Burt Reynolds Played God On This Hit '90s Sci-Fi Show

The episode of "The X-Files" called "Improbable" begins with a man murdering a woman in a casino bathroom. Just before the murder, the man, nicknamed Wayno (Ray McKinnon), was talking to a mysteriously benevolent figure played by Burt Reynolds, and the the mysterious figure seemed to know what was about to happen, and entreated Wayno to leave the casino before any violence happened. Hm... 

The episode then spins off into a subplot about numerology. Wayno is an at-large serial killer, and Agent Reyes (Annabeth Gish) begins to see numerical connections between the victims. Reyes teams up with the skeptical Scully (Gillian Anderson), who also finds that there is some hard evidence implicating the killer. In their investigation, they run into the mysterious Burt Reynolds character again, and he only responds to them in a very cryptic fashion. He seems to be friendly enough, but he's very strange. His trunk is full of CDs, as he is a big music fan. He likes to play checkers with friends. In a very far-fetched scene, Scully and Reyes play checkers with the man, and Reyes begins to figure out that the colors of the checkers are a clue as to the hair color of Wayno's next victim.

Naturally, the killer is apprehended, but the identity of this mysterious Burt Reynolds character is never actually explicitly stated. The episode ends with a dramatic camera pull away from the action, up through the streets, up into the sky, settling on a broad shot of the cityscape below. The city seems to look like Burt Reynolds.

It's clear by this point that Burt Reynolds is God. "The X-Files" actually bothered to brush up against the Divine. "Improbable" is one of the show's weirdest episodes. 

Religion had been approached on "The X-Files" before, but it was usually done in a tactful fashion. Most notably, Agent Scully is a Christian who wears a cross around her neck. This stands in contrast with her role on the show as a skeptic, who always tries to find a non-supernatural explanation for the supernatural cases she investigates. She provided a good balance to Agent Mulder (David Duchovny), who believed in aliens, cryptids, psychics, and ghosts ... but not God. The series was analytical about faith, but also respectful, sometimes having open conversations about the role of faith in a mysterious world like "The X-Files."

But to introduce the personage of the Almighty as a casual, smiling, charming dude who plays checkers seems a little anticlimactic. Show creator Chris Carter, of course, was clearly trying to depict God as a generally benevolent figure that, nonetheless, likes to step back and let humans make their own bad decisions. God doesn't stop a serial killer from committing murder, but he does provide a voice in that killer's head imploring him to maybe not do that. God can provide inspiration in our lives, but He cannot just tell us things directly. He prefers to give us hints and clues, keeping us alert at all times. 

"Improbable" is light and even whimsical at times, but it also appears to be a religious text, with Chris Carter arguing that God is present but silent. This is a God that has constructed a world with patterns that can indeed be recognized, but we humans are a little too thick to figure it out at first glance. Indeed, the cycle is almost tragic. God gives us clues, and he's doomed to watch us fail over and over.

"Improbable" was written and directed by show creator Chris Carter, and when he takes the helm, the series can get incredibly weird. He directed the "Tales from the Crypt"-inflected episode "The Post-Modern Prometheus," an episode that he shot in black-and-white. That happens to be one of Gillian Anderson's favorite episodes of the show. He also directed the "Christmas Carol"-themed episode "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas" as well as the video game freakout "First Person Shooter." Carter created one of the most defining texts of the 1990s with "The X-Files" and conceived of a paranoid series about America's post-Cold War milieu, but when he decided to direct, he went a little loopy. 

As such, we might take "Improbable" as Chris Carter's actual views on God. He sees God as Burt Reynolds. Charming, approachable, even recognizable, but almost too benevolent to step in and stop the evil of human beings. After all, He gave us free will, leaving all our own problem-solving up to us. For some, that's the same as God's absence. For others, it may ring as aspirational. "Improbable," however, is so light and funny, Carter may be using the tone to offset any accusations of religious insistence. 

Few people saw "Improbable," as it aired during the 9th season of "The X-Files," after there had been a shift away from Mulder and Scully and toward two new lead characters, Reyes and Agent Doggett (Robert Patrick). As such, most X-Philes might not even know that God appeared. The series ended (for the first time) only six episodes later. I suppose going out with God is a great way to cap a series.