Plot: Frank has charged Hawkeye with mutiny over an incident that occurred while Col. Potter was away. Frank's recollection of the incident is considerably different from everyone else's.
The funny thing is, Hawkeye actually did sedate Frank in the pilot, but apparently nothing happened. It seems from this episode that what Hawkeye did was a capital offense!
I loved how they kept letting the light reflect off the reflector Frank was wearing. (One of the very few times I ever saw a M*A*S*H doctor wearing one.) Also the way Frank blithly prepared to transfuse his own blood. I guess Frank forgot that he hates to donate blood. Then again, Frank forgot a lot of things in this episode....
You know, there is one obvious place that Frank Burns never looked for the $300. Everyone's wallet. At least as far we know. As far as it being hidden in the teddy bear, I'm surprised Radar would take it apart or open it up to stuff the money in it.
I've never noticed this before, but this ep violates one of the basic rules of M*A*S*H. Larry Gelbart wanted to completely do away with the laugh track, but TPTB insisted that the series have one. A compromise was struck. In the OR scenes a laugh track would not be used. However, when Frank and Hawkeye give their testimonies about what happened in OR, a laugh track is used. This may be the only episode where this occurs. (I should mention that a laugh track is heard only once during Hawkeye's testimony. It's when Klinger drags Major Burns out of the OR.)
I also thought it was funny that Frank put on a reflector at all - I'm only a laymen but I thought only throat doctors use these things for inspection, not during surgery.(But for laypeople, it probably looks more "doctorly".) So, if its a nit for frank wearing the reflector, its a nice referral of how bad his knowledge of medicine is
To quote Hawkeye, "To be fair, I'm sure that how the Major remembers it." What I want to know is, did Frank describe himself to the court that way? I mean it's one thing if it's Ferret Face's self image, it's another if it's a part of his testimony.
I've always suspected that the courtroom shown in this episode is just a redress of Colonel Potter's office. Do any of the MASH books mention this?
I have two books - M*A*S*H The Exclusivse, Inside Story of TV's Most Popular Show by David S. Reis and The Complete Book of M*A*S*H by Suzy Kalter. As far as I know they are the only comprehensive reference books on the series. (I'm not sure how detailed The Last Days of M*A*S*H is.) Neither book mention the courtroom being a redress of the C.O. Office. My recollectiion is the set was larger than the Colonel's office, though. Then again, that might be because the set is shot from a different angle than the one from which we normally see Potter's office. Plus, it's a more spartan set. So I guess it could be.
I regret that neither of the books I have do much more than provide the names of the eps, who guest-starred (but not who they portrayed), scriptwriters and directors information and a capsule desription of each ep. I'd like to see one along the lines of Alan Asherman's STAR TREK Compendium. A book that reveals some trivia about each episode, and maybe some analyses of them, too.
The Kalter book, incidentally contains a lot of errors in its episode capsules. I suspect the writer had never seen some of the eps before and was using information gleaned from early draft of each ep's scripts.
Just saw this episode and I have some observations. First, this was one of the funniest episodes of the series. Frank's recollections of the mutiny had me in stitches, especially when he completed the blessing for an exhausted Father Mulchay in Latin.
Hawkeye had the best line in the episode: Mediocraty is not a crime Frank!
I liked the way they began the episode with a military drumroll, to underscore the seriousness of the proceedings that were about to occur. Nice touch on the writers's part.
I found it odd that the investigating officer referred to Hawkeye as a flight surgeon. A flight surgeon is a Physician in the U.S. Air Force that specializes in avaition medicine. Hawkeye is in the Army, not the Air Force, and as far as I know, he's never had training in avaiation medicine. So why would he referred to as a flight surgeon?
Justin, are you sure the Colonel didn't say Hawkeye was a "top flight" surgeon, as in an excellent surgeon? I think I have this ep video taped, but right now I'm feeling too lazy to double check it.
I suppose that's what he could have meant, though I've never heard the term top flight used that way until today.
From my American Heritage Dictionary: "top flight" - adj. Informal. First rate; excellent.
They cut the poker game scene. Father Mulcahy is one of the players. Klinger (wearing a white feathered stole) ducks his head in the door, says, "Chickee, chickee!" and shuts the door. Everyone at the table grabs the tablecloth and pulls it to the middle. Zale and Father Mulcahy bundle it out of sight, the Father with a dollar bill sticking out of his hat beside his ear. When Frank comes in, Hawkeye says that they're having a spelling bee. "Your turn, B.J." B.J. spells "Cretin" and Radar asks what a cretin is. Frank angrily defines it for him, and Hawkeye says something like "Let's hear it for the horse's mouth." Several of them, including B.J. and Zale, start applauding very quietly.
Frank finds out about the "stolen" money when he is inspecting the kitchen; Zale is currently on K.P. They walk into the freezer, where Frank tells him to have the sides of beef hung according to size. Zale is surly, and when Frank calls him on it, Zale says, "You'd be that way too if you'd lost $300."
BTW, the expression used was indeed "top flight surgeon".
It never occurred to me before, but after Frank's prolonged description of what went on Oct. 11, Hawkeye's description was over in a few moments.
I wonder where Margaret was in this episode, particualarly during the mutiny in OR? Her testimony as to what occured in the OR would have been interesting, to say the least!
Note that the "mutiny" takes place roughly a month after Colonel Potter assumed command of the 4077th (October 11th, 1952. Potter took command on September 19th, 1952.) Incidentally, doesn't the military normally give dates as "11 October, 1952." Wouldn't that mean the presiding officer, Colonel Carmichel, read the date wrong at the ep's beginning? Intriguingly, after Radar gives his testimony, the Colonel says, "I think we have a breakdown of command that lead to the events of 11 October," which, I believe is the proper military way of giving dates.
The question was brought up about whether the courtroom was a redress of Colonel Potter's office. I think it is, in part. The door is definintely from the Colonel's office. However, the window isn't. It looks more like a Post-Op window. It might just be two walls put together. But it could very well be the Colonel's office, too.
The kitchen appears to be a redress of the supply hut. At least the portion where Frank auctioned off his garbage and gave English lessons to the Koreans. Note the "No Smoking" sign in the background.
Yeah, what is Hawkeye doing wearing civilian underpants while operating? Or for that matter, any type of underpants? Didn't he once tell Sydney Freedman that he never wore shorts in the O.R.?
The comic books Frank pulls out of Radar's desk are The Adventures of Prof. St*nily (I have no idea whether this is a real comic title or not. The cover is two-toned, so it isn't likely that it is a real title. I can't find any references to it.) Amazing Spider-Man #70 (from February of 1970), The Avengers #72 (January 1970) and #60 (January 1969). The two Avengers comics were first seen in "Der Tag". The Spider-Man and Avengers comics are anachronisms as they were not, of course, published in the 1950s.
Note that when Frank gives his version of the "mutiny", the walls of the O.R. are darker than usual. The only sources of light are from the operating lamps.
It's kind of funny that Frank's version of the "mutiny" has B.J. complaining about operating for 6 hours straight. The doctors have done shifts that have lasted two days in the past. Six hours is nothing.
It just occurred to me that if Margaret had been at the 4077th at that time, Frank would have probably cast her in the role of the nurse who fawns over him. Can you imagine how she would have felt about that? (The actress who played the nurse is uncredited in this ep.)
Nice bit of subtlety and symbolism here: Notice that when Hawkeye gives his version of the "mutiny" he's on the opposite of the O.R. from where Frank places him in his version of the events. A nice way of demonstrating that their stories are in opposition to each other.
Hawkeye told Father Mulcahy to take over in Pre-Op?! How much medical training does the Padre have? I mean, I'm sure that the Father has picked up some things from working at the unit for two or three years, but enough to make medical judgments and decide how much blood a patient needs before being operated on? Why not the nurse who knocked Frank out? Surely she, or any other nurse, would be better qualified than Father Mulcahy.
Horse hockey!
Actually the episode indicates that the so called Mutiny took place some time after Colonel Potter had officially replaced Frank as CO of the 4077th.In any case Frank would have just been an interum CO unless and until whoever was in charge of the 4077th field of operation would had either appointed a successor to the late Henry Blake or had confirmed Frank as CO.That is at least the way I see it.Anyone with military expierence able to confirm or disprove this?
I agree that Father Mulcahy would have been the last person Hawkeye would have asked to take over in pre-op.
How come Frank never gave Klinger his section 8?He hates him so much that it would make sense to grant him a section 8 just to get him out of his hair!
So both Frank and Henry are or were from Indiana?
And what's with Indiana?
Just an observation but there do seem to be a lot of Hoosiers out there in fictionland.
Rather odd that Hot Lips wasn't there to back up
Frank's version of events.
It seems that the money that Zell lost in the Poker game would have been a better case for Frank to bring against Hawkeye,since he could have claimed the game was illegal and hence that the money was indeed stolen.Then again we're talking about a person who isn't the brightest bulb in the entire 4077th.
So both Frank and Henry are or were from Indiana? - Scott McClenny
Henry was from Bloomington, Illinois. Note his familiarity with Chicago ("Adam's Ribs") and it was even mentioned that Henry attended college in Chicago ("Rainbow Bridge").
"Horse hockey!"