I thought the scene where Steeply tells Marathe about his father's obsession with M*A*S*H was really interesting and powerful. For one thing, there were parts to it that were downright amusing (I love Marathe's language issues, like on page 639 when he says "'I am knowing of the U.S.A. historical broadcast television comedy program M*A*S*H.'") But I also think this section speaks to both the idea of excess and the idea of addiction. It's pretty obvious where the excess comes into play--after all, Marathe astutely states that Steeply's father's "unbalance of temptation cost him his life" (646). Thus, this is a severe case of addiction--addiction to M*A*S*H, yes, and in broader terms, an addiction to entertainment (one of Wallace's favorite topics). For Steeply's father, it's as though M*A*S*H was his own personal Infinite Jest, and he couldn't stop watching it, so it eventually killed him. I'm guessing we're going to see more "personal" Infinite Jests such as this one throughout the rest of the novel.

Also, death by over-watching M*A*S*H has to go on the list of sickly-amusing deaths in this novel.