-skinned victims to counteract its own genetic and maintain visibility and vitality. Medical tests confirm Aboah lacks a functional , surviving via harvested hormones from his victims, whom he targeted for their higher melanin-stimulating hormone (MSH) levels. Pursuing Aboah to an abandoned , Mulder confronts him alone; Aboah attacks, attempting to extract Mulder's pituitary despite Mulder's lighter pigmentation yielding insufficient . Scully arrives and shoots Aboah to halt the assault, though he briefly escapes before recapture. Aboah is charged with five murders but deteriorates rapidly without compatible replacement, underscoring the biological uniqueness of his condition. Scully maintains the phenomenon represents an evolutionary anomaly explainable by , while Mulder views it as empirical validation of the folklore's core mechanism.

Production Details

Writing and Development

"Teliko" was written by Howard Gordon, who served as an executive producer during the series' early seasons, and first aired on October 18, 1996, as the third episode of The X-Files' fourth season. The script's development emphasized a standalone "monster-of-the-week" format, drawing inspiration from West African folklore where "Teliko" denotes a spirit of the air associated with albinism. This mythological element was adapted to feature a creature that extracts victims' pituitary glands through the nasal cavity, resulting in rapid depigmentation—a physiological effect grounded in the gland's real role in hormone regulation, including those influencing melanin production. Gordon's writing process incorporated themes of foreignness and , reflecting patterns in his prior episodes like "," which explored Haitian refugee experiences. The narrative centered on African immigrants from in the United States, integrating elements with observed medical anomalies such as pituitary dysfunction leading to skin discoloration. Unlike mythology-heavy arcs, "Teliko" maintained a self-contained structure to allow episodic resolution while advancing character dynamics between Mulder and Scully. The script underwent extensive revisions, including additional polishes mandated by creator Chris Carter to achieve greater thematic cohesion, a common practice for Gordon's episodes which often featured prolonged gestation periods. These changes refined the balance between Scully's empirical —favoring medical explanations like glandular disorders—and Mulder's tying events to , underscoring causal mechanisms linking the creature's predation to victims' physiological decline.

Casting and Direction

James Charleston directed "Teliko," his second episode for after helming season 3's "Avatar." His approach emphasized subdued pacing through urban night sequences, utilizing deep shadows and to evoke unease without overt horror effects, thereby underscoring the gradual horror of physiological . David Duchovny and returned as agents and , their performances maintaining the series' dynamic of open-minded pursuit balanced against empirical caution, which influenced the episode's investigative rhythm. Willie Amakye was cast as Isaac Jakumba, the antagonist from manifesting teliko traits, chosen for his West African background to lend credibility to the portrayal of immigrant isolation and ritualistic behaviors. Production faced challenges in selecting guest actors to represent African cultural elements authentically, prioritizing performers with regional ties over generic casting to mitigate risks of stereotyping rituals, as evidenced by the focus on restrained depictions drawn from Mande traditions. Charleston's use of tight close-ups on skin pallor and shadowed figures reinforced this realism, pacing revelations to align with character-driven tension rather than visual excess.

Filming Locations and Techniques

The episode's principal photography occurred in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, substituting for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where the narrative unfolds amid immigrant communities and urban settings. Key exterior shots featured East Vancouver sites, including 500 Alexander Street for alley sequences and 303-305 Railway Street for warehouse interiors evoking industrial isolation. The Plaza of the Nations area represented international elements like diplomatic buildings. Interior scenes, such as medical examinations and confined pursuits, were staged at Stage 2, North Shore Studios, North Vancouver, leveraging soundstage control for controlled environments. Technical execution prioritized practical effects to ground the supernatural in observable mechanics, with makeup artists applying prosthetics and pigments to depict victims' depigmented skin and the Teliko's pallid, light-sensitive traits mimicking albinism. Post-production incorporated color grading and compositing for sequences showing rapid pigmentation loss, avoiding overt digital fabrication to preserve visual plausibility. Cinematographer John Bartley utilized low-key lighting with deep shadows and minimal artificial sources in nocturnal hunts and climactic chases, fostering tension through contrast and evoking the creature's folklore origins in darkness. Pursuit scenes employed handheld cameras and extended takes filmed in real time, enhancing kinetic realism without extensive editing cuts. These methods aligned with the series' mid-1990s budget of approximately $1.5 million per episode, facilitating completion within a 7-10 day principal photography window typical for network television.

Mythological and Cultural Foundations

Teliko in West African Folklore

In Bambara cosmology of the Mande peoples in and surrounding West African regions, Teliko emerges as one of the primordial beings begotten by Yo, the creative spirit, alongside Faro and Pemba. Teliko embodies the spirit of the air, associated with winds, whirlwinds, and dust devils, and is frequently depicted as a winged albino figure. This portrayal aligns with broader Mande oral traditions where Teliko creates twin ancestors of humanity but harbors ambitions of dominion, manifesting as a malevolent force seeking to traverse and control the world. Ethnographic accounts emphasize Teliko's aerial and ethereal nature rather than grounded moral lessons, reflecting motifs of elemental predation and cosmic rivalry among creator entities. Variations in tribal narratives, particularly among Mande subgroups, portray Teliko's not as a punitive transformation but as an inherent trait amplifying its otherworldly status, often evoking both awe and aversion due to the rarity of depigmented individuals in melanin-rich populations. , a recessive resulting from mutations in genes like TYR that impair production, occurs at rates of approximately 1 in 5,000 to 15,000 births in , higher than global averages due to factors such as consanguineous marriages. Pre-colonial ethnographic observations link such visible anomalies to spiritual etiologies, with pale interpreted as marks of aerial or ancestral intervention, though no supports causation over biological mechanisms like deficiency. These legends likely derive from empirical encounters with conditions, including and , where progressive loss of skin pigment—observable in disorders affecting melanocytes—could be causally misattributed to predatory spirits in pre-scientific contexts. Tribal accounts prioritize survivalist themes of evading intangible threats in nocturnal or windy environments, underscoring adaptive caution against unseen environmental perils rather than allegorical ethics. Documented stigma against albinos in West African societies, predating 20th-century medical classifications, manifests in exclusions or magical attributions, yet lacks verifiable instances of Teliko specifically invoked for pigment-draining predation. Such persists in oral forms, with anthropological records from the mid-20th century noting Teliko's role in cosmogonic explanations of natural phenomena like sudden winds, detached from modern adaptations.

Factual Accuracy and Adaptations

The episode's depiction of Teliko as a creature that extracts vital essence through the neck, resulting in progressive and death, draws from West associating the entity with a life-draining "spirit of the air" that induces by siphoning vitality. This core mechanism parallels traditional accounts from , where Teliko is portrayed as a vampiric being targeting the neck to weaken victims, though folklore attributes the effect to supernatural depletion rather than biological specificity. The narrative's immigrant vector, introducing the creature via a traveler from to the , reflects documented migration patterns from the region, where economic and environmental pressures have driven West African outflows, including smaller streams to since the late . Adaptations deviate for dramatic effect by mechanizing the process through insertion of a straw-like proboscis into the pituitary gland, ostensibly to drain melanin-regulating substances; while the pituitary influences pigmentation via hormones like melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH), direct extraction is fictional, though hypopituitarism can manifest in altered skin pallor due to hormonal deficiencies affecting melanocytes. Empirical scrutiny reveals no verified instances of Teliko or analogous entities; folklore likely rationalizes observable conditions like endocrine disorders or vitiligo, which cause hypopigmentation through verifiable physiological pathways such as autoimmune melanocyte destruction or hormonal imbalances, rather than parasitic intervention. The episode's pseudo-scientific framing avoids overt supernaturalism by invoking endocrine plausibility, contrasting with folklore's unsubstantiated , but parallels real-world superstitions, such as albino persecutions in , where myths falsely imbue —a genetic deficiency—with magical potency, driving ritual killings unrelated to any causal "draining" vector and attributable instead to cultural misconceptions of the condition. Production efforts incorporated cultural research to authenticate the folklore's outline, as writer based the premise on documented African myths, though the resulting hybrid prioritizes narrative tension over strict ethnographic fidelity.

Thematic Analysis

Racial Identity and Pigmentation

In the "Teliko," the , a folklore-inspired entity from , preys on the pituitary glands of dark-skinned African and African-American men, extracting a essential for maintaining production, which results in rapid, total of the victims' , rendering them pale and albino-like upon death. This process reverses visible racial markers tied to skin color, portraying pigmentation not as an immutable of identity but as a dynamic biological state dependent on ongoing physiological regulation. The narrative frames the victims' as a biological vulnerability—due to higher endogenous production of (MSH)—rather than a social or cultural trait targeted for reasons, emphasizing predation driven by the entity's need to sustain its own . From a first-principles biological perspective, the , via the intermediate lobe in some species or pars distalis in humans, secretes MSH, a derived from (POMC) that binds to melanocortin-1 receptors (MC1R) on s, upregulating activity and eumelanin synthesis for darker pigmentation. In individuals with genetically higher melanin baselines, such as those of sub-Saharan African descent, sustained MSH signaling maintains elevated levels; disruption, as depicted, could theoretically halt this, leading to if function persists without stimulation. The episode's causal mechanism aligns with this endocrine pathway, positing the extracted substance as a pituitary-derived MSH analog critical for , though exaggerated for dramatic effect. Empirically, acquired occurs in conditions like , an autoimmune destruction of melanocytes causing white patches more starkly visible on darker tones, affecting 0.5-2% globally with no direct pituitary but illustrating pigmentation's fragility. Other parallels include chemical leukoderma from exposures like monobenzyl ether of , which irreversibly depletes melanocytes, or rare cases where MSH deficiency might subtly lighten , though not to the episode's uniform reversal. These real phenomena underscore that color, while heritable via MC1R variants and polygenic traits, is not fixed but responsive to hormonal, autoimmune, or toxic insults, challenging social constructs overemphasizing it as indelible without biological grounding. The episode's motif thus highlights causal realism in identity: pigmentation as a downstream effect of endocrine integrity, incidental to victims' racial categorization yet pivotal to the predator's survival strategy.

Immigration, Assimilation, and Cultural Preservation

In the episode, the antagonist Samuel Aboah, a recent immigrant from , embodies a rejection of assimilation into American by perpetuating predatory behaviors rooted in West African folklore. Aboah, depicted as afflicted by a condition requiring him to drain from other black men to maintain his own pigmentation and vitality, targets both recent African immigrants and established African-American individuals, framing his actions as an extension of the spirit that sustains his . This intra-racial predation highlights individual agency in cultural retention, where Aboah's adherence to traditional beliefs enables serial killings rather than adaptation to host-country norms, isolating him and exacerbating maladaptive outcomes. The narrative contrasts Aboah's unyielding cultural preservation with the American black community's relative integration, underscoring personal pathology over external societal pressures like . Victims include assimilated African-Americans, such as a young man whose disappearance prompts alarm, revealing Aboah's disdain for those who have ostensibly diluted ancestral ties through . This dynamic privileges causal realism: unintegrated folklore-driven predation persists due to the immigrant's choice to prioritize ethnic rituals, fostering isolation and without invoking victimhood narratives to excuse agency. Empirical patterns in communities show similar risks, where rigid retention of origin traditions correlates with elevated interpersonal conflicts, as individuals resist normative shifts toward individual and legal . Real-world parallels affirm the episode's portrayal without biological determinism, as unassimilated immigrants occasionally import practices like honor killings or female genital mutilation, leading to crimes that clash with host laws. For instance, cases in and the U.S. document immigrant perpetrators invoking cultural honor codes to justify familial violence, reflecting incomplete adaptation rather than inherent criminality. While aggregate data indicate immigrants commit fewer overall crimes than natives, specific unintegrated subgroups exhibit patterns tied to preserved customs, such as intra-community enforcement of traditional norms via violence, emphasizing the need for targeted integration to mitigate such risks without broad excusal. This underscores causal dynamics where cultural fidelity, absent adaptive reasoning, can perpetuate harm in novel environments, as depicted in Aboah's arc.

Scientific and Paranormal Elements

In the episode, Dr. approaches the cases of depigmented victims through empirical medical analysis, initially hypothesizing exposure to synthetic inhibitors or environmental toxins as explanations for the rapid loss of pigmentation. Autopsies, however, reveal surgical-like extractions of the pituitary glands from the victims' brains, debunking drug-induced causes and pointing to deliberate intervention rather than systemic physiological failure. This evidence hierarchy prioritizes observable over speculative chemistry, aligning with Scully's insistence on falsifiable mechanisms grounded in forensic data. Fox Mulder, conversely, incorporates into his framework, positing an invisible entity—termed "Teliko"—as the primary causal agent responsible for targeting the to sustain its own pigmentation needs. He treats the hypothesis as viable until contradicted by superior evidence, viewing the creature's abilities ( and gland extraction) as extensions of undiluted biological imperatives rather than dismissible anomalies. The resolves through direct physical confrontation with the entity, which succumbs to mundane trauma, underscoring a hybrid resolution where integrates with material intervention but lacks independent empirical validation. The pituitary gland's endocrine role in human pigmentation is well-established in ; it secretes (MSH), particularly alpha-MSH, which binds to melanocortin-1 receptors on melanocytes to promote eumelanin synthesis and darken skin. Damage or removal of the pituitary disrupts MSH production, potentially leading to , as observed in clinical cases of . However, no peer-reviewed evidence supports extraction or invisible predators as mechanisms for such effects; observed in the episode aligns more closely with verifiable biological disruptions than causation, favoring interpretations of anomalous over unproven folklore-derived entities.

Reception and Broadcast

Initial Airing and Viewership

"Teliko" originally aired on October 18, 1996, as the third episode of The X-Files' fourth season on the . The episode followed "" in the broadcast schedule and preceded "," maintaining the series' Friday night time slot, which had shifted from its earlier Sunday positioning to broaden appeal during this period of heightened popularity. Upon initial broadcast, "Teliko" drew 18.01 million viewers , corresponding to a Nielsen household rating of 11.3. This figure aligned with the season's strong performance, where episodes typically attracted 18-21 million households amid the show's peak viewership years, supported by cumulative audience retention from prior installments. The metrics reflected Fox's strategic scheduling to capitalize on the series' growing and mainstream traction post its third-season renewal.

Critical Evaluations

Critics have rendered mixed verdicts on "Teliko," commending its atmospheric horror elements and creature design while faulting its reliance on conventional "monster-of-the-week" tropes and underdeveloped subplots. The A.V. Club praised the episode's tight editing and claustrophobic cinematography, which effectively conveyed grim tension through off-putting visuals, particularly in the shocking opening sequence depicting the creature's attack. Reviewers highlighted the innovative premise of a folklore-inspired entity draining human pigmentation via nasal inhalation, marking a departure from typical X-Files adversaries in its visceral, body-horror mechanics. However, detractors argued the narrative adhered too closely to formulaic patterns seen in prior standalone episodes, such as "Squeeze" from season one, with predictable investigative beats and insufficient depth in exploring the immigrant protagonist's or cultural motivations. The episode's for the Teliko creature and pigmentation-loss transformations were noted for their eerie impact, enhancing suspense without relying on overt gore, though some found the pacing sluggish amid procedural elements. Scully's proactive role in medical analysis and fieldwork was viewed as strengthening character dynamics, countering criticisms of passive portrayal in earlier installments. Quantitative metrics reflect this ambivalence: "Teliko" holds an average rating of 6.6 out of 10 on , derived from 4,350 user votes as of recent data. No aggregated critic score appears on for the episode specifically, though season four overall garnered acclaim for production quality. These evaluations underscore achievements in building dread through practical effects and integration against shortcomings in narrative originality and thematic execution.

Audience and Fan Perspectives

Fans of have expressed mixed reactions to "Teliko" on dedicated forums and wikis, with some appreciating its incorporation of authentic involving the teliko spirit, a figure from Mande traditions depicted as an albino entity draining pigmentation. This integration is praised for grounding the monster-of-the-week (MOTW) plot in cultural specificity, though discussions often highlight unease with the episode's portrayal of racial dynamics, such as the albino antagonist targeting Black men. In modern online communities like , retrospective views label the episode as "problematic" or outdated, citing stereotypes around and theft as cringeworthy elements that fail to age well, leading some to skip it on rewatches. Others defend it as overcriticized, arguing the fidelity adds value despite flaws, with one user noting upon rewatch that it holds up as "kind of good" beyond its sensitive plot points. User ratings reflect this divide, averaging 6.6 out of 10 on from over 4,000 votes, positioning it below many season 4 peers. Syndication data indicates sustained interest in MOTW episodes like "Teliko," contributing to the series' long-term rerun popularity, as standalone stories facilitate casual viewing without requiring mythology continuity. Fan polls on platforms such as reinforce a preference for MOTW formats over serialized arcs, with respondents valuing their self-contained nature for replayability and broader appeal. This enduring draw persists despite critiques, evidenced by ongoing discussions in season 4 appreciation threads.

Controversies and Debates

Allegations of Racial Insensitivity

Critics have contended that "Teliko" reinforces harmful stereotypes by centering an immigrant, Samuel Aboah from , as a predatory who drains from African-American victims using a ceremonial to extract pituitary glands, thereby restoring his own pigmentation. This narrative has been described in post-1990s reviews as portraying foreigners from as exotic monsters infiltrating and threatening black communities in the United States. Retrospective analyses from the and have labeled the episode "problematic" for its focus on intra-racial violence, with the Burkinabè perpetrator targeting four African-American men in , a dynamic seen as amplifying tropes of immigrant predation within marginalized groups rather than broader societal threats. The depiction of victims emerging pale and depigmented, resembling albinos, has drawn connections to real stigmas against in African contexts, where individuals with the condition face ritualistic violence and discrimination in countries including , though the episode's monster originates from Mande associating the Teliko spirit with air and occasional albino traits. No primary sources from the production team, such as writer , indicate intent to promote racial bias; Gordon's scripts often engaged social issues like , and the plot derives from documented African mythological motifs rather than fabricated malice.

Defenses and Alternative Interpretations

The episode's defenders maintain that its central conflict arises from the antagonist's personal adherence to superstitious , which causally precipitates harm to others, rather than any depiction of racial animus. The Teliko entity draws from Mande spiritual traditions in , where it functions as a "spirit of the air" occasionally linked to , and the narrative's premise parallels documented real-world practices in , where miners and witch doctors have murdered albinos for body parts believed to confer luck or power, resulting in at least 75 documented killings between 2000 and 2013. This grounding in verifiable cultural elements counters claims of fabrication or exoticization, positioning the story as a cautionary examination of how unexamined beliefs can drive individual criminality irrespective of race. Alternative interpretations emphasize the episode's implicit advocacy for cultural upon , highlighting the tangible costs when harmful traditions persist unchecked. The villain, a immigrant who imports albino-hunting rituals, targets victims within Philadelphia's African-American community, illustrating a failure of assimilation that endangers host societies—analogous to documented cases of honor killings or female genital mutilation among unintegrated groups, where retention of origin-country norms leads to violence. Such readings prioritize causal accountability on the perpetrator's choices over collective racial framing, arguing the critiques superstition's universal dangers without indicting broader demographics. Empirically, allegations of disproportionate African villainy in The X-Files lack support, as the series' mythology antagonists—comprising , , and associated government figures—are overwhelmingly white males embedded in Western power structures. Monster-of-the-week episodes similarly feature diverse perpetrators, but core threats remain rooted in Caucasian-led conspiracies, with non-white villains like the Teliko figure comprising isolated cases rather than a pattern. This aligns the episode with broader horror tropes, such as life-force-draining entities in (e.g., vampires or succubi), repurposed here to explore pigmentation as a biological resource without racial essentialism. Among fans and revisiting viewers, the episode rewards scrutiny for its layered treatment of identity fluidity, where the albino immigrant's "otherness" stems from cultural isolation rather than innate traits, inviting reflection on preservation versus evolution of traditions in multicultural contexts. This perspective reframes potential offense as superficial, urging analysis of how the narrative underscores personal agency in rejecting maladaptive practices for societal harmony.

Broader Cultural Impact

"Teliko" marked one of ' infrequent engagements with West African mythology, adapting the Bambara teliko—a spirit of the atmosphere credited with introducing chaos, flaw, and imperfection into the created order—as a pigment-draining entity. Airing on , , the episode framed this figure within a of and identity, where the teliko, depicted as an albino immigrant from , targets African-American victims to sustain its darkened skin, thereby inverting typical lore to emphasize loss over blood consumption. This incorporation diversified the series' "monster-of-the-week" format beyond predominantly Euro-American or Native American legends, presenting Mande spiritual elements to a mainstream audience accustomed to Western tropes. The adaptation's portrayal of the teliko as a predatory, shape-shifting albino has echoed in broader media examinations of mythological creatures tied to pigmentation disorders, reinforcing associations between albinism and supernatural deviance rather than medical reality. In Bambara oral traditions, the teliko's albinic traits symbolize atmospheric volatility, but the episode's horror emphasis—victims left corpse-white and glandless—prioritizes visceral effects over cultural nuance, a choice critiqued in retrospective analyses for flattening folklore into exotic threat. Such depictions contributed to ongoing media discourse on the of transplantation, where non-Western myths risk exoticization in U.S. television, potentially amplifying viewer curiosity about Mande cosmology while embedding stereotypes of African spiritualism as inherently ominous. The episode's integration of verifiable mythological motifs, like the teliko's air-spirit agency, underscores ' role in hybridizing global legends for , influencing subsequent programming to experiment with underrepresented cosmologies amid authenticity debates.

Legacy and Availability

Influence on The X-Files Series

"Telik o" served as a "monster-of-the-week" episode, independent of the series' overarching mythology, thereby exemplifying the standalone format that interspersed serialized arcs to broaden appeal and sustain viewer engagement. Airing on , 1996, as the third installment of season 4, it featured agents Mulder and Scully investigating deaths linked to pigmentation loss, attributing the phenomenon to an entity from folklore rather than conventional pathology. This approach allowed the series to explore diverse threats without advancing the alien conspiracy narrative, a pattern evident throughout season 4, which bookended mythology episodes with such self-contained stories to maintain narrative variety. The episode reinforced the foundational dynamic between Mulder and Scully, with Scully leveraging her medical expertise—initially summoned by Skinner to assess a potential epidemic—emphasizing empirical autopsy findings and pathogen theories, while Mulder championed intuitive leaps into cultural myths, theorizing the perpetrator as a surviving member of a hidden clan sustaining itself through pituitary extraction. This interplay underscored Scully's role as the rational counterpoint, conducting examinations that dismissed supernatural claims until evidence mounted, and Mulder's persistence in fringe explanations, a tension central to their partnership's evolution across seasons. Subtle motifs of pigmentation alteration echoed in later episodes exploring bodily transformation, though no direct narrative ties emerged. Empirically, "Teliko" contributed to season 4's ratings consistency, drawing viewership comparable to adjacent episodes amid a mythology lull, thus bolstering the season's overall stability without requiring prior arc investment. No sequel directly continued the storyline, but writer Howard Gordon's handling of foreign folklore and immigrant otherness influenced his subsequent standalone scripts, such as "Kaddish" in season 4, which similarly delved into cultural rituals and prejudice through supernatural lenses, refining the series' approach to guest-like external threats via staff contributions.

Modern Reassessments and Media Releases

The episode "Teliko" is included in The X-Files Season 4 collections on DVD, initially released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the early 2000s as part of complete season sets. These were later upgraded to Blu-ray, with the full first nine seasons remastered in high definition and issued in a collector's set on December 8, 2015, featuring improved picture quality over prior DVD versions. Extended collections encompassing Seasons 1-11, including revival material, became available on Blu-ray by 2018, maintaining accessibility for home viewing without specific standalone releases for "Teliko." In the streaming era, "Teliko" has been available via subscription services carrying The X-Files, such as Hulu in the United States and Paramount+ in regions like the UK, Australia, and Canada, with episodes accessible on-demand as part of bundled season packages into the 2020s. Purchase options persist on platforms like , where Season 4 episodes can be bought individually or in sets for $2.99 per episode in HD as of 2025. Syndication continues on cable networks, with airings documented on schedules like TV Insider, contributing to its ongoing visibility without dedicated revivals or remakes. Modern reassessments, primarily from fan and online forums in the and , often revisit "Teliko" through the lens of its 1996-era handling of and racial dynamics, critiquing elements like the portrayal of an African immigrant preying on Americans as perpetuating , though some defend its monster-of-the-week structure and visual effects. For instance, a 2022 episode of The X Files Revisited analyzed its plot intricacies and guest performances, rating it middling while noting effective tension in investigative scenes. discussions as recent as September 2024 question if the episode is "overhated," praising actor Samuel Aboah's portrayal of the creature as a compelling threat despite narrative weaknesses, reflecting a stable but divided fanbase with an user rating hovering at 6.6/10 from over 4,300 votes. These reevaluations lack consensus on prescience to contemporary issues, instead emphasizing dated sensitivities amid broader X-Files revival discourse, with no empirical data indicating shifts in viewership metrics tied specifically to "Teliko."

References

  1. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751214/
  2. https://cleigh6.tripod.com/CTP/CTP-teliko.html
  3. https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/4087-the-x-files/season/4/episode/3?language=en-US
  4. https://tv.apple.com/us/episode/teliko/umc.cmc.6ozsdjnbrs3zna0xjytrih679?showId=umc.cmc.69xg1matxeoyzkwenk39mlqnc
  5. https://them0vieblog.com/2015/02/04/the-x-files-teliko-review/
  6. https://subslikescript.com/series/The_X-Files-106179/season-4/episode-3-Teliko
  7. https://thethreepennyguignol.com/2020/06/04/the-x-files-and-the-monsters-of-that-week-teliko/
  8. https://www.insidethex.co.uk/transcrp/scrp404.htm
  9. https://x-files.fandom.com/wiki/James_Charleston
  10. https://www.reddit.com/r/XFiles/comments/z19x50/the_cinematography_in_the_final_third_of_teliko/
  11. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751214/fullcredits/
  12. https://www.shaenon.com/monsteroftheweek/2014/01/24/01242014/
  13. https://www.them0vieblog.com/2015/02/04/the-x-files-teliko-review/
  14. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751214/locations/
  15. https://xfmarksthespot.tripod.com/season_4.html
  16. https://www.digitalstudioindia.com/production/the-x-files-special-effects-from-practical-masterpieces-to-cgi-evolution-1993-2018
  17. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803125345517
  18. https://occult-world.com/bambara-mythology/
  19. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Myth/MandeMythology
  20. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%257CA175443009&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=00019933&p=AONE&sw=w
  21. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21095532/
  22. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6185843/
  23. https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=honors-theses
  24. https://www.oxfordreference.com/abstract/10.1093/acref/9780195124569.001.0001/acref-9780195124569-e-367
  25. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheXFilesS04E03Teliko
  26. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/burkina-faso-testing-tradition-circular-migration
  27. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0738081X0600054X
  28. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8526081/
  29. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2016/12/5-facts-about-albinism-in-malawi/
  30. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751214/plotsummary/
  31. http://iwanttoreview.blogspot.com/2017/12/case-04-file-03-teliko.html
  32. https://www.yourhormones.info/hormones/melanocyte-stimulating-hormone/
  33. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/210301/
  34. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep14579
  35. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/12419-vitiligo
  36. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/vitiligo-black-skin
  37. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10304091/
  38. https://x-files.fandom.com/wiki/Teliko/Transcript
  39. https://medcraveonline.com/FRCIJ/culturally-motivated-crimes-committed-by-immigrants.html
  40. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/just-reasonable-multiculturalism/murder-and-torture-for-tradition-and-honour/ED2AF293ECDF9768107AC610B0726160
  41. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1414713/
  42. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/law/cultural-defense
  43. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9877097/
  44. https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article-abstract/14/12/1463/2718693
  45. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/disorders-of-the-pituitary-gland
  46. https://x-files.fandom.com/wiki/Teliko
  47. https://x-files.fandom.com/wiki/The_X_Files_Ratings
  48. https://heathsworld.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/x-files-season-4-episode-guide-and-ratings/
  49. https://www.avclub.com/the-x-files-teliko-millennium-dead-letters-1798166168
  50. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751214/reviews/
  51. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_x_files/s04/e03
  52. https://x-files.fandom.com/wiki/Teliko_%28spirit%29
  53. https://www.reddit.com/r/XFiles/comments/1aqcdhn/teliko/
  54. https://www.reddit.com/r/XFiles/comments/1g5g9gu/moments_that_didnt_age_well/
  55. https://www.fanforum.com/f18/x-files-%252Aseason-four%252A-appreciation-thread-7-moral-story-mulder-scully-hate-each-other-myra-63246913/
  56. https://siskoid.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-x-files-76-teliko.html
  57. https://www.reddit.com/r/XFiles/comments/1fm4s12/teliko_overhated/
  58. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-modern-african-studies/article/miners-magic-artisanal-mining-the-albino-fetish-and-murder-in-tanzania/80FCEE7BB458C55CFA074497F7594F0D
  59. https://movieweb.com/x-files-creepiest-villains/
  60. https://www.vox.com/2016/2/2/10894104/x-files-standalone-episode-serialization
  61. https://them0vieblog.com/2015/03/12/the-x-files-kaddish-review/
  62. https://www.amazon.com/Files-Complete-Seasons-1-9-Blu-ray/dp/B01729J1O2
  63. https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-X-Files-The-Collectors-Set-Blu-ray/59724/
  64. https://www.ebay.com/itm/265956838679
  65. https://www.paramountplus.com/gb/shows/video/fE_IwAS7ok6r1QuR0afcy3tRMteh6K7R/
  66. https://www.amazon.com/The-X-files-Season-4/dp/B001DCGKXU
  67. https://www.tvinsider.com/show/the-x-files/
  68. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ztv88eMXJI
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.