You're Welcome, America

As the impeachment inquiry against Li'l Donnie Trump proceeds this week, I must put modesty aside and reference my role in this process. 

Noted below are screen shots from Twitter.

That's right. After I proposed impeaching the bastard, Pelosi announces a formal impeachment inquiry will begin. 

Yes, America, you are most welcome.  

Parent's Weekend At College

Today is Sunday and if all goes according to plan, I have nothing planned. 

Last Friday, Andrea and I absconded from the Fortress of Ineptitude to go visit our daughter Randie at college for a Parent's Weekend thing.  

It's just under a 3 hour drive to get to Greenville where Randie attends East Carolina University. (GO PIRATES!). Circumnavigating Raleigh, NC is the worst part of the trip. I was doing OK without my GPS but then I missed my turn off for the loop to get around Raleigh. I have never been to Raleigh once without getting mixed up either entering the city, leaving the city or even going around the city.  

Parent's Weekend is a big deal at ECU as area hotels filled up quickly. Andrea booked one of the last rooms left at an Econo Lodge. I kept referring to it as the Murder Motel as the picture looked like any number of motels in TV crime shows where people get murdered. The Econo Lodge was, to be fair, a very clean and well run establishment.  

After checking in, Andrea and I along with our daughter Randie and her roommate Ashley attended a "beach party" at a park owned by ECU. The park was way on the outskirts of Greenville along a circuitous route. OK, this is where we were going to be murdered.  

No, we were not and we arrived at the park. 

It was a pleasant enough event although filled with too many people, pushing all the buttons on my anxiety.  

There were a couple of tables from area sandwich shops with some very good sandwiches. I had three: a Ceasar chicken wrap, a roast beef sandwich and a pimento cheese sandwich. Eating gives me something to do when I have anxiety. Also, I was hungry.  

There was a food truck serving up waffles. The line for that food truck was hella long. We didn't get in that line but waffles were still in our future.  

There were smores on the beach of the park's lake. I had a smore, guys! I normally don't do smores. Marshmallow and chocolate precariously perched on graham crackers incites my anxiety. But I decided to give it a try and the smore didn't break apart in my hands and make a mess. I ate a smore! 

Randie and Ash went out on the lake with a canoe. Or a kayak? It was some kind of boat thing. 

After dropping Ash back the dorm, Randie and Andrea said they were hungry. They had only eaten 1 sandwich at the beach party. While I had 3 sandwiches (AND a smore!), I too was peckish. So we indulged in a late night nosh of a waffle and a glass of milk at a Waffle House.  

Andrea and Randie had never eaten at a Waffle House. There was some concern on their part that this is where we were going to be murdered. No, the Waffle House were nice, the waffles were just what we needed and we were not murdered. 

After I took Randie back to her dorm, Andrea and I crashed in our Econo Lodge room.  Where our air conditioner did this through the night.

Whir. Whir. Whir. Whir. 
Whir. Whir. Whir. Whir. 
Whir. Whir. Whir. Whir. 
<click>
WEEEARRRNKKKKK!!!
<click>
Whir. Whir. Whir. Whir. 

Andrea slept through that. God, she can sleep through anything. 

In my whole life, I have never stayed in any hotel or motel room that ever had an AC or heater that didn't make some kind of weird noise.  

We got a late start the next day. Saturday was centered around the BIG GAME!  (GO PIRATES!) 

Man, people are INSANE for the Pirates in this corner of the state. Pirate themed stuff everywhere! ECU purple everywhere! 

The big event for Saturday was the tailgate parties before the BIG GAME (GO PIRATES!) followed by the BIG GAME itself! (GO PIRATES!)  

We didn't do any of that.  Neither Andrea, Randie or Ash are big on football.  I'm not either! Plus a packed football game in a massive college football stadium? Major source of stress and anxiety for your's truly.  

So TAILGATING? (GO PIRATES!) No. 

The BIG GAME? (GO PIRATES!) No. 

Which left us at loose ends on what to do with ourselves. 

After a very, very late breakfast (that was essentially lunch) at the International House of Pancakes (I hop! You hop! We all hop for IHOP!!) and an early afternoon nap, we like, oh my God, actually like, you know, went to the like mall!!

We actually considered the notion of going to this indoor miniature indoor golf place. It looked like a place someone goes to be murdered so we decided against it. 

Greenville seems like a nice enough town but we spent  an inordinate amount of time considering the likelihood of being murdered in various places throughout the city. I supposed a visitor to Greensboro, being unfamiliar with our city, might make the same calculations.  

Anyway, we went to the Greenville Mall which I felt there was a risk of being murdered but the risk was acceptably low.  

Letting Randie near a mall is asking for trouble if said mall includes a Spencer's Gifts or a Hot Topic. The Greenville Mall had both.  

After dinner at Cracker Barrel, we got back to ECU where Toy Story 4 was showing on a big screen in the commons area. The film was 2/3 over and Ash had not seen it before so we elected not to watch what was left. (Which is a good thing as I'm not quite over the psychological damage Toy Story 4 did to me last time.)  

Afterwards, Ash went to see her boyfriend while Andrea, Randie and I ventured over to the campus recreation center where we went bowling. I haven't bowled in years and a week later, I'm still sore from this excursion. We bowled two games and Andrea won them both.

Which is disturbing in that her approach is to walk to the line, drop the ball and watch it roll down the lane. Pins fall over from boredom waiting for the ball to get there.  

And she wins this way? Really! 

Sunday, Andrea and I picked up Randie and Ash for lunch at Supdog. 

Ever since our first visit to ECU, we've been hearing about how awesome Supdog is. 

Randie and Ash after a month of college had not had a chance to go to Supdog. So we decided this was as good a chance as any to experience the wonder, the magnificence, the sheer awesome splendor that is...Supdog. 

Sunday lunch time, we had a 45 minute wait for a table. Once we had a table, it took forever for a wait person to take our order. It took longer than forever to actually get the food we ordered. Once we received it, however...

I cannot adequately describe how mindbogglingly disappointing the experience was.  

The hot dog I ordered with chili, mustard and onions was perfectly... adequate. It was an adequate wiener in an adequate bun covered in adequate chili and adequate slivers of onion. The mustard was applied with a criss-cross design so that was a bit of a flourish, an adequately applied flourish.

The hot dogs I make at home are far superior in quality to this... thing that was just... there. 

Make no mistake, it was not a bad hot dog. It was not worth the hype and the wait. 

To end our visit on a better now, I took us out to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream where the ice cream is better than adequate. 

We returned Randie and Ash at their dorm and thus ended our Parent's Weekend at East Carolina University where we managed to not get murdered so with that low bar met, we'll count it as a good visit.  

  

Fare Thee Well, Jason Zuffranieri

As the saying goes, "All good things must end." 

Thursday saw Jason Zuffranieri finally come up short as his run as Jeopardy champion was capped at 19 games.

All good things...

Jason Zuffranieri was a very likeable champion. Lacking the hyper charged intensity of James Holzhauer who had an epic long run earlier this year, Jason had a more everyman type of quality. Jason had a preternatural breadth of knowledge but he got questions wrong. He didn't rack up the big bucks like Holzhauer but half of a million dollars is nothing to sneeze at.  

Jason Zuffranieri seemed genuinely surprised to find himself on top each day, just happy to play Jeopardy for another day. 

Jason certainly put himself in the Jeopardy history books during his run.  His total winnings of $532,496 puts Jason at third on the show's all-time regular-season cash winnings list. Only Ken Jennings ($2,520,700) and James Holzhauer ($2,462,216) rank higher.

Zuffranieri's 19 consecutive victories put him in a fourth-place tie with David Madden on the "Jeopardy!" win list. Jennings is at the top of that list as well, with 72 wins, followed by Holzhauer (32) and Julia Collins (20).


Apparently this multi-day record setting champion was not an immediate or obvious match for Jeopardy. He auditioned 9 times before he got his shot.  

Here's what Jason had to say about that. 

“My mentality for 25 years was that I wasn’t meant to be on the show for whatever reason: not smart enough, not camera-friendly, not interesting, whatever. To finally get a chance on that stage was a dream come true, and the level of good fortune I received is truly beyond anything I ever considered could happen.”

Jason, Andrea and I will miss you on our TV screens for our nightly Jeopardy watching. You were fun and amazing.

Yes, all good things....

But you done good while it lasted. 

Another point in Jason's favor.
He got this Doctor Who themed question right. 

Greta Thunberg: Being Different Is A Superpower!!!

Her name is Greta Thunberg of Sweden. She is 16 years old and she has Asbergers. 

And she's trying to save the world because... 

Oh, what's the scientific phrase for it? 

Oh, yeah! That's it.


Man, science terminology can be so gosh darn tricky. 

But young Greta understands all too well and has made it her mission to try and save us from ourselves. Following her inspiration and her heartfelt leadership, young people have amassed in the hundreds and the thousands around the globe for climate strikes, vast assemblages of people to get the attention of those in power and force them to see that the world's climate is changing and that the world is in danger and something needs to be done and now.

It is said that there are none so blind than those who will not see and sadly, this is a truism that Greta Thunberg has encountered time and time again. Despite a propensity of evidence both scientific and anecdotal, too many in positions of power still refuse to acknowledge the overwhelming obvious experience that Earth's climate is changing and not for the better. 


The refusal to accept that climate change is real, it’s dangerous and it’s our fault is so engrained in certain small minded people that all they can do is hurl insults at a 16 year old girl with Asperger's syndrome.  


On Fox News on Monday night, The Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles called Thunberg mentally ill, saying "If it were about science, it would be led by scientists rather than by politicians and a mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left."


First of all, you stupid prick, the battle against climate change has been led by scientists.  You know, like this guy!

But scientists can only give us the bad news. It’s up to politicians to set government policies to help mitigate (and if we’re lucky, maybe even reverse) the bad news. Except too many politicians have their fucking heads buried in the fucking sand, refusing to see that… wait, how does it go again?

Thanks, Bill!

So it falls to a 16 year old girl from Sweden who quite frankly would rather be enjoying her childhood to drag herself around the world and convince ignorant goddamn yahoos like yourself that….

Got it, Bill. Thanks! 

And how low do you have to go to make Fox News actually issue an apology? Well, as low as you can go, you cold hearted snake. Yep, Fox News had to issue an apology to Thunberg, calling Knowles' comment "disgraceful." My God! Fox News thought Michael Knowles was “disgraceful”? That’s pretty damn low.

So Sebastian Gorka, former deputy assistant to Trump, comes along and says “Hold my beer” as he compared Thunberg to a "victim of a Maoist 're-education' camp," tweeting that "the adults who brainwashed" her should be charged with child abuse.

Meanwhile, Gorka’s dark lord and master had to get in on the act  with some primo snarky shit.  “She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” Trump wrote late Monday, retweeting a video of the teen giving an impassioned plea at the United Nations Climate Action Summit where she is definitely not happy and not seeing a bright and/or wonderful future. 

Several hours later, Greta Thunberg  updated her Twitter bio to mimic his tweet: "A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”

And what words cannot convey, a simple look may be just as powerful.

Oh, man! That look!

We feel it, Greta! Every damn day, we feel it. 

She may only be 16 years old but Greta Thunberg  has become an old hand at dealing with abuse.  Last month, she tweeted: "When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning! I have Asperger's and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And — given the right circumstances — being different is a superpower. #aspiepower"

You go, girl!

BEING DIFFERENT IS A SUPERPOWER!!!

BEING DIFFERENT IS A SUPERPOWER!!!

BEING DIFFERENT IS A SUPERPOWER!!!

BEING DIFFERENT IS A SUPERPOWER!!!

BEING DIFFERENT IS A SUPERPOWER!!!

The One With the Friends Post

As much as I love to watch TV, I guess I couldn’t let the 25th anniversary of the debut of Friends go by without some comment. 


Much like M*A*S*H, Friends is a show that is frequently being re-run somewhere and I will watch if it’s on and I’m just to tired to work the channel change button on my TV remote.


Let’s take a look at some of my favorite episodes.  


"The One Where Rachel Finds Out"


Two words make this episode stand out for me: “crystal duck”. Specifically Chandler’s frantic efforts to not acknowledge he has let slip the secret that Ross is in love with Rachel.


It’s Rachel’s birthday and everybody is there except Ross who has gone to China for a fossil dig. After Rachel comments on the thoughtfulness of Ross’s gift for her birthday, Chandler says, “Remember when Ross was in love with Carol and he bought her that crystal duck?”


While the rest of the gang burns holes into Chandler’s head, Rachel who heretofore was oblivious to Ross’ affection for her asks, “What did you say?”


Chandler, realizing his error, stammers in reply, “Crystal duck?” 


"The One with the Baby on the Bus"

Circumstances occur that puts Chandler and Joey baby-sitting Ross' son, Ben. Women like babies so Chandler and Joey use baby Ben as a prop to help pick up girls. It works! Perhaps too well as Joey and Chandler get distracted and leave Ben on the bus. They track the baby to a bus terminal office where it turns out Joey and Chandler aren’t the only ones to leave a baby on the bus today. There are two babies in two cribs, the only thing distinguishing the two are their shirts. One has ducks, the other has clowns. Joey and Chandler decide to flip a coin for it.

Joey calls “heads” and is overjoyed when it comes up heads.  Chandler does a slow burn for a moment then says, “We have to assign heads to something!”

Joey frantically looks between the two babies and then he has an idea. “Ducks is heads. Because ducks have heads!” Time for another slow burn from Chandler before he blurts out, “What kind of scary ass clowns did they have at your birthday parties?”  

These two instances highlight Matthew Perry's strength with comedic timing. Chandler's best zingers were proceded by a beat or two of build up  beforehand. 


BONUS POINTS: Lea Thompson from Caroline in the City makes an appearance, not as her character Caroline but as a woman with a gay brother interested in where Joey and Chandler adopted Ben.  


"The One Where Ross Finds Out"


A comic tour de force from Jennifer Anniston. Rachel is out on a date with a perfectly nice guy (played perfectly nicely by Ayre Gross) but she won’t shut up talking about Ross, his current girlfriend Julie and that the two are going to get a cat.

As she gets increasingly more and more drunk throughout the date, she badgers a restaurant guest to borrow their cell phone which she uses to leave a long and rambling message on Ross’ answering machine. “And that is what you call closure.” Jennifer Anniston is at the center of this extended comic sequence and she just kills it.

I think Jennifer's comedic skills are frequently underestimated, getting lost in comparison to Monica's obsessive compulsions and Phoebe's weirdness. 


"The One with the Prom Video"


This is the one that introduces us to Fat Monica, an element of the show that has not aged well. I remember thinking at the time that jokes at Fat Monica’s expense verged on cruelty. She’s always eating. We get it! She’s fat.

There is however one really good, funny line. Watching the video in the present day, Monica notes that the camera adds 10 pounds, prompting Chandler to ask, “How many cameras are on you?”


"The One with Chandler in a Box"


Angry that Chandler kissed his girlfriend, Joey decides to punish Chandler by having spend time in a box on Thanksgiving. Why? Chandler helpfully provides three reasons.

1. "It gives me time to think about what I did to Joey.
2. It shows how much my friendship with Joey means to me.
3. It hurts!"

"The One with Ross's Wedding"

Two things about this episode:

• Rachel on the airplane to London who is sharing her story with the man next to her who in turns decides to defend Ross. “It’s clear to me that you two were on a break!”
• Monica and Chandler sleep together. The reveal that Monica is bed with Chandler is one of the best reveals on the show.  

"The One Where Everybody Finds Out"

Of all the friends, only Joey knows that Monica and Chandler are having an affair after the events in London. The pressure is getting to him but he’s doing his best to keep it a secret.

But Rachel and Phoebe have figured it out and are a little put out that Monica and Chandler are keeping this from them. “We know but they don’t know that we know.” Phoebe decides to seduce Chandler.

Meanwhile, Monica and Chandler find out that Rachel and Phoebe know. Or “We know that they know but they don’t know that we know that they know.” So Monica tell Chandler to answer Phoebe’s challenge and seduce her right back. 

In Chandler’s apartment, Phoebe sashay’s her way over to Chandler who says, “I’m so glad we’re going to have… the sex.” 

True Story: Andrea and I have referred to sex as... the sex.

"The One with the Holiday Armadillo"  

Ross wants to introduce Ben to Hanukkah but Ben loves Christmas. Perhaps Ben might be more receptive to the story of  Hanukkah if it came from Santa Claus.  So Ross goes in search of a Santa suit but so close to Christmas, none are to be found.

So this is a job for "the Holiday Armadillo, Santa’s representative in the southern United States. And Mexico!"

True story: this was the first episode of Friends Andrea and I watched after the birth of our daughter. Andrea was still in the hospital, recovering from her C-section. We were worried Andrea was going to pop her stitches laughing at the Holiday Armadillo. 

"The One with the Rumor" 

Will was a high school loser who never made it with the ladies. Especially Rachel Green. In high school, he belonged to a “We Hate Rachel Green” club.  Which only had 2 members: Will and Ross.

Now Will looks like Brad Pitt and Monica has invited him to Thanksgiving dinner. When he sees Rachel holding a casserole dish of yams, Will observes, “There are my two worst enemies: complex carbohydrates and Rachel Green.”

It’s kind of hard to watch this episode now. Back when it was made, Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt were still a couple, before Brad was seduced by the wicked allure of Angelina Jolie. 


“The Last One"

“This plane has NO phalanges!”

Bringing a long running series in for a landing that makes everybody happy is darn near impossible. But “The Last One” comes close. Yes, of course, Ross and Rachel get together. Look, we spend a decade putting up with this crap and the series needed to end with Ross and Rachel together as a couple or Rachel standing over Ross’s dead body, the gun still smoking in her hand. I would’ve counted either one as a happy ending. Man, Ross irked me!


The series ends with the status quo shifting. Monica and Chandler heading off to the suburbs with their newborn twins, the apartment now empty, the walls bare. Yes, Joey, the walls were always purple. But we know as we fade out the gang will be gathering for a cup of coffee downstairs at Central Perk where were first met our friends and, for whatever changes are coming next, we can imagine they will always be. 

The Impeachment Journey Begins

In Star Trek: Generations, Captain Kirk says to Captain Picard, "So the odds are against us and the situation is grim?"

Picard says it is and Kirk replies, "Sounds like fun." 

So anyway....

Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a news conference on Tuesday afternoon to announce that the House of Representatives will open a formal impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his family.

So….. YAY?!?

Well….

The situation with Trump dangling the prospect of foreign aid to Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine opening up an investigation into a political rival is about as explicit a wrong doing in the eyes of the Constitution as we’ve seen so far. And this is from a guy who has committed multiple affronts to the law and the spirit of the Constitution.  

But this particular affront is too specific for even Pelosi to keep stalling on impeachment.

The problem is all the bullshit that has kept Pelosi sidelining impeachment for months is still there.

Even if articles of impeachment get passed by the House, there is no way in hell Mitch McConnell and his fellow capitulators to the Donald will do anything more than give Trump a pass.

Then Trump’s on the road at his rallies crowing over this vindication and exoneration.

Even with a very explicit example of the sort of “high crime and misdemeanor” that the Constitution is looking for in an impeachment, victory is not assured.

In other words, the odds are against us and the situation is grim.  

But sometimes, we fight the battle not because we will win but ...

So the impeachment journey begins.  Be cautious: the odds are against us and the situation is grim.

Also be patient. Don't be too excitable like this guy. 

I Just Can’t Stop Watching M*A*S*H - Part Two

Last week, I started a post about the TV series M*A*S*H in honor of the show’s anniversary. But M*A*S*H was on too long and just too darn big to cover in one post.

So here we go with Part 2 of I Just Can’t Stop Watching M*A*S*H, Today, we take a look at Seasons 4 and 5.  

This was a time of transition for M*A*S*H. McLean Stevenson left at the end of season 3 and over the summer, Wayne Rogers announced he was leaving as well. 

The first episodes of season 4 dealt with that departure first.  "Welcome to Korea" finds Hawkeye scrambling to catch up to a departing Trapper John who got his discharge while Hawk was on R&R.  He misses Trap by mere minutes but he’s there to greet his replacement, Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell). This is an interesting episode as it gives us a perspective on someone entering the war from the outside for the first time.  Hawkeye does what he can to acclimate the new surgeon to this insane life in war time. Hawk’s influence is definitely felt when B.J. first encounter with Frank Burns is to call him “ferret face”.  

After Col. Blake’s discharge, Major Frank Burns has been left in command of the 4077th. But the Army has other plans.  "Change of Command"  brings in Harry Morgan as Col. Sherman Potter. Unlike Blake, Potter is regular Army, serving in one campaign after another since World War I. (Yep, WW ONE, not Two.)  While it’s immediately clear that Potter is going to run a tighter ship than Blake, it’s also clear that he is not obsessive  with the rules, even allowing Klinger to keep wearing his dresses. 

"It Happened One Night" is a complex interplay of storylines as a brutally cold winter’s night in Korea spawns a number of storylines including an American bombardment that keeps rattling the 4077th’s bed pans, despite Potter’s constant climbing up the Army hierarchy to find someone who will stop it.    

"The Late Captain Pierce" gives Hawkeye an implacable enemy in the military bureaucracy that has listed him as dead despite Hawk’s repeated efforts to convince them otherwise. The episode was written by Glen Charles & Les Charles who would create the long running NBC comedy series Cheers.

"Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?" is a particularly touching episode when a patient comes in with the idea that he is Jesus Christ. 

While the evolution of M*A*S*H had moved the show away from the more farcical elements of its 1st seasons, "The Novocaine Mutiny" is a funny call back to those episodes. Potter’s away which means Burns gets to play and things get out of hand. Burns accuses Hawkeye of leading a mutiny. Taking a page from the classic Japanese film Rashomon, we’re given two separate accounts of the specific events leading to the alleged mutiny.  Burns’ telling is shown using distorted camera angles and soft focus lighting as Burns is shown powering through a particularly busy and exhausting session in the OR, even giving last rites (in Latin) to a fallen soldier when Mulcahy succumbs to exhaustion. If that doesn’t sound like Frank Burns, well, it’s because it’s not and the 2nd telling of those events with more conventional angles and lighting shows it was Burns overwhelmed by the pressure. 

Before he left M*A*S*H, as Executive Producer, Larry Gelbart produced one of the show’s most unique episodes, “The Interview", an episode done in black and white as a news report. The staff of the 34077th are interviewed. The most memorable segment of the episode is when Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) describes how doctors, on brutally cold days, will warm themselves from the steam that rises from the injured soldiers’ bodies. “How can you look on that and not be changed?” 

The 5th season began with an ambitious 2 parter as the 4077th has to bug out ahead of a Chinese advance. Part 2 has one of the funniest scenes of the series. At the new site for the 4077th, Father Mulchay offers a prayer before the waiting caravan moves into action to set up the new MASH.  
Mulchay: “Hear ye, O Lord.”
Frank Burns (into a bullhorn): “Hear ye, O Lord”
Soldier in a jeep: "“Hear ye, O Lord”
2nd soldier in a jeep: "“Hear ye, O Lord”
3rd soldier in a jeep: "“Hear ye, O Lord”
4th soldier in a jeep: "“Hear ye, O Lord”

"Margaret's Engagement" is a significant episode of M*A*S*H  with Margaret Houlihan all giddy that she is engaged to be married to Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott. What makes this episode interesting to me is that Hawkeye and B.J. feel genuinely sorry for Frank Burns. Hell, I feel sorry for Frank and I don't won't to feel sorry for Frank. But he is abruptly left out in the cold, cut off now from the one person in the whole damn camp who was on his side. Margaret never fails to miss an opportunity to remind anyone who might be listening that Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott is her fiance. It is a very annoying trait that persists for the entire 5th season.  

"Out of Sight, Out of Mind" has Hawkeye temporarily blinded in an accident. It is note worthy for being the debut episode of Ken Levine & David Isaacs who, as the incoming story editors for M*A*S*H,  effectively and creatively built upon the foundation left by Larry Gelbart. Levine & Isaacs were very adept at bringing the funny and the drama of life in war time. 

"The Korean Surgeon" involves Hawk, B.J. and Radar trying to sneak a Chinese soldier/doctor into camp as a South Korean surgeon. The episode ends with a wonderful line as the ruse is exposed and the Chinese soldier is forced to turn himself in to the authorities. He says that perhaps when the war is over, perhaps his American friends can visit him in China. Radar suggests he must know a lot of good places for Chinese food. The doctor says he does "but they are all in Chicago."

 "Movie Tonight" is a heartwarming episode. For the camp's movie night, Col. Potter has arranged for a showing of "My Darling Clementine" starring Henry Fonda and directed by John Ford. I saw "My Darling Clementine" in college for a class on the works of John Ford and it is one of Ford's finest western films. The copy of the film shown to the 4077th is not in the finest of conditions and keeps breaking. The celebrity impressions and singalongs that pass the time between film breaks makes this episode a stand out.  

Season 5 ends with "Margaret's Marriage". After spending every episode of the season of reminding everyone who
might be (or might  not be) listening that Lt. Col. Donald Penobscott is her fiance, Margaret gets married. The season ends with Frank Burns getting the last word. As Margaret and Donald wing there way towards honeymoon bliss, Frank stands alone, watching the chopper vanish from sight, he utters a sad and lonely "Goodbye, Margaret."  

And so ends season 5 of M*A*S*H. Next week, Season 6 arrives along with more change.