Episode 145 - Commander Pierce

Season 7, Episode 145: Commander Pierce
Original Air Date: 9/18/78
Written by: Ronny Graham and Don Segall
Directed by: Burt Metcalfe

Col. Potter has to head to Seoul for a pow-wow with the other MASH commanders, so he turns to Winchester to take over. But Winchester is very sick with a cold, and is unwilling to take the job. Potter then turns to Hawkeye, who absolutely refuses. Potter tells him that Radar will see him at 5am sharp.

Hawkeye refuses to take any part of being in command seriously--he shows up to Potter's office in his robe, unshaven, and pretty much just wants to get some sleep atop Potter's desk, much to Radar's horror at all the paperwork not getting done.

Klinger figures this is his best shot at a Section 8, and begins a procession of attempts to get Hawkeye to ship him out. Father Mulcahy turns to Hawkeye for blankets, since the 4077th is running low and its getting colder outside.

Hawkeye runs into a wall trying to get the blankets from I-Corps, when he learns that they won't send the 4077th anything without the proper forms. Its then that he realizes the mile high pile of paperwork must be attended to, and he sits down, grumbling, to get it all done.

In O.R., Hawkeye wants all the noise to stop, acting an awful lot like the Regular Army clowns he despises. He's short-tempered with everyone, even Radar, and when B.J. makes a crack at Hawkeye's expense, Hawkeye admonishes B.J. to "Stay in the back seat where you belong!"

Later, more wounded arrive, and one soldier mentions that a buddy of his--who's hurt worse--got left behind at Battalion Aid. B.J., not bothering to check with Hawkeye, takes off in a jeep to go get him.

When Hawkeye learns of this, he's furious, knowing there's even more wounded arriving and now he's down two surgeons.

They manage to get through it, and he scolds B.J. for doing so when he gets back. B.J. is having none of it, saying he did the same thing Captain Pierce would've done, not wanting to know what Commander Pierce would've done.

Col. Potter returns, and Hawkeye goes on a rant, delivering a list of complaints about the difficulty of running the 4077th. Potter refuses to take the bait, and grabs a bottle of liquor which he's taking to the Swamp.

He shares drinks with Hawkeye and B.J., who immediately start squabbling. Potter watches all this, and then steps in, admonishing Hawkeye for overreacting, but also reminding B.J. that if he had done his disappearing act while Potter was in charge, he would've been in a lot of trouble.

He manages to get Hawkeye and B.J. to make up, but then an errant comment by B.J. starts it all over again. As they fight, Potter looks at his near empty bottle: "All that perfectly good whiskey, shot to hell." He leaves the Swamp as Hawkeye and B.J. continue to argue.


Fun Facts: You can see how different the show looks starting with this season, now being shot on video tape instead of film. The colors are more vibrant, the image is sharper, but I think it made the show look less realistic, less gritty. Not to mention Mike Farrell's mustache!

Was the Army in 1952(ish) still so anti-women that they couldn't put Margaret in charge? I mean, she was a Major, after all...


Update 4/5/12: A comment from Brian informs me that I am mistaken about why and how M*A*S*H looked different between Seasons 1-6 and 7-11: "You're mistaken regarding how the series was shot. They used 35mm film for the entire series. Videotape would've been awful. The change in color you see is because the cinematographer decided to warm up the palette a bit and they also changed film stocks." Good to know, thanks Brian!


Favorite Line: Hawkeye is on the phone with I-Corps, and when he's told he won't get some supplies without sending in a form known as DD-5D, he turns, sees them in Radar's hand, ready for Hawkeye's signature. He cheerfully tells I-Corps, "Yeah--those are in the mail."

Radar, hearing that, yells/whispers, "Hey, you can't lie to I-Corps!" Hawkeye gives Radar the a-ok sign, leading Radar to walk off in shock.