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

There's a Series 7 episode, Major Ego, I think, in which she sleeps with a Stars and Stripes journalist - but it's really well-handled and shows her liberated rather than a bimbo. Decent episode too with a lot of the focus on Charles. Comes just after a poorer episode (though the Charles bit is good again), They Called the Wind Korea, about a major storm - clearly shot on a bright sunny day and relying on a few wind machine effects!

 

Unbelievable...I watched both of those episodes yesterday morning!

 

So here's season 7:

The seventh season of M*A*S*H aired Mondays at 9:00–9:30 pm on CBS.

Cast
Actor Role
Alan Alda Capt. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce
Mike Farrell Capt. B.J. Hunnicut
Harry Morgan Col. Sherman T. Potter
Loretta Swit Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan
David Ogden Stiers Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester III
Gary Burghoff Cpl. Walter "Radar" O'Reilly
Jamie Farr Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger
William Christopher Father Francis Mulcahy
Episodes

148 1 "Commander Pierce" Burt Metcalfe Story by : Ronny Graham and Don Segall
Teleplay by : Ronny Graham September 18, 1978 T-404
With Potter in Seoul and Charles incapacitated, Hawkeye takes command of the 4077th – and soon learns how difficult it is to be in charge. This is the first episode featuring a mustached B.J. Hunnicutt, which he will keep for the remainder of the series.
149 2 "Peace on Us" George Tyne Ken Levine & David Isaacs September 25, 1978 T-401
Hawkeye takes matters into his own hands when peace talks break down. This was the episode in which B. J. grows his mustache. Featuring Kevin Hagen of Little House on the Prairie.
150 3 "Lil" Burt Metcalfe Sheldon Bull October 2, 1978 T-406
Radar fears Colonel Potter's friendship with a Nurse Colonel who's come to the 4077th may be inappropriate. Starring Carmen Mathews as Col. Lilian "Lil" Rayborn.
151
152 45 "Our Finest Hour" Burt Metcalfe Ken Levine, David Isaacs, Larry Balmagia, Ronny Graham and David Lawrence October 9, 1978 T-408T-409
A TV correspondent (Clete Roberts) interviews the 4077th about the war and home.
This episode was filmed in black and white and features clips from past episodes including Henry Blake, Trapper John McIntyre and Frank Burns. The interviewer states it is October 1952.
153 6 "The Billfold Syndrome" Alan Alda Ken Levine & David Isaacs October 16, 1978 T-405
Charles gives Hawkeye and B.J. the silent treatment, while Sidney is summoned to speak to a shell-shocked medic.
Stanley Tischer and Larry L. Mills received Primetime Emmy and ACE Eddie Award nominations for editing this episode.
154 7 "None Like it Hot" Tony Mordente Ken Levine & David Isaacs and Johnny Bonaduce October 23, 1978 T-410
During a heat wave, Hawkeye and B.J. get a portable bathtub, Klinger tries another method of getting out of the Army, and Radar needs a tonsillectomy.
155 8 "They Call the Wind Korea" Charles Dubin Ken Levine & David Isaacs October 30, 1978 T-407
A Manchurian wind threatens to cancel Charles' plans for R&R in Seoul, so he enlists Klinger to take him there.
156 9 "Major Ego" Alan Alda Larry Balmagia November 6, 1978 T-412
Charles' ego inflates when a reporter comes to the 4077th to do a story about him after he saves a life in the OR.

Note – Gary Burghoff does not appear in this episode.
157 10 "Baby, It's Cold Outside" George Tyne Gary David Goldberg November 13, 1978 T-403
During a cold snap, Charles makes everyone jealous with his winter coat, while Hawkeye must treat a patient with severe hypothermia.
Gary David Goldberg won the Writers Guild Award for this episode.
158 11 "Point of View" Charles Dubin Ken Levine & David Isaacs November 20, 1978 T-415
The 4077th is seen through the eyes of a Private Rich who can't speak due to a throat injury. In a parallel plot, Colonel Potter is irascible because he has forgotten to call home to Mildred on their anniversary. He confesses his mistake to Rich, who writes down the news and gives it to Hawkeye. Later, Radar places the call and gets the Colonel on the line.
Charles Dubin received Primetime Emmy and Directors Guild Award nominations for this episode, while Ken Levine and David Isaacs received Primetime Emmy and Writers Guild Award nominations.
159 12 "Dear Comrade" Charles Dubin Tom Reeder November 27, 1978 T-413
Charles' new houseboy is actually a North Korean spy sent to discover the secret of the 4077th's success in medicine.

Note – Gary Burghoff does not appear in this episode.
160 13 "Out of Gas" Mel Damski Tom Reeder December 4, 1978 T-411
Father Mulcahy volunteers to deal with black marketeers when there's a shortage of sodium pentothal.
161 14 "An Eye for a Tooth" Charles Dubin Ronny Graham December 11, 1978 T-414
Father Mulcahy is unhappy about not being promoted, while Hawkeye and B.J. heighten the prank war with Charles and Margaret.

Note – Gary Burghoff does not appear in this episode.
162 15 "Dear Sis" Alan Alda Alan Alda December 18, 1978 T-417
It's almost Christmas as Father Mulcahy writes to his sister about feeling useless at the 4077th, but his deeds convince him otherwise.
163 16 "B.J. Papa San" James Sheldon Larry Balmagia January 1, 1979 T-402
B.J. cares for a poor Korean family, while a general is unamused by Hawkeye's bedside manner.
164 17 "Inga" Alan Alda Alan Alda January 8, 1979 T-420
A female Swedish surgeon (Mariette Hartley) proves herself superior to Hawkeye and Charles – who vie for her affection.
Alan Alda won the Primetime Emmy Award for writing this episode.

Note – Gary Burghoff does not appear in this episode.
165 18 "The Price" Charles Dubin Erik Tarloff January 15, 1979 T-418
Hawkeye and B.J. keep a Korean draft dodger hidden, while Klinger tries to bribe his way out of the Army and Potter's mare disappears.
166 19 "The Young and the Restless" William Jurgensen Mitch Markowitz January 22, 1979 T-421
The surgeons of the 4077th, particularly Charles and Potter, are envious of a brilliant youngster who bruises their egos.
Mitch Markowitz received a Writers Guild Award nomination for this episode.
167 20 "Hot Lips is Back in Town" Charles Dubin Story by : Bernard Dilbert and Gary Markowitz
Teleplay by : Larry Balmagia and Bernard Dilbert January 29, 1979 T-419
Margaret gets divorced from Donald, while Radar tries to assert himself with an attractive young nurse.
168 21 "C*A*V*E" William Jurgensen Larry Balmagia and Ronny Graham February 5, 1979 T-423
The 4077th takes shelter in a cave during a shelling but it doesn't do anyone (especially a claustrophobic Hawkeye) any good.

Note – Gary Burghoff does not appear in this episode.
169 22 "Rally Round the Flagg, Boys" Harry Morgan Mitch Markowitz February 14, 1979 T-425
Colonel Flagg accuses Hawkeye of being a Communist for giving surgical priority to a wounded North Korean. This was Flagg's final appearance in the series.
170 23 "Preventative Medicine" Tony Mordente Tom Reeder February 19, 1979 T-416
Hawkeye plots to put a visiting commanding officer with the highest casualty rate in Korea off duty while also wrestling with BJ about the ethics of the situation.
171 24 "A Night at Rosie's" Burt Metcalfe Ken Levine & David Isaacs February 26, 1979 T-426
The whole camp seeks refuge at Rosie's to get away from the war. This episode marks the first of three appearances of Sergeant Jack Scully (Joshua Bryant)
172 25 "Ain't Love Grand?" Mike Farrell Ken Levine & David Isaacs March 5, 1979 T-422
Klinger falls for a classy nurse while Charles tries to reform a Korean business girl at Rosie's.

Note – Gary Burghoff does not appear in this episode. But Radar is mentioned
173 26 "The Party" Burt Metcalfe Alan Alda and Burt Metcalfe March 12, 1979 T-424
B.J. tries to arrange a party for the staff's stateside families, amid skepticism that it'll ever happen.

 

Season 7 is a bit more hit and miss for me- it sort of has the same feel as season 6 but the episodes as a whole seem a bit weaker IMO. Some might be inclined to blame Hunnicut's 70's disco era moustache (clean cut family man BJ gets a lot shaggier as the series goes on from this point) That said, the episodes I like I really like. "Commander Pierce", "Out Of Gas", "Inga" and "Preventative Medicine" are probably my favourites (the latter two are controversial choices, I know). "An Eye For A Tooth", "Papa San", "Ain't Love Grand" and "The Party" rank pretty high among my least favourite eps of the entire series, though. As we know, Radar's sendoff was supposed to close out the season but CBS requested they it over until the next year; "The Party" was (in Monty Python's phrase) hastily cobbled together as a replacement season finale.

You can feel the humour leaving the series in season 7..."Wasn't this supposed to be a comedy?" as my wife put it.

 

Hit and miss for me too.

I like Dear Comrade, Point of View, Major Ego, Inga, Baby, It's Cold Outside, Preventative Medicine, Commander Pierce, Our Finest Hour (why is the quality of this one so poor whenever I've seen it in re-runs?), A Night at Rosie's - and a few more. Some of these episodes are half-good, like Charles' segments in The Call the Wind Korea and the first half of Out of Gas.

I really don't like CAVE, The Party and The Price

 

If memory serves - @Vidiot can give you the chapter and verse, I believe- but the "Our Finest Hour" 'masters' are missing...even on the DVD it is the hi gen tape TV syndication version. I never watch it myself...what I find funny about "Our Finest Hour" is some of the clips they show in the episode are actually cut from their respective episodes in syndication!

My maternal grandmother wasn't a big fan of M*A*S*H but she loved horses...naturally "The Price" was her favourite episode of the series. I don't mind it. "C*A*V*E" and "The Party" are pretty bad, though.

 

I notice that Charles was wearing his polar suit in Out of Gas, a couple of episodes after he it was sent from Boston in Baby, It's Cold Outside - only to lose it to black marketeers!

 

"Our Finest Hour" was the only episode of M*A*S*H that was edited together in the videotape realm, and that master has either disappeared or was damaged. As a result, what you see on DVD is a syndication version with a small amount cut out.

 

That's okay...Hawkeye and BJ musta screwed over the "Scrounger" in "None Like It Hot" somehow- instead of trading their canvas bathtub for Radar's ice cream they must have come up with a plan B 'cos Hawkeye's still got the bathtub when it comes time to do the aeortic transplant in "Lifetime" the following season. Alda co-wrote "Lifetime"...he wouldn't have made such a continuity error as owning he bathtub he previously traded away- would he?

 

Yeah, I thought it was something like that.

Instead of making it a clip show, I would have preferred if Clete Roberts had returned and just done another straight half hour "Interview" episode. But I s'pose after six seasons M*A*S*H was ripe for some sort of clip show.

 

If Sophie could have a sex change, anything could happen at the 4-oh-double-natural.

 

Say what?!

 

I just watched Sophie's season 4 debut. She was a male horse in that one. She became a mare later on. Unless the mare thing was a psycho dodge.

 

There's nothing that wrong with a mustache at the time, it would have been fairly common in a wartime setting for a guy to experiment a little bit. That particular 'stache was too extravagant, but it's not as bad as Gould's Fu Manchu in the movie! To say nothing of Scott Baio's hair on Happy Days... though comparing the show to Happy Days is not that good a sign.

Looking through the episode list, there's a clear decline from Season 6. Hard to say why, just an aging show I guess. Our Finest Hour (a clip show and inferior sequel) is probably a worse sign than the 'stache.

 

One of my biggest problem's with later Margaret is her constant yelling. It gets rather grating.

 

She yells and throws herself at men (including Colonel Flagg, and Robert Alda's character) quite a bit in the early days too.

 

"Preventative Medicine" of course is infamous (among other reasons) for having an inadvertently-recycled plotline (it parallels "White Gold" from season three). Comparing the two makes it dramatically clear how the show had changed, and also how BJ was different from Trapper. In season three the unnecessary appendectomy performed for a greater good is played entirely for laughs, whereas in season seven we get a Serious Ethical Debate about it. I prefer the former, but I'm sure there are those here who disagree.

The episode also seems to be at least a contributing factor in Levine and Isaacs' decision to quit the showrunner job after this season. Levine has said that the reason they quit was largely because they felt they'd run out of ideas and that there were no more good storylines to pursue. And he's also blogged about how mortified he was when he realized (only after the later episode was completed) how similar the basic plots of "White Gold" and "Preventive Medicine" were. I kinda view the departure of Levine and Isaacs as the death blow for comedy on the series. Hereafter, the best plotlines/episodes were the more serious ones, and the attempts at comedy started taking a more low-brow and cliched approach.

 

The difference in the later seasons is that everyone else is yelling too.

 

I will take yer word for it- I know very little about horses...

Difference is, Margaret's yelling in the early days was usually for comic effect whereas her histrionics in the later seasons -Potter is just as guilty of this IMO- are over the top, scenery chewing melodrama. I swear there are episodes in the later seasons where Margaret and/or Potter find it necessary to yell just about every line of dialogue they have. Or at least it feels that way

I prefer the 'ethical debate' in "Preventative Medicine" to the 'play it for laughs' in "White Gold", which I always found to be one of the sillier episodes in the series. What I like most about "Preventative Medicine" is how it shows the conflict between BJ and Hawkeye. Sure as hell you'd never see Trapper confronting Hawkeye for taking out Col. Lacey's appendix- he'd probably be scrubbing up right next to him. No drama there. And, of course, I also find the b-story about Klinger dabbling in voodoo a hoot. One of the best things about season 7 are Klinger's section 8 scams (his pretending he's back in Toledo in "The Young And The Restless" is probably my favourite)

Yes- I remember reading about that in that "M*A*S*H- A Writer's View" blog you posted (which I linked to earlier in this discussion). IMO Gelbart and Marks, Fritzell and Greenbaum and Levine and Issacs were the best writers the show had.

Not only that but it seems to me a lot of the best plotlines/stories from season 8 onward were Alan Alda's. The new breed of writers brought onboard from season 8 on -Dennis Koenig, Jim Mulligan, Thad Mumford and Dan Wilcox etc- tended to focus more on the characters' personal issues and could also get bogged down at times in cloying sentimentality. My wife's complaint about the latter half of the series was "Isn't this supposed to be a comedy?" Mine is "Isn't this supposed to be a show about doctors?" I've always viewed M*A*S*H as a 'medical procedural' show first and foremost...in spite of Alda's insistence that there be at least on OR sequence per episode in the later years it's easy to forget sometimes that these guys are supposed to be doctors.

 

I was a huge MASH fan during its original run, and I never really minded the characters and the show getting more serious as time went on. The one thing that did bug me towards the end was that I felt they were beginning to recycle the same plots. I guess "Preventative Medicine" was one of the first cases of that.

 

For me when it comes to plot recycling "Picture This" from season 10 is the biggest offender- Hawkeye already got fed up and moved out of the Swamp temporarily back in season 1's "Sticky Wicket"!

 

Still a thousand miles behind, but ...

An all-time favorite scene from Season 4

 

It seems quite obvious that "Peace On Us" was meant to be the season premiere...BJ seems to be actually growing his mustache here and the others act as if they're seeing it for the first time.

 

You can tell by the episode numbers. M*A*S*H must be one of the worst offenders for running shows out of production order. I wonder what the reason was.

I really like this episode. Besides all four Bewitched episodes, season 2 Wonder Years, season 2 Happy Days and a few others, this is one of the Christmas episodes I try to watch every holiday season. Unfortunately my copy is from a syndicated rerun from years ago and I know something's cut out of it, but after all of these years I have no recollection of what.

I really think they should have ended the show after this season. They already had close to 175 episodes, more than enough for a healthy syndication run, and they wouldn't have had to go in the direction they did for the last four years, with writers leaving because they'd run out of ideas. They could have had a nice season finale at the end of season 7 where the war's over - and Radar even would have been part of it.

I could have done without most of the episodes from the last four years.

 

Here's a little technical thing about M*A*S*H that I've often wondered about. After the opening theme credits, there are other credits superimposed over the beginning of the show. Written by, directed by, etc.

When I watch the episodes on DVD, it's really noticeable that the images underneath the credits are sometimes murky, sometimes grainy, sometimes the color is really off. Once the credits are over and the camera setup changes, the picture is much, much better.

I believe these are called "process shots" and in many shows the pictures get grainier or something, but not to the degree I see on M*A*S*H.