by Rachel Fahnel

Created on: May 28, 2009

Ask me which were the best M*A*S*H episodes on two different days and you will probably get two different answers. What make a great episode, though, seems to remain the same: a story line we can care about; a character whose life and experiences show us we aren't as crazy as we thought and at the same times makes us aware that none of us are as sane, either; and tossed in there like croutons to make the Caesar salad all it is, a few of Hawkeye's wisecracks.

"Period of Adjustment" comes to mind today as a great episode. We see a father forcibly separated from his child, and his heartbreak over realizing his daughter couldn't even recognize his face. We also see his jealousy over another being allowed to return to his family. The pain and the anger makes him lash out at the only one who he can really share his feelings with. It is true that this particular pain is one Hawkeye cannot share but Hawkeye is just as willing to let him cry on his shoulder even after he punches him, though he wore his combat helmet into the next encounter with BJ after the attack.

"Yessir, That's Our Baby" is possibly one of the most heartbreaking episodes. The fact is, there were many little ones left behind in Korea after the war, in a society that would not-and could not-accept them. The pain on Hawkeye's face when he realized there is nothing they can do for the little girl brings tears to my eyes.

Both episodes in which Alan Alda's father appears-"The Consultant" and "Lend A Hand"-are favorites. Robert Alda is a wonderful actor and when one considers the real tension that could exist between father and son (you need only to pick up Alan Alda's memoir, "Never Have Your Dog Stuffed" to read about it) the two of them played off one another more beautifully than you could imagine. Robert suggested the ending for "Lend A Hand" while his son wrote the episode. It is interesting to see Alan Alda's younger brother in the episode as well, as the medic at the aid station.

"The Long John Flap" is the first episode Alda wrote himself and it might be the best one of the whole first season. Radar's trading away the long johns-and the date with a cute little nurse that those things were worth-for a leg of lamb reveals quite a bit about the young man's personality.

"Sons and Bowlers" shows us just how deep the relationship between Hawkeye Pierce and his father Daniel is, and it also reveals a bit more about his mother, and how Daniel tried to temper Hawkeye's pain with food.

I could mention nearly every single episode of M*A*S*H,because those men and occasionally women who wrote the two-hundred-and-fifty-one episodes poured heart, life, and love into the shows they wrote. M*A*S*H isn't just a show about a smart-mouthed, skirt-chasing surgeon, a dress-wearing corporal, two opposite but equally wonderful commanding officers, a sweet but rock-steady company clerk, and the other unforgettable folks that populated that little piece of Korea. No, that show was about how humanity can stretch and survive under the worst conditions. Mix in love, laughter, a few tears, and a few people who will weep with you and for you, and it's hard to not have the best show that has ever been on television.

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