"The X Files" Small Potatoes (1997)

User Rating:

9.1/10   

Director:

Cliff Bole

Writers:

Chris Carter (creator)
Vince Gilligan (written by)

TV Series:

"The X Files" (1993)

Original Air Date:

20 April 1997 (Season 4, Episode 20)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

Five unrelated women in a small town give birth to babies with small tails. The prime suspect is a man who can shape shift into whomever he wants. |

Plot Keywords:

Title Spoken By Character | FBI | FBI Agent | Alien | X Files

Cast

David Duchovny	...	Fox Mulder
Gillian Anderson	...	Dana Scully
Mitch Pileggi	...	Walter Skinner
Darin Morgan	...	Eddie Van Blundht
Christine Cavanaugh	...	Amanda Nelligan
Lee de Broux	...	Eddie Van Blundht Sr.
Robert Rozen	...	Dr. Alton Pugh
Paul McGillion	...	Fred Neiman / Angry Husband
Jennifer Sterling	...	Angry Wife
David Cameron	...	The Deputy
Forbes Angus	...	Security Guard
Peter Kelamis	...	Husband #2
P. Lynn Johnson	...	Health Department Doctor
Carrie Cain-Sparks	...	Duty Nurse (as Carrie Cain Sparks)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Braidwood	...	Melvin Frohike (voice)
Dean Haglund	...	Richard Langly (voice)

Runtime:

Argentina:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Certification:

Argentina:13

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

Writer Vince Gilligan said that originally he wanted wings to be the "deformity" that the babies were born with, because he was afraid that tails wouldn't be very cute. Tails proved much easier to create digitally, though, so the wings were changed to tails in the script.

Quotes:

Scully: I don't imagine you need to be told this, Mulder, but you're not a loser.
Mulder: Yeah, but I'm not Eddie van Blundht either, am I?

Movie Connections:

References Taxi Driver (1976)

I was born a loser, but you're one by choice.

If you want to see the best-acted episode of the x-files look no further than Small Potatoes. David Duchovny shows his true comedic ability throughout this episode. Duchovny plays Eddie Van Blundht playing Mulder so perfectly. Every one of his scenes as Eddie as Mulder are hilarious. Vince Gilligan, who penned this marvelous episode, reveals in the audio commentary that Duchovny ad-libbed many of the lines and mannerisms himself. He truly has a gift for comedy. Props also go to Gillian Anderson for playing a perfect straight(wo)man in this episode. Her playing it straight make the jokes all the funnier. Vince Gilligan also revealed in the commentary that a lot of the dialogue off screen was added through loop lines weeks later to spice up the dialogue. Which was also done quite effectively. The gag of Eddie being annoyed about the omission of the 'H' in his last name is quite funny, especially when the 'H' falls off his name on his house. Darin Morgan, who plays Van Blundht, was perfect for the part in his first "real" acting gig. Kudos again to Vince Gilligan in his first "humorous" episode. For me, this episode ranks second only to 'Bad Blood', also by Vince Gilligan. So, watch Small Potatoes, and treat yourself. I would if I were you.