Plot: In a 2-part episode, rumors of a practice bug-out escalate. Having determined that there will be no bug-out, Hawkeye performs delicate surgery on a patient, only to find that there is going to be a bug-out after all. Hawkeye, Hot Lips, and Radar must stay with the patient while the rest of the 4077th goes on it's way.

Several things about this one. Later in the series a big deal was made about how the O.R.'s floor needed to be made of concrete. There's a shot in part one that distinctly shows the O.R.'s floor to be made of concrete. Of course, if the 4077th is a MOBILE Army Surgical Hospital, wouldn't cement be impratical for a temporary structure? Or did Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz show up every time they bugged-out to remove the cement (thinking it had John Wayne's hand prints in it)? (And how very seldom THAT was. Apparently the battle lines almost never moved, 'cos the 4077th was supposed to be located three miles from the front.)

Watch when Potter calls everyone out to compound to announce that the 4077th is not bugging out. An enlisted man goes to the door of the Swamp, then falls into formation. What's this guy up to? Can't be to get the Swampmen. Burns shows up coming in from Radar's and Col. Potter's right. Hawkeye and BJ are in the O.R. Was this enlisted man trying to grab a quick martini? Re-enact Ho-Jon crime wave? Or what?

Hawkeye refused to give up his chair when the one soldier, on orders from Frank, comes to get it. Apparently, it wasn't the only left behind. Margaret has a chair, too.

Margaret complains about "wars being so loud". This may've been the basis for her phobia shown in "C*A*V*E".

Why do Radar, Hawkeye and Margaret panic when they hear the jeeps coming in from the south? That's the direction where the 4077th bugged-out in.

There seem to be two or three edits in this episode. After the madam says "Binky", there a lotta laughter. Something was cut there. Also wasn't this the one where Burns asks what are the ladies up to, and Potter says they're of the oldest profession. Frank says something like pastry makers or some such.

Nothing was cut in the Binky incident. When Potter calls the general, he calls the general Bink. So, I don't think they cut anything.

The scene I'm talking about Lilith occurs when the bugged-out 4077th arrives at what looks like an abandoned school hut. It's really a brothel. Potter orders the girls out. He invokes the name of the general. The madam of the brothel, "Oh, Binky!" There's laughter on the soundtrack that doesn't quite sound right afterwards. I think the scene missing is one where Burns walks up, asks what's going on, who are these girls. Potter tells them they're of the oldest profession. Frank says, "Oh. They're bakers." Or something like that. There was such a scene in the series. And I think it was in this episode. What I can't figure out is what happened to Frank afterwards. He's not in the background when the floozies raid Klinger's wardrobe.

I just finished watching this episode, so maybe I can shed some light on a few things. There is a cut scene at the place you're referring to, Benn. Goes something like this:

The madam says "Oh, Binky!" and BJ laughs.
Then Frank comes running up. "Ready to set up the OR, Colonel."
Potter: "Stand by, Major."
Frank: (sees the women) "Who are they? Are there people living here?"
BJ: "The assistant's league."
Frank: "The assistant's league?"
BJ: "The oldest profession."
Frank: "A bakery?"
Potter: "Tarts!"
Frank: (excited) "Tarts! Peach? Raspberry?"
BJ: "Frank, it's a brothel."
Frank: "A den of iniquity? In this building?"
BJ: "If you order before six, I'm sure you can get take out."
Frank: "Disgusting! Colonel, request permission for an armed squad to remove them by force." (starts blowing whistle again)
Potter grabs the whistle, "Confiscated!!" and sends Burns packing. Then comes the scene with Klinger's dresses.

Other cut scenes in this ep include:

The opening scene with Hawkeye and BJ watching the latrine digging is longer.

As everyone starts tearing down the tents, Potter tells an enlisted man to save the tent stakes because they'll need them later. This messes up a joke a minute later when Burns tells the same guy not to take the tent stakes and throws them to the ground.

When Potter is in the chopper looking for the new site, he says he's hungry and the pilot gives him a banana, and then shows that he has a bunch of about 20 under his seat.

There's a couple more lines about Hawkeye eating the shoelaces.

Margaret sends Hawkeye and Radar over to Rosie's bar, the two walk through the compound and watch a bunch of trucks go by. They almost get run over.

Radar recognizes the cockroach that Hawkeye tries to stomp as "Blue Velvet", BJ's racing cockroach.

Rosie makes a toast to Hawkeye and then demands he pay his tab of $51.55

Coming out of Rosie's, they have trouble crossing the road because there are too many trucks going past. Hawkeye finally gets them to stop by crossing with Radar on his back.

When talking to the soldier in the jeep, Hawkeye explains to Radar what a minion is. "You know, you fetch and carry goblets of wine, you fend off knaves and villians, and on occasion you find me a toothsome wench."

After Potter tells Frank to look in the box marked kitchen utensils, he tells BJ that if he gets shot to never let Burns operate on him. BJ agrees, and the wonder where Burns got the whistle that he keeps blowing.

A couple nits:

When the wounded come in in the beginning, Pre-Op is full of them. Potter tells BJ to take a hip case, and then Hawkeye gets the spinal cord patient. Potter immediately calls HQ to confirm that there's no bug out and then tells Radar to tell Hawkeye to get started on the spinal cord operation right away. In the next scene, Hawkeye is just starting, but there are no other patients in OR, and BJ is the anesthesiologist. Either Hawkeye decided to wait a few hours to operate for some reason, or the rest of the patients disappeared.

Frank says that he likes to start the holidays with a fresh latrine, yet later Margaret says it's only the beginning of September.

The chopper doesn't appear to have a counterweight on it, even though it's only carrying one patient.

Eileen Saki, who plays the Korean madam, later takes over the role of Rosie.

I recall seeing Potter's tent stake remarks on the FX version. It always sold the joke when Burns rips them from the enlisted man.

Khaja, thanks. I had vague memories of that scene. thanks for refreshing my memory on it.

Normally the windows in Potter's office are clear. In this ep, they're opaque.

I never realize how loud the 4077th's phone was 'til now. Everyone's out in the compound for an assembly and yet they can clearly hear the phone from several yards away.

The 4077th had a barber? I remember one ep where Hawkeye was trimming Trapper's hair. Seems like Margaret and B.J. went to Tokyo to get their hair done. Wouldn't a barber be a luxury anyway?

At point while Hawkeye is operating on the back patient, the door to the OR is left open. Isn't it supposed to be kept shut to maintain a sterile environment? (Or as close to a sterile environment as possible?)

If Hawkeye should see signs of the Chinese arriving, Potter advises Pierce to get a chopper to airlift the patient out of the former 4077th. Could a chopper get there that quickly? Wouldn't flying a chopper into enemy territory like that be a bit too dangerous?

The 4077th had a barber? I remember one ep where Hawkeye was trimming Trapper's hair. Seems like Margaret and B.J. went to Tokyo to get their hair done. Wouldn't a barber be a luxury anyway?

Depends. Do you mean a complete stripe-pole-and-chair setup, or just a dude with a towel? Maybe he's just a corpsman with a hobby.

(And - not to disparage your memory, Benn - but why on earth would BJ need to go all the way to Tokyo to get his hair done? Is he that Hercule-Poirot-compulsive about his moustache trimming?)

"(And - not to disparage your memory, Benn - but why on earth would BJ need to go all the way to Tokyo to get his hair done? Is he that Hercule-Poirot-compulsive about his moustache trimming?)" - Kerriem

No problem. The episode where B.J. got his hair cut was "Where There's a Will, There's a War". Remember this is the ep where Hawkeye goes to the front to help out at a battalion aide station. It was supposed to have been Hunnicut's turn. However, Beej was in Tokyo at the time where he'd gotten himself a shave and a haircut. ("Two bits.") (Couldn't resist.)

"Depends. Do you mean a complete stripe-pole-and-chair setup, or just a dude with a towel? Maybe he's just a corpsman with a hobby." - Kerriem

During the scenes where the 4077th is being turn down for the bug-out, there's a brief shot of a soldier emerging from a tent that has a sign on it. The sign says "Barber". The soldier removes the makeshift "barber pole" as he exits the tent. (The pole is really just two pieces of wood stuck together.)

>but why on earth would BJ need to go all the way to Tokyo to get his hair done?>

1. Perhaps the Barber was there temporarly or just passing through.
2. It was an excuse to get out of the 4077 for a day or two, the haircut was just a fringe benafit.

In part 2 Hawkeye visits what's left of the Swamp. It's nice to see someone left him a roll of toilet paper.

As of this ep, Max has been working on the Klinger Collection for three years. If true, that means the Korean War has less than a year to go.

The way Hawkeye, Margaret and Radar were talking, the 4077th has never bugged out before. (They remininsce about all the wounded they treated in that particular area.) This can't be true. The MASH was supposed to follow the war's front line. The fighting had to shift. At least once.

Why weren't the frames for the tents taken? Only the canvases were taken. For that matter, why wasn't the O-Club or water tower? And what about the latrine huts? In "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde", Hawkeye proved the huts could be moved intact.

Radar's unusually brave in this ep. The reason the 4077th has to bug out is because the Chinese were pushing the front southward. The camp was in the path of the battle line. Yet, despite knowing that, Radar stays behind with Margaret and Hawkeye. Heck, it even looks like he's volunteering.

"Why do Radar, Hawkeye and Margaret panic when they hear the jeeps coming in from the south? That's the direction where the 4077th bugged-out in." - me

Given that the Chinese have passed through the area where the 4077th used to be, I guess it is natural that the three of them panic. It might have been the Chinese retreating northward again.

Two episodes later, in the episode "Lt. Radar O'Reilly", we see Klinger cutting Colonel Potter's hair. They must've misplaced the camp barber in the bug-out.

Who is Rosie? I know that the rosie in this episode is different than the Rosie in the earlier episode where Radar is bitten by the stray dog, and the later episode where the MASH crew take run the bar after she is hurt in a bar fight. How many Rosie's are there in that area of Korea anyway?

I suspect, Steve, that they're all meant to be the same Rosie. It's the same with Meg Craddy. She appeared twice in the series ("The Trial of Henry Blake" and "The Kids"), and was portrayed by a different actress each time.

Benn, I knew that was the idea all along, although I would prefer to think that Rosie's Bar was a franchise, and that every time the Mash 4077 moved, they just looked for the nearest Rosie's to park the camp beside. As with all chain resturants, Rosie's had a different manager at each bar. :o)

That would solve one of the nits I keep harping on: How can the 4077th be a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital if it clearly never moves? Rosie's is always nearby, the camp always has a mindfield next to it, etc. I like the idea you had. I just wish I could believe it.

When first watching the latrine digging, B.J. calls to one of the men to dig deeper on his end, because that's the side that Major Burns uses. The man grins and complies. Later, when the men are shirking because of the supposed bug-out, Frank has a measuring stick with him, and instructs one of the men (who looks like Igor) to dig a foot deeper. The man grins at him and says, "Your end, sir?"

I think that I heard a comment that Blue Velvet had sired a lot of winners.

BTW, regarding the above comments about B.J. going to Tokyo for a haircut--are you sure that it wasn't Seoul?

Yeah, it's possible it was Seoul, instead of Tokyo. It's been too long since I've seen that ep. Still, the point remains, at no point is there ever a reference to one of the MASHers going to the camp's barber for a haircut. They always went to someone or somewhere else.

Abyssinia!

In the opening sequence for season five, an extra guitar bar has been added with the result that the opening is five seconds longer than in previous seasons. This may be a completely re-recorded version of the theme, it sounds just a bit different.

Father Mulcahy says that when it's time to say a prayer for the new latrine, he'll "wing it". "Wing it"? Earlier he indicated that he's been to the opening of other latrines. Didn't he pray over them? Surely, he'd be using the same prayer for the one currently being dug that he used for the others.

Does the term "bug out" automatically mean "retreat". Majors Burns and Houlihan certainly think so. I was under the impression it referred to any time a MASH unit had to move.

Apparently there was prop malfunction in the shower. Watch William Christopher as Colonel Potter sings, "Valencia". Christopher tries repeatedly to turn on the water in the shower, but nothing comes out. Even though Christopher doesn't blow the take, he does make a face.

If the watch that Cho Man Chin sold him runs backwards, why does Frank keep wearing it? It's funny how Cho tells him to wear it on the other wrist, the Major does just that. He never bothers to think it through.

When Colonel informs the unit that they are not bugging out, much of his speech has been cut for syndication. Particularly the lines about how long he's known General Hamilton and the ones about Hamilton's grandson.

Potter asks Burns if he's ever bugged out before. Frank says no. (Not intentionally. ) You mean the 4077^th has never moved from that spot? In order words, the front has either constantly advanced or remained neutral? That's hard to believe.

I've never caught this before, but then maybe it's been edited out. But there is an insert shot of Rosie's being dismantled during the scenes of the 4077^th preparing for the bug out.

The bottle of Grape Nehi Radar drinks at Rosie's was bottled in 1951. That means the drink is about a year old. How good would a soda pop be after a year? Would they really be worth drinking? Surprisingly, the Grape Nehi still has the fizz.

There's an interesting subtlety in this ep. At one point, Hawkeye places his empty cup of coffee on the frame of the Swamp. It looks to me like that cup remains there for the rest of the ep. At least until the rest of the MASH unit returns.

"Mule fritters!

Apparently, Frank has forgotten that, prior to the "mutiny", he had the whole camp disassembled and moved across the road. Then he moved it back the next day. Granted, it wasn't an emergency situation, but Frank is familiar with moving the camp.

Wonder how Klinger felt at giving up all of his dresses--for nothing. And how long did it take him to replenish his wardrobe?

On of my favorite scenes in this one is the blessing of the site, that gets passed down along the convoy. (Although, wouldn't you think that the madam and her girls would have peeked out at that point to find out what the heck was going on?)

Apparently, Frank has forgotten that, prior to the "mutiny", he had the whole camp disassembled and moved across the road. Then he moved it back the next day. Granted, it wasn't an emergency situation, but Frank is familiar with moving the camp. - D.K. Henderson

I was thinking of one other time myself. It's kind of an ironic one - "The General Flipped At Dawn", when General Bartford Hamilton Steele, played by... what was that actor's name?

By the way, with Klinger's comment about his dresss collection taking "three years of his life" to build, and Margaret's statement that it's September, I'd say this ep took place in September of 1952. That'd be within two or three weeks of Colonel Potter's arrival at the camp.

(Although, wouldn't you think that the madam and her girls would have peeked out at that point to find out what the heck was going on?) - D.K.

I was thinking the same thing, but with the sounds of the trucks moving down the road, also. Those things were awful loud.

"Mule fritters!"

Regarding the disappearing paitents, this isn't really a big deal. The point is made so often in the show that getting ANY sort of real answers takes a lot of time, usually hours. That'd be more than long enough to get the spinal paitent back into pre-op and clean up the rest of the cases before the confirmation came back that they weren't going anywhere and to get the kid on the table.

Re M*A*S*H not moving the war was very mobile at the start but after about 6 months to a year of fighting the front lines stabilised. If Hawkeye was drafted a few months into the war he could easily have never moved. I remember a program called the real M*A*S*H (or something similar) where they interviewed a guy who had been at a M*A*S*H at the start of the war, he said at one point the moved ten times in a few months, compared to someone he knew who served near the end of the war, they only moved once as a practice and they did it so badly they never moved again.

The war didn't have long to go at this point i the series, when Colonel Potter joined he was only just over a year away from retirement and had a few months left by the end. This meant the last 8 years of M*A*S*H episodes took place in only a few months meaning they had an episode literally every other day. Also the idea that Hawkeye had been there for a long time wasn't strictly accurate as despite it seeming a long time he would moan about being there for a long time after only a few months, BJ was only there for about 8 months. Maybe thats why it got to them if they were having an anti war bad day every other day by the end lol.

Surely Burns refusing to let Klinger put his dresses or BJ the still under the argument they weren't army issue wasn't true as soldiers would surely be able to move their personal effects with the M*A*S*H. Plus Potter could easily have overruled him and unlike Blake he had friends in high places and Burns and Houlihan wouldn't dare go over his head.

Despite the fact the series gave an exact date for when Potter took command of the 4077^th, many of the later episodes would clearly take place before the Colonel was supposed to have arrived. Notably the episode, "A War For All Season", which takes place the year before Colonel Potter, B.J. and Winchester were assigned to the Four-Oh-Double Natural. Of course, this was done for practical reasons. Potter arriving in September of '52 would give the series slightly less than a year left 'til the Korean War ended. As you point out, Daniel, that means seasons 4-11 would have to happen in a very short period of time at a fairly rapid pace - each ep happening almost every other day as you mention. Unfortunately, the best solution was to throw established continuity (such as it was) out the window and pretend the Henry Blake years took place in a much shorter period of time than they did. (Which incidentally, would probably mean that Pierce was in Korea since almost the beginning of the war, since season 1-3 would have to have taken place in the course of three or four months, at best.)

I suspect that originally, each season was meant to represent a year in the Korean War, with "The Pilot" taking place just about a month (more or less) after the start of the War. I don't think they expected the show to last so long. Especially in season four when they had the two key cast changes. Once it became clear that the loss of Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson wasn't going to kill M*A*S*H, TPTB began to rethink the show's chronology.

"Mule fritters!"

Todd Pence, 10 years and five days ago:
n the opening sequence for season five, an extra guitar bar has been added with the result that the opening is five seconds longer than in previous seasons. This may be a completely re-recorded version of the theme, it sounds just a bit different.

To nitpick, it's an extra two bars.

What's most annoying about this version is the second phrase, the part that goes with the lyrics (which I can't unhear) 'visions of the things to be.' For some inexplicable reason, it's change to one note (for 'visions of the things'). If the other phrases were changed to match, ok, but it's just this one.

Summary nit (or actually, first-post nit). This wasn't a two-parter. It was an hour-long episode that of course got split in syndication.