Humbug

not only on "The X Files", but just generally speaking of television. Rarely has such a twisted plot been so expertly handled and doused with some of the funniest humor you'll find just about anywhere.

The guest stars for this episode are phenomenal, especially Michael J. Anderson as Mr. Nutt (you might recognize him as The Man From Another Place on "Twin Peaks"). I don't want to say too much about the plot in case you haven't seen it yet, but it expertly keeps things under wraps until the final 15 minutes or so.

Direction, writing, sets, and acting combine to make this utter television perfection, one of the finest episodes you could hope to get out of The X Files. Unforgettable.

10/10

Humbug is one of the best episodes of season two. It is the first of four Darin Morgan comedy episodes. Humbug is also the X-Files first foray into comedy. It's not a straight-out comedy like some later episodes, but it has a lot of comedic elements to it. Humbug is littered with great guest star performances, including the late Vincent Schiavelli, The Enigma, and Jim Rose. Humbug is superbly directed by Kim Manners. I love when Scully goes into the museum of curiosities and you never get a straight on shot of the curator's disfigured face. It's either seen in a mirror, a reflection of a pot, his profile, or some other abstract way. I was debating whether to drop this episode to a 9 for the puppet used to play Leonard. It looked a bit fake at times. But I figure it wasn't bad enough to drop this episode a full point. Humbug is so well-rounded with the script, sets, and acting, that you I can't justify knocking off a point. Humbug is a truly excellent episode. When you view it though, be sure to leave an extra five dollar donation.

People should try and watch this episode even if they don't like X-Files. It is like a hidden treasure within the show. The X-Files series has had a habit of leaning towards different genres and this time it ventured into black comedy. The series also has had a reputation for occasional poor writing. Humbug, however, is one of the better written ones.

Within the frame of the show, it acts a much needed comical relief episode. It is one of the few episodes that made me want to watch it twice.

The plot centres around gruesome murders in a sideshow community. The jokes are hit and miss, but overall, it's quite funny and adorable. There are no obvious plot holes and it is genuinely not clear who the killer is until the end.

Not much else to say other than this is one of the better things I've seen on the screen. The writer Darin Morgan had a stroke of genius with this one.

The added humor and 'philosophies' kept it rolling. It's one of the reasons the series lasted so long. Decades later, it's still my guage for measuring any shows of that genre

'Nature abhors normality, maybe some mysteries are never meant to be solved.'

I loved this episode, it was a real change in tone and direction for the series. It was imaginative, it was different, and it was very, very funny.

Sometimes you watch an episode, and yes you're thrilled and entertain, but very rarely do you chuckle, if humour is overused, or is just plain bad it can be a disaster, here it works superbly well.

I loved the guest cast, we had some truly great performances in this episode.

It's very visual, with some great horror moments, I am unable to offer up any criticisms, or find any faults, this has been my favourite of Series two so far. 10/10.