Preventative Medicine (19 Feb. 1979)

Hawkeye Pierce performs a shocking and sinister stunt to keep a war-obsessed colonel from sending more young victims to a possible early grave.

Director:

Tony Mordente

Writers:

Larry Gelbart (developed for television by), Tom Reeder,

Stars:

Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Alan Alda	...	Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce
Mike Farrell	...	Captain B.J. Hunnicut
Harry Morgan	...	Colonel Sherman T. Potter
Loretta Swit	...	Major Margaret Houlihan
David Ogden Stiers	...	Major Charles Winchester
Gary Burghoff	...	Corporal Walter Eugene O'Reilly
Jamie Farr	...	Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger
William Christopher	...	Father Francis Mulcahy
James Wainwright	...	Colonel Lacy
Larry Flash Jenkins	...	Private North
Jeff Maxwell	...	Igor Straminsky

Storyline

Hawkeye Pierce performs a shocking and sinister stunt to keep a war-obsessed colonel from sending more young victims to a possible early grave.

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Plot Keywords:

body mutilation | immaturity | medical malpractice | directed by star

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 February 1979 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 9, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

24 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally, the story was to have Hawkeye and BJ being equally eager to perform the medically needless appendectomy to put the warmongering colonel out of action. However, Mike Farrell objected to this plot development on the basis that it was an act of mutilation and is never justifiable. While Alan Alda was equally adamant that it was appropriate for the sake of the lives of the soldiers the colonel was about to manipulate into battle, despite that colonel being clearly ordered to keep out of needless combat. The resulting argument between the actors was incorporated into the revised script which also has BJ refuse to cooperate with Hawkeye's surgery.

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Goofs

In "Change of Command" when Potter first arrives, he tells Radar that he was 15 years old when he joined the army during World War 1. In this episode he tells Colonel Lacy that he's been in this man's army for 30 odd years. This would mean Potter is 45 years old. But he should be in his 60s. In Pressure Points, he tells Sidney that he's 62. But even that does not work. If he was 62 in 1952, this means he was born in 1890. That means he was much older than 15 during WWI.

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Connections

References The Iceman Cometh (1960)

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Soundtracks

"Ain't We Got Fun?"
(uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting
Lyrics by Ray Egan and Gus Kahn
Performed by Alan Alda

User Reviews

A Crisis Of Conscience!!

The opening part of the episode started with surgery. Captain Hunnicutt was first unsure about a patient's liver looking like Illinois. Little did he know the patient was a crew of Colonel Lacy's outfit. The 4077th -- in its obvious task -- had been involved with doing surgery with the rest of Colonel Lacy's soldiers. No wonder everyone acted confused and unsure about the reckless situation from the likes of Colonel Lacy. Coloney Lacy would later arrive at the 4077th to visit his soldiers in the post-operation section of the hospital. Captain Hunnicutt was crudely shocked -- but surprised -- at Colonel Lacy's presence for the sole purpose of engaging in an obvious counteroffensive. Captain North acted resentful and hateful about the injuries his other buddies endured in the battle under his unit. Another soldier became in shock as Colonel Lacy was about to hand him the purple heart in the post-operation ward.

Captains Pierce and Hunnicutt -- albeit with difference of opinions -- invited Colonel Lacy to "The Swamp" for a round of drinks. Captain Pierce would hand Colonel Lacy his drink; then later encountered appendicitis. Captain Pierce operated on Colonel Lacy in surgery -- without the assistance of Captain Hunnicutt. The Reality: operating on Captain Lacy was a ploy to prevent the mortality rate to reach anywhere between 45 percent and 55 percent from his outfit. Surgery was a plan to prevent Colonel Lacy from causing any more injuries to his soldiers. The Result: A Solid 9!! Recommended For Everyone To Watch!!