19. Squeeze (Season 1, Episode 3)
"Is there any way I can get it off my fingers quickly without betraying my cool exterior?" - Fox Mulder
By the third episode, Agent Scully is already getting a reputation for working with "Spooky" Mulder. Nevertheless, Tom Colton--a friend from the FBI Academy--seeks her helping in solving a homicide in which victims are murdered while alone in rooms locked from the inside and with impossibly small openings providing the only access from outside. Tensions rise when Mulder and Scully realize that such serial murders have been happening periodically over several decades, and the derided X-Files unit must face off against the esteemed Violent Crimes division as they try to catch a killer before he hits his quota of victims. "Squeeze" is the first of the standalone cases, known to fans as MOTW (Monsters Of The Week). It is the first X-File that does not revolve around aliens or government conspiracies, rather following a paranormal murderer of this world who seems to be able to get to anyone...anywhere. Mulder's and Scully's partnership continues to develop, and the "us-against-the-world" mentality that will become a prominent theme for the intrepid agents gets its first nod, making "Squeeze" one of the best episodes of Season 1.