(07x01) 148 - Commander Pierce

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Big Daddy O'Reilly
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(07x01) 148 - Commander Pierce

Post by Big Daddy O'Reilly »

I liked this episode myself. Somehow, I think the network may have made a pretty good decision in airing this one first and having the season kick off with the resident class clown being thrown into a situation where he has to run the circus instead.

And actually, Ken Levine just recently talked about the network airing this episode first instead of “Peace On Us” (7×02) on his blog a couple of weeks ago.

It was a shock too: Potter talking about dreaming Mildred had Hunnicutt’s mustache, I’m like, “What?” then we see Beej lying in his bunk, that big cheesy mustache staring us in the face, I’m like, “Whoa! Where’s B.J. get that thing?” Personally, I thought the subplot with Charles being sick was played to a T, it really showed how spoiled he was, feeling that others need to drop what they’re doing to wait on him and take care of him during his time of “suffering”.

Margaret had an interesting point: “If only Frank Burns could see you now”… how would this episode have played out if it was done when Frank was still at the 4077th? I have no doubts Frank would gloat about Hawkeye not being able to handle the responsibility of running the camp, but then would probably have second guesses about him once he slowly started turning into Instant Hitler afterwards.

All in all, an enjoyable episode I think.
Moe_Hawk
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Re: (07x01) 148 - Commander Pierce

Post by Moe_Hawk »

This is an episode that is a fantastic idea and I really want to love it but unfortunately, it wasn't executed well enough with several plot holes bringing back down to an average grading.

The premise, Potter enters the Swamp in the middle of the night to announce that he's off to Seoul (or wherever) for an officers POW WOW, leaving Winchester in charge. However Charles is quite ill with a combination of the flu, sinus problems and hypochondria. Hence Pierce gets allocated CO.

In the period that follows Pierce:
- Gets frustrated with Radar hounding him to sign paper work he doesn't understand and isn't interested in
- Tries to strong arm Radar into getting blankets his way, which doesn't work
- Has to deal with Klinger's AWOL antics

He then enters a conflict with the wise cracking antics of BJ, Margaret and Winchester during OR- the situation being a combination of them deliberately being difficult to give Pierce a taste of his own medicine, inference that the power is getting to Hawkeye's head, and that Hawkeye isn't coping so well with being in command. This results in Pierce offering BJ the role which he declines resulting in Pierce telling him then to get in the back seat where he belongs, pointing out that he's at least trying to step up.

A little while after, BJ goes off to an aid station w/o asking ad MASH gets inundated with wounded that Hawkeye and a sickly Winchester have to deal with on their own.

What appears to be several hours later, Hawkeye expresses his concern about BJ's safety to Margaret, as he has still not returned, and points out that BJ is technically AWOL and Pierce could throw the book at him if he wanted to. A bemused Margaret points out that he pulled these types of behaviors when Frank Burns was in charge and says the immortal line "it's not so easy to be a clown when you have to run the circus".

BJ comes back and the two of them argue which results in them not speaking to each other.

Potter then returns and takes both a bottle and Hawkeye to the Swamp in an attempt to settle the tension. He criticises Hawkeye for trying to be too controlling/domineering when CO and states he should have let people do their jobs. He's also critical of BJ for leaving when he did. They make up, but then start arguing again in a softer way.

In the final scene, Potter is seen to be getting frustrated with Klinger's antics.




The point of this episode is that it's meant to demonstrate to Hawkeye how hard it is to be in charge, both in the sense of managing the things that come up during the day managing people but also managing people. Furthermore, the underlying message is that it's meant to get Hawkeye to actually reflect on his behavior and indifference, and realise how much more difficult he has made running the 4077th for Potter, Blake, Burns etc

This last point I don't really feel was emphasised enough as there's no real evidence to suggest that Hawkeye has learned, or modified his behavior. All that happens is that he gets told off and hopes he'll do better next time. This gaff is surprising when you consider that this is one of the few episodes of MASH that has no clear secondary story line hence the main story gets all the focus.
What they should have done is alter the final scene - rather than have Klinger talk of his his pretend ailments for a cheap laugh, a more appropriate ending would have been to have the final scene in the OR with them all under pressure; Hawkeye, Charles and BJ would argue, carry on, letting off steam etc with Hawkeye being especially vocal. Potter would then ask for quiet and Hawkeye would back off immediately, the significance of which would not be lost on Potter. That would IMO have rounded it off better

The show's start is also a little off kilter too. I'm sure I'm not the only here to notice but it makes absolutely no sense for Pierce to become CO if Winchester is indisposed. What about Margaret? She's a major, she's done it before ahead of Pierce back in 'Carry on Hawkeye'. It's only a little thing but it adds a lot in terms of credibility. I think it would have started better if Margaret was away initially and then returned to camp after Hawkeye assumed command... maybe during the big wounded scene.

The big bug bear of this episode however, is that for some bizarre reason the majority of the characters start acting in a very unlike themselves manner once Potter goes

Hawkeye for example gets really narky. His issue has never been so much with the people around him but rather that he thinks he's smarter then the army and can do things better. For him to argue with Radar and not follow his lead on what to do and how to do it, defies common sense. Everyone knows that Radar is the guy that keeps the unit running. I think what they needed to do was perhaps come up with ways to test Hawkeye's ingenuity... what do you when the power goes out, how does he discipline people or keep them working etc

Margaret - the career army professional... at a time when MASH is at its most vulnerable and lives are at stake, chooses to drop her professional standards and have a few digs at Hawkeye rather than support him. It's very unbecoming of her.

Worse still is BJ, who almost instinctively turns on Hawkeye and seems to go out of his way to make his life harder. I could understand this coming from Winchester or Burns (back in the day) but these guys are friends.
Furthermore, BJ's decision to leave MASH and go to the AId Station is a shocking one. He goes off to save one life, nobody really knows where he is exactly, when he'll be back, they have no way of knowing if he gets hurt... but worst of all he's gone for hours when they're already a surgeon and a half down. Naturally wounded come in and purely on the back of Hawkeye's great management and leadership there isn't a major disaster... a fact that is given sentence of acknowledgement where as the whole "Hawkeye is angry because he was spited" debate gets several minutes.
Very poor form BJ. That could have been a real disaster and he was totally in the wrong


All in all I kind of feel like the episode focused on the wrong spots and let too much through that was important.
I do love Margaret's telling off and the reference to Burns, I like the idea, but it is not executed well. I watch it when it comes on but am not particularly fond of this episode

Average episode for me
Ferret Face
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Re: (07x01) 148 - Commander Pierce

Post by Ferret Face »

This episode is the first of what I consider a trilogy of episodes within seasons 7 and 8, along with "Preventative Medicine" and "Guerilla My Dreams," which take a harder look at Hawkeye's character, and the types of actions he's taken and attitude he's had throughout the series. Each one had its own style and issues they addressed, but I love that they were willing to show his character through a more critical light (though I'll be honest, it's been a while since I've seen "Guerilla My Dreams," and can't really say how much I liked that specific episode until I rewatch it in a few weeks).

As for this specific episode, I really like seeing how being in command changes Hawkeye's character, and how he handles the different situations. Klinger trying to convince Hawkeye to give him a discharge, dealing with bureaucracy while trying to get the blankets, and especially his fight with BJ about the jeep were all great to watch, as were him being in Frank's shoes in the O.R. (and Margaret rightfully calling him out on his behavior, "If only Frank Bruns could see you now") and Potter trying to smooth things over between Hawkeye and BJ.

And of course, there's this little gem of a conversion between Potter and Klinger at the end:

Klinger: "Colonel, I missed you!"
Potter: "No."
Klinger: "About my heart murmur, Sir..."
Potter: "No."
Klinger: "My double vision is coming back."
Potter: "No."
Klinger: "I've fallen in love with a goat!"
Potter: "No."
Klinger: "Glad to have you back, Sir."
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