AIR DATE:  April 20, 1997
Written by Vince Gilligan
Directed by Cliff Bole

	There hasn't been an episode like "Small Potatoes" since the last
Darin Morgan script.  This is just what the X-Files needed, a nice
light-hearted episode where there isn't any evil conspiracy lurking behind
every corner.  It truly looks like Vince Gilligan has replaced Darin
Morgan as one of the X-Files writers one can't wait to see in the opening
credits.

	As it always seemed to be with Darin Morgan's scripts there is a
bit of making fun of Mulder's character.  In Morgan's scripts there seemed
to be a view that Mulder is a bit of a wacky person while Scully comes off
as the sensible one.  In "Small Potatoes" we get to see Mulder from a
loser's point of view who sees Mulder's good looks and confidence as a way
to get women and a life he could never imagine himself having, but finds
out Mulder himself is a bit of a loser in his view.  Eddie Van Blundht
must have imagined Mulder's life as being successful with women and having
an exciting career as an F.B.I. agent.  Whereas throughout his life he was
perceived as a loser with women (even Scully thought that without quite
saying it when she tells Mulder, "on behalf of all woman...", and he was
no Luke according to Amanda), and he worked as a janitor.  So it isn't any
wonder Eddie would look upon Mulder as an example of a man who has it all
until he steps into Mulder's shoes and finds out what type of life Mulder
leads which is hanging out with "geeks" and no love life.  He tells Mulder
to go live his life because that is what he would do if he had looks like
Mulder.

	Anyone else get the sense Duchovny had a hell of a time playing
his character through someone else's eyes.  The scene in Mulder's office
was priceless from Mulder/Eddie almost flipping over in his chair to his
comment about his tax dollars at work as he looked at the stuff Mulder has
posted around his office.  Eddie knew it wasn't going to be long before it
was discovered he wasn't really Mulder, but he was going to have more fun
playing Mulder than Mulder does himself. It was just great fun seeing
Duchovny having fun with Mulder (hell, he was allowed to smile for once).
This is something I think was missing with last week's episode,
"Syncrony", where it just seemed as if he was just going through the
motions as Mulder.  See what happens when you give this man something to
do with his character, he can bring him to life.

	Now some miscellaneous musings on "Small Potatoes":

- Hmm, you would think if this is the fifth baby born with a tail it
wouldn't have been so shocking to the nurse.  Hey, those nurses on "ER" 
wouldn't have been fazed a bit by something like a tail. 

- I think it has been mentioned before, but this is the first time I've
noticed FOX has shortened the opening credits as they do with the
Simpsons.  I guess they've got to get in that extra 30 second commercial. 

- Anyone else think good old boy Eddie was humming the Star Wars theme as
he was having sex with Amanda.  It is cracking me up right now just
thinking about it.

- As Eddie was bending down to work on the pipes in the doctor's office
with Mulder looking at him, I couldn't help thinking of the classic
Saturday Night Live sketch when Dan Aykroyd plays a refrigerator repairman
who when he bends down we see a lot more of his butt than Darin Morgan's.
Ahh, the stereotype of the repairman.

- Loved the tackle Mulder made on Eddie.  Guess it makes up for the tackle
he took in "Max" a few weeks ago. 

- Can anyone explain to me why Scully was carrying an umbrella as she and
Mulder were going up to Eddie Senior's house.  It didn't seem to be
raining to me and when they got to the porch it seemed fairly bright out
with the sun shining on them and a man next door using a powertool.  The
only thing it did was it made Duchovny have to bend over awkwardly as they
were walking up the stairs.  Maybe there is an X-Files in which they had
the shorter person holding the umbrella. 

- Is is any wonder why Eddie had low self esteem with the attitude his
father had about him?  Even though it was Eddie who was saying everything
one can't help think this is what he always heard from his father over the
years.  I guess old pop was disappointed Eddie didn't want to go into the
family business.

- Mulder must have been a good Boy Scout since he came prepared with a
flashlight in his pocket which he pulls out as he heads up the stairs in
Eddie's house.  Also, it was funny that when the stuff falls out of the
closet Mulder goes he's alright and Scully response was "What", indicating
she didn't even hear the loud noise, meaning Mulder could gotten getting
killed up there and she would have been unaware of it.

- Once again Mulder touches a dead body without gloves.  Yuck, and it
didn't even bother him when he was touching Eddie Senior's tail as he
tried to hide from Scully that he broke it off.  This is the same man who
covered up his coffee as he entered the room.

- Boy, can Darin Morgan take the dorkest picture.  It looks like no matter
how long it has been Eddie will always look like his high school yearbook
picture. 

- I have to admit I kind of feel sorry for Eddie who no matter what he
does will always be looked upon as a loser by others. You could really see
it in his face when Amanda was telling Mulder/Eddie why she didn't find
Eddie attractive.  Poor Eddie sometimes it is just better not to know.  I
wonder what Amanda is going to think once she finds out it wasn't Luke
Skywalker who fathered her baby, but the loser boyfriend she used to see
Star Wars with as a teenager.

- I would like to known how Eddie was able to drag Mulder's body down to
the basement without anyone seeing him.  I guess it is a very small
hospital with very few people in it, and this is tv land where these kind
of things happen.  Of course, I'm willing to believe a man can change his
appearances.  Oh, I liked the touch where Eddie left Mulder an apple, a
sandwich and a drink for his captivity.

- Talking about one of those tv land things.  Isn't it always amazing when
a person has the ability to look like someone else they also have the
ability to sound like them?  I won't even mention how it wasn't explained
whether Eddie was able to change his physical shape too, but that wasn't
the point to the episode was it? 

- More funny stuff on Eddie as Mulder:  misspelling the word investigation
not once, but twice, touching Scully on the shoulder and trying to open
Mulder's office door without having Scully noticing his not knowning what
key to use.  Also, the joy he felt once he got into the office of, wow,
now I know what it is to be a winner, than his slow realization that maybe
Mulder wasn't the winner he thought.

- Good to see Mulder is such a regular customer the phone sex people are
calling him up. 

- Eddie doing the classic scene from the movie "Taxi Driver".  Should have
seen this one coming since it always is the scene used whenever you get
some loser near a mirror with a gun. 

- Eddie must not drink much because he winced when he took a sip of the
wine.  Does anyone kind of wonder at how Scully isn't kind of hoping
Mulder would make a move on her since it didn't take much for Eddie as
Mulder to be able to seduce her?  Of course, Scully had a bit to drink and
they didn't actually kiss or have sex, but it was apparent Scully was
thinking about going through with it.  Poor Eddie, the only time he had
confidence in himself as a person was when he was playing a Luke Skywalker
or a Mulder.  It was the only time he could be the person who says and
does the right things to impress a women. 

- Even though I know this isn't the first time this has happened in an
X-Files episode, I think this is the first time in a long time no one has
died in an episode.

	"Small Potatoes" was a good change of pace episode, and it showed
Vince Gilligan can write other kind of episodes than the kind he has done
in the past.  It wasn't up to the Darin Morgan type script, but no one
could write those type of stories.  It is kind of funny, even though
"Small Potatoes" didn't appear to be an episode anyone would expect to
take seriously, it still address some things such as a person's self
esteem and how we can think of someone with good looks as having it all
only to find out the real picture isn't so much different from our own. 
Let's hope Vince Gilligan doesn't leave after this season.

Claudia
E-Mail:  Claudia.Cauchon@unh.edu
         
4/21/97