Script Spotlight 39: “Dear Dad”

Since we are only a few days away from Christmas, I thought it would be fun to review one of the Christmas/holiday episodes of M*A*S*H. The issue is that I have already reviewed all of them but one (“A War for all Seasons” (09×06), “Death Takes a Holiday (09×05), ‘Twas the Day after Christmas” (10×09), and “Dear Sis” (07×14)). That leaves only “Dear Dad” (01×12), which is the first in the series of “Dear…” episodes of M*A*S*H that I really enjoy. This episode set the mold for what to expect in episodes of this type from M*A*S*H, and that makes sense since it was written by Larry Gelbart. As we gather with family and friends this week for the holidays, let’s review “Dear Dad” and look at what makes the script in my collection particularly special.

The Script

When I realized that this is the last holiday season episode of M*A*S*H that I have not reviewed, I had a momentary panic. First, I wondered what I would do next year for a post in December. But then, I had to double check that I even had a script for “Dear Dad!” Thankfully, I not only have a script for the episode, but it is a really good copy. While the script does not contain the Call Sheets for each day of filming, it does have the original Shooting Schedule. The schedule shows us that the episode was not filmed until late September despite the script’s July revision dates. This episode is more complicated than the standard M*A*S*H episode since it is filled with cut-aways as Hawkeye writes his letter to his dad, so it contains a lot of scenes. The Shooting Schedule would have been even more important because of the complexity. Due to the number of scenes that were shot out of sequence, the cast and crew had to pay careful attention to details of wardrobe and makeup to ensure the scenes made sense once the episode was edited together. The script included a note calling this out! Looking at shooting schedule, it appears that they filmed the outdoor scenes first at Malibu Creek State Park (then the Fox Ranch), and then they filmed the scenes on Stage 9. It would have been really important to ensure that all outdoor scenes were completed on the days that there were in Malibu because it was quite a process to get the cast, crew, and equipment to the ranch.

This script contains a number of revised pages and there were at least four sets of revisions throughout the filming process. The revisions are dated August 29, 1972 (blue pages), September 1, 1972 (pink pages), September 8, 1972 (green pages), and September 11, 1972 (yellow pages). The multi-colored pages helped signify when a page was revised, and each set of revisions was delivered with a cover sheet that instructed the actor or crew member to “disregard old pages from your script of the above date and insert the attached REVISED PAGES into their place.” It was important that everyone did this so they had the latest version of the lines and set directions. Unfortunately, that means that the old versions of the page are typically thrown away, and lost to history. Thankfully, the person who used this script (the script has “Hicks” written on the cover, but I have not been able to figure out who that was) did not follow directions and kept all of the previous versions of the pages in their script. That means that we can compare the drafts of each page to see what did and didn’t change as revisions were made.

Since this script was revised four times after the final draft date, there would have been a number of pages replaced for each set of revisions. Fortunately for us, page 12 of the script was revised three out of the four times, and all four of the pages are still in the script. Each time the script is revised, we see that some dramatic changes were made to the scene on this page. In the original draft, Spearchucker is the one who throws the football to Hawkeye, Boone is the one who looks up the PA speaker as an announcement is made, and Spearchucker is who Hawkeye is about to write about to his dad. In the revised page from August 29, the person who looked up at the PA speaker is changed from Spearchucker to Hawkeye. But Spearchucker is still the one who throws Hawkeye the football. That is changed to Trapper in the draft dated September 8. As is the person who Hawkeye is about to write about. The original draft also includes Ho-Jon, but he is also written out of the scene. Neither Spearchucker (Timothy Brown) nor Ho-Jon (Patrick Adiarte) appear in the episode, so that is why the scenes were rewritten. The final revision on September 11 changes one word that Trapper says as he plays football with Cohen.

When I sat down to write this post, I had a momentary panic as to whether I had a script for the only holiday episode I hadn’t reviewed. I was very excited to see the surprises that this script had in store. The production documents offer a glimpse into how M*A*S*H was filmed, and since this episode was more complex with the number of scenes, the Shooting Schedule is a very important document. However, it is the inclusion of all versions of the revised pages that really excited me. Seeing what changed on each page, no matter how big or small, allows us to see the attention to detail that was paid by the show’s writers. We have heard the cast say several times that they did not improvise scenes and that they followed the writers’ words to the letter, and it is when we can see careful attention to detail paid to every line that I understand why the actors trusted that they were in the writers’ capable hands.

The Final Episode

The episode opens in the Swamp with Hawkeye beginning a letter to his father. In the letter, he mentions that it is nearly Christmas, and members of the 4077th are trying their best to make the camp a little more Christmas-y. He tells his father about working in the O.R., Radar mailing home a Jeep piece by piece, Trapper helping local kids, Henry’s monthly lecture, Frank and Margaret’s ongoing affair, Father Mulcahy preventing Klinger from possibly killing Frank, and how he (Hawkeye) dressed as Santa Claus for kids from the local orphanage. The episode ends with Hawkeye being called away from Christmas at the 4077th to operate on a wounded corporal path the front. We see Hawkeye lowered from a helicopter into a foxhole dressed as Santa, and he promptly gets to work. He concludes the letter by wishing his father a Merry Christmas from everyone at MASH.

“Dear Dad” is a highlight of season one and has several classic scenes from the series. Radar mailing home the Jeep, Father Mulcahy getting pushed into the Mess Tent doors by a Christmas tree, Henry’s famous sex lecture, the collapse of Margaret’s tent with Margaret and Frank inside, Klinger’s red bandanna, and Hawkeye dressing as Santa have become iconic scenes from M*A*S*H. There are a few inconsistencies in this episode, such as Hawkeye saying his dad lives in Vermont instead of Maine, but it is a great episode overall since it prominently featured all of the primary cast members.

Since the script for this episode has four sets of revised pages plus the pages from the original draft, I had to decide which set of pages I would focus on as I rewatched the episode. Instead of comparing the final version of each page with the episode, I decided to compare the episode to the original draft to see how much changed since it is rare for a revised script to have the original pages. There are a lot of changes to discuss, so I am going to outline them below:

• Page 2 – In the original draft, Trapper and Spearchucker are working together at an operating table in the O.R. scene. In the episode, Spearchucker’s lines are given to various members of the cast.
• Page 4 – Hawkeye’s letter was originally longer as he described how the white snow of Christmas becomes brown with mud.
• Page 7 – There is a brief scene between Henry and Boone that was cut.
• Page 8 – Hawkeye gives a longer introduction to Henry’s lecture before it is shown on screen.
• Pages 12-14 – Spearchucker is replaced as the doctor treating the local children (and delivering the calf) by Trapper. In the original draft, Spearchucker had more of a role. Ho-Jon also makes an appearance playing football with Spearchucker, but he was also written out.
• Pages 14-15 – Frank and Trapper are originally scripted to have the conversation in Post-Op that includes the line “you do resemble an enema.” In the final episode, the scene takes place between Frank and Hawkeye.
• Pages 15-20 – This change really surprised me. In the original draft, the solider who gets in a fight with Frank and then threatens him with a live grenade is Boone, not Klinger. I have always felt that scene was out of a character for Klinger. Yes, he wanted out of the Army, but he never pushed that far. Seeing that it was originally written for a different character explains why it always felt out of place.
• Pages 27-28 – Since Spearchucker was originally given the storyline of running the children’s clinic, Trapper had to have a different role. In the first draft, Trapper was secretly repairing the building at Sister Theresa’s orphanage, and Sister Theresa made an appearance in the episode.
• Page 31 – The scene where Hawkeye, dressed as Santa, and Trapper leave the building to go to the Mess Tent was originally longer with Trapper saying that he hoped Santa received his letter.
• Pages 35-36 – The cast members listed in the tag are different in the original draft as it originally included Spearchucker, Ho-Jon, and Boone. They were replaced with Klinger and Ginger in the final episode.

Since this is a classic episode from season one, and a fan favorite, it really doesn’t need much introduction or summation. There are so many classic M*A*S*H scenes in this single episode that it is nearly impossible to pick a favorite. For me, the best part about “Dear Dad” is that it established an episode style that would be used throughout the series to highlight the inner thoughts of the core characters. Seeing the 4077th from point-of-view of Hawkeye was a great way to frame the episode, and it is a plot device used in television shows to this day. The combination of this episode and the copy of the script in my collection made for a great early Christmas gift to myself as I got dive deeper into the writing process and see the storyline morph as the writers revised the script. I have seen this episode dozens of times, but getting to see the drafts and how the characters and lines change really made me appreciate the final product even more.