Plot A: Finding that his blood pressure is too high, Col. Potter has just two weeks to get it down--by foregoing cigars, alcohol, salt, and anger. Everyone schemes to keep him ignorant of any problems that arise.
Plot B: The 4077th is sent a wrong batch of anti-malarial drugs. The drug they receive will work after a fashion, but has a dangerous effect on Negroes. When Klinger complains of backaches and listlessness, everyone assumes that he's goldbricking--unaware that the drug is affecting him adversely.
To keep Potter out of the office, Mulcahy says he wants to talk with the Colonel. He begins by saying, "So tell me what's it in the Mid-West." Potter's from Hannibal, Missouri. Isn't that a part of the South?
Klinger apparently knew Goldman had a bad R&R weekend. So why does Max look at him with so much surprise when Goldman enters the Colonel's office?
It's actually kind of borderline. This from someone who spent 2 years in St. Louis.
What qualifies as "South" is not an easily answered question. Kentucky qualifies on nearly all lists, but Florida does not. (Too many Retired Yankees and Latinos, and the climate is all wrong.) So Misouri could qualify and South or Mid-West. We really should have the chief weigh in.
PS In one episode, Potter says he is from Nebraska, which opens a new can of worms.
Maybe he was born in Nebraska, and moved to MO with Mrs. Potter?
Well, I moved from Georgia to St. Louis, Mo. for three years, and then moved back to Georgia. During those three years, I would occassionally say, "y'all." This got quite a few snickers and derogatory comments about "The South." Also, my High School teachers in St. Louis refered to "The South" in less than glowing terms, so I'd say that Missouri is in the mid-west. Also, when I lived there, a popular radio buffer was "Can't Go Surfing in The Mid-West (Because There Is No Ocean).
"PS In one episode, Potter says he is from Nebraska, which opens a new can of worms." - Charles Cabe
Actually, IIRC, the two occasions I remember Potter mentioning Nebraska he spoke of it as his place of residence; where he was going home to retire. Of course, in most eps, Potter is said to be residing in Hannibal, MO. This is why I've mentioned it as being a nit elsewhere.
I liked the info-flash at the end of the episode - although it seemed to me initially as if the writers were somehow worried the viewer wouldn't get the plot about the malaria drug affecting Klinger and so added it in at the last moment.
Regarding Klinger looking at Goldman with such surprise at the end--Potter had made the comment that it sounded like Klinger had had the worst R&R trip ever, and Klinger muttered, "Not really." This might not have meant "Not really--Goldman had a much worse time than I did." He might have meant, "Actually, I've had worse times than that."
Going by the timetable of the show, Klinger and Goldman could not have actually taken very much of the drug. It dragged them down incredibly fast--especially when you consider that it took Klinger two weeks to recover from it.
This is another episode that was carefully trimmed for syndication. I really didn't notice anything that had clearly been cut previously.
During the final office scene (Klinger's part of the office, not Potter's) Potter finally manages to get inside, demands to know what is going on, and finally blows his top. Everyone else freezes, and Potter states that his tantrum felt really good. He then strolls into his office, apparently forgetting that he wanted to know what was going on.
Potter has a lot in common with that overweight MP from the Olympics episode. The moment that they got their numbers down where they needed to be, and recorded for posterity, they promptly went straight back to the habits that got them in trouble in the first place. That's human nature for you.
Two things about Hawkeye getting Potter's blood at the start of the ep - when taking the B.P. reading, the left arm (the arm on the same side as the heart) is preferred to the right arm. The right arm can give you a higher reading than the left one. Also, I don't see any gauge. Without the gauge, I have no idea where Pierce is getting the numbers he cites. Moreover, if Potter had just had a cigar, that could cause his blood pressure to rise. Hawkeye should have checked to see if Potter had been smoking. Tried the other arm. And if necessary, check the reading later to see if it's consistently high.
After Father Mulcahy asks Colonel Potter if he's going to drink the coffee, there's a surprised look on the Colonel's face. However, in the next shot, just before Potter exclaims that Pierce "even blabbed to the priest!", the expression is gone.
It's kind of interesting that Potter mentions Anthony Quinn. Harry Morgan, who plays Potter, appeared in the movie, The Ox-Bow Incident, which also starred Anthony Quinn.
Just before Igor blows the cigar smoke past the Colonel, Potter's mouth is closed. In the next shot, he's smiling.
I see the Padre stills has a hook in the changing room. There's been times when he didn't have one.
This ep takes place around the time of "Oh How We Danced". It just depends. We know Klinger is 60 days behind on his monthly reports. (Because he used the wrong forms.) Margaret asks Charles for a Post-Op report for April 11. (And later one for April 26.) So that means that Klinger had fouled up either the March-April reports or the April-May reports. "Oh How We Danced" takes place from April 30 to May 23 (the Hunnicutts' wedding anniversary date).
Great line - Charles: "Burn the d4mn place down and take a tax loss."
Once again, Potter's blood pressure is taken using his right arm. This time by Margaret.
Why is Potter announcing the results of his blood pressure? I guarantee you it is very difficult to do your own b.p. Especially, if like Colonel Potter, you don't have a stethoscope in your ears to listen for the sounds of the b.p.
I'm just curious - what's the significance of this ep's title, "The Red/White Blues"? Does it refer to the red and white blood cells? Blood pressure, anemia, this episode does somewhat focus on blood. Is that what the title refers to?
"Beaver biscuits!"