Small Potatoes (The X-Files)

"Small Potatoes"
The X-Files episode
A baby born with a tail
Episode no.	Season 4 Episode 20
Directed by	Cliff Bole
Written by	Vince Gilligan
Production code	4X20
Original air date	April 20, 1997
Running time	44 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner Darin Morgan as Eddie Van Blundht Christine Cavanaugh as Amanda Nelligan Lee de Broux as Eddie's Father Robert Rozen as Dr. Alton Pugh Paul McGillion as Angry Husband Jennifer Sterling as Angry Wife David Cameron as Deputy Forbes Angus as Security Guard Peter Kelamis as Second Husband Lynn Johnson as Health Department Doctor Carrie Cain Sparks as Duty Nurse Tom Braidwood as Melvin Frohike (voice) Dean Haglund as Richard Langly (voice)
Episode chronology
← Previous "Synchrony" Next → "Zero Sum"
List of season 4 episodes List of The X-Files episodes

"Small Potatoes" is the twentieth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States appropriately on April 20, 1997 (4/20, also the number of the season/episode). It was written by Vince Gilligan and directed by Cliff Bole. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Small Potatoes" received a Nielsen rating of 13.0 and was viewed by 20.86 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received positive reviews from critics, with many applauding the entry's humorous tone.

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-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, and the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, a small town is “blessed” by babies being born with tails. Mulder and Scully arrive only to encounter a suspect, Eddie Van Blundht (Darin Morgan), who proves nearly impossible to identify.

"Small Potatoes" was written by Gilligan in an attempt to write a lighthearted episode; he did not want to develop a reputation for only writing dark stories. Gilligan asked former series writer Darin Morgan, who had penned four episodes in the second and third seasons, to play Eddie Van Blundht. In fact, the role was written specifically with Morgan in mind. In the original script, the babies were born with wings instead of tails. The effect was eventually changed to tails, because, according to Gilligan, they were funnier.