Script Spotlight 31: “April Fools”

Update (4/4/2024): Corrected the information about the filming order of this episode. I originally stated that this episode was likely the last episode filmed, but the scripts for both “War Co-Respondent” (08×23) and “Back Pay” (08×24) are dated after this script.

Once I realized that this post would go live on April 1, finding a script and episode to review this month was easy because there was only one choice: “April Fools” (08×25). I remember watching this episode for the first time and being genuinely surprised by the ending and wondering how Hawkeye, B.J., Charles, and Margaret would get out of the situation they were in with Col. Tucker. Of course, I was a kid at the time, and I should have realized that there was only a few minutes of the episode left, so the resolution would have to come fairly quickly. It is a well rounded episode. As for scripts, this one isn’t the most interesting in the collection, but there are a few things we can still learn from it. So let’s look at “April Fools!”

The Script

This script is not as feature rich as some that I have featured. It does not include any production documents such as call sheets, shooting schedules, and wardrobe pages. There aren’t any handwritten notes either. It’s a “plain” script. By not having to read through a dozen production documents and/or script markings, I spent more time looking at what was on each page. Each characters’ lines are written in a format that is familiar to anyone who has seen a movie, television, or theatre script. However, I paid more attention to the set directions in this script than I usually do. Those are the lines of text between the actors’ lines. They often say something like “Hawkeye walks through the door” or “Margaret takes off her boots.” They aren’t lines, but they often describe what the viewer should see on the screen. On the page below, for example, as Col. Tucker is supposedly having a heart attack, the script hints at how the actor should deliver his lines. There are times when the actor is allowed to make a choice for how to deliver a line or it could have been left up to the director. But, in some cases, the writers had a specific way they needed the line delivered to get the point across or to set up a joke.

I have often said that no two scripts are alike. Each script tells a story, and each page gives more information than just the lines to be delivered in a given scene. There are stage directions, wardrobe information, prop information, and perhaps even a foreign language translation. It is easy to get lost when going through a script and only focusing on the characters’ lines. But those are just words. It is the actor, director, and the stage directions that provide the context for those lines to bring them to life on screen. This week, I am glad that I took the time to read between the lines and pay closer attention to the details.

The Final Episode

It is April Fool’s Day at the 4077th, and the pranks are running wild. Charles, Margaret, Hawkeye, Col. Potter are all victims of jokes, and even Father Mulcahy isn’t safe! Col. Potter gets a message that a tough-as-nails colonel will be visiting. He warns the gang not to do anything stupid during the colonel’s visit, but they can’t resist one last prank to get even with Margaret. After B.J., Hawkeye, and Charles steal Margaret’s tent, Colonel Daniel Webster Tucker (played by Pat Hingle) arrives just in time to see a pillow fight between three surgeons and the head nurse taking place in the middle of the compound. Needless today, he is not impressed. Klinger meanwhile is being the model soldier just before he “goes crazy” and Col. Tucker insists on giving him a section eight. But the tensions between Col. Tucker and the rest of the gang don’t simmer, and they escalate to the point that he threatens to court marital all of them. They decide to pull a final prank on Col. Tucker since they figure that they have nothing to lose. Just as it seems that Col. Tucker is having a heart attack, it is revealed that the whole inspection was set up between Col. Potter and Col. Tucker to prank them all!

This episode is very well written as it starts off light with the jokes, and then tensions build after Col. Tucker arrived. The big reveal at the end is perfect, and I remember watching this for the first time as a kid and being really surprised by it. There are a few things that I observed in the episode. This is the episode with Klinger dressed as Cleopatra (learn more about when I saw this dress in 2023 at the Smithsonian archive)! In the “outdoor” scenes, you can tell they are on Stage 9 instead of Malibu Creek State Park. There is quite a bit of echo, but I imagine that due to the difficulty of the shots. They needed to be wide shots to see more than one person at once, so the boom microphone had to be held higher to be out of the frame. That meant that the mic picked up more of the echo of the set. As for the script, it is not too different from the final episode since it was a revised final copy. There are some lines in the episode that were not in the script between Col. Potter and Klinger in the office (page 6), in the scene with B.J., Charles, and Hawkeye after their meeting with Col. Potter, there are some lines swapped between B.J. and Charles (page 9), and the scene with Klinger and Col. Tucker was originally written longer (or lines were cut) (pages 27 – 28).

Today is April Fools’ Day, and I couldn’t think of a more fitting episode. The pranks early in the episode are fairly pedestrian with the can of snakes and oatmeal in the boot, but the ultimate prank was carried out by Col. Potter. It turns out, Potter, like Harry Morgan, was a good actor and was able to prank the rest of the gang! This is a fun episode to watch as we head into spring, and I really enjoyed taking the time to rewatch the episode and read the script.