Roger Owen Green asks:
REGARDLESS of whether you were involved or not, what are your:
10 favorite MASH episodes?
There are a couple of our episodes I wouldn't put in the top 100. But to answer your question:
I present these in no particular order. Most of these were written by Larry Gelbart and Jim Fritzell & Everett Greenbaum. Only three are ours. (Out of Sight/Out of Mind is a sentimental favorite because that was our first and pretty much launched our career. It’s probably how the Beatles felt about “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”)
I’m sure you’ll notice that the final episode is not included. Sorry. Just not a fan.
In my opinion: “The General Flipped at Dawn” is the funniest. “The Interview” is the most poignant.
Since there are well over 200 episodes I’m sure if you polled 1000 different people you’d get 1000 different polls. But this is mine (although another 20 just missed the cut).
The Interview
The More I See You
The General Flipped at Dawn
Point of View
Hawkeye
Tuttle
Out of Sight/Out of Mind
Abyssinia Henry
Sometimes You Hear a Bullet
Goodbye Radar Part 2
Excellent choices! "Tuttle" is one of the funniest episodes of anything ever. "He was the best damn O.D. we ever had!"
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with the specific names of MASH episodes. Would someone please add a capsule plot description to each of the episode titles listed? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnother great MASH episode is "Crisis" (season 2). No supplies can get through to the unit, so the whole gang must bunk together to conserve energy. Very funny and a terrific showcase for the entire cast.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is "Adam's Ribs".
ReplyDeleteMr Greenbaum would've been 100 this year.
ReplyDeletePersonal Quote from imdb: [on Walter Brennan] "What a bastard Brennan was. We were there five years, and he thought my name was Phil, and he thought I was gentile. He was always confiding in me. He'd say, 'You know, Phil, a n****r smells bad because they got poison in their pores and you can't get it out.' He also told me, 'Phil, I can tell a Jew by their back. Their back ain't round like ours. It's straight down.'."
IMDB CREDITS
As WRITER
1987 A Mouse, a Mystery and Me (TV Movie) (story by) / (teleplay by)
1986 Return to Mayberry (TV Movie) (written by)
1984 W*A*L*T*E*R (TV Short) (teleplay)
1983-1984 AfterMASH (TV Series) (written by - 3 episodes)
1982 Love, Sidney (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1981 The Love Boat (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1981 Lou Grant (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1980 United States (TV Series) (written by - 2 episodes)
1980 Semi-Tough (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode)
1979 Heaven on Earth (TV Movie)
1974-1978 M*A*S*H (TV Series) (written by - 24 episodes)
1974 The Girl with Something Extra (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1974 Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (TV Series) (story - 1 episode)
1973 Needles and Pins (TV Series) (written by - 2 episodes)
1973 Love Thy Neighbor (TV Series) (writer)
1972-1973 Sanford and Son (TV Series) (written by - 3 episodes)
1972 The Jimmy Stewart Show (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1972 Love, American Style (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode)
1971 The Odd Couple (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1971 The Chicago Teddy Bears (TV Series) (1 episode)
1971 The New Andy Griffith Show (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode)
1969 Angel in My Pocket (writer)
1968 Did You Hear the One About the Traveling Saleslady? (story)
1968 The Shakiest Gun in the West (screenplay by)
1967 The Reluctant Astronaut (written by)
1966 The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
1965 Hank (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1965 Vacation Playhouse (TV Series) (writer - 1 episode)
1961-1964 The Andy Griffith Show (TV Series) (written by - 29 episodes)
1964 Gomer Pyle: USMC (TV Series) (written by - 1 episode)
1964 Good Neighbor Sam (screenplay)
1964 The 36th Annual Academy Awards (TV Special) (written by)
1962-1963 Ensign O'Toole (TV Series) (written by - 2 episodes)
The Real McCoys (TV Series) (written by - 31 episodes, 1958 - 1963)
The Gertrude Berg Show (TV Series) (10 episodes, 1961 - 1962)
1959 Schlitz Playhouse (TV Series) (story & teleplay - 1 episode)
How to Marry a Millionaire (TV Series) (written by - 3 episodes, 1958)
1955-1956 The George Gobel Show (TV Series) (writer - 8 episodes)
Mister Peepers (TV Series) (33 episodes, 1953)
As ACTOR
1998 3rd Rock from the Sun (TV Series)
- Portrait of Tommy as an Old Man (1998) ... Norman
1997 Seinfeld (TV Series)
- The Butter Shave (1997) ... McMaines
1997 Ellen (TV Series)
- The Clip Show Patient (1997) ... The Older Man
1996 Bunk Bed Brothers (TV Movie)
Mr. Wickett
1993 Grace Under Fire (TV Series)
- Second Time Around (1993) ... Arthur
1993 Trouble Bound
Old Man
1992 On the Air (TV Series)
Announcer / ZBC Announcer
6 episodes
1990-1992 Matlock (TV Series)
Judge Lawrence Katz / Judge Katz
4 episodes
1966 The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
Man Saying 'Attaboy Luther' (voice, uncredited)
Part of a FUN THREE HOUR INTERVIEW here
https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/everett-greenbaum
It isn't that funny, but "Old Soldiers," with Harry Morgan's wonderful performance (that's redundant, of course). I read once that his speech took 23 takes because somebody kept crying, and they still didn't get a correct one because David Ogden Stiers was so broken up that he didn't clink his glass with the others.
ReplyDeleteI don't know the title of the episode but the one that comes mots often to mind has Hawkeye holding a soldier's aorta together while BJ waits for another kid to die so they can do a transplant. Showing the tension of both doctors, Hawk not knowing what's taking BJ so long as his hand is cramping, then BJ finally coming in with the segment and Hawk gives him hell.
ReplyDelete"What took you do long?"
"The guy it belonged to was still using it."
The look on Alan Alda's face still chokes me up thinking about it.
"Hawkeye"? You actually like that one? Almost all of the entire M*A*S*H fandom (including myself) regards that as the worst episode of the entire series!
ReplyDeleteI get that Larry Gelbart wanted to experiment to see if just one character could carry the entire show by himself, but Hawkeye was a really poor choice, as he was pretty much already the unofficial main character (it'd be like SEINFELD doing an episode with only Jerry, or CHEERS doing an episode with only Sam) . . . if anything, in my opinion, Larry should have used the opportunity to allows to get to know one of the newer kids on the block, like B.J. or Potter.
Great pick of "The General Flipped At Dawn." Only saw it once, at age 12 when it originally aired, and I can still remember practically word for word the scene at the end which finally brought the general down. And, of course, Harry Morgan was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI don't know show titles but I vote for the Halloween episode where they tell ghost stories and Mulcahy is giving last rites when he notices something odd...Is that the one where George Wendt plays a Marine with an eight-ball stuck in his mouth? I also love the Christmas episode where Winchester carries on a family tradition involving special chocolates. Holidays seemed to bring out the best in the writers.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a "favorite" episode, but, "Commander Pierce" has one of my all time favorite lines. Hotlips says to Hawkeye, "If only Frank Burns could see you now..." "...It's not so easy to play the clown when you have to run the circus."
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm in the minority, but I always felt that Hawkeye became a little too smug, too revered and quite frankly rather insufferable as the series progressed. I was very happy to see him finally get his comeuppance.
I also like the episode where Alan Alda's father, Robert was a guest star. He also got a shot in at the end. I don't know the title of that episode. It may be one of those listed above.
M.B.
P.S. The episode with Robert Alda was, "The Consultant."
ReplyDeleteM.B.
"The More I See You" - YES! Hawkeye proposes himself into a corner. Hunter green. Blythe Danner is luminous.
ReplyDelete"Old Soldiers" and "The General Flipped at Dawn" showcase Harry Morgan at his dramatic and comedic best as an actor. Colonel Potter has always been my favorite character on the show.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite episodes are the season opening double-length ones: First, without question is "Welcome To Korea", combined with the follow-up "Change Of Command" from season 4, the introduction of B.J. then Potter. Those two could practically sum up everything great about MASH. Close second is the Winchester introduction in season 6 "Fade In, Fade Out", and the "Bug Out" starting season 5. In my mind, all worthy of being feature films. Also, both episodes of "Goodby Radar", with "Period Of Adjustment" added on.
I think that seasons 1-8 of MASH are uniformly great.
Mule fritters!
@Joseph Scarbrough, Mike Farrell did not have the acting chops to carry off such an episode. Harry Morgan or David OS, perhaps. But certainly not Farrell.
ReplyDeleteFWIW I dislike "Hawkeye" also.
My favorite scene in the entire series takes place in the Officers' Club when David Ogden Stiers befriends the wounded classical pianist, played by James Stephens.
ReplyDeleteTuttle was a classic.
ReplyDeletePoint Of View is on METV tonight. Great episode.
Ken, what do you think of comments by director Todd Phillips that woke culture has killed comedy?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/10/joaquin-phoenix-cover-story
It’s certainly not my intention to start an argument over this. If you disagree with me, fine. More power to you. But I respect Mr. Levine’s decision to put "Hawkeye" on his list, even though many M*A*S*H fans (at least the ones who offer an opinion) dislike it. Some seem to think it was an ego trip for Alan Alda, even though he didn’t write or direct it. Others think it’s just too much Hawkeye, or that it just doesn’t “work.”
ReplyDeleteI like it. I like it because it’s a brilliant Larry Gelbart script, as they all are. And it really showcases Alda’s ability to perform scripted dialogue as if it’s spontaneous. Throughout the run of the series, Alda was required to deliver wisecracks, and lengthy stretches of dialogue (speeches at times), in a way that COULD come off as contrived and unnatural. There are too many other sitcom actors who sound like SITCOM ACTORS, not real people. I can see the acting. I never believe I’m eavesdropping on a real conversation.
But Alda walked that tightrope perfectly – keeping it funny but still making it seem like the Hawkeye character was making it up as he went along. That’s the feeling I get from Alda’s performance overall, including his work in ‘Hawkeye.’
I hadn't thought about it before, but you're absolutely right! Alda has an uncanny ability to deliver his lines as though the words were completely spontaneous. Robert Downey Jr. can do this too.
DeleteI couldn't begin to pick just 10. I do like some of the later ones better than the first seasons, but even the early stuff was still really good. There are a number of bits that still crack me up, and the quality of the writing and acting even then was such that I know those lines and/or gags would not have been so funny if they'd been in any other show.
ReplyDeleteBringing in Winchester, though, as a foil to Hawkeye was sheer brilliance. That character is central to many of my favorite episodes.
The early, "hijinx"-based episodes don't get as much notice as the later, more thoughtful episodes. But who couldn't love Hawkeye's performance as "Yankee Doodle Doctor" in season one? A superb Groucho impersonation written by a guy who once wrote for Groucho. How can you go wrong?
ReplyDelete"Starting tomorrow...he gets taller."
ReplyDeleteThe General Flipped at Dawn: Loved that episode. I remember that summer when we read that Harry Morgan was joining the show as the new C.O.- we all thought the crazy General was coming back.
ReplyDeleteSometimes You Hear the Bullet: I liked that episode because Henry Blake actually took charge of the O.R. and acted like a Commanding Officer.
Sometimes You Hear the Bullet was for me the first great episode.
ReplyDelete“The General Flipped at Dawn” title refers to the film “The General Dies at Dawn” (1936).
ReplyDeleteThe anecdote below, taken from Robert Taylor’s “Fred Allen: His Life and Wit,” is told by the recently deceased novelist Herman Wouk (1915-2019), who was a writer for radio comedian Fred Allen (1894-1956) in the 1930s.
It seems Allen and Wouk were discussing an earlier incident, wherein Lee Tracy had been fired from the film “Viva Villa” (1934) for having- during a location shoot- drunkenly peed from a balcony onto the heads of Mexican Army officers:
Wouk: “At the time, the film The General Died at Dawn was popular, so I remarked to Fred, ‘The General Dodged at Dawn,’ and just like that, Fred shot back, ‘No, Herman: The General Dried at Dawn’ — a word's difference, but what a difference.”
After The Caine Mutiny novel/play/film- if you haven‘t seen it, picture
Donald Trump commanding a WWII ship- Wouk became a celebrity.
Here, he mystery guests on What’s My Line? :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x80OFBOaBFU
Tuttle is definitely my favorite, it's just so funny to have everyone claim they're friends with Tuttle.
ReplyDeleteAbyssinia Henry is the only episode of television I've cried watching. It's always hard to watch that one, but it's such a great episode.
My favorite episode overall: "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler."
ReplyDeleteMost underrated episode of the entire series: "Your Hit Parade."
@Tobin, I agree 100% with your comments about the episode "Hawkeye." I also adore that one, and consider it one of Larry Gelbart's most amazing scripts (which is really saying something). I never understand people who say they hate it, other than it's clear they are not writers themselves, otherwise they'd appreciate the brilliance.
I was glad to see the shout-outs to David Ogden Stiers. The episodes with James Stephens and the Christmas candy were just marvelous.
ReplyDeleteThe "Hawkeye" episode is brilliant, not just because of Alan Alda, but because of the family. Philip Ahn was wonderful.
@Penelope I'll agree with you that Mike Farrell wasn't exactly the strongest actor on the show.
ReplyDeleteAnd if not any of the newbies, perhaps any one of the other already-established characters could have gotten the opportunity to shine . . . maybe this would allow us to see Radar really having to use his brain power to figure out how to get himself out of such a situation, or maybe give us a half an hour to see Klinger really contemplate what his life is about aside from being the hairy guy running around in dresses.
Not only can't I pick one single favorite episode, I couldn't narrow it down to 10. This is my top 15 (in no particular order of preference):
ReplyDelete1. A Smattering Of Intelligence - First true Flagg episode, though I do consider Halloran to be Flagg.
2. White Gold - More satirical Flagg stuff. My favorite line is in this one: (Hawkeye about the colonel's masochistic method) "If there were more men like you, there'd be less men like you."
3. The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan - More great Flagg stuff.
4. Rally 'Round the Flagg, Boys - Classic match-up in Flagg vs. Winchester. Also, great callback to "Officer of the Day".
5. Tuttle - Early brilliance. Wonderfully absurd.
6. Iron Guts Kelly - Peak of 1st three seasons irreverence.
7. Yankee Doodle Doctor - More of the more satirical ones being my favorite M*A*S*H.
8. The Most Unforgettable Characters - My favorite non-Flagg 5th season show. Especially the "getting the last word" parts. Thanks for this one, Ken.
9. Margaret's Engagement - Oddly satisfying to be sympathetic to Frank here, but it works great. Burn's burn at Margaret is a great capper.
10. A Night at Rosie's - Perfect "bottle episode".
11. Big Mac - More peak satire.
12. The General Flipped at Dawn - Closest we see of Blake and Potter together, as it were. Interesting how they made the crazy general to also be racist. Bigotry = crazy, subtly made point.
13. Heal Thyself - Very affecting later effort, showing a doctor with as much attitude as Hawkeye and BJ (even Trapper, for that matter), beaten down by war that he sadly loses it by the end.
14. Your Hit Parade - Nice idea that really worked! I especially love the reference to Frank Burns in the scene between Charles and Margaret.
15. April Fools - Excellent payoff at the end, practical joke wise.
Few people today may have seen it, but the pilot episode has to be on my list, as well as "To Market To Market," and "Deal Me Out."
ReplyDeleteOh, and "The Party" and "Love and War."
ReplyDeleteDeal me out and 5 o'clock charlie are my 2 favorites from the Henry/Trapper era. I can't remember the name of the episode, but the with Charles and Hawkeye & BJ having one of their many battles where they start destroying the Swamp (breaking Charles' opera records over their heads, BJ putting toothpaste in Charles' slippers, etc.) was one of the funniest ones I remember.
ReplyDeleteOh and the Dear Dad ones too.
Late to post a question on the thread, but I think it fits here -- Ken, any thoughts on Sam Mendes' upcoming "1917", which takes the basic continuous shot idea while following a specific character that you and David used in "Point of View" and expands it out to following two characters over an entire feature-length movie. In this case, no cuts in the length of the 110-minute film, and you've already said how tough it was to simply do the scenes for a 22-minute TV episode.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of all time is "Hawkeye". But since there are so many good episodes it's probably easier to list my bottom five.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to stay away from seasons 9-11 because I consider the vast majority of them to be sub-par. My bottom five from worst to nearly worst are "Dreams", "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", "The Trial of Henry Blake", "Comrades in Arms" and "Goodbye Radar". You'll notice that three of the five are programs that were an hour or longer. Most of the hour programs were weak.
What a coincidence “The General Flipped at Dawn” is on tv tonight and I am recording it for later.
ReplyDeleteFriday question: The one flaw with "The Interview" is that Loretta Swit is not in it. I believe I read it was an episode tacked on at the end of the season, and Loretta Swit had left to do a play. Shouldn't Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart should have done anything possible — including sending a crew to wherever she was and shooting in close-up if they couldn't replicate the MASH set — to get her in the show? It seems like no one would do a documentary like that and not interview any nurses.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete.
@ Joe
What an insightful comment.....I've seen "The Interview" episode (as well as most other M*A*S*H episodes) many, MANY times, and not ONCE ever noticed that Margaret (or any other females, for that matter) is (are) not in it!!
Some men look, but fail to see....
.