Frank Burns

[Foxiekins]

The Character from the TV series MASH...  What disadvantages would you assign to him...?  Working on a character conversion, and I'd like something a bit more clear than just putting "Frank Burns" as the name of the Disadvantage...

[Christopher R Taylor]

Mindlessly patriotic, subject to orders, gullible, cowardly, and rivalry with other doctors, to start with.

[Xavier Onassiss]

Don't forget "Obsessed with Major Houlihan"

[Scott Baker]

And "fish lips".

[WistfulD]

Realistically, he has a minor level of cowardice and paranoia, but mostly a penalty in social and observational skills. The gullibility and mindlessly patriotic bits really are part of a more general solipsism--he pays attention to a given situation and reacts (verbally and decisionwise) based on a very self interested interpretation. He thinks the Korean's puting pots in the ground are planting bombs because he happens to be focused on paranoia that week. Note, of course, that he's only the "bad guy" in that situation because he was wrong. He is very much a cartoon bad guy--having whatever flaw the writers needed that week.

 

I wouldn't give him many penalty points except poor social skills, and probably 10 points total for the cowardice and paranoia. Most of his "flaws" aren't game book complications. He's really unlikable, but it really isn't a penalty to him to be a relatively selfish, self-interested, belittling-to-others, underhanded ferret-face, except that people react negatively to him.

 

Frank, to me, is very much like his opposite--Sydney. He's not really a character, so much as a plot device. That's why I found Charles Emerson Winchester III an much more relatable and realistic foil, even though I preferred the earlier seasons of the show.

[Christopher R Taylor]

Well it comes down to what happens to the character in the setting as a result of his personality.  Being weasely and underhanded is pretty minor.  Being paranoid and easily duped actually costs him - they are actually disadvantageous - and worth points, I think.

[WistfulD]

Agreed. 5 points for paranoia (half the time he's not paranoid when he should be), 5 for gullible, and maybe 5 for inobservant to real situations that conflict with his internal psychosis.

[Logan D. Hurricanes]

Distinctive Features: Ferret Face

[tkdguy]

Also, don't give him too many points in PS: Surgeon. One of the reasons Burns was disliked by the other surgeons was that he wasn't very good at his job.

 

Wikipedia entry

[Major Tom 2009]

Let's not forget mild kleptomania here -- remember, he'd swiped a general's gun (and was perfectly willing to

let Radar take the blame for it) in one of the episodes.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

[Xavier Onassiss]

OTOH, "Obssessed with Major Houlihan" ended up causing him all kinds of problems.

 

He had a wife stateside, so he was committing adultery and trying to keep her from finding out.

 

Eventually the wife heard about it, and Burns' efforts to placate her made Houlihan so angry she dumped him.

 

He continued pursuing her, even after she started seeing someone else. This included behavior which could be considered "stalking."

 

I'd probably rank it as a "Common/Strong" Psychological Complication.

[Lucius]

Mindlessly patriotic,

I might have said, reflexively deferential to authority.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Obsessed with palindromedaries

[Christopher R Taylor]

That might be closer, although he was portrayed as an idiotic flag waver in the show pretty consistently in a mockery of patriotism.

[tkdguy]

Then again, he was constantly trying to undermine Col. Blake or go over his head. He knew better than to try that with Col. Potter.

[WistfulD]

Let's not forget mild kleptomania here -- remember, he'd swiped a general's gun (and was perfectly willing to

let Radar take the blame for it) in one of the episodes.

 

 

Major Tom 2009

 

Yes, but mental illnesses are based on patterns, and he didn't repeat that action. So he's more of a guy who stole something once, rather than a kleptomaniac.

 

Either way, it feeds from a more generalized mental complication: an overall attempt to gain power, prestige, symbols of self aggrandizement, etc., but without the efforts or responsibilities (or competence) required to do so. During the Col. Blake years, he's basically Starscream.