The essential episodes of M*A*S*H
Watch these 15 in order and you've got M*A*S*H — each pick states its reason.
- 01
At the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M.A.S.H) unit in Korea, two army doctors by the names of Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre receive some exciting news in the mail. Their Korean house boy, Ho-John got accepted into Hawkeye's old college. Hawkeye and Trapper decide to hold a party filled with music, dancing, and alcohol to raise money for Ho-John's plane trip to the U.S. They achieve this by raffling off a weekend pass with a nurse, Lieutenant Dish for R&R in Tokyo.
- 02
After black marketers hijack the 4077th's supply of hydrocortisone, Hawkeye and Trapper concoct a deal with a local black marketer, Charlie Lee, to get some more. The catch: Henry's antique oak desk, which they must trade in order to get some of it. Margaret and Frank become suspicious about their plotting, and about the Koreans who come to check out the desk, which is whisked away by chopper as Henry and Frank watches in disbelief.
- 03
Frank Burns complains about Hawkeye Pierce's disrespect...and Henry appoints Hawkeye chief surgeon, to Burns's shock. The rest of the 4077th "coronates" Hawk while Frank and Hot Lips complain to General Barker. The General's visit provides him with a view of life at the 4077th M*A*S*H unit: camp hijinks, a poker game, and a surgery session. This shows him M*A*S*H has fun but gets the job done.
- 04
Hawkeye creates a fake doctor, Captain Jonathan S. Tuttle, to give supplies to the local orphans. Henry wants Tuttle to be officer of the day, so Hawkeye creates a fake personnel file, and all his back pay is given to the orphanage. When General Clayton wants to reward his generosity, Hawkeye is forced to invent a story about Tuttle jumping from a chopper without his parachute! Of course, Trapper's new friend, Captain Murdoch, obtained the fake dog tags and parachute...!
- 05
Henry's orders to the 4077th to be on their best behavior when General Clayton sends a psychiatrist to evaluate them meet with mixed results. Will the team be broken up and sent to other units?
- 06
Henry's on trial on charges that Frank and Margaret brought against him. So that Hawkeye and Trapper can't help Henry, the Majors put them under house arrest.
- 07
A visiting general, appearing to be more eccentric than the usual army brass and a stickler for regulations, tries to move the camp closer to the front and court martial Hawkeye before they discover that he's completely loony.
- 08
Hawkeye encounters a new nurse at camp who turns out to be a old flame and discovers that she is now married. He then starts reevaluating their old relationship.
- 09
Psychiatrist Maj. Freedman visits the 4077th to clear his head and finds release in its unique form of insanity.
- 10
Charles Winchester records a letter to his wealthy father back in Boston begging him to use his influence to get him out of the unit.
- 11
Col. Flagg once again shows up at the 4077th, this time convinced that Hawkeye is a communist sympathizer.
- 12
Radar's departure leaves everyone depressed and Klinger has major problems stepping into Radar's old job. Radar and his parents meet B.J.'s wife and kid at the airport which depresses B.J.
- 13
A visit from war legend "Howitzer Al" Houlihan is highly anticipated by one of his daughters, Margaret "Hot Lips". Hawkeye accepts a patient's promise of a steak dinner.
- 14
The Army is starting a new MASH unit, and the surgeons and staff of the 4077th fear they will be split up and reassigned. So they act completely unprofessional, uncouth, and incompetent in front of an army rep hoping he will reconsider.
- 15
In the closing days of the Korean War, the staff of the 4077 M*A*S*H Unit find themselves facing irrevocable changes in their lives.
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