Season 8, Episode 15: Yessir, That’s Our Baby
Special Guest Star: Esse
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I have always loved the MASH episodes focused on kids in the camp, like “Kim,” and of course “The Kids.” I just really like how it allows them to show a different side to these characters as they look after these precious, and often less fortunate kids. Case in point: early Margaret showing her motherly side before she shifted away from her Hot Lips personality, and Charles here. And the writing tended to be good enough where they could do that without being too schmaltzy, Plus in each of them, they were able to use the kids’ situations to directly deal with harsher realities of war, with this being the most upfront about it. I do get why this may not be for everyone, but for me, it’s pretty high on my list.
Thanks for a wonderful episode breakdown! A couple additional ideas that came to mind while watching and listening: 1. It reminds me of the episode (What’s Up Doc) where Margaret thinks she’s pregnant and Hawkeye’s response is that it’s great news — some life and joy to be brought to such a dark place. You see how that manifests in this episode — and I know logistically they couldn’t care for the kid and wounded, but part of me wonders if they could have taken shifts or something, some way… but that may have brushed up against army regulations and setting an unsustainable precedent. 2. It’s never explicitly mentioned (maybe even too far for MASH), but given all the context provided, it makes one wonder not only if the mother knew the father’s identity, but whether her experience leading up to the child’s birth was consensual. This would make it even sadder but perhaps even more realistic given the conditions & stories of the time. Best, Matt
I agree about not liking the episode tag. I think it should have ended with them leaving the baby and ringing the bell since it’s such a memorable image. Or perhaps end it with a monk finding her?
After the Vietnam War orphans were sent to America and other countries to be adopted. It was called Operation Babylift. Sadly one of the planes crashed and killed 138 passengers, 78 of them children. It was April 1975 so I suspect Alan Alda had that in mind when he wrote this. Sorry to be a downer but it’s important history.
Great guest and discussion! This frankly isn’t one of my favorite episodes, but having said that, I appreciate the story they were telling and how they told it. I like how MASH in season eight particularly seems to be experimenting with different types of episodes. This one has no B plot and moves in a very linear fashion, making it different from many episodes. I also like seeing another side of Charles, who we don’t often see act as warmly as he did with the baby here.
Being a dad of twins, I have changed many a diaper back then, and I haven’t had reason to since, but it wouldn’t be a problem. Of course, I loved Klinger putting on a show about swaddling the baby. He’s such a ham.
When you and Esse discussed the reversed roles in this episode, I wanted to take it a bit further. Father Mulcahy is normally portrayed as the innocent one, by not always getting the sexual innuendos or missing the appeal of some racier moments in the series. But here, he’s the one who knows what this girl’s future holds, and having to get the rest of the camp to face reality. It was effective and believable from his extensive work with the orphan caretakers in the area. Great stuff.
And I like thinking about the missed opportunity for a Radar mention. While we’re here in the writer’s room, the bit could have been “This is one of Radar’s old shirts.” “Why is it so small?” “It’s for his teddy bear.” Bingo!
Esse was a delight! It’ll be great to have her back sometime!
Loved listening to this, really interesting discussion about an interesting episode!
Yessir… is one of the episodes I remember watching for the first time as a kid. I remember being so sure that things would work out for that sweet little baby, that they would find a nice family that could adopt her, perhaps. But then, all they could do was leave her in the dark, and I remember thinking that was so horribly sad. But I was also very drawn to dark stories where things didnt’t have happy endings, I still am, and I remember being impressed the show went there. And that feeling has stayed with me. I do really like how dark the ending is, that the only solution is acceptable, but also so heartbreaking for everyone.
I do wish they had ended the episode with them just driving away from the monastery, I really dislike the last scene in the OR. It might have worked if it had been set in the Swamp, and Hawkeye would have ended a letter to his dad with those words. But the way it is, it feels like the writers suddenly got scared that the audience wouldn’t get it. Like, thank you, writers, I watched the episode, I understood everything perfectly.
Like you talk about, if they had to do something, they could have ended it with Margaret coming back to her tent, starting to put the baby bed away. Or we could have seen Klinger finding a new use for the makeshift cradle, perhaps.
It’s so great to see how all the characters react to the baby, and I also wish we would have spent more time in camp, the visits with different people, looking for help, does get a bit repetitive.
I really like that it’s Klinger that talks about his plans for the child he wants some day, and not Margaret. It would have been very easy for the writers to have her tell the baby “oh, I can’t wait to have a little girl just like you one day,” but no – she gets to be Auntie Margaret.
I really love that the writers gave her complex emotions regarding kids. Like in “What’s up, doc,” when she is both happy and sad about not being pregnant.
All of Margarets wants and needs are so fascinating to me. What does she truly want, what has society told her she is supposed to want, what has her father told her she is supposed to want. The fact that she clearly never figures it out completely is such an interesting side of her. Maybe she loves kids, but just doesn’t want any of her own.
I keep thinking about “Peace on us” when watching this episode, when Hawkeye talks about how he want something cheery, something anti green, and here – the baby sort of becomes an embodiment of that for him, and for everyone. Life, and hope, and future in a horrible situation, and the fact that there is no satisfying ending for this little girl is just heartbreaking.
I also really like how Hawkeye thinks that he will be able to fix things by using his words, he is so used to that, being able to drown everyone with his word-tentacles and have things his way, but even his mighty mouth fails.
This is such a common theme on MASH, we so often see characters want something but having it taken from them, like going on a date in Tokyo, or eating ribs, and this is such a sad version of that theme.
I always think of the song Bui-Doi from Miss Saigon when I watch this episode, where one of the characters sings about the children of American soldiers left behind. Especially the lines:
“These kids have walls on every side, they don’t belong in any place. Their secret they can’t hide, it’s printed on their face.
I never thought one day I’d plead for half-breeds from a land that’s torn, but then, I saw a camp for children, whose crime was being born.”
Really enjoyed this conversation, thanks again!
My favorite part of this episode of MASH was when Klinger was talking about his relationship with a future child of his. I have three sons and one daughter. My daughter has had me wrapped around her finger since the day she was born. I love my kids all equally. I just have different types of relationships with them all. I share different things with each of them like music, TV, video games, and TV shows.
I’m sure Klinger would have been the exact same way. He could have a few boys that he’s rough and tumble with. But a daughter would be the queen of his world.
Always thought the better button would just be the four of them driving in the jeep silently while the credits roll.
Maybe someone dabs a tear.
But that silence and length of shot would be powerful. (Thinking of long shot at end of The Third Man, for example)
At the risk of sounding like a monster, I don’t care for babies. They’re fussy, demanding, and produce insane amounts of poo. When I used to work in a corporate setting, every now and then someone would bring in a baby and 75% of the crowd would turn into jelly and have to go over and coo over the baby. And there were always a few of us left to look at each other and wonder why everyone just went completely daffy. All that is to say, I’m surprised not one person in the cast had a disinterested response to the baby. The only person that comes close is Father Mulcahey, and it’s more out of concern than aversion – we know he loves kids. But he, and Klinger due to physical distance, are literally the only ones who don’t kiss that baby on the head. That was a little much for me (especially viewing it during Covid)!
Sometimes I wonder if this story would have been better served as a two-parter, and that having Father Mulcahy come in and drop the bomb of the baby’s future come at the end of the first episode. Our heroes could have spent the first half hour going through some of the possibilities of helping the baby (the Koreans, the Red Cross), have Father Mulcahy come in, and then spend the second episode dealing with the Americans. There would still be the problems of dealing with a very difficult subject, but there would be more room to let it breathe and to explore the character’s interactions with the baby.
A very difficult episode to watch, but even with it’s big flaws, I’m glad that the MASH writers attempted this. Plus, it brings to light how the American government often does more harm than good.