History Recap / MashS4E2ChainOfCommand

--> '''Klinger''': I'm not that easy.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: At first, Hawkeye is overjoyed with the news Frank is no longer going to be commanding officer, mentioning to BJ that he's been sticking pins in a Frank Burns doll for a year. Ecstatic, he reads the letter about the replacement until he reaches an important line [[OhCrap and his face falls.]]
--> '''Hawkeye''': Colonel Sherman Potter. Surgeon. Medical. ({{beat}}) USA?!
--> '''BJ''': ''[turns to Radar]'' Regular army?
--> '''Radar''': Career man.
--> '''BJ''': ''[eyes Hawkeye]'' Trouble?
--> '''Hawkeye''': An army doctor! He'll have people bleeding by the numbers. He's got to be a loser, or why would they dump him in a MASH? ({{beat}}) A career man. That's even worse than Frank, who's neither one or the other.
** The trope is averted by the end though.
* ChewingTheScenery: Larry Linville proves himself as a legendary and underrated comedy actor when Frank Burns drops his stoic facade after learning he's no longer going to be commanding officer of the 4077th and unleashes a full-blown, exaggerated but nonetheless realistic childish tantrum. See the ManChild entry below for the full scene.

---> '''Radar''': Klinger, '''[[BigNo NO!]]'''
---> '''Klinger''': I saw him pull in. This is my chance.
---> '''Radar''': He's got a saddle.
---> '''Klinger''': I don't care.
---> '''Radar''': He's regular army.
---> '''Klinger''': And I'm regular crazy.

--> '''Radar''': The officer's latrine is to the right, sir.
--> '''Colonel Potter''': Thank you. ''[[stops, realising, and stares back at Radar]]''

--> '''Colonel Potter''': They [his hands] were pretty shaky going in, I gotta tell a. Sittin' behind a desk for two years, I thought I might have lost my touch. But I guess surgery's just like riding a bicycle. Once you learn it, you never forget.

--> '''Colonel Potter''': Major Frank Burns?
--> '''Margaret''': Just friends, sir.
* TheGhost: Seargent Zale is referenced in an old supply order

* ManChild: This episode further showcases Frank's startling lack of maturity. Upon learning the Army has already found a replacement and that he will be out of command, Frank feigns nonchalance over this. [[BaitAndSwitch However, when he and Margaret go back to the tents...]]
--> '''Frank (stamping on his feet and wailing)''' [[BigNo NONONONONO!]] IT'S NOT FAIR, IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S ''MY'' M.A.S.H! It's mine! It's mine, mine, mine!

---> '''Margaret''': I know, darling. There there.
---> '''Frank''': I already wrote Mommy.
---> '''Margaret''': Your mother will understand.
---> '''Frank''': I mean my wife.
---> '''Margaret''': ''[visibly offended]'' Buzz off!
---> '''Frank''': ''[retorts loudly as she leaves]'' You'll all be sorry when I'm gone! You'll see!
---> ''starts holding his breath''

--> '''Klinger''': ''[saluting]'' Colonel Potter, sir. Corporal Klinger. I'm Section Eight, head to toe. I'm wearing a Warner bra. I play with dolls. My last wish is to be buried in my mother's wedding gown. I'm nuts. I should be out.
--> '''Colonel Potter''': ''[salutes back]'' ({{beat}}) [[EstablishingCharacterMoment Horse]] [[CurseOfTheAncients hockey]].
--> ''Klinger's face falls''
--> '''Colonel Potter''': I've seen these dodges for forty years. All the tricks. Knew a private pretended he was a mare. Carried a colt in his arms for weeks. Another fella said he was a daisy, insisted we water him every morning. No, no, Corporal. It ain't gonna go with me.

--> '''Radar''': Stick that horn in your ear.
--> ''({{beat}})''
--> '''Colonel Potter''': On your feet, soldier. I'm Colonel Potter.
--> '''Radar''': [[EyeTake Oh boy]].

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: This is what Potter turns out to be in this episode, and all episodes after.

--> '''Frank''': Seargent, I want standardization of compartments. When I look down a table at a row of trays, I want to see beans, beans, beans, beans. Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. Apple sauce, apple sauce, apple sauce, apple sauce. Got that?
--> '''Igor''': Yes.
--> '''Frank''': Yes, what?
--> '''Igor''': Yes sir.
--> '''Frank''': Yes sir, what?
--> '''Igor''': ''[stammers]'' Yes sir, yes sir...three bags full?

* SuperOCD: When Frank reprimands Igor for the way he serves food at the mess tent, he orders Igor to keep the servings in standardised compartments. Igor tries to respond appropriately but Frank comes down harder on him, leading to a funny ShoutOut moment that [[ArmorPiercingResponse that leaves both Margaret and Margaret speechless]] [[CantBelieveISaidThat and him confused.]]

--> '''Hawkeye''': An army doctor! He'll have people bleeding by the numbers. He's got to be a loser, or why would they dump him in a MASH? ({{beat}}) That's even worse than Frank, who's neither one or the other.

* DefrostingIceKing: In his earliest scenes, Colonel Potter is a strict, elderly commander who wants his tenure as commanding officer to be endured without fuss. Then, once he goes through a session of surgery and remembers his lifetime of experiences, he winds down, accepting an offer from BJ and Hawkeye for a round of drinks at the Swamp. By the next morning, he has softened his inital stance, allowing the [=MASHers=] to run as casually as usual.

--> '''Klinger''': Radar, I'm finished. I gotta burn my bloomers.

** Radar is pleasantly surprised Colonel Potter started from the ground up as an enlisted man in the Army ranks rather than being made an immediate officer like the other doctrs he's known.

** Hawkeye lightly mocks Maragret standing at attention whenever Colonel Potter addresses her at the meeting.

* ShoutOut: Hawkeye mentions that Table 27 of the Henry Blake Memorial Bar is usually reserved for Caesar Romero.

--> '''Frank''': If you'll all excuse me, I'd best prepare for the change of command.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Frank, there is a very good reason why Radar didn't follow your order of delivering the day's mail to you first.

--> '''Colonel Potter''': On your fett, soldier. I'm Colonel Potter.

--> '''Igor''': ''[stammers]'' Yes sir, yes sir...three bags full?

Chain of Command chronicles Colonel Potter's first day as new C.O. of the 4077th.

* ManChild: This episode further showcases Frank's startling lack of maturity. Upon learning the Army has already found a replacement and that he will be out of command, Frank feigns nonchalance over this. However, when he and Margaret go back to the tents...
--> '''Frank (stamping on his feet and wailing)''' [[BigNo NONONONONO!]] IT'S NOT FAIR, IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S ''MY'' M.A.S.H! ''MINE!!!''

* ManChild: This episode further showcases Frank's startling lack of maturity. Upon learning the Army has already found a replacement and that he will be out of command, Frank feigns nonchalance over this. However, when he and Margaret go back to the tents....

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: This is what Potter turns out to be in this episode, and all episodes after.

* AdultChild: Burns proves himself to be this, throwing a temper tantrum when he learns a new CO will be coming to take over the 4077th, including ''running away'' in a fit of pique. He shows up again by the end of the episode, true to how Hawkeye said he would: cold, hungry, wet, and tired.

* BaitAndSwitchTyrant

--> '''Frank (stamping on his feet and wailing)''' [[BigNo NOOOO!]] IT'S NOT FAIR, IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S ''MY'' M.A.S.H! ''MINE!!!''
** He then proceeds to run away from from the base like a child, only to return by episode's end wet, hungry and dirty.

* Manchild: This episode further showcases Frank's startling lack of maturity. Upon learning the Army has already found a replacement and that he will be out of command, Frank feigns nonchalance over this. However, when he and Margaret go back to the tents....

** He then proceeds to literally run away from from the base to sulk, only to return much later wet, hungry and dirty.

The first episode with Colonel Potter, Change/Chain of Command, with the first (shown) OR session of the season, shows that the two new actors/doctors the 4077th has are here to stay, just like everyone else in the unit.

The episode opens with a shot of the camp, and the PA announcer announcing the winner of the monthly lottery. We then cut to the Swamp, where Hawkeye and BJ are assembling a bar in the area now left open for Frank's moving into the CO's Tent. BJ asks what they should call it, and after Hawkeye points out that Henry Blake would have loved what they had done, they decide to call it the Henry Blake Memorial Bar. Just as the two are about to 'break in' the bar, Radar scrambles in, mail in hand.

Bj and Hawkeye start joking around, acting like Radar is a customer and they are waiters at a restaurant. But when Radar raises his voice, then panics and says to be quiet, then two listen to what the news is; the 4077th is getting a new Commanding Officer. After first being thrilled with the news, when Hawkeye realizes that the new CO, Colonel Sherman Potter, is an Army doctor, he states that he 'will have people bleeding by the numbers.' He then assumes that the man has to be a 'loser' to have gotten dumped in a MASH unit.

Hawkeye asks Radar how Frank took being replaced, but Radar says that he is too nervous to tell him. BJ tells Radar to show Frank the orders, but Radar points out that Frank has been hard on Radar for no reason, and then telling Frank will only make things worse. The two offer to go with Radar when he tells Frank, so the three go over to the Mess Tent.

Radar first dodges the questions, then gives Frank a card from his vet. Hawkeye jokes that it's time for Frank's Rabies shot, and when BJ follows suit, Frank reminds BJ to not let Hawkeye 'corrupt' him. Radar then gives Frank a card about a buffet he is missing/missed, and when Frank sees the official papers Radar is carrying, he and Margaret realize that Frank is being replaced. Margaret says it's unfair, but Frank takes it philosophically...

...until the two get into Margaret's tent and he immediately throws a temper tantrum just like a two-year-old would do. Margaret attempts to comfort him, but when he mentions that he wrote his wife about his command post, he storms out. Frank yells after her that everyone 'will be sorry when he's gone,' and proceeds to hold his breath until he passes out.

We cut back to the Swamp, where BJ and Hawkeye are taking apart the bar to re-make room for Frank's stuff. Radar and Klinger bring Frank's bed back in, just before Frank shows up. He has Radar go get the rest of his things, and tells Klinger that had he had one more week of command, Klinger would not be wearing dresses anymore. Frank has files of his time as CO that he plans to donate to his college as an 'important part of history.' The 'history' involves a cracked bed pan and orders to the mess tent to drain the oil from the tuna fish. He then asks what Hawkeye and BJ are planning on doing with the bar parts, and Hawkeye jokes that he will donate them to his college.

Radar is then shown sunbathing without his shirt on as a jeep enters camp, the driving honking the horn. Radar's only response is to tell the driver to 'stick the horn in his ear.' The driver tells Radar to stand up and announces himself as Colonel Potter. After nervous introductions/apologies and Radar scrambling to 'cover up his nakedity,' the Colonel tells Radar to bring his saddle and a box to his office, and put the rest in his tent.

The two enter the office. Radar asks if the Colonel is expecting a horse, and the Colonel tells that he's had the saddle since is days as an underage (15) solider in WWI. He tells Radar to move a filing cabinet, but Radar points out that Henry Blake had it work better where it was than where the Colonel wanted it. The Colonel reminds Radar that Henry is gone, and that he is in charge. Radar leaves the office, but as soon as he is outside, we hear him yell "Klinger NO!"

We see Klinger dressed up in a gold dress with a hand fan. He saw the Colonel get in and thinks it's his chance to get his Section 8. Radar tells him that the Colonel has a saddle and is 'Regular Army.' Klinger replies that he is 'regular crazy' and marches into the office. He salutes and tells the Colonel the reasons he should be thrown out. The Colonel returns the salute, then crushes Klinger's dreams with 'horse hockey.' He tells Klinger about two men, one who thought he was a mare and carried a colt for weeks, the other who insisted he was a daisy and needed to be watered every morning. He tells Klinger to get and stay in uniform before dismissing him.

Klinger leaves just as Radar is walking in with the Colonel's box, and he tells Radar that he is finished before leaving. Radar tries to brush Klinger's antics off and begins to unload the Colonel's box. The Colonel says that he wants to see his officer's, then asks about the name 'Radar.' Dismissive at first, Radar tells him that the latrine is to the right as the Colonel is leaving, earning him a double-take as the Colonel had never asked where it was.

Father Mulcahy, Margaret, Hawkeye and BJ are all in the Colonel's office as he goes through their records. Father is clean, and the Colonel asks if he could manage a Methodist service for him. After assuring this, he moves on to Margaret. Everything checks out, until the Colonel moves onto Franks final. Margaret, mistaking this for a question about the two's relationship, accidentally REVEALS the relationship, before realizing and telling the Colonel that Frank is 'indisposed.'

He then moves on to Hawkeye and BJ, the latter of whom has only been there a few days. Potter mentions a fire in the latrines, which was caused when the two had a weenie roast in there since they are not allowed to cook in the tents. He then brings up an incident of Hawkeye stealing a steam shovel (which happened well before this time period). Potter asks him about drinking, to which Hawkeye replies, 'Only to excess.' Potter says he doesn't need 'colorful' officers, and requests that they keep their noses clean for a few months before dismissing them with a salute, which Hawkeye returns with a wave by the side of his head.

The four walk out, and BJ mentions how quickly Frank was able to get the latrine incident on their records. Hawkeye asks where Frank is, and Margaret reveals that he was so upset of his loss of command that he, 'ran away from home' as Hawkeye put it. She swears them to secrecy, and they agree. But just seconds later, Hawkeye grabs the microphone and attempts to announce Frank's disappearance to the camp.

After commercial, we see BJ and Hawkeye working on this Still, wondering whether or not the Colonel will let them keep it. Klinger stiffly walks in, trying not to move. It is quickly revealed that he has a psycho-semantic rash everywhere his uniform touches him. Hawkeye 'orders' him to wear a slip under the uniform, and the two exchange a salute before Klinger leaves.

Radar is helping the Colonel unpack, putting his many horse pictures on the wall of his office, and a photo pf Mrs. Potter, the Colonel's wife, on his desk. Radar then finds the Colonel's Good Conduct Medal, which only Enlisted personal can earn. Then Radar hears incoming choppers, which the Colonel hears seconds later, shocked at how soon Radar heard them.

With one of the regular surgeons missing, one (most likely) getting his first taste of what kind of surgery goes on in the unit, and one not having operated in two years, everyone (except the Colonel) is understandably more nervous than normal going in.

Everything is fine at first. In-between patients, Hawkeye get an update on the Colonel; Margaret says he's doing fine, but all his operations have been simple. The Colonel checks on BJ, and suggests resetting a section, which BJ says he was planning on as soon as the bleeding stopped. Klinger is wearing a half-slip, so his rash is partly clearing up.

BJ discovers a bad bleeder, and starts to panic, repeating orders and getting impatient, and asks for help. Colonel Potter, who was still watching, begins to walk him through it. After OR, BJ and Hawkeye take Potter back to the Swamp, where he gives them advice on how to improve the Still. He then tells them that the Still he had during WWII blew up, which is how he got his Purple Heart. Hawkeye asks Potter to go easy on Klinger. In the Tag, we find out that he did. Frank returns with a bruise on his forehead. He tells Potter that he can be trusted to maintain discipline, just as Klinger walks in wearing an outfit from the Shirley Temple collection.

Everything is fine at first. In-between patients, Ha

Everything is fine at first. In-between patients,

With one of the regular surgeons missing, one (most likely) getting his first taste of what kind of surgery goes on in the unit, and one not having operated in two years, everyone (except the Colonel) is understandably more nervous than normal going in.

With one of the regular surgeons missing, one (most likely) getting his first taste of what kind of surgery goes on in the unit,

Radar first dodges the questions, then gives Frank a card from his vet. Hawkeye jokes that it's time for Frank's Rabies shot, and when Bj follows suit, Frank reminds BJ to not let Hawkeye 'corrupt' him. Radar then gives Frank a card about a buffet he is missing/missed, and when Frank sees the official papers Radar is carrying, he and Margaret realize that Frank is being replaced. Margaret says it's unfair, but Frank takes it philosophically...

With Frank MIA, the unit is down a surgeon. Under normal circumstances, it would probably have been fine, but this is also the Colonel's first OR session in two years, having been in administration the past few. And, more likely than not, this is also BJ's first OR session since his arrival. Everyone is understandably nervous going in, and Margaret is still worried about Frank, especially as it will be getting dark soon.

After commercial, we see BJ and Hawkeye working on this Still, wondering whether or not the Colonel will let them keep it. Klinger stiffly walks in, trying not to move. It is quickly revealed that he has a psycho-semantic rash everywhere his uniform touches him. Hawkeye 'orders' him to wear a slip under the uniform, and the two exchange a salute before Klinger leaves.

After commercial, we see BJ and Hawkeye working on this Still, wondering whether or not the Colonel will let them keep it. Klinger stiffly walks in, trying not to move. It is quickly revealed that he has a psycho-semantic rash everywhere his uniform touches him. Hawkeye 'orders' him to where a slip under the uniform, and the two exchange a salute before Klinger leaves.

After commercial, we see BJ and Hawkeye working on this Still, wondering whether or not the Colonel will let them keep it.

The four walk out, and BJ mentions how quickly Frank was able to get the latrine incident on their records. Hawkeye asks where Frank is, and Margaret reveals that he was so upset of his loss of command that he, 'ran away from home' as Hawkeye put it. She swears them to secrecy, and they agree. But just seconds later, Hawkeye grabs the microphone and attempts to announce Frank's disappearance to the camp.

Klinger leaves just as Radar is walking in with the Colonel's box, and he tells Radar that he is finished before leaving. Radar tries to brush Klinger's antics off and begins to unload the Colonel's box. The Colonel says that he wants to see his officer's, then asks about the name 'Radar.' Dismissive at first, Radar tells him that the latrine is to the right as the Colonel is leaving, earning him a double-take as the Colonel had never asked where it was.

The two enter the office. Radar asks if the Colonel is expecting a horse.

We cut back to the Swamp, where BJ and Hawkeye are taking apart the bar to re-make room for Frank's stuff. Radar and Klinger bring Frank's bed back in, just before Frank shows up. He has Radar go get the rest of his things, and tells Klinger that had he had one more week of command, Klinger would not be wearing dresses anymore. Frank has files of his time as CO that he plans to donate to his college as an 'important part of history.' He then asks what Hawkeye and BJ are planning on doing with the bar parts, and Hawkeye jokes that he will donate them to his college.

Radar is then shown sunbathing without his shirt on as a man on a jeep comes driving into camp.

We cut back to the Swamp, where BJ and Hawkeye are taking apart the bar to re-make room for Frank's stuff. Radar and Klinger bring Frank's bed back in, just before Frank shows up. He has Radar go get the rest of his things, and tells Klinger that had he had one more week of command, Klinger would not be wearing dresses anymore. Frank files colleg bar parts h colege

Bj and Hawkeye start joking around, acting like Radar is a customer and they are waiters at a restaurant. But when Radar raises his voice, then panics and says to be quiet, then two listen to what the news is; the 4077th is getting a new Commanding Officer. After first being thrilled with the news, when Hawkeye realizes that the new CO, Colonel Sherman Potter, is an Army doctor, he states that he 'will have people bleeding by the numbers.' He then assumes that the man has to be a 'loser' to have gotten dumped in a MASH unit.