. . "1998-05-03Z"^^ . . "The Pine Bluff Variant"@en . . . "\"The Pine Bluff Variant\" is the eighteenth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It was written by John Shiban and directed by Rob Bowman. The episode aired in the United States on May 3, 1998 on the Fox network. The episode is a \"Monster-of-the-Week\" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology, or fictional history."@en . "5"^^ . . "18"^^ . . .