During my 2025 rewatch of M*A*S*H, I came to appreciate the show’s fourth season. It was an important season for the series as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt and Colonel Sherman Potter were introduced as two new characters. Replacing one character in a season is difficult, but replacing two in a single season is an even steeper hill to climb. But the M*A*S*H writers, under the leadership of Larry Gelbart, did a great job of slowly introducing the M*A*S*H audience to the new characters and, with time, they began to win them over. Last month, I wrote about a column by Gary Deeb in which he said that M*A*S*H‘s season four changes stuck to the essential message of the series. With two new characters, it would be easy to think that the writers ignored the existing characters at the 4077th. They didn’t. In fact, Jamie Farr became a member of the regular cast in season four, so there was more for Klinger to do. Margaret began to grow more as a character as well, but her true transformation didn’t begin until season five. There was one character that had to adjust to a new bunkmate and commanding officer, and that was Hawkeye. He bonded immediately with both, but we saw Hawkeye in some interesting positions in seasons four, and none were better done than in the episode “The More I See You” (04×22).
This week, we are looking at a press photo sent out by CBS in advance of the airing of the episode “The More I See You.” Dated January 23, 1976, the photo was sent out about two weeks before the episode aired on February 10. This photo shared that we were going to meet a former girlfriend of Hawkeye’s played by Blythe Danner. The photo is in black and white and measures nine inches by seven inches, and it is a very good quality photo. It shows Danner with Alan Alda. Taped to the back is part of the press release that it was sent with. Sadly, the other part of the press release is missing because it would have included a description of the episode. The only part of the sheet remaining lists the date of the press release, the names of the actors portrayed, and the date on which the featured episode aired on CBS. This photo would have been used by local newspapers to advertise that week’s episode of M*A*S*H in their daily newspaper or their weekly tv guide offering.
Photos such as this are not that uncommon because CBS frequently sent out at least one preview photo per episode. And for more important episodes, such as season premieres, season finales, and the series finale, they sent out sets of preview photos to help drum up publicity. I have written about several of these photos in the past including when Mike Farrell joined M*A*S*H, the time when the future King Charles III visited the set, the photos released for Margaret’s marriage, the jacket the M*A*S*H cast gifted to President Ronald Reagan, and a collage photo from 1976. These photos, with their accompanying press releases, were an indirect connection between CBS and M*A*S*H fans. The national and local press were key to ensuring that M*A*S*H fans learned when new episodes aired and what that episode would be about. Including a photo of Danner with Alda along with an enticing description of one of Hawkeye’s former girlfriends being assigned to the 4077th would have generated interest in the new episode. It was a great concept for an episode, and it was well acted by both Danner and Alda!
