Factual error: In this episode, Mulder says, "In 1996, a rock from Mars was found in Antarctica." The rock ALH84001 was found in 1984, and the announcement that it may contain life came in 1996. (00:17:55)
Factual error: This episode begins with Scully doing a voice-over about the incredible nature of our universe. The scene is very impressive visually, and would have been from the aspect of her oral presentation had it not been for a major error in the script. She says (more than once) that the universe is made up of matter and gas. This should have been "matter and energy". Gas is a form of matter.
Answer: As he stated many times throughout the series, Mulder needed Scully to be sober and skeptical. Whenever Scully's skepticism wavered and she started questioning her own rationality, Mulder would try to restore her sense of skepticism, because he needed her to be clear-thinking.
Charles Austin Miller