Just as I've done with Discs 1 & 2 of M*A*S*H, Season 7, I will discuss the episodes on Disc 3 in this post. Episodes and commentary are as follows:
Ep. #7.18: "The Price (1/15/79)"-- Col. Potter's beloved horse, Sophie, is missing, and Hawkeye and B.J. help a Korean boy hide from the Korean Army. Another episode that provides insight into the dynamics of the two doctors' friendship.
Ep. #7.19: "The Young and the Restless (1/22/79)"-- A medical demonstrator extraordinaire travels to Korea from Tokyo to demonstrate the latest surgical techniques to the docs at the 4077. This visitor has some very interesting effects on Hawkeye, B.J., Charles, et. al. This, in turn, makes for a very interesting episode.
Ep. #7.20-- "Hot Lips Is Back in Town (1/29/79)"-- Margaret returns to work in a celebratory mood following her divorce. (This is where the show becomes explicitly feministic, which is awesome.) There's also a really cute subplot in which Hawkeye gives Radar some advice on how to attract a pretty nurse.
Ep. #7.21-- "C*A*V*E (2/5/79)"-- In order to avoid becoming the target of "friendly" artillery fire, the 4077 bugs out to a cave. Here, we get to see Macho Man Hawkeye's vulnerable side, for it is revealed that he is claustrophobic. (For some reason, I like the episodes in which Hawk is vulnerable and sensitive. Cute!)
Ep. #7.22-- "Rally Round the Flagg, Boys (2/14/79)"-- Hawkeye is accused of being a Commie sympathizer, which prompts the return of ultra-right-wing, uber-paranoid Col. Flagg to the 4077. The reason for the accusation is that Hawk treated a wounded North Korean before an American soldier. Great episode that illustrates the dangerous ignorance of the Far Right.
Ep. #7.23-- "Preventative Medicine (2/19/79)"-- Perhaps one of my top-5 fave M*A*S*H eps. In this one, Hawk performs an unecessary apendectomy on a crazy colonel with an extremely high casualty rate after Hawk learns that the colonel plans to lead a guesstimated 100 young men to their deaths by taking a notoriously deadly hill. B.J. protests his friend's decision to perform the unethical surgery, but to no avail. Hawk ultimately winds up feeling guilty and unsatisfied with his decision to proceed with the operation. Still, he is consoled by the fact that he possibly saved 100 lives in the process; however, even this consolation proves to be a hollow victory. The message here is that there really is no such thing as a fair trade in war.
Ep. #7.24-- "A Night at Rosie's (2/26/79)"-- Hawkeye is depressed and heads to the "local" watering hole to drown his sorrows. While at Rosie's Bar, Hawk hangs out with an AWOL seargeant. Eventually, all of Hawk's concerned friends and colleagues come to Rosie's in order to lure him back to camp. In addition to showing just how close this eclectic bunch of characters has become, this ep is an also an example of how the show's writers strived to increase its thematic and visual interest in Season 7. (It's filmed entirely inside Rosie's.)
Ep. #7.25-- "Ain't Love Grand? (3/5/79)"-- Klinger meets a girl who is actually attracted to his bizarre appearance. Charles falls in love with, of all people, a Korean "working girl," whom he meets at Rosie's. This ep proves once again that love is indeed a strange thing.
Ep. #7.26-- "The Party (3/12/79)"-- The 4077 has been discussing the possibility of a post-war reunion party. Then, B.J. gets another great idea: getting all the stateside family members of 4077 personnel together for a party in NYC. Following a very successful get-together, the staff receives letters from its loved ones that bear some pleasantly surprising news. For example, families that staff members feared would not get along, particularly the Winchesters and the O'Reillys (Charles is amusingly horrified that his parents have invited Radar's family to visit the Winchester family home after the war), are totally taken with each other. Fun!
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