The Post-Modern Prometheus Universal monster movies in general and James Whale's 1931 Frankenstein in particular". In the 1999 FX Thanksgiving Marathon, containing fan-selected episodes, "The Post-Modern Prometheus" was presented as the "Best Stand-Alone Episode". Connie Ogle from "The Miami Herald" named The Great Mutato one of "the greatest monsters" that were featured on "The X-Files". Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book "Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen", rated the episode two stars out of five and criticized various elements of the episode's direction. They wrote, "Chris Carter the writer has come up with
The Post-Modern Prometheus as a snake handler on the set of "The X-Files" feature film—the shooting of which overlapped that of season five—and the other worked at a Vancouver coffee shop that Carter frequented. Chris Owens played the Great Mutato, and to many, he was unrecognizable in heavy makeup. Owens had played a younger version of The Smoking Man in two episodes of season four and was later cast as the recurring character of FBI special agent Jeffrey Spender. During his audition, Owens noted, "Chris said, 'Okay, did you ever see "Elephant Man"? ... What I'm looking for is dignity. He's got dignity.