Season 8, Episode 10: The Yalu Brick Road
Special Guest: Thom O’Connor
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“Sam and Ella? Who are they?” Somebody here in Oklahoma must’ve been Rizzo fans because a few decades ago they opened up a small chain of restaurants called Sam & Ella’s Chicken Palace (it’s actually a pizza and sandwich place).
Great episode Rob I really enjoyed it. The Yalu Brick Road is a good episode of M*A*S*H. I love Rizzo in this episode. I looked it up online to see if Harry Morgan ever wrote an episode of M*A*S*H and it looks like he never did. If he actually did I couldn’t fing it. Based on what I was able to find Harry only directed episodes of M*A*S*H.
Looking forward to the next one
It’s funny, Yalu Brick Road doesn’t spring to mind immediately when I think of my favorite “comfort” episodes of MASH, but just hearing the episode synopsis had me grinning like a maniac and I went and dug out my DVDs to rewatch right after I finished listening to the podcast. It really is one of the bright spots of Season 8 with very little drama, lots of entertaining character dynamics/banter, & the A plot and B plot being equally enjoyable.
re: whatever Ralph discusses with the other North Korean soldiers to convince them to pass on by, I always assumed a backstory where those guys are all members of the same platoon. I get the sense Ralph is inept at his job and the rest of his unit knows it, so when he puts on a big show of pride at having captured two U.S. soldiers the other North Koreans are charitably amused at him (with the added context of Hawkeye and BJ clearly being unarmed doctors so it’s not that big of an achievement for him to be boasting about it like he is). Their attitude is “we’ll let the kid keep the credit for delivering the prisoners to HQ and get a win for once in his life” and they continue on with their patrol duty.
Rob, I appreciate your choice of favorite line, and the exasperated side-eye Hawkeye gives BJ after he makes the joke is the cherry on top. I would also like to go on the record that “Spokes” Hunnicutt is a nickname BJ made up for himself and nobody actually calls him that. Although to be fair to his motorcycle prowess, he’s probably not used to riding with two passengers and a full load of luggage in the sidecar.
Thanks for another fun episode!
Great discussion of a fun episode. I like when characters have an adventure away from camp. Mike Farrell did a great job for his first episode he wrote. Soon-Tek Oh is always one of my favorite guest stars.
I’m not sure how BJ arranged with Fred and Mrs. Fred to take their motorcycle, given the language barrier. Is BJ supposed to return it, or did they give it to him? I know BJ has a motorcycle at later points in the series, but I don’t remember it being the same one he had here. I like how you mentioned that BJ almost tipped his motorcycle over in his last shot in the series finale; I remember noticing that too!
I agree that Rizzo has more range than Zale. Rizzo is a humorous character, but in small doses. I probably wouldn’t want a spinoff about him, although I guess it couldn’t be worse than the Radar pilot!
Hi Rob!
You asked what might happen if a MASH unit had no staff to treat incoming wounded. In the UK health service, a hospital that is experiencing overwhelming demand would declare a critical incident and would divert low level medical problems away from their doors. Not sure if that would apply in a theatre of war, however!
We should probably discuss Potter’s Study Leave policy, however: allowing Margaret, Winchester, Hawkeye AND BJ off site, all at the same time, is just asking for trouble!
Maybe Hawkeye is a Dr. Seuss fan and picked up nerd from reading If I ran the Zoo which was published in 1950
Clearly, the lesson to be learned here is that if you have a crisis, put Mulcahy and Margaret in charge!
And I’m assuming the second shift doctors are also stricken and are in the other wing of post-op. 😉
What would the Army do in an instance of an entire M*A*S*H* unit laid up all at once…shouldn’t they round up new doctors, nurses and support staff and rush them in to take over, in case there are wounded?
And as for Klinger wearing his pink robe, I wonder if the producers were still a tiny bit unsure whether or not they were going to continue with this new direction for him, or if…should it not really take with viewers…they were willing to put him back in drag, so they were keeping that door ajar for now. Either that, or else Klinger thought, “I spent a month’s pay on this, and I’m gonna damn well get my money’s worth out of it!”
I think Mike Farrell did an excellent job writing this one. It may not be on anyone’s top 5 list of M*A*S*H episodes, but it is still another terrific episode and I’m glad he had an opportunity to write three more.
On the topic of using the word ‘nerd.’ I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it used in this particular connotation before, but I wouldn’t be surprised that it’s use/meaning hasn’t changed since 1979 when episode was written. It brought to my mind the word ‘jerk.’ Now, it is used almost primarily to signify someone mean or rude. In the past, it was commonly used to refer to someone who was annoyingly stupid. I have heard it used in that context in old time radio comedies from the 1940’s and as recently as Steve Martin’s movie “The Jerk” which came out the same year this episode aired.
Rob, when you described Jamie Farr’s reaction on the phone while speaking to Themopolis (sp?). You have a very different read on what caused Klinger’s face to have that expression than the one I have always had. I don’t think Klinger was shocked by what was said on the phone. Rather, I always imagined that his outburst caused him to have a physical reaction to the salmonella still in his system.
Great having General Iron Guts Kelly back with another season of MASH. While this episode may not be on many people’s favorites list, it is on mine. I love this episode!!
It’s a funny episode but not really one of my favorites.
I wonder what happened to Ralph. Did they turn him in to the authorities? How did BJ get the motorcycle back? I remember he had one in the episode where the Hemingway type guy was there and he got drunk and stole it and had a wreck but don’t recall how he acquired it.
I remember nerd just being used to describe people who were dorky or not “cool”. Fonzie used it a lot on Happy Days. Never knew that about the word jerk. I always wondered why they called it that because his character was well meaning but stupid. He really thought the hotel was on fire, he wasn’t trying to be an asshole.
I always liked Zale better but he was never as involved in plots as much like Rizzo was. His last episode he and Klinger did work together trying to fix the generator although they bickered the whole time although it seemed more good natured than normal. I wonder if Haymer left on his own accord. He might have gotten more screen time after Radar left like Rizzo did. A supply sergeant could be used in Klinger’s schemes and he and Klinger did have pretty good chemistry together.
This is an episode that I remember being shown constantly when I was growing up. It ight have been the first Soon Tek Oh episode that I saw. He is so good in this episode and doesn’t speak a word of English, which is a testament of how great an actor he is.
I think this is also a great introduction for Rizzo and what a foil he’ll be for Klinger.
His request for a preemptive confession is hilarious.
The Father was washing the sheets and Winchester was rinsing. So why did Hurricane Margaret land into Winchester? I don’t like the way she bullies not only Winchester in this episode and Potter in every other episode.
While Sid is my favorite reoccurring character, G.W. Bailey is my favorite reoccurring actor in MASH. I love his performance as Rizzo. His talents took him to Police Academy movies and as a psychologist on St Elsewhere (another favorite show of mine that had multiple MASH actors appear on it).
Fun! I love hearing people’s MASH-origin stories.
The Yalu Brick Road is kind of a strange episode for me. I tend to think I like it, but then I watch it and just go “nah, this isn’t great.”
I think my biggest problem with it is that it’s so even, there is absolutely no tension, no peaks and valleys, and that just makes it very bland to me.
Like with BJ and Hawkeye – they’re just constantly joking. They’re lost – they’re joking. They get into an accident – they’re joking. They think they’re about to get shot – they’re joking. They think they might get in even bigger trouble – they’re joking. I get that using humor is their way of coping with a lot of things, but since it’s constant, it has no real importance. I never for a second believe that they think they’re in serious trouble.
The scene with BJ and Hawkeye trying to flip the car over does look very real and dangerous, it does look like the actors are actually jumping out of the way for a real jeep. It reminds me of the scene in… Argh, can’t remember the episode because I’m a horrible fan and needs to go stand in the corner and think about what I’ve done, but when Mulcahy and Charles are out on a mission involving some black marketers. They drive away, and Charles is hanging out of the jeep in his long johns, almost falling out, and it looks so dangerous too, like that really is DOS doing that. Be careful with your actors, show!
I sound like a broken record, but I love the Potter-Margaret dynamics. How she immediately steps into the role of stern head nurse here, and he just rolls with it.
He is so accepting of her in many ways, but also knows that sometimes he needs to stop her. Not here, though, I’m sure having her back was a huge relief.
And their relationship in general, that they care about each other so much, but sometimes he needs to put his foot down, and she gets angry at him, and they both have moments when they take things too far. I’m sure Margaret finds great relief in having a father-daughter-esque relationship that can be like that, give and take.
I do think Charles calling Margaret a bimbo is a bit much, like wow, that escalated quickly. It seems a bit out of character, really.
But it also makes me smile, because it makes me think of Hot Lips and Empty Arms, when we find out that Margaret and Frank have joint custody over a stuffed dog named Bimbo. It’s just a fun little throwback I’m sure wasn’t on Mike Farrells mind when he wrote it, but it’s a fun detail.
The Farrel-written episodes are so interesting to me, because I’m not a fan of this, or an upcoming one in this season, but I adore Death Takes a Holiday, so it’s nice to see him grow as a writer.
In general, I wish they would have done more with Charles and Margaret together. Not a romance, absolutely not, but just as colleagues/sort of reluctant friends. I wish we would have seen more interactions between them when they aren’t at each other’s throats, to see them deal with a more serious medical situation, perhaps, in a non comedic way, that would have been great. They have so much in common with their backgrounds, both of them having so much expectations from their families on their shoulders, both of them having fathers, not dads.
I really have a hard time with the button scene with Klinger. Like, it takes quite some time to get to the “stuff it”-joke. Really, that’s it?
Also, I never understood what they were going for with Klinger’s reaction. Is he shocked of what he hears as a response? He reacts immediately, so what can he have heard in like a second that was so horrifying? He sometimes talks about how he had a rough upbringing too, so what can possibly have been so terrible to hear, why is he so sensitive all of a sudden?
Or did he have some stomach issues in that exact moment, because of the salmonella? But does anyone really react like that?
I don’t know, it’s just a level of crazy comedy I don’t vibe with.
Vibed with this discussion, though, it was fun! Now I need to go back and watch the scene where Charles’s line is cut, I have completely missed that!
Great discussion! I forgot how much I love this episode.
My very favorite moment is when Ralph is uncovering the motorcycle – first he shoos the chicken out of the way, then stops and discovers the egg. He has such a reaction of surprise and wonder, and carefully hands it to Fred like it’s a piece of gold. He seems to congratulate Fred for this wonderful gift left by the chicken. It shows what a kind and gentle guy Ralph is. It’s disarmingly funny and so sweet, I just jove it. Soon-Tek Oh is a master at comedy.
Also, for me “Now Beej, we’re going to sit now. Try not to get lost on the way down,” is one of the funniest deliveries of a joke in the series.