Season 8, Episode 1: Too Many Cooks
Special Guest Star: Cory Drew
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HOORAY, I’m so glad my favourite comfort podcast is back! Love hearing Cory’s thoughts, especially agree with his appreciation of the later seasons and the patter song level of jokes.
Also agree with both of you that this is a fun low-stakes season opener, although I could do without the cranky Potter stuff becoming as frequent as it does in the later seasons. We have another instance of it in this season even during “Old Soldiers” (although that one has a much more emotionally satisfying payoff) and it’s just not fun seeing Potter be mean to our favourite characters. I think the only time I really appreciate it during the back end of the show is in “Pressure Points” because the exchanges between Harry Morgan and Allan Arbus as Sidney are just SO good (and the way Harry’s voice quivers with rage and despair when he says the line in his office about “coming up with an end to this stupid war”). But of course, I really love Margaret’s connection with Potter and how she’s the only one of them who can get through to him when he’s like this. Thank goodness for everything Loretta brought to Margaret as a character; I already miss her so much.
Really fun to see Ed Begley Jr. and John Randolph in this ep! I know Begley Jr. most from Better Call Saul and John Randolph was a staple of my Christmases growing up as Griswold Sr. in Christmas Vacation, but it really is bonkers how expansive his career was.
Agreed with Cory also about the lazy joke at the very end of the ep – to me it comes across as xenophobic and extremely American (derogatory). I also hate the jokes they make in earlier season episodes about dogs being eaten bc it’s like, well you’re an American presence in another country. People do things differently all over the world. Personally I’d love to try goat, I’m sure it’s not that different from other types of red meat, and Klinger made it taste delicious so who are they to nitpick if the food in the mess tent is so horrible otherwise?
ANYWAY. Fun ep and I’m happy the show is back!
It’s great to have MASHCast back! It’s fun each week to watch the episode, listen to the podcast, and then read the comments. You, your guests, and the commenters always add to my enjoyment of the series.
I agree this was a nice low-stakes season opener. The Angry Potter episodes are not usually my favorite. It seems out of character because Potter is usually level-headed and emotionally intelligent. But I guess when something really personal is bothering him, his instinct is to sulk and not open up. The interactions between Margaret and Potter, and how she gets through to him, are a highlight of the episode. I also enjoy all the humor with the absurdity of Klinger turning the mess tent into a high-end restaurant. I have no idea how Klinger got the authority to do all that, given that Potter obviously wasn’t on board with it!
I am kind of curious if maybe Gary Burghoff was not happy about coming back for a few episodes in season eight, although he obviously agreed to do it, given that his contract ran through season seven and he had no contractual obligation to return. He has kind of an annoyed attitude in his scenes, and from what I have heard it was his choice to show his receding hairline, which makes him look older than his character. (Although I guess when Radar is staying in a hotel room, he would have no reason to wear his cap like he does at camp.) Having said all that, I’m glad Burghoff came back to give Radar a proper send-off, in contrast to Trapper and Frank, who unfortunately didn’t get proper onscreen farewell episodes.
YAY MASHCAST! great start to a great season! i like the unreality of klinger’s mess tent restaurant, it’s nice to imagine everybody needing that sort of fantasy experience given how long they’ve lived in awful conditions and their collective belief makes it true. like tinkerbell. So glad the show’s back, can’t wait to hear more!
Yeeees, you’re back! This wonderful podcast made of love, joy and celebration of the beautiful thing that is MASH is what we need in this cold and terrible world.
I had such a great time listening to this episode, the conversation was just lovely.
Too Many Cooks is an interesting first episode of the season. I like that they had the confidence to do it, starting off with a low stake episode – no medical emergencies, no loaded choppers tearing through the sky, no blood, just good food and grumpy Potter. They trusted their audience enough to know that they would stick with the show, not demand a huge spectacle right off the bat.
They really did repeat the pattern of grumpy Potter-episodes several times, though, and while I do think that maybe they could have done it differently sometimes – show him struggle with things in other ways than barking at people and not wanting to talk – I do think these episodes always lead up to some pretty great scenes.
And I am always a fan of seeing not so flattering sides of characters who are usually sweet and kind, so Potter being bad at dealing with emotions and actually talk about things is an interesting aspect of him. Probably one of the reasons he and Margaret get along so well, too, they have that in common.
I love Potter’s and Margaret’s relationship so much, and of course it had to be her who talked to him – after ordering everyone else to leave him alone, in true Margaret fashion. Reminds me of the scene in Images, where Hawkeye won’t leave her alone, demands that she gets what bothers her off her chest. Nice little circle of the characters looking out for each other.
The scene in Potter’s tent, where she is starting to tear up, he pulls her into a hug and mumbles “Margaret” – oh my heart! The connection between them – both the characters and the actors – is such a thing of beauty.
I find Margaret’s lines about her missing Donald so interesting too. In my mind – she never truly loved Donald, she loved the idea of a husband, loved the images she could project onto him. He was the embodiment of the army for her in a way, and the army could do no wrong. But they never had a “real” life together. They didn’t have slow Sunday mornings in their own kitchen with the paper and a big pot of coffee. No barbeques wtih friends, no trips to the grocery store. Not that I feel like Donald would go on those, I bet he thought that was women’s work… All they had were hotel rooms, and restaurants, and cities they didn’t live in.
Clinging to the idea of a perfect husband must have been a way of escape for her, really. “If I only had my husband here, I wouldn’t feel this lost or sad upset, he would make things better.” And by holding onto that idea, she didn’t have to deal with what was truly wrong.
She knew he cheated on her, saw her only as a sensible choice. He couldn’t deal with what she actually did for a living – had to be wheeled out the first time he saw her work, and he couldn’t handle that she had a past and knew other men before him.
So, what they had together was more of a fantasy to Margaret, in my mind, and she never really got to expereince the care and understanding she talks to Colonel Potter about. In him and Mildred she sees something – dedication and true love – that she hasn’t really experienced yet. Not that she would allow herself to admit that.
To me, all of this gives that lovely scene yet another dimension.
I have one big issue with Too Many Cooks, though… I have a thing with people being messy with food, it grosses me out. It’s on the level of if I’m having a meal with someone, and they get a crumb on their chin, I will go “Oh my god, please go clean yourself up, you are disgusting to me right now and I can’t even look at you.”
Why yes, I am a constant joy to be around, ha ha! 😀
And here – several people are being very gross around food! BJ and Hawkeye eat with Klinger’s fork, and sharing cutlery is – you guessed it – gross! They eat from the same plate, talk with food in their mouths, and then Charles comes along and just huffs and sniffs all over the place, before he starts to eat with his hands! I mean, it’s nice that the food is so delicious that even the great Charles Emerson Winchester III loses all his manners, but on the other hand – I lose my apetite completely! So that scene is not fun times for me…
Love, love, love the scene in the O-Club, though, when Margaret reads the letter, and they all get emotional. The lighting in the close ups is just so beautiful.
And also – Mildred’s cousin Portia – what a star! When I’m an old lay one day, taking my teeth out will be my party trick too! 😀
Again – so happy the podcast is back! Looking forward to this season so much, there are so many great episodes in S8, and I can’t wait to hear people’s thoughts on them!
Welcome Back MASHCast, Rob and Cory! Cory’s mellow thoughtfulness in his observations and insights are always great to listen to.
A couple of observations…
1] Hawkeye reckons he’s a great plumber, whose “Patients never leak”?! We’ll see, Dr Pearce… we’ll see! ;o) (foreshadowing!)
2] A question for Rob and other 4077-ophiles – Do you know if – at this stage in the show’s run – MASH had sufficient prestige that movie actors would agree to sign up for a cameo role, event though it was “only” television?
(I know that – in the UK – Doctor Who attracted some big acting names from time to time, as it was something that the actor’s children and / or grandchildren could watch and enjoy them in)
3] As the consumer of more than my fair share of hospital meals over the years, I would advise not thinking too hard about how that food got onto the plate.
Institutional mass catering usually runs to a very, very tight budget. If you’re starting to query the provenance of some of the constituent ingredients… I’d stop doing that. Immediately!
One example from when I was a very junior doctor – the hospital I worked at had a team of cooks who could do wonders with very cheap ingredients. One regular lunchtime favourite (… and I strongly suggest you stop reading & look away now, Rob!) was braised lambs hearts; meaty, nutritious and – with the right spicing – very delicious. And for the medics on the dining table, there was the added entertainment of trying to identify which bit of gristle was which particular heart valve! It was amazing how many of my colleagues who could stomach a morning of surgery would then demur that particular dish when it came to lunchtime. More fool them – it was tasty!
Hooray for the return of MASH-Cast and Corey as well!
As you say this is an interesting episode to start the season on with all the silliness. Truly, outside of the Potter plot, this could be straight out of the Trapper years. Perhaps the addition of the heavier Potter plot is supposed to even out the nonsense.
I do love when Charles says ‘the meat … a mystery’, pure comedy gold. But it is interesting that he has such a love of a Spam Parmagiana. Perhaps he has a love of all things Italian? (foreshadowing!)
I think hospital meals have improved tremendously over the years for patients and with the advent of food courts either in or near the hospital. But there aren’t too many free meals for the staff. When things are busy on shift and I can’t break away, dinner is usually saltines with peanut butter and a diet ginger ale. It is probably my most often eaten meal! So if suddenly someone was making anything of taste and substance in the hospital for the doctors, I also would bend over backwards to keep them around.
So nice to have MASHCast back! I’ll always remember Ed Begley Jr. from the lying doctor who clashes with Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Great role.
As far as his role as Pvt. Conway, he’s an idiot! He’s. It going to be effective at the front! He’s falling on dudes and he’s serving c-rations. Go cook for the general and live, man!
Jocularity, jocularity! Welcome back, Rob! Off to a great start with such a funny episode. It’s always a treat to hear you and Cory, your podcast chemistry is so good.
I didn’t have anything to add about the episode itself that others haven’t said. But I did have a “bad” thought and looked into it. If I’m doing the math correctly, Harry Morgan was 64 years old in this episode. I’m 6 years younger than that now. Oh lord! I really shouldn’t have done that!
So glad MASHCast is back!! I’m with you guys (and the posters here) – Angry Potter is downright scary – reminds me of my Grandpa. No Bueno. I love the discussion about TV stars versus movie stars. I remember that was definitely a thing before the turn of the century (did I just say that?). When TV shows became more cinematic, they somehow became more prestigious, I think, and more movie actors seemed to be comfortable with returning to television though. Randolph and Beatty did seem to be exceptions, but I wonder if “character” actors returning to TV was more permissable than big stars. I mean, if you’re not making the big box office bucks, you have to get the jobs where you can!
Also, I’m searching my memory… I may have tried to make Spam parmesan at some point when I was younger. If so, I shan’t repeat the experiment.
Welcome back, General! Boy, that weekend RnR in Seoul felt like it went on for months, didn’t it?
I have to say, if there’s one good thing about the annual ‘Angry Potter’ episodes, it’s that it makes the moments when he’s kind and empathic stand out all the more, because you’re reminded of the steely exterior he can wrap himself up within.
And in an episode that almost feels as if they mined the Henny Youngman joke book, one line really tickles me, and if you aren’t fully paying attention, you can miss it: when the gang assembles in the mess tent at the end and are unenthusiastically enduring the usual Army slop, Charles mutters, “We could end this war in a minute, you know. All we have to do is invite North Korea to lunch.” 😀