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 the Limerick:

A circus attraction gone wrong

Sticks his head where it doesn't belong

Making its killings

Now the Enigma its filling

And the Fiji Mermaid has moved along.

Humbug is the first comedy episode of the series written by Darin Morgan who would later bring us a few other great episodes including my favorite overall of the series "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose". A humbug is another word for a sideshow attraction which is exactly what the entire episode is about. The idea of having a trailer park where a bunch of circus freaks all live allows for all kinds of great comedic opportunities. I think one of the things I like most about this is how Mulder's humor is allowed to come out in this episode. Probably one of the better characters is the Conundrum "big jigsaw tattooed naked guy". In other words, great writing and great actors = great episode. 10/10.

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

The writing in season 2 is often, surprisingly, weaker than it was in season 1. And yet here with Humbug, we finally see the show find its voice. The X-Files could always do a Men in Black, Alien Mythos episode, Chris Carter always knew what he wanted from those, but everything else was a little bit shaky.

Here is an episode that relies entirely on its writing (admittedly with some pretty good guest actors appearing all the same) to achieve its success. It's funny, it's weird, it's a monster of the week, and it delivers everything you want from The X-Files. Of course it's always easier to note what doesn't work when reviewing a bad episode, than to recognize what does work when reviewing a good episode, but at least I can tell you, it does work.

Unlike the invisible elephant episode, new characters don't pile on pointless sub-plots or miscellaneous information, they're just there to entertain. The mid-episode revelation that the town sheriff was once a popular dog boy merely leads to Mulder and Scully feeling embarrassed about digging up his magical potato. And the real killer reveal is exactly what you were hoping for, ridiculously stupid sure, but so fun and awesome, and in sticking with the episodes theme, that it works perfectly.

Episodes like Beyond the Sea were great by leaning on acting talent, episodes like Young at Heart were good by relying on a police procedural formula competently executed, but this episode is the first episode that really reminded me of the feeling I get when somebody mentions The X-Files.

You gotta love it when The X Files steps outside of itself, going beyond the usual to do something different. In the episode "Humbug" we get to see an excellent example of that as it tackles the world of so-called sideshow freaks. Of course it does so with a paranormal slant, but that is patently downplayed here and the absurdity of some condition, of what is perhaps a super-mutant type,yet human, creature, is ran with in a very creative way. And, not that The X Files never injects humor, I mean the whole Lone Gunmen spin off certainly substantiates that, but here we get it at a frequency and at inappropriate times which only makes it more present in a low-key brilliant way.

The whole premise of the story is interesting as there really is a Gibsonton Florida which grew into a home away from the road for countless side show performers. Not only that, but the additions to the cast of town inhabitants and current "freakshow" performers is "spot-on" as far as adding mysterious credibility to an otherwise too outlandish story ( I personally usually like X-Files best when the stories have just enough credibility to be only improbable, not impossible). The performances of true-life "freaks" Jim Rose and The Enigma really nail down "Humbug" catapulting it into one of my top two or three season two episodes. The late, and truly great, character actor Vincent Schiavelli brings what he does best in his limited role here too.

All in all, this is an excellent episode that proves if guest writers, such as Darin Morgan who is credited here, are let to allow their creative juices to flow X-Files doesn't have to be constrained by anything alien related. Recommended.