Wollaeger wrote one freelance episode. Special guest writers for this season included author Stephen King, who co-wrote one episode with creator Chris Carter, and cyberpunk novelists William Gibson and Tom Maddox, who wrote their first of two episodes for the series. Other producers included producer Joseph Patrick Finn, producer Paul Rabwin, and co-producer Lori Jo Nemhauser who previously served as post-production supervisor. Producing-director Kim Manners directed the most episodes of the season, directing seven. Producer Rob Bowman, executive producer R. W. Goodwin, and series creator Chris Carter, each directed two episodes. The rest of the episodes were directed by Brett Dowler, Peter Markle, Daniel Sackheim, Ralph Hemecker, Cliff Bole, William A. Graham and Allen Coulter, who each directed one episode. Cast Main cast Starring David Duchovny as Special Agent Fox Mulder Gillian Anderson as Special Agent Dana Scully a She does not appear in "Unusual Suspects" or "Travelers". Also starring Mitch Pileggi as Deputy Director Walter Skinner William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man Nicholas Lea as Alex Krycek Recurring cast Guest cast Episodes Episodes marked with a double dagger () are episodes in the series' Alien Mythology arc. Reception Ratings The fifth season of The X-Files debuted with "Redux I" on November 2, 1997. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 16.1, with a 22 share, meaning that roughly 16.1 percent of all television-equipped households, and 22 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. The episode was viewed by 27.34 million people, a marked increase from the fourth season's finale, "Gethsemane", which was viewed by 19.85 million viewers. "Redux I" also marked a drastic increase from the fourth season debut, "Herrenvolk", which garnered 21.11 million viewers. As the season continued, however, ratings began to drop slightly, stabilizing around approximately 20 million viewers-per-episode. The season hit a low with the seventeenth episode, "All Souls", which was viewed by 13.44 million viewers. The season finale, "The End", earned a Nielsen rating of 11.9, with an 18 share, and was viewed by 18.76 viewers, marking a 31.4 percent drop in viewers when compared to the season premiere, and a 5.5 percent drop in viewers when compared to the previous season finale. The season ranked as the eleventh most watched television series during the 1997–98 year, with an average of 19.8 million viewers. This made it the highest-rated season of The X-Files to air as well as the highest