10 Iconic TV Characters Who Only Appeared In One Episode
2. Clyde Bruckman - The X-Files
Clyde Bruckman was played in The X-Files by the irreplaceable Peter Boyle, but he’s not the only massive talent attached here.
Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose was written by Darin Morgan, the man behind all time great X-Files episodes Humbug, Jose Chung’s From Outer Space and War Of The Coprophages, as well as the two best revival episodes, Meet The Were-Monster and The Lost Art Of Forehead Sweat.
Morgan’s strangely humorous writing style plus Boyle’s unique characterisations made Clyde Bruckman one of The X-Files’ best ever characters. Boyle won an Emmy for his role, along with Morgan himself winning an Emmy for writing.
The episode deals with a serial killer targeting psychics, with Bruckman himself a psychic, albeit a crotchety and reluctant one. He lacks the typical showmanship of psychics and so Mulder, unusually skeptical of fortune tellers, is curious as to his abilities.
Bruckman’s power is specifically foreseeing the deaths of others, something he first discovered when he knew that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper would die in a plane crash before their untimely death.
Like all the best tragedies, Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose is hilarious, and Peter Boyle’s performance was never bettered on the cult sci fi show.