Bottle Fatigue
Nitcentral's Bulletin Brash Reflections:
M*A*S*H:
Season Eight:
Bottle Fatigue
By D.K. Henderson on Friday, February 11, 2000 - 4:36 pm: Plot A: Hawkeye is horrified at the size of his bar bill, and vows to go on the wagon for a week. His born-again attitude begins to get on everyone's nerves.
Plot B: Charles is horrified to discover that his sister has become engaged--to a (gasp!) ITALIAN!
By Benn on Wednesday, February 06, 2002 - 10:33 pm: When Hawkeye announces he's going on the wagon, the others sound like they're trying to talk him out of it. To me, it's almost like they're trying to convince themselves that they aren't alcoholics.
According to Hawkeye, his bill amounts to about 150 drinks. In a thirty day period, that'd be five drinks a day. That doesn't even take into account his drinks at Rosie's and drinks from the still. He really does drink alot.
By Greg Odorizzi on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 9:07 pm:Hawkeye's bar tab of $38.20 (in approximately 1952) is equivalent to $256.08 in today's dollars. Some of you may have noticed I've made a lot of posts relating the equivalence of costs on MASH to costs today. There's a website if you're interested: http://www.1soft.com/todaysdollars.htm
By Greg Odorizzi on Tuesday, May 03, 2005 - 9:18 pm: Hey! That's Shelley Long on a date with Hawkeye.
By Benn on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - 3:16 am:While discussing preferences in alcohol, Winchester states he prefers something "more elegant". In the foreground, we see Margaret bring her hands to her forehead, then down the sides of her face. When the camera shift to Potter's response to Charles, Margaret repeats the same hand motion.
Prices at the Officers Club are
- Mixed drinks - 25 cents
- Call Shot - 20 cents
- Beer - 10 cents
That means if Hawkeye's tab is $38.20, then Captain Pierce drank anywhere from 191-382. (Most likely somewhere in between those two numbers.) That's a bit more than the "over 150 drinks) Pierce calculates. It also means the Captain probably does have a very serious drinking problem.
When B.J. orders his gin and tonic, you see him turn his head to look at Hawkeye's tab again. In the next shot, Potter orders "bourbon, neat" and Hunnicutt makes the same head move again.
In the Mess Tent, Hawkeye is bragging about how keen his sense are now that he's no longer drinking. He informs Margaret, Potter and B.J. that they have no idea how disgusting the world around them is. As he says this, Margaret's hand settles on the table. In the next shot, the hand is at her side.
When Hawkeye tells Nurse Mendenhall she could go easy on the booze, he has a piece of cheese near his mouth. In the next shot, where he says she's drinking her third glass, the cheese and hand are no longer near his mouth.
B.J. is looking at Pierce when he says, "Hey, Hawk. I really thought you gonna make it." In the very next shot, Hunnicutt is looking at the bar.
The DVD's note for this ep states that Hawkeye's bar tab is twice as much a B.J.'s. Not quite. Pierce's tab is $38. Hunnicutt's is $22.
"I'm so conversative, I make you look like a New Dealer."