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Humbug (The X-Files)
Encyclopedia
"Humbug" is the twentieth episode of the second season
of American science fiction television series The X-Files
. It was written by Darin Morgan
and directed by Kim Manners
. Morgan had previously appeared in a guest role as the Flukeman in an earlier episode of that season called "The Host
". "Humbug" aired in the United States on March 31, 1995 on the Fox
network. It was the first explicitly comedic episode in the series and Morgan wrote three more scripts for the series that continued his comic take on the show.
The show centers on FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder
(David Duchovny
) and Dana Scully
(Gillian Anderson
) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-File
s. In this "monster of the week
" episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a series of murders in a community of former circus sideshow performers. According to critical analysis of the episode, "Humbug" explored themes of "Other
ness" and difference. Guest stars included real-life sideshow performers Jim Rose
and The Enigma, as well as actors Michael J. Anderson
and Vincent Schiavelli
. "Humbug" was nominated for an Edgar Award
and a Cinema Audio Society Award
. It received generally positive reviews and critics appreciated Morgan's different writing style.
, to investigate a 28-year series of attacks by an unknown assailant in a community of former circus sideshow performers. Among the people they meet are "self-made freaks" human blockhead
Dr. Blockhead (Jim Rose
) and his "geek
" sidekick The Conundrum (The Enigma), who will eat anything, but says nothing.
Mulder and Scully stay at the Gulf Breeze trailer court, whose name is a reference to the 1987 Gulf Breeze UFO incident
, also mentioned in season 1 episode, "Fallen Angel". Here, they meet the distrustful manager Mr. Nutt (Michael J. Anderson
), and Lanny (Vincent Schiavelli
), an alcoholic with an underdeveloped conjoined twin named Leonard. The agents hear a story about the legendary Fiji mermaid
, a common sideshow act in the 19th century that generally turned out to be a monkey with a fish tail attached—the "humbug
" referred to by the episode's title. Despite Scully's skepticism, Mulder is intrigued because of what look like simian
tracks left by the mystery attacker.
They eventually discover that the attacker is Lanny's twin, Leonard, who is able to detach himself from Lanny's body. According to Lanny, Leonard attacks people and attempts to burrow into them because he is looking for a new brother to replace Lanny. While Leonard has made one of his escapes, Lanny dies from liver damage. Mulder and Scully try to capture Leonard, but he gets away. They find The Conundrum lying on the ground, rubbing his stomach, apparently having been attacked by Leonard. As Dr. Blockhead prepares to leave town with The Conundrum, he comments to Scully that with modern science eradicating genetic anomalies, it will be up to self-made freaks like him to remind people that "nature abhors normality". The Conundrum looks unwell and Mulder asks what the matter is. The Conundrum—in his only line of the episode—replies, "probably something I ate".
"Humbug" was written by Darin Morgan
; it was his first script for the series. Earlier in the second season, he appeared in the second episode "The Host
" as the Flukeman. He also helped his brother Glen Morgan
—already a regular writer on The X-Files—with the script for the following episode, "Blood
". Series creator Chris Carter offered Darin Morgan a permanent place on The X-Files writing team, which he reluctantly accepted. Morgan said he was uncomfortable initially, stating "One of the reasons I was uncomfortable joining the staff is that I'm a comedy writer and this isn't a comedy show, so I was trying more or less to have an episode with a little bit of humor, without telling anybody what I was doing." Glen suggested that he write an episode about sideshow freaks. Before writing the episode Darin Morgan watched a tape of Jim Rose's circus sideshow
and subsequently cast Rose and The Enigma as Dr. Blockhead and The Conundrum, respectively. Other guest stars were Twin Peaks
regular Michael J. Anderson
as Mr. Nutt and Vincent Schiavelli
as Lanny.
Morgan's script turned out to be the most comedic episode of the series so far. The departure from The X-Files usual style made some of the crew, including director Kim Manners
, uncomfortable, and some of the more explicitly comic scenes were cut. After "Humbug", Morgan went on to write three more comedy-infused stories for the show: "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
", "War of the Coprophages
" and "Jose Chung's From Outer Space"
. David Duchovny later commented, "what I loved about his scripts was that he seemed to be trying to destroy the show."
" of its exploration of "Other
ness"; from the start it challenges the characters'—and viewers'—assumptions about difference. In the teaser
, what appears to be a monster is in fact a suburban father and eventual murder victim. When Mulder and Scully are quick to suspect the freak show performers of murder, Dr. Blockhead, a self-made freak and "postmodern celebration of difference", confronts their prejudice and bemoans a future with no genetic anomalies. The agents, with their conventional appearance are considered outsiders, and are quickly (and correctly) judged to be working for the FBI. According to Booker, the freak show characters from the episode exemplify the concept of the Other. He contrasts the perspective of "Humbug", which celebrates Otherness, with that of The X-Files overall in which "Other" is generally synonymous with danger and evil, much like Leonard. Despite this association between difference and malevolence generally found in The X-Files, the show meets the audience's need for difference and diversity, in its sheer number of strange and different characters. This need for something beyond everyday existence is mirrored by the main characters in Mulder's "wanting to believe" in the paranormal and Scully's Catholic faith. In "Humbug", this is highlighted by Dr. Blockhead's argument that the freaks add a richness to life that will be eliminated by genetic advancements.
According to Rhonda Wilcox and J. P. Williams in "What Do You Think? The X-Files, Liminality, and Gender Pleasure", "Humbug" is about "difference, sex, and looking". Regarding The X-Files as a whole, they say that the relationship between Mulder and Scully is non-sexual and "quasi-marital". Although sharing a degree of intimacy that allows them to share each other's space, they avoid a sexual or objectifying gaze: "They look into each other's eyes and argue ideas, rather than gazing at each other's bodies." This status quo
is challenged in this episode as the objectifying gaze is highlighted and deconstructed, although not between the partners themselves. According to Wilcox and Williams, a key scene involves Agent Scully and Lanny. When Lanny goes to wake Scully in her trailer one morning, he catches a glimpse of her breasts; she inadvertently exposes herself as she in turn catches sight of Lanny's uncovered parasitic twin; "each gaze involves the objectification of difference". This objectification is emphasized by the fact that Scully's body is not normally revealed in this way.
network. In its original broadcast it was watched by 9.8 million households, according to the Nielsen ratings
system. It received a 10.3 rating/18 share among viewers meaning that 10.3 percent of all households in the US, and 18 percent of all people watching television at the time, viewed the episode. The episode was nominated for an Edgar Award
for 'Best Episode in a Television Series' and a Cinema Audio Society Award
for 'Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Series'.
In a 2010 review of the episode, The A.V. Club
s Toff VanDerWerff gave it a "Grade A" rating. He noted the difference between the style of the episode and previous stories of the series, saying that at first, it "feel[s] like it might be a very special Murder, She Wrote
or something," and that later, "we're clearly in some other show entirely, the only links in the continuity chain being Mulder and Scully themselves." Including Morgan's other scripts for the show, VanDerWerff called his writing "deeply, deeply funny", but said that "Humbug" "may be [his] weakest script". He particularly praised the ending of the episode, saying "there are few other TV writers that would come up with something as haunting and as perfectly understanding of the human condition as the final reveal of who the killer is." Also writing for The A.V. Club in 2010, Zack Handlen called "Humbug" "a terrific episode ... well-written and odd".
Ted Cox of the Daily Herald called "Humbug" "the pivotal episode of The X-Files." Robert Goodwin said of the episode "Talk about offbeat. It's very theatrical and grandiose. The trick was being careful that it didn't become like a bad Vincent Price
movie, but it worked out well." Reviewers for website IGN
named "Humbug" the tenth best standalone X-Files episode of the entire series.
The X-Files (season 2)
The second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files commenced airing on Fox in the United States on September 16, 1994, concluded on the same channel on May 19, 1995, and contained 25 episodes.- Production :...
of American science fiction television series The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
. It was written by Darin Morgan
Darin Morgan
Darin Morgan is an American screenwriter best known for several offbeat, darkly humorous episodes of the television series The X-Files and Millennium. His teleplay for the X-Files episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" won a 1996 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Drama...
and directed by Kim Manners
Kim Manners
Kim Manners was an American television producer, director and child actor best known for his work on The X-Files and Supernatural.-Early life:...
. Morgan had previously appeared in a guest role as the Flukeman in an earlier episode of that season called "The Host
The Host (The X-Files)
"The Host" is the second episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 23, 1994. It was written by Chris Carter, directed by Daniel Sackheim, and featured guest appearances by Darin Morgan. The episode is a...
". "Humbug" aired in the United States on March 31, 1995 on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network. It was the first explicitly comedic episode in the series and Morgan wrote three more scripts for the series that continued his comic take on the show.
The show centers on FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
(David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
) and Dana Scully
Dana Scully
FBI Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. is a fictional character and protagonist on the Fox television series The X-Files , played by Gillian Anderson. She also appeared in two theatrical films based on the series...
(Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-File
X-file
On the television series The X-Files, an X-File is a fictional case that has been deemed unsolvable by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The files constitute an unassigned project outside the Bureau mainstream that is more or less concerned with unexplained phenomena. -First X-Files:The very...
s. In this "monster of the week
Villain of the week
"Villain of the week" is a term that describes the nature of one-use antagonists in episodic fiction, especially ongoing American genre-based television series...
" episode, Mulder and Scully investigate a series of murders in a community of former circus sideshow performers. According to critical analysis of the episode, "Humbug" explored themes of "Other
Other
The Other or Constitutive Other is a key concept in continental philosophy; it opposes the Same. The Other refers, or attempts to refer, to that which is Other than the initial concept being considered...
ness" and difference. Guest stars included real-life sideshow performers Jim Rose
Jim Rose Circus
The Jim Rose Circus is a modern-day version of a circus sideshow. It was founded in Seattle by Jim Rose in the early 1990s. The sideshow came to prominence as a second stage show at the 1992 Lollapalooza festival, then called the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow...
and The Enigma, as well as actors Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson is an American actor known for his roles as the Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, the epilogue and prologue film of the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Samson Leonhart on the HBO series Carnivàle...
and Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Andrew Schiavelli was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television often described as "the man with the sad eyes." He was notable for his numerous and often critically acclaimed cameo appearances.-Early life:Schiavelli was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a...
. "Humbug" was nominated for an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
and a Cinema Audio Society Award
Cinema Audio Society Awards
Cinema Audio Society Awards or The C.A.S. Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing. The awards are presented by the Cinema Audio Society and began in 1994.It hands out awards for three categories:*Feature films...
. It received generally positive reviews and critics appreciated Morgan's different writing style.
Plot
Agents Mulder and Scully travel to Gibsonton, FloridaGibsonton, Florida
Gibsonton is an unincorporated census-designated place in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 14,234 at the 2010 census....
, to investigate a 28-year series of attacks by an unknown assailant in a community of former circus sideshow performers. Among the people they meet are "self-made freaks" human blockhead
Human blockhead
A human blockhead is a carnival or sideshow performer who hammers a nail or other implement into his nasal cavity via the nostril. The stunt is often shocking to audiences, who believe that the nail is being hammered into the skull itself...
Dr. Blockhead (Jim Rose
Jim Rose Circus
The Jim Rose Circus is a modern-day version of a circus sideshow. It was founded in Seattle by Jim Rose in the early 1990s. The sideshow came to prominence as a second stage show at the 1992 Lollapalooza festival, then called the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow...
) and his "geek
Geek show
Geek Shows were an act in traveling circuses of early America and were often part of a larger sideshow. The billed performer's act consisted of a single geek, who stood in center ring to chase live chickens. It ended with the performer biting the chickens' heads off and swallowing them...
" sidekick The Conundrum (The Enigma), who will eat anything, but says nothing.
Mulder and Scully stay at the Gulf Breeze trailer court, whose name is a reference to the 1987 Gulf Breeze UFO incident
Gulf Breeze UFO incident
The Gulf Breeze UFO incident is a famous series of UFO sightings which occurred beginning on November 11, 1987.Gulf Breeze was a small city in Florida of approximately 6,000 at the time of a wave of UFO sightings that began in late 1987...
, also mentioned in season 1 episode, "Fallen Angel". Here, they meet the distrustful manager Mr. Nutt (Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson is an American actor known for his roles as the Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, the epilogue and prologue film of the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Samson Leonhart on the HBO series Carnivàle...
), and Lanny (Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Andrew Schiavelli was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television often described as "the man with the sad eyes." He was notable for his numerous and often critically acclaimed cameo appearances.-Early life:Schiavelli was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a...
), an alcoholic with an underdeveloped conjoined twin named Leonard. The agents hear a story about the legendary Fiji mermaid
Fiji mermaid
The Fiji mermaid was an object comprising the torso and head of a juvenile monkey sewn to the back half of a fish, covered in papier-mâché...
, a common sideshow act in the 19th century that generally turned out to be a monkey with a fish tail attached—the "humbug
Humbug
Humbug is an old term meaning hoax or jest. While the term was first described in 1751 as student slang, its etymology is unknown. Its present meaning as an exclamation is closer to 'nonsense' or 'gibberish', while as a noun, a humbug refers to a fraud or impostor, implying an element of...
" referred to by the episode's title. Despite Scully's skepticism, Mulder is intrigued because of what look like simian
Simian
The simians are the "higher primates" familiar to most people: the Old World monkeys and apes, including humans, , and the New World monkeys or platyrrhines. Simians tend to be larger than the "lower primates" or prosimians.- Classification and evolution :The simians are split into three groups...
tracks left by the mystery attacker.
They eventually discover that the attacker is Lanny's twin, Leonard, who is able to detach himself from Lanny's body. According to Lanny, Leonard attacks people and attempts to burrow into them because he is looking for a new brother to replace Lanny. While Leonard has made one of his escapes, Lanny dies from liver damage. Mulder and Scully try to capture Leonard, but he gets away. They find The Conundrum lying on the ground, rubbing his stomach, apparently having been attacked by Leonard. As Dr. Blockhead prepares to leave town with The Conundrum, he comments to Scully that with modern science eradicating genetic anomalies, it will be up to self-made freaks like him to remind people that "nature abhors normality". The Conundrum looks unwell and Mulder asks what the matter is. The Conundrum—in his only line of the episode—replies, "probably something I ate".
Production
Darin Morgan
Darin Morgan is an American screenwriter best known for several offbeat, darkly humorous episodes of the television series The X-Files and Millennium. His teleplay for the X-Files episode "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" won a 1996 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Drama...
; it was his first script for the series. Earlier in the second season, he appeared in the second episode "The Host
The Host (The X-Files)
"The Host" is the second episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network on September 23, 1994. It was written by Chris Carter, directed by Daniel Sackheim, and featured guest appearances by Darin Morgan. The episode is a...
" as the Flukeman. He also helped his brother Glen Morgan
Glen Morgan
Glen Morgan is an American television producer, writer, and director.-Biography:Morgan is best known for his screen work with long-time writing partner James Wong, including The X-Files, Millennium, Space: Above and Beyond, the Final Destination series, The One, Willard, and the 2006 remake of...
—already a regular writer on The X-Files—with the script for the following episode, "Blood
Blood (The X-Files)
"Blood" is the third episode of the second season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It first aired on September 30, 1994. It follows F.B.I. Agents Scully and Mulder's investigation into a series of killings in Franklin, Pennsylvania...
". Series creator Chris Carter offered Darin Morgan a permanent place on The X-Files writing team, which he reluctantly accepted. Morgan said he was uncomfortable initially, stating "One of the reasons I was uncomfortable joining the staff is that I'm a comedy writer and this isn't a comedy show, so I was trying more or less to have an episode with a little bit of humor, without telling anybody what I was doing." Glen suggested that he write an episode about sideshow freaks. Before writing the episode Darin Morgan watched a tape of Jim Rose's circus sideshow
Jim Rose Circus
The Jim Rose Circus is a modern-day version of a circus sideshow. It was founded in Seattle by Jim Rose in the early 1990s. The sideshow came to prominence as a second stage show at the 1992 Lollapalooza festival, then called the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow...
and subsequently cast Rose and The Enigma as Dr. Blockhead and The Conundrum, respectively. Other guest stars were Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks
Twin Peaks is an American television serial drama created by David Lynch and Mark Frost. The series follows the investigation headed by FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper , of the murder of a popular teenager and homecoming queen, Laura Palmer...
regular Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson
Michael J. Anderson is an American actor known for his roles as the Man from Another Place in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks, the epilogue and prologue film of the series, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and Samson Leonhart on the HBO series Carnivàle...
as Mr. Nutt and Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Schiavelli
Vincent Andrew Schiavelli was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television often described as "the man with the sad eyes." He was notable for his numerous and often critically acclaimed cameo appearances.-Early life:Schiavelli was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a...
as Lanny.
Morgan's script turned out to be the most comedic episode of the series so far. The departure from The X-Files usual style made some of the crew, including director Kim Manners
Kim Manners
Kim Manners was an American television producer, director and child actor best known for his work on The X-Files and Supernatural.-Early life:...
, uncomfortable, and some of the more explicitly comic scenes were cut. After "Humbug", Morgan went on to write three more comedy-infused stories for the show: "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose
"Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" is the fourth episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on October 13, 1996, on FOX. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by David Nutter...
", "War of the Coprophages
War of the Coprophages
"War of the Coprophages" is a 1996 episode of The X-Files television series. It was the twelfth episode broadcast in the show's third season. "War of the Coprophages" surrounds a small town being plagued by deaths related to cockroaches.- Plot :...
" and "Jose Chung's From Outer Space"
Jose Chung's From Outer Space
"Jose Chung's From Outer Space" is the 20th episode of the third season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on April 12, 1996, on FOX. It was written by Darin Morgan and directed by Rob Bowman...
. David Duchovny later commented, "what I loved about his scripts was that he seemed to be trying to destroy the show."
Themes
In his 2002 book Strange TV, M. Keith Booker describes "Humbug" as an important episode in the show's "ironizationIrony
Irony is a rhetorical device, literary technique, or situation in which there is a sharp incongruity or discordance that goes beyond the simple and evident intention of words or actions...
" of its exploration of "Other
Other
The Other or Constitutive Other is a key concept in continental philosophy; it opposes the Same. The Other refers, or attempts to refer, to that which is Other than the initial concept being considered...
ness"; from the start it challenges the characters'—and viewers'—assumptions about difference. In the teaser
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
, what appears to be a monster is in fact a suburban father and eventual murder victim. When Mulder and Scully are quick to suspect the freak show performers of murder, Dr. Blockhead, a self-made freak and "postmodern celebration of difference", confronts their prejudice and bemoans a future with no genetic anomalies. The agents, with their conventional appearance are considered outsiders, and are quickly (and correctly) judged to be working for the FBI. According to Booker, the freak show characters from the episode exemplify the concept of the Other. He contrasts the perspective of "Humbug", which celebrates Otherness, with that of The X-Files overall in which "Other" is generally synonymous with danger and evil, much like Leonard. Despite this association between difference and malevolence generally found in The X-Files, the show meets the audience's need for difference and diversity, in its sheer number of strange and different characters. This need for something beyond everyday existence is mirrored by the main characters in Mulder's "wanting to believe" in the paranormal and Scully's Catholic faith. In "Humbug", this is highlighted by Dr. Blockhead's argument that the freaks add a richness to life that will be eliminated by genetic advancements.
According to Rhonda Wilcox and J. P. Williams in "What Do You Think? The X-Files, Liminality, and Gender Pleasure", "Humbug" is about "difference, sex, and looking". Regarding The X-Files as a whole, they say that the relationship between Mulder and Scully is non-sexual and "quasi-marital". Although sharing a degree of intimacy that allows them to share each other's space, they avoid a sexual or objectifying gaze: "They look into each other's eyes and argue ideas, rather than gazing at each other's bodies." This status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
is challenged in this episode as the objectifying gaze is highlighted and deconstructed, although not between the partners themselves. According to Wilcox and Williams, a key scene involves Agent Scully and Lanny. When Lanny goes to wake Scully in her trailer one morning, he catches a glimpse of her breasts; she inadvertently exposes herself as she in turn catches sight of Lanny's uncovered parasitic twin; "each gaze involves the objectification of difference". This objectification is emphasized by the fact that Scully's body is not normally revealed in this way.
Broadcast and reception
"Humbug" was first broadcast in the United States on March 31, 1995, on the FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network. In its original broadcast it was watched by 9.8 million households, according to the Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
system. It received a 10.3 rating/18 share among viewers meaning that 10.3 percent of all households in the US, and 18 percent of all people watching television at the time, viewed the episode. The episode was nominated for an Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for 'Best Episode in a Television Series' and a Cinema Audio Society Award
Cinema Audio Society Awards
Cinema Audio Society Awards or The C.A.S. Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing. The awards are presented by the Cinema Audio Society and began in 1994.It hands out awards for three categories:*Feature films...
for 'Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Series'.
In a 2010 review of the episode, The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s Toff VanDerWerff gave it a "Grade A" rating. He noted the difference between the style of the episode and previous stories of the series, saying that at first, it "feel[s] like it might be a very special Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
or something," and that later, "we're clearly in some other show entirely, the only links in the continuity chain being Mulder and Scully themselves." Including Morgan's other scripts for the show, VanDerWerff called his writing "deeply, deeply funny", but said that "Humbug" "may be [his] weakest script". He particularly praised the ending of the episode, saying "there are few other TV writers that would come up with something as haunting and as perfectly understanding of the human condition as the final reveal of who the killer is." Also writing for The A.V. Club in 2010, Zack Handlen called "Humbug" "a terrific episode ... well-written and odd".
Ted Cox of the Daily Herald called "Humbug" "the pivotal episode of The X-Files." Robert Goodwin said of the episode "Talk about offbeat. It's very theatrical and grandiose. The trick was being careful that it didn't become like a bad Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
movie, but it worked out well." Reviewers for website IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
named "Humbug" the tenth best standalone X-Files episode of the entire series.