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.