M*A*S*H

Sometimes You Hear the Bullet - S1-E17

Other mistake: Wendel, afraid of being shipped home, is trying to escape from the MASH by hot-wiring a Jeep. Despite just having had an appendectomy, he is leaning forward and to the right from a sitting position, which would have to put pressure directly on the incision, yet when discovered by Hawkeye, he easily and without discomfort sits up straight. Aside from him still being at the MASH, we know the surgery is recent because, just a little later, he winces and complains after making a very small movement.

Bottle Fatigue - S8-E16

Continuity mistake: Charles enters Col. Potter's quarters while Potter is sleeping. Potter sits up in bed while Charles whines and complains about his sister's engagement. In all the shots facing Potter, the hair at the top of his head is very messy and pointing up. In every shot facing Charles, Potter's hair is normal.

Super Grover

Springtime - S3-E6

Other mistake: While Radar is measuring the camp, he says that last year they had 2,986 square feet, but this year they have 2,863 square feet. The square root of 2,863 is about 53.5, so unless the camp is 53 feet by 53 feet (!) his numbers are WAY off. (00:16:15)

Show generally

Factual error: Throughout the series, actors are seen wearing cuffless permapress fatigues. Neither cuffless nor permapress utilities were available until the 1970s.

Bulletin Board - S3-E16

Continuity mistake: First, Radar is seen drumming on his tin cans with bare hands. After cut, when the hula girl appears, without interruption of the drum pattern, he suddenly is holding some sort of drumsticks. (00:15:00)

Deluge - S4-E23

Deliberate mistake: With the show having lasted longer than the war, the producers apparently decided to turn back the clock to the very beginning of the War (June 25, 1950). To do this, it seems they have tried to make things as confusing as possible, intentionally mixing up facts, even when this openly contradicts the facts as presented in earlier episodes. For example, both B.J. and Potter arrived in or about mid 1952, but now are in the O.R. when the Chinese launch their massive offensive on 1st Nov. 1950, almost two years earlier. Trapper and Blake, who were there for the Army Navy Game which would have occurred Nov. 25 1950, are not. Many of the supporting clips also are too early or late for the events being discussed. For example, Winston Churchill's speech must have been before August 28 when the first British troops started arriving, likely also before the Canadians in July 1950, but the first MASH Unit was not set up in Korea until September 1950. Truman's speech to University of Wyoming students is actually from May 9 1950, a month and a half before the beginning of the conflict and 5 months before the first MASH was established, but the clip about his "Whistle Stop Tour" must be from the 1948 campaign. MacArthur's speech, on the other hand, is in response to the ticker tape parade of April 22 1951 when he was replaced.

M*A*S*H mistake picture

Welcome to Korea - S4-E1

Continuity mistake: During the shelling on the road, BJ gets very muddy. When they get to the bar, he is much cleaner - e.g. all the mud has disappeared from his right arm. (00:44:30)

jle

Mail Call - S2-E23

Character mistake: When Frank is wanting to make a call to New York, Radar told him that New York is 16 hours ahead. Not quite right, as 5 p.m. in South Korea equates to 4 a.m. the same day, a difference of thirteen hours.

Movie Nut

Good-Bye Radar: Part 2 - S8-E5

Other mistake: When Potter enters the Swamp, his rank insignia is placed wrongly, with the feet of the eagle pointing to the front of the collar. The feet should point toward the shoulder side of the collar, as they are the next time we see Potter.

Movie Nut

Dear Ma - S4-E16

Factual error: When the South Korean Colonel and General are in the mess tent, their rank insignia are wrong. The insignia they are wearing are for the U.S. Army.

Movie Nut

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: They could have been Korean Augmentation To the United States Army (KATUSA) officers, who were Koreans drafted or volunteered into the US military to act as a liaison between Koreans and the US military. As such they wore US uniforms and rank.

stiiggy

I respect your idea. However, having served my time in Korea, and known a number of the KATUSA soldiers and a ROK General, the insignia shown is incorrect.

Movie Nut

You were in Korea in 1952?

stiiggy

1988, however I am familiar with the rank insignia of the time.

Movie Nut

Fade Out, Fade In - S6-E1

Visible crew/equipment: After Potter tells Klinger that his lawyer, Schaeffer, is a fake who's impersonated a chaplain among other things, when Schaeffer tells them that 25 couples are living in sin, in the next shot two curved chalk actor's marks can be seen on the floor. (00:35:45)

Super Grover

Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen - S11-E16

Continuity mistake: When the injured tank driver appears in the open hatch while Margaret's yelling at him, he does not have a bushy mustache, but in the next shot in the OR we hear Margaret telling Potter about the tank driver while they're operating on him, and when the camera pulls in closer we see that he has a big bushy mustache. (00:10:50)

Super Grover

Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen - S11-E16

Continuity mistake: While everyone's gathered for their last evening together, taking turns telling what their life will be like when they get home, there are three closeups of Kellye in which we see that her caduceus insignia pin is on her right lapel and her First Lieutenant bar is on her left lapel, though it should be the opposite way, and her closeups are not flipped. The pins are on the proper side in other shots of Kellye during the episode.

Super Grover

Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen - S11-E16

Visible crew/equipment: While Klinger is on the phone trying to set up BJ's transportation home, just as Winchester walks into the office pointing out the company clerk the shadow of the moving boom can be seen on the wall, and it's also visible when Winchester takes the mailbag and dumps the contents. (00:42:50)

Super Grover

Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen - S11-E16

Continuity mistake: After Klinger presses Potter about getting rid of the tank Potter tells Klinger to act like a sergeant, and in the shot from Potter's office Klinger walks out with both of his helmet straps hanging loose, but when it cuts to him walking into the outer office one of the straps is suddenly gone. (00:33:45)

Super Grover

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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