The August Teahouse of Quint McHale

Here is an episode that is hard to describe. The script was less than desirable but the acting saved the show from hitting rock bottom. Joe Flynn did all he could with his part as he tried to make this uninteresting script entertaining by bringing all the qualities of his character to the forefront. Without Flynn this would have been an unfortunate show.

The center of the plot was that Binghamton was having medical problems mostly due to his suspicions of McHale and his crew. Doctor Whitmore made it clear that Binghamton needed some rest away from the island but he was just to worried that McHale would try something while he was gone. When Binghamton sees Fuji on McHale's island, he alerts everyone and puts the crew of the 73 under arrest. But when no enemy is found and Binghamton starts talking in Japaneses sentences (thanks to Parker's records), nearly everyone thinks Binghamton is cracking-up.

To make matters worse, or better in McHale's case, the crew from the 73 places Binghamton is situations that makes him believe that he needs a long vacation. The crew even resorts to putting on make-up and sashaying around in kimonos to make Binghamton think he is going mad. A must needed holiday may be in Binghamton's future.

This script just did not appeal to me. The story seemed long and some things seemed overboard to get the point of the plot across. We all have disdain for Binghamton for the way he treats the 73 crew- but he is also our nervous Captain that make the show enjoyable. This episode may have tried to hard to be funny.