Plot: Sidney Freedman spends a few weeks at a "spa"--the 4077th--and writes a letter to Sigmund Freud as therapy. Meanwhile, a practical joker stalks the camp.
You forgot the B-plot. A bomber pilot comes into camp with a sprained ankle after bailing out. Hawkeye has a problem with his "clinical" view of the war.
Thanks.
That plotline made for one of the best exchanges during the show, with the little girl injured by a bomb. The pilot wants to know which side dropped the bomb.
Potter: "What's the difference?"
Pilot: "A lot. It makes a lot of difference."
Potter: "Not to her."
Actually, this is one of Pierce's holy-than-thou attitudes. He has a problem with the way a pilot sees the war, so he makes him feel real bad about what he's doing. The pilot's right. [Moderator's note: Negative comments about characters are fine, but the language was a bit over the edge. The deleted comments were along the lines of "Who does Pierce think he is, anyway?"]
Potter said it, not Pierce.
In this ep, Klinger tries to pawn off his earrings during the poker game. He says, "I would wear hula hoops in my ears if it would get me out of the Army." The hula hoop wasn't invented yet, was it? And didn't Klinger actually "invent" the hula hoop in a later ep and tried to get Winchester to finance the idea?
I didn't realize my comments were that bad. I apologize to the moderator.
In the letter, Sydney says something about the fact that the Father "having abslolutly no training has a natural instinct as a therapist." Last I checked, seminary (and the undergraduate work that went before) both gave courses in psychology and counseling. It might not equate to a degree in psychiatry, but it is far from "absolutly no training."
"Last I checked, seminary (and the undergraduate work that went before) both gave courses in psychology and counseling." - stevegoad
That may be true today, Steve, but was it true in the time frame M*A*S*H takes place in - the Fifties?
At one point, when the ambulance turns over, Potter goes out to chew out the driver. Potter's look when he hears that the driver died (my best way of describing it is unresolved anger) is excellent.
In the uncut version, at the end, they showed a number of people outside, shivering, as they welcomed spring with a display of a cherry tree branch that Margaret had brought back when she "got engaged to Tokyo". (Radar's comment.) This puts into context Freedman's comment about springtime at MASH.
I believe one of Klinger's plans for a Section 8 has been deleted for syndication. Just after Sidney starts talking about how Max has found more ways to go crazy than Freud has dreamt of, we're shown a scene where Klinger claims to have been hit on the back of the head by a chopper blade. Supposedly this renders Klinger not only incapable of speaking coherently, but to speak in English as well. He speaks Lebanese throughout the whole scene. Potter, who is cleaning Sophie's "toenails", doesn't buy it. It explains why Max speaks to Margaret in Arabic later in the ep.
I realize that Sidney is a Major and all, but exactly how is he able to stay at the 4077th for two weeks? He is surely assigned to a base or unit elsewhere and would be expected to be there to carry out his duties. For two weeks who did his job if Sidney wasn't there? Didn't HQ ask any questions about Major Freedman's whereabouts? Wouldn't staying at the MASH 4077 for 14 days be the same thing as being AWOL?
How many grandchildren does Colonel Potter have? In this ep he mentions having an 8 year old granddaughter. Yet, I believe in an earlier ep his first grandchild was born. (The ep had everyone betting on when the baby would be born. Father Mulcahy won.)
When Hawkeye and the chopper pilot leave O.R., the door to the operating room is left opened. Shouldn't it be shut to maintain sterility?
Frank's digging his own foxholes? Why doesn't he assign the task to one of the enlisted men? And strangely enough, Colonel Potter doesn't seem to have a problem with Frank putting holes all over camp. Nor do B.J. or Hawkeye have a problem with there being a pit next to the Swamp.
Instead of trading ham with Sgt. Skinowsky at the 309th for fruit and ice cream, why doesn't Radar just requisition some for the 4077th himself?
The original tag for this ep has been deleted for syndication. It shows Potter in O.R. as Sidney continues to narrate his letter to Sigmund. The camera pans down on Sherman to reveal that he is soaking his feet while performing surgery.
"Mule fritters!"
“Patient John” was played by Sal Viscuso, one of the two P.A. announcers for M*A*S*H.
Was Potter in such a habit of using field glasses that Beej could be so sure that the joke would work?
In the ep “The Nurses”, water is a scarce commodity. In this ep, there’s apparently plenty of it. B.J. has enough to waste for his practical joke on Frank.
"Mule fritters!"
>Frank's digging his own foxholes? Why doesn't he assign the task to one of the enlisted men? And strangely enough, Colonel Potter doesn't seem to have a problem with Frank putting holes all over camp. Nor do B.J. or Hawkeye have a problem with there being a pit next to the Swamp.
Instead of trading ham with Sgt. Skinowsky at the 309th for fruit and ice cream, why doesn't Radar just requisition some for the 4077th himself? >
About the foxholes, I guess Hawkeye or BJ figured out they could use the foxholes either if shot at or as a prank, so the "let" Major Burns dis his own grave ...er... hole.
The going through offical cannels means that the requision wouldn't arrive before September 19, in the year 2293.
Not to mention that I-CORPS (ICOR? whatever) would have screwed up the ice cream order and delivered something totally wrong.
Closed captioning consistently lists it as "I"-Corps.
The going through offical cannels means that the requision wouldn't arrive before September 19, in the year 2293. - ccabe
Not to mention that I-CORPS (ICOR? whatever) would have screwed up the ice cream order and delivered something totally wrong. - ScottN
That would hold true for the extra hams, too, would it not? So back to the original question, why not order it directly from "I"-Corps. (And how did the 309th get ice cream and fruit anyway?) Seems to me you run the same risk either way.
"Mule fritters!"
In the Army it is I Corps.
I dunno - seems to me that Sydney wouldn't want to drive from the 4077th to Seoul dragging empty cans behind him (courtesy of BJ). Sure could draw some unwanted attention.
I'm not entirely sure what Pierce thinks the pilot is supposed to do about the war. He's most likely a conscript like him so it's not like he could refuse to fly. Even if he isn't, colonel Flagg was pretty insistant about letting a clearly crazy soldier fly I doubt a resignation would be accepted. Does Pierce just want him to feel bad about it. Chances are that he would only have bombed millitary targets anyway the US wouldn't waste their big bombers on little vilages pretty much the only reason villages got shelled by artillary is because they were unlucky enough to be near enemy forces. I should also point out colonel potter is hardly in a position to make the pilot feel bad about civilian casualties Potter fought in WW1 and 2. I know they were infinitely more justifiable there but still.