Plot
Brigadier General Clayton briefs Captain Hildebrand, (Anthony Holland) a psychiatrist, on the 4077th. Clayton is sending Hildebrand to the 4077 M*A*S*H unit to assess whether the unit can function as a team. He is to recommend if the unit needs to be broken up or remain intact. His briefing serves as an introduction to the main characters.
When Captain Hildebrand arrives at the camp, he tells Henry about the assignment, warning him that it is to be kept a secret. Henry is very upset at the notion of his team being broken up. Even so, he is hard-pressed to explain such things as his dire need for a drink at the moment, and Klinger's cross-dressing.
Henry arranges a late-night meeting in the shower with Hawkeye and Trapper, where he tells them about Hildebrand. They promise to be on their best behavior.
Henry next confronts Margaret and Frank about the reasons behind Hildebrand's visit. Margaret confesses to sending a report to General Clayton denouncing Blake's command. Henry counters by saying that if the unit is broken up, Frank and Margaret will also be separated.
In the meantime, Hildebrand has been following Henry, observing him tipping off the staff as to the true nature of his visit.
The trumpet plays morning reveille. It wakes up the unit. They walk to the mess hall. Margaret, Frank, Hildebrand, Blake, Hawkeye, and Trapper eat breakfast. They try to be nice to one another, but their thinly veiled snide comments and forced attitude belie their discomfiture.
Hildebrand observes a number of incidents:
- While Margaret and Frank have a tryst, Hawkeye and Trapper nail their door shut.
- Frank and Margaret meet in the women's shower.
- A male soldier leaves the women's shower carrying his clothes.
Hildebrand gives his report to the officers, telling them they are childish and unprofessional. As he lectures them, they continue their childish, unprofessional behavior. Radar interrupts them and tells them that there are incoming wounded. They race to the operating room and go into action. Hildebrand watches as the team works together. He starts getting ill at what he sees and retires to the Swamp. He makes himself a drink. When the general arrives, he finds Hildebrand drunk in the officers' tent. Hildebrand gives him the following report: the 4077 are in an impossible situation, doing an impossible job, under impossible conditions, but he does not recommend breaking them up.
Production notes
This episode reintroduces the premise and characters of the show as Brigadier General Crandall Clayton, considering breaking up the 4077th, sends Captain Hildebrand, a psychiatrist, to investigate the camp. Henry's attempts to make everyone get along, and thereby prevent the dissolution of his unit, are met with humorous results.
The episode ends with a camp loudspeaker announcement which is near-identical to the final loudspeaker announcement in the original MASH film, backed by an arrangement of the theme song which served as the opening music for three episodes in the first season.
The pilot episode of M*A*S*H, the first episode of the first season was broadcast on September 17, 1972, although the initial script was first written in November 1971. The episode was written by Larry Gelbart and directed by Gene Reynolds, who received the Directors Guild of America Award for it. It was also nominated for two Emmys for its direction and writing.
"Yankee Doodle Doctor" is an episode of the television series M*A*S*H. It was the sixth episode broadcast and aired on October 22, 1972, and it was rerun April 8, 1973. It was written by Laurence Marks and directed by Lee Philips.
"Bananas, Crackers and Nuts" is an episode from M*A*S*H. It was the seventh episode broadcast and aired on November 5, 1972 and repeated April 22, 1973. It was written by Burt Styler and directed by Bruce Bilson.
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" is a television film that served as the series finale of the American television series M*A*S*H. The 2 1/2-hour episode first aired on CBS on February 28, 1983, ending the series' original run. The episode was written by eight collaborators, including series star Alan Alda, who also directed.
"Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" is the 17th episode of the first season of the TV series M*A*S*H, originally airing on January 28, 1973. This is the first episode in which the medical staff failed to save a wounded soldier, and one of the first episodes of the series showing a member of the hospital staff truly affected by death.
"Major Fred C. Dobbs" is the 22nd episode of the first season of the TV series M*A*S*H. It originally aired on March 11, 1973.
MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors is a 1968 novel written by Richard Hooker with the assistance of writer W.C. Heinz. It is notable as the foundation of the M*A*S*H franchise, which includes a 1970 feature film and a long-running TV series (1972–1983). The novel is about a fictional U.S. Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in Korea during the Korean War.
"To Market, to Market" is the second episode of M*A*S*H. It was first aired on September 24, 1972 and repeated on April 29, 1973. Like many other M*A*S*H episodes, this one parodies army bureaucracy.
"Adam's Ribs" is the eleventh episode of the third season of M*A*S*H, and fifty-ninth overall. The episode premiered November 26, 1974, on CBS.
"5 O'Clock Charlie" was the 26th episode of the M*A*S*H television series, and second of season two. The episode aired on September 22, 1973.
"For the Good of the Outfit" was the 28th episode of the television series M*A*S*H, the fourth episode of season two. The episode was aired on October 6, 1973.
"The Trial of Henry Blake" is episode 8 from season 2 of the TV series M*A*S*H.
"The Incubator" was the 36th episode of the M*A*S*H television series, and the twelfth episode of season two. The episode aired on December 1, 1973.
"Deal Me Out" was the 37th episode of the M*A*S*H television series and the thirteenth of season two. The episode aired on December 8, 1973.
"A Smattering of Intelligence" was the final episode in season two of the American television series M*A*S*H. It first aired on March 2, 1974. The character of Lieutenant Colonel Sam Flagg was first introduced by name in this episode. Winter portrayed a similar character called Captain Halloran eleven episodes earlier in "Deal Me Out", and the two are implied in "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?" to have been one and the same. Flagg has any number of aliases.
"The Consultant" is the 17th episode in the third season of the television series M*A*S*H. It originally aired on January 17, 1975. It was written by Robert Klane, from a story by Larry Gelbart, and was directed by Gene Reynolds.
"House Arrest" is the 18th episode in the third season of M*A*S*H. It originally broadcast on February 4, 1975.
"Requiem for a Lightweight" is the third episode of the television series M*A*S*H. It was first aired on October 1, 1972 and was repeated on December 31, 1972, the first episode of M*A*S*H to do so. In Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America, a sociological examination of M*A*S*H as an illustration of shifting American values in the 1970s and early 1980s, James H. Wittebols cites this episode as an example of the sexual humor which was common in early M*A*S*H episodes, but downplayed later in the program's history.
"As Time Goes By" is the 255th episode of M*A*S*H, as well as the last episode filmed. The episode aired on February 21, 1983 on CBS. As it was the final episode filmed they took a moment to pay tribute to the characters who had left the series before its conclusion. It also introduces the character of Soon-Lee, who would play a vital role in the series' final episode and the short-lived spin-off AfterMASH.
