M*A*S*H

Abyssinia, Henry - S3-E24

Trivia: There were no American planes shot down over the Sea of Japan during the Korean conflict. It is rumoured that producer/director Larry Gelbart knew that, but wrote Henry Blake's death scene as he was very unhappy with the way Mclean Stevenson had left the show, and was determined to make it clear that there was no way he would be coming back.

Trivia: Gary Burghoff's left hand was slightly deformed, and he often hid it behind his clipboard during filming.

Bug Out - S5-E1

Trivia: Early on in this episode a scene takes place in the shower between Harry Morgan and William Christopher. Right before the scene ends William pulls the chain on the lever for the shower to turn on, but the water doesn't come on; in fact when he notices the water doesn't come on, he holds onto the chain and the lever actually comes off. You can tell by his facial expressions this was totally unexpected, but since this was the end of the scene and no further dialog was needed, it was left in.

Pilot - S1-E1

Trivia: According to the M*A*S*H A&E Biography they were not allowed to have blood on any of the doctors/nurses outfits in this episode. The network didn't even want them to be in the operating room in the first episode.

Sonja Marie

Trivia: Both the movie M*A*S*H and the TV show M*A*S*H were based on the experiences of Dr Richard Hooker. In 1968, he authored, MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. Subsequently he refused to watch the TV show, feeling it was too liberal.

Super Grover

Trivia: Kario Salem, who played a youngster in season 4's "deluge" also played Private Weston in season 10's "follies of the living-concerns of the dead."

Trivia: In one episode, Hawkeye says to Radar, "You're a good man, Charlie Brown", a reference to the off-Broadway show of the same name based on Charles Schultz' Peanuts characters. Because the show didn't debut until 1967, this would appear to be a mistake, but it is not. The reference was intentional, an inside joke: Gary Burghoff played the title role in that play.

Bob Blumenfeld

Trivia: While he was known for the role, William Christopher didn't play Father Mulcahy in the series' pilot.

Trivia: Season 2 Episode 5 "Dear Dad ... Three". Hawkeye and Trapper tell the racist soldier the story of Dr. Charles Drew. Drew was the inventor of techniques for separating and storing blood products. He was in a bad car accident and, legend has it, died because the 'whites only' hospital refused to give him a transfusion. This is an urban myth - he did die after that accident but was treated properly at the hospital. (00:23:00)

jle

Trivia: The only actor from the movie who also played his role regularly on TV was Gary Burghoff (Radar). G. Wood appeared three times as Brigadier General Hammond, the same role he played in the movie.

Trivia: Timothy Brown, who plays Spearchucker Jones, was also in the 1970 film, listed as "Tim Brown", and played Corporal Judson.

Trivia: The only episode whose name was displayed during the broadcast run (as versus on the DVDs) was the final one, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen."

Bob Blumenfeld

Trivia: All of the characters, based on the characters from Richard Hooker's novel, were composites of people Hooker knew, met casually, worked with, or heard about.

Trivia: The actor Mako (birthname Makoto Iwamatsu) played many different roles on MASH, usually Korean (North and South) and once Chinese. In the Korean roles, Mako spoke perfectly pronounced Korean even though he was Japanese (a naturalized American in 1956). Mako also served in the U.S. Army for awhile in the early 1950's, the same time MASH is set.

Trivia: Spearchucker Jones was removed from the series after the writers were informed that there were no black surgeons stationed at MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) units, during the Korean War.

Trivia: To show the horrors of war, Alan Alda had it written into his contract that there had to be at least one scene in each episode that took place inside the operating room. The exceptions are the episode 'Hawkeye', of season 4, where after Pierce is injured in a jeep accident the episode takes place at a Korean family's home, and the 4th season episode "The Bus". However in that episode the doctors treat the Korean soldier's leg injury on The Bus.

M*A*S*H mistake picture

Divided We Stand - S2-E1

Visible crew/equipment: In the opening scene where General Clayton is explaining the 4077 to the psychiatrist, the scene changes to the outdoor set and the camera pans to the right. As the camera pans past the hospital, a white 1970s era shuttle van can be seen driving into the set in the upper right corner of the screen. (00:01:35)

John Hunt

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Dear Dad - S1-E12

Question: A number of times it is mentioned that the outfit is unarmed, yet several times, Frank has a rifle, or a pistol, and once Klinger had a grenade, and the guards and Klinger, while on sentry duty, has a rifle. Was this standard, or is this a mistake?

Answer: Even an Army field hospital would have SOME weapons for self-defense if the enemy attacked. What's meant is that it's not a combat outfit, and therefore wouldn't have enough weapons to actually attack anyone. (It's also mentioned a few times that the Officer of the Watch is supposed to carry a pistol at all times, but Hawkeye refuses to do it when he's in charge and Colonels Blake and Potter don't enforce the rule).

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: The Geneva Convention allows even doctors to carry a sidearm to be used in their self defense or the defense of their patients, however it is rare to do so.

stiiggy

Answer: As an old medical unit staffer, my experience is that med units have combat units assigned to defend them. Usually it was marines.

Answer: My old doctor (now deceased) served in Korea during the War. He was required to carry a sidearm anytime he was not in the hospital.

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