D'Snowth's M*A*S*H Reviews

[D'Snowth]

Season Two

Episode 43: "The Chosen People"

Writers: Gerry Renert, Jeff Wilhelm (Story by), Laurence Marks, Sheldon Keller, Larry Gelbary (Teleplay by)
Director: Jackie Cooper
Original Airdate: January 26, 1974

Plot: The 4077th find themselves with a problem when a family of Korean locals start to built a shack right in the middle of the Compound; as it turns out, they are a farm family, and the head of the family claim that the 4077th is on THEIR land, so while everyone tries to get rid of them, another Korean local, a mother by the name of Choon-Hi, who speaks rather good English, strolls in with a baby, claiming that one of the doctors of the 4077th is the father, and though Henry Blake assume it's either Hawkeye and/or Trapper, the mother claims it's really Radar! While Radar claims he is familiar with Choon-Hi because he stops by their village to deliver medicine and food, he swears he has never fooled around with her at all, and he's really upset when he is suddenly given the third degree about the whole business. So blood samples are taken from the mother and the child against his, while officials and M.P.s arrive to drive the farmers out of the 4077th, and to get to the bottom of the mystery of Radar possibly being the father of a Korean baby, but thanks to Hawkeye and Trapper's testing, they prove from the blood reports that Radar is definitely NOT the baby's father, even though Radar storms in and decides to claim that he lying, and that he really did mess around with Choon-Hi, and that baby is his, though he's shown the blood samples. Later on when the Korean farmers are being taken away, Radar confides in Hawkeye that he felt more important when everybody started thinking he was more of a man.

Comments:
- This episode marks the first appearance of Igor, who will remain a semi-regular fixture for the rest of the series' run. However, his only scene in this episode has been cut, so in syndication, this isn't his first episode. He appears as a corpsman in this episode, but for the rest of the series, he serves on K.P. duty, serving the 4077th their chow, and is the target of everyone's whining about the food.

- Radar has blood-type B.

- Margaret does not appear in this episode.

What's Cut:
- The brief scene where Henry is in his tent, shaving, when suddenly a cow bursts in has been cut.

- The scene where Henry is on the phone trying to get help has been nicked for time, mostly when the son is trying to give Henry a shoe-shine.

- There's a scene in the Mess Tent where Radar is getting lunch for Choon-Hi, when he suddenly becomes the object of everyone's attention, it has been cut.

- Although the closing sequence of this episode hasn't been cut completely, it has been nicked, for after the truck leaves with the Korean family, syndication fades to black, thus cutting out Radar heading back for the hospital, when a nurse walks up to him and asks him who he's going to take with him to the movies tonight.

Overall:
Yet another episode that I don't watch very often, but when I do, I remember just what a good episode it really is. I HAVE mentioned this isn't wasn't one of my favorite season, haven't I? Well, at any rate, I believe I'll give it 7 out of 10 stars.

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Two

Episode 44: "As You Were"

Writers: Gene Reynolds (Story by), Larry Gelbart, Laurence Marks (Teleplay by)
Director: Hy Averback
Original Airdate: February 2, 1974

Plot: The 4077th has had a no-casualty streak for a while now, and although they're happy about that, having no work do to has left them bored stiff: Radar takes up piano in the Officers' Club, Henry Blake tries to get himself a suntan, Father Mulcahy practices baseball, Frank Burns tries to line up all the condiments in the Mess Tent perfectly, Father Mulcahy then takes up washing his own feet on Holy Thursday, Corporal Klinger continues to try to prove he's crazy so he can get his Section 8, Hawkeye and Trapper continue playing pranks on Frank Burns by having his nailed in a crate in his sleep, Henry then delivers yet another sex-education lecture, Hawkeye and Trapper later receive two gorilla costumes in the mail, while Margaret convinces Frank to finally get his hernia operation over with, so after Hawkeye and Trapper agree to do it (and be serious about it), the streak is over and the 4077th is suddenly flooded with casualties, and is under fire by the American's artillery!

Comments:
- First episode conceived by series' producer, Gene Reynolds.

- Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Sending sleazy photos of himself to General Mitchell, and threatening to send the same to his wife indicating they're having an affair.

- Henry Blake delivers his third, and final sex lecture in this episode, and this is the third, and final one that's completely cut from syndication.

- Now here's a real comment I want to get through: when Frank is under sedation in Post-Op, he mistakes Hawkeye for an old friend, Fred, and asks him "do you think the principal saw us?" Because of this, and Hawkeye's reaction to the question, many fans are led to believe that Frank might actually, secretly be bi-sexual

- GOOF: Radar plays the piano in the Officers' Club in this episode, and very well, however, later when he has to play "Here Comes the Bride" in "Margaret's Wedding", it's established that he's not very good at the piano. Besides, Father Mulcahy is usually the Officers' Club piano player.

- GOOF: When Henry is sitting outside his tent getting a suntan, the rest of the set lights have been dimmed, so it'll seem like he's sitting directly under the sun.

- GOOF: Poor timing with whoever's running the set lighting, when the shelling knocks out the electricty in O.R., the dark blue lights outside the window brighten up AFTER the light in O.R. have been cut.

- GOOF: Father Mulcahy paints the sign on his tent door, however, the tent his sign is on is on the Showers tent.

What's Cut:
- The brief scene where Hawkeye and Trapper crate Frank while he sleeps has been cut.

- Henry Blakes third, and final sex lecture has been completely cut from syndication, so NONE of them has will ever be seen in reruns on TV.

- A brief scene where Trapper takes a smoking break, and then spends it with a nurse who also takes a break

Overall:
A pretty good episode, it has its moments, but not really one I'd watch all the time. I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Two

Episode 45: "Crisis"

Writers: Larry Gelbart, Laurence Marks
Director: Don Weis
Original Airdate: February 9, 1974

Plot: The severly cold Korean winter continues, and it doesn't do any good for the 4077th, especially since the enemy has cut off the 4077th's supply line, and they won't be receive any of their supplies such as lightbulbs, warm clothing, extra blankets, assorted foods, oil, and toilet paper to name a few. Because of the situation, Margaret suggests that the 4077th go on immediate red alert, so they do just that: that night, to conserve heat, everyone bunks in the Swamp for the night, each time Henry Blake walks into his office, he finds his desk has been nicked more and more as people use the wood to burn fire, "How can people just cut off a man's leg and steal his drawers?".

Comments:
- Henry doesn't know what red alert means.

- William Christopher appears to have a band-aid around his right pinky finger.

- M*A*S*H was one of the first primetime sitcoms to use the word dick.

- McLean Stevenson had to redub his line about being a champion snorer, because the fidgeting he did to get to his cot made his original dialogue hard to hear.

- Corporal Klinger uses Creme de Menthe cold cream, and apparently so does Frank's wife, Louise.

- Frank is the only one who joins in Father Mulcahy's bedtime prayer... but I won't say anything again to avoid trouble with other members here.

- When everyone has to bunk in Henry's tent for the next night, McLean Stevenson looks a bit pale for some reason.

- GOOF: Radar, you don't need those make-shift earmuffs, thats what the flaps around your cap is for.

What's Cut:
- Henry's meeting has been nicked for time.

- Father Mulcahy holding a bingo game in the Mess Tent has been cut.

- Radar bringing in the cots in the Swamp has been nicked for time.

- The entire scene when Frank stops by Margaret's tent with completely baked ham, then Hawkeye and Trapper stop by to confiscate it has been completely cut.

- A brief scene in the Mess Tent where Father Mulcahy sings a solo to keep up morale has been cut.

Overall:
Another one of the better Season Two episodes, and other one of my favorites from this season; though it still doesn't quite measure up to other episodes, in my opinion. I think it deserves maybe 7.5 out of 10 stars.

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Two

Episode 46: "George"

Writers: Regier and Markowitz
Director: Gene Reynolds
Original Airdate: February 16, 1974

Plot: When a patient comes through O.R., Hawkeye doesn't care whether he's on their side, or if he's the enemy, or Communist, or whatever, he only concentrates on patching him up, in hopes that his life can be saved; so because of that, a patient recooperating in Post-Op, named George Weston, wants to confide in him - his outfit went out for drinks while on leave, had one too many, and said somethings he shouldn't have, and got beat up for being gay. But it's important for him to finish his tour of duty, so Hawkeye sees what he can do to meet George's wish, meanwhile, Margaret and Frank Burns also find out about George's sexual orientation, and find it disgusting, so they plot to have him discharged from the Army for being mentally disturbed.

Comments:
- Trapper's singing in O.R. in this episode... a little unusual, because Hawkeye's the one who'll break into a "show-stopping number" in O.R., with everyone else, including Trapper, telling him to shut up.

- Henry has his mother's hands.

- Hawkeye and Trapper pretend to have turned on each other and have a full-blown argument right in front of Frank to fool him into thinking Trapper changed his mind about the situation with George and that Hawkeye is outraged by it; this would later be done by Hawkeye and B.J. in Season Five when they pretend to be mad as h e l l at each other over Post-Op duty as a birthday present for Frank.

- GOOF: When Frank walks into the Swamp to have a shave, his face is covered in globs of shaving cream, yet whenever they cut to a close-up of him, the shaving cream cover is more of a fine layer.

What's Cut:
- The opening sequence in O.R. has been nicked for time.

- The scene in the Mess Tent in the middle of the night with exhausted Hawkeye, Trapper, Radar, and a nurse talk-shop about the long sessions in O.R. over cups of coffee has been completely cut.

- The following scene in Post-Op has been nicked for time, cutting out mostly Hawkeye checking in a patient whose face is bandaged up, and Henry and Frank bickering.

- The following scene after this where Hawkeye is painting his new love interest's toenails, while Radar stops by to watch has been cut.

- As George confides in Hawkeye, there's a brief scene where Father Mulcahy is playing football with some other enlistedmen, who end up tackling him, which has been edited out.

- Hawkeye talking to Frank's photo of his mother, followed shortly by Frank sitting next to Margaret in the Mess Tent has been cut.

- Hawkeye and Trapper bumping into Father Mulcahy on their to the Showers has been edited out.

Overall:
A pretty average episode, I'd say. Not one I'd watch a lot, and I don't, though I think the plot was interesting... it might have been a little controversial for the 1970s, but I still think it was interesting. I think maybe 4.5 out of 10 stars will do it for this episode.

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Two

Episode 47: "Mail Call"

Writers: Larry Gelbart, Laurence Marks
Director: Alan Alda
Original Airdate: February 23, 1974

Plot: The 4077th had gone for weeks without receiving any mail, so when a jeep with a large sack of mail arrives in the Compound, Radar is suddenly swamped with eager receipitiants before he's given the chance to sort it out. Trapper is amazed at how much his daughters Kathy and Becky have changed when he receives a new photo of them along with some homebaked cookies they made themselves, Hawkeye receives a homemade sweater from his sister that happens to be one size too large, Henry Blake receives a coupon for Madame Wank's Casa de Massage in Tokyo and a package from Lorraine that's full of check stubs, Frank Burns receives news from his stockbrokers that his stock portfolio has been doubled sense the war started, Margaret sent away for sheer pantyhose and spiked heels to make herself appear even more attractive to Frank, Corporal Klinger claims he received a letter from his mother telling him that his father is deathly ill and they need him to come home for his funeral (or sixty-fifth birthday, whichever comes first), and Radar gets a letter from his pen-pal who after he sent her a photo of Hawkeye claiming it's him.

Comments:
- Remember how there were three "Dear Dad" episodes? Well, that's how "Mail Call" plays out as well, as this is the first of three "Mail Call" installments, "Mail Call... Again" takes place in Season Four, while "Mail Call Three" takes place in Season Six.

- The first episode directed by series' star Alan Alda; Alda would later on direct several other M*A*S*H episodes, especially after Season Five ended when he and Burt Metcalfe took over complete control of the show after the departures of creator Larry Gelbart after Season Four, and producer Gene Reynolds after Season Five.

- Hawkeye's grandfather's nickname is "Tombstone", and used to sell whisky and hors d'oeuvres to the Indians.

- Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Actually, he has two in this episode, 1. claiming he has a letter from home that his father is dying and needs a hard-ship discharge... except Henry already has a file of similar letters including: father dying last year, mother dying last year, mother and father dying, mother father and older sister dying, father dying and older sister pregnant, older sister dying and mother pregnant, younger sister pregnant and older sister dying, and half of the family dying the other half pregnant. 2. By later claiming he's "an atheistic, Marxist, card-carrying" Communist.

- The United States of America is sixteen hours behind South Korea time-wise.

- Henry calls Klinger a Bolshevik, to which Klinger thinks Henry is saying that Klinger's claims are fluff; obviously, Klinger thinks Henry is saying "bull****", a term that still isn't allowed on network TV to this day.

- GOOF: Hawkeye mentions a sister again in this episode, though it's established that he's an only child.

What's Cut:
- The scene in the Swamp with Frank talking about the news from his stockbroker has been nicked for time.

- Henry seeing Klinger about the letter he received in mail call has been nicked for time.

Overall:
Out of the three "Mail Call" episodes, this one is probably my least favorite, although it does have several highlights, like Trapper actually missing his family and planning on going AWOL to get home, Frank trying to avoid divorcing his wife to marry Margaret since he doesn't want any confrontations with the family back home, and of course, my favorite scene from this episode: Henry going through Klinger's file of all the excuses he's brought him to try to get sent home. I give this episode 5 out of 10 stars.

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Two

Episode 48: "A Smattering of Intelligence"

Writers: Larry Gelbart, Laurence Marks
Director: Larry Gelbart
Original Airdate: March 2, 1974

Plot: A chopper crased, and the only one who sustained an injury was over-zealous C.I.A. agent, Colonel Flagg, who has broken his arm, and while Flagg sticks around camp on a secret mission, Trapper receives a visit from his old buddy, Vinny Pratt, who's with Army Intelligence - G2, and is here to investigate Colonel Flagg to find out why he faked injuries and is hanging around an Army hospital; meanwhile Flagg wants to investigate why Vinny is in camp. Hawkeye and Trapper feel their presences at the 4077th is un-necessary, and decide to have some fun with them by changing Frank Burns's files: they make him out to be a Communist for Flagg, while Vinny reads that he's a Facist.

Comments:
- First episode directed by series' creator/writer, Larry Gelbart.

- Like I said, Edward Winter, who plays Colonel Flagg, appeared early in "Deal Me Out" as "Captain Holloran", and although this episode seems to indicate they were completely different characters since everyone finds out in this episode that Flagg is with the C.I.A., later in "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?" when Flagg runs into Sidney, he jogs his memory by saying "we played poker once", which references "Deal Me Out", indicating that "Captain Holloran" could've been another one of his many aliases.

- Some of Flagg's other aliases include: "Major Brooks", "Lieutenant Carter", "Ensign Troy", "Captain Louise Klein", and "Queen Victoria". He also tells people he's with the C.I.D. to keep people who think he's with the C.I.A. from thinking he's with the C.I.C.

- Some of Vinny Pratt's aliases include: "Captain Perkins, Priest", "Captain Stone, Engineer", "Martinez" (as claimed by Flagg), and "Mary".

- Radar has to give Hawkeye, Trapper, and Vinny a "signal" to make their next move, by standing in the doorway of the hospital, and seductivly smoke a cigarette; Radar hacks when smoking the cigarette, indicating that Gary Burghoff has finally changed the character of Radar to be sickened by cigars and cigarettes.

What's Cut:
- Flagg's initial meeting with Henry Blake has been nicked for time.

- Vinny's meeting with Henry has also been nicked for time.

- The closing sequence where Flagg overviews the 4077th, Hawkeye, Trapper, Henry, Margaret, Frank, and Radar to determine whether or not it needs continual observation has been cut.

Overall:
I have to be honest... this episode really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but then again, I think it wasn't supposed to make sense anyway. In my opinion, a rather disappointing way to end the season, so I give it 3 out of 10 stars.

Okay, now let's head on over to Season Three!

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Three

Episode 49: "The General Flipped at Dawn"

Writers: Jim Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum
Director: Larry Gelbart
Original Airdate: September 10, 1974

Plot: The 4077th is anticipating the arrival of General Bartford Hamiliton Steele, who will be arriving for an inspection, so at 0600 hours on the big day, the entire camp (except for Hawkeye and Trapper) fall out for inspection when General Steele finally arrives. The general inspects the troops, and slightly chews out various people for the tiniest things (like Frank Burns's nostril hair), and while Hawkeye keeps watch over a patient who is unsucessfully recuperating in Post-Op, and later having a date with a nurse in the Supply Room, Henry Blakes begins to see just what a whacko General Steele is, when he demands tongue depressers be sterilized and used again. Hawkeye also sees what a kook he is when he and Henry catches them making out in the Supply Room, when Hawkeye suddenly orders the nurse off, and claims to the general to be with the United Press International, and Steele starts dictating an article to him about predicting an early end to the war, that is if it doesn't rain, and wants him to call his wife to tell her he's mailing her a jeep for her birthday. Things really begin to heat up when General Steele decided the 4077th is too far from the front, and needs to bug out and move closer to the front.

Comments:
- Although this is the first episode of Season Three, it was actually the eighth produced.

- Harry Morgan, who plays General Steele, will actually become a regular in Season Four when he plays Colonel Sherman T. Potter - the 4077th's new commanding officer taking over for the late Henry Blake.

- Harry Morgan has said in an interview that this is one of his favorite episodes, and he also believes that it was his portrayal of General Steele that led to his "promotion" to Colonel Potter.

- Harry Morgan was also the only replacement cast member who got to meet McLean Stevenson before his death.

- The scene where General Steele inspects the troops is said to have gone through seventeen takes because McLean Stevenson and Gary Burghoff kept breaking up, not expecting Harry Morgan to be so funny.

- By chopper, the 4077th is twenty minutes from the front.

- GOOF: Hawkeye makes another reference to having a sister, but he's supposed to be an only child.

- GOOF: Henry and Radar don't wear masks when they walk into O.R.

- GOOF: The new location General Steele scouts out for the 4077th is actually right behind them, as he walks by the small creek (which hasn't dried up yet) and the minefield that border back end of the camp (behind the hospital, Supply Tent, Latrine, etc).

What's Cut:
- Henry's initial meeting with the senior surgical staff about General Steele's upcoming arrival has been nicked for time.

- Hawkeye checking on his patient in O.R. before picking up another nurse has been edited out.

- The brief scene in the Swamp where Frank chews Hawkeye and Trapper out for some of the things they read, and the way they keep their side of the tent messy has been cut.

- The brief scene in the Swamp where Hawkeye changes into his Hawaiian shirt while Trapper plays the mandolin, and Radar delivers a box a cheese has been cut.

- The entire scene where General Steele scouts out the new location for the 4077th, is later under fire when Henry salutes him has ben completely cut.

- The closing sequence where Hawkeye, Trapper, and Henry immitate General Steele's show-stopping number, "Mississippi Mud" has been cut.

Overall:
Wonderful way to kick off Season Three! Probably one of my favorite season premieres, and I thoroly enjoyed Harry Morgan's portrayal as the crazy General Steele! For the Season Three premiere, I give it 10 stars all the way (though I deduct some stars General Steele, hee-hee-hee)!

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Three

Episode 50: "Rainbow Bridge"

Writers: Larry Gelbart, Laurence Marks
Director: Hy Averback
Original Airdate: September 17, 1974

Plot: Hawkeye, Trapper, and Frank Burns are about to enjoy R&R in Tokyo, but are interrupted when a shipment of new plasma arrives... and when a truckload of plasma arrives, inevitably a new shipment of casualties follow shortly after, so plans for R&R are canceled and pretty soon, the O.R. is flooded with casualties. Pretty soon, Hawkeye and Trapper are a little confused as to why the wounded they're operating on have simple flesh wounds, but are soon not surprised to learn that Frank is in charge of triage, and are even less not surprised that there is a bus full of severly wounded casualties, whom Frank refuses to let them be operated on because they're Chinese P.O.W.s. Later that evening in the Mess Tent, while Hawkeye, Trapper, Margaret and Frank try to unwind, Henry Blake walks in with a message: it seems there's a Chinese aid station that has several wounded G.I.s on their side of the line, and they need more attention then they can handle, and are willing to let the 4077th show up and take them back to camp with them, with a few conditions: one vehicle, drive, doctors and corpsmen only, and no fire arm of any kind, the pickup point is a little spot known as Rainbow Bridge; though while Margaret and Frank protest its a trap, Hawkeye and Trapper feel they should go. So after an debate dies down, Hawkeye, Trapper, and Corporal Klinger volunteer to go, while Henry volunteers Radar, and Margaret volunteers Frank; so they're on their way to Rainbow Bridge to pick up the wounded G.I.

Comments:
- Although this is the second episode of Season Three, it was the first produced.

- This episode marks the first of three appearances of the 4077th's minstral, Captain Spaulding, as played by Johnny Mandel, who wrote the theme music for the series.

- Yet another contradiction to my earlier guessing of Trapper being an atheist, as he and Hawkeye pack up for Tokyo, Trapper gives thanks for the trip they're about to take. I am now going to assume that perhaps Trapper does believe in God, but does not really have any religious preferences.

- Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Volunteering to go to Rainbow Bridge to pick up wounded G.I.s being held by the Chinese, figuring maybe he can get out for "bravery instead of nuts-ery".

- Established Japanese-American actor Mako makes his first of four guest appearances in this episode, as Dr. Lin Tam with the Army of the People's Republic. He would later appear as a doctor in charge of a North Korean aid station in Season Five, an officer in charge of executing a North Korean guerilla in Season Eight, and I'm not sure what his fourth appearance was, it must have been a Post-Radar episode. Mako was responisble for an Asian-American theater group in the "Little Tokyo" area of Las Angeles; the group was known as "The East West Players".

- Dr. Tam attended Univeristy of Illinois, as did Henry Blake.

- GOOF: Klinger doesn't wear a mask when he enters O.R.

What's Cut:
- Two brief scenes in a row are cut: Trapper getting a free shave from a nurse in the Swamp, while Frank babbles on about a few things he shouldn't in Margaret's tent while she brushes her hair.

- Henry's meeting with Hawkeye, Trapper, Margaret and Frank in the Mess Tent has been nicked for time.

- Some of the bus ride down to Rainbow Bridge has been nicked for time.

Overall:
A really great episode - really keeps you on the edge of your seat what with our guys having to travel 50 miles into the enemy's territory to pick up wounded to patch up. For this episode, I give it 10 stars all the way!

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Three

Episode 51: "Officer of the Day"

Writers: Laurence Marks
Director: Hy Averback
Original Airdate: September 24, 1974

Plot: The 4077th is un-happy: Henry Blake is gone, leaving second-in-command Frank Burns in charge again, though breathe a sigh of relief when Hawkeye is named Officer of the Day. So while Hawkeye carries on with his duties as Officer of the Day, but is less-than-delighted when C.I.A. agent Colonel Flagg drives into camp, and is even more outraged at what Flagg wants: he has a wounded P.O.W. that he wants Hawkeye to patch up so he can take him in and execute him, rather hypocrital in Hawkeye's eyes, meanwhile all this time Trapper is getting measurements for a new suit from a local tailor, whose two children sneak around camp lifting personal items from various staff members. Hawkeye's other duties include having to interogate L.I.P.s (all of which happen to be named Kim Luck), dealing with Corporal Klinger trying to go AWOL, and him and Trapper trying to keep Flagg from taking the P.O.W. with him for execution to the opposition of Margaret and Frank.

Comments:
- Although this is the third episode of Season Three, it was the seventh produced.

- Henry Blakes does not appear in this episode.

- This is one of Jamie Farr's favorite episodes; in fact, he said in an interview once that his scene with Alan Alda where Klinger appears in a complete nun's habit took a long time to get through because Alan kept breaking up at the sight of Jamie in a nun's outfit, then finally when Alan was able to pull himself together, Jamie starts breaking up.

- Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Three in this episode - 1. Sneaking out of camp, pretending to be a nun. 2. Sneaking out of camp pretending to be a business girl. 3. Taking the place of the wounded P.O.W. being taken to Seoul for execution.

- This episode marks the first guest appearance of Asian-American actor Richard Lee Sung; he appears in this episode as one of the Kim Lucks Hawkeye interogates, and in several episodes as a Korean civilian, but his most notable role on the show was the few episodes he appeared in as Cho Man Chin, a local peddler who often swindles the doctors of the 4077th (mostly Frank).

- The scene where Radar is in his office undressing while Hawkeye watches from Henry's office had to be done in several takes because Gary Burghoff kept breaking up; he later said "Well, it's not every day I have to take my pants off for Alan Alda!"

- It's revealed in this episode that Radar's teddy bear was a present from his older brother.

- GOOF: Radar has taken his shirts off before he tucks his teddy bear in, but when they cut to close ups of him doing the actual tucking, his shirt is back on, then back to being shirtless in the next shot.

What's Cut:
- Frank chewing out Klinger during inspection has been nicked for time.

- There's a brief wide-angle shot where Hawkeye walks out of the Swamp and into the hospital between the scenes where he's in the Swamp while Trapper gets measurements for his new suit, and Hawkeye walking into Radar's office to find an M.P. with Klinger. This brief scene has been cut.

- The scene in the Mess Tent where Hawkeye and Radar give the two Korean children the third degree about Radar's missing teddy bear has been nicked for time.

Overall:
This is one of my favorite Season Three episodes... to tell the truth, in my personal opinion, I really feel the show really started to work out by the time it went into it's third season, so I feel Season Three was a lot better than Seasons One and Two, though not quite up to par as Seasons Four, Five, Six, and Seven. I also give this episode 10 stars all the way!

 

[D'Snowth]

Season Three

Episode 52: "Iron Guts Kelly"

Writers: Larry Gelbart, Sid Dorfman
Director: Don Weis
Original Airdate: October 1, 1974

Plot: The 4077th is anxious for the arrival of the famous Lieutenant General Robert "Iron Guts" Kelly, who is impressed with the 4077th's high efficiency rating and checks the camp out along with his over-zealous aid Colonel Wortman, General Kelly is really impressed with the fine work the surgeons do in O.R., and even more impressed with Head Nurse Margaret Houlihan, so later that night, General Kelly stops by Margaret's tent, when Margaret receives the shock of her life: General Kelly passes away while having a good time with her! So while Hawkeye and Trapper help Margaret hide the general, his aid, Colonel Wortman decides to scope out a location with heavy fire to make it look like General Kelly was killed in the line of duty, and plans a blast of a funeral, completely with fireworks.

Comments:
- By today's standards, this would probably have been the final episode of the show, as in most cases, and successful TV series rarely lasts for more than 52 episodes (four seasons, with each season containing 13 episodes).

What's Cut:
- General Kelly's inspection in O.R. has been nicked for time.

- After Henry takes a snapshot of Margaret and Frank with General Kelly, syndication cuts straight to Margaret waking Hawkeye and Trapper up for help; this cuts out Henry telling the General he's been assigned to the V.I.P. tent, though the General has other ideas in mind along with Margaret.

- The brief where Hawkeye and Trapper follow Margaret to her tent when they bump into Igor, who invites them to join the party he and a few other enlistedmen are having with booze and business girls has been cut.

- The first time Colonel Wortman wakes up Radar to make a phone call has been nicked for time, as well as a cut-back scene where Radar is on the phone looking for an area with heavy fighting between Margaret throwing Frank out of her tent, and Igor filling an ambulance full of business girls with the dead general.

- The closing sequence where the next morning Hawkeye and Trapper read about General Kelly's death in the paper has been cut.

Overall:
A rather awkward episode, in my opinion... not one of my favorites, but I don't hate it. I think I'll give it 5 out of 10 stars.