UNCUT - The X-Files S2E20 - Humbug

I think the reason why Leonard kept leaving Lenny to find another brother wasn't because he hated Lenny. It was because Lenny was dying, and Leonard knew it. It goes right back to Chang and Aang. Leonard didn't want to end up like Aang and was trying to save himself before Lenny died.

It's up for debate whether or not Scully actually got scammed or not. Technically, she got exactly what she paid for. She paid for a PT Barnum exhibit. If you know anything about PT Barnum, then you should be able to appreciate that the exhibit you just paid for was a scam.

I didn't have a problem with the hotel manager because of course he's a jerk. He's a parody of people who are like that. We have everyone else in the town accepting their deformity with grace. Then we have this hotel manager who picks another way to deal with their deformity: bitterness. He represents the type of people like Melora who are more insecure over their disability/uniqueness than other people are. But since they aren't aware of this, they self-project their own insecurity onto others, seeing discrimination and injustice everywhere where none exists. They also refuse to help themselves, like in the hotel manager's case for instance, refusing to take certain jobs that would be uniquely suited to them, or worse, taking those jobs away from people like Lenny where that would have been the best job of his life. Or in Melora's case, refusing help of any kind. They do this because they are so insecure over thinking that accepting any sort of help will mean that others might view them as "just disabled." So they pressure themselves to be superman, or as unstereotypical as possible, just to prove a point to others and to further mask their own insecurity. What these people don't realize is their real disability is their own victim mentality, hostility toward others, resentment, and insecurity. And unlike their birth, that IS something they have full control over. These are the people that Michael J. Fox swears every day never to become, because he understands that it's a choice. With ANYTHING that happens to you in your life, mentality is everything. You can choose whether or not to be victimized by it, or empowered by it.

Mulder: "We're being highly discriminatory here." Scully: "It's like assuming guilt based solely on skin color." Both of them: "...Anyway, back to digging!"

Well, about the potato scene, Scully says that "this is like profiling," but then they immediately go back to doing it! I think that's the gag.

It's funny that Sam Raimi's brother Ted is *all over* television in the 90s and early 00s.

Kim Manners (along with several of the X-Files crew) went on to work on Supernatural (producers and director). The first 5 seasons of that show had a very strong XF vibe, and a lot of the same cinematography.

I was surprised to see how many comments were lukewarm or outright disliked this episode. I always thought it was near universally loved. At any rate, I DO love this episode and a big part of that is the humor. I also don't have an issue the "deformity profiling" scene because they act guilty for about 2 seconds and then they're like "fuck it" and go back to digging. Also love "but I am an FBI agent" and then Mulder doing the Captain Morgan pose at the end, as well as the fact that Blockhead is driving away with the very thing he's trying to get away from. So many of the jokes and scenarios in this episode play out almost like something in a comic strip. Also with everything Scully went through this season, it's nice to see her biggest problem in this episode be that she gets the same crackpot treatment Mulder usually does. A little role reversal is always welcome. And yeah, the whole Arsenal of Freedom used car salesman guy saga that started in The Swarm and concluded here is just one more piece of evidence that we live in a simulation. Not saying I'd want every X Files episode to have this kind of vibe, but a lot of the show's subject matter is pretty absurd, so I appreciate the show taking a step back once in a while and just having fun with that fact. A comedy ep every now and then is a welcome palate cleanser, and Darin Morgan certainly proved he had something to contribute in this regard.

I watched your whole reaction of course! No reason not to do so. :D Usually I watch your XF reactions ASAP, but this time some private stuff prevented me from doing it earlier, so here's a short comment with a delay. Yes, since Josh asked, I agree with most if not all of what you had to say about the episode. It is -- objectively speaking -- not badly done at all. Quite to the contrary. It is very well executed. So in essence, I think it really all comes down to the fact that me not liking circuses (to put it mildly) playing a crucial role here. It's one of those things where the subject matter is something you really dislike, and therefore it prevents you from enjoying the episode. Otherwise yeah, cool reaction and review as usual. :)

Think of 2 episodes a week?! I'm enjoying this so much!

While digging up what the dog faced boy/sheriff buried, and the anology towards blacks being suspected due to race, where Fox and Scully caught themselves doing that. I think the joke was that they went back to digging right away. Like yes, we are doing that, but we are going to keep digging.

I can only afford the basic tier, but my GOD I was tempted to spring for this one to see your response day of, I was excited (and worried you'd hate it), Darin is a treasure, and I didn't realize that this marks possibly the first introduction of proper comedy. Most of the cast were all "playing themselves" people who have all spent their lives involved in sideshows, and I think(? not certain?) the town was a real retirement community for the same, I thought it was nice for them to have that opportunity. Hotel Manager was also a co-star of HBO series "Carnivale", an... alright? apocalyptic series. The music is always great (no bias here, nope!), the lonely bassoon theme that plays when Scully is walking around the museum, was on the ORIGINAL one-single-CD soundtrack release, decades before the box sets were ever even conceived of. the footage of Gillian eating the cricket and the aftermath: https://youtu.be/3YaG8W3YYks

I usually skip this one in a rewatch. I just don't really find it interesting or amusing. It's a bit better than I remember at least

Yes a black coffee drinker like me! Everyone always asks me how I can drink it like that and I just say I love the taste

Not my kind of episode. I was always curious if David and Gillian liked these goofy, comedic episodes.

Reminding me of a movie (Basket Case) I hadn't seen in 40 years is my favorite part of this reaction.

X-files comedy episodes hit more times than not

I have no idea what TA's reaction was. I was too busy looking away and burying my eyes in my hands, and saying uuuugh

What a delight this one is! For some reason the first time I watched it I enjoyed the humor but the rest of the episode, while solid, didn't blow me away. This time I appreciated it a lot more, from the obvious comedic chops of Darin Morgan to Kim Manners' direction to Mark Snow's score, just great stuff. Written with a lot of empathy and humanity, too. Love it!

Very nice episode. You both brought up good points. It's an A-rating for me. And lest we forget: "You belong in a circus, Spock! Right next to the dog-faced boy!" James T. Kirk, "This Side of Paradise"

This is my favourite episode of Season 2, bar none.

I hope one day this episode clicks for me but today wasn't that day!

The 'Mulder All-American pose' at the end gets me every time, hilarious.

We also had BJ/ Admiral T'Lara within a weeks time as well

PT Barnum said of suckers “there’s one born every minute.” Oh, and the dwarf hotel manager also played Rumplestiltskin in “If Wishes Were Horses”.

Y'all were so quiet during the episode I was worried y'all didn't like the episode.... glad I was wrong Also, yes, Gillian did actually eat the bug

Saving the best vid to drop last today I see. Been waiting all day for this! Lol

Welcome to the mind of Darin Morgan, boys. I love the evolution of the show to start including (from time to time) a more satirical or humorous episode. I never feel like it's at the expense of thrills or scares, and David and Gillian really excel at getting to have some more dry humor. Really looking forward to watching this reaction. Starting the week off right!