Script Spotlight 54: “The Party”

When I concluded my rewatch of M*A*S*H in November 2025, I realized that I had been neglecting the middle seasons of the series in my Script Spotlight posts. The posts skewed heavily towards the first three seasons or the final three seasons. It makes sense since most of the scripts I have are from the later seasons. However, I do have a significant number of scripts from seasons four through seven, and I want to revisit some of those episodes. In the last few months, I have revisited seasons four (“Dear Mildred” (04×07)) and five (“Movie Tonight” (05×21)). Instead of continuing chronologically to season six, I decided to look at one of the episodes that was a highlight of season seven. “The Party” (07×25) is often cited as a fan favorite. The thought of the families of the personnel at the 4077th getting together in the United States and meeting each other is well thought out and an idea that is a key part of what made M*A*S*H so great. Before I get too deep into the storyline, let’s first take a look at a script for this episode!

The Script

As with several other scripts I have featured on the site, this script belonged to Stephen Bass. He was the sound mixer for M*A*S*H for the first eight seasons. The script doesn’t have the Call Sheets or revised pages since he wasn’t on the set from day to day. He would have been more focused on editing the episode. His script does have two production documents, however. The first is a Staff and Crew List (not pictured in this post) dated August 1978. This document listed every member of the M*A*S*H crew, their job title, and their contact phone numbers (Fox number and home number). The other document is the Shooting Schedule. I really like when it is included because it outlines each day of the filming. The sheet lists each date, the scenes to be filmed, the sets on which they were filming, the cast members needed for each scene, and the filming location. Looking at this document, we can see the episode was filmed on December 19, 20, 21, and 22. The scenes are not filmed in order because they make the best use of their time by setting up certain sets of the set. The schedule also depended on whether they were filming on Stage 9 or at Malibu Creek State Park. For this episode, we see that it was all filmed on Stage 9 except for the scenes at the temporary location of the 4077th. That was filmed on Stage 15. The M*A*S*H crew created a temporary set in another building on the Fox lot for those scenes. This was not uncommon on shows, and M*A*S*H did occasionally film on other sound stages besides Stage 9.

I really enjoy these Script Spotlight posts because I always learn something new about the episode. Sometimes I find scenes that were cut or modified. Other times there are complete revisions of scenes between drafts. In the case of “The Party,” we learn that the scenes that were filmed in the new camp, Potter’s new office, and the vehicles were filmed in a different sound stage from Stage 9. They would have had to do a lot of modification to the 4077th compound on Stage 9 to make room for the temporary sets, so using a nearby building would have been easier. It’s likely that there was space on Stage 15, so they created their temporary sets there. They did something similar for “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” (11×16) when they built temporary sets on Stage 11. Pretty much every week I say a variation of the line, “every script tells a story.” This week is no different. Even though there aren’t any markings from Bass, no revised pages, or no Call Sheets, we still learned about the alternate filming location. Even nearly 50 years after the episode was filmed, there is still more to learn!

The Final Episode

After a long session in surgery, the gang is in the Mess Tent having coffee. They begin to talk about how Mildred and Radar’s mom can help Peg with some recipes. B.J. gets the idea that all their families should get together in New York and have a “reunion.” B.J. is really excited, and so is Father Mulcahy and Col. Potter. Hawkeye, Charles, Margaret, and Klinger are skeptical that their families will attend. B.J. tries to get them to write letters, but a push by the Chinese forces the 4077th to bug out. When they get to their new location, one of B.J.’s patients might have had a spinal injury during the move. B.J. is depressed, and he has lost hope in the party. Hawkeye gets everyone to write their families, and when they are told they have to move back, they get return letters from their families saying that they all want to attend! B.J. is excited about the party again (and finds out his patient is doing well at the 121st Evac), so they have to find a date. After a few tries, they settle on March 21. Several weeks later, they are in the O.R. when Radar gets mail from their families about the reunion. Radar reads Peg’s letter to B.J. out loud as everyone operates. Their families had a great time, and the members of the 4077th are now even closer as their families support each other in their absence.

The more times I watch “The Party,” the more I really like it. The families of armed service members serving overseas getting together to support each other is a very nice concept. The way it is presented in this episode with some of the characters being skeptical that their families would attend, then the struggle to find a date that works for everyone, is real, touching, and funny at a the same time. There are so many little things to like about this episode. I appreciate that the bug out isn’t the main storyline. It just happens. The set up of the temporary Swamp, Potter’s temporary office, and the outdoor camp are well designed. And the camera work with the characters in the vehicles as they each read their letters from home is cleverly done. My favorite part about this episode is that they didn’t show the party from the point of view of the families. They could have written an episode that was half B.J.’s idea, and the other half of the episode took place at the party. Of course, that would have meant having a huge guest cast for each of the family members, but I think the episode works better since we have to relive the party the same way the personnel of the 4077th did. Through their letters. The characters weren’t at the party, so neither were we.

There are a few interesting things to note in this episode. I believe this is the first time we hear Klinger refer to his Uncle Abdul. Of course, there is an episode in the next season called “Dear Uncle Abdul” (08×12) that is Klinger’s “dear home” episode. The other thing that struck me was that in Hawkeye’s letter, his father refers to him as “Ben.” Isn’t the story that Hawkeye’s father game him the nickname of “Hawkeye” to begin with? In the script, the letter begins with “Dear son,” so I find it interesting that they changed it to “Dear Ben” when previous letters have address him a “Hawkeye.” As for changes, since this is a Revised Final Draft, there aren’t many to speak of. There were in a few more lines in the opening scene in the Swamp (page 5). At the temporary camp when they are eating, there were a few more lines between the characters before Hawkeye approached the group (page 14). Radar has one additional line in Potter’s temporary office when he finds out they have to bug out again (page 18). Part of Peg’s letter is cut from the final episode (page 33). Finally, I included a photo of page 16 to show how they wrote dialogue that was meant to be spoken over each other. I really like how that is presented!

I know the middle to late seasons of M*A*S*H have their detractors online, but I think “The Party” is perfectly balanced. It has some truly touching moments while being funny. The funniest scenes in the episode are when they are trying to find a date to hold the party. It’s funny because it’s relatable if you’ve ever tried to plan anything with more than three people! There is always someone who can’t be somewhere or doesn’t like something. This episode touches on the human element in several ways, and in a way that only M*A*S*H could. As I mentioned in the introduction, I realized that I have been neglecting the middle seasons of M*A*S*H in these posts, and “The Party” is an excellent example of what I have been missing.