[S7E6] Under Pressure BEST
Truly, there is nothing better than a poetic but restrained soulless monster. Luke is beginning to come into his own. The Chronicoms have developed into a delightful race of Data-Spock style extremely understated over emoters, lost children forever searching the universe for the place where they truly belong. I still think the war would end immediately if each Chronicom were assigned a human best friend.
[S7E6] Under Pressure
Bob is woken from sleep by a call. It's the police. Bill Hartley, one of the GM execs, has been arrested. Bob posts bail for a beaten and bloodied Bill. The police sergeant assumes Bob is Bil's lover, and makes a point of announcing that Bill "tried to fellate an undercover officer." "Goodnight, ladies," he mocks. In a cab with Bob, Bill observes "I knew you could keep this to yourself." He is sure Bob is also gay. "Ever been arrested?" he asks. Bob says no. When Bill says, "I'm going to miss having you around," Bob thinks that Bill is threatening to out him, and snaps "I am not of your stripe." Bill reassures Bob that there is no threat to him. SC&P is not getting the Chevrolet XP account, because GM is doing it in-house. However, GM really loves Bob, and "Buick is going to come to you with a great job offer." When Bob asks Bill what he is going to do, Bill says he is going to call in sick, and that "my wife understands, thank god." Bill finally asks Bob, "How do you live in this city? So much temptation!" "It's hard," says Bob.
Don's phone rings. It's Peggy. She tells him that his idea about the kids' perspective is not good. She then asks why he is undermining her, and claims the presentation is now poisoned because he expressed his discontent with it.
Speaking of Carl, he has a protégé on the show, the young Hayden Johnston. He is 29 years old and from Thunder Bay. There are a few other proteges on the show (though they might prefer the term partner, or co-worker): Max Straczek works with Trevor Bird at Fable in Vancouver; Takeshi Horinoue is partner-chef at Lavanderia and Café Bezin with the friend of the show, chef Antonio Park.
"M*A*S*H" remains the gold standard for TV writing; in 2013, the Writers Guild of America voted it the fifth best-written TV series of all time. It's inspired countless shows today, partly because the show's talented writers weren't afraid to take risks with its characters and storytelling. The show pioneered narrative techniques like 30-minute episodes with two plotlines, usually one funny and one serious. The writers also refused to shy away from hard truths about war and the human condition despite network pressure, leading to some of the series' most powerful episodes.
After searing defeats in football, basketball, and softball, the 4077th challenges Col. Pitt and his Marine squad to a bowling match. Col. Potter and B.J. lead the team while Hawkeye must wrestle with the fact that his father is going under the knife back on American soil. He eventually processes with Charles, who calls him Hawkeye for the first and only time in the show's 12-year run. It also marked the first time the closing theme replaced the opening theme and the intro only consisted of five shots. And while neither of those things is too impactful, they accurately reflect the outlying nature of the episode, a clear standout in the series.
When Father Mulcahy becomes insecure about his lack of battle experience, he insists on accompanying Radar on a mission to retrieve a wounded soldier from the front. On the ride home, they start to lose the patient, and they're forced to radio back to the 4077th for help. Hawkeye talks Mulcahy through a makeshift tracheotomy, which he performs successfully despite the pressure of bombs going off all around him. Viewers praised the high-stakes excitement of the episode and enjoyed watching one of the show's supporting characters take the spotlight for a change.
When the 4077th is shelled, Trapper and Margaret find themselves trapped in the supply room where they must huddle together for warmth. Frank and Hawkeye discover them in what looks like a compromising position, sending Frank into a jealous spiral. The episode contains some of the show's finest examples of wit under (literal) fire, such as when Hawkeye, commenting on the prospect of evacuation, quips, "now the book of the month club will never find me."
Hawkeye is confined to quarters (affectionately nicknamed "The Swamp") after he punches Frank in the O.R. But Frank's gaining of the upper hand is short-lived when he's falsely accused of rape by a visiting colonel. The charges against Hawkeye are dropped and Frank is placed under house arrest in his place. The turnabout allows for taunting as Hawkeye, leaving The Swamp, rubs Frank's nose in it, suggesting that he explain the incident to his wife by telling her he was waiting for his mistress when he "got impatient and attacked another woman."
The hospital comes under sustained sniper fire, making it difficult and dangerous for the men and women of the 4077th to do their jobs. The episode contains the famous scene in which Radar (dodging bullets in the showers) drops his towel to reveal his naked behind, making this the first American prime time television episode to feature male nudity, according to IMDb.
Leslie Nielsen, who'd later star in "Airplane" and "Naked Gun," guest stars in this episode as Buzz Brighton, a colonel with a heroic reputation who winds up under the knife at the 4077th. After operating on Brighton, Hawkeye and Trapper realize he's a callous egotist with no regard for the men under his command, and concoct an elaborate plan to get him sent home. Nielsen's swagger-filled performance makes this a memorable episode.
When a patient shows up confused about his identity, Sidney Freedman is called in to diagnose the man's condition. Freedman puts the man under hypnosis, where he reveals that his younger brother was killed in a unit for which he was the medic. Meanwhile, Hawkeye and B.J. try to bait Winchester into breaking a vow of silence. Although the B story feels out of place and a little tacked on, the A story makes for compelling, character-driven drama. The climactic hypnosis scene, in particular, delivers an emotional catharsis that ranks amongst the show's finest.
Hawkeye, charged with mutiny against Frank Burns, must give his account of the incident in question at a preliminary hearing. Frank's own account has Hawkeye cracking under pressure and stabbing him with a hypodermic on a day when the O.R. is flooded with patients. Hawkeye dismisses this as a bizarre fantasy and explains that Frank was knocked out by a nurse opening a door. The episode delves hilariously into Frank's psyche and philosophy. At one point he famously declares: "Unless we each conform, unless we obey orders, unless we follow our leaders blindly, there is no possible way we can remain free."
Hawkeye, having worn through one of his boots, tries to get a new one ordered. This necessitates a string of escalating deals that ultimately collapses, leaving the surgeon with no option but to trudge around in the dead of winter with a golf bag covering his feet. It's a simple premise, but one that allows the writers to mine plenty of comedy from the absurdity of the war machine, such as when Henry asks Radar if he really understands "all of this army stuff" and he replies, "Uh, I try not to, sir. Slows up the works."
This was the second of three consecutive hour-long season premieres. When the 4077th is forced to "bug out" under threat of an enemy attack, Hawkeye, Margaret, and Radar stay behind to care for a patient with spinal cord damage who can't be moved. The set piece in which the hospital is dismantled stands out as an impressive piece of choreography in a show that isn't usually thought of as being too visually ambitious.
Hot Lips, Hawkeye, and Klinger are sent to the front on an emergency relief mission under dangerous and difficult conditions. Returning to the 4077th, where Trapper and Frank are complaining over petty grievances like their dislike of the food, they realize how much they take for granted. This episode accidentally divides the cast up along prescient lines: The principal characters sent to the front are those who will remain part of the show for its entire run, while those who stay home will depart before the final episode.
Who knew long underwear could be so popular? During a cold streak at the 4077th, Hawkeye's treasured pair of thermal long johns are passed around to Frank, Trapper, and Henry in a bid to survive what appears to be the camp's first bitter winter in Korea. It marked the first of 19 episodes written or co-written by Alda, and followed in line with the slapstick style of the early seasons of the show, as opposed to the more dramatic tone it took later on.
Mackey is a corrupt yet effective police officer; he steals from drug dealers, beats suspects and has committed murder on at least three occasions. Two of the victims were violent gangsters, though the first was an undercover officer trying to put Mackey and his team behind bars. Mackey sees his tactics as a means to an end.
Vic is horrified to learn that Shane has invested all the Strike Teams illegal savings withT.O. and is now heavily involved in drug running. Furthermore the money is lost when a drug shipment of T.O.'s is poisened by a supplier. Vic and the team go to Mexico to extort their saving from the supplier (who is Armadillo's brother) and then kidnap him and bring him to the U.S. so that he can be arrested. Upon returning home, Vic tells the team that they are no longer allowed to handle the money. As the pressure of his missing family and Armadillos antics pile on, Vic lashes out at the team and Shane in particular which causes a rift to form.
The season revolved around Internal Affairs Department Lt. Jon Kavanaugh's (played by Forest Whitaker) investigation into the Strike Team, representing one of the greatest threats the team has ever faced. As a result of Kavanaugh turning one of Vic's informants, IAD became aware of Lem stealing heroin which he never turned in. Vic learns that in a matter of months from now that he will be forced to retire from his police career. Having found the heroin, IAD is capable of arresting Lem, but Kavanaugh wants him to incriminate the whole team and has him wear a wire, which he warns the team of and they use it to embarrass IAD. Kavanaugh applying pressure to the team in any way he can, finds out about Mackey's share of the Money Train money, and ultimately arrests Lem having made a deal with Antwon Mitchell, a gang leader the team had put in prison. to put Lem in prison with him if convicted. Mackey supports Lem and gets bail, while Shane is worried he will give evidence against the team. Claudette finally gets her opportunity for promotion as the captain of the Barn, which she reluctantly accepts. The season concluded with Shane Vendrell, fooled by Aceveda that Lem was going to turn on the Strike Team, murdering his friend and fellow team member Lem with a hand grenade. 041b061a72