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

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "Mulcahy's War"
Episode Number: 106
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: November 16, 1976
Production Code: U812
Writers: Richard Cogan
Director: George Tyne

Episode Summary
Frank Burns hates Margaret now ever since she got engaged, it's gotten so bad, he's so irritable in O.R. Hawkeye and B.J. really get worried when they find themselves operating on Private Fitzsimmons, who shot himself in the foot to get out of the Army. Later, Father Mulcahy talks with Fitzsimmons in Post-Op, where he suddenly feels like a real loser since unlike other Chaplains in the Army, like Father Marty "Boom-Boom" Gallagher, Father Mulcahy has had nothing to do with the actual fighting of the war, so he decided that it's past time he had a taste of the action of the war, so when Radar and Igor have to drive up to an Aid Station to pick up a severely wounded casualty, Father Mulcahy goes AWOL and trades places with Radar up to the Aid Station. On their way back, things go from bad to worse when the wounded slowly stops breathing, so Radar pulls over while Father Mulcahy contacts the 4077th for help, and Hawkeye gives Father Mulcahy step-by-step instructions over the radio on how to perform emergency field surgery to help the soldier breathe since he was wounded in his throat. Meanwhile, Hawkeye and B.J. find themselves with an unusual patient in O.R.: a German Shepard by the name of Corporal Cupcake, who tripped a mine to save his master's life.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the nineth episode of Season Five, it was the twelfth produced.

* One of William Christopher's favorite episodes.

* Father Mulcahy was in the seminary in Philadelphia.

* GOOF: Hawkeye, B.J., and Frank all take their masks off prematurely in O.R.

"Deleted" Scenes
* Not sure.

Favorite Quote
HAWKEYE: Father, we have a rather unusual case here.
FATHER MULCAHY: (Seeing the dog) Oh my, what denomination is he?
HAWKEYE: Well, he's a German Shepard, so I guess that makes him a Lutheran.

Overall
Opinion: Pretty good.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "The Korean Surgeon"
Episode Number: 107
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: November 23, 1976
Production Code: U814
Writers: Bill Idelson
Director: Gene Reynolds

Episode Summary
Margaret and Frank Burns are very terrified of one of the wounded brought into camp because he's the enemy: he's North Korean. Hawkeye and B.J. don't care whether he's the enemy or not, he's still a human being and needed surgery. While recuperating in Post-Op, he noticed the patient next to him is choking, and he tries to help him, but when Margaret and Frank catches him, they assume he's trying to kill the other patient, so they strap him to his bunk, while Hawkeye and B.J. walk into to take care of everything. This is where they learn their patient is actually a surgeon: Dr. Syn Paik, and how he wish that despite their being on opposite sides that they could work together, so Hawkeye and B.J. hatch a scheme. When Dr. Paik is shipped out, Radar sneaks him into Corporal Klinger's tent where they shave off his beard and mustache, give him glasses, and pass him off as a new, South Korean surgeon, who has been transfered to 4077th, and though his performance in O.R. is very impressive, both Margaret and Frank suspect something fishy about him; Margaret's suspicions are confirmed when two North Koreans, posing as South Koreans in need of medical supplies take Frank hostage and Dr. Paik knew all along they were North Koreans, so Colonel Potter reluctantly has Dr. Paik arrested and sent away as a P.O.W., meanwhile Frank drives his North Korean capters so bezerk they let him go and beg him to go back to his unit "it's the best thing you can do for our side!"

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the tenth episode of Season Five, it was the fourteenth produced.

* Nurse Able is played by a different actress in this episode.

* GOOF: Frank's uniform is blue in this episode.

"Deleted" Scenes
* The scene in the scrubroom where Frank talks smack about Donald Penobscott to Margaret has been cut.

* Hawkeye and B.J. conferring with Radar in the Mess Tent has been nicked for time.

* Frank's ADR babbling about his presentation has been edited out.

* The closing sequence where Frank tries to act brave by claiming he knew his capters were the enemy all the time, and that he was simply going with them to try to gather intelligence has been completely cut.

Favorite Quote
FRANK: (Babbling about the supposed "presentation" he's giving) Why don't I start out with a couple of jokes, then go into a personal autobiography about myself? I can tell them about the Boy Scouts, how I rode a two-wheeler at 13, and how I worked my way through med school selling burial plots door to door. I wish I had time to get a haircut... well, they'll understand, after all, it's war. Did I mention that I taught my rabbit how to smile?

Overall
Opinion: I wish the enemy kept Frank, though.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Plot from TV.com, which sucks because they bought out TV Tome.

Episode Information
Episode Title: "Hawkeye Get Your Gun"
Episode Number: 108
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: November 30, 1976
Production Code: U813
Writers: Jay Folb, Gene Reynolds, Jay Folb
Director: William Jurgensen

Episode Summary
After 24 hours of surgery, Hawkeye and Potter venture off to a Korean hospital to lend a hand. Hawkeye is appalled to learn that he must carry a gun. After helping the Koreans, they are shelled on the way back. They scramble from the jeep before it is shelled, and Potter urges Hawkeye to shoot in self-defense, against Hawkeye's will, and he does...into the air.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the eleventh episode of Season Five, it was the thirteenth produced.

* Radar and Father Mulcahy don't appear in this episode.

* Colonel Potter paints a portrait of Hawkeye in this episode.

* Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Passing himself off as Zoltan - King of the Gypsies.

* The Korean hospital Hawkeye and Colonel Potter work at is actually the abandoned school house from "Bug Out -- Part 2".

* GOOF: Colonel Potter and Klinger both mention the 4077th having a Motor Pool in this episode, however, the Motor Pool wasn't established until Season Six.

"Deleted" Scenes
* The brief scene where Igor delivers mail to Klinger in Radar's office has been cut.

* The entire scene with Frank Burns and Klinger gathering supplies from the Supply Room while Klinger reads Frank's palm has been cut.

* Hawkeye and Colonel Potter in the foxhole has been nicked for time.

Favorite Quote
COLONEL POTTER: TO KLINGER! (Takes a sip)
HAWKEYE: TO KLINGER'S NOSE!
COLONEL POTTER: THAT'S A DOUBLE!
HAWKEYE: (Takes a sip)
COLONEL POTTER: TO ZOLTAN! (Takes a sip)
HAWKEYE: TO ZOLTAN'S NOSE... THAT'S A DOUBLE! (Takes a sip)
COLONEL POTTER: TO CHARLES DE GAULLE AND HIS NOSE!
HAWKEYE: THAT'S A TRIPLE! TO YOUR NOSE!
COLONEL POTTER: THAT'S JUST HALF A ONE!

Overall
Opinion: Yawn.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "The Colonel's Horse"
Episode Number: 109
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: December 7, 1976
Production Code: U811
Writers: Jim Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum
Director: Burt Metcalfe

Episode Summary
Colonel Potter is ecstatic when he's given two days of R&R in Tokyo, which he'll get to spend with his wife, Mildred, who's on vacation, so unfortunately, in his absence, Second-In-Command, Frank Burns will be placed in charge of the 4077th. Colonel Potter puts Radar in charge of his horse, Sophie while he's gone, and Radar feels it'll be a cinch, that is until after Colonel Potter leaves, Radar finds Sophie just lying there in her corale. A phone call to B.J.'s father-in-law, Floyd Hayden, confirms that Sophie is suffering from Colic, and if they don't take care of it, and fast, she'll die, so that means they have to get her up on her feet, so they can shove a hose up her butt and hose her intestines out. All this happens meanwhile Margaret seems to be suffering from Appendicitis, and makes it clear that she DOESN'T want Frank to operate on her, rather Hawkeye, and Corporal Klinger suddenly suffers from a severe depression, but it's another scheme to get a discharge.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the twelfth episode of Season Five, it was the eleventh produced.

* Klinger wins an Abott and Costello look-a-like contest, he wins a Norman Rockwell print that was cliped from a recent issue of Saturday Evening Post.

* Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Suffer from a severe depression.

* Frank once tried to cook Radar's bunny for Easter dinner.

* B.J.'s father-in-law, Floyd Hayden lives on a ranch on Quapaw, Oklahoma. Peggy's maiden name is Peggy Hayden.

* The first, and only time a camp water town is seen, though it's referenced to in latter episodes.

* GOOF: Father Mulcahy calls Hawkeye a "good Christian", yet Hawkeye is agnostic.

"Deleted" Scenes
* The opening sequence in O.R. has been nicked for time.

* The scene where Colonel Potter goes over Sophie's routine with Radar has been nicked for time.

* The scene where the camp cleans out Sophie's intestines has been nicked for time.

* Radar on the phone with Sparky just when Colonel Potter pulls up has been edited out.

Favorite Quote
RADAR: (Comforting Sophie) I know just how you feel, honey, I once chewed a whole pack of gum with a bag of potato chips.

Overall
Opinion: Great episode!
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "Exorcism"
Episode Number: 110
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: December 14, 1976
Production Code: U815
Writers: Jay Folb, Gene Reynolds, Jay Folb
Director: Alan Alda

Episode Summary
A local has a little peddling cart set up in the middle of the Compound, so Colonel Potter orders for the removal of it, and shortly afterwards, he orders for the removal of a spirit post that the locals put up in the middle of the Compound to drive away evil spirits. Coincidentally, once Radar removes the posts, the 4077th finds themselves in one jinx after another with lightbulbs going out in O.R., a gauge in a blood pressure taker, the P.A. system going haywire, and Colonel Potter's cigar lighter no longer working. It isn't before long the troops start trying to ward off evil spirits in their own way with Corporal Klinger wearing a blue bead around his neck, Radar nailing up a horseshoe in Colonel Potter's office, and a local elderly man being wounded by stepping in front of an ambulance to scare away evil spirits. Hawkeye is willing to operate on the old man, but the old man refuses to be operated on until the evil spirits are driven out of camp, so the old man's grand-daughter, Kyong Ja and Hawkeye decide to help the old man out by bringing in a Korean Priestest to exorcize the spirits out of camp, and to put the old man at ease, with the approval of Colonel Potter and even Father Mulcahy; so the Priestess is brought in, and she proceeds to dance all over camp: the Compound, and O.R. to chase away the evil spirits out of camp. It isn't before long after she's finished when the lights come back on, the blood pressure taker works again as does Colonel Potter's cigar lighter, and the P.A. system, so Hawkeye is able to operate on the old man in peace, and for safety's sake, Colonel Potter orders the return of the spirit post.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the thirteenth episode of Season Five, it was the fifteenth produced.

* This episode takes place on a Friday the 13th in either 1951 or 1952.

* GOOF: Radar tells Father Mulcahy he's a Protestant, however, in "Dear Sis" when Radar needs Father Mulcahy to bless the birth of a new calf back home at the O'Reilly Farm, Radar says they're Methodist.

"Deleted" Scenes
* The scene in O.R. where all the jinx slowly start to happen has been nicked for time.

* The closing sequence where Hawkeye and B.J. play a prank on Frank to convince him that his radio is inhabited by evil spirits has been cut.

Favorite Quote
FRANK: Pierce, do you read me?
HAWKEYE: Like a comic book!

Overall
Opinion: Another pretty good episode.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "Hawk's Nightmare"
Episode Number: 111
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: December 21, 1976
Production Code: U804
Writers: Burt Prelutsky
Director: Burt Metcalfe

Episode Summary
Hawkeye had been spending some pretty long sessions in O.R. as of late, and it seems like the wounded he operates on keep getting younger and younger, in fact, one kid he operated on was barely eighteen. Later that night, almost everyone was sound asleep, when Hawkeye suddenly gets out of bed, and heads out into the Compound to play basketball, and brag about his great new pair of tennis shoes to Corporal Klinger, whom he mistakenly refers to as one "Scooter". The next morning, Hawkeye is confused at what people are telling him about the way he's been wandering around the Compound in the middle of the night, playing invisible basketball, and mentioning people back home... apparently he's been sleepwalking, and later again that night, it happens all over again when he steps out into the Compound to play marbles with his pals Scooter and Stinky (Klinger and Radar), though once they finally get him back to bed, he wakes up screaming for a childhood friend named Toby Wilder, whom he dreamt was sledding down a steep hill too fast and heading straight for a thicket of trees. Thinks start sinking in, and Hawkeye is afraid to go to sleep the next night, but he eventually dozes off and this time he dreams his friend Dicky Barber was killed in an explosion. Colonel Potter then calls on divisional psychiatrist, Sidney Freedman, to check up on Hawkeye without really checking up on him, and he concludes that his sleepwalking and dreams are trying to take him back to simple times, but the horrors of war keep intruding.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the fourteenth episode of Season Five, it was the fourth produced.

* Geography wasn't a strong subject for Hawkeye as a child.

* Crabapple Cove, Maine, was established in the year 1684, and its current populations is 3,976.

"Deleted" Scenes
* The late night scene in Post-Op where Frank Burns tries to pick up Margaret again has been completely cut.

* The brief scene where Hawkeye bumps into a nurse as she walks out of the Mess Tent and asks her if she wants to play ball has been edited out.

* The scene where Hawkeye reminisces about home with his patient in Post-Op has been nicked for time.

* Colonel Potter and Radar taking about wars to cope and deal with the war has been cut short.

Favorite Quote
FRANK: There's nothing there in the dark that you don't see in the light.
HAWKEYE: Why do I find no comfort in that thought?

Overall
Opinion: My second favorite Season Five episode.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "The Most Unforgettable Characters"
Episode Number: 112
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: January 4, 1977
Production Code: U818
Writers: Ken Levine, David Isaacs
Director: Burt Metcalfe

Episode Summary
Radar's logs have suddenly become less and less military, and a bit more... "expressive"... as it turns out, Radar had recently enrolled himself in the famous Las Vegas Writing School run by some very famous writers like Hemmingway, Steinbeck, and O'Neill (that's Ethel Hemmingway, Gerri Steinbeck, and Eunice O'Neill). Radar tries to branch out and become a successful writer by following the lessons assigned to him in a little workbook that was sent to him, his first lesson is write an amusing anecdote, but he doesn't believe he's ever had one, so he enlists the help of Hawkeye, B.J., and Frank Burns, who turn out to be no help, so he moves on to lesson two which is to describe a beautiful scene outside his window, which forces him to skip to lesson three. Meanwhile, Frank is depressed because it's his birthday, and nobody seems to care, so Hawkeye and B.J. decide to make him feel special by faking a fight in front of him to make him feel better, all that happens meanwhile Radar tries to add "muscle to his vocabulary", which outrages Colonel Potter, and he orders Radar to quit his course, and tells him that if he wants to be a successful writer, then the first thing he needs to do is be himself. Meanwhile, Corporal Klinger decides if he can't go home with a Section 8, then he's going douse himself in gasoline and set himself on fire... or will he?

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the fifteenth episode of Season Five, it was the eighteenth produced.

* In syndication, Margaret doesn't appear in this episode.

* This episode takes place on June 13, 1952... you know what that means? Frank and I have the same birthday. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

* Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Two in this episode, 1. Trying to bring in Chinese POWs as it earns points towards an honorable discharge, 2. dousing himself in gasoline and set himself on fire.

"Deleted" Scenes
* The scene where Frank chews Klinger out in the lunch line for being out of tapioca pudding has been edited out.

* Frank babbling on about how much he loves his birthday to his sleeping patients in Post-Op, and trying to steal one patient's Purple Heart has been edited out.

* The entire scene where Hawkeye is upset about B.J. thinking he's too competitive and always has to get in the last word while failing to disprove B.J.'s opinion has been completely cut.

* The following scene where Radar asks for Margaret's help in relating a romance interlude has also been cut.

Favorite Quote
FRANK: Some birthday this turned out to be!
B.J.: Frank, you didn't tell us it was your birthday!
FRANK: Oh what difference does it make? Nobody cares.
B.J: Aw Frank, you're being too hard on yourself... here, I'll show you... *Stands up* Hey everybody, guess what? Today is Major Burns's birthday! *Claps*
EVERYBODY ELSE:

Overall
Opinion: Another great episode.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "38 Across"
Episode Number: 113
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: January 11, 1977
Production Code: U821
Writers: Jim Fritzell, Everett Greenbaum
Director: Burt Metcalfe

Episode Summary
Hawkeye and B.J. are bored stiff with nothing to do but tell each other strange fantasies, while Frank Burns plays with his new B.B. game he got as a birthday present. Things begin to perk up a bit, though, when Hawkeye goes through the newspaper Frank's present was wrapped up in and finds a crossword puzzle; pretty soon the whole camp is preoccupied with finishing the crossword puzzle, until Hawkeye is stumped at 38 across, which is a five-lettered Yiddish word for bedbug, and nobody can figure it out, not even Father Mulcahy, or Corporal Shapiro, so Hawkeye remembers he has a buddy on the Essex, Tippy Brookes, who's a crossword puzzle freak, so he, B.J., and Radar try to contact him, only to find that he's in surgery, so Hawkeye leaves the message the he needs his help desperately, however, things go from bad to worse when Tippy leaves a message with Radar telling Hawkeye he's on his way, assuming they're in need of help for a medical emergency, so while Hawkeye and B.J. nervously await the arrival of Tippy and his commanding officer, Corporal Klinger goes on a picnic in the middle of the Compound, and enjoys a fine cuisine of nuts, bolts, part of a windshield wiper, and some motor oil, as he plans to prove he's crazy by eating a jeep, piece by piece.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the sixteenth episode of Season Five, it was the twenty-first produced.

* Corporal Klinger's Latest Scheme to Get Out of the Army: Eating a jeep.

* Yiddish Lesson: "Vonce" means "bedbug" in Yiddish.

* GOOF: Why was Hawkeye having so much trouble with just one word? Wouldn't the words from the co-responding squares going DOWN have filled up 38 across?

"Deleted" Scenes
* Basically the only scenes cut from this episode are the ones that involve Frank preoccupying himself with his new B.B. game, except for when he first gets it.

Favorite Quote
FATHER MULCAHY: (Saying grace) Thank you, Lord, for giving us this bounty during trying times, amen.
HAWKEYE: So that's what this is... roast bounty...
FATHER MULCAHY: (Crosses himself)
HAWKEYE: Does that help?
FATHER MULCAHY: With a touch of ketchup.
COLONEL POTTER: Thank God for ketchup!
RADAR: He just did.

Overall
Opinion: Another great episode.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "Ping Pong"
Episode Number: 114
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: January 18, 1977
Production Code: U817
Writers: Sid Dorfman
Director: William Jurgensen

Episode Summary
The 4077th's Ping Pong champion, Cho, has a special announcement to make: he and his special friend, Soony, are getting married! Before they can, however, Cho needs to raise another fourty dollars to add to his sixty dollars for the wedding ring, and they have no idea where to hold the wedding, so Hawkeye and B.J. tell them they can hold the wedding in camp, much to the outrage of Frank Burns, who presses charges against them, until Hawkeye and B.J. suggest Colonel Potter give the bride away, which he happily agrees to. Shortly before the wedding, however, complications set in while Cho is buying the wedding ring in Seoul, two MPs throw him into the back of a truck, tell him he's drafted, give him only an hour of basic training, and send him to the front where he's promptly wounded, and sent back to the 4077th to be patched up. Finally, the wedding is under way, an interesting sight for the 4077th as the wedding ceremony is Buddhist. All this happens, meanwhile an old friend of Colonel Potter's, Lieutenant Colonel Harold Beckett, has been wounded in the butt, and lies recuperating in Post-Op where it's learned that he needs five more days of being in command so he can be promoted and retire a full Colonel, though he won't be able to after Colonel Potter learns that he's not fit for command, and should really be back behind a desk like he used to be.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* A background character that can be seen through-out much of the series during Seasons Four through Eleven speaks for the first of two times in this episode, though that scene has been edited out in syndication. The next, and final time he would speak would be in the series' finale.

* GOOF: Colonel Potter says he comes from Nebraska, however, his hometown is established as being Hannibal, Missouri.

"Deleted" Scenes
* Hawkeye and B.J. being razzed by Frank in the scrubroom over Cho has been cut.

* The scene where Hawkeye strolls down with the Compound with Nurse Bigelow, trying to pick her up but to no success has been edited out.

* The scene in the Mess Tent where Radar has to model Soony's wedding dress while Margaret makes alterations to it has been cut in half.

Favorite Quote
CORPORAL KLINGER: (Playing Horseshoes with Colonel Potter) Another ringer, sir!
COLONEL POTTER: I don't understand how you do it.
CORPORAL KLINGER: I learned to throw horseshoes in Toledo.
COLONEL POTTER: What's that got to do with it?
CORPORAL KLINGER: We didn't throw them for fun, we threw them in self-defense!

Overall
Opinion: Another great episode.
Rating: Click here

 

[D'Snowth]

Episode Information
Episode Title: "End Run"
Episode Number: 115
Season Number: Five
Original Airdate: January 25, 1977
Production Code: U816
Writers: John D. Hess
Director: Harry Morgan

Episode Summary
While up a front during heavy artilliry fire, a young sergeant is severly wounded in the leg, something that scares him to death. It isn't until he arrives at the 4077th for care when Hawkeye and B.J. learn from Radar that he's THE Billy Tyler, a famous football star from Ottumwa, Iowa, which explains why he's so afraid about the injury to his leg... in fact, he specifically requests to Hawkeye and B.J. that if they can't save his leg, then not to bother saving him either; Hawkeye and B.J. work their butts off in O.R. trying to save Billy's leg, but there was just simply too much damage done to the arteries that they had no other choice but to amputate it. When Billy awakens in Post-Op, he claims he can still feel his leg down there, but Hawkeye assures him what he's feeling is called "phantom" pains, which forces Billy to look under the covers to see that he leg is now missing, which plunges him into a deep depression, which upsets Hawkeye and B.J., even though they know they did everything humanly possible they could to save Billy's leg, though he won't accept that. Radar buddies up to Billy when he receives a hometown magazine in the mail, and shows him an article about a not-too-recent football game back home, and how Billy managed to win the game for Iowa by simply doing Short Passes. In the end, Billy finally accepts the amputation and that Hawkeye and B.J. did all they could to save it, and decides to resume his football career, but by going with the Short Passes. All this happens, meanwhile after Corporal Klinger has yet another fight with Sergeant Zale in Rosie's Bar, Frank Burns decides to try to impress Margaret by breaking regulations to hold a camp boxing matching between Klinger and Zale, who, to get even, punch Frank out instead.

M*O*R*S*E*L*S
* Although this is the eighteenth episode of Season Five, it was actually the sixteenth produced.

* GOOF: Is it just me, or did Rosie's Bar suddenly shrink?

"Deleted" Scenes
* The scene in Pre-Op has been nicked for time.

* The scene where Klinger is hanging up his laundry while Zale starts chewing him out for chickening out of the fight in Rosie's Bar while they end up squishing Radar between them has been cut.

* The scene in the Mess Tent where Klinger and Zale break out in a fight has been nicked for time.

* The closing sequence where Frank tries to press charges against Klinger and Zale for punching him out has been completely cut.

Favorite Quote
HAWKEYE: Frank, why don't you swallow your face?
B.J.: He did, that's why he looks that way!

Overall
Opinion: Another great episode.
Rating: Click here