M*A*S*H (TV Series) Germ Warfare (1972) User Reviews

Much Ado About Nothing

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 22 February 2015]

Sometimes the series crosses over into the really hard to believe. In this one, Trapper and Hawkeye take a pint of blood from Frank while he sleeps (I guess that's possible) and give it to a North Korean patient. It turns out that the Korean has a strain of hepatitis. While he may have already had it, it was diagnosed after the transfusion which means it could have come from Frank and Frank should not be operating on patients. But how do you confirm it and keep Frank out of the operating room without telling him about the blood? Also, how do you keep him away from Margaret Houlihan, with whom he has a constant liaisons. The scene where they get Frank to "give" a urine sample is hilarious. Of course, this show was continuously outrageous so we can cut them some slack. That said, these medical men are so moral when it comes to patients but seem to throw it aside at times when it comes to adversaries.

The demise of Spearchucker

[cashbacher · 8/10 · 17 April 2020]

The main characters of the show are now being fully defined with the minor characters being set aside. This episode is the last appearance of Spearchucker Jones, a black physician. Supposedly, the character was dropped because there were no black physicians in the Korean War. That of course was false, the American armed forces were integrated at that time. The reality is that there was no room for the character in the series. With Henry Blake, Hawkeye, Trapper, Frank Burns, Radar and now Hot Lips, a seventh main character was unneeded. In this episode, a North Korean man is occupying a hospital bed and Frank Burns wants him gone. At first Henry Blake agrees, but he softens to allow the man to stay in camp for 24 hours as long as he does not take up a hospital bed. When the man needs blood, it is discovered that Frank Burns is the only person in camp with that type. Hawkeye and Trapper tap Frank for a pint when he is sleeping and they transfuse the blood into the North Korean, afterwards the patient reacts as if he has hepatitis. Since it could have come from Frank, Hawkeye and Trapper must keep Frank from operating or having any interaction with others until he tests clear. Since he and Hot Lips are desperate for a tryst, they must do all they can to keep Frank isolated until they can confirm that he is free of hepatitis. Spearchucker has only a few lines, there is an emphasis on the relationship between Hot Lips and Frank. It is clear at this point that the character is superfluous to the continuing evolution of the main characters. Linville has polished his repertoire of facial expressions, mannerisms and tones of voice that will make him one of the most attractive villains in comedy. He has always been an underappreciated actor in the series. When it comes to physical comedy, he was hands down the best in the show.

Final episode for Timothy Brown

[safenoe · 7/10 · 8 March 2024]

Germ Warfare was the final episode for Timothy Brown as Capt. Oliver Harmon Jones, and it's a shame he was discarded on the grounds (rather dubious) that there were no African-American surgeons serving in Korea, but even if there wasn't, so what! A lot of M*A*S*H, which I love by the way, is necessarily contrived, for example you never see a second team of surgeons, and this was raised in the superb podcast M*A*S*H Matters hosted by superfan Ryan Patrick and Jeff Maxwell, who played Igor. Anyway, it's a shame Ryan and Jeff couldn't get Timothy to be a guest on their podcast before he passed away in 2020.

The one where Frank unknowingly donates blood

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 14 March 2023]

So many things wrong with this story, from a 2023 perspective. I am not going to superimpose any sort of rigid modern political correctness on top of this episode, but there does need to be plausibility. It's clear that the script would have to be drastically revised if it were produced now. By anyone's standards, it just isn't morally right that a doctor would get away with using someone for a blood donation, without their knowledge. Even if it is a pint of much-needed AB negative. This is what Hawkeye and Trapper do to Frank Burns, by siphoning blood from him while he sleeps, to save a North Korean patient.

Furthermore, they mistakenly believe Frank has hepatitis when the patient exhibits symptoms of the disease. Thinking Frank gave hepatitis to the patient, they try to keep him from meeting up with Margaret, and more importantly, try to keep him from operating on wounded soldiers in the operating room. Their thought is that Frank will infect others.

The means by which they continue to deceive Frank is supposed to be seen by the viewer as riotous. But from today's perspective, we could easily say Frank, blowhard that he may be, is being victimized and this is arguably not funny. Hawkeye and Trapper are the ones who come off as the jerks in this story, not Frank. Later we find out their thought process was flawed, since Frank didn't really have hepatitis and the patient had come into the camp already infected. Frank was kept from operating, which may have affected how many lives were saved that day.

In more ways than one we see Hawkeye and Trapper overstepping their bounds as medics. Clearly, they are abusing their privileges at the 4077th. Why Henry is not clamping down on them more is baffling. But then we wouldn't have the guys' continued antics, if Henry was successful at reigning them in. The plot of a previous episode had Hawkeye promoted to chief surgeon and we were led to believe he would still continue to function in that capacity. But surely, if he was acting the way he acts in this episode, plus making diagnostic mistakes, he would have to be demoted from such a position.

All in all, not one of Larry Gelbert's better scripted episodes. Incidentally, this episode marks the last appearances of Captain Jones and Lieutenant Dish, who midway through season 1 are dropped from the show's storylines without any explanation.