(01x12) 012 - Dear Dad

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RJ
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(01x12) 012 - Dear Dad

Post by RJ »

Use this thread to discuss episode 01x12, Dear Dad.
billfark
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Re: (01x12) 012 - Dear Dad

Post by billfark »

I'm rewatching the series on DVD, and I had forgotten about the way Klinger is portrayed in this episode. After the funny intro to his character, skipping away from General Barker(?) in his first episode, we now see him pulling out a grenade and threatening to blow himself, Father Mulcahy, and, I'm sure, quite a few other people up after his little dust-up with Frank. Pretty dark stuff.

I think I'm confusing this with another show or even another MASH episode, but I thought we found out he only had a smoke grenade. I'm watching the DVD, so nothing was cut out for syndication. Is this from anything else that anyone can recall?

-Kevin
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Re: (01x12) 012 - Dear Dad

Post by Ferret Face »

I love this episode. I have a hard time deciding on my favorite episode of the series, or my favorite drama or experimental episodes, this is my favorite comedy episode (though it does have some very strong competition).

Honestly, this episode feels the closest to the movie out of all the episodes IMO. Like the movie, this episode focuses less on an over-arching storyline, and rather has a number of loosely connected vignettes. It feels more random in that sense than any other episode, including the other "Dear" episodes, which had stronger stories tied into them. Personally, I do prefer the show to the movie (though I still like the movie in its own way), but I think that kind of randomness lends itself surprisingly well to this half-hour format, especially given the strong writing that this episode had.

IMO, each of the vignettes was great in its own way. Henry's lecture on sex was dialogue-driven comedy at its best. Frank and Margaret's date was hilarious slapstick comedy, and easily my favorite prank up to this point. Klinger going after Frank with the grenade was a great bit of dark comedy, which admittedly was kind of out of character considering who he turned out to be in later episodes (though I write this off as him being exhausted and being pushed to his limits), but I still love. Especially Mulcahy talking him down, giving his character one of his first chances to shine. And Radar sending the jeep home, and Hawkeye hanging from the helicopter were both very different (and fun) forms of visual comedy. Though admittedly, the latter brings up the question of "wouldn't Hawkeye be an easy target for the enemy, just hanging there in that big, red suit?" Also, this episode is an early example of how great Trapper is with kids, when he's giving the shots (I love his exchange with the kid who came back a second time). This aspect of his character would come back, as a more central focus, in the episode "Kim."

Edit:
billfark wrote: Thu Mar 08, 2018 2:23 pm I'm rewatching the series on DVD, and I had forgotten about the way Klinger is portrayed in this episode. After the funny intro to his character, skipping away from General Barker(?) in his first episode, we now see him pulling out a grenade and threatening to blow himself, Father Mulcahy, and, I'm sure, quite a few other people up after his little dust-up with Frank. Pretty dark stuff.

I think I'm confusing this with another show or even another MASH episode, but I thought we found out he only had a smoke grenade. I'm watching the DVD, so nothing was cut out for syndication. Is this from anything else that anyone can recall?

-Kevin
You may be thinking of the second-last episode, "As Time Goes By," where Rizzo gets a fake grenade from Igor, and uses it to prank BJ, and then attempting the same prank on Charles, getting a very different result than he expected.
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Re: (01x12) 012 - Dear Dad

Post by Big Daddy O'Reilly »

For the longest time, both "Dear Dad" and "Dear Sis" were tied as my favorite Christmas episodes of M*A*S*H, however in recent years, "Dear Dad" has taken head and shoulders over "Dear Sis." While both are still very enjoyable episodes, and very well-done in their own ways, I find that "Dear Dad" is a far more fun, and (mostly) festive/cheerful episode . . . while "Dear Sis" is really good in showing what a complex character Father Mulcahy really is, upon repeat viewings, it because a rather mauldin and depressing episode, and I suppose I'll get around to explaining that whenever we get to that thread.
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