Supernatural Pilot: The X Files meets The O.C. meets Buffy

Within the first ten minutes of the show we see the baby version of Sam react as his mother is immolated on the ceiling of his nursery, while his father saves him and his older brother. Only to be whisked ahead in time about 18 years in the very next scene where we see Sam at college pretty well adjusted, with a girlfriend and probably going to get a full ride next year into law school. When older brother Dean shows up and wants him to come away from all this to find his missing father. On a personal side note, if your famous for playing a character like say oh I don't know, DEAN from Gilmore Girls, then either your character should be called Dean or no one of the main cast should have that name. In the end of the pilot he even refers to his brother as Dean-uh or perhaps Dana Scully.

We find out that the boys have had their share of ghost hunting Buffy-esque missions in the past and Sam is renascent to go look for his Papa because he's got a big interview next Monday and can't miss it. After the promise this will only be a weekend hunt, the boys pull out an arsenal that would make homeland security jump up and take notice and they decide to go and try and save good old dad.

We cut to Jerico, California, where we learn once again that no good deed goes unpunished. This time in the form of having your guts spayed against the inside windows (that's windows plural) of your car.

In the next few scenes we see the boys work on their angst of their collective childhood drama, impersonate federal officers, check out a crime scene and use phony credit cards to buy gas and treats. Not the most promising start for someone who wants to go to law school. Plus the car we saw particulate brain matter scatter in a very Grassy Knoll-esque fashion the night before is perfectly clean and free of any evidence of a struggle, this all seems to culminate with a ghostly game of cat and mouse involving a car and bridge and a very depressed ghost who lost her children in an "accident", we soon find out there is more to this ashen hitchhiker than meets the metaphysical plane, and the hunt is on to find and the boys are on the case to take care of this situation once and for all. A lot of this pilot could have been set in Sunnydale, and plays out very much like a fairly good episode of Buffy.

Steve Railsback from "The Stuntman" and "X-Files" fame plays the grieving husband to the woman in white, his part is short but memorable, if the rest of the series populates itself with such great actors it could be a saving grace.

The resolution, or near reasolution comes with car crashing, ghost hunting and a few borrowed elements from the "Ringu" and "Dark Water" films. Soon the case is solved and we are ready to go back to live a normal life. Unfortunately, when Sam gets home we find his girlfriend is about to end up just like his Mom did in the opening minutes and this leaves him free to go ghost hunting with his wacky brother, James Dean like brother.

Supernatural: The X Files Similarities and References

 It's the Alien week here where we look into interesting facts and tidbits of some favorite tv shows about the extraterrestrial. That being said...

When Supernatural started almost 20 years ago, it was like the X-Files in many ways. Sometimes better, sometimes not so. They really tried to take all of the best aspects of the X-Files, polished them up and set them in a new story that is somehow more unbelievable and at the same time fascinating than all the crazy stuff that happened to Scully and Mulder. Here are some of the similarities between the two shows.
 

Main characters are a duo, one all-in about their mission, the other reluctant
 

In the X-Files, Fox Mulder is a rogue agent who insists on following cases that don't make any sense, based on his finding a bunch of closed but unsolved cases called the X-Files in the basement of the FBI. His superiors are not happy that one of their golden boys has gone more or less nuts-o and partner him up with Dana Scully, a by-the-book, analytical scientist and doctor who doesn't believe in any of the strange things Fox wants to believe in. This dynamic created a great push-and-pull feeling in the show, where you'd watch Scully go from total disbelief to almost belief and back again.

In Supernatural, Sam and Dean Winchester were raised by their father to hunt demons because one k*lled their mother and torched their house when Sam was a baby. Sam, now in college studying to be a doctor, has left that all behind him, hoping to exchange his crazy life for something much more normal. But when his father disappears and Jess is k*lled by the same demon who k*lled his mom, he reluctantly agrees to rejoin his brother Dean on his never-ending demon-hunting mission, with the added quest of finding their father. Sam's reluctance to take part in the demon-hunting aspect is unflagging for the first season, in stark contrast to Dean's near blood-lust. He tries to stay focused on finding their father and each time they stop to track something new, he gets more annoyed. There's nothing quite so fun as watching two brothers snipe at each other as they are fighting literal monsters.

Plot mainly driven by the crazy monsters of the week

 
This one's pretty damn obvious. X-Files is interesting because of all the crazy beings and alien issues Mulder and Scully have while Supernatural is awesome because of how they re-interpret Americana and other mythologies (their take on genies was incredibly unique!) and also, a show full of demons never hurts.


Little stuff eventually adds up to one bigger plot

In the X-Files, it seems for a while that most of the encounters Scully and Mulder have are totally random and unconnected. Eventually, the alien stuff turns out to be all interconnected with each other and with a secret group in the government that is cooperating with them to create an alien-human hybrid, even going so far as to turn their own family members over to the aliens for testing. The struggle with this group and with the aliens drives most of the series.

In Supernatural, the demon stuff also seems very random but it turns out that the demon who k*lled Sam's mom and girlfriend has big evil plans that include people like Sam, whom he gave special powers. Turns out, he's trying to open the gate to hell and let out his army of demons - but wants a human to lead them. All of this leads up to Sam having to fight for his life with the other "contestants" and the desperate search to kill this honcho demon and keep hell at bay.

The main duo constantly cheats death

Scully and Mulder both cheat death in the X-Files as both are abducted by aliens (though not at the same time), Scully gets cancer, Mulder is devoured alive and the list goes on and on. They've got such a tenacious ability to come back, which Sam and Dean share. Both have died of natural and unnatural causes and come back (usually by making deals with demons), but Dean was even brought out of hell itself by an angel of God. Stuff like this can be overplayed sure, but these guys do it with style.

Some notable and very literal References:

• Season One, Episode One:

"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully." Dean says it to the officers as him and Sam are walking away from the crime scene on the bridge.

• Season Two Episode Seven:

Dean calls Sam "Scully". This exchange happens at a cafe when during the first flash back of their “cover story” to the cops. Sam “I’m not Scully. You’re Scully.”
Dean “Nah, I’m Mulder. You’re a red headed woman."

• Season Three Episode Eleven

In the episode Mystery Spot Dean says "It seems a little too “X-Files” to me." to Sam on one of the many Tuesdays that Sam has had to live through when Sam is trying to explain to Dean what is happening. Dean is referencing the episode of the X-Files named Monday which references the movie Ground hog day.

• Season Four Episode Five

In the episode Monster Movie Jaimie, Dean and Sam are in the bar right after they just discovered that the monster they are hunting is a shapeshifter. Jamie says: So you guys are like Mulder and Scully or something and the X-Files are real? to which Dean responds: No. The X-Files is a tv show. This is real.

Supernatural has even more crossovers with The X Files, including actors and directors who worked on both shows. More on that in one of the next posts.

The X Files 124 The Erlenmeyer Flask Facts, Trivia, Goofs & Description

 Dp Thoat tips Mulder to a critically important case involving a missing fugitive and the cloning of extraterrestrial viruses.

Trivia

• The lab on Pandora Street is a clear reference of the myth of Pandora's Box, where all humanity's evils were contained and then unleashed.
• The climax of each season for the first five years is directed by R.W. Goodwin.
• The Silence of the Lambs is credited with inspiring several of the themes used in season 1 of the X Files. In this episode, when Mulder & Scully are talking to Captain Lacerio, Mulder questions why there would be 3 different law enforcement agencies hunting a man who was originally stopped for a moving violation, to which Captain Lacerio responds, "I know it's not Silence of the Lambs, but it's what we do".
• The "purity control" sample Mulder finds in the lab and gives to Scully is actually in an Erlenmeyer flask (hence the title). However a flask for biological samples would have a screw-cap closure, not a ground-glass stopper (like the prop shown). The latter type of stopper can't protect biological samples from contamination by environmental bacteria.
• Ken Kramer, the doctor in the lab in this episode, is a reoccurring actor in the series, this being his first of three appearances.
• This episode takes place from May 8 to May 26, 1994.
• At 20mins 51secs, the film makers perform a Dolly Zoom in-camera effect on Mulder.

spoilers

• This is the last appearance of Dp Thoat alive. After this episode, he reappeared at separate occasions in flashbacks and dream sequences.
• When Jerry Hardin received his copy of the script, it included a note on the front from Chris Carter saying "No one really dies on The X-Files."
• The closing scenes are almost identical to the closing scenes of Pilot (1993). Scully is in bed and sees her digital clock turn from 11:21 to 11:22. Mulder calls and they talk. The scene cuts to The Cigarette Man, who places an object in the vast Pentagon vault. Both episodes end with the door of the vault slamming shut and the camera showing the sign on the door: "In Case Of Fire Or Emergency / Know Your Exits / PENTAGON / Evacuation Procedure."
• The Fox Network was very against the season ending with the closure of the X-Files department as they figured that audiences would think the show had been canceled.
• This is the first time in the series that an alien body is shown.
• Dp Thoat was k*lled on May 13, 1994. This was the same day that this episode originally aired.

Goofs

• After waking Scully up, Dr. Carpenter then goes on to explain the basics of genes and base pairs. As a medical doctor, Scully would already know about this, as it's basic high school biology.
• When Scully attempts to gain entrance to the holding facility where the alien body is being kept, she hears a security guard ask her for the "Project Password" through a speaker grate. If you look closely, embossed on the bottom of the grate it says, "Cold Water Only". Apparently this grate was appropriated from another source and wasn't a speaker grate at all.
• The police chase involves a Buick Century as the suspect's car. However, when Mulder asks the alleged owner (Dr. Berube) about his car, they mention that it is a Ciera (Oldsmobile), a different car altogether, though it was built on the same platform. What's more, the Buick that is shown is clearly from the late eighties (1988 at the latest) judging from the headlight style. Scully and Mulder determine that one of the two identical cars belong to a rental agency and it is extremely unlikely that a 6-year old (or more) car would have been kept in a rental agency's fleet.
• In the picture of the suspect's car captured from the video, the license plate is clearly visible prior to Mulder having it "enhanced", after seeing the replacement car in police custody. Mulder even comments that the plate "isn't visible" even though it's been clearly shown on the screen moments prior.
• In the early part of the police chase, we see the suspect's car crossing a railroad track; a CN (Canadian National) logo is clearly visible on the approaching locomotive. The chase supposedly takes place in Maryland and the CN's network, even in its American network, does not go close to Maryland.
• Dr Berube allowing two strangers (Mulder and Scully) into an animal research facility without protective gear (to minimize the risk of human-borne pathogens) is a major safety violation. However, the research company is later revealed to be involved in shady dealings, so this could be a deliberate character error on the producer's part.

The X Files 123 Roland Trivia, Facts, Goofs & Description

 When scientists at an aeronautics lab die under mysterious circumstances, the agents suspect a mentally challenged janitor may be the culprit.

Trivia

• Zeljko Ivanek was the first actor to read for the part of Roland. Chris Carter was blown away and decided almost immediately to cast him.
• Director David Nutter considered this the weakest of the six scripts he directed in the first season (to be fair, he had also helmed Ice (1993) (1x8) and Beyond the Sea (1994) (1x13), the two high water marks of Season 1). Nutter was thankful that he had such a strong guest actor in the form of Zeljko Ivanek to help sell in what he considered to be weaker material.
• The quote paraphrased by Dr Nollette ("If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants") is commonly attributed to Sir Isaac Newton.
• This was the third episode in close proximity in the first season to feature the concept of resurrection in a different body, following Lazarus (1994) (1x15) and Born Again (1994) (1x22).
• Kerry Sandomirsky who appears as Tracy would go on to play the character Joanne in the season three episode 2Shy (1995).
• Canadian 1990's Sci-Fi show PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal (1996), which borrowed many plot elements and story ideas from the show, borrows some elements of the episode for their own episode John Doe (1999).

spoilers

• In this episode it is revealed that Scully has two brothers, one older and another younger than her, but she doesn't speak about her sister.

Goofs

• When Dr. Nollette is in the wind tunnel, at times his fingers gripping the screen are curled tightly around the mesh; at other times they are straight, affording him no grip against the fan's pull.
• On Mulder and Scully's third visit to Mahan Propulsion Laboratory, they are both seen wearing visitor's passes. Mulder's pass has the number 23 in the top right corner while Scully's pass has the number 11. However, during one camera cut from Mulder to Scully, Scully is suddenly wearing the number 23 pass and Mulder is wearing 11.
• Turbine engines will sustain heavy damage if an animal is sucked into them. An object as large as a full grown man would cause catastrophic damage and require serious repair before it was operational again. It does not seem that enough time had passed for that to happen in this episode.
• Wind speeds of 60+ can uproot trees and blow the roofs off of buildings. The first victim caught in the wind tunnel was still standing at nearly mach 2. At sea level, mach 1 is equal to 761.2 mph. It is impossible for anyone to stand in such high winds.
• The obituary that Scully reads states that Dr. Crabill completed his doctorate and post-doctoral work at Harvey Mudd. However, Harvey Mudd College only offers undergraduate degrees.

spoilers

• After Dr Keats' death, while the forensics team is gathering evidence, the floor at the crime scene is spotless and marked with the position of the doctor's remains. Given the nature of his death, there should have been a lot of blood after the remains thawed, and it would not have been so thoroughly cleaned up before the forensics team completed their inspection.

The X Files 122 Born Again Facts, Trivia, Goofs & Description

 An 8-year-old girl is the prime suspect in a series of bizarre, seemingly unrelated deaths.

Trivia

• David Duchovny has openly stated that he hates this episode.
• Gillian Anderson was pregnant with her first child in the latter stages of Season 1. This is probably the first episode in which it's fairly obvious that she's expecting, with a pronounced use of trenchcoats to cover up her baby bump.
• Maggie Wheeler and David Duchovny previously dated.
• David Duchovny and Maggie Wheeler were both born August 7th, but he is one year senior.
• Guest star Brian Markinson would appear again in the series in the Season 5 episode, Folie a Deux (1998).
• Detective Lazard mentions that she heard about Mulder and Scully thanks to their work on the Tooms case in Tooms (1994).
• Guest actresses Mimi Lieber and Maggie Wheeler would both go on to make noteworthy appearances in "Friends": Lieber as one of Joey's 7 sisters, and Wheeler in the recurring role of Chandler's whiny sometime-girlfriend Janice.
• This case occurs in Buffalo New York.

Goofs

• When the fish-tank exploded, loads of water is splashing everywhere. But when the camera close-up at the ground, the floor is dry.
• When Scully reads the post-mortem report, she reads out a note "marked bradycardia" suggesting "drowning in sea water". Bradycardia is a slow heart rhythm. There's no such thing as an irregular heart rhythm of a deceased person who is a subject to autopsy.
• Buffalo does not have a Chinatown.
• At around 10:00, when Mulder is talking to Dr. Sheila Braun, she references "dissociative disorders," in this case likely referencing Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder), going by the DSM-IV. Mulder replies, "as in schizophrenia," to which she nods in agreement. Psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia, are often confused with Dissociative Identity Disorder, but have little to do with each other. Schizophrenia is "a mental disorder characterized by a breakdown of thought processes and by poor emotional responsiveness." However, the dr*g Michelle is put on (Thorazine) is commonly used to treat various psychotic disorders.
• In the final act when the fish tank exploded and jettisons glass everywhere, Michelle hadn't moved, so when there is a close up of her feet and she moves away, there is shattered glass under her feet, something which is obviously not possible if she hadn't moved.
• In the opening scene, a detective finds a lost girl in the alleyway. The next scene she brings the child back to the station and puts her in the room to be interviewed by a older male investigator, alone. This scene takes place in 1994 and it would have been against guidelines to have a child in a room with anyone with out guardianship assigned by the courts to represent them. At the very least, two people must be presented to do the interview.
• The corpse blinks quite noticeably during an autopsy.
• The corpse's abdomen moves during autopsy in two different shots.
• Although the scene at about 43 minutes was supposed to be at night, when the lights went out in the house, there was daylight showing through the window.
• Michelle Bishop (Andrea Libman) is wearing the same sweater that young Samantha Mulder (Vanessa Morley) used in a photograph from 1972 when she was 8 years old (Little Green Men (1994) and The X Files (1998) ).
• When the man gets his tie trapped in the bus door, the driver of the bus is a different driver. This happens when the camera changes from the side door of the bus to the front windscreen view while the bus is in motion.
• When the scarf is wrapped around the hand rail of the bus, and in the following scenes, you can see the other end of the scarf hanging down his shirt. Why would he have not been able to just remove the scarf?

spoiler

• At the culmination of the story when Michelle is wreaking psychokinetic havoc in Tony Fiore's living room. Fiore starts talking to her as though he understands that she is Charlie Morris, his former partner, reincarnated. But how could he possibly know that? He's never seen Michelle before, so he has no idea of her involvement in the case, and never was privy to any of Mulder's theories of something paranormal going on. As far as he knows Nichelle is just a random girl with strange powers who showed up at his house. He has no reason at all to think she has any connection to Charlie, let alone that she actually IS him.
• 21:13 mins in (netflix version) when the detective steps off the bus and has his scarf ghostly lift up and get trapped in the doors and he gets dragged, we see that the bus driver is a young black man, however at 21.53/54 the front shot of the bus shows a middle age white man driving the bus.
• When Mulder goes to break the glass on the door around 39:30, he hands Scully his g*n from his right hand. He's holding a flashlight in his left. Either option would have been a better choice to break the glass, rather than his elbow that he uses.
• Around 24:50 Mulder and Scully are looking at an evidence checkout log. There's a column indicating the department of the person checking out the evidence. There are 2 department entries, "Fellonius Crime". Felonius is spelled with a single "l".

The X Files 121 Tooms Trivia, Facts, Goofs & Description

 Eugene Tooms, a supernatural k*ller whom Mulder helped incarcerate, is released on parole.

Trivia

• Walter Skinner's debut appearance.
• The bile-like substance coating Tooms and his nest was actually yellow piping gel, which stuck to the cast members' skin and pulled out hair upon removal.
• For his final scenes, Doug Hutchison performed nude. As scripted, Tooms was supposed to emerge from his "cocoon" wearing his animal control uniform, but Hutchison thought that made no sense.
• First time Smoking Man William B. Davis has any on-screen lines.
• When Scully calls him Fox, it is learned that Mulder does not like his first name, even having his parents call him Mulder.
• Glynis Davies who appears as Defense Counsel Nelson would go on to star in further episodes of The X-Files (1993), playing Ellen Brumfield in Irresistible (1995) (season 2) and Monica in 2Shy (1995) (season 3).
• Squeeze (1993), the first part of Tooms, was so amazing that Doug Hutchison wrote a script himself and presented it to Chris Carter. James Wong and Glen Morgan, the original writers, did it instead.
• The movie playing when Mulder is asleep on the couch is The Fly (1958).
• Timothy Webber who appears as Detective Talbot would go on to star in further episodes of The X-Files (1993); playing Jess Harold in Our Town (1995) (season 2) and Dr. Paul Farraday in Quagmire (1996) (season 3).
• In the car outside Tooms' house Mulder explains to Scully that he's listened to a Phillies game, an Orioles game and 4 hours of Baba Booey. The latter is a reference to The Howard Stern Show which was very popular in the 90s, as the radio show was syndicated in more markets nationwide. Baba Booey was the kick name of the show's producer Gary Dell'Abate.
• Aired the night 37th US President Richard Nixon died at age 81.

spoilers

• Among other things, this episode is famous because of the conversation of the car, aka TCotC, as far as the fans clearly read the subtext in it as Scully telling Mulder that she loved him. Because of this, iced tea is synonymous of love in the fandom.
• The last scene in which Mulder says that he feels something is about to change is a spooky forecasting of the things that will come soon.

Goofs

• Tooms is released after a year yet his apartment has been demolished and a new building has been constructed in its place. It is unlikely such an intricate structure could be created and opened in one year.
• In episode three of this series, when the sheriff sees the newspaper declaring Tooms has been sent to prison, he rips out the text, separating it from the photograph of Tooms. However in this episode, the sheriff is seen looking at the same removed piece, but with the photograph. (In episode 3, you see the sheriff START to rip the newspaper. However, when they show it being separated from the picture, it's in Tooms' hand. He ripped it for his cocoon/nest. They never show how the sheriff rips the paper, he could have very easily torn the paper across the top of the article. This would have made the tear go around the article and not through it. The sheriff going around the article makes more sense since he told Fox & Dana that he had waited for 25 years for someone to ask him about the case.)
• A body encapsulated in cement would remain conserved in a relatively good condition. The remains found in the concrete floor however, consist merely of bones.
• When the police come to Mulder's home, they enter without asking his permission, and seize evidence without presenting a warrant.
• In the scene with Tooms' dental radiographs, an anatomical "full mouth series" (FMX) is depicted, however all of the films are in a random order, not anatomically correct.
• When the victim enters his car, it is shown from Tooms' mutant vision perspective, where only the target is in color and everything else is not. In the previous scene - as the guy was walking to the car - it was indeed red.
• As Mulder enters the escalator shaft to search for Tooms, you can see the reflection of a red LED on the filming camera reflecting off of polished metal surfaces.
• Twice we see Tooms being alerted by someone wearing blue (a woman in a blue coat and a man in a blue suit) as possible prays so much so that the rest of the image around these two characters turns black and white. Still, at the end he will jump on the psychologist not wearing anything blue, that he knows for years and in its room which will direct any suspicions towards him who is supposed to be so careful.

The X Files 120 Darkness Falls Facts, Trivia, Goofs & Description

 A group of loggers working in a remote forest unearths thousands of deadly insectlike creatures that paralyze and cocoon their victims. Scully, Mulder and a few others end up trapped there.

Trivia

• This was intended to be a bottle episode, based in a single location to save money, but bad weather plagued production. It was one of the toughest episodes of the season for the crew. The weather delayed production so much that pick-up shots and inserts had to be filmed later on to finish. Delays were also caused by the inaccessibility of the location because only generators, camera equipment, and first aid crew were able to stay on-site, and time was wasted commuting staff in each day.
• Jason Beghe is one of David Duchovny's best friends. They studied together and worked together as bartenders and as actors.
• During this episode, Gillian Anderson was often sick due to her pregnancy.
• The episode received the 1994 Environmental Media Award (EMA) for Best Environmental TV Episode.
• Jason Beghe and David Duchovny would go on to co-star alongside each other in several episodes of Californication (2007).
• This is the first of three times that Jason Beghe and Titus Welliver worked together. The others are Finders Keepers (2007) and Ghosts (2018).
• The helicopter seen during the rescue at the end is a Hughes 500C (model 369). The latest model is known as the MD530F.

Goofs

• When Humphreys goes back to the truck to "get on the horn" he hot wires the truck. When he tries to leave it's overlooked that there is still a flat tire on the truck.
• Mulder and Scully are in the Olympic Mountains, Mulder makes a comment that the bugs in the tree could be the result of a volcanic eruption. The Olympic Mountains are not volcanic and the Mt. St. Helen's eruption of 1980 blew ash east, away from the Olympics.
• As trained FBI agents neither Scully nor Mulder would have allowed a civilian to carry a firearm around when they were investigating a potential crime scene.
• They wouldn't have known either his mental state, nor his culpability (if any) involving the possible crime. Additionally, if he was injured or even k*lled by his own weapon, they would have been held responsible for it as they didn't know if he was trained in the use of the weapon.
• Around 00:40:22, the quarantine team arrives and you see a man open the car door but his quarantine suit ends above the wrist. He has an exposed skin between his glove and the suit.
• A close-up of the mysterious bugs is obviously archive footage of aphids.
• When Humphreys touches the felled Douglas fir, the prop bark flexes under his fingers.
• At 11:33, a full-on view of the victim shows pale gray skin, with a normal size mouth opening...at 11:45 the victim is shown in a fetal-type position and has a pronounced pinker/flesh colored tinge and appears more decayed, with a wider mouth opening showing back molars.
• The fallen tree where they took the core sample was called a Douglas fir, but the bark resembles a Sitka spruce tree.
• Although Olympic Mountains (themselves on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State) cover a vast area (3,600 square miles, about the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined) it's not uninhabited and it certainly isn't so remote that any of its towns are more than one hours driving time from any other location.
• It certainly wouldn't take a "four hour drive" as stated by the Forestry Service ranger to get anywhere on the peninsula from any other location.
• Plot holes
• If the insects are prevented from swarming by light shining on them, how would they swarm on Spinney, when he's standing in front of the car's lights?
• The bugs do not swarm in light - it does not cross anyone's mind to actually light a bonfire - after all they are in a wood with newly felled trees and branches all around them.
• Mulder can only send a brief distress message with the radio due to the necessity to turn off the generator to save fuel for the night. He could, however, have used the radio as much as he wanted during the night, when the generator was running normally.
• Scully says the first insects appeared around 600 million years ago. However, insects did not evolve until 400-450 million years ago. 600 million years ago, no animals existed at all on the land, and the very first terrestrial plant life was only just appearing. Anyway, she herself admitted not being an expert about insects.