It's intriguing to me that there are a lot of people who disliked the character of Hawkeye and Alan Alda specifically. His character, as I have mentioned in the past, can be quite trying, spoiled and abrasive. In this one, he is given an opportunity to speak for 25 minutes, non-stop to an audience of non-English speaking people. He expounds on everything. The reason is that he has been involved in a jeep accident and is suffering a concussion. He feels he must stay awake and alert to avoid complications. Meanwhile, the family goes about their business, seeing him as a lunatic that has just dropped in. It's that Asian patience I've run across as I've travelled all over the world. I was astonished by his effort and can't understand what all the criticism is about.
14 Reviews
Truly fine acting
traveller44425 June 2013
Kudos to Alan Alda.
To each their own; this episode wasn't for everyone, I guess. I too, enjoy the other characters in the series and missed them in this episode.
But to complain about Mr. Alda's performance is a travesty. He was, in my opinion, brilliant. He delivers his dialogue in a way that is nothing short of believable. Way beyond the simple memorization and repetition of script. And if some of it WAS ad-libbed then even more credit to him! That is much more difficult than memorizing. Try it! Try 'monologue-ing' off the top of your head for even a couple minutes. It's not so easy, it IS a talent, that's why we have professional actors. In T.V. and movie acting you have to do every part of every scene over and over and over again... and the same way every time. It can get old really quickly. Acting is not for everyone.
The writing of this show has always been impressive: rapid, witty, full of intelligent puns and always good for a laugh, and adding in great actors just elevates that. To bring the words on the script pages to life. To take a character like Hawkeye, Trapper, or Radar, who only exist as words on a page, and put on a performance that leaves the audience feeling as though they are real people, somewhere out there in Korea, T.V.land....that is pure talent. Whether you like or hate a character, the fact that words on a page brought out your emotions is thanks to the actors.
According to interviews and records, the character of Hawkeye wasn't intended to be such a focus in the show, but when Mr. Alda was cast and the show began, the response was unmistakable: people loved him. Some of the other actors were unhappy with the fact that so much of the great dialogue was written for his character but that is always the decision of writers, directors, producers etc. NOT the actors themselves.
So try not to confuse Hawkeye with Alan Alda.
I may have given this episode a 6 or a 7 out of 10, for the lack of more than one storyline, but considering the performance Mr. Alda was able to have captured on film, I feel compelled to boost that to as high as I go for any show. 9. Thank you again, M*A*S*H team. And especially Mr. Alda. You really broke a leg.
Of course, that's all just MY opinion.
Scott
To each their own; this episode wasn't for everyone, I guess. I too, enjoy the other characters in the series and missed them in this episode.
But to complain about Mr. Alda's performance is a travesty. He was, in my opinion, brilliant. He delivers his dialogue in a way that is nothing short of believable. Way beyond the simple memorization and repetition of script. And if some of it WAS ad-libbed then even more credit to him! That is much more difficult than memorizing. Try it! Try 'monologue-ing' off the top of your head for even a couple minutes. It's not so easy, it IS a talent, that's why we have professional actors. In T.V. and movie acting you have to do every part of every scene over and over and over again... and the same way every time. It can get old really quickly. Acting is not for everyone.
The writing of this show has always been impressive: rapid, witty, full of intelligent puns and always good for a laugh, and adding in great actors just elevates that. To bring the words on the script pages to life. To take a character like Hawkeye, Trapper, or Radar, who only exist as words on a page, and put on a performance that leaves the audience feeling as though they are real people, somewhere out there in Korea, T.V.land....that is pure talent. Whether you like or hate a character, the fact that words on a page brought out your emotions is thanks to the actors.
According to interviews and records, the character of Hawkeye wasn't intended to be such a focus in the show, but when Mr. Alda was cast and the show began, the response was unmistakable: people loved him. Some of the other actors were unhappy with the fact that so much of the great dialogue was written for his character but that is always the decision of writers, directors, producers etc. NOT the actors themselves.
So try not to confuse Hawkeye with Alan Alda.
I may have given this episode a 6 or a 7 out of 10, for the lack of more than one storyline, but considering the performance Mr. Alda was able to have captured on film, I feel compelled to boost that to as high as I go for any show. 9. Thank you again, M*A*S*H team. And especially Mr. Alda. You really broke a leg.
Of course, that's all just MY opinion.
Scott
hawk eye gets into trouble coming back from aid post
coolhussains30 November 2009
Warning: Spoilers
one of the best episodes of the series so far. the way Alda carries the whole episode signifies his importance to the show, and reminds why all the main characters from previous seasons left the show. Alda talks continuously throughout the episode. The talk hover between mundane gibberish Sal & Sal's to morality existence of life and opposable thumbs. While some times becoming overbearing it still stands out as an example of how much mash has evolved from its early days of a sitcom into a more dramatic series. Although i m sure that there will be same old antics and boorish back and forth between Burns and Pearce which the former will lose , i also hope that the remaining series has more episodes like the one i have stuck in my mind.
A truly ground-breaking episode.
VicL21 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I haven't seen MASH now for, oh, must be 20 years or so....till a couple of months ago, when I happened to update my channels and found one that was showing two episodes of MASH every night from seven till eight. In the UK, that's what I call the dead zone - it doesn't deserve capitals - those lost couple of hours when the bloody awful soaps are on. Coronation Street, Emmerdale and the dreadful eastenders. Used to be the time when I took the dog for a walk...now I do it in the day.
This episode, for me, is definitely one of the best I've seen...Alan Alda delivers a one-man tour-de-force that I'm guessing didn't go down too well at the time. Had that ever been done before? One man carrying virtually an entire programme on his own? He was superb...whether scripted or ad-libbed, some lines were pure genius.
Strangely, this episode is rated a lot lower than the average... guess the world wasn't ready for something new back then, eh? Sadly, these days American comedy seems to consist of either Will Smith and Martin Lawrence shouting loudly, or the likes of Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller or Jim Carrey playing the brain-dead idiot....MASH was in a class of its own, set the standard, never been equalled....Cheers was pretty good, can't comment on Seinfeld...never really got into it, as a Brit there was a lot I didn't get...in-jokes, American references, etc. Fawlty Towers and Blackadder are great examples of British comedy...I'd add Soap (hey, if you're going to go over the top, then go waaaaaay over the top!) to the top 5, but as far as comedy goes, MASH is absolutely the finest ever made - and this is a great example of how good it could be. Truly groundbreaking - funny, serious, dramatic, humorous, it lifted you way above the mundane and into the sublime.
Alan Alda, I salute you! By the way, as an afterthought, it's almost impossible to compare MASH to Blackadder...MASH is more of a black comedy, Blackadder is more of a knock-about farce. MASH is American, Blackadder is British - and it's what I grew up with. Well, that and lots of American Western series... "Have Gun Will Travel" is still my favourite. I've still never seen the final episode of MASH...but I can't believe it'll move me more than the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. That was pure genius....
This episode, for me, is definitely one of the best I've seen...Alan Alda delivers a one-man tour-de-force that I'm guessing didn't go down too well at the time. Had that ever been done before? One man carrying virtually an entire programme on his own? He was superb...whether scripted or ad-libbed, some lines were pure genius.
Strangely, this episode is rated a lot lower than the average... guess the world wasn't ready for something new back then, eh? Sadly, these days American comedy seems to consist of either Will Smith and Martin Lawrence shouting loudly, or the likes of Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller or Jim Carrey playing the brain-dead idiot....MASH was in a class of its own, set the standard, never been equalled....Cheers was pretty good, can't comment on Seinfeld...never really got into it, as a Brit there was a lot I didn't get...in-jokes, American references, etc. Fawlty Towers and Blackadder are great examples of British comedy...I'd add Soap (hey, if you're going to go over the top, then go waaaaaay over the top!) to the top 5, but as far as comedy goes, MASH is absolutely the finest ever made - and this is a great example of how good it could be. Truly groundbreaking - funny, serious, dramatic, humorous, it lifted you way above the mundane and into the sublime.
Alan Alda, I salute you! By the way, as an afterthought, it's almost impossible to compare MASH to Blackadder...MASH is more of a black comedy, Blackadder is more of a knock-about farce. MASH is American, Blackadder is British - and it's what I grew up with. Well, that and lots of American Western series... "Have Gun Will Travel" is still my favourite. I've still never seen the final episode of MASH...but I can't believe it'll move me more than the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. That was pure genius....
Not a bigger ego in Korea
jsmeade-367762 July 2021
NOT ENOUGH MONOLOGUES AVAILABLE ANYMORE
eileenmrandolph6 September 2018
Happen to like a dramatic monologue. Do not get the opportunity to see many anymore. He had some good surprises. Saw this when I was 16 during the series run. (This post was first thought about due to the outrageous fear of falling asleep with a concussion and dying. Kudos Mr. Alda for redirecting that thought process. )
The Only Episode I Skip
kevinca-718088 December 2021
Vastly Underated
obrienphil10 January 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Yes I know I know I know. Look it's your basic run of the mill bottle episode, but in my opinion it was always refreshing when this show delved deeper into Hawkeye's psychee. I'm probably a little biased because it was one of the first episodes I was exposed to. I know this show took place in the 1950s, where to quote Archie Bunker " girls were girls and men were men." I can't help it but, I always found it unnerving that despite all that he went through, the show mostly showed the pain in subtle ways. Subtlety is always great, but did they really have to wait for the series finale, for him to have a psychotic break ? For Blake's sake, even Hunnicut had a psychological attack of equal magnitude before the series finale ! To conclude my review, maybe I'm overthinking it. Mash helped me tremendously overcome many trials and tribulations. You don't have to be in the military for it to have an impact. Until the next episode I write a review on, Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.
The inspiration for Ducks, Newburyport
safenoe2 August 2020
This is Hawkeye's episode, and it's a tour de force in acting. I think here M*A*S*H hit the turning point. Really, could you imagine Trapper or Frank giving the monologue in this episode? Maybe Hunnicutt but still.
From this point on, M*A*S*H became mature.
From this point on, M*A*S*H became mature.
Second Worst MASH Episode
jacks-0012818 November 2022
Second worst MASH episode ever. Alan Alda at his self aggrandizing proselytizing worst. Second only to his hypocritical performance in The Grim Reaper. Very forgettable, I wish that I didn't have to watch it while binge watching in episode order. Why didn't he just tip the Jeep back over? This is easily accomplished with only two or three people, and he has that plus an ox. It is a shame that we have to actually type six hundred characters in order to get a review accepted, as it does not make sense to have fill just fill in characters. Here I am typing extra characters to make the entire six hundred when the point was made in only three sentences.
Alda overload!
djvang8823 April 2021
Shut up, Hawkeye!
ExplorerDS678911 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
So the episode starts with Hawkeye driving back from Battalion Aid in a Jeep, he crashes, suffers a concussion, and is taken into the home of a local native family where he talks constantly to avoid passing out. He talks for 30 straight minutes, and here's the weird part: he doesn't say anything! He rambles on about God-knows-what, while the Koreans just stare at him, having no clue what he's talking about, but then neither do we. This is, bar none, the WORST episode of M*A*S*H. It was a stupid idea: giving an entire episode to a character we already saw too much of and let him do nothing but talk the entire time, which he already did too much of as it was! M*A*S*H focused on Hawkeye too much! Up to this point it seemed every episode had at least a few scenes that centered around Hawkeye. I understand he was the main character, but that's no excuse! Fonzie was the main character on Happy Days, but they never did a full episode of just The Fonz talking to foreigners. He wasn't even the star at first, he just gradually escalated in fandom. Hawkeye was shoved in our faces since the very beginning. What a stupid, stupid episode. There is no way you're going to make me believe this was written. No way. No way did anybody sit and write down everything he says. Alan Alda ad-libbed the whole time. He had to. Larry Gelbart and Simon Munter are credited as writers, but I think all they did was write down the title and then put "Alan ad-libs everything; Koreans stare at him. The End." Stupid! It isn't impressive what Alan does here. It isn't some skillful feat he's performing. Talking for 30 minutes straight and playing off people who don't understand you, that's easy! That's not talent. If he wanted to do a one-man show, get a show in Vegas, don't use up an entire episode of an Ensemble show! M*A*S*H is an ensemble show with an ensemble cast. When people tune in, they want to see them all. I can only imagine how disappointed audiences were back in 1976. Remember, they had no DVDs, no syndicated reruns, they had to wait an entire week to see an episode. I'll bet they wanted to see what Hawkeye and B.J. were going to pull on Frank, or how B.J. and Potter are adjusting, or what goofy things are Frank and Hot Lips going to be up to? Well, too bad. Instead we get nothing but Hawkeye rambling on about random crap. He talks too much, and worst of all, his voice is ANNOYING! Alan Alda has one of the most grating voices I've ever heard, and he uses it too much. If he had a pleasant voice, I could probably endure an episode like this, but no! And besides, where the hell are the other characters? We didn't even get to see Radar at the end! This episode is just a great big insult to its fans. Anybody who finds this episode enjoyable or a work of art is obviously too easy to entertain. Even M*A*S*H fans and Alan Alda fans agree this episode is boring. Boring, boring, BORING!! Now maybe if the Koreans had subtitles asking one another what Hawkeye was saying, or maybe saying something in contrast to what he's saying, it would have been better. But no! Nothing but Hawkeye talking! He's annoying. Why did he need to be in every episode?! It wasn't enough he drove McLean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers to quit, but he had to suck up all the attention!
In other words, this episode is terrible! The worst episode of this show and any show. No story, no plot, no character, just terrible dialog! Stupid!
In other words, this episode is terrible! The worst episode of this show and any show. No story, no plot, no character, just terrible dialog! Stupid!
The worst
streetlight221 October 2019
a monologue
Kirpianuscus25 April 2022
A long , dramatic in some measure monologue of Hawkeye Pearce after a very ambiguous jeep accident. A Koreean family as public for confessions, jokes, fight for not asleep, memories, advices and the food of poor people front avalanche of words in not know by them language.
No doubts, Hawkeye deserves an episode only for himself.
The bad problem - you expect more. More specific, something.
The explanation for car accident, a Koreean patrol, a mate from hospital, the father or a child knowing, in the end, English and creating a twist.
But, except Sol and Sol, the geometry teacher, the walk in and out, the words about films to cow and the grateful gifts, nothing. Including, no revelations .
No doubts, Hawkeye deserves an episode only for himself.
The bad problem - you expect more. More specific, something.
The explanation for car accident, a Koreean patrol, a mate from hospital, the father or a child knowing, in the end, English and creating a twist.
But, except Sol and Sol, the geometry teacher, the walk in and out, the words about films to cow and the grateful gifts, nothing. Including, no revelations .
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