Friends and Enemies Is the 253rd overall episode in the M*A*S*H television series, and also the 13th of Season 11. Written by Karen Hall and directed by Jamie Farr, the episode aired on February 7, 1983 and was repeated August 29, 1983.
Plot synopsis[]
Potter is faced with having to blow the whistle on an old army pal who unlawfully assumed command of a front-line unit causing preventable casualties. B.J. suffers from both an ingrown toenail and from Charles' insistence on playing his Mahler records.
Full episode summary[]
Wounded arrive, and one of them, with a bad leg wound, is Colonel Woody Cooke, an old friend of Potter's. In the OR, Potter tells the others how he and Woody have been friends since World War I, but then he ponders why Woody was so close to the battle grounds, as last time Potter heard from him, Woody was in a garrison position at I-Corps.
In Post Op, Sergeant Zurilli, the NCO in charge of the hit unit, wants to talk to Potter, but changes his mind when he sees him chatting with Woody. Woody explains to Potter that he's in charge of oil and lubricants, and he had to go out to the front to investigate a troubled petroleum spot, and rather than delegate, he felt it best to do so himself. Woody's driver, who was also wounded, tells Hawkeye that Woody insisted on staying when the fighting broke out. Another wounded G.I. claims that Cooke showed up on the front lines unannounced and unlawfully took command of the unit, and started giving bizarre and downright dangerous orders, particularly to take a nearby ridge.
Hawkeye goes to Potter while he is reminiscing about a time when he and Woody were young, to tell him about what the wounded men said, with the conclusion that Cooke caused the causalities by taking over command, but Potter, reminiscing about his long-time friendship with Cooke, refuses to believe it and angrily defends Cooke while calling Hawkeye's words hearsay. When Hawkeye tries to talk some sense into Potter he orders him out of his tent. The next day, however, Potter decides to find out for himself, and quietly tries to draw information from Woody about what happened at the front. He questions why Woody opted to stick around when the fighting broke out, instead of retreating back to the safety of I-Corps, pointing out that his actions could have gotten a lot of people killed including himself. Woody claimed that the ridge was unguarded, there were no officers around, and "those young bucks" needed leadership and that he was the only one there who knew what he was doing.
Potter then investigates further and, later that night while Cooke is asleep, questions Zurilli, who is initially reluctant to talk, but when Potter says it's best for everyone involved to bring to light anything that caused preventable casualties, Zurilli finally opens about how his CO had ordered the unit to stay away from a particular ridge as it was a death trap, but then Cooke arrived, usurped command, and ordered them to advance on that same ridge. Zurilli tried to explain to Cooke what was going on, but he refused to listen and gave a direct order, which is why they got hit. Potter asks why Zurilli didn't report it to I-Corps, and he replies that he saw no point to it as he believed it would only get suppressed along the way by one of Cooke's friends. When asked why he didn't report it at the 4077th, Zurilli answers, "For the same reason, sir." Potter was inwardly taken aback by his response, but he finally understood.
Now knowing the truth, Potter tracks down Hawkeye in the Officers Club and apologizes for snapping at him earlier. Citing his time in the Army, Potter cherishes what few friends he has left that are his own age, but then admits that he may cherish them so much that sometimes he doesn't allow himself to see the truth. When Hawkeye asks if Woody's friendship is important enough to save his life, Potter agrees, but then says doing so won't be easy.
Later in his tent, Potter tells Woody that while he cherishes their longtime friendship, they both need to be more careful about things now that they are so close to retirement, and then calls him out for stepping in where he had no business being and causing needless casualties. Cooke continues to insist that "those green kids" didn't know what they were doing, but Potter retorts that Woody was the one who didn't know what he was doing, and then regretfully says that he'll have to report him to I-Corps.
Woody finally admits that he overstepped his authority and begs Potter to let it slide, but citing Zurilli's belief that nothing will be done because of their friendship, Potter refuses. Woody's only concern is that he will never get to the front lines again with that report on his record, and Potter replies that he has to do it for the safety of everyone and for the good of the army. Embittered, Woody declares their friendship is over, but when Potter pleads that they have been through too much to just let it end like this, Woody blames Potter for ending their friendship and angrily wheels himself out of Potter's tent- and his life, forever. Later, an unhappy Potter finds Hawkeye in the compound, and confesses while it hurts to lose one of his closest friends, it makes him appreciate the ones he still has, and the two go to the Officers' Club for a drink.
Subplot[]
Stuck in the Swamp due to a bad ingrown toenail, B.J. is being driven crazy by his inability get away from Charles' dreadfully grim classical records. He tries several different ways to keep Charles from playing his records: first, by filing down Charles' phonograph needle and putting it in the locked groove on a record in the player, making Charles think he left it running when they went in for surgery. B.J. then suggests that Charles take his records and listen to them on the jukebox in the Officers Club while nobody is there, but soon after he gets there, he is tossed out when a bunch of the others come in all at once, thirsty from playing outdoors; this was also orchestrated by B.J., who gave money to Goldman to buy drinks for himself and the others.
Charles has no other choice but to turn to Margaret, who just received a new record player but no records. B.J. tries to trick Margaret and Charles into not sharing with one another, suggesting to Charles that he should entice her with "shiny beads and shallow flattery", but when B.J. later warns Margaret that Charles was planning to use her for her new record player, he mistakenly uses the exact same words he said to Charles ("shiny beads and shallow flattery"). The two soon wise up and get back at B.J., with Margaret bringing her record player to the Swamp, allowing Charles to play more of his music full blast. Having finally had enough, B.J. hops like mad on his good foot to get away from the cacophony, flying past Hawkeye and Potter, who are on their way to the Officers Club.
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- With over 251 episodes, it is almost certain that any show with this degree of longevity is going to occasionally repeat a plotline; case in point with the episode Ping Pong, in which Potter had a similar problem with another old friend, Lt. Colonel Harold Beckett, though there is some contrast between the two episodes:
- Beckett was given command of an infantry unit to earn his Combat Infantry Badge and a promotion to full colonel, but proved to be totally incompetent causing needless casualties. Once Potter was informed, he had no qualms ordering him removed from command saying, "I don't care if it costs me every friend I've got; if one kid gets hurt, the price is too high".
- In this episode, Cooke had unlawfully taken command of a front line unit, deluding himself into believing that he needed to be there. Because of their long-time friendship, Potter initially defended Cooke's actions, but after talking to some of the other wounded soldiers, came to his senses and reported Cooke, albeit reluctantly as it wound up costing him Cooke's friendship.
- With Potter's report, there is a small chance that Cooke could have faced court martial charges under the UCMJ, including:
- Article 133, Conduct unbecoming an officer
- Article 94, Mutiny or sedition
- With Potter's report, there is a small chance that Cooke could have faced court martial charges under the UCMJ, including:
- In reality, Cooke's actions would not have had that kind of effect. Although Cooke may be superior in rank, he could not assume command of an outfit out of his assigned chain of command. As such, the infantry unit Cooke assumed command of would have been under no obligation to obey his orders.
- This is this season's "Angry Potter" episode, although that element of the show is the shortest of them all this time around - basically lasting only two brief scenes (it's the last "Angry Potter" episode of the series, not counting AfterMASH).
- This episode is directed by Jamie Farr.
- Of the show's final cast, only Loretta Swit and William Christopher never directed an episode.
- Of the entire cast spanning all 11 seasons, Swit, Christoper, Wayne Rogers, Larry Linville, and Gary Burghoff never directed.
- One of a very few M*A*S*H episodes to end on a freeze-frame with something other than a variation of the show's closing theme music - this one ends with the opening from Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor (listen to the Minnesota Orchestra's rendition here).
- One would think that Charles would be more wary of trusting B.J. when dealing with conflicts with other personnel: In Bottoms Up, Charles had learned from Hawkeye that B.J. is quite adept at manipulating situations for his own amusement. By the same token, one would also surmise that B.J. might have resisted the urge to try this particular prank again, after he was soundly rebuked when the first ruse was uncovered (so to speak).
- "Friends and Enemies" initially aired at a special time: Monday at 8:00PM (EST).
Recurring cast/Guest stars[]
- John McLiam as Colonel Woody Cooke
- Jim Lefebvre as Sergeant Zurilli
- Kellye Nakahara as Lieutenant Kellye Yamoto
- Matthew Price as Corporal Marsh
- Jeff Maxwell as Igor Straminsky
- Jack Yates as Large enlisted man
- Roy Goldman as Private Roy Goldman
- Bill Snider as Snider