(*DISPATCH*) s02e02: 5 O’Clock Charlie
Yeah, I’d say the writers had fun doing this one. It’s one of the great episodes that a MASH fan can screen for her MASH-ignorant friends to test whether they like the show or not. It contains plenty of stunts, as Charlie buzzes haphazardly over the camp, and two big explosions: the totaling of Gen. Clayton’s jeep, and that of the ammo shed at the end. Frank is officious, Clayton is arrogant, and Radar, in charge of the betting pool for which coordinates Charlie will drop his bomb on, is organized. The strategy itself--to forgo an anti-aircraft gun because it would attract real bombers--is realistic and smart.
But let’s talk about the best part. The inventiveness of Hawk and Trapper, as well as the breadth of their homosociality, is beautifully on display here, and it’s this that makes “Charlie” such a favorite. They shower together while sucking a martini out of an IV bag, passing the tube back and forth. Spectators at Charlie’s flyover, they play-act as braying PG Wodehouse characters, lounging in striped lawn chairs, Hawk wearing a pith helmet. (MASH is nothing if not a comedy of manners.) And in a mockery of Frank’s anti-aircraft drill, they march out in fake officers’ regalia; I particularly like Trapper’s General Macarthur-esque sunglasses and pipe with shorts. When told to count off, Radar asks Hawk, “are you ‘one’?” to which he replies, “YES! Are you?” and throws an arm around Radar’s shoulders. Oh, boys, behave.
Many other elements are at work in this fast-paced romp of a show, which exemplifies season 2’s extremely high energy. There’s Clayton’s ongoing crush on Margaret, thwarted by Burns; Hawk and Trapper’s plot, which involves stealing a big stack of sheets and painting a target on them; and Henry Blake’s request over the phone for a “nug” instead of a gun, as he reads the form upside down. (Aside: this season also features a lot of Henry talking through a cigar, which I enjoy.) In addition, though, there’s a brief, fascinating scene with dentist Phil Cardozo that brings the action way down.
Whither Captain Cardozo (Corey Fischer)? With his guitar and his chilled-out affect, he turns the Swamp into Inside Llewyn Davis for a second but then is never seen again. Too incongruous, perhaps, for MASH the comedy. But delightful, and surprising—like this episode on the whole.
