Wiktionary
n. (context idiomatic English) One or more persons or things of relatively little consequence, importance, or value.
Wikipedia
"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.
"Small Potatoes" may refer to:
- Small Potatoes (Hawaii Five-O), a 1978 episode of Hawaii Five-O
- Small Potatoes (The X-Files), an episode of The X-Files
- Small Potatoes (1999 TV series), a 1999 to 2001 British TV sitcom
- Small Potatoes (2011 TV series), a 2011 children's TV series
Small Potatoes is a British animated series of shorts aimed at pre-school children. It features a group of four potatoes who sing songs. The series is written and directed by Josh Selig, creator of Oobi, Wonder Pets! and 3rd & Bird. The "Small Potatoes" series is currently airing on CBeebies in the UK, ABC 4 Kids in Australia and on the Disney Junior channel in the United States.
Small Potatoes is a British sitcom television series written by Richard Pinto and Sharat Sardana, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 1999 to 2001. Starring Tommy Tiernan, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Morgan Jones and Omid Djalili, it is set in east London and follows the life of a video rental shop employee, Ed Hewitt, and his friends.
Usage examples of "small potatoes".
Bozo and me are an hour late for school and we both get detention which is small potatoes compared to the trouble us Maloneys are in with the garbage run.
Then-perhaps because the trick was small potatoes compared to tuna-he leapt up, arching his back and flipping over to land lightly on his feet.
She was the expert at this kind of radically irresponsible human experimentation, this would have been small potatoes to her.
And I get the drift that her family's pretty small potatoes compared to yours.
The general had been very firm about having provisions, so Roland had plenty of small potatoes, large sausages, and heavy dwarf bread, which was handy to drop on people.