M*A*S*H (television)/Tear Jerker: Difference between revisions

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** Particularly shocking as he was [[Retirony|on his way home]] - and more so again when you remember that his son was born while he was in Korea and they never got to see one another.

** That was also a case of [[Enforced Method Acting]], as none of the cast were told of Blake's death until shortly before that scene was filmed. Radar's choked voice as he reads the dispatch isn't an act.

*** There's a double meaning behind the grief. Mclean Stevenson (Henry) was something of a father figure for the cast, as well as an advocate for their needs as actors with the studio (which did not always treat the cast as well as it should). In a documentary that aired several years ago, several actors and production staffers told the story of how after Stevenson left the cast, the order came down in the form of a "studio note" to kill the character, so the actor could never come back to the show. The implied message came through to the remaining cast loud and clear.

*** There's a double meaning behind the grief. Mclean Stevenson (Henry) was something of a father figure for the cast, as well as an advocate for their needs as actors with the studio (which did not always treat the cast as well as it should). In a documentary that aired several years ago, several actors and production staffers told the story of how after Stevenson left the cast, the order came down in the form of a "studio note" to [[McLeaned|kill the character, so the actor could never come back to the show]]. The implied message came through to the remaining cast loud and clear.

** In the same episode, Henry's goodbye hug to Radar: "You behave yourself, or I'm gonna come back here and kick your butt." As a viewer, you're still drying your eyes from that when the final O.R. scene begins.

* This troper can't help shedding a few tears (or a lot) at "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler". Especially at this little scene: "Tell me, does God answer all prayers?" "Yes. But sometimes the answer is no."