M*A*S*H- a season by season discussion!

And on that note...

The second season of M*A*S*H aired Saturdays at 8:30–9:00 pm on CBS.

Cast
Actor Role
Alan Alda Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
Wayne Rogers Capt. "Trapper" John MacIntyre
McLean Stevenson Lt. Col. Henry Blake
Loretta Swit Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan
Larry Linville Maj. Frank "Ferret Face" Burns
Gary Burghoff Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly
Episodes
25 1 "Divided We Stand" Jackie Cooper Larry Gelbart September 15, 1973 K-401
A psychiatrist (Anthony Holland) is sent to the 4077th to examine their behavior.
26 2 "5 O'Clock Charlie" Norman Tokar Story by : Keith Walker
Teleplay by : Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks and Keith Walker September 22, 1973 K-403
An inept Korean bomber pilot provides entertainment for Hawkeye and Trapper, but prompts Frank to call for heavy artillery.
27 3 "Radar's Report" Jackie Cooper Story by : Sheldon Keller
Teleplay by : Laurence Marks September 29, 1973 K-402
October 17, 1951 Radar writes about the typical shenanigans during a week at the 4077th: Hawkeye tries to romance a new Nurse; Trapper John loses a patient; Houlihan and Burns push Blake for Klinger's Section 8 (military) discharge. Allan Arbus makes his first appearance as Dr. Freedman (here first-named Milton but later changed to Sidney). Laurence Marks and Sheldon Keller received a Writers Guild Award nomination for this episode.
28 4 "For the Good of the Outfit" Jackie Cooper Jerry Mayer October 6, 1973 K-404
Hawkeye and Trapper try to get the Army brass to report a "friendly fire" shelling near a South Korean village, and take responsibility for it. Despite the army rebuilding the village, Hawkeye still wants an admission of the truth. Hotlips and Frank insist on presenting their version but Hawkeye insists on reading about it in Stars and Stripes first before handing over Frank's evidence. To show their gratitude, Trapper kisses Hotlips and Hawkeye goes after Frank.
29 5 "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde" Jackie Cooper Alan Alda and Robert Klane October 13, 1973 K-405
Hawkeye has been in the OR for so long, 20 hours, followed by a 2nd stint and a 3rd without rest, that he's going over the edge – and he's decided to put a stop to the war. During the night, he sends a telegram to President Harry S. Truman and another copy to the Secretary of the United Nations. The next day, after a night without rest, he again performs surgery for a total of 3 days straight without rest.
30 6 "Kim" William Wiard Marc Mandel and Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks October 20, 1973 K-407
The 4077th tries to mother a wounded Korean boy who may have been orphaned. While with Hotlips and Frank, he wanders into the middle of the mine field. Trapper is trapped in the middle. Sister Theresa arrives with Kim's mother to pick him up.
31 7 "L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)" William Wiard Story by : Carl Kleinschmitt
Written by : Carl Kleinschmitt and Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks October 27, 1973 K-406
Hawkeye tries to help a GI marry his child's Korean mother and ends a relationship with a bigoted nurse. Episode features Burt Young.
32 8 "The Trial of Henry Blake" Don Weis McLean Stevenson November 3, 1973 K-408
Henry is put on trial for charges made by Frank and Margaret regarding his command of the 4077th. Hawkeye blackmails Frank and Hotlips into withdrawing the charges. McLean Stevenson (Henry Blake) received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for writing this episode.
33 9 "Dear Dad... Three" Don Weis Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks November 10, 1973 K-409
Hawkeye writes a third letter to his father describing a bigoted soldier, a live grenade in the OR, and home movies for Henry.
34 10 "The Sniper" Jackie Cooper Richard M. Powell November 17, 1973 K-410
A lone sniper attacks the 4077th, trapping Henry and Radar in the showers and forcing a surgery by candlelight when the generator gets shot. Featuring Teri Garr.
35 11 "Carry On, Hawkeye" Jackie Cooper Story by : Bernard Dilbert
Teleplay by : Bernard Dilbert and Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks November 24, 1973 K-411
Hawkeye and Margaret are the only ones able to work during a flu epidemic. Jackie Cooper won the Primetime Emmy Award for directing this episode.
36 12 "The Incubator" Jackie Cooper Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks December 1, 1973 K-412
Hawkeye and Trapper attempt to obtain an incubator for the 4077th. In this episode a crooked army colonel refers to selling, among other things, "the odd B-52," but this is an error by the writers as the B-52 did not enter service until after the Korean War. It is Radar who ends up delivering the goods.
37 13 "Deal Me Out" Gene Reynolds Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks December 8, 1973 K-413
The weekly poker game proceeds in spite of Radar running over a civilian and an enlisted man (John Ritter) holding Frank hostage in the showers. Edward Winter guest stars as Captain Halloran and would return in several episodes as Colonel Flagg. Episode also features Allan Arbus and Pat Morita. Gene Reynolds received Directors Guild Award and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for this episode.
38 14 "Hot Lips and Empty Arms" Jackie Cooper Linda Bloodworth & Mary Kay Place December 15, 1973 K-414
Upsetting news from home makes Margaret examine her life and request a transfer. Linda Bloodworth and Mary Kay Place received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for writing this episode.
39 15 "Officers Only" Jackie Cooper Ed Jurist December 22, 1973 K-415
Something stinks at the 4077th and it could be the new officers' club that bars enlisted men. Hawkeye then invites all of his "relatives" to the Officers Club after the General's son is allowed entry.
40 16 "Henry in Love" Don Weis Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks January 5, 1974 K-416
Henry returns from Tokyo with a woman half his age, but he seems to have forgotten his marriage.
41 17 "For Want of a Boot" Don Weis Sheldon Keller January 12, 1974 K-417
Hawkeye's efforts to secure a new pair of boots ends up in a never-ending game of horse trading.
42 18 "Operation Noselift" Hy Averback Story by : Paul Richards and Erik Tarloff
Teleplay by : Erik Tarloff January 19, 1974 K-418
A private with a big nose asks for prohibited plastic surgery. Episode features Stuart Margolin and Todd Susman.
43 19 "The Chosen People" Jackie Cooper Story by : Gerry Renert & Jeff Wilhelm
Teleplay by : Laurence Marks & Sheldon Keller & Larry Gelbart January 26, 1974 K-419
A local farmer claims the 4077th is on his land, while a Korean woman claims Radar is the father of her child. Loretta Swit does not appear in this episode.
44 20 "As You Were" Hy Averback Story by : Gene Reynolds
Teleplay by : Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks February 2, 1974 K-420
Frank asks Hawkeye and Trapper to give him a hernia operation while there are no casualties but then the casualties start coming in.
45 21 "Crisis" Don Weis Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks February 9, 1974 K-421
A vital supply line is cut at the 4077th, creating a rash of shortages and forcing people to bunk up together.
46 22 "George" Gene Reynolds Regier & Markowitz[a] February 16, 1974 K-422
Hawkeye learns that a patient's own unit beat him up because he's gay, while Frank wants to give the soldier a dishonorable discharge.
47 23 "Mail Call" Alan Alda Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks February 23, 1974 K-423
Mail comes to the 4077th. Hawkeye and Trapper decide to take advantage of Frank's greed, while Klinger takes another stab at a discharge.
48 24 "A Smattering of Intelligence" Larry Gelbart Larry Gelbart & Laurence Marks March 2, 1974 K-424
A pair of intelligence officers investigate perceived security risks at the 4077th. Edward Winter makes his first appearance as Colonel Flagg (he previously appeared as Captain Halloran in the episode Deal Me Out).

 

For some reason one of my posts was deleted. So this is my 2nd try at a 4077th post.

Now we're on to the 2nd season, with at least 5 all time classics: "Crisis", "The Sniper", "The Incubator", "Deal Me Out", and "A Smattering Of Intelligence". Others comes dang close -- this has got to be one of the greatest seasons any sitcom ever had.

 

Season 2 is arguably the most consistent. "The Incubator", "For The Good Of The Outfit", "Deal Me Out" and "Mail Call" are my favourites. But unlike season 1, where there's a handful of eps I don't like, I like all of season 2.

 

So, as with season 1, what are yer three favourite episodes in season 2?

 

As I said, I don't care for "George", "5 O'clock Charlie" or "Hot Lips & Empty Arms". The ironically titled "Dr. Pierce and Mr Hyde" is a portent of the Alda ego trips to come. "Carry On Hawkeye" presages Hot Li-- I mean Margaret, becoming one of the boys.

But there are so many classics you can overlook a few misfires.

 

I already mentioned at least 5 top Tenners.

An embarrassment of riches this season

 

For me, I think the best seasons are probably 2 - 6. I thought season 1 was kind of weak, and I liked Charles first year. Season 3 was a stand-out, and Potter's first year was pretty good.

I really think they should have ended the show after season 7. I agree with what others have said - the show just went on far too long.

 

OK, now I'm a season behind instead of one ahead, but ...

I watched the pilot last night. Alan Alda is clearly the star of the show, and Hawkeye is clearly the central character with Trapper John being the "side kick" (and Spearchucker barely has a speaking part). Where did the "they were equals" notion arise from?

 

Other than the universally recognized great episodes already mentioned, I have always loved "For Want of a Boot". It is a clever and fun episode, although the odds of them getting the signatures are slim and none.

 

Great series - for me: Deal Me Out, For the Good of the Outfit, 5 0'Clock Charlie, Dr Pierce and My Hyde, Crisis, The Incubator, For Want of a Boot - and more!

 

The Incubator is my favorite from this season.
"Just write in the word "Pizza" where it says "machine gun"

 

I can't pick just five favorites, but "Crisis" has to be one of my favorite episodes of any show, ever. "I'm talking to you from deep inside a real big empty!"

 

From the movie, where Trapper is chief surgeon?

Alda was the star. He had the highest profile coming into the show. He'd had leads in movies. He'd done a lot of comedy. Wayne Rogers mostly did TV guest shots, and little if any comedy before M*A*S*H. Whereas in the movie, Sutherland had a higher profile than Gould, but Gould had Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, so he was a comer. There was probably less of a spread between Sutherland and Gould than between Alda and Rogers.

So Alda/Hawkeye got chief surgeon. It simplified the show, rather than trying to create another dynamic on top of Burns & Hotlips vs. Hawkeye & Trapper and all of the other characters they were trying to define. Trapper wasn't going to be Fonzie.

That didn't leave a lot for Rogers to do other than be the sidekick. It really wasn't thought out, it evolved as the show was trying to define itself. It wasn't satisfying for Rogers, and he eventually bailed on the show. Then they rewrote the sidekick/second lead to be more clearly defined from Hawkeye.

 

"The Incubator" is my second favourite episode of the entire series ("Lifetime" from season 8 is my favourite.)

Some great lines in the "Crisis" episode.

I think one of Wayne Rogers' grievances was that it was always presented to him that he and Alda would be on equal footing, which didn't last long...Rogers became disenchanted with the role before the first season was over, and already wanted out by the second. The whole "morals clause" debacle during season 3 gave him the out he was looking for, probably. I'd venture a guess that something like the "Kim" episode was intended to throw a bone to Wayne, making Trapper central to the story, but clearly that wasn't enough for him.

 

No one is disputing Alda was the bigger name coming in. He'd already had the solo lead in a studio feature (Paper Lion). Rogers really wasn't even a guest star -- he was pretty much in that twilight zone of non-bit small roles. I can't prove it, but I wonder if his getting acting jobs was somehow connected to his offscreen rep as the "Investment Counselor To The Stars". It's curious that during this period he did no less than 3 Paul Newman movies (Cool Hand Luke, WUSA, Pocket Money).

While I think it was clear from the beginning that Alda was to be top banana, where things get kinda murky is: what kind of second banana-dom was Rogers promised? Was he there simply to feed Alda lines, like Allan Melvin or Harvey Lembeck w/Phil Silvers on Bilko? (Lembeck's role was originally to have been played by Buddy Hackett. There are conflicting stories on why he dropped out). Or was it to be a character that sometimes that got spotlighted, in the manner of emsembles like DVDS or MTMS?

That's why the very early boxing episode "Requiem for A Lightweight" seems significant to me. Written by an outside writer who may not have been privy to the in-show politics. The Hawkeye-Trapper relationship here is essentially con man-patsy in the Hope & Crosby tradition -- and H&C were equals. Trapper gets many of the script's best lines, and even gets the girl.

Perhaps that script was an anomaly that was quickly moved away from. But still, it does exist.

The irony is that for all that effort, Trapper was still more interesting on screen than BJ. Despite Rogers' acting limitations his Southern drawl was the perfect counterpoint to Alda's Noo Yawkisms.

Then TPTB added Farrell and made him a family man to differentiate him from Pierce. That was boring, so they had him cheat on his wife. That was still boring, so they made him a practical joker. And he was still boring.

 

Ha, I forgot all about Wayne Rogers' little investment counselor hobby (Actually I believe he did pretty well with it so maybe I shouldn't be laughing...) I remember about fifteen years ago seeing him on some financial news show, on MSNBC I think it was, and thinking, "What the hell is Wayne Rogers doing as a talking head here? He actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about!"

Given episodes like the aforementioned "Kim", I think it got down to the writers throwing Trapper a bone and making him more central to the storyline. "A Smattering Of Intelligence", same thing- note that Vinnie Pratt isn't one of Hawkeye's friends, but one of Trapper's.

Don't you mean Boston accent? No, not as obvious as with Winchester but Trapper hailed from Boston as I recall. As for Alda's Noo Yawk accent, yeah, Hawkeye does talk sorta funny for a Maine boy

I've said it before: if Trapper was meant to be the devil on Hawkeye's shoulder then BJ was the angel. IMO BJ got more interesting when he openly would antagonize Hawkeye on occasion, starting around season 7 or so. The "Preventative Medicine" episode -where Hawkeye takes out the crazy Colonel's appendix despite BJ's advice not to do it- seemed like a big turning point in their relationship, and showed that Hunnicutt wasn't simply Hawkeye's lackey.

 

Wayne Rogers was from Alabama

 

Sure, but the Trapper character was from Boston. Though admittedly Wayne's southern accent did come through at times, yeah

 

My four year old isn't above occasionally sniffing his food like Hawkeye did I always say to him, "What next? You gonna put a still in yer bedroom?"

 

1) Deal Me Out -I just watched this last night and it still holds up well. John Ritter has a nice role and was terrific in the shower scene with Frank. Everything works in this one.

2) The Incubator episode reminds me of my own service in Iraq -the deals we made to secure equipment with our Marine counterparts and unscrupulous civilian contractors 12 years ago are still vivid in my memory. It nails it.

3) Radar's report is a good episode that I enjoy as it shows that Hawkeye has the morals and fortitude to reject ignorance and racism all found in a beautiful exterior package.

 

I liked Wayne Rogers as Trapper John, but I felt he made a smooth transition to House Calls, and had good on-screen chemistry with Lynn Redgrave. It's too bad that Lynn had issues with working on the show, and she ultimately was fired from that series, in which she was replaced by Sharon Gless (different role), who went on after the cancellation of House Calls to be in Cagney and Lacey, a role which was originally done by Loretta Swit.

 

I'm sure I've seen all of these episodes, but I can't remember which ones had the best lines. Offhand the only one I recall, almost certainly in the third-last one, was Trapper saying, "Frank - you can fool some of the papal, some of the time".

 

I watched those ones this morning waiting for my kid to get home from school...arguably two of the best episodes in the entire series. I also watched "Carry On Hawkeye"- there's one scene in that one I completely forgot about that is understandably cut in syndication- Margaret is talking to Hawkeye in the Swamp and Hawk goes off on a tangent about Frank's blow up Japanese sex dolls - "He even has a patch kit!" How the hell did that dialogue make it past the CBS censors in 1973?

Are you sure yer not thinking of "L.I.P. (Local Indigenous Personnel)"? That's the one where Hawkeye rejects the racist nurse. Hawkeye and Trapper deal with racism even more effectively in "Dear Dad Three" when they paint the patient who didn't want the "wrong colour blood"

 

Liked Wayne Rogers and Lynn Redgrave in House Calls!

It short circuited quickly after Lynn was gone.

 

In one of the other M*A*S*H discussions here, @czeskleba linked to a fantastic blog analyzing certain aspects of the show. Essential reading:
M*A*S*H: A writer’s view