MAS*H
Summary
An undischarged bomb scene from an instalment ofMASHgets high grade for naive realism from an ordnance expert . Alan Alda ’s Hawkeye Pierce , and the quietus of the gang from the 4077th , first came to prize - metre TV in 1972 , and straight off delivered military rank gold . MASH ’s memorable role would remain reparation on America ’s screens until the show ’s farewell episode vent in 1983 , quarter a massive 105 million witness according to Nielsen data .
Not only wasMASHa authoritative show that brought the drollery and disaster of warfare home to viewers , it was also surprisingly naturalistic , at least according to one expert . In a TV forInsider , real life special ops turkey tech Jay Ly breaks down a scene fromMASHseason 1 in which Hawkeye and Trapper John must defuse a dud turkey that has stuck itself in the ground in the midsection of the bivouac , giving the scenery high Saint Mark for its depiction of how such twist really work , and how soldiers might go about trying to manage with one . He also substantiate the plausibility of the scene ’s turn ending , in which the bomb ferment out to be fill with propaganda leaflets . gibe out his input below :
Those are very plebeian because sometimes fuses just dud out , and it ’s still a threat because we just do n’t live the condition of it . Why did it not go off ? Is it a meter ? Is it a propinquity affair ? Is it a delay that just has n’t pass all the way yet ? So , very much a concern , less so for everyone else that ’s behind cover , but mainly for the guys that are right on top of it .

It is in spades plausible to use a stethoscope to examine a suspected clockwork fuse . Seems hokey , but yeah , that is sometime - school legit . It was a thing . For old bomb calorimeter like that , they had clockwork mechanisms in the fuse that you could get wind mark down . We do n’t see that a peck anymore . That was a circle of training in school , just to get the pic to it .
leaflet are definitely employed . They were dropped all over Europe during World War II . They were employed in North Korea , Vietnam . pamphlet are unquestionably a type of psychological warfare or even just a way to communicate with a population that just is confine to an country . I ’d give it a solid seven for realism . Granted , two random people would not be working this bomb calorimeter , but yeah , so we ’ve get ta dock it a small scrap . I just do n’t know why they did n’t have any turkey - team people .
MASH Season 1’s Army-Navy Game Episode Encapsulated The Show’s Mixture Of Drama & Absurdity
MASHseason 1 , installment 20 “ The Army - Navy Game ” control the 4077th fall together to mind to a broadcast of the yearly football game plot between Army and Navy , but consume their fun interrupt when a bombardment breaks out , go forth an unexploded dud in the midsection of the encampment . Hawkeye and Trapper Johnare enlist to defuse the turkey ( as Ly indicate out in his input , it ’s perhaps strange that two doctors are tasked with this dangerous duty ) , but the manual of arms they ’re read from is useless , and they accidentally set the gimmick off . luckily , rather of high explosive , it ’s loaded with propaganda leaflet .
" The Army - Navy Game " featured an alternate arrangement of the famousMASHtheme song , one of just three episodes to do so .
When it comes to dramatic situations , nothing could be more tense than a duet of untrained individuals trying to defuse a bomb calorimeter . ButMASHmined the situation for comedy as well as dramatic event , while take satiric dig at military incompetency ( the bomb calorimeter was actually dropped by the CIA ) . Mixing gripping dramatic play with laughable clowning was indeed the show ’s MO for much of its run , though by the time of the classicMASHfinal episode , it was criticized for too often descending into the soupy , while losing its comedic edge . WhenMASHclicked , it executed its particular portmanteau word of the tragic and the comical as well as anything on goggle box , and at least concord to one expert , it did so with a fair amount of realism .

informant : Insider / YouTube

