M*A*S*H

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Other mistake: Many times during the series, soldiers are around the OR carrying a loaded weapon (magazine attached for example), when there is a sign outside the entrance that says "all weapons must be cleared before entering the building" or similar.

stiiggy

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Suggested correction: With the rampant rule breaking seen in the show, why would this be a mistake?

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Other mistake: In all the opening sequence of each episode, a group of people are waiting on the pad to get the wounded off the choppers. If you look closely as the group goes to move, the character Mulcahy is there, but it's George Morgan, who played the role in the pilot episode. From the third episode on, it was played by William Christopher, so it's the wrong actor for all the other episodes.

Movie Nut

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: In the pilot episode when Hawkeye and Trapper are going to send Ho Jon to the states to go to medical school, Hawkeye says Ho Jon can stay with his parents, but throughout the rest of the series Hawkeye's father is a widower. (00:07:50)

Pilot - S1-E1

Other mistake: When Hawkeye has Lt. Dish draw the winner of the raffle, he turns the bottom of the glass towards the crowd - meaning they would be able to see Lt. Dish pick the raffle ticket that has been taped to the bottom of the glass, just like the audience does.

Doc

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: This episode has the heater in Henry's office in front of the window, and the wall by the window blank. Later the stove is by the window, with the diploma by the stovepipe.

Movie Nut

Pilot - S1-E1

Factual error: In the Swamp, Frank is complaining about everything, and goes to grab the still. The stove it's sitting on is a Coleman model 413E camping stove, a unit not seen until 1954, and the series takes place in 1950.

Movie Nut

M*A*S*H mistake picture

To Market, to Market - S1-E2

Continuity mistake: When Radar walks into Henry's office to tell him that there's a general there to see him, we get a good view of Henry's new desk and its beautiful ornate design, but later when Hawkeye and Trapper are carrying the desk and then it's lifted out by chopper it's a completely different desk - also note that this desk has casters.

Super Grover

Chief Surgeon Who? - S1-E4

Other mistake: At the end, after General Barker tells Henry that he should give Frank a high colonic and send him on a 10 mile hike, Klinger shows up in front of them supposedly naked, but we can see the top of whatever the actor's really wearing.

Super Grover

Chief Surgeon Who? - S1-E4

Character mistake: As Hawkeye goes to help Maj. Burns right at the end of the episode, he touches the patient with his bloody, contaminated gloves he used to work on the last patient. Such a blatant error would be anathema to any surgeon from the civilized world of the 20th century, let alone one of Hawkeye's caliber.

Doc

The Moose - S1-E5

Other mistake: When they're playing poker, Hawkeye is sitting at an angle so that Sgt. Baker cannot see the earpiece that Hawkeye is wearing. However, Hawkeye sometimes turns his head enough for us to see his ear and, since the camera angle is over Baker's shoulder, Baker must have been able to see the earpiece too and realise he was being cheated. (00:13:20)

jle

Sometimes You Hear the Bullet - S1-E17

Henry Blake: All I know is what they taught me at command school. There are certain rules about a war, and rule number one is that young men die. And rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one.

More quotes from M*A*S*H

Abyssinia, Henry - S3-E24

Trivia: There were no American planes shot down over the Sea of Japan during the Korean conflict. It is rumoured that producer/director Larry Gelbart knew that, but wrote Henry Blake's death scene as he was very unhappy with the way Mclean Stevenson had left the show, and was determined to make it clear that there was no way he would be coming back.

More trivia for M*A*S*H

Dear Dad - S1-E12

Question: A number of times it is mentioned that the outfit is unarmed, yet several times, Frank has a rifle, or a pistol, and once Klinger had a grenade, and the guards and Klinger, while on sentry duty, has a rifle. Was this standard, or is this a mistake?

Answer: Even an Army field hospital would have SOME weapons for self-defense if the enemy attacked. What's meant is that it's not a combat outfit, and therefore wouldn't have enough weapons to actually attack anyone. (It's also mentioned a few times that the Officer of the Watch is supposed to carry a pistol at all times, but Hawkeye refuses to do it when he's in charge and Colonels Blake and Potter don't enforce the rule).

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: The Geneva Convention allows even doctors to carry a sidearm to be used in their self defense or the defense of their patients, however it is rare to do so.

stiiggy

Answer: As an old medical unit staffer, my experience is that med units have combat units assigned to defend them. Usually it was marines.

Answer: My old doctor (now deceased) served in Korea during the War. He was required to carry a sidearm anytime he was not in the hospital.

More questions & answers from M*A*S*H

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