M*A*S*H, season 3

FOUR STAR
-The General Flipped at Dawn
A joy to behold. Every cylinder fires, starting with Hawkeye, who runs afoul of a visiting general, the highly-honored, ultra-strict, and by-the-way loony Bartford Hamilton Steele (Harry Morgan, in TV's greatest "can he join this cast" moment ever). Inspecting the troops, he thinks Klinger is his wife. Steele court-martials Hawkeye, but it falls apart when he breaks into a negro work song. Lynette Mettey is drippingly good as Hawk's romance, Nurse Baker. Teddy Wilson (THAT'S MY MAMA) is spot-on as a chopper pilot. Ain't it great to beat your feet...
-Rainbow Bridge
Loudon Wainwright sings us in...ahhhhhhhh. A Chinese doctor (the effervescent Mako) offers to return some wounded G.I.s as long as the docs come get them, far behind enemy lines. Frank nearly gets everyone killed.
-Officer of the Day
Hawkeye's wit is in high gear, as officer of the day. He'll even hari kari if you show him how. Col. Flagg drops in, with a wounded prisoner he plans to execute. The Flagg character worked best when they balanced his comedic paranoia with real menace.
-O.R.
Death, desperation, and gallows humor. Hawkeye tries open-heart massage, and Sidney is asked to scrub up.
-Check-Up
Trapper gets an unexpected ticket home, in the form of an ulcer (until the army changes its mind). Wayne Rogers' best episode. Watching it, one becomes entirely sympathetic to why he left. Instead of being half of a comedic duo, he'd become an afterthought. Yes, Hawkeye made M*A*S*H, but if this episode is any indication, Wayne could have carried so much more. This episode is also a schizophrenic study in the evolution of American mores. Hawk and Trap reach a place beyond jokes, becoming unabashedly emotional over their imminent separation. In 1974, American men were still taught that emotion wasn't "manly". In terms of changing that, it's fair to say that M*A*S*H was the most influential show in TV history. And yet fascinatingly, there's also a scene between Hawkeye and Margaret that is appalling in terms of putting a happy face on sexual harassment.
-Adam's Ribs
We want something else! After eleven days of liver of fish, Hawkeye throws a mess hall berserk, and begins a quest to obtain Chicago ribs. The only classic episode without Frank and Margaret.
-A Full Rich Day
Chin-lee! A Luxembourger corpse goes missing, an armed soldier (William Watson) insists his buddy be operated on immediately, and a Turkish soldier (Sirri Murad) refuses sedation or surgery so he can go kill more Chinese.
-Bombed
The camp is shelled by friendly fire. Henry and Mulcahy get bombed in the latrine. Trapper and Margaret get trapped and cozy in the supply room. Nurse Sanchez (Louisa Moritz) does a lot of non-English screaming. That perfect classic M*A*S*H feel.
-Bulletin Board
The camp watches Shirley Temple, and holds a picnic with a tug-of-war over a mud pit. The first fight between Klinger and Zale.
-Big Mac
Macarthur's coming, Macarthur's coming! Hawk and Trap keep the irreverant faith while the camp goes into a tizzy when heap big chief is scheduled to inspect them. Radar's MacArthur and Klinger's Statue of Liberty are pure-fection.
-Abyssinia, Henry
The most profound gut punch in the history of television. Henry gets his discharge, and the episode seamlessly builds toward goodbye. As Radar walks into the O.R. at the end and gives the news of Henry's death...the world stops. McLean has looked back and wished that he'd never left the show, and i want to agree. But without this moment, the most memorable in M*A*S*H history, can anyone say for sure that the show would have been the greatest in TV history? One of six episodes directed by series creator Larry Gelbart.
NOTEWORTHY
-Iron Guts Kelly ***
A fun frolic about a decorated general who dies in Margaret's arms, brightened by Keene Curtis (CHEERS, SMURFS) and James Gregory (BARNEY MILLER).
-Springtime ***
Klinger gets married (by radio)! Radar gets slaked! Plus Mary Kay Place (THE BIG CHILL) and Alex Karras (BLAZING SADDLES)!
-Alcoholics Unanimous ***
Father Mulcahy gives a temperance sermon, and Bill Christopher gives his most humorous performance of the series. Acknowledging that Hawk and Trap have a problem was a big step in this country's attitude toward drinking.
-Mad Dogs and Servicemen **
Sub-par writing, but fun for the presence of Michael O'Keefe (CADDYSHACK, THE GREAT SANTINI) and the debut of Rosie (Shizuko Hoshi).
-The Consultant ***
Robert Alda stars as Anthony Borelli, a consultant giving seminars in Tokyo. He visits the unit, and convinces them he should do a risky operation. He can't handle the pressure, and gets drunk, requiring Hawkeye to operate. A touching dynamic as youth is unforgivingly disappointed by age.
-House Arrest ***
Stage/screen legend Mary Wickes (THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, SIGMUND AND THE SEA MONSTERS) brightens proceedings as a visiting colonel who makes a pass at Frank. Hawkeye is under house arrest for hitting Frank, but the tables turn...and Radar gets lifts, making Hawkeye acknowledge how wrong he'd been for making fun of his height. In an era when making fun of one another was almost the full extent of how American males showed affection for one another, this was a subtle but enormous moment.
-Aid Station ***
Klinger, Hawkeye, and Margaret staff an aid station. Solidly lovely.
-Payday ***
Frank buys Margaret fake pearls, Hawkeye mistakenly gets $3000 extra army pay, and Trap finally wins the big pot. Plus Jack Soo.