History Series / MASH

** Father Mulcahy goes back and forth a lot throughout the series. In certain episodes, such as "Mulcahy's War" (S5) or "Dear Sis" (S7), he feels like wasted space and completely useless in a camp where nobody seems to have any need for him (the former, he especially feels he would be more useful on the front lines, where his spiritual comfort would ''really'' be needed); other episodes, such as "Hepatitis" (S5) or "An Eye for a Tooth" (S7), he actually does feel like he's of importance to the 4077th - in "Hepatitis", he becomes concerned at the thought of being quarantined from the rest of the camp when people may require Confession or, even more serious, Last Rites, while in "An Eye for a Tooth", he feels that he ''deserves a promotion'' for all he's done for the 4077th, and even ''demands'' Potter to get I-Corps to give him one, to no avail.

* AuthorAppeal: A lot of the more explicit “Hawkeye might be bi” references come from Alan Alda’s writing, like “I must be obvious or something” from Dr Pierce and Dr Hyde, or the winky “I loved as many of you as I could” in the finale, or “you’re all bent over/who told you?” from Hepatitis.

"Abyssinia, Henry", the final episode of the third season, is one of the major turning points for the series. It was the final episode for both Henry Blake ([=McLean=] Stevenson) and "Trapper" John [=McIntyre=] (Wayne Rogers), and the tragic shock ending--Henry's plane home is shot down; "there were no survivors"--delineated the line between "Funny ''M*A*S*H''" and "Dramatic ''M*A*S*H''", as many fans would later divide the series. The fourth season proved crucial to the show's long-term success; at the time, very few shows had ever lost such significant characters and kept the audience. But the creators' decision to replace Henry and Trapper with completely different character types in Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan) and B.J. Hunnicutt (Mike Farrell) succeeded, and the show continued to enjoy high UsefulNotes/{{ratings}} and critical acclaim.

Character development often came first in the "Dramatic ''M*A*S*H''" phase. Previously one-note characters such as Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) became more sympathetic and complex, as seen in Season 5's "The Nurses", in which Margaret asked her nurses, "When did one of you ever even offer me a lousy cup of coffee?" This approach ultimately led to Frank Burns (Larry Linville) leaving the show by receiving a psychiatric discharge, as the writers had developed Burns as a wholly unlikeable character with no room for growth.[[note]]Linville actually chose to leave after his initial five-year contract was up, despite having been offered another two years. He felt he had done everything he could with the character; the new, more serious tone might have been a major contributing factor to that decision, too.[[/note]] Burns was replaced by Charles Emerson Winchester III (Creator/DavidOgdenStiers), who not only proved to be an actual asset to the medical staff, but even (eventually) became a nicer guy...[[JerkWithAHeartOfGold in his own way]].

* LoveTriangle: The show wasn’t exactly subtle with Trapper leaving Hawkeye with a kiss, Hawkeye’s bitterness over that being his only goodbye, and BJ’s (sometimes unfounded, other times helped right along by Hawk) jealousy.

* SexForSolace: “The Price For Tomato Juice” has BJ and Hawkeye having a rare moment of sympathy for Margaret and Frank as a couple, saying they’re two lonely people who have barely a heart between them. Hawkeye would know, his constant sleeping around even long before Korea being half [[EthicalSlut because he enjoys it]], and half a response to trauma: being abandoned, a way to protect himself and because he sometimes feels like he’s not much good for anything else.

* EnsembleCast: Everyone gets some time in the spotlight.

** Frank once browbeats Henry into approving a Purple Heart citation and another time he receives a Purple Heart by mistake. Neither time was he eligible. The first, "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet", he receives a Purple Heart for throwing out his back while dancing, which was not a direct result of combat and, more importantly, would cause him to be discharged; back problems were an automatic medical disqualification from service. The second (based on an incident in Vietnam), "The Kids", he gets a Purple Heart for getting a bit of eggshell in his eye, and putting it in a report as "shell fragment" -- slightly more believable for it to go through in the first place, but by this point, the camp is under the command of Potter, who takes military awards much more seriously and would probably insist that Frank clear up the misconception and return the medal.
*** In both cases, Hawkeye steals Frank's medal and gives it to someone he feels is more deserving: the first goes to an underage Marine with appendicitis who lied about his age to enlist (which would put him in worse trouble, as he has been reported for identity theft and now has stolen property), and in the second, Hawkeye steals it and gives it to a baby who was grazed by a bullet that went through his mother's abdomen shortly before she gave birth. But in addition to the fact that Frank's name would have been on both medals, those particular medals being stolen would have no long-term impact on Frank anyway; he would have been on record as a two-time recipient of the Purple Heart, and could have been issued replacements for the physical medals.

* SlutShaming: By the end of the show, most people in the cast had (usually affectionately) found a GettingCrapPastTheRadar way of calling Hawkeye a slut. Most of all himself in “Who Knew”, as a nurse who he dated and had feelings for him dies, and admits it’s a part of his SadClown-ing and a reason to hate himself.

** And Hawkeye was prone to bribing Radar by offering him to look at the nurses' x-rays.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** In the Season 2 episode "The Sniper", Radar's bare butt is shown briefly when a sniper opens fire on him as he runs back into the showers tent; however, depending on the network, some syndicated prints have a different version where he doesn't drop his towel.
** More generally, the show had a ''lot'' of DoubleEntendre gags in the early years. For example:
-->'''Frank:''' Oh, Margaret, you're my snug harbor, I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to sail into.
** A similar example from "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler?":
-->'''Margaret:''' [to Potter] If evidence is what you want, Colonel, evidence is what you'll get. [to Frank] Are you with me, Major?
-->'''Frank:''' Right up to the hilt.
** From the same episode: Margaret's face makes it clear she really is talking about his penis.
-->'''Flagg''': All it takes is the right man with a shovel who knows where to dig.\\
'''Frank''': I couldn't ask for a better man.\\
'''Margaret''': Or a bigger shovel.
** "The General Flipped at Dawn" has one just as blatant:
-->'''Trapper''': You better not bump into Henry and that general.
-->'''Hawkeye''': I intend only to bump into Nurse Baker. Repeatedly, if possible.
** In one episode, Hawkeye sees Margaret using a scalp massager on Frank. Hawkeye's response is, "Behind every great man is a woman with a vibrator." And yes, they had vibrators back then -- Hamilton Beach started selling them in 1902 (see ''Film/{{Hysteria}}''). Scalp massagers really were called vibrators as well.
** TheTag of the pilot, with Hawkeye and Trapper handcuffed together (they were being arrested by General Hammond) was considered controversial at the time. [[HoYay For some reason]].
** We're actually treated to some brief side-boobage in, "The Merchant of Korea," after Margaret finishes her angry phone call to Penobscott, as she leaves Radar's office, she swings her arm far enough to reveal a little side-boob under her summer shirt.
** During "It Happened One Night," the unit is getting shelled by [[UnfriendlyFire a negligent friendly army unit]]. Radar calls the lieutenant in charge of the battery, and we only see their side of the conversation.
-->'''Radar''': He's got a suggestion, but I think it's physically impossible.\\
'''Hawkeye''': ''[after speaking with the lieutenant]'' You're right. He's got a lot to learn about anatomy.
** In "Goodbye Radar pt. 2", Klinger is wheeling and dealing for a new generator when theirs is stolen. At the depot, an enormous major shows up announcing he's here to pick up HIS generator -- the one that was supposed to go to the 4077 -- and Max mutters ''Ya ibn kalb!'' This is "son of a dog", and considered mild enough to say to a misbehaving child, but still. (To make matters worse, the major's outfit was the one that stole the 4077's backup generator before the main one broke.)
** In one episode, the writers clearly didn't care about the Radar at all, having Hawkeye directly call a South Korean TortureTechnician (that's right, a ''South Korean'' who planned to torture an admittedly unrepentant enemy) a "son of a bitch", marking the first time that phrase had been used on television. Of course, it was obviously [[PrecisionFStrike done for shock value]].
** When propositioning a nurse, Hawkeye was once interrupted by Father Mulcahy. When asked, he said they were discussing the ''ups and downs'' of doctor-nurse relationships.
** Speaking of the good padre, in one episode Radar asks if he's seen Hawkeye anywhere.
-->'''Mulcahy''': "I believe he mentioned Nurse Schibetta. He was going to share a spicy salami with her. ''[{{beat}}]'' She's Italian, you know."
** Once, when Hawkeye is propositioning a nurse during surgery:
-->'''Frank''': Are you gonna knock it off?
-->'''Hawkeye''': That's what I'm trying to find out, Frank.
** In "The Interview", since what we see is ostensibly a documentary shown on TV, swear words are bleeped out. At one point, Hawkeye gets a "shit" past the radar.
** Margaret compares Frank to Donald.
-->'''Margaret''': When I can have knockwurst, why settle for a--
-->'''Hawkeye''': [[BiggerIsBetterInBed cocktail frank?]]
** Every single episode has a major one: the show's theme song was titled "Suicide is Painless" and its original version in the movie included lyrics that would not have been acceptable on 1970s TV because of the suicide theme. However, using an instrumental version for the TV series qualifies for the trope since many viewers knew the lyrics anyway.
** For a character who (according to Alan Alda) was explicitly told to not go near men's underwear by execs because "degrading", Hawkeye managed to call himself every 50s-style euphemism for queer that would just manage to get under the radar. Even if he was straight and just making jokes, there was a ''lot''.
** Hawkeye’s frequent nudist magazines weren’t just of naked women, and they even called attention to the fact that they had men in them too, not just ignoring them in favor of girls.

** The movie version of the theme, written by Johnny Mandel and then-14-year-old Mike Altman, was a ''huge'' hit on college and community radio stations. The lyrics were probably MistakenForProfound; at best, they're an IceCreamKoan; Creator/RobertAltman, who directed the film, asked for "the stupidest lyrics ever written" and his son turned them out in five minutes. Painless Pole, the character that the song refers to, was adapted out of the series, so the double meaning the song contains is lost.

** The movie version of the theme, written by Johnny Mandel and then-14-year-old Mike Altman, was a ''huge'' hit on college and community radio stations. The lyrics were probably MistakenForProfound; at best, they're an IceCreamKoan; Creator/RobertAltman, who directed the film, asked for "the stupidest lyrics ever written" and his son turned them out in five minutes. Painless Pole, the character that the song refers to, was adapted out of the series, so the lyrics would have less meaning.

* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Hawkeye has a habit to cradle the people he love’s heads, whether it’s BJ, Carlye, Tommy or Kyung Soon. When he’s glad Trapper and Kim are safe, he gives both of them a relieved ruffle to the hair.

** Hawkeye, obviously, though surprisingly he is portrayed as more or less monogamous with Nurse Gage during the second and third season. He gets called out more in the later seasons (with even BJ calling him depraved in "Taking The Fifth"), and heavily implied to be trauma-related in "Who Knew", but still tries to prostitute himself for charity in "Give and Take" and teases everyone in the finale that he loved as many of them as he was able.