(03x24) 072 - Abyssinia, Henry
Posted: Tue Jun 25, 2013 8:34 pm
Well... what more can we say about this episode that we haven't already? It was bittersweet from beginning to end: on the one hand, you're happy for Henry to be going home and not have to be a part of the war anymore, but on the other hand, you're sad to see him go because he was such an intergral part of the M*A*S*H cast, not to mention a very funny and amusing character.
And who wasn't shocked and aghast at learning his plane was shot down? The first time I saw this episode, it almost felt like a slap in the face when Radar came in and deliver those now infamous words, "Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake's plane... was shot down... over the Sea of Japan. ... It spun in... there were no survivors..." I was so shocked and stunned by that, I couldn't even react, I kind of had what they refer to on TV Tropes as a Heroic BSOD.
Of course, let us not forget all of the controversy that surrounded this episode too: Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds swear that they wanted to take the opportunity of Henry's departure to show the horrors of way in a way that had never been done in television history, and let people know that unfortunately, not everybody made it home from Korea... HOWEVER, there's been specuation and rumors swirling around, even to this day, that the death of Henry was all a ploy cooked up by the producers AND the network to get rid of McLean Stevenson once and for all, because they say he was such a meddler.
At least in the end, Mac got the last laugh with his appearance on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, as Henry, floating down the river in a smoking raft, waving his arms and yelling, "I'M OKAY! I'M OKAY!" Or did he?
And who wasn't shocked and aghast at learning his plane was shot down? The first time I saw this episode, it almost felt like a slap in the face when Radar came in and deliver those now infamous words, "Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake's plane... was shot down... over the Sea of Japan. ... It spun in... there were no survivors..." I was so shocked and stunned by that, I couldn't even react, I kind of had what they refer to on TV Tropes as a Heroic BSOD.
Of course, let us not forget all of the controversy that surrounded this episode too: Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds swear that they wanted to take the opportunity of Henry's departure to show the horrors of way in a way that had never been done in television history, and let people know that unfortunately, not everybody made it home from Korea... HOWEVER, there's been specuation and rumors swirling around, even to this day, that the death of Henry was all a ploy cooked up by the producers AND the network to get rid of McLean Stevenson once and for all, because they say he was such a meddler.
At least in the end, Mac got the last laugh with his appearance on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, as Henry, floating down the river in a smoking raft, waving his arms and yelling, "I'M OKAY! I'M OKAY!" Or did he?