Mulder Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully Robert Patrick as Special Agent John Doggett Annabeth Gish as Special Agent Monica Reyes Mitch Pileggi as Assistant Director Walter Skinner a Duchovny is featured in the opening credits for the two-part season finale only. He also has a small uncredited cameo in "William", and appears in archive footage in "Trust No 1" and "Jump the Shark". b Pileggi is only credited for the episodes he appears in. Also starring James Pickens, Jr. as Alvin Kersh Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man Recurring cast Cary Elwes as Assistant Director Brad Follmer Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike Bruce Harwood as John Fitzgerald Byers Dean Haglund as Richard Langly Alan Dale as Toothpick Man Guest starring Episodes Episodes marked with a double dagger () are episodes in the series' Alien Mythology arc. Reception Ratings The first episode of the season, "Nothing Important Happened Today", gathered 10.6 million viewers, whereas the second part gathered 9.4 million viewers. On May 19, 2002, the series finale, "The Truth", aired, and the Fox Broadcasting Company confirmed that The X-Files was not being renewed for a tenth season. When talking about the beginning of the ninth season, Chris Carter said, "We lost our audience on the first episode. It's like the audience had gone away, and I didn't know how to find them. I didn't want to work to get them back because I believed what we are doing deserved to have them back." "The Truth" received the highest Nielsen household rating and viewership numbers of the season. It earned a 7.5 rating and gathered 13.25 million viewers in the United States. The loss of viewers resulted in this season seeing a 30 percent ratings drop when compared to the eighth season. Reviews Sabadino Parker from PopMatters, when commenting on the series finale, said, "It's also for the good, because The X-Files has long been but a pale reflection of the show it once was." Brian Linder from IGN was more positive to the ninth season, saying that the series could still have aired if the writers created a new storyline for Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish's character, which The X-Files crew did not do and continued what was seen by many critics as tiresome. Aaron Kinney from Salon magazine was more negative to the new season, even joking about the new female