Recap / M*A*S*H S1 E24: Showtime

A USO troupe comes to MASH 4077, complete with a guy who tells bad jokes, a band, and a girl-trio of singers. As they perform for the men and women of the medical unit, the life and antics still go on as normal.

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Attention, attention! The USO troupe has incorporated the following tropes into their routine:

• Crazy Survivalist: Kaplan insanely tries to spare himself from doing anything he considers dangerous so he can leave the unit and get home to the States in one piece. It doesn't work.
• Deadpan Snarker:
  • Hawkeye and Frank argue over how to treat a patient.
    Frank: Stop! Are you going over my head?
    Hawkeye: No, just through the hole in it. [to the nurse] Go ahead.
    Frank: You hold it. And that's an order!
    Hawkeye: MOVE! And that's a threat!
    Frank: [turns back to Hawkeye; points to his oak leaf] This happens to be a gold oak leaf.
    Hawkeye: I thought it was a little big for dandruff.
  • Ugly John gets a turn when Trapper asks him how their patient is faring.
    Trapper: Okay, how am I doing?
    Ugly John: You're fine. He's in trouble.
• The Dog Bites Back: To the surprise of the audience, Frank Burns starts pulling pranks on Hawkeye with triumphant aplomb.
  • Ultimately, this is how Frank's reign as the camp's king prankster is brought to an end.
• Don't Explain the Joke: Jackie Flash is in the middle of doing this when he first appears, but instead switches to a corny one-liner.
  • Parodied by Hawkeye with the joke about the guy who saved his own regiment by shooting the cook.
• Framing Device: The troupe's performance serves as this, intercutting with the various plots.
• Gilligan Cut: In the same scene - as Kaplan is driving off to the airport, Hawkeye and Father Mulcahy reflect on how lucky he is. Just then, we hear the car skid and crash, and Hawkeye, Father Mulcahy, and the nurse who tried to kiss Kaplan goodbye run out after it.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In the middle of ranting about how jinxed he's been (after his accident), Kaplan does ask Hawkeye if the driver of the vehicle is okay.
• Last-Second Word Swap: As Trapper and Margaret leave (after his patient gets better):
  Hawkeye: You know, those two could end up...(remembers Father Mulcahy is there)
  Father Mulcahy: Yes?
  Hawkeye: (Beat) Rolling Easter eggs.
• Retirony: Kaplan, the dentist, is determined to defy this trope. He has his orders to go home, and is trying to ensure that he does not have any mishaps before he gets there. He fails (not fatally), of course, at the end of the episode.
• Rimshot: Frequently used whenever Jackie Flash tells a joke
• Shipper on Deck: Close to the end of the episode, Hawkeye thinks Trapper and Margaret would make a good couple.
• So Unfunny, It's Funny: Jackie Flash's bad jokes and the cast's deadpan reactions to them.
• Too Much Information: Hawkeye is envious about Kaplan going home, until he learns that the dentist hasn't used the latrine in eighteen hours.
• Tough Room: No one laughs at Jackie Flash's jokes at first, until he starts telling doctor-related jokes.
• Two Lines, No Waiting: More like six lines, no waiting. This episode juggles six storylines: the USO show, Trapper worrying about his patient, Henry being upset about not being home when his baby is born, Frank taking revenge on Hawkeye defying one of his orders, Father Mulcahy worrying he's not doing a good job as a priest, and Kaplan wanting to make sure nothing happens to him before he goes home.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Margaret asks Trapper if it is necessary to make bad jokes while performing surgery.
  Trapper: Absolutely.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Hawkeye does this to help Father Mulcahy when the latter doubts his work as a priest isn't good enough when compared to the doctors' successes.
  Hawkeye: I used to have a professor in med school who always said: "God cures the patients but the doctor takes the fee."
  Father Mulcahy: Do you think that's true?
  Hawkeye: I've been able to do a lot of things in surgery that I'm not really good enough to do.