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In the side-plot, a brave young lieutenant (Jeff East) is gravely wounded by a North Korean sniper. Some of the lieutenant's men, who respect him immensely, plan to shoot the sniper in cold blood if their commander ends up paralyzed. The lieutenant, post-surgery, wakes up long enough to tell his men to stand down.
 
In the side-plot, a brave young lieutenant (Jeff East) is gravely wounded by a North Korean sniper. Some of the lieutenant's men, who respect him immensely, plan to shoot the sniper in cold blood if their commander ends up paralyzed. The lieutenant, post-surgery, wakes up long enough to tell his men to stand down.
 
==Fun Facts==
 
==Fun Facts==
* In a classic Line when Potter demands to know what his wife called about, Hawkeye retorts they cant say since Mrs Potter "outranked them by marriage!"
+
* In a classic Line when Potter demands to know what his wife called about, B.J. retorts they cant say since Mrs Potter "outranked them by marriage!"
 
* When discussing how to celebrate Potter's mortgage burning party, Father Mulcahy suggests the theme of "Home Sweet Home", complete with a white picket fence. Winchester quips that there should be a pink flamingo for the lawn. The infamous pink flamingo lawn ornament wasn't designed until 1957, and didn't gain widespread popularity until the 1960s, long after the Korean War ended.
 
* When discussing how to celebrate Potter's mortgage burning party, Father Mulcahy suggests the theme of "Home Sweet Home", complete with a white picket fence. Winchester quips that there should be a pink flamingo for the lawn. The infamous pink flamingo lawn ornament wasn't designed until 1957, and didn't gain widespread popularity until the 1960s, long after the Korean War ended.
   

Revision as of 00:54, 14 October 2019

M*A*S*H episode
“Settling Debts”
SSN11 242debts
The medical staff throws a party for Col. Potter after he receives the news from his wife Mildred that the mortgage on their house is paid in full. They give him an engraved lighter as a gift, and he burns the mortgage with it in "Settling Debts," Season 11.
Season 11, Episode # 7
Number (#247) in series (256 episodes)
Guest star(s) Jeff East
Guy Boyd
Michael Lamont
Jack McCulloch
Jennifer Davis Westmore
Network: CBS-TV
Production code: 1G23
Writer(s) Thad Mumford & Dan Wilcox
Director Dan Switzer
Original airdate December 6, 1982
IMDb logo IMDB Settling Debts
Episode chronology
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List of all M*A*S*H episodes

 Settling Debts is the 247th episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, also the 7th episode of Season 11 of the series. Written by Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, and directed by Dan Switzer, it originally aired on December 6, 1982.

Synopsis

Hawkeye receives a letter from Colonel Potter's wife saying that she has paid off the mortgage on their home early and asks Hawkeye and friends to throw a surprise party for Potter to celebrate.

Full episode summary

Col. Potter notices that Hawkeye gets a letter from... Mrs. Potter?

He demands to know what it says, but Hawkeye refuses to say anything. This drives Col. Potter crazy, and he starts to think it involves his wife Mildred buying a houseboat, something he is dead-set against.

But it's not a houseboat; Mildred wrote to Hawkeye to tell him that she has "scrimped and saved" and managed to pay the mortgage on their house off 6 months early. She's telling Hawkeye and the rest this so they can throw Potter a mortgage-burning party at the 4077th.

Everyone gets involved in the surprise party, and they try to keep Col. Potter busy and in the dark long enough to get it ready in his tent: cake, fake picket fence, and all. Being in the dark gets Potter furious, and his imagination runs away with him; he's convinced he's going to spend his retirement years on a "damned houseboat."

He tries to place a call to Mildred, so Klinger has to keep stalling to keep the call from going through. Margaret comes up with a complicated plan for a new nurse shift rotation, which she shoves in Potter's face trying to keep him busy.

To Margaret's surprise, though, Potter likes the plan, and heads back to his tent. Klinger bursts in to tell Potter that he got through to the operator in Hannibal, Missouri, and the Colonel can't wait to get his wife on the phone and give her what for. However, the operator is really Margaret, who is on the extension and manages to stall Potter a while longer. When that plan eventually fails, Father Mulcahy steps in and gets Potter to go a few rounds with his punching bag to relieve some stress.

Potter has finally had enough, and goes to his tent, where everyone is waiting for him. They explain what all the secrecy was about, and Potter is moved to tears over his friends' efforts, and the idea that he and Mildred now own their home, lock, stock, and barrel. Hawkeye and the rest give him a gift: an engraved lighter, which he uses to burn the mortgage.

As the party winds down, everyone wishes Potter a good night and congratulates him as they leave one at a time. Potter gets ready to settle in for the night, but has one more problem to deal with: Charles, who had started drinking long before everyone else, has passed out in his bed.

In the side-plot, a brave young lieutenant (Jeff East) is gravely wounded by a North Korean sniper. Some of the lieutenant's men, who respect him immensely, plan to shoot the sniper in cold blood if their commander ends up paralyzed. The lieutenant, post-surgery, wakes up long enough to tell his men to stand down.

Fun Facts

  • In a classic Line when Potter demands to know what his wife called about, B.J. retorts they cant say since Mrs Potter "outranked them by marriage!"
  • When discussing how to celebrate Potter's mortgage burning party, Father Mulcahy suggests the theme of "Home Sweet Home", complete with a white picket fence. Winchester quips that there should be a pink flamingo for the lawn. The infamous pink flamingo lawn ornament wasn't designed until 1957, and didn't gain widespread popularity until the 1960s, long after the Korean War ended.

Recurring/Guest Cast

  • Jeff East as Lieutenant Pavelich
  • Guy Boyd as Sgt. Lally
  • Michael Bond as Captain Hobart
  • Michael Lamont as Corporal
  • Jack McCulloch as Soldier
  • Jennifer Davis Westmore as Nurse