# Things that bother me about M asterisk A asterisk S asterisk H (the TV show)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Tags:** tv-shows-scripted
**Created:** [June 4, 2021, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583 "2021-06-04T02:10:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/21 "2021-06-04T14:20:11Z")
> [@74westy](#):
>
> > [@FairyChatMom](#):
> >
> > I have a vague memory of reading something eons ago that in a lot of shows made in the 70s, many actors refused to cut their hair to be period-appropriate, and if they were important enough, the producers/whatever just let them have their hair.
>
> Happy Days, I’m looking at you. -
Alternate reality '50’s. Inter-dimensional wormholes opening in upstair bedrooms, Fonzie controlling machinery with finger snaps, visiting aliens.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/22 "2021-06-04T14:23:49Z")
> [@running\_coach](#):
>
> Alternate reality '50’s. Inter-dimensional wormholes opening in upstair bedrooms, Fonzie controlling machinery with finger snaps, visiting aliens.
But they did actually have submarine races in the ‘50s, right?
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/23 "2021-06-04T14:28:06Z")
After Ugly John was written out during the first season, if you ever saw a gas-passer in OR it was probably another surgeon or a credited nurse, neither of which would ever be doing that job.
For a mobile unit, they had some substantial structures, as noted above. One that hasn’t been mentioned was the meat locker. One early show had a scene set among hanging sides of beef.
re Bugout - There was also the time, mentioned in the court martial of Hawkeye episode, when Frank ordered the unit to tear down and reassemble on the other side of the road. Then he made them move back.
It’s definitely podded, because you often hear the PA call for “Both shifts, on the double!”
ETA: For that matter, they talk about the generator a lot, but how come we never _hear_ the sucker? The one they show on the show is LOUD.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/24 "2021-06-04T14:38:15Z")
Where are all the smokers in this 1950s stress-filled environment? The only one I can recall was one of the Korean kids. (And the obligatory cigars while playing poker)
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### Author:  [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/25 "2021-06-04T14:47:53Z")
I loved that show as a kid which was way before any anachronisms or historical inaccuracies would have been noticeable to me. What bugged the hell out of me is that Hawkeye was considered such a handsome ladies man. I thought that he was very unattractive.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/26 "2021-06-04T14:54:14Z")
In season 3 Hawkeye and Trapper remove Flagg’s appendix to put him out of action and it was all hijinx and fun.
In season 7 Hawkeye removes the appendix of a officer that is killing his men but BJ objects. It’s drama and fighting between Hawkeye and BJ.
I have no problem with either episode on it’s own. It bothered me that they recycled the same plot from 4 seasons before without acknowledging it. And it’s not like it was for some artsy reason or to fix the morality of the first episode. From what I read the conclusion was originally written exactly like the first episode with BJ and Hawkeye conspiring to do the operation. Mike Farrell objected and they changed the script. So now there are two episodes that share a recycled plot but with opposite conclusions that exist in the same show universe. That always bothered me.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/27 "2021-06-04T14:58:25Z")
Perhaps the point was to show the difference between Trapper (who didn’t object to the unnecessary surgery) and BJ (who did)?
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/28 "2021-06-04T15:03:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> Perhaps the point was to show the difference between Trapper (who didn’t object to the unnecessary surgery) and BJ (who did)?
I mentioned that. I’ve read from several sources the script had BJ going along with it. They only changed the plot when Mike Farrell objected and refused to do it.
Maybe throw in a line about how he’s done it before? It was only 4 seasons before. It was a strangely specific plot to recycle.
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### Author:  [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/29 "2021-06-04T15:13:36Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#):
>
> > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#):
> >
> > - The haircuts. Hawkeye mostly, but plenty of minor, background soldiers sport hair that was in fashion during my high school days of the 1970s.
>
> I have a vague memory of reading something eons ago that in a lot of shows made in the 70s, many actors refused to cut their hair to be period-appropriate, and if they were important enough, the producers/whatever just let them have their hair. I don’t think I just imagined that, but it was a loooooong time ago.
The haircuts weren’t just inappropriate to the time, they were inappropriate to the milieu, as well - these guys were in the military.
Or was some leeway allowed to folks in the field? I think I’ve heard something about this in the modern Army - no one’s gonna bust your chops while you’re on the front line, but you’re expected to clean up when you get back to civilization.
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### Author:  [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/30 "2021-06-04T15:39:23Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#):
>
> Or was some leeway allowed to folks in the field? I think I’ve heard something about this in the modern Army - no one’s gonna bust your chops while you’re on the front line, but you’re expected to clean up when you get back to civilization.
I asked my mother this and she told me that her father, who served in world war 1 had to have regular haircuts in the trenches.
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/31 "2021-06-04T15:43:36Z")
Are any of you old enough to remember _Bonanza_? I saw a few minutes of it recently. They lived in the cleanest western town of all time. The clothing was immaculate modern cowboy festival wear, not a single piece of it era-appropriate. Nobody talked like a person who lived at the time or even in the west. It looked more like a high school stage play than a mammoth multi-million dollar television hit show.
Pretty much every single thing said in this thread could apply to any long-lasting television show of the 20th century. The 21st century cable shows changed that. _Deadwood_ was a success in large part because it was designed to give some realism to the past, and that didn’t last through the second season. What’s next? A critique of the realism of _I Love Lucy_ plots?
I’ll tell what’s real. I had a doctor who really was in the Vietnam equivalent of MASH units. He was a nutcase, though pleasantly so. I never found out whether that was cause and effect or sheer coincidence, but it made me think.
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/32 "2021-06-04T15:57:38Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#):
>
> The haircuts weren’t just inappropriate to the time, they were inappropriate to the milieu, as well - these guys were in the military.
Henry Blake put up with a lack of army discipline and focused only on the unit’s medical purpose. If it was a unit of unskilled infantry grunts who could easily be replaced the situation would have been a lot different, but since they were skilled surgeons and not career soldiers Blake didn’t really care if they stuck to regulations or not. All Blake cared about was getting the patients treated as well as they were able to under the circumstances.
Haircuts aren’t mentioned, but when Col. Potter takes over the unit, before his arrival the others do mention that he’s regular army and isn’t likely to put up with the general lack of military discipline and regulations like Blake.
That said, it probably would have been more realistic if Potter had forced everyone to get regulation hair cuts and wear their uniform properly, but at least the show did acknowledge the issue.
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### Author:  [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/33 "2021-06-04T16:12:21Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#):
>
> Haircuts aren’t mentioned, but when Col. Potter takes over the unit, before his arrival the others do mention that he’s regular army and isn’t likely to put up with the general lack of military discipline and regulations like Blake.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the episode, but when Potter shows up, isn’t he a lot more lax than they were expecting? I thought he said something along the lines that while he wasn’t going to be as lax as his predecessor, he still understood that he was dealing with skilled civilians with established civilian careers pressed into military service, not career soldiers, and expecting the same level of discipline from them as he would from infantry or career soldiers would be foolish and counter-productive. Of course, I may be misremembering that.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/34 "2021-06-04T16:18:38Z")
> [@gdave](#):
>
> > [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#):
> >
> > Haircuts aren’t mentioned, but when Col. Potter takes over the unit, before his arrival the others do mention that he’s regular army and isn’t likely to put up with the general lack of military discipline and regulations like Blake.
>
> It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the episode, but when Potter shows up, isn’t he a lot more lax than they were expecting? I thought he said something along the lines that while he wasn’t going to be as lax as his predecessor, he still understood that he was dealing with skilled civilians with established civilian careers pressed into military service, not career soldiers, and expecting the same level of discipline from them as he would from infantry or career soldiers would be foolish and counter-productive. Of course, I may be misremembering that.
Horse hockey!
That’s pretty much how I remember it but I just wanted to say horse hockey.
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### Author:  [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/35 "2021-06-04T16:23:19Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#):
>
> Potter: Now just hang on to your homburg Winchester. You come barrelling into your CO’s bunkhouse, bellow at him like a berserk buffalo aggravating his anger and his hangover all because you want to bug out. How would you like to spend the rest of the war with a bull’s-eye on your dome?
Naturalistic dialogue at its most genuine.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/36 "2021-06-04T16:25:36Z")
Doesn’t Potter mention in one of his first episodes that this is a retirement posting for him, and as such he isn’t going to spend all his time being a martinet?
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### Author:  [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/37 "2021-06-04T16:33:41Z")
He’s certainly more business-like than Henry, and takes a while to become friendly, but yeah, he’s not the gung-ho type they had been afraid of.
There was also some concern about whether he could cut it (heh!) medically, but he quickly demonstrated his capability there.
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### Author:  [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/38 "2021-06-04T17:03:50Z")
Potter did run a bit tighter of a ship than Henry, all told. Being regular Army, he wasn’t as intimidated by the higher brass as Henry was. Frank and Margaret were often able to get their way with Henry by threatening to report him to some general or other. Potter had often known those generals for years, and that kind of threat wouldn’t have worked on him. Potter was very decisive, while Henry had a lot of trouble making important decisions. He also stood up to Colonel Flagg (“I’m not fond of personal abuse, Colonel”) in a way that Henry had never really managed to do.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/39 "2021-06-04T17:21:53Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> Maybe throw in a line about how he’s done it before? It was only 4 seasons before. It was a strangely specific plot to recycle.
4 seasons was a lifetime before streaming, especially if a show wasn’t yet in syndicated reruns. Writers could safely assume most viewers either didn’t see or remember an episode that aired nearly half a decade earlier.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [June 4, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-bother-me-about-m-asterisk-a-asterisk-s-asterisk-h-the-tv-show/943583/40 "2021-06-04T17:35:55Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#):
>
> > [@Loach](#):
> >
> > Maybe throw in a line about how he’s done it before? It was only 4 seasons before. It was a strangely specific plot to recycle.
>
> 4 seasons was a lifetime before streaming, especially if a show wasn’t yet in syndicated reruns. Writers could safely assume most viewers either didn’t see or remember an episode that aired nearly half a decade earlier.
Well I certainly remembered when I was watching live.
MASH was one of the few shows you could see often even when it was still on the air. MASH was in syndication while it was still on the air in 1979. Before that CBS was airing reruns during daytime TV. It wasn’t as accessible as a streaming show but you could watch old episodes pretty easily and early on.
> **[M\*A\*S\*H in Syndication - MASH4077TV.com](https://www.mash4077tv.com/articles/mash-syndication/)**
>
> CBS started airing repeats of M\*A\*S\*H in 1977 and the show went into local syndication in 1979. It began airing on cable in 1998.
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