Least Favorite Episodes

[Big Daddy O'Reilly]

The other day, Chuck gave us the near-impossible task our narrowing down a choice of our top ten favorite episodes... well, as the old saying goes, "There's a little bad in everything good", M*A*S*H had countless wonderful episodes, but every once in a while, they produced a dud that not too many people like, so this here's a list of your top ten LEAST favorite episodes (a list that's much easier to narrow down). Here are mine:

1. "Hawkeye" (4x19): I mean, was it really necessary to have Hawkeye carry on a 25-minute monologue of randomness? I know Larry Gelbart wanted to see if an entire episode could be carried by just one character, but Hawkeye was already the unofficial star of the show, so it probably would have worked better in any other character was the sole character of the plot.
2. Both parts of "Good-bye, Radar" (8x04/05): Naturally.
3. "A Full Rich Day" (3x12): Everybody agrees that this episode MAKES NO SENSE!
4. "For the Good of the Outfit" (2x04): Does nothing for me, I find it long and boring.
5. "Love and Marriage" (3x20): Absolutely terrible and forgettable... the only thing that saved that episode was Hawkeye helping the Korean mother give birth on the bus, while Radar freaked out the entire time.
6. "In Love and War" (6x08): I'm sorry, I know Alan Alda poured his heart and soul into that particular script, and wrote it based on the real-life experiences of a real-life Korean woman, and basically dedicated the episode to her, but... it just didn't do anything for me.
7. A tie between "B.J. Papa San" (7x16) and "Inga" (7x17): Both are dull and boring.
8. "Payday" (3x22): Nothing special about it, pretty forgettable.
9. "Edwina" (1x13): A general non-favorite amongst most fans.
10. "Of Moose and Men" (4x12): There's just nothing that grabs your interest in this episode... plus, I don't understand why that colonel actually sounds like he's in worse shape AFTER he was in surgery as opposed to before; seriously, he's barking and yelling at Hawkeye, even after he was wounded, but in Post-Op, he sounds like he's dying.

Funnily, in addition to "Inga", there are other "fan-favorite" and "award winning" episodes out there I'm not too fond of either, like "5 O'Clock Charlie" (2x02) and "The Incubator" (2x12); and I was struggling with a depression several years ago, and for some reason kept watching "Tea and Empathy" (6x18) during that time, so now I have difficulty watching it again. Conversely, there are some episodes that many consider to be bad that I don't mind so much, biggest example being "Major Fred C. Dobbs" (1x22): even the cast and crew said that the worst episode the ever did, yet I don't think it's THAT bad, and as I mentioned in the other thread, "Cowboy" (1x08) is actually a favorite of mine.

[Ranger]

Good question. There are very few episodes I hate, but the below are the least interesting to me. Some are the same as yours BDOR. The first 4 are the only ones I dislike, the remainder are ones I'm just not that fond of.


1.Lend a Hand - Although I like the real life story behind this about Alan and his father making amends, I don't find the episode very interesting. They turned Borelli's character into a fuss pot and bore and it felt like a waste of the charater.
2.BJ Papa San- Too bitty, didn''t really offer anything new as we felt like had already seen a lot of the storylines before and not all that interesting.
3.Of Moose and Men - Similarly to BJ Papa San there isn't anything new here and I never liked Zale's character.
4.The Grim Reaper - The main story is too depressing and I never really bought the Charles/ Margaret pairing which they seem to be trying to force on us here.
5.As You Were - I just find the whole Gorilla Suit business too contrived
6.Operation Noselift - This one is purely personal. I don't agree with cosmetic surgery and I think the episode could have been handled better if they'd persuaded the guy to accept his appearance, also the nose looks too fake. The bandage on the dog at the end is funny though.
7.That's Show Biz - I didn't like the Brandy character and I don't see why they felt this needed to be two episodes long, it just went on too long.
8. Bless You Hawkeye - The only Sydney episode I don't like and the only time I think Alan's acting is below par.
9. Give Em Hell Hawkeye- The B Plot about the kid who wants surgery to look western is an interesting idea and I'm pleased they talked him out of it, but the child actor is just dreadful it's hard to care, also Margaret almost seems to be flirting with him at one point which makes uncomfortable viewing.
10. House Arrest - An otherwise funny episode ruined by the rape jokes.

[Big Daddy O'Reilly]

My only disagreements with you Ranger are "As You Were" and "House Arrest".

I agree, Hawkeye and Trapper with those gorilla suits was a bit much (I've actually been rewatching Season Two lately, and I'm reminded why it's not a favorite of mine, at times, Hawkeye and Trapper's antics get too broad and too annoying... even when they're in serious trouble, they can't stop cracking jokes about it), but the rest of the episode with Frank zonked out of his skull and Radar continually promoting himself over the phone make up for it. As for "House Arrest", it's one of my favorites from Season Three. I can attest that joking about rape isn't funny (I have a friend who was unfortunate enough to be the victim of sexual assault as little one), but the rest of the episode is just a riot, with Hawkeye being treated like a king when he's under arrest, and no matter what she's in, Mary Wickes is ALWAYS funny.

Other than that, I can agree with your other choices. My biggest complaint with "Operation Noselift" is... WE NEVER SEE BAKER'S NEW NOSE! Obviously his nose was fake to exaggerate its appearance, but I mean we never even see the end results of the surgery to see how his new nose works out for him... what a tease. It's quite a cliffhanger.

[Chuck]

There's only one episode that I really don't like. There are others I would skip over in the series because I'm not in the mood, but "Dreams" I do not like. It has numerous parts in it which give me the creeps. For example, the part where Hawkeye is in the boat with no arms. I get what the show is saying, but it's creepy. I know the producers were trying to show the horror of war at an emotional level and I think they achieved that with the morbid nature of this particular episode. On a good note, the dreams tie in very well with the lives and desires of the characters.

[Ranger]

My only disagreements with you Ranger are "As You Were" and "House Arrest".

I agree, Hawkeye and Trapper with those gorilla suits was a bit much (I've actually been rewatching Season Two lately, and I'm reminded why it's not a favorite of mine, at times, Hawkeye and Trapper's antics get too broad and too annoying... even when they're in serious trouble, they can't stop cracking jokes about it), but the rest of the episode with Frank zonked out of his skull and Radar continually promoting himself over the phone make up for it. As for "House Arrest", it's one of my favorites from Season Three. I can attest that joking about rape isn't funny (I have a friend who was unfortunate enough to be the victim of sexual assault as little one), but the rest of the episode is just a riot, with Hawkeye being treated like a king when he's under arrest, and no matter what she's in, Mary Wickes is ALWAYS funny.

Other than that, I can agree with your other choices. My biggest complaint with "Operation Noselift" is... WE NEVER SEE BAKER'S NEW NOSE! Obviously his nose was fake to exaggerate its appearance, but I mean we never even see the end results of the surgery to see how his new nose works out for him... what a tease. It's quite a cliffhanger.

I'd forgotten about Radar constantly promoting himself, that is funny. I may have to give the episode another go. I do watch House Arrest but I always skip the final scene, otherwise I like it, Trapper eating Hawkeye's steak always makes me laugh (especially as he did the same thing with Henry in Cowboy) and I like the relationship between Radar and Klinger in it.
Good point about Operation Noselift.
Chuck. I didn't like Dreams when I first saw it, but I appreciate it more now.

[Big Daddy O'Reilly]

I forgot to add "Post-Op" (5x24) to the list of honorable mentions of least favorite episodes... it's very dull and very boring in my book.

[mash4077fan]

My least favorites is
goodbye radar cause who wanted to see radar leave.
the interview and our finest hour cause I thought they were just boring and I didn't like the black and white episodes.
Dreams. Don't know why. I just never liked it

[BigT112]

Here goes my list:

-The Long John Flap (Season 1): Not funny to me, a very annoying episode in my opinion.
-For Want of a Boot (Season 2): I hate the episodes that have to do with everyone making deals, only to have them fall apart. Not funny to me.
-The Late Captain Pierce (Season 4): I have never really liked this episode, it's boring to me.
-The Nurses (Season 5): Another Margret is angry at the nurses, then finds out they hate her episode. Boring. (Though Hawkeye and BJ stealing her tent is funny)
-The Light that Failed (Season 6): Don't find it that funny.
-Our Finest Hour (Season 7): Did MASH really need a clip show? The answer is no.
-Pressure Points (Season 10): Another Potter is angry and takes it out on the gang episode. Boring.

[Big Daddy O'Reilly]

I agree with "The Light That Failed", not only is it really not that great an episode, but the little subplot with Charles gets on my nerves a little, even though it does illustrate just how egotistical he is that he won't even accept responsiblility for almost killing a patient just because he's (in his own mind) the best surgeon there is.

I do, however, disagree with you on "Our Finest Hour", I like clipshows, so for M*A*S*H to do one I thought was great, and it also was nice to have reminders of the characters that had previously departed.

[BigT112]

To me, clip shows seem lazy. Out Finest Hour was an hour long, we could have had two different original episodes instead of an hour of clips and a show that felt, IMHO like it was ripping off The Interview (which was a great episode). I have never been a fan of clip shows however, and I can live with Our Finest Hour, at least MASH only ever did one.

[Kimberly]

Anything with Colonel Flagg
"Dreams"
When Hawkeye doesn't romantically like Nurse Kelly. At the end he dresses in a tuxedo to take her out but she is with someone else.
When Hawkeye dreams he is still a boy and plays basketball asleep, etc... Sydney has to come to help. Hawkeye realizes he couldn't have saved his childhood friend from drowning. There was nothing he could have done to save him.

[GrapeNehi]

My least favorites is
goodbye radar cause who wanted to see radar leave.
the interview and our finest hour cause I thought they were just boring and I didn't like the black and white episodes.
Dreams. Don't know why. I just never liked it

I totally agree about the black and white episodes. Those lacked the normal humor which is mostly what I tuned in for.

I also disliked most episodes after Winchester came on board. The character of Frank Burns combined with his hush-hush affair with Houlihan was just comedic gold.

[noman]

After The Late Captain Pierce -with the exception of the Novacine Mutiny every epsiode to the last drawnout episode--MASH was funny but unrealistic at times-remember the Christmas epsiode where Hawkeye climbs down dressed as Saint Nick? {Examplle if all those doctors and Houlihan had consumed that much achohal--they would have been too DRUNK TO OPERATE!} The last constructive episode was The Late Captain Pierce which takes place in December 1952--HINT EISENHOWER VIST TO KOREA AFTER HE WAS ELECTED AS PRESIDENT. "The Late captain Pierce" should have been Hawkeye's Swain song last episode-HAwkeye is tried of dealing with death and goes home instead of just stopping at Rosie and going back to the War; for Houlihan her last epsiode should have been when she flies off to get married-and never comes back.....this should have been Burns last epsiode as well...after all after he finally left the show..it stopped being funny.....The problum with B.J. is that they tried to make him into another Trapper John after Wayne Rogers left the show {remember the pilot epsiode of hawkeye and Trapper in Beach chairs-that was receated with Hawkeye and BJ}; likewise they tried to make Winchester into another Frank Burns--exchanging a slob for a snob....Colonel Flag should have only appeared in the two episodes where he was really crazy {A Smattering of Intelligence"} and {Abducation of Margaret Houlihan] instead of bring him back over and over again...Henry Morgan was better as the Crazy General Steele {On reruns they cut out the best parts!} ,,,,,,really this show was ruined when they kept it on for 6 more boring seasons! As for Colonel Blake in both e movie and the series--a general incompetent caring only about his extra marital affairs and his booze....They were not even faithful to Korean War facts...the one where a wounded officer forces to the doctors to operate on his sgt...real inceident in 1944!

[Obie]

I almost agree with every one of Big Daddy's list. I totally disliked Inga and hated The Nurses. I hated this because it was by Linda Bloodworth Thompson at the beginning of her super feminist writings. Think about it; Margaret was not that hard on the nurses during any other script and this writing was completely out of character for her.

She was strict/tough, of course; but mean and ugly? Never.

Miss Ginger