M*A*S*H Rewatch: Season 5

Throughout 2025, I will rewatch M*A*S*H and review each season on the final day of each month. I am rewatching the episodes in broadcast order using the DVDs from the 2000s with the laugh track left on. You can find an archive of these rewatch posts here.

About half way through watching season five, I received a text message from a friend regarding my wrap-up of season four. He was surprised that I failed to mention that season four was the last season with Larry Gelbart as an executive producer. He was right! I failed to mention it, and I want to rectify that early in this post by calling it out now. But then it dawned on me that Gelbart’s absence was what I was feeling with season five. In season four, M*A*S*H had a tall order: they introduced two new characters and convinced fans that Col. Potter and B.J. were as lovable as the characters they replaced. Last month, I argued that the M*A*S*H writers, led by Gelbart, succeeded in that mission. It was successful because they introduced them slowly and allowed the actors and characters to grow, and that became the theme of season four. For season five, I struggled to find a theme. Margaret’s engagement to Donald Penobscott (and the end of her relationship with Frank) is a running theme. While season five is pretty good overall, the season feels like it jumped around in search of its voice.

Season 5 Episode List

Episodes are listed in broadcast order. Hyperlinks direct to “Script Spotlight” posts for that episode.

Episode #	Season X Episode	Episode Title
97	05×01	Bug Out (One Hour Show)
98	05×02	Margaret’s Engagement
99	05×03	Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
100	05×04	Lt. Radar O’Reilly
101	05×05	The Nurses
102	05×06	The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan
103	05×07	Dear Sigmund
104	05×08	Mulcahy’s War
105	05×09	The Korean Surgeon
106	05×10	Hawkeye Get Your Gun
107	05×11	The Colonel’s Horse
108	05×12	Exorcism
109	05×13	Hawk’s Nightmare
110	05×14	The Most Unforgettable Characters
111	05×15	38 Across
112	05×16	Ping Pong
113	05×17	End Run
114	05×18	Hanky Panky
115	05×19	Hepatitis
116	05×20	The General’s Practitioner
117	05×21	Movie Tonight
118	05×22	Souvenirs
119	05×23	Post Op
120	05×24	Margaret’s Marriage

Favorite Episodes

These are the top episodes of the season that I believe contribute something important to the series as a whole. The episodes are listed in the order in which they aired.

• “Bug Out” (05×01) – This is a great opening episode for season five. It was an hour long event that feels worthy of the hour it was given. “Bug Out” is the first time we see a full scale bug out of the 4077th, so seeing that process unfold along side Hawkeye, Margaret, and Radar staying behind with a wounded patient was a great way to set the tone for season five.
• “Margaret’s Engagement” (05×02) – While this may not be the “best” episode of the season, it is one of the most important. It sets up the only through line of the season: Margaret’s engagement and eventual marriage. It also puts the final nail in the coffin of the Margaret/Frank storyline.
• “The Nurses” (05×05) – I know reaction to this episode is mixed, but I really like this episode. We now know that this was part of a push by Loretta Swit to show a different side of Margaret and allow her character to continue to grow beyond the “tough as nails” major from the first four seasons. The acting from Swit in this episode is great! I believe that her skills were often overlooked, and she really fought to flesh out the character of Margaret.
• “Dear Sigmund” (05×07) – I love Sidney Freedman. Allan Arbus was one hell of an actor, and he portrays a psychiatrist very well. This episode is a great “Dear…” episode because it is told from outside the point of view of a 4077th charter. I like the Sidney storyline and how he finds the 4077th to be an escape from his reality. The storylines of each of the main cast is great as well, especially B.J.’s practical jokes. (See a script for this episode.)
• “Mulcahy’s War” (05×08) – I feel like I could copy and paste what I wrote for “The Nurses” for this episode and replace “Margaret” with “Father Mulchay” and “Loretta Swit” for “William Christopher.” Season five was the first season where William Christopher was a regular cast member and was included in the opening credits. Seeing Mulcahy come to terms with the fact that he has never truly experienced war and seeking it out is admirable (if not a little reckless). But he remained calm under fire, and that felt like it fit the character.
• “Movie Tonight” (05×21) – This is a fun episode! I liked seeing how the characters unwind in their off hours by watching a movie. It is a reminder that we are all human and need a break from reality from time to time.
• “Margaret’s Marriage” (05×24) – Margaret’s marriage sets up a through line for the next several seasons, and it also marks the final appearance of Larry Linville as Frank Burns. The wedding being interrupted by incoming wounded was predictable, but it is fitting considering how Margaret and Donald’s marriage ends.

Least Favorite Episodes

Liking or disliking an episode is subjective, so I have tried to be fair in my criticism of why certain episodes are not my favorites. The episodes are listed in the order in which they aired.

• “The Korean Surgeon” (05×09) – I don’t have anything against this episode other than it seemed pretty obvious that Hawkeye and B.J. were substituting an enemy soldier as an American doctor. I believe that M*A*S*H succeeds because it feels real, and this episode did not feel realistic. It felt like a bit from Hogan’s Heroes.
• “Hawk’s Nightmare” (05×13) – I have read quite a bit of criticism about how Hawkeye’s breakdown in “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” does not fit Hawkeye’s character. I disagree, and it is because of episodes like this. Hawkeye has several “breakdowns” before his breakdown in the series finale, so I feel like his inability to mentally process his feelings about the war has been well documented. I am not a fan of this episode because it feels forced and offers very little resolution. But at least Hawkeye isn’t sneezing!
• “The General’s Practitioner” (05×20) – In season four, the writers had new characters to introduce, but by the end of the fifth season, they fell back into the “Hawkeye is the best doctor” trope. B.J. was a newer doctor, and fresh out of residency, so why couldn’t he have been the general’s choice? Strangely, I feel like this storyline could have been a better way to write Frank Burns out of the series. He is picked by a general (despite his mixed record) to be a personal physician.

Continuity Errors

There are minor issues in every episode that have been well documented, so I am choosing to focus on ones that really stood out to me.

• “Bug Out” (05×01) – Jeff Maxwell is playing “Salkowitz” instead of Igor.
• “Bug Out” (05×01) – M*A*S*H timeline issue: Margaret says it is September, so is Potter still new?
• “Out of Sight, Out of Mind” (05×03) – Hawkeye’s dad ends his letter with “We’re counting the days…” Who is “we?”
• “Lt. Radar O’Reilly” (05×04) – Why does Lt. Baker have her own tent and not bunk with the rest of the nurses? (Also, this Lt. Baker is different from the Lt. Baker in the next episode!)
• “The Nurses” (05×05) – This is not the same actress who played Lt. Baker in “Lt. Radar O’Reilly,” and now she is married?
• “The Nurses” (05×05) – Why didn’t Hawkeye and B.J. put Lt. Baker’s husband in the VIP tent instead of Margaret’s tent?
• “The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan” (05×06) – Are there separate shower tents for men and women, or is it one tent with different hours for each? It goes back and forth.
• “The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan” (05×06) – Margaret suddenly speaks Korean!
• “Dear Sigmund” (05×07) – Klinger says he doesn’t want his pierced ears to close, but he always shown wearing clip-ons.
• “Dear Sigmund” (05×07) – M*A*S*H timeline issue: It’s the first day of spring, so does that mean it jumped to 1953? If it is 1952, Henry and Trapper should still be there.
• “Mulcahy’s War” (05×08) – The medic at the aid station’s voice sounds like Johnny Haymer’s (Zale) voice. Was it dubbed?
• “The Colonel’s Horse (05×11) – M*A*S*H timeline issue: B.J. mentions Easter, but he shouldn’t have been in Korea for an Easter yet.
• “Hawk’s Nightmare” (05×13) – Hawkeye says he has been in Korea for two years. Surgeons were rotated out of MASH units every 18 months during the Korean War.
• “The Most Unforgettable Characters” (05×14) – When Radar and Col. Potter come outside to check on Klinger, they come out the door at the end of the building. Why did they go through the O.R. to get outside?
• “Ping Pong” (05×16) – Col. Potter says he can’t wait to get home to Nebraska, but he lives in from Hannibal, Missouri.
• “Hanky Panky” (05×18) – Donovan has a tent to herself?
• “The General’s Practitioner” (05×20) – Col. Potter says he has 14 months left. In his first episode, he said he had 18 months left. That would make the date of this episode in January 1953. It’s not winter!
• “Souvenirs” (05×22) – Where did Hawkeye get a real egg?
• “Post Op” (05×23) – M*A*S*H timeline issue: Moody’s last appearance is said to be six months before. He last appeared when Trapper and Henry were there meaning that a lot happened in six months.
• “Margaret’s Marriage (05×24) – M*A*S*H timeline issue: Margaret and Donald have been engaged for 8 months? Even if they were engaged in September 1952, right after Potter arrived, that would make the date of this episode in May 1953.
• “Margaret’s Marriage (05×24) – Why did Klinger need to shave his back? The dress he wore to the wedding was not backless.

Season 5 Wrap-Up

After seasons two through four, I had high hopes for season five. I knew it was the final season for Frank, and after the writers did a great job of introducing B.J. and Col. Potter in season four, I hoped that momentum would carry into season five. Unfortunately, it did not. The cohesiveness of season four seemingly fell apart early in season five. What made season four so strong was the “meet our new people” thread that played out over the course of 24 episodes. Season five began strong with “Bug Out” and “Margaret’s Engagement.” I felt like Margaret’s engagement, and the end of her relationship with Frank, could have been a great continuing story, but there would be a gap of several episodes where it went unmentioned. As with season four, I the abuse of Frank just got worse, only now, Margaret joined in. Looking back, I don’t have as many episodes on the “Least Favorite” list for season five, but there are fewer episodes on the “favorite” list as well. Season five isn’t the bad by any means, but the magic of seasons two through four began to wear off.

As I mentioned in my introduction, season four was the last for Larry Gelbart, and season five was the first season to be solely led by Gene Reynolds (I thought it was interesting that Reynolds’ name appears in the opening credits with the actors’ names). I am sure the loss of the show’s creator and head writer was felt in the writing room because, I would argue, it was felt on screen as well. Some of the episodes weren’t as tightly written, and the season felt unbalanced. I don’t want to spend the post M*A*S*H bashing because there are some great episodes in season five. I have always enjoyed the episode “Bug Out” because it is the only time we see a fulls scale disassembly of the camp on screen. This process would have been all too familiar in a MASH unit. There are other standout episodes including “Dear Sigmund.” Alan Alda’s writing for this script is just about perfect. The episode stands up so well that I often recommend “Dear Sigmund” as a first episode of M*A*S*H to someone who is unfamiliar with the series. In addition, I really appreciate the growth of several characters in season five. Father Mulchay get’s some well deserved character development in the episodes “Mulcahy’s War” and “Hepatitis.” We see Margaret’s character grow as an engaged person, then a married person. But the highlight for Margaret is Swit’s acting in “The Nurses.” Finally, I love the episode “Movie Tonight” because it just a fun episode. It is my dad’s favorite episode, and it is great to explore how the doctors and nurses of the 4077th unwind in their off hours and enjoy a movie.

There are some interesting notes I made throughout the season as I watched. The episode “Hepatitis” was pulled from real life. You may have noticed less of William Christopher in season five, and that is because he contracted hepatitis and missed several weeks of filming. The writers used his bout of hepatitis as inspiration for that episode. Klinger’s Section 8 attempts in season five begin to shift toward extreme levels. Dousing himself with gasoline? Eating a Jeep? Pole sitting? Klinger’s attempts started out as harmless fun (except for the time that he tried to blow up Frank with a grenade), but they started to go off the deep end as the series progressed. His attempts are less funny because they became life and death situations. Finally, and I feel like this point has been beaten to death, but as with season three, this season began to swing back to “too much Hawkeye.” Episodes such as “Hawk’s Nightmare” and “The General’s Practitioner” place the spotlight on Hawkeye, and, in the case of the later, it wasn’t necessary. M*A*S*H had a strong cast in season five. Character growth was solid, and there were still two new-ish characters to develop. They could have tried to further develop Frank (although, by season five, I think that character was too far gone). I believe there were other characters who could have easily replaced Hawkeye as the central character of several episodes.

It may not seem like it, but overall, I think season five is a good season. The writers were pushing the series towards more serious storylines, but it worked because there was still a balance with comedy. The loss of Gelbart after season four was felt in season five, and after season, Reynolds left the series too. The two original show runners left the series in capable hands with Burt Metcalfe, Alan Alda, and a crew of strong writers. I did miss the growth and character development we saw in season four, but perhaps that will return in season six with the introduction of Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. I am excited to compare how his introduction fares against the introduction of B.J. and Col. Potter in season four. In my mind, I know season five is the end for several storylines. It was the end of one version of Margaret, and it was the end of Frank Burns. The foil to Hawkeye and Trapper and then Hawkeye and B.J. will be gone in season six. I am a little sad to see Frank go, but the writers wrote that character into a corner that was impossible to escape. Thankfully, when it came time to replace him, they followed the mold they cast with B.J. and Potter by creating a new character that offered new challenges and storyline opportunities. For that reason, I am looking forward to starting season six!