Col. Potter orders Hawkeye and B.J. to be nice to Frank, who's cranky and driving everyone nuts while Margaret is away at a nursing conference in Tokyo. This leads to a prank that goes a little too far.
Attention all personnel! Col. Potter has requested the following tropes be kind to Frank Burns:
- Can't Hold His Liquor: Frank, though he does his best to suggest otherwise.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Frank indulges in martinis from the still and drinks at the Officers' Club as Hawkeye and B.J. make nice with him to take his mind off Margaret.
- Got Volunteered: When Potter learns that Frank is at Battalion Aid:Potter: Somebody's got to go get him. I need two volunteers: Pierce and Hunnicutt.Hawkeye: Why don't we go tell them?
- Mundane Made Awesome: Fred the physical therapist crushing a beer can with two fingers (and Frank's offer to do the same with his knees to impress Margaret) is an aversion, though it doesn't seem this way thanks to
Technology Marches On. At the time, beer cans were made with steel rather than aluminum, so crushing them required considerably more effort than it does now. - Noodle Incident: Apparently it's a tradition for senior officers to browbeat their juniors into helping their relatives make money.Radar: This general helps his daughter sell magazines, sir?Potter: It's the old army game. At Fort Leavenworth I had a four-year subscription to his wife's cupcakes.
- Shout-Out:
- When Frank joins the table, Hawkeye gives a sarcastic instruction to "Get Mr. Ravenal a refill."
- When Hawkeye and BJ return from the aid station exhausted and collapse into bed, Hawkeye murmurs "Say goodnight, Gracie," and BJ replies "Goodnight, Gracie." It's possible this may the origin of a Beam Me Up, Scotty!, since Gracie Allen is often attributed with this joke despite never actually giving the joke response on her own show.
- When telling Hawkeye to start driving, B.J. says, "Move, Kato."
- Talking in Your Sleep: Radar does this while Frank is on the phone with Margaret in Tokyo, mumbling absently about what they're talking about.
- Unusual Euphemism: The cause of death on Frank's toe tag: "Emotionally exhausted and morally bankrupt".
- What Did I Do Last Night?: Averted. Frank wakes up able to remember everything from before he passed out in the Officers' Club. He can't remember stumbling into the ambulance on his way to the latrine, or the trip to the aid station that followed, but doesn't try to either. Most surprising, he is not hungover in the slightest despite how much he drank and how rarely he drinks. If anything, he seems more chipper than usual.
