Warning: pontification within.
Jan. 17th, 2007 09:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bktheirregularThinking about the Supernatural thing led me inexorably to thinking about M*A*S*H (see my previous post). Which led me to ponder something I haven't seen much, but did see in M*A*S*H: the polar opposite of Mary Sue. Whatever you'd call that.
What the heck. Call him Frank Burns. He was pure antagonist - all his qualities were negative ones. He was an inferior surgeon, small, petty, spiteful, unfaithful - I can't for the life of me think of one single positive quality he possessed. (As opposed to Mary Sue, who doesn't have any negative qualities.)
As the series progressed, the actor playing Frank got tired of the role - figuring there wasn't much of anything that could be done with him. He had a point, I suppose.
The character who replaced Major Dr. Frank Burns, Major Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester III, was certainly not an anti-Mary Sue. He was presented as egocentric, difficult, and possessing a whole lot of other negative qualities that I can't think of offhand; but he was also a brilliant surgeon, a cultured individual, with a lot of stuff on the positive side of the ledger as well.
Oh, he was an antagonist to Hawkeye Pierce and B.J. Hunnicutt, all right; often enough, it was like oil and water. But Dr. Winchester was a more fully realized character in his own right; and one might say that his friction with Hawkeye and B.J. made them into better, more well-rounded characters as well.
Thinking of Dr. Winchester as opposed to Dr. Burns also brings to mind another cartoonish nemesis of the 4077th, Col. Flagg of the CIA. Oftentimes, Flagg would come and make trouble - once even threatening poor Radar with the "Maylasian Chest Implosion Torture", a procedure so hideous it hadn't even been invented (yet) - and often he'd lean on Frank to assist him in whatever scheme he was working on. Frank would invariably fold like a cheap camp chair.
Flagg tried to intimidate Charles Winchester into acting as his accomplice ... once. Only once.
It's not entirely clear what happened to Flagg after Charles was done with him. For that matter, it's not entirely clear Flagg lived to tell the tale.
Like I said, a much more well-rounded character.
What the heck. Call him Frank Burns. He was pure antagonist - all his qualities were negative ones. He was an inferior surgeon, small, petty, spiteful, unfaithful - I can't for the life of me think of one single positive quality he possessed. (As opposed to Mary Sue, who doesn't have any negative qualities.)
As the series progressed, the actor playing Frank got tired of the role - figuring there wasn't much of anything that could be done with him. He had a point, I suppose.
The character who replaced Major Dr. Frank Burns, Major Dr. Charles Emerson Winchester III, was certainly not an anti-Mary Sue. He was presented as egocentric, difficult, and possessing a whole lot of other negative qualities that I can't think of offhand; but he was also a brilliant surgeon, a cultured individual, with a lot of stuff on the positive side of the ledger as well.
Oh, he was an antagonist to Hawkeye Pierce and B.J. Hunnicutt, all right; often enough, it was like oil and water. But Dr. Winchester was a more fully realized character in his own right; and one might say that his friction with Hawkeye and B.J. made them into better, more well-rounded characters as well.
Thinking of Dr. Winchester as opposed to Dr. Burns also brings to mind another cartoonish nemesis of the 4077th, Col. Flagg of the CIA. Oftentimes, Flagg would come and make trouble - once even threatening poor Radar with the "Maylasian Chest Implosion Torture", a procedure so hideous it hadn't even been invented (yet) - and often he'd lean on Frank to assist him in whatever scheme he was working on. Frank would invariably fold like a cheap camp chair.
Flagg tried to intimidate Charles Winchester into acting as his accomplice ... once. Only once.
It's not entirely clear what happened to Flagg after Charles was done with him. For that matter, it's not entirely clear Flagg lived to tell the tale.
Like I said, a much more well-rounded character.
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no subject
Date: 2007-01-18 02:52 am (UTC)Burns was pretty much only good for getting the boys into trouble and then getting dumped on. The only time he was remotely sympathetic was when Margaret was flaunting her engagement in front of him.
Winchester, on the other hand, might have been a royal pain to Hawkeye and B.J., but not only could he give as good as he got, he earned their respect with his skills and occasional flashes of kindness and compassion. Truthfully, he was one of my favorite characters by the end, if not my absolute favorite. Well, I adored Potter. And B.J. And Klinger, of course. Okay, so there's a lot of competition for my favorite M*A*S*H character.
You've gotta love Flagg. The lines that actor could pull off with a straight face . . .
Potter: Flagg, if you don't mind me asking, why are you dressed as an Italian usher?
Flagg: Can you keep a secret?
Potter: I think I can.
Flagg: I'm disguised as Ling Chow, a Chinese double agent.
Potter: Funny, you don't look Chinese.
Flagg: Neither would Ling Chow if he were dressed like this. Follow me?
Potter: As far as I'd like to.
Still my favorite TV show of all time, even with some very stiff competition.
no subject
Date: 2007-01-18 03:06 am (UTC)As Margaret evolved into a real character, Frank was left carrying the "cardboard cut out" standard on his own.
Ah, Flagg. My second favorite recuuring character. Sidney was my fav.