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"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. == Plot == Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate the birth of five babies in the town of Martinsburg, West Virginia, who were born with tails. The mother of the most recent baby, Amanda Nelligan, tells the agents that the father of her baby is Luke Skywalker. By researching the baby's chromosomes it is discovered that all five share the same father. The parents of the children blame the local fertility doctor, who had used insemination to impregnate all of the mothers but Nelligan. Mulder spots a janitor nearby with signs that he formerly had a tail. When he runs Mulder chases him and catches him. The janitor, Eddie Van Blundht, is discovered to be the father of all of the children. Scully believes Eddie used a date rape drug although Mulder questions how he could be in the position to give it to the women. Eddie escapes by transforming his face into that of the booking cop. Mulder and Scully visit his father, who still has his tail and is a former circus performer. Mulder and Scully soon realize that he's Eddie however, and he escapes. Eddie transforms into one of the husbands of the women he slept with. When the real husband comes home, he transforms into Mulder and leaves. Mulder and Scully meanwhile discover the dried up body of Eddie's father in the attic. Performing an autopsy on the body, Scully finds that he has an extra sheet of muscle under his skin, which Mulder believes Eddie also has and can use to change his appearance. Eddie takes on the appearance of Mulder and visits Nelligan, showing him a photo of Eddie. Nelligan tells him that she went out with him in high school, but views him as a loser. The disappointed Eddie leaves, while the real Mulder shows up soon afterward. Realizing that Eddie just visited Nelligan, Mulder searches for him. He finds the fertility doctor and a security guard nearby and handcuffs them, believing one of them to be Eddie. The real Eddie, hiding in a vent above, gets the jump on Mulder and locks him up. Eddie takes Mulder's form and tells Scully that he feels the case is a waste of time and they should return to Washington. Eddie returns to Washington as Mulder and, along with Scully, reports to Skinner on the case with a poorly written report. Eddie visits Mulder's office, then his apartment, being surprised at what a loser Mulder appears to be. Eddie visits Scully with a bottle of wine and tries to get her drunk. As they are about to kiss, the real Mulder breaks in and stops them. Revealed, Eddie reverts to his actual form. A month later, Mulder visits Eddie in a prison visitation room. Eddie has been given muscle relaxants to prevent him from turning into someone else. Eddie tells Mulder that he was born a loser, but Mulder is one by choice.〔Meisler, pp. 209–218〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Small Potatoes (The X-Files)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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