Sherman Potter thread *spoilers inside*

[Zomby Woof]

"Monkey muffins!"

[mix]

1. +10 000

[fishwax]

2. the reason he's acting strange and angry when he gets back from Tokyo is

that his best friend died while he was there, leaving Potter as the sole survivor of a particular group of friends from Dubya Dubya One. Once, while bunkered down against enemy shelling, they broke open a case of wine, and swore that they would save the last bottle for the last survivor. Now that he is the last, Potter opens the bottle to toast his old friends and drink with his new ones.

(Just thought I'd provide an actual spoiler :))

[mix]

3. i LOVED his character, thanks for that

:hi:

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. The Tontine -

Some friends and I formed a tontine after we saw that episode.

We thought it was a really cool idea. And then one of our group died a couple of years ago.

Now, we realize the gravity of what we did, and respect it a whole lot more. We're still very glad we did it, but we view the whole thing quite differently than we did when we were thirty years old................................

[Zomby Woof]

6. It's a helluva thing to outlive your friends

My grandfather outlived his 2 brothers (his only siblings), his wife, and all of his childhood friends, including his best friend since they were 4. He lived to be 84. Longevity has a price, no matter how many perceived rewards.

I think the Tontine is an excellent idea. That was one of my favorite episodes, by the way.

On a side note, I recall seeing a behind-the-scenes MASH special once, where they showed the outtakes from the scene where they shared the bottle. Apparently, the prop bottle had some horrid stuff, and the cast broke out in laughter and profanity just after the camera cut from them admiring the vintage and their toast, lol. I think of that every time I see that scene.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

8. Now we know

why old people are calm and don't seem to fear the idea of death. They're not hip on pain or sickness or suffering, but one day I realized that I probably know more dead people than living.

It happens when you reach a certain age. That moment when something happens, and you think, "I've gotta tell Jim about that," and then you instantly remember that Jim died eight years ago.

I think life just inches us along, and we get used to mortality as we go. But, your grandfather must have been so lonely, missing all those people. That is hard, one of the lousy parts of longevity, as you so sagely point out.

Mine, too, that episode. My friends and I - four men and me, the sole woman - are so close, we decided we'd do it. And, as the years roll along, we've sort of made jokes about it, and then Arthur got sick. Liver cancer. He fought long, more than two years, but we knew, the last time we all got together, that it wasn't going to have a good outcome.

So, when Richard called me, and told me, it was the first real crack in our youthful armor.

Even if some of us are already grandparents.

We're still those college students on the beach, with nice-sized joints and a frisbee, laughing in the sun as the tide goes out.

Not one of us has ever suggested just opening the bottle and toasting ourselves, and Arthur. This one will go all the way.

If I'm the survivor, I expect the pain will kill me. I love those guys.

Will we ever see a show like M*A*S*H again, I wonder? It was perfect, wasn't it?

[Zomby Woof]

9. That is correct

My grandfather had a lot of loneliness hovering over him his final years. My grandmother died suddenly and unexpectedly in 1977, and he survived her by almost 23 years. But what kept him going? It sounds cliched, but laughter, laughter, and more laughter. If any person had a more resilient sense of humor, it was him.

As for MASH, I fear the dilution of programming in the cable/satellite era has rendered it an icon of its time, not to be repeated. Sure, there are quality shows - hard to find, like diamonds in dung, bu they're out there. But the sheer dilution of the market makes it unlikely that the success and quality of MASH could ever be repeated. Its finale is illustrative of this. It garnered well over 50% of households watching TV that evening in March 1983. It seems damn impossible that any program today could draw such a hefty percentage. TV shows like that were something of a communal experience lacking today, paradoxically in the age of internet hyperconnectivity.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. Have you seen the Reunion Show?

It's broadcast periodically on the TVLand Channel. Two hours of the survivors talking about what it was like to put that show together. Writers and actors, and it's just glorious. Watch for it, if you haven't yet seen it. I watch it whenever I catch it, because I'm that big of a fan.

Did you know that McLean Stevenson was Adlai Stevenson's second cousin? And was there ever a sadder ending than the show where Henry Blake goes home, but ....... well, you remember what happened?

(I just looked at his profile at wikipedia, wondering when he died, and I found this -

Stevenson was recovering from surgery in a Los Angeles hospital on February 15, 1996, when he went into cardiac arrest and died. M*A*S*H writer Larry Gelbart later said that Stevenson had left too soon twice in one lifetime. Roger Bowen, who had played Henry Blake in the movie M*A*S*H, also died of cardiac arrest the day after Stevenson’s death.

Weird?)

TV drama/comedy pretty much sucks, but two shows kept my faith alive: "House" and "Boston Legal." David E. Kelley has a unique talent and great big balls, so, of course, BL died a far-too-early death.

"House" is a powerful program. It might have jumped the shark last season, but I'll be watching when it starts up again in September.

Otherwise, the Vast Wasteland is bigger than Newton Minow ever dreamed............

[Zomby Woof]

12. Yes I have seen it

To this day, I love Alan Alda and Mike Farrell tremendously. Their chemistry was amazing.

I remember the weird coincidence of Stevenson and Bowen dying so closely together. Did not know McLean was related to Adlai!

I was in 2nd grade when the Blake death episode aired. I vividly remember a group of us talking about it the next day at school. 2nd grade! Talk about a show which unified different people of varying backgrounds. Can you imagine 7 and 8 year olds discussing their sorrow over the loss of a character in a show their parents would find respectable? It didn't seem unusual then.

[realisticphish]

13. The Doolittle Raiders

do this. They have this case with a glass for every man, and a bottle of something. It's at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. Every time one of them dies, they flip their glass over. When there are two left, those two will drink the whole bottle.

It's pretty cool, indeed

[madinmaryland]

5. I remember seeing that episode more than once.

Thanks!

[Archae]

14. Actually, it was cognac...

[Richard Steele]

7. "Are you SCARED, son? " ..."Sir, no SIR!"

"That's too bad...if you had any BRAINS, you'd be scared."

[Arugula Latte]

11. Horse Apples!

Love the Sherm.