Script Spotlight 28: “War of Nerves”

Since the holiday season has wrapped up, I know that the holidays can be stressful for many people, myself included. That led me to think about episodes of M*A*S*H in which we saw the characters exhibiting signs of stress and overwork, and the first episode that came to mind was “War of Nerves” (06×04). In the episode, tensions run high between characters, and they look for an outlet to channel their frustration. Dr. Sidney Freedman is in the episode, and his sage, psychological advice to the characters, and camp as a whole, provided the necessary outlet…a bonfire! My outlet for stress is this site and M*A*S*H, so let’s dig in to this script and episode.

The Script

This script does have a few production documents. There is a Call Sheet for August 11, 1977, and the it was for filming on location at the Fox Ranch (today, Malibu Creek State Park). This is the only Call Sheet in the script, so it may have been the only day Hill worked on set. There is an interesting note on the bottom of the Call Sheet. It says that on Friday, August 12, they would film at night. This was likely for the scene with the bonfire at the end of the episode. In addition to the Call Sheet, there is a map to the outdoor filming location at the ranch. The map shows the major highways and places where they would post signs along the road to help direct the cast and crew to the correct location. I have a few scripts that contain this map, and I find it fascinating. It would have been very helpful since this was long before the days of commercially available GPS.

The one thing I like about Hill’s scripts is that he did not always follow directions. When revised pages were delivered to the cast and crew, they received a cover sheet that instructed them to “discard old pages from your script of the above date and insert the attached revised pages in their place.” Hill would not discard the old pages, but would often put them in the back of the script. So this copy of the “War of Nerves” includes blue revised pages dated July 11, 1977 and the pages they replaced. This allows us to compare the revised pages with the original. The first thing I noticed is that the lines that changed are indicated with an “X” in the right margin. Looking at the pages side-by-side, the changes are fairly minor. I have included photos of all the revised pages followed by their original pages in the slideshow below.

Hill’s job as a stand-in meant that he had to be on set and know the lines of the actor for whom he was serving as stand-in. In this case, he may have only been working the day they were at the ranch filming. That would explain the single Call Sheet. The inclusion of the map is a fun detail, but the highlight of this script for me is the fact it contains both the revised and original pages. While the changes may not be drastic, it is interesting to see how the writing process worked. Lines would undergo minor changes to perfect the dialogue. I also like how the revised pages marked lines that had changed, so at a glance, an actor would know whether or not the changes affected their lines.

The Final Episode

This is another classic mid-series M*A*S*H episode that has a great blend of comedy and serious tones. Everyone at the 4077th is a little stressed out, and they are starting to take it out on each other. Charles and Margaret have a disagreement, B.J. is tired of some of Hawkeye’s obsessive behaviors, and Radar is mad at Klinger for taking his teddy bear without permission. Dr. Sidney Freedman is staying at the camp since he was wounded while checking on a patient in a foxhole. Col. Potter recommends that certain members of the ensemble visit Sidney to discuss their issues. We see a series of visits between members of the 4077th and the psychiatrist. Meanwhile, Zale and Igor are supposed to be burning infested uniforms off Chinese soldiers, but they turn it into a major bonfire. Potter nearly nixes the fire, but Sidney suggests it might just be what they need to sooth their nerves. The episode ends with them burning selected items from the camp. As the fire burns, they sing “Keep the Home-Fires Burning (Till the Boys Come Home).”

Sidney is my favorite character of the series, so any episode with him is a winner in my book. But this is a pretty solid episode. We see how everyone is affected by their work at a MASH unit, and we also see how Sidney’s work affects him since his patient has pretty harsh words for him. I love the scene between Sidney and Father Mulcahy near the end of the episode because Mulcahy’s compassion fits the character well. There are funny moments in this episode such as the beginning of the feud between Margaret and Charles over whether or not he touched his nose. We also see Hawkeye annoying B.J. by having him constantly smell his food. A few other observations from this episode include Sidney mentioning I Love Lucy. I had to look up to see if this was an anachronism, but it is possible for them to have seen the show since the series ran from October 1951 until May 1957. Another thing I noticed is that Igor was played by Peter Riegert. There is a reason Jeff Maxwell was not in this episode, or the rest of season six, and I recommend listening to Episode 28 of the M*A*S*H Matters podcast to hear him tell the story.

As for changes between the script and final episode, I have already discussed the number of revised pages, but there were still changes between this script and the final episode. There is a completely different opening scene to the episode before the bus arrives in the compound (pages 1 – 2). The scene between Col. Potter and Sidney after he gets off the bus is longer in the script (pages 4 – 5). When Charles visits Sidney, his lines about Margaret were originally longer (page 17). The scene between Tom and Sidney is different and broken up by the end of act two in the script (pages 19 – 20). Following that exchange, the conversation between Tom, Hawkeye, and B.J. is different (page 21). Finally, in the script, Margaret throws a few items on the bonfire and that, sadly, did not make the episode (page 34). It is likely that most of these scenes were cut for time since this draft of the script is 37 pages making it a little longer than most scripts from the series.

Being early season six, the character of Charles was still being introduced, and that is evident in this episode too. Overall, I really enjoyed rewatching this episode because it reminded me that it is okay to find an outlet to relieve stress. While I don’t necessarily recommend fire, there are plenty of things we can all do to help us cope with the stressors in our daily lives. For many of us, I know M*A*S*H is one of the cures for stress. Episodes like “War of Nerves” humanize the characters that we see on screen. Friends have disagreements, people have little quirks that annoy us, and sometimes we all need someone to talk to about what is on our minds. It is very relatable, and that is what makes the series great.