WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399 You know, there is this very specific sound. 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:06.400 It's this rhythmic chopping, this mechanical 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:09.279 sound. And if you grew up in the 70s, the 80s, 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:11.480 or, you know, honestly, even the 90s, because 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:13.439 of all the reruns. Yeah, absolutely, the reruns. 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:16.620 Right. That sound just triggers a complete Pavlovian 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:19.000 response. You're talking about the Bell H -13 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.420 Su helicopter. Exactly. You hear that rotor blade 00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:24.679 just cutting through the air. And you don't just 00:00:24.679 --> 00:00:27.780 think of aviation. You think of olive drab tents. 00:00:27.899 --> 00:00:31.609 You think of meatball surge. You think of a very 00:00:31.609 --> 00:00:34.710 dry martini being made in a literal mess kit. 00:00:35.270 --> 00:00:38.210 We are talking, of course, about M -A -S -H. 00:00:38.409 --> 00:00:40.490 A cultural monolith. I mean, I really don't think 00:00:40.490 --> 00:00:42.649 that word is too strong here. No, not at all. 00:00:42.829 --> 00:00:45.530 We are talking about a show whose finale drew 00:00:45.530 --> 00:00:49.329 something like 106 million viewers. It completely 00:00:49.329 --> 00:00:52.829 changed the landscape of television. But today, 00:00:52.829 --> 00:00:54.689 we aren't looking at the finale. Right, we are 00:00:54.689 --> 00:00:56.170 doing something a bit different today for this 00:00:56.170 --> 00:00:58.490 deep dive. We aren't looking at the show everyone 00:00:58.490 --> 00:01:01.710 remembers with the mustache -wearing B .J. Hunnicutt 00:01:01.710 --> 00:01:04.790 or the very patrician Charles Emerson Winchester 00:01:04.790 --> 00:01:08.129 III. No, we are going all the way back to... 00:01:08.010 --> 00:01:10.870 the messy, chaotic, and frankly really surprising 00:01:10.870 --> 00:01:14.030 beginning. We are diving specifically into season 00:01:14.030 --> 00:01:17.769 one. Yeah, the genesis of the 4077th Mobile Army 00:01:17.769 --> 00:01:20.250 Surgical Hospital. Set during the Korean War, 00:01:20.469 --> 00:01:23.150 so the 1950 timeline, but filmed in the mountains 00:01:23.150 --> 00:01:26.090 of Malibu. And we're covering that initial broadcast 00:01:26.090 --> 00:01:30.069 period from 1972 to 1973. Which is just a fascinating 00:01:30.069 --> 00:01:33.609 place to start, because season one is... It's 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:35.590 almost like a completely different show compared 00:01:35.590 --> 00:01:37.750 to what it became later on. It really is. It's 00:01:37.750 --> 00:01:40.250 like watching a band figuring out their sound 00:01:40.250 --> 00:01:43.030 in real time on stage. Totally. And our mission 00:01:43.030 --> 00:01:45.469 today is really specific for you all listening. 00:01:45.590 --> 00:01:47.590 We aren't just here to recap episodes for the 00:01:47.590 --> 00:01:49.810 state of nostalgia. We want to understand how 00:01:49.810 --> 00:01:52.769 a sitcom about war. Which is an inherent paradox 00:01:52.769 --> 00:01:55.290 right there. Exactly. It's a massive paradox. 00:01:55.349 --> 00:01:57.969 We want to see how it found its footing. So we 00:01:57.969 --> 00:02:00.609 have this huge stack of source material today. 00:02:00.730 --> 00:02:03.870 We've got production notes, the original Larry 00:02:03.870 --> 00:02:06.969 Gilbert scripts, and some deep critical analysis 00:02:06.969 --> 00:02:09.830 of those first 24 episodes. It really is an excavation 00:02:09.830 --> 00:02:11.430 project. I'm going to look at the lost characters 00:02:11.430 --> 00:02:13.590 you probably forgot about, the evolution of the 00:02:13.590 --> 00:02:16.770 tone, and identify the exact moments where the 00:02:16.770 --> 00:02:19.789 show really found its legendary voice. Because 00:02:19.789 --> 00:02:23.020 when you look at these first 24 episodes, You 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:26.439 see the struggle, right? The struggle to balance 00:02:26.439 --> 00:02:30.219 high concept slapstick comedy with the absolute 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:34.919 grim reality of death. And that balance definitely 00:02:34.919 --> 00:02:37.099 didn't happen overnight. So let's jump in. We 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:38.939 have to start with the people. Because when I 00:02:38.939 --> 00:02:41.400 think of M -A -S -H, I think of a very specific 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:43.639 group of faces. Of course. You have the starting 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.539 lineup. The iconic six that are listed in the 00:02:46.539 --> 00:02:48.479 opening credits right from the jump. You have 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:50.900 Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce, obviously better 00:02:50.900 --> 00:02:53.400 known as Hawkeye. Played by Alan Alda. The complete 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:55.680 heart and soul of the show. Right. And his partner 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:58.319 in crime, Trapper John McIntyre, played by Wayne 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:00.620 Rogers. Then there's the commander, Lieutenant 00:03:00.620 --> 00:03:03.439 Colonel Henry Blake. That's McLean Stevenson. 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:06.300 And the antagonists, I mean, if you can call 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:10.139 them that, Major Margaret Houlihan or Hot Lips. 00:03:10.259 --> 00:03:13.419 Loretta Switt. Yeah, Loretta Switt. And Major 00:03:13.419 --> 00:03:16.620 Frank Burns, Ferret Face, played by Larry Linville. 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:20.000 And, of course, the company clerk, Corporal Radar 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:23.039 O 'Reilly. Played by Gary Bergoff, who, interestingly 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:25.520 enough, was actually the only actor to play the 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:28.080 same character in the original Robert Altman 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:31.520 M .A .S .H. movie and the TV series. Really? 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:33.979 Yeah, everyone else was recast for television, 00:03:34.439 --> 00:03:38.159 but Gary Bergoff was just undeniably radar. That 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:40.199 is a great piece of trivia. But here is the thing 00:03:40.199 --> 00:03:41.759 that really threw me while I was digging into 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.020 these early sources. Watching these first few 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:45.939 episodes, the swamp, you know, that's the tent 00:03:45.939 --> 00:03:47.939 where the surgeons live. It's crowded. Oh, it 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:50.360 is very crowded. It's not just Hawkeye and Trapper 00:03:50.360 --> 00:03:52.300 bunking in there like we all remember. No, it 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:54.460 isn't. And this is what we might call the the 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:57.460 Mandela effect of season one. Ah, right. They're 00:03:57.460 --> 00:03:59.419 recurring characters here who are central to 00:03:59.419 --> 00:04:01.639 the plot. They're living in the swamp, scrubbing 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:04.479 in for surgery, who just kind of vanish. Yeah, 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:06.560 they vanish later on without much explanation 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:09.620 at all. Let's unpack these lost characters, because 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:12.259 first up, we absolutely have to talk about Spear 00:04:12.259 --> 00:04:15.080 Checker Jones. Right. Captain Oliver Harmon Jones, 00:04:15.259 --> 00:04:17.660 nicknamed Spear Checker. He is played by Timothy 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.600 Brown. And in the early episodes, he is a main 00:04:20.600 --> 00:04:23.360 character. He is. He lives in the swamp with 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:26.000 Hawkeye and Trapper. He's very much part of the 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.959 inner circle. And he's a neurosurgeon, right? 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:31.639 He is a neurosurgeon, which is a very high medical 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:33.819 specialty to have there. He's playing poker. 00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.240 He's helping execute the pranks against Frank 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.160 Burns. Right. He was actually in the original 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.079 movie as well, though, played by Fred Williamson 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.279 there. But in the show, he's a vital part of 00:04:43.279 --> 00:04:45.240 the team for the first half of the season. So 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:48.120 why does he just disappear? Because the sources 00:04:48.120 --> 00:04:50.399 indicate it wasn't an acting choice or a contract 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:52.980 dispute. It was actually a historical accuracy 00:04:52.980 --> 00:04:55.459 choice. That is the official line from the production 00:04:55.459 --> 00:04:58.220 notes. Yeah. The producers received information 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:00.939 allegedly that there were no black surgeons serving 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:03.899 in MASH units during the Korean War. So they 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:06.240 wanted to remain historically authentic to that 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.240 1950s setting. So they simply wrote the character 00:05:09.240 --> 00:05:12.019 out. Which is incredibly ironic because later 00:05:12.019 --> 00:05:14.339 research showed that there actually were black 00:05:14.339 --> 00:05:17.579 surgeons in Korea. Exactly. It was a research 00:05:17.579 --> 00:05:20.120 error on the part of the producers that ended 00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:22.399 up costing us a really interesting dynamic in 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:25.319 the swamp. It left the swamp very white for the 00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:27.220 rest of the series. Yeah, it really did. But 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:29.579 he's not the only one who vanished. We also have 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:32.589 ugly John. the anesthesiologist, the guy with 00:05:32.589 --> 00:05:34.569 the hat. Right. John Orchard played him. He's 00:05:34.569 --> 00:05:36.889 usually seen wearing that Australian slouch hat. 00:05:37.050 --> 00:05:39.790 He is the anesthesiologist. So he's in the background 00:05:39.790 --> 00:05:43.029 of almost every single surgery scene in season 00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:45.949 one. He's usually asking for more pentafil or 00:05:45.949 --> 00:05:49.389 making some dry sarcastic comment. He essentially 00:05:49.389 --> 00:05:51.930 functions as part of the furniture of the O .R., 00:05:51.930 --> 00:05:54.889 but he gives the camp a sense of being this busy 00:05:54.889 --> 00:05:57.610 international place. It makes the camp feel bigger, 00:05:57.730 --> 00:06:00.110 doesn't it? Like it's not just our main six characters. 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:03.100 doing every single job. Precisely. And then there 00:06:03.100 --> 00:06:06.000 is Ho -Jon. Ho -Jon is the swamp's house boy. 00:06:06.579 --> 00:06:09.279 And I mean, that term alone really dates the 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:12.180 show. Oh, it really does. Ho -Jon is a local 00:06:12.180 --> 00:06:15.420 Korean young man who effectively works for Hawkeye 00:06:15.420 --> 00:06:18.160 and Trapper. But if you look at the pilot episode, 00:06:18.220 --> 00:06:22.680 which aired September 17, 1972, the entire plot 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:25.420 actually revolves around him. Let's touch on 00:06:25.420 --> 00:06:27.259 that pilot for a second because it really sets 00:06:27.259 --> 00:06:29.699 the tone. It was written by Larry Gelbarg. Yes. 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.120 And the plot is purely about Hawkeye and Trapper 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:36.560 trying to raise tuition money to send Ho John 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.639 to Hawkeye's old college back in the States. 00:06:39.860 --> 00:06:41.699 They want to get him out of the war zone and 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:43.779 give him an education. Right. So they hold a 00:06:43.779 --> 00:06:46.660 camp wide raffle to raise the cash and the prize 00:06:46.660 --> 00:06:49.959 for this raffle. A weekend in Tokyo with Nurse 00:06:49.959 --> 00:06:51.980 Dish. Lieutenant Dish. Yeah. Played by Karen 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:53.860 Philipp. She's another one of these lost characters. 00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:55.980 In the pilot, in the first couple of episodes, 00:06:56.060 --> 00:06:58.660 she is a prominent focus. She is the incredibly 00:06:58.660 --> 00:07:01.480 attractive nurse who is essentially treated as 00:07:01.480 --> 00:07:03.860 the trophy of the camp. Which, looking at it 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:06.540 through a modern lens is, well, it's a lot to 00:07:06.540 --> 00:07:09.939 take in. It is problematic, to say the least. 00:07:10.170 --> 00:07:14.050 The idea of raffling off a date, which is heavily 00:07:14.050 --> 00:07:17.250 implied to be much more than just a date with 00:07:17.250 --> 00:07:19.629 the female officer, is something the show would 00:07:19.629 --> 00:07:22.250 definitely move away from later. For sure. But 00:07:22.250 --> 00:07:25.029 in the pilot, she is central to the plot. She 00:07:25.029 --> 00:07:27.269 helps with the schemes. She's part of the core 00:07:27.269 --> 00:07:30.069 group. And then, just like Spearchucker and Ho 00:07:30.069 --> 00:07:32.930 -Jon, she just fades away as the writers decided 00:07:32.930 --> 00:07:36.029 to focus more tightly on the core chemistry of 00:07:36.029 --> 00:07:38.470 Hawkeye and Trapper. It's wild to look back on. 00:07:38.509 --> 00:07:40.610 It feels like a much bigger ensemble cast in 00:07:40.610 --> 00:07:42.649 the beginning. And speaking of cast and quirks, 00:07:42.689 --> 00:07:44.709 I noticed something really funny about Father 00:07:44.709 --> 00:07:48.009 Mulcahy in the pilot. Ah, yes. The Good Father. 00:07:48.089 --> 00:07:50.949 It's not William Christopher. It is not. In the 00:07:50.949 --> 00:07:53.209 pilot, Father Mulcahy is played by an actor named 00:07:53.209 --> 00:07:56.019 George Morgan. He has this one single appearance, 00:07:56.699 --> 00:07:58.779 and he plays the character a bit more, I don't 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:01.300 know, straight, a bit more nondescript. And the 00:08:01.300 --> 00:08:04.019 producers felt it just wasn't quite clicking. 00:08:04.300 --> 00:08:06.019 Yeah, the sources say they needed someone with 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:08.839 a very specific kind of quirky innocence, sort 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.779 of spiritual vulnerability. So by episode three, 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:15.319 which is titled Requiem for a Lightweight, George 00:08:15.319 --> 00:08:17.860 Morgan is out. and William Christopher is in. 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:20.579 And Christopher really brought that tentative, 00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:24.199 slightly confused, but deeply moral quality that 00:08:24.199 --> 00:08:26.819 made Mulcahy an absolute legend. You really did. 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:29.040 And then there's Klinger. I always assume Klinger 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:30.860 was there from day one. I think most people do. 00:08:31.019 --> 00:08:33.179 But he actually shows up in episode four, Chief 00:08:33.179 --> 00:08:36.899 Surgeon Who. Correct. And his introduction is 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:39.210 incredibly memorable. He's already trying to 00:08:39.210 --> 00:08:41.730 get his Section 8 discharge. General Parker is 00:08:41.730 --> 00:08:43.330 inspecting the camps. He's clinging on guard 00:08:43.330 --> 00:08:45.649 duty. And Claire is wearing a dress. He is wearing 00:08:45.649 --> 00:08:47.629 a dress. And he's not just standing there looking 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:50.789 embarrassed. He yells out, halt! Who goes there? 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:54.110 Like it's a completely normal military protocol. 00:08:54.330 --> 00:08:57.289 Ah, yes. And here is the kicker from the production 00:08:57.289 --> 00:09:00.110 notes. Jamie Farr was originally hired for just 00:09:00.110 --> 00:09:02.950 one single episode. Really? Yeah, the man in 00:09:02.950 --> 00:09:04.450 a dress trying to get a Section 8 was supposed 00:09:04.450 --> 00:09:07.830 to be a one -off visual gag. No way! But Farr 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:11.429 played it with such utter conviction. He didn't 00:09:11.429 --> 00:09:13.750 play it like a caricature of a drag queen. He 00:09:13.750 --> 00:09:15.830 played it like a desperate soldier who found 00:09:15.830 --> 00:09:19.809 a weird loophole and was committing to it 100%. 00:09:19.809 --> 00:09:22.720 And the producers realized they had struck. Exactly. 00:09:23.100 --> 00:09:25.500 He became a recurring character and eventually, 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:28.080 of course, a main cast member. That visual of 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.379 Klinger is just baked into pop culture history 00:09:30.379 --> 00:09:33.399 now. Before we move off the cast entirely, we 00:09:33.399 --> 00:09:36.580 have to mention the guest stars, because season 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:39.000 one had some heavy hitters before they were huge. 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:41.960 Oh, absolutely. We have Ron Howard. Yeah. And 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:43.460 we will definitely talk more about him later, 00:09:43.500 --> 00:09:45.980 because his episode is incredibly pivotal. Yeah. 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:48.860 We also have Leslie Nielsen showing up. And this 00:09:48.860 --> 00:09:51.580 is pre -Naked Gun, Leslie Nielsen. Yes, this 00:09:51.580 --> 00:09:54.340 is serious dramatic actor Leslie Nielsen playing 00:09:54.340 --> 00:09:57.419 a Colonel. And Ed Flanders, who would later star 00:09:57.419 --> 00:10:00.039 in Sane Elsewhere. also appears. It really shows 00:10:00.039 --> 00:10:02.299 that the casting directors had a real eye for 00:10:02.299 --> 00:10:05.059 talent even early on. It does. So we have this 00:10:05.059 --> 00:10:07.259 expanded cast, we have the setting established, 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:09.879 but what about the vibe? Because reading through 00:10:09.879 --> 00:10:12.960 these early scripts, season one feels so much 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.860 looser, much more chaotic than the later years. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:19.039 It is. The tone is heavily focused on what we 00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:22.200 call hijinks and bureaucracy. It's really about 00:10:22.200 --> 00:10:24.799 satirizing authority. You have to remember the 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:27.940 cultural context here. It's 1972. The Vietnam 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:31.080 War is still raging. Right. M .A .S .H. is set 00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:33.820 in Korea, technically, but it is speaking directly 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:36.559 to an audience that is watching Vietnam on the 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:39.179 nightly news. So the army itself is kind of the 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:41.700 villain. The army is absolutely the antagonist. 00:10:42.059 --> 00:10:44.700 Purocracy is the enemy. Hawkeye and Trapper aren't 00:10:44.700 --> 00:10:47.039 just doctors. They're anarchists fighting the 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:48.980 military machine with pranks. Because they're 00:10:48.980 --> 00:10:51.299 trying to save lives despite the army, not because 00:10:51.299 --> 00:10:53.289 of it. Precisely. The episode to market to market 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:55.169 is a perfect example of this. This is episode 00:10:55.169 --> 00:10:57.950 two. A total classic. The plot is that black 00:10:57.950 --> 00:11:00.850 marketeers have essentially hijacked the camp's 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:03.669 hydrocortisone supply, which is a serious medical 00:11:03.669 --> 00:11:07.210 crisis. But the solution is pure farce. To get 00:11:07.210 --> 00:11:09.250 the supplies back, they have to trade something 00:11:09.250 --> 00:11:12.169 valuable to the black market. So what do they 00:11:12.169 --> 00:11:15.690 steal? Henry Blake's antique oak desk. Which 00:11:15.690 --> 00:11:18.509 is 100 years old. They sneak into the commander's 00:11:18.509 --> 00:11:20.759 office in the middle of the night. They disguise 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:23.139 the desk as a patient on a gurney just to get 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:25.419 it out of the compound. And the visual payoff 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:28.799 is absurd. Henry Blake is standing in his office, 00:11:29.379 --> 00:11:31.799 and suddenly a helicopter hook lowers down outside 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:34.960 the window, grabs the desk, and airlifts it away. 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:37.580 Right while he's watching. It's totally cartoonish. 00:11:37.700 --> 00:11:39.240 It's something you'd see in a Lenny Toons short. 00:11:39.399 --> 00:11:42.100 It is. But it establishes that core principle. 00:11:42.819 --> 00:11:45.120 Hawkeye and Trapper will do anything to get what 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:47.539 their patients need, even if it means robbing 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:49.620 their commanding officer blind. It sets the moral 00:11:49.620 --> 00:11:52.379 compass perfectly. People first, property second. 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:55.179 Exactly. And then there's the ring banger. This 00:11:55.179 --> 00:11:57.419 is the Leslie Nielsen episode we mentioned. He 00:11:57.419 --> 00:12:00.600 plays Colonel Buzz Brayton, and the sources note 00:12:00.600 --> 00:12:03.799 a ring banger, or a ring knocker, refers to a 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:06.220 West Point graduate who taps his class ring on 00:12:06.220 --> 00:12:08.259 the table to let everyone know he outranks them. 00:12:08.500 --> 00:12:11.230 Yes, and this guy is a total menace. He has a 00:12:11.230 --> 00:12:14.129 high casualty record. He's obsessed with personal 00:12:14.129 --> 00:12:17.529 glory. He's literally getting men killed just 00:12:17.529 --> 00:12:19.759 to make himself look good in the reports. So 00:12:19.759 --> 00:12:21.700 Hawkeye and Trapper decide they have to get rid 00:12:21.700 --> 00:12:24.080 of him, but they don't file a report because 00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:27.059 reports just get buried by the brass. No, they 00:12:27.059 --> 00:12:29.259 decide to gaslight him. They literally convince 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:32.840 him he is going insane. They do. They tell him 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:35.539 Henry is an alcoholic who is having an affair 00:12:35.539 --> 00:12:38.759 with Hotlips, which to be fair was a common rumor 00:12:38.759 --> 00:12:41.559 around camp anyway, but they really ramp it up. 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:44.240 Yeah. They manipulate conversations so he hears 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.629 things that aren't actually there. They move 00:12:46.629 --> 00:12:49.149 his tent around while he's sleeping, so he wakes 00:12:49.149 --> 00:12:52.070 up totally confused about where he is. It's psychological 00:12:52.070 --> 00:12:54.570 warfare. It absolutely is. They use the tools 00:12:54.570 --> 00:12:57.850 of psychiatry to completely dismantle a superior 00:12:57.850 --> 00:13:01.169 officer. It's funny, but also a little dark when 00:13:01.169 --> 00:13:02.870 you really think about it. Right. They are driving 00:13:02.870 --> 00:13:05.370 a man to a nervous breakdown just to get him 00:13:05.370 --> 00:13:08.070 shipped out. But again, the justification is 00:13:08.070 --> 00:13:10.879 that he's an active danger to the troops. It 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:13.220 really highlights that swamp dynamic. If you 00:13:13.220 --> 00:13:15.559 cross Hawkeye and Trapper, you aren't just going 00:13:15.559 --> 00:13:17.559 to get pranked, you are going to get destroyed. 00:13:17.820 --> 00:13:20.240 True. Now, speaking of things that are a little 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:22.960 dark, or perhaps dated is a better word, we have 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:24.600 to talk about the sexual humor in season one. 00:13:24.799 --> 00:13:26.940 Yeah, this is where the source material points 00:13:26.940 --> 00:13:29.120 out some stuff that might make a modern viewer 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:31.860 wince a bit. The gender politics are very much 00:13:31.860 --> 00:13:35.620 1972. We have a sociological study by James H. 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:38.940 Wittebolz mentioned in our sources, and he heavily 00:13:38.940 --> 00:13:41.309 critiques This shows early treatment of women. 00:13:42.049 --> 00:13:44.309 The nurses are often treated as props or prizes. 00:13:44.570 --> 00:13:46.470 Now, we aren't taking sides here, but looking 00:13:46.470 --> 00:13:49.610 at Whittable's analysis of the era, the episode 00:13:49.610 --> 00:13:52.490 The Moose really stands out. Yes, The Moose. 00:13:52.769 --> 00:13:55.659 Episode five. The title refers to a Japanese 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:59.240 word adapted by G .I.'s muzen meaning girl, but 00:13:59.240 --> 00:14:01.279 it was used to mean a servant or a mistress. 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:04.259 And the plot involves a Sergeant Baker who literally 00:14:04.259 --> 00:14:07.200 owns a Korean girl named Young -Hye. And the 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:09.220 inciting incident is that Hawkeye wins her in 00:14:09.220 --> 00:14:12.259 a card game. He wins a human being in a poker 00:14:12.259 --> 00:14:14.919 game. Now we have to look at the narrative intent. 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:18.720 Hawkeye's intention is to free her. He wants 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.509 to, as the script puts it, demystify her. They 00:14:22.509 --> 00:14:24.509 want to teach her to be independent, to not serve 00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:27.610 men. But the premise itself, using a woman as 00:14:27.610 --> 00:14:30.470 currency to win her freedom, is startling today. 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.299 And the comedy comes from her not understanding 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:36.200 she's free, and she keeps continuing to try to 00:14:36.200 --> 00:14:38.700 serve Hawkeye. Right. Which plays into some very 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:41.440 uncomfortable stereotypes. It's a sort of white 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.340 savior narrative mixed with standard 70s sitcom 00:14:44.340 --> 00:14:47.000 tropes. And Wittables points out another example 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:49.519 in Requiem for a Lightweight. Trapper literally 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:52.299 boxes a guy to keep a nurse, Margie Cutler, from 00:14:52.299 --> 00:14:55.100 being transferred. Right. Nurse Keller is transferred 00:14:55.100 --> 00:14:57.440 by hot lips because she's a quote -unquote distraction 00:14:57.440 --> 00:14:59.700 to the doctors. Yes. Not because she's bad at 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:01.679 her job, but simply because she's too pretty. 00:15:01.940 --> 00:15:03.820 So Trapper gets in the boxing ring to fight for 00:15:03.820 --> 00:15:06.600 her to stay, and they cheat. They do. They use 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:08.559 ether on the boxing gloves to knock the opponent 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:11.360 out. Again, the goal of keeping a good nurse 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:14.480 is framed as noble. But the method treats her 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:17.399 entirely like a prize to be won in a gladiator 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:20.100 match. It's definitely a product of its time. 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:23.299 Wittables also points out the handling of homosexuality 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:26.019 in early episodes like the ring banger and bananas, 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:29.860 crackers and nuts. Yes. In the ring banger, part 00:15:29.860 --> 00:15:32.460 of the gaslighting involves convincing the Colonel 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:35.600 that Frank Burns is gay and is secretly attracted 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:38.299 to him. Right. It's played purely for laughs, 00:15:38.720 --> 00:15:41.220 using homosexuality as a punchline or a tool 00:15:41.220 --> 00:15:43.240 for embarrassment. It's really interesting to 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:45.139 track that evolution, because M .A .S .H. is 00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:47.779 known as this incredibly progressive show later 00:15:47.779 --> 00:15:50.039 on. Right. But in season one, it was clearly 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.100 still shedding the skin of the era it was made 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:53.960 in. Absolutely. It was reflecting the swinging 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:56.879 70s attitudes. OK. But even missed these rougher 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:59.460 edges, you have these moments of absolute brilliance 00:15:59.460 --> 00:16:01.179 where the writing just shines through. We're 00:16:01.179 --> 00:16:03.659 not to talk about Tuttle. Oh, Tuttle. Episode 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:06.899 15. This is widely considered an all -time classic, 00:16:06.940 --> 00:16:09.200 isn't it? It really is the absolute pinnacle 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:12.240 of anti -bureaucracy comedy. If you want to understand 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:15.559 what early M .A .S .H. is about, you just watch 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:19.480 Tuttle. The premise is just chess kiss. Hawkeye 00:16:19.480 --> 00:16:21.740 and Trapper invent a completely fake person. 00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:24.580 Captain Jonathan S. Tuttle. And it starts so 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:26.659 small they just want to donate some extra supplies 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:28.899 to the local orphanage. Right. The sister at 00:16:28.899 --> 00:16:32.250 the orphanage needs supplies. Hawkeye wants to 00:16:32.250 --> 00:16:34.669 give them to her, but he can't sign for them 00:16:34.669 --> 00:16:36.570 himself without getting in massive trouble. He 00:16:36.570 --> 00:16:39.830 needs a cover. So he invents Captain Tuttle of 00:16:39.830 --> 00:16:42.789 the audiovisual squad. But then the bureaucracy 00:16:42.789 --> 00:16:46.149 kicks in. The army needs paperwork. So to cover 00:16:46.149 --> 00:16:49.110 their tracks, they have to create a fake personnel 00:16:49.110 --> 00:16:51.370 file for Tuttle. And then they realize if he's 00:16:51.370 --> 00:16:54.789 a captain, he gets paid. Exactly. So they have 00:16:54.789 --> 00:16:57.389 to figure out how to collect his pay, which they 00:16:57.389 --> 00:16:59.169 then, of course, donate straight to the orphanage. 00:16:59.210 --> 00:17:02.450 Get a snowball. It spirals out of control beautifully. 00:17:02.990 --> 00:17:05.329 They create fake medical records. They get dog 00:17:05.329 --> 00:17:07.849 tags made. Oh, and here's a detail I love from 00:17:07.849 --> 00:17:10.890 the sources. They get the dog tags from a major 00:17:10.890 --> 00:17:13.450 Murdoch. Right. Who turns out to be another totally 00:17:13.450 --> 00:17:15.829 fake person invented by the camp dentist. It's 00:17:15.829 --> 00:17:18.430 like the entire camp is just running on imaginary 00:17:18.430 --> 00:17:20.640 people. And it gets to the point where General 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:23.500 Clayton is so impressed by Tuttle's generosity, 00:17:23.799 --> 00:17:25.900 because he's supposedly donating his entire salary 00:17:25.900 --> 00:17:28.900 to orphans, that he wants to award Captain Tuttle 00:17:28.900 --> 00:17:31.259 a medal. So now they have a massive problem. 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:34.440 They can't exactly produce a fake man for a very 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.420 real medal ceremony. So they have to kill him. 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:39.440 Of course they do. Hawkeye creates this incredibly 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:42.980 heroic death scene narrative, where Tuttle jumps 00:17:42.980 --> 00:17:46.059 from a chopper to save some drop supplies, but 00:17:46.059 --> 00:17:48.640 he forgets his parachute. It's so absurd. It 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:51.319 is, but it highlights the sheer ridiculousness 00:17:51.319 --> 00:17:54.039 of the military paperwork machine. You can invent 00:17:54.039 --> 00:17:56.869 a hero purely out of paper. If the file says 00:17:56.869 --> 00:18:00.210 he exists, the army believes he exists. The sources 00:18:00.210 --> 00:18:02.730 draw a parallel to the Lieutenant Kijay story 00:18:02.730 --> 00:18:05.470 from Russian literature. A fictional soldier 00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:07.829 created by a clerical error who takes on a life 00:18:07.829 --> 00:18:10.529 of his own. Yes, it's that exact same satirical 00:18:10.529 --> 00:18:13.029 concept. And the cherry on top for Tuttle. I 00:18:13.029 --> 00:18:15.029 checked the closing credits of the episode. It 00:18:15.029 --> 00:18:17.589 lists Captain Tuttle as himself. A perfect meta 00:18:17.589 --> 00:18:20.710 -joke. And we also see Sparky in this episode. 00:18:20.880 --> 00:18:24.480 Oh right, Radar's contact at headquarters. Usually 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:26.539 we only hear Radar talking to him on the phone, 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:28.839 but here he actually makes his only on -screen 00:18:28.839 --> 00:18:31.539 appearance. It's a rare treat for the fans. So 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:33.700 Tuttle is the peak of the comedy. It's the high 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:36.940 watermark for the hijinks. But then we get to 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:39.980 episode 17. Sometimes you hear the bullet. This 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:41.720 is the turning point, isn't it? This is where 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:44.000 the show stops being just a sitcom and becomes 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.660 something else entirely. Absolutely. This is 00:18:46.660 --> 00:18:49.099 the moment the show shifts into a dramedy. It's 00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:51.180 the moment the laugh track essentially stops 00:18:51.180 --> 00:18:53.880 working. The premise starts like a typical episode. 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:56.759 Hawkeye's friend from back home, Tommy Gillis, 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.140 comes to visit the camp. he's in the infantry, 00:18:59.619 --> 00:19:01.920 and he's writing a book. And the book is titled, 00:19:02.119 --> 00:19:04.900 You Never Hear the Bullet. Right. Tommy's a great 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:07.079 character because he represents Hawkeye's life 00:19:07.079 --> 00:19:09.480 back home. He's not a doctor, he's just a regular 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:12.710 guy. a writer. He really grounds Hawkeye. And 00:19:12.710 --> 00:19:15.490 running parallel to this is a subplot with Ron 00:19:15.490 --> 00:19:18.250 Howard. A very young, post -Andy Griffith Ron 00:19:18.250 --> 00:19:21.730 Howard. He plays a Marine who comes in with appendicitis. 00:19:22.089 --> 00:19:24.490 Hawkeye treats him and realizes the kid is underage. 00:19:24.750 --> 00:19:27.809 He's 15 years old. He used his brother's ID to 00:19:27.809 --> 00:19:30.900 enlist. And Hawkeye is deeply conflicted. The 00:19:30.900 --> 00:19:33.019 kid wants to go back to the front line to kill 00:19:33.019 --> 00:19:35.920 commies and be a big hero. Hawkeye wants to send 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:38.519 him home to his mom. So you have these two threads. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:40.940 The old friend writing a book about death and 00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:44.119 the young kid eager to go face it. And then the 00:19:44.119 --> 00:19:46.980 tone shifts violently. Tommy Gillis goes out 00:19:46.980 --> 00:19:49.039 to the front and gets shot. He comes back to 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.599 the 4077th on a stretcher. And Hawkeye is the 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:54.859 surgeon working on him. He tries to save him. 00:19:54.940 --> 00:19:58.660 It's frantic. It's desperate. But he fails. Tommy 00:19:58.660 --> 00:20:01.609 dies on the table. And his last words are referencing 00:20:01.609 --> 00:20:04.289 his book title. He tells Hawkeye that he actually 00:20:04.289 --> 00:20:07.230 heard the bullet. That scene. Seeing Hawkeye 00:20:07.230 --> 00:20:09.869 break down. It wasn't just a doctor losing a 00:20:09.869 --> 00:20:12.329 patient. It was a man losing his best friend. 00:20:12.450 --> 00:20:14.230 And that leads to one of the most famous speeches 00:20:14.230 --> 00:20:18.150 in the entire series. Henry Blake finds Hawkeye 00:20:18.150 --> 00:20:20.670 crying in the scrub room. And Henry, who we just 00:20:20.670 --> 00:20:22.369 talked about, is the guy getting his desk stolen, 00:20:22.490 --> 00:20:25.190 the buffoon. Henry drops the mask completely. 00:20:25.250 --> 00:20:27.549 What does he say? It's in the notes here. He 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:31.390 says, rule number one is young men die. And rule 00:20:31.390 --> 00:20:34.150 number two is doctors can't change rule number 00:20:34.150 --> 00:20:37.009 one. Oof. Doctors can't change rule number one. 00:20:37.130 --> 00:20:39.869 That hits so hard. It's the first time a main 00:20:39.869 --> 00:20:42.609 character fails to save a friend. It completely 00:20:42.609 --> 00:20:44.490 shattered the sitcom illusion that our heroes 00:20:44.490 --> 00:20:46.990 always win. It showed that despite their skill, 00:20:47.190 --> 00:20:49.789 despite all the jokes and pranks, death still 00:20:49.789 --> 00:20:52.490 wins in the end. And because of that profound 00:20:52.490 --> 00:20:55.420 grief, Hawkeye makes a huge decision about the 00:20:55.420 --> 00:20:57.900 Ron Howard character. He turns him in. He reports 00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:00.220 the kid to the MPs. He sends him home. And the 00:21:00.220 --> 00:21:03.240 kid is furious. He screams at Hawkeye, says he 00:21:03.240 --> 00:21:05.660 will hate him for the rest of his life. And Hawkeye's 00:21:05.660 --> 00:21:08.039 reaction? He just accepts it. He basically says 00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.640 he would rather be hated by a living boy than 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:13.940 mourn another dead one. It is a powerful, powerful 00:21:13.940 --> 00:21:17.160 anti -war message. It redefines Hawkeye from 00:21:17.160 --> 00:21:20.210 a prankster to a tragic hero. It really defines 00:21:20.210 --> 00:21:22.650 who Hawkeye is at his core. He will sacrifice 00:21:22.650 --> 00:21:25.509 his own popularity to save a life. Which brings 00:21:25.509 --> 00:21:27.430 us to Hawkeye as a character. He's the hero, 00:21:27.430 --> 00:21:29.549 obviously, but season one does a really good 00:21:29.549 --> 00:21:32.890 job of showing his flaws, too. It does. He's 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:36.710 arrogant. He's insubordinate. But he is undeniably 00:21:36.710 --> 00:21:42.009 brilliant. Episode four, Chief Surgeon Who establishes 00:21:42.009 --> 00:21:44.289 this dynamic perfectly. This is the big power 00:21:44.289 --> 00:21:47.069 struggle episode. Right. Frank Burns outranks 00:21:47.069 --> 00:21:50.640 Hawkeye. Frank is a major Hawkeye is only a captain. 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:53.579 Technically, by Army regulations, Frank should 00:21:53.579 --> 00:21:56.680 be chief surgeon, but Henry Blake appoints Hawkeye. 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:58.940 Because Hawkeye is the better doctor. Exactly. 00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:01.519 Hawkeye is confident. Frank is, well, Frank. 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:03.759 Frank and Hotlips are furious about this. They 00:22:03.759 --> 00:22:06.039 go over Henry's head and call General Barker 00:22:06.039 --> 00:22:08.359 to complain. But when the general actually arrives... 00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:10.920 He sees Hawkeye work. He sees him take command 00:22:10.920 --> 00:22:13.279 in the O .R. during a massive rush of casualties, 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:16.259 and he realizes Henry made the right call. It 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:19.299 cements the idea that in this specific war, skill 00:22:19.299 --> 00:22:22.099 trumps rank. The hierarchy of the army doesn't 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:24.019 matter at all when a patient is bleeding out 00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:25.940 on the table. But then you have Sticky Wicked. 00:22:26.140 --> 00:22:29.680 Episode 21. This is crucial for balancing Hawkeye's 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:31.839 massive ego, isn't it? It is essential. In this 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.119 episode, Hawkeye insults Frank terribly during 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:36.460 surgery. He's acting like the literal god of 00:22:36.460 --> 00:22:39.460 the OR, mocking Frank's skills in front of everyone. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:41.740 But then Hawkeye's patient doesn't recover well. 00:22:41.859 --> 00:22:44.819 Right. The patient's vitals are failing. Hawkeye 00:22:44.819 --> 00:22:47.319 obsesses over it. He can't figure out what went 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:50.240 wrong. He reflects. He agonizes over the charts. 00:22:50.599 --> 00:22:52.980 He really starts to doubt himself. And eventually, 00:22:53.539 --> 00:22:55.900 he realizes he missed something. A diagnosis. 00:22:56.099 --> 00:22:59.180 He missed a tiny piece of shrapnel. But here's 00:22:59.180 --> 00:23:02.359 the kicker. Frank caught it. Frank Burns actually 00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:05.480 showed up Hawkeye. He did. Frank saw the thing 00:23:05.480 --> 00:23:08.460 the great Hawkeye Pierce missed. And Hawkeye 00:23:08.460 --> 00:23:11.799 has to eat a massive slice of humble pie. He 00:23:11.799 --> 00:23:13.640 has that rare moment where he turns to Frank 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.279 and says, thanks, Frank. I love that. It makes 00:23:16.279 --> 00:23:18.519 the rivalry so much more interesting. It does. 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:20.599 If Hawkeye is always right and Frank is always 00:23:20.599 --> 00:23:23.500 a total moron, it just becomes a cartoon. By 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:25.599 showing that Hawkeye can fail and that Frank 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:27.660 is actually competent enough doctor to catch 00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.759 a mistake, it grounds the show in reality. It 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:32.940 reminds us that they're all just exhausted doctors 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.420 trying to do an impossible job. Precisely. And 00:23:35.420 --> 00:23:37.400 speaking of the whole group of exhausted people, 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:39.700 we should talk about the Long John Flap. Oh, 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:41.940 this one is so fun. It's written by Alan Alda. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:44.099 It's his first writing credit for the show, actually. 00:23:44.259 --> 00:23:46.420 And the structure is incredibly unique. It's 00:23:46.420 --> 00:23:49.220 based on La Ronde, a famous play. It's a narrative 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:51.940 circle. It's the middle of a brutal Korean winter. 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:54.359 Everyone is freezing. And Hawkeye gets a pair 00:23:54.359 --> 00:23:56.980 of thermal long johns from his dad. Which are 00:23:56.980 --> 00:24:00.740 basically solid gold in Korea in January. Exactly. 00:24:01.299 --> 00:24:03.859 But he gives them to Trapper, who is sick. Then 00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:06.240 Trapper loses them to Radar in a poker game. 00:24:06.859 --> 00:24:09.059 Radar trades them to the cook for a real lamb 00:24:09.059 --> 00:24:12.960 dinner. The cook uses them to bribe Frank. Frank 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:14.940 gives them to Margaret to prove his love. And 00:24:14.940 --> 00:24:17.359 then Klinger gets involved. Klinger steals them 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:20.079 from Margaret's tent. gives them to Father Mulcahy. 00:24:20.519 --> 00:24:22.579 Mulcahy gives them to Henry. And eventually, 00:24:22.619 --> 00:24:25.140 after this long, crazy journey through the entire 00:24:25.140 --> 00:24:27.440 camp, they make their way right back to Hawkeye. 00:24:27.700 --> 00:24:30.319 It's a brilliant way to showcase the entire ensemble 00:24:30.319 --> 00:24:33.420 cast in one episode. It is. It shows the desperate, 00:24:33.619 --> 00:24:35.700 petty bargaining that happens in the camp, just 00:24:35.700 --> 00:24:38.059 to survive the elements. It shows what everyone 00:24:38.059 --> 00:24:41.700 values. For Radar, it's food. For Frank, it's 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:44.740 Margaret. For Klinger, it's a bribe. It's a great 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:47.359 character study disguised as a farce. It really 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:49.440 highlights the swamp dynamics and the constant 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:51.839 pranks. We talked about the ring banger, but 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:55.019 the pranks in season one are just nonstop. They're 00:24:55.019 --> 00:24:57.920 survival mechanisms. Take Bananas, Crackers and 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:03.539 Nuts, episode seven. Haw Guy wants R in R. He's 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:06.880 denied. So what does he do? He fakes insanity. 00:25:07.079 --> 00:25:09.720 But he really commits to the bit. He eats raw 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:12.099 liver in the mess tent while wearing full surgical 00:25:12.099 --> 00:25:14.420 garb. I've eaten a river of liver and an ocean 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:16.900 of fish. That line is permanently stuck in my 00:25:16.900 --> 00:25:19.140 head. And when a psychiatrist comes to evaluate 00:25:19.140 --> 00:25:22.079 him, played by Stuart Margolin, Hawkeye spins 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:25.579 this elaborate, insane tale about being deeply 00:25:25.579 --> 00:25:28.200 in love with Frank. It's pure manic energy. And 00:25:28.200 --> 00:25:31.200 then there's major Fred C. Dobbs, episode 22. 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:33.700 This one is interesting from a production standpoint. 00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:36.519 Alan Alda has actually cited this as a low point. 00:25:37.009 --> 00:25:39.130 episode, in his opinion. Really? Why is that? 00:25:39.250 --> 00:25:41.730 The premise is a bit silly, even for them. Frank 00:25:41.730 --> 00:25:44.210 wants a transfer. Hawkeye and Trapper want him 00:25:44.210 --> 00:25:46.549 gone, but then they realize if he leaves, they'd 00:25:46.549 --> 00:25:48.789 have to work double shifts in surgery, so they 00:25:48.789 --> 00:25:50.490 have to trick him into staying. So they create 00:25:50.490 --> 00:25:54.269 a fake gold rush. Yes. Major Fred C. Dobbs is 00:25:54.269 --> 00:25:56.009 a reference to the movie The Treasure of the 00:25:56.009 --> 00:25:58.309 Sierra Madre. They trick Frank into thinking 00:25:58.309 --> 00:26:00.710 there's gold in the hills near the camp, so his 00:26:00.710 --> 00:26:03.819 sheer greed will keep him at the 4077th. It does 00:26:03.819 --> 00:26:05.819 sound a bit cartoony compared to the rest. It 00:26:05.819 --> 00:26:07.700 is. It leans a little too hard on the Frank is 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:09.940 an idiot button. But then you have Yankee Doodle 00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:13.039 Doctor Episode 6, which feels very much on brand. 00:26:13.079 --> 00:26:15.380 This is the filmmaking episode. Right. A filmmaker 00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:18.119 comes to the camp to make a documentary about 00:26:18.119 --> 00:26:21.859 M .A .S .H. units. But he wants a pure propaganda 00:26:21.859 --> 00:26:25.619 film. He wants it sanitized, heroic, clean. And 00:26:25.619 --> 00:26:28.240 Hawkeye isn't having any of that. No. He literally 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:31.000 destroys the film negative. And then they make 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:33.119 their own version. It's a complete Marx Brothers 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:36.359 parody. Hawkeye is groucho. Trapper is harpo. 00:26:36.740 --> 00:26:39.400 They turn the war into a ridiculous circus. Featuring 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:42.619 radar as the patient. It's anarchic. It's rebellious. 00:26:42.759 --> 00:26:44.779 And it speaks to that core theme of the early 00:26:44.779 --> 00:26:48.119 seasons. The only way to stay sane in an insane 00:26:48.119 --> 00:26:51.279 war is to act crazier than the war itself. By 00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:53.400 mocking the propaganda, they are actually telling 00:26:53.400 --> 00:26:55.319 the truth about the war. That's a really great 00:26:55.319 --> 00:26:57.680 way to put it. Now, we've covered the characters, 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.460 the tone, the pranks, but season one also played 00:27:01.460 --> 00:27:04.180 with the format of television itself. We mentioned 00:27:04.180 --> 00:27:07.200 the Long John flap, but the Dear Dad episodes 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:11.140 are huge format breakers. Dear Dad and Dear Dad. 00:27:11.680 --> 00:27:15.140 Again, these episodes completely break the traditional 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:17.799 narrative structure of a sitcom. Usually you 00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:20.569 have an A plot and a B plot. These episodes are 00:27:20.569 --> 00:27:22.789 just a series of short vignettes tied together 00:27:22.789 --> 00:27:25.210 by Hawkeye's narration as he writes a letter 00:27:25.210 --> 00:27:27.589 home to his father. It allows them to tell smaller 00:27:27.589 --> 00:27:29.509 stories that wouldn't necessarily fill a whole 00:27:29.509 --> 00:27:31.849 episode on their own. Exactly. It makes the show 00:27:31.849 --> 00:27:34.410 feel much more intimate. You are inside Hawkeye's 00:27:34.410 --> 00:27:37.349 head. Mm -hmm. But there is a famous continuity 00:27:37.349 --> 00:27:39.849 error in Dear Dad, again. Oh, do you tell? I 00:27:39.849 --> 00:27:41.829 love a good continuity error. In the letter, 00:27:42.170 --> 00:27:44.230 Hawkeye sends love to his sister and mom. Wait, 00:27:44.509 --> 00:27:46.809 Hawkeye's an only child, and his mom died when 00:27:46.809 --> 00:27:48.740 he was a kid. That's a huge part of his character 00:27:48.740 --> 00:27:50.859 later on. He talks about it constantly in later 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:53.799 seasons. Later on, yes. Yeah. But in season one, 00:27:54.619 --> 00:27:57.160 the writers hadn't decided any of that yet. So 00:27:57.160 --> 00:27:59.839 he has a living mom and a sister. It's one of 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:01.599 those things you just have to hand wave away 00:28:01.599 --> 00:28:04.900 as early installment weirdness. That is wild. 00:28:05.019 --> 00:28:07.299 I guess they just hadn't built the sad Hawkeye 00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:10.059 backstory yet. Not yet. They were still figuring 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:12.079 out who these people were. Then you have the 00:28:12.079 --> 00:28:14.640 Army -Navy game. Oh, that's a tense one. Yes. 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:17.160 An unexploded bomb lands right in the middle 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:19.539 of the compound. The whole camp is terrified. 00:28:19.579 --> 00:28:21.599 They have to defuse it. And when they finally 00:28:21.599 --> 00:28:24.079 pop it open, it doesn't explode. It just shoots 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:26.779 out enemy propaganda leaflets. Talk about anti 00:28:26.779 --> 00:28:28.700 -climactic in the best way. And throughout the 00:28:28.700 --> 00:28:31.400 episode, they keep checking the radio for the 00:28:31.400 --> 00:28:34.819 fictional score of the big game, Navy 42, Army 00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:37.119 36. And didn't they use a jazzier theme song 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:39.140 arrangement for that one? They did. It really 00:28:39.140 --> 00:28:41.400 gave it a different flavor, which brings us to 00:28:41.400 --> 00:28:43.960 the finale, or well, the last episode of the 00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:46.900 season. Showtime. Episode 24. It also uses that 00:28:46.900 --> 00:28:49.160 nonlinear structure, very similar to Dear Dad. 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:52.460 A USO troop is visiting the camp. So the episode 00:28:52.460 --> 00:28:56.119 is intercut with performances, singers, comedians, 00:28:56.339 --> 00:28:59.259 cap dancers, specifically Jackie Flash and the 00:28:59.259 --> 00:29:01.660 Miller sisters. It constantly juxtaposes the 00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:03.680 entertainment on the stage with the surgery and 00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:06.960 the OR. Which is a very classic M -A -S -H technique. 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:10.039 The glitz of the show versus the gore of the 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:12.630 meatball surgery. Oh. But there are two really 00:29:12.630 --> 00:29:16.190 key moments here. First, Henry Blake's wife gives 00:29:16.190 --> 00:29:18.690 birth back home. And Henry is stuck in Korea. 00:29:18.829 --> 00:29:21.569 He's devastated. He can't be there. He's pacing. 00:29:21.750 --> 00:29:24.430 He's upset. So Radar does something incredibly 00:29:24.430 --> 00:29:26.890 sweet. He arranges for a local Korean mother 00:29:26.890 --> 00:29:29.390 in the camp to let Henry hold her baby. Oh, that's 00:29:29.390 --> 00:29:31.849 beautiful. It is. It's a quiet moment of bonding 00:29:31.849 --> 00:29:34.569 between Henry and Radar. It shows Henry's softer, 00:29:34.609 --> 00:29:36.670 fatherly side. It reminds us that these men have 00:29:36.670 --> 00:29:38.650 real families they're missing desperately. And 00:29:38.650 --> 00:29:41.349 the second key moment. A musical note. There's 00:29:41.349 --> 00:29:44.130 a drum solo during the USO show. The drummer 00:29:44.130 --> 00:29:46.509 gets sick or something and radar just jumps in. 00:29:46.690 --> 00:29:49.269 Radar can shred on the drums. Gary Berghoff was 00:29:49.269 --> 00:29:51.890 actually a highly skilled jazz drummer in real 00:29:51.890 --> 00:29:54.930 life. They explicitly wrote it in to let him 00:29:54.930 --> 00:29:57.589 show off his chops. It's a great high energy 00:29:57.589 --> 00:29:59.869 way to cap off the season. So we've gone through 00:29:59.869 --> 00:30:03.009 24 episodes. We've seen the desk theft, the fake 00:30:03.009 --> 00:30:05.490 captain, the tragic death of a friend, the introduction 00:30:05.490 --> 00:30:08.490 of Klinger in a dress. When you look at season 00:30:08.490 --> 00:30:11.049 one as a whole package, what is the legacy here 00:30:11.049 --> 00:30:13.730 for the listeners? The legacy is that it established 00:30:13.730 --> 00:30:16.490 the blueprint. It proved you could do high concept 00:30:16.490 --> 00:30:20.049 farce like Tuttle and jarring tragedy like sometimes 00:30:20.049 --> 00:30:22.690 you hear the bullet in the exact same half hour 00:30:22.690 --> 00:30:25.279 television slot. It wasn't just Hogan's heroes 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:28.480 or McHale's Navy. No, it had real teeth. Even 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:31.180 in season one, with the laugh track and the occasional 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:34.359 outdated humor, the anti -war message was pulsing 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:36.240 underneath everything. It moved from sexual humor 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:38.980 in the early episodes to sharp social commentary 00:30:38.980 --> 00:30:41.839 by the end. It completely set the stage for an 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:43.960 11th season run that would eventually become 00:30:43.960 --> 00:30:46.759 the most watched scripted television event in 00:30:46.759 --> 00:30:48.819 history. And it gave us Henry Blake. I want to 00:30:48.819 --> 00:30:50.740 end on him, because looking back at season one, 00:30:50.759 --> 00:30:53.279 he's such a fascinating figure to analyze. He 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:55.859 is. And here's a provocative thought for the 00:30:55.859 --> 00:30:58.619 listeners to take away and mull over. Think about 00:30:58.619 --> 00:31:02.160 the evolution of Henry Blake. In the early episodes, 00:31:02.400 --> 00:31:04.859 like the Ringbanger, he's portrayed almost entirely 00:31:04.859 --> 00:31:08.359 as a buffoon. He's incompetent. He's easily manipulated 00:31:08.359 --> 00:31:10.720 by Hawkeye and Trapper. He's the guy getting 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:12.980 his antique desk stolen right out from under 00:31:12.980 --> 00:31:16.099 him. Exactly. But then look at that's how they 00:31:16.099 --> 00:31:20.319 sheer there. Sometimes you hear the bullet. He's 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:22.539 the one giving Hawkeye the profound wisdom to 00:31:22.539 --> 00:31:25.559 survive the grief. He becomes the wise mentor. 00:31:25.740 --> 00:31:27.759 So the question is, how does our perception of 00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:30.539 the war change depending on Henry's characterization? 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:32.740 Right. When the leadership is incompetent, the 00:31:32.740 --> 00:31:35.529 war is a farce. It's a joke. But when the leadership 00:31:35.529 --> 00:31:38.089 is compassionate, when Henry is the father figure 00:31:38.089 --> 00:31:40.450 carrying the weight of the casualties, the war 00:31:40.450 --> 00:31:43.309 becomes a tragedy. It becomes a place where good 00:31:43.309 --> 00:31:45.670 people are trapped in a terribly bad situation. 00:31:46.230 --> 00:31:48.750 Season one, Henry Blake straddles that line perfectly. 00:31:49.049 --> 00:31:50.609 That is a great point for everyone to consider. 00:31:50.690 --> 00:31:52.890 He's the anchor that lets the show swing between 00:31:52.890 --> 00:31:55.730 comedy and drama. He really is. Well, this has 00:31:55.730 --> 00:31:57.589 been an incredible deep dive. I feel like I need 00:31:57.589 --> 00:31:59.529 to go re -watch Tuttle right now. Just don't 00:31:59.529 --> 00:32:03.029 forget your parachute. Rule number one. Thanks 00:32:03.029 --> 00:32:04.890 for listening everyone. This has been the Deep 00:32:04.890 --> 00:32:08.109 Dive on M .A .S .H. Season 1. We will see you 00:32:08.109 --> 00:32:08.450 next time.