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ravenAh.... the M*A*S*H pilot. I always thought it had a slightly different air to the other episodes of the series. It's the only ep with a pre-credit bit, so we get to see the extended title sequence and hear Radar shout "Wait for it!" for the first time. I thought he should have shouted "Wait for it!" each time, but it's just a thought.
Somehow it seems like an alternate M*A*S*H ep - the same but different. Hawkeye's hair is longer - yes, trust me to notice that detail - and Trapper's is shorter. They seem to be the familiar double act, and they do successfully get Frank sedated every hour while they hold a party and raffle. Come to think of it, nearly all the gags are set up during this first episode - Radar's clairvoyance, Hotlips, the sex and alcohol... in fact it's only Klinger who isn't there. Even the touch of darkness appears when Hawkeye explains to the general - General Hammond, how ironic - that he can't be arrested, he's needed.
Of course, Hawkeye and Trapper aren't arrested, and their reputations as top flight surgeons are established.
But the best part has to be the ending. The last moment of the episode is a rather fantastic aerial shot of Hawkeye and Trapper handcuffed to each other, pulling at each other, with their cries being drowned out by Suicide is Painless...
[Just to be clear, they handcuffed themselves to each other. Nothing like starting a show the way you mean to go on]
Somehow it seems like an alternate M*A*S*H ep - the same but different. Hawkeye's hair is longer - yes, trust me to notice that detail - and Trapper's is shorter. They seem to be the familiar double act, and they do successfully get Frank sedated every hour while they hold a party and raffle. Come to think of it, nearly all the gags are set up during this first episode - Radar's clairvoyance, Hotlips, the sex and alcohol... in fact it's only Klinger who isn't there. Even the touch of darkness appears when Hawkeye explains to the general - General Hammond, how ironic - that he can't be arrested, he's needed.
Of course, Hawkeye and Trapper aren't arrested, and their reputations as top flight surgeons are established.
But the best part has to be the ending. The last moment of the episode is a rather fantastic aerial shot of Hawkeye and Trapper handcuffed to each other, pulling at each other, with their cries being drowned out by Suicide is Painless...
[Just to be clear, they handcuffed themselves to each other. Nothing like starting a show the way you mean to go on]
