The following episode from the 1979-1980 television season would be one of the top four episodes ever in that campaign. Captains Hunnicutt and Pierce were involved in the most serious episode in saving a patient who lost an aorta. Major Houlihan -- starring Loretta Swit -- played a key role in this episode -- too -- in the fight against time from death because of acute renal failure or being paralyzed in the horrific situation. The three of them told the helicopter pilot that twenty minutes stood between life and death after they approach surgery. Mike Farrell's role in removing the aorta -- for the graft -- involved conflict with another wounded patient. His partner could not understand why the patient was more important than his own well-being; moreover, an eighteen-year-old was dying from a sever head wound within ten to twenty-two minutes. Anger, conflict, spontaneity, determination, diligence, and worthiness were key elements in preventing the patient from dying after twenty minutes. The program should have rated at least a 14 out of 10; moreover, the description of fitting the graft in the surgery was a key factor in that show. Both Mike Farrell and Alan Alda did quite well in the fight against time. Way To Go!! Another must see episode!!
5 Reviews
Another Very Creative Episode
Hitchcoc16 April 2015
Two soldier who don't know each other are wounded. One of them is terminal; the other likely to die. They don't have the tissue to save the second guy, but it will be possible if they use part of an aorta from the first man. The first guy has a buddy who finds the whole thing ghoulish, since his friend is not dead and seems to be a secondary concern. Where the episode gets creative is when Hawkeye says that there is a time limit on the surgical procedure. At some point, he will suffer brain damage. On the screen is a clock which lets us know how much time is left. This is really tense. The first man is not dead and, ethically, they cannot cut into him. It's a race against time in a sad and bizarre situation. The actors are quite good in this one.
Too real
padresteve10 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This episode is especially powerful if one has stood in an ER with a dying patient, stood on a ambulance dock when a hopeless case comes in, or been in an ICU when a patient is declared brain dead. I have been the Priest in many of those situations. Seeing Father Mulcahy administer the Last Rites to the patient on the bus, watching B. J. and Mulcahy work with the patient's friend, and knowing how little time there is to make such decisions is heart rending. I have done more of the Last Rites in ER's, and ICUs, and been in Combat Trauma units in Iraq, holding wounded Marines hands and praying as they went to surgery not to be affected by this episode. I have been there too many times when patients came in with ruptured or wounded aorta's and other with their brains destroyed, but their hearts still beating, whose organs saved other peoples lives. The clock in the corner and the ticking is very effective at raising the tension. Mike Ferrell and William Christopher do such a great job in their parts. M*A*S*H is one of the best, if not the best series to deal with men and women dealing with life and death decisions every day. This episode is one of the top five or ten of the entire series.
Outstanding - nearly 24 years before 24
safenoe16 October 2020
Nearly 24 years before Keifer Sutherland's 24, this groundbreaking episode of M*A*S*H has a clock countdown on the bottom corner of the screen. In this case it's 20 minutes to save a patient's life. I wonder if the creators of 24 were influenced by this suspenseful episode.
This is another creative and memorable episode of M*A*S*H, one that couldn't have been done under Frank Burns.
This is another creative and memorable episode of M*A*S*H, one that couldn't have been done under Frank Burns.
Best of M*A*S*H
sstrudell-826-78196329 January 2023
This episodes has stuck with me since it first aired. One of the 10 best episodes of the entire series. No laugh track. A real time clock ticking down the minutes. A real impact on the importance of life. An inside look at something that isn't talked that much about in the series: body part harvesting. The doctors take veins from the dead for use in future patients. What ever it takes to save a life. Not every patient, soldier can be saved. Waiting for a death is hard and the emotional impact on friend, doctor and others is evident. This episode always brings a tear to my eye. It's always one episode I'll gravitate to.
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