M*A*S*H (TV Series) Springtime (1974) User Reviews

Springtime in the Pit

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 5 March 2015]

Lots takes place in this offering. It is spring and there is a lot going on. Hawkeye operates on a Marine played by Alex Karras, the Hall of Fame tackle for the Detroit Lions. Radar falls for a gawky nurse played by Mary Kay Place. He gets his hands on a book of poetry by Rupert Brooke (whom he calls "Ruptured" Brooke). The guys talk him into telling the young lady his feelings, but when it works out, it is in spite of his efforts. There is a subplot of a young man suffering from PTSD who is hugging a cat and won't let go. Of course, the totally insensitive Frank Burns treats him like dirt. Klinger hears from LaVerne and sets up a marriage over a short wave radio. Of course, he wears a full wedding dress. This is all about the things that happen when the weather changes.

Guest starring Mary Kay Place and Alex Karras

[safenoe · 8/10 · 16 March 2024]

Mary Kay Place guest stars as Lt. Louise Simmons in Springtime, and it's a fun episode from season three. Anyway, this episode also stars a stellar supporting cast, including Odessa Cleveland, Gwen Farrell, Kellye Nakahara, Jeff Maxwell, Sheila Lauritsen. Anyway, Alex Karras, who later starred in the sitcom Webster. Anyway, Jeff Maxwell, who played Igor, later became the co-host of the M*A*S*H Matters podcast alongside superfan Ryan Patrick, and they had a wonderful interview with Kellye. I'd love for them to also interview Odessa and Gwen and other supporting cast members to get their insights.

MASH's funniest episode

[sdwriter26 · 11 October 2012]

"Springtime" is M*AS*H at its peak, during the first three seasons, when comedy ruled and the brilliant Larry Gelbart ran the show so well. "Springtime" is set at just that time of year, and people are acting like blooming idiots. That works well in this episode written by Linda Bloodworth and Mary Kay Place. Place also plays a seemingly shy nurse who Radar longs for, and makes a play for -- before she reveals her true nature once he "charms" her with an appalling poem. Some girls are suckers for poetry, it seems. Detroit Lions great Alex Karras appears as a massive soldier who really, really, really wants to pay back Hawkeye for saving his life. Really. It's a reunion for Karras and Alan Alda, who appeared in "Paper Lion," the story of writer George Plimpton and the Lions. Karras was a great player and a talented comedic presence as well. At the same time, another wounded soldier is attached to a kitty, which surprisingly turns dangerous for Hawk, until the grateful soldier comes to the rescue. In addition, Klinger, dressed appropriately inappropriate, is getting married via shortwave radio, Frank and Hot Lips are out to stop it, and Col. Blake is at his fed-up, wanna-go-home best, complete with a great comic line when the radio is fouled up during the marriage. Why McLean Stevenson walked away from this part is a riddle for the ages. He was letter-perfect, and that letter was the big I on his college sweater. Place, who went on to a bit of fame and fortune in "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman," and has had a long, successful career as an actress, writer and director, and Bloodworth, who created and wrote much of "Designing Women," captured the wild, weird and wacky spirit of M*A*S*H in this classic episode. They showed early that they knew funny. It aired opposite Game 3 of the 1974 World Series on Oct. 15, 1974, and while few watch reruns of the A's-Mets Game 3 (which was a good one, A's won 3-2), this episode will have people laughing for eons. And what's better is, it should.