Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,897
edits
M*A*S*H (television): Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (update links) |
No edit summary |
||
| (28 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
Line 2:
[[File:MASH.jpg|frame|Seasons 1-3 cast. Left to right: Frank "Ferret Face" Burns, Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, Henry Blake, "Trapper" John McIntyre, John Patrick Francis Mulcahy, Walter "Radar" O’Reilly, and Maxwell Q. Klinger]]
One of the most commercially and critically successful series in television history, '''''M*A*S*H''''' ([[Fun with Acronyms|short for]] ''[[wikipedia:Mobile Army Surgical Hospital|Mobile Army Surgical Hospital]]'', a type of Army field hospital first activated in the last month of [[World War II]]) is, to quote its lead character Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda), "Finest kind."
The show ran on [[CBS]] [[Long Runner|from 1972 to 1983]], seven years longer than [[The Korean War]] during which it takes place. At first seen as a wacky, slightly edgy sitcom based on [[M*A*S*H (film)|Robert Altman's 1970 movie]], the series moved away from strictly comedic storylines early in its run (Season 1's "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" was the first [[Tear Jerker]]), and began to incorporate dramatic plotlines in conjunction with comedic ones in the same episode.
Line 10:
In the "Dramatic ''M*A*S*H''" phase, character development was key, and even one-note characters such as "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) became more sympathetic and complex (as seen in Season 5's "The Nurses," in which she asked her nurses, "When did one of you ever even offer me a lousy cup of coffee?"). This shift probably led to Frank Burns (Larry Linville) getting a psychiatric discharge, since he had been developed as an unlikeable character with no room for change (Larry Linville even stated dislike for the character being so unlikeable). He was replaced by Charles Emerson Winchester III (David Ogden Stiers), a snooty [[Blue Blood]] doctor who was by contrast a real asset to the staff and even eventually becomes a nicer guy in [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold|his own way]].
Other ways in which the series changed how the [[Sitcom]] was perceived was by its use (or disuse) of the [[Laugh Track]], commonly imposed by the networks if a studio audience was not going to be present at the episodes' filming. The show's creators grudgingly accepted the laugh track, but soon imposed rules on when it was not to be used (during any of the operating room scenes), and dropped it entirely in certain
''M*A*S*H'' revolutionized the use of camera movements and editing styles on television -- for example, in its use of long [[Tracking Shot
The use of [[Boom Up and Over]] was new to television at the time. The use of this technique in sequences where camp announcements were shown from the 'perspective' of the loudspeaker was groundbreaking and memorable.
Line 20:
Its [[Grand Finale|final episode]] -- "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (aired February 28, 1983) -- was, for twenty-five years, the highest-rated TV program in United States history, with a 60.2 rating (percent of households watching) and a 77 share (percent of households watching, ''of those watching some program at that time''). It still holds that record for non-sports programming.
It produced three [[Spin-Off]]s/[[Sequel]]s: one successful (''[[Trapper John, M.D.]]''), one short-lived (''[[AfterMASH]]''), and one failed [[Pilot]] (''[[w:W*A*L*T*E*R|W*A*L*T*E*R]]'').
Considering that [[Mash|the original novel]] consisted mostly of young doctors boasting about [[A Man Is Not a Virgin|how much sex they have]] and shows a truly awful degree of sexism <ref>"Trapper" got his nickname for using a train toilet to take advantage of his prom date and nobody seems to care that this may have been rape as long as he 'got some'; 'Me Lay' is famous for using his absurdly crass pick-up line - "Me lay, you lay" - to acquire a stupendous 'batting average'; the ''doctors''' only interest in the epileptic whore down at the local brothel is in how much fun it is to have your penis inside her when she has a seizure; the reputation of the unit depends in part on the size of the dentist's male organ; the list goes on and on.</ref> to produce such a long, successful and at times thoughtful series is a fine example of [[Pragmatic Adaptation]], a very nice change in a world full of [[Adaptation Decay]]. Of course, Dr. Richard Hornberger, one-half of the writing team behind the pseudonymous author of the original book and allegedly [[Author Avatar|the model for Hawkeye]], didn't see it that way, and was known to rant about it at length (in a sequel, ''MASH Mania'', he has his version of Hawkeye remark how he enjoys going down to the State University to "kick the shit out of a few liberals").▼
▲Considering that [[
Fun fact: Alan Alda was inspired to take over creative control of the show because he desperately needed the money that came with more responsibility. A year before, his business manager "invested" his entire fortune in a [[Ponzi]] scheme without his knowledge or approval. Alda lost almost everything.
Line 26 ⟶ 28:
Has now a character page (under construction).
See also the
----
{{tropenamer}}
* [[After Show]]: The show's spin-off ''[[
{{tropelist}}
== A-E ==
* [[Absentee Actor]]: None of the cast besides Alan Alda appeared in every episode. In fact, in season 4's "Hawkeye", Alda is the ''only'' regular to appear.
** Gary Burghoff renegotiated his contract to limit his appearances (as Radar) beginning in the fourth season. These absences became more frequent in the ensuing seasons, until practically every episode in season 7 (Burghoff's last with the show) seemed to have Radar "[[Written-In Absence|away on R&R]]".
* [[Acronym Confusion]]: [[Invoked]] by Colonel Flagg.
{{quote|I'm with the CIA, but I tell people I'm with the CIC, so they think I'm with the CID.}}
* [[Adaptation Distillation]]: The movie itself [[Composite Character|combined two characters to create Major Burns]]. The show removed the character Duke Forest altogether, and Ugly John and Spearchucker Jones [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome|disappear without
** Painless is more of an [[Unseen Character]], being mentioned but rarely if ever actually appearing. The only dentist actually shown on screen who was stationed at the 4077 appears in one episode, completely paranoid about being injured in the last few hours before he goes home. (He does get injured, crashing the jeep as he's driving out of camp because he insisted on driving the jeep himself instead of allowing his assigned driver to do it.)
*** Painless shows
* [[A Day in the Limelight]]: Numerous times, generally at least once a season.
▲* [[After Show]]: The show's spin-off ''[[After MASH (TV)|After MASH]]'' is the trope namer.
* [[All Asians Are Alike]]
* [[Aluminum Christmas Trees]]: Spearchucker Jones. There were, in fact, black doctors in Korea, and Spearchucker was based on a doctor Richard Hooker heard about at the 8055. Too bad the executives [[Did Not Do the Research|didn't look into it first]].
Line 49 ⟶ 55:
** Also, the "points" system referenced was no longer current for rotation of officers.
** BJ's latter-seasons hairstyle was ''much'' longer than a professional man in the 1950s would have worn.
** Several times, Korean soldiers are shown with [[AKA-47|AK-47-type]] rifles ([http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/M*A*S*H_(TV_Series)#Valmet_M71 actually stand-ins]) before any communist nation even issued them yet.
** In one episode Radar hands out Hershey bars with UPC symbols on the back wrapper to recovering patients.
* [[Animated Adaptation|Animated Parody]]: Filmation's ''M*U*S*H'', a segment of the Saturday Morning Kid's Show ''[[Uncle Croc's Block]]''
Line 77 ⟶ 83:
* [[Blackmail]]: Occasionally employed by Hawkeye and co. For instance, in "George" he and Trapper get Frank to admit to having paid for the answers on his medical exams, then use the info to keep him from sending a letter to the Pentagon outing a gay GI and demanding he be dishonorably discharged.
* [[Black Market Produce]]: The occasional real food was quite a treat. One time a farmer gave the unit a bunch of real eggs, not the reconstituted stuff they usually get. Another time Radar went through a [[Chain of Deals]] in order to supply Col. Potter with fresh tomato juice after some accidentally got shipped to them and Potter liked it - but then after all that trouble, it turns out Potter is mildly allergic. He'd been without it for so long he forgot.
* [[Blatant Lies]]: Numerous times for comedic effect, usually from Frank.
* [[Blue Eyes]]: Most of the men have gorgeous [[Blue Eyes]] (even Frank) but Hawkeye's probably got the most love.
** Loretta Swit (Margaret) is blue-eyed as well.
Line 84 ⟶ 91:
'''Trapper:''' Plato's ''Republic''? ''The Life of Red Grange''?
'''Hawkeye:''' Revolutionaries.
'''Frank:''' [[Sarcasm Blind|Right!]]
'''Trapper:''' ''Robinson Crusoe''?
'''Hawkeye:''' Everybody runs around half-naked.
'''Trapper:''' Norman Mailer?
'''Frank:''' It's got
* [[Bottle Episode]]: "O.R.", "The Bus", "Hawkeye", "A Night at Rosie's"
* [[The Boxing Episode]]: "Requiem for a Lightweight" has Trapper John taking on the champ of the 8063rd, a heavyweight enlisted man.
Line 97 ⟶ 104:
'''Potter:''' I'm not fond of personal abuse, Flagg. I was in this man's Army when the only thumb you cared about was the one in your ''mouth''. }}
* [[Briefer Than They Think]]: As mentioned above, you could fit three Korean Wars into the show's run.
* [[Broken Ace]]: Captain Newsome in "Heal Thyself
* [[Bucket Booby Trap]]: Frank rigs one for Hawkeye (yep, you read that right) in "Showtime".
* [[Bug-Out]]: Amusingly averted for virtually the entire run of ''M*A*S*H''; the "M" in "M*A*S*H" stands for "Mobile", but for obvious reasons of production logistics the camp was almost always in the same location. The only exceptions were the two-part episode "Bug Out" from 1976, and the 1979 episode "C*A*V*E". In the former, the camp's comfortable location had to be abandoned in the face of an enemy advance; in the latter, a seemingly endless barrage of friendly artillery fire forces the camp to relocate to a nearby cave.
* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: No matter how madcap Hawkeye gets, his medical skills save him from court martial a few dozen times.
* [[Butt Monkey]]: Frank Burns
Line 115 ⟶ 123:
* [[Christmas Episode]]: Several. More, in fact, than there were actual Christmases during the war.
* [[Chuck Cunningham Syndrome]]: Spearchucker Jones (dropped from the series after the makers learned that there's no evidence that any black doctors served in Korea), Lt. Dish, Ugly John, Sgt. Zale.
** The creators were mistaken on there being a lack of Black Doctors during the Korean War. From the memoirs of Harold Secor, an online memoir of a doctor from the 8055th MASH unit (the same one as Richard Hooker): "In Secor's quarters, there was...Captain Miles, a black doctor from Virginia...." Richard Hooker arrived near the end of Harold Secor's stay at the 8055th and based many of the stories that appear in the book off stories he heard from Secor and other doctors. For more information search "the Memoirs of Harold Secor".
* [[Claustrophobia]]: Hawkeye, in "C*A*V*E"
* [[Clip Show]]: "Our Finest Hour"
Line 122 ⟶ 130:
* [[Confess in Confidence]]: There have been at least three episodes where Father Mulcahy learned of an issue from a confessing soldier and had to figure out how to solve it without breaking the seal of the confessional. One involved a black marketer who had stolen critically needed medical supplies, one a soldier who swapped dog tags with [[Retirony|a friend who died just before the end of his tour of duty]], and one, a new doctor who confesses that he's been pretending to be a doctor to get officers' privileges and rank.
** In one episode a solder who shot himself to get sent home confesses to Frank, mistaking him for a priest while he was in Father Mulcahy's tent to leave him a note.
** Also note that in the case of the
* [[Conservation of Competence]]: At least, until Colonel Potter shows up.
* [[Continuity Drift]]: A fair amount in the early seasons. Hawkeye signed a letter "love to Mom" but it was later revealed that his mother was dead; the writers couldn't keep the name of Henry's wife straight; at one point Margaret stated her father was dead, but he showed up alive and well on an episode years later. Granted, Margaret was very drunk in that scene, but one would still expect her to remember which of her parents were living.
Line 154 ⟶ 162:
** Another is [[Bus Crash|Henry's death]]. No allied transport plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. For virtually the entirety of the Korean War, allied air forces controlled the skies. For all intents and purposes, the moment Henry stepped on the plane, he was safe. This [[They Just Didn't Care|was more intentional]] by the writers than anything, if only to prevent [[Trope Namer|McLean Stevenson]] [[McLeaned|from returning to the role after leaving]] [[Killed Off for Real|by killing off his character]] [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|in the most dramatic way possible]], and show that war could take anyone at any time.
*** The notion that Henry was killed off as he was to underscore the inherently hazardous environment is supported by the next episode (at the beginning of season 4) introducing BJ. Just on the way from the airport at Kimpo back to the 4077, the three are shown coming under fire twice (once from infiltrators, and once from mortars) and encounter a family checking for mines in a could-be field.
** Well, that's not true: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130218074137/http://koreanwar.defense.gov/factsheetusairforcekw.html the first US plane shot down in the war] was a transport plane.
*** [[Word of God]] has it that Henry did not die; "reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated".
* [[Documentary Episode]]: "The Interview", "Our Finest Hour"
Line 196 ⟶ 204:
* [[Executive Veto]]: One early season episode would have dealt with Hawkeye getting two different nurses pregnant simultaneously, and not wanting to marry either. After the script had been finished, CBS rejected it, feeling it would be a [[Moral Event Horizon]] for Hawkeye.
* [[Extreme Omni Goat]]: "That Darn Kid"
== F-J ==
* [[Facecam]]
* [[Failure Is the Only Option]]: Klinger trying to get a Section 8, Burns trying to instill military discipline, Winchester trying to get a transfer.
** Winchester seems to play on his awareness that his exile to the 4077th was permanent at the end of the episode where his and Radar's families got together. On hearing they were planning another one, he asserted that it didn't matter, they "...can invite the ''goat''. It doesn't matter, for I shan't be here; I'm turning myself in to the Chinese."
* [[Fake Nationality]]: Due to a dearth of Korean actors in Hollywood at the time, most of the featured native Korean speaking parts were played by Asians of different ethnicities. Klinger's girlfriend/wife Soon-Li was played by actress Rosalind Chao (second-generation Chinese-American); Japanese-born actor [[Mako|Mako Iwamatsu]] played a Chinese Army officer, a South Korean Army surgeon, and a North Korean soldier; and Japanese-American actor Noriyuki "Pat" Morita played South Korean Army Captain Sam Pak.
* [[A Father to His Men]]: Colonel Blake, to Radar; Colonel Potter, to ''everyone''.
* [[Faux Yay]]: Hawkeye tries to get leave by pretending to be romantically interested in Burns.
Line 209 ⟶ 219:
* [[Fixing the Game]]: The craps game in the back of Rosie's bar is rigged.
** Frank runs a bookie operation for baseball games that are broadcast to the camp during the day. Turns out he's listening to previous, late-night broadcasts of the same games to get the outcomes before taking anyone's bets.
** Charles giving uppers to Radar's mouse Daisy before she races a Marine's
* [[Flanderization]]: Radar's naïveté and Frank Burns's jerk-assedness both grew more and more pronounced as the show progressed.
** In early episodes, Frank cared about people. He tried to help when a little boy runs into a minefield. Linville played his distress as genuine, not faked or selfishly motivated. And he was occasionally able to hold his own against Hawkeye and Trapper, particularly in the prank war that involved the [[Bucket Booby Trap]] mentioned above.
** The early Radar was sly, far from
* [[Fox News Liberal]]: Winchester is a conservative version.
{{quote|(to a HUAC shill): I come from a family that would make you look like a New Dealer.}}
Line 243 ⟶ 253:
* [[Heat Wave]]: "None Like It Hot", "No Sweat"
* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Hawkeye gets one in the finale when {{spoiler|he witnesses a mother strangle her child at a checkpoint.}} Even worse, {{spoiler|it turns out that it's ''his'' fault; she did it after he told her they'd all get captured if she didn't keep the baby quiet.}}
* [[Hero of Another Story]]: Sidney Freedman who works mostly at the EVAC
* [[Heterosexual Life Partners]]: Hawkeye and Trapper, and later Hawkeye and BJ.
* [[Hey, It's That Guy!]]: Numerous actors who would go on to bigger and better fame appeared on the show.
Line 270 ⟶ 280:
{{quote|'''Henry:''' Captain Hildrebrand doesn't care for any.
'''Radar:''' Oh, then I won't bring his glass in. }}
* [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]]: North Korean and Chinese soldiers could never seem to hit any of the main characters when shot at on camera. A
** Hawkeye was actually in a sort of sling hanging from the chopper, which was thus able to deposit him on the ground without having to land itself, saving time over that option. BJ once attempted to descend by rope from a hovering helicopter under fire to get to a wounded soldier in an area where there was no landing place, but was stopped by the pilot (and was forced to cut the rope and abandon the wounded man, as they didn't have enough power to lift him out to a location where they could land).
** Another notable example is a sniper (later revealed to be a very scared, and even more confused, kid barely old enough to draft) who took several shots at two bottles of high-class scotch, eventually destroying both, and never being known to have actually shot any people.
Line 276 ⟶ 286:
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: BJ was the master.
* [[Initialism Title]]
* [[Instant Drama, Just Add Tracheotomy]]
* [[Instrumental Theme Tune]]: "Suicide Is Painless", originally used (with lyrics) in the feature film.
* [[Invented Individual]]: Tuttle, the former [[Trope Namer]].
* [[I Owe You My Life]]: "Operation Friendship".
* [[It Has Been an Honor]]: In the finale Hawkeye and BJ give Col Potter a silent one by standing at attention and saluting him, something that they did very rarely throughout the course of the series.
** Hawkeye salutes Radar in "Good-bye Radar Part 2", while in the operating room to top it off.
* [[It's Always Spring]]: While several episodes take place in winter, due to [[California Doubling]] none of them contain any snow and feature completely green
** In the early seasons, the green
** Although one of the Christmas episodes, "Dear Sis", does end with it beginning to snow in camp, [[Dreaming of a White Christmas|naturally]].
* [[It Will Never Catch On]]: One episode has Klinger trying unsuccessfully to convince Winchester to invest in his invention - the hula hoop. (The [[Stinger]] to the same episode has Winchester himself
* [[Ivy League for Everyone]]: Charles graduated ''summa cum laude'' from Harvard and Trapper attended Dartmouth. BJ went to Stanford (non-Ivy, but of comparable prestige). According to "Adam's Ribs" Hawkeye seems to have graduated from the University of Chicago, a rather prestigious research school.
* [[Juggling Loaded Guns]]: gun fanatic Frank Burns. He frequently shot himself, and at one point, he accidentally shot BJ, for which he was relentlessly mocked.
Line 291 ⟶ 301:
'''Col. Potter:''' So, naturally, you shot Captain Hunnicutt. }}
** One incident involved him shooting himself in the foot after stealing a high-ranking officer's beautiful revolver, which leads to the [[Fridge Logic]] that not only did Frank assume it was unloaded, but that Radar had left it loaded. He also had a particularly entertaining scene where he pulled the pin on a grenade for no good reason, and about six seconds later realized he was waving around a live grenade. Cue frantic search for the dropped pin and fumbling attempt to return it to the grenade (it worked).
== K-O ==
* [[Killed Off for Real]]. Bye, Henry Blake.
** Nurse Miller dies after stepping on a landmine, without ever having been on screen.
* [[The Klutz]]: Private Paul 'Look out below' Conway.
* [[The Lancer]]: Trapper, and later BJ, were basically this for Hawkeye.
* [[Last Rites (trope)|Last Rites]]: Father Mulcahy is frequently seen administering the last rites to dying and dead soldiers. We rarely get to see him do more than begin the process, though, but it's clear that it's the Anointing that he's performing, not the Viaticum -- if only because he's usually performing it on an unconscious soldier.
* [[Laugh Track]]: Employed over the objections of the producers and at the [[Executive Meddling|insistence of the network]], though averted in the O.R. scenes (and averted entirely for certain episodes). Also not used in foreign syndication. The DVD allows the viewer the option of having the laugh track turned off if they so choose.
* [[Limited Advancement Opportunities]]: Only Klinger and Father Mulcahy get promoted (though Burns makes Lieutenant Colonel after his departure). Radar also received a [[Status Quo Is God|temporary]] promotion.
Line 311 ⟶ 323:
* [[Mattress Tag Gag]]: Variant: In "The General Flipped at Dawn", Henry dons a new set of fatigues in anticipation of Gen. Steele's arrival. He asks Radar if there are any tags visible, and Radar tears one off from the back of the pants before reading: "Do not remove this tag under penalty of Federal Code 764-J."
{{quote|'''Henry:''' Boy, you get me in trouble and I'm gonna have your keister.}}
* [[Mean Character, Nice Actor]]: Larry Linville (aka Frank Burns) has been described by his
▲* [[McLeaned]]: Col. Henry Blake, played by McLean Stevenson (the [[Trope Namer]])
▲* [[Mean Character, Nice Actor]]: Larry Linville (aka Frank Burns) has been described by his castmates as one of the sweetest men to walk this planet (Almost to the point of [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]]). Even Frank's idiotic laugh was made up on the spot by Linville.
* [[Meaningful Echo]]: Provided by Sidney Freedman in the finale.
{{quote|"You know, I told you people something a long time ago, and it's just as pertinent today as it was then. Ladies and gentlemen, take my advice: Pull down your pants and slide on the ice."}}
Line 353 ⟶ 364:
** Three different actresses played Rosie, the proprietress of Rosie's Bar, during the course of the show.
** There were also several different actresses playing "Nurse Able" or "Nurse Baker" in various episodes. And two different guys voiced the camp P.A. announcer.
*** The nurses may be an
** A vehicle example: in the finale, a tank is driven into the compound by a wounded tanker. After it starts drawing enemy mortar fire, Hawkeye drives it out of the camp. The tank driven into the camp is an [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/M24-Chaffee-latrun-1.jpg M24 Chaffee light tank]; the tank Hawkeye drives out is an [http://www.usarmymodels.com/AFV%20PHOTOS/M4%20SHERMAN/M4%20Sherman%20Front%20Left.jpg M4 Sherman medium tank]. The two look nothing alike.
* [[Out, Damned Spot!]]: Captain Newsome in "Heal Thyself."
* [[Out with a Bang]]: "Iron Guts Kelly"
== P-T ==
* [[Patriotic Fervor]]: Frequently displayed by Frank Burns and (especially) Colonel Flagg.
* [[Pin-Pulling Teeth]]: Frank pulls a pin out of a grenade with his teeth and spits it away before panicking and desperately searching for the pin.
Line 370 ⟶ 382:
* [[Pungeon Master]]: Most of the characters at times, but Hawkeye and BJ in particular.
* [[Put on a Bus]]: Henry, Trapper, Frank, Radar. (In Henry's case, the bus [[Bus Crash|crashed]].)
** Each of these people [[Continuity Nod|get a mention]] in the final two episodes: Hawkeye and BJ contribute items once belonging to Radar and Henry for the time capsule, they explain to Charles that nothing of Frank's would be included due to his incompetence, and when
* [[Put on a Bus to Hell]]: Trapper in a minor example, at least from Haweye's point of view. His not leaving a note ([[Ho Yay|only a goodbye peck on the cheek]]) clearly upset Hawkeye and has been picked up on by many a fanfic.
** Of course, in real life, it was a "[[Take That]]" against actor Wayne Rogers, who had acrimoniously left the show because he was fed up with the fact that Trapper was being treated as a sidekick instead of an equal. In addition, he was also greatly frustrated with a "morals clause" in his contract, which stated he could be suspended or fired if he did anything the producers found objectionable. When Rogers left, in fact, the producers actually sued him for breach of contract, but their case fell apart when it was discovered that Rogers didn't even sign the contract in the first place, due to the clause issue.
* [[The Rabbit Died]]: In the sixth-season episode "What's Up, Doc?", the only way for Margaret to find out if she's pregnant (by her now-estranged husband) is to use one of Radar's rabbits for a rabbit test. Subverted, actually, in that Radar insists that they not kill his pet rabbit, and Hawkeye and Margaret perform surgery on the rabbit to remove its ovaries non-fatally – leading to the rabbit surviving, in both senses of the term.
* [[Rashomon Style]]: "The Novocaine Mutiny" has Hawkeye and Frank narrating very different versions of the same events during a court-martial hearing.
* [[Real Life Relative]]: Robert Alda (Alan's dad) appeared in two episodes as visiting surgeon Anthony Borelli. The second of these also featured Antony Alda (Robert's other son and Alan's half-brother) as a medic.
Line 379 ⟶ 392:
* [[Real Life Writes the Plot]]: "Preventive Medicine" was originally scripted to have Hawkeye and BJ falsely diagnose a gung-ho Colonel with appendicitis and then remove his (healthy) appendix, to keep him from resuming his command and getting more soldiers needlessly killed. However, Mike Farrell objected, believing the removal of a healthy organ was wrong and could ''never'' be justified. Alan Alda felt that removing a reckless, dangerous man from command in order to save lives ''was'' worth it. Their argument was actually written into the episode.
* [[Really Dead Montage]]: "Abyssinia, Henry"
* [[Really Gets Around]]: Hot-Lips, Hawkeye, Trapper.
* [[Really Seventeen Years Old]]: There's a kid (played by [[Ron Howard]]) who lies about his age to get into the army; Hawkeye catches him and sends him home.
{{quote|'''Kid''': I'll hate you for the rest of my life!
'''Hawkeye''': Let's hope it's a long and happy hate. }}
Line 410 ⟶ 423:
* [[Sarcasm Failure]]
* [[Scenery Censor]]: Hawkeye's naked stroll through the compound in "Dear Dad...Again".
** They even moved the signpost to just beside the door of the
* [[Screw the War, We're Partying]]: Subverted actually, as most of the personnel in camp were simply "acting crazy to keep their sanity".
* [[Scunthorpe Problem]]: Father Mulcahy's nickname of "Dago Red", used once in the pilot and then never again in the series. In a way, this inverts the movie, where he was initially introduced by his name, and then always addressed by his nickname after that.
Line 421 ⟶ 434:
** Charles Emerson Winchester III was possibly named after a fellow Bostonian, founder of Emerson College, Charles Wesley Emerson.
** Sherman Tecumseh Potter is one for William Tecumseh Sherman.
** Klinger's early [[Running Gag]] of wearing
*** Klinger even obliquely lampshades this with a reference to an uncle using the same trick in WWII (and his family periodically sending him things from his uncle's WWII wardrobe).
** Klinger often expressed his support of two real-life institutions in his hometown of Toledo, Ohio: the Mud Hens (a minor-league baseball team) and Tony Packo's Cafe (a hot
* [[The Shrink]]: Sidney Freedman
* [[Shirtless Scene]]: Any scene in the showers. Depending on the actor, this was either [[Fan Service]] or [[Squick]].
Line 432 ⟶ 445:
* [[Something Completely Different]]
* [[Speech Impediment]]: Winchester counsels a soldier who is cruelly bullied as "stupid" because he stammers. Revealing that he's looked into the man's service record and knows of his actual high intelligence, he gives him ''[[Moby Dick]]'' to read. Returning to his tent, he listens happily to a taped letter from his beloved sister Honoria... who also stammers.
* [[Spin-Off]]: ''[[
** There was, however, one spinoff which was successful: ''Trapper John, M.D.'', which features the onetime 4077th surgeon some 25 years later.
*** Though legally, no. When ''Trapper'' started, this series' producers sued to claim royalties they thought they were owed due to the use of Trapper's character. The court battle, however, ended with ''Trapper'' being legally considered a spin-off of the movie and not of the show.
Line 440 ⟶ 453:
** Happened to Klinger once too, except he regained his hearing by the end of the episode. {{spoiler|Mulcahy didn't.}}
*** {{spoiler|he did in the spinoff.}}
* [[Stiff Upper Lip]]: Explored: In one episode, the 4077th is treating wounded from a British unit. Their Captain walks around, telling the men how they'll soon be back in action, after handing out cups of tea to the wounded in the field. Hawkeye asks him how he can be so callous about his men's lives, even risking killing some of them by giving tea to those with abdominal wounds. The British captain explains that he is speaking about going back into battle soon to give the men the impression that things aren't as bad as they seem, and that it wasn't known on the
* [[Stock Footage]]: Aside from the opening sequence, all the bugout footage of the camp being torn down. In the finale, you can even see Radar!
* [[Strawman Political]]: Frank Burns, but that's okay since [[Rule of Funny|he was damn funny]] that way.
** While the show never particularly lacked these, it became positively riddled with them in later years as Alan Alda [[Wag the Director|seized more creative control]] and turned every other episode (at least) into an [[Author Tract]].
* [[Strip Poker]]: An early episode has a gag where Hawkeye and Trapper are down to their underwear while playing this with - and losing badly to - a nurse.
* [[Sugar and Ice Personality]]: Margaret Houlihan, [[Justified Trope|Justified]] in that she took her job as head nurse seriously (and that she was an Army brat). Frank Burns was too immature, and Donald Penobscot treated her poorly behind the scenes, but the likes of BJ, Col. Potter, [[Foe Yay|and especially Hawkeye]] helped [[Defrosting Ice Queen|soften her up]].
* [[Surgery Under Fire]]: Naturally ''M*A*S*H'' had multiple instances of this. In numerous episodes members of the 4077th were required to perform surgery at the front or under fire, including an episode where the entire camp was being shelled by [[Friend or Foe?|friendly fire]], and another where Father Mulcahy had to perform a tracheotomy on a wounded soldier in the back of a parked jeep at the side of a road while North Korean shells were falling all around him.
▲* [[Suicide Is Painless]]: The show's (and film's) theme song is the [[Trope Namer]].
* [[Surrogate Soliloquy]]: "Hawkeye"
* [[Tanks, But No Tanks]]: An interesting example. In the finale, a wounded tanker drives an [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/M24-Chaffee-latrun-1.jpg M24 Chaffee light tank] into the compound, destroying the latrine in the process. The tank begins drawing enemy mortar fire, so Klinger erects a tent to hide it. It doesn't work, and the mortar crew resumes firing on the camp, and Hawkeye drives it out of the camp. The tank he drives out is an
* [[The Tape Knew You Would Say That]]: In the "M*A*S*H Olympics" episode, Potter goes on the PA to announce daily calisthenics. Knowing what kind of reaction his announcement would get, he waited a beat and added "Same to you."
* [[Team Dad]]: Potter and Henry Blake.
* [[Technical Pacifist]]: Father Mulcahy, as a priest, chaplain, and medic, is forbidden from engaging in combat. That doesn't stop him from dropping a few folks with that right hook of his when the need arises.
* [[Telegraph Gag STOP]]: Used when Hawkeye sends a telegram to his family to let them know he is alive and safe. He even recites his intended message to Klinger, using TELEGRAM SPEAK STOP. He also integrates the STOP directions into his message, "Thinking of selling my golf clubs? STOP!"
* [[Temporary Blindness]]: Hawkeye (and, in another episode, Temporary Deafness for Klinger).
** Which leads to one of Klinger's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|CMOA's]].
Line 461 ⟶ 475:
** Much of the dialogue in "The Interview" is ad-libbed, with the cast improvising in-character responses to Clete Roberts's questions.
* [[Time Capsule]]: "As Time Goes By"
* [[To Absent Friends]]: Most especially when Potter is the last survivor of his [[World War
* [[Tontine]]: Potter is part of one, though it's for a bottle of brandy rather than an investment.
* [[Took a Level In Dumbass]]: Radar, sort of.
Line 473 ⟶ 487:
* [[Two Lines, No Waiting]]: Frequently, especially in later seasons.
* [[Tyrant Takes the Helm]]: Frank Burns, whenever he's given temporary command of the camp. Col. Potter could be considered something of a [[Bait and Switch Tyrant]].
== U-Z ==
* [[Ultimate Job Security]]: No matter what zany scheme Hawkeye pulls off or what general he offends, they need him as a doctor.
** Also [[Truth in Television]] -- surgeons could get away with some ridiculous things, due to the sheer need for them.
Line 520 ⟶ 536:
** Occasionally moved into the realm of [[Vitriolic Best Buds]], whenever Hawkeye or BJ would have an actual problem and Winchester's empathy would kick in, and likewise Hawkeye and BJ both admitted a respect and care for Charles they never displayed for his predecessor Frank.
** Then there were those times when one of them (usually BJ) would form a [[Strange Bedfellows|temporary alliance]] with Charles, either against the remaining Swampmate (usually Hawkeye) or some other character.
* [[Wrote the Book]]: Hawkeye wrote the book on the appendix. (He even wrote the appendix, but [[Executive Meddling|they]] [[
* [[Yank the Dog's Chain]]: "Ceasefire"
* [[You Are in Command Now]]: "Carry On, Hawkeye"
Line 539 ⟶ 555:
{{reflist}}
{{TV Guide's 50 Greatest}}
[[Category:World War One]]▼
{{Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time}}
[[Category:American Series]]
[[Category:The Fifties]]
[[Category:Dramedy]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1970s]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1980s]]
| |||