The doctors on this series are frequently portrayed as having no control over their sex drives. It's as if the nurses are in constant danger, like a pack of stud mares and that these guys have a right to do what they want, when they want. When a nurse named Edwina points out that she has never been with a man and that she is about to go home, her compadres decide to hold a sex strike until "Eddie" gets a date. She is certainly attractive enough, but she has the well founded reputation of being a walking disaster area. The men call a meeting and Hawkeye gets the short straw (pretty condescending and politically incorrect by today's standards and for a show that portrayed liberal values). When the two finally get together, it is really hilarious. No matter what they do, it falls apart. She breaks some glasses and Hawkeye steps on the glass. She almost breaks his jaw when she stands up quickly when they are dancing. She knocks over a stove pipe and it hits him in the head and covers him with soot. Everything is pretty much wrapped up in a nice ribbon. They did learn a lot as the series continued and that's good.
4 Reviews
ages like a fine wine
ivko28 January 2022
The title of this review is heavily sarcastic. All shows age, and eventually even shows that were considered liberal in their time will find themselves on the wrong side of social change. M*A*S*H, one of the most popular television shows in the history of the medium, is no exception to this rule, and this episode in particular is a stunning example of just how different social norms were when the show launched in 1972.
One of the recurring plot elements on the show was that the doctors and nurses of the 4077 unit engaged in heavy fraternization with one another, even when they had husbands and wives back home. It's presented as a coping mechanism for the horrors of war, usually with the unspoken assumption that whatever romance took place would remain a secret from spouses and boyfriends/girlfriends, and would end when their tours ended. It also helps to keep in mind that the show was created in an historically unusual time period between the start of mass produced penicillin, which cured many sexually transmitted diseases for the first time, and before diseases like AIDS had entered into the public consciousness, meaning that sex, rightly or wrongly, was often perceived at the time as a harmless diversion with few consequences.
Anyhow, the basic plot is that one of the nurses named Edwina was being sent home in a few weeks and confesses her sadness to another nurse that she hadn't experienced any intimacy during her time in the unit. The nurses decide to band together and deny the men their usual sport unless one of the guys gives Edwina the experience she longs for.
The plot isn't that extraordinary. What is unusual is the behavior of the main characters, and the fact that it's presented as expected behavior for the shows protagonists. Married men are having affairs with the nurses, not even bothering to be coy about it; in fact, during a party scene Hawkeye even makes a joke about how many of them are cheating on their spouses. Officers are also seen carrying on with women who are in their chain of command, which is largely regarded as rape today even if it's consensual. When the nurses cut off the men they become enraged, as though they were being denied something that rightly belonged to them, even going so far as to storm into the C. O'.s office and demand that he order the nurses back on their backs, as it were.
One scene in particular that shocked me involved Radar, the shy young man that is presented as the shows archetypal 'nice guy', emerging from behind a tent rubbing his eye. Seems Radar was doing his usual thing of peering through a hole he made to watch the nurses bathe, but because of the embargo the girls thumped him in the eye this morning instead of, I guess, just letting some perv watch them naked. Hawkeye spots him and laughs about it, joking that he may have to settle for spying on the men showering for a while. In any show or movie made in the last decade a character spying on girls showering would usually be portrayed as the creepiest of creepy weirdos. And even in the rare situation where it's played for laughs (Rick & Morty, American Dad!) it's usually in some kind of over-the-top scenario that's meant to feel zany or silly, like they're trying to recreate a scene from an 80's movie or something. The idea that a well-liked character like Radar would do something like that and that the shows main character would find it funny instead of creepy is pretty mind blowing from a contemporary perspective.
I was too young to watch M*A*S*H on its first run, but the show was still heavily syndicated more than a decade after it ended and I watched it then, becoming a fan. But it's been over two decades since even my late arrival to the show, and re-watching it now via streaming has been pretty eye opening as to just how much our culture today differs after 50 years. So much so that I actually think younger viewers will need a historical primer to appreciate what might seem like monstrous behavior. Not all episodes are as blatant as this one, but it serves to highlight quite a few major changes to cultural norms.
One of the recurring plot elements on the show was that the doctors and nurses of the 4077 unit engaged in heavy fraternization with one another, even when they had husbands and wives back home. It's presented as a coping mechanism for the horrors of war, usually with the unspoken assumption that whatever romance took place would remain a secret from spouses and boyfriends/girlfriends, and would end when their tours ended. It also helps to keep in mind that the show was created in an historically unusual time period between the start of mass produced penicillin, which cured many sexually transmitted diseases for the first time, and before diseases like AIDS had entered into the public consciousness, meaning that sex, rightly or wrongly, was often perceived at the time as a harmless diversion with few consequences.
Anyhow, the basic plot is that one of the nurses named Edwina was being sent home in a few weeks and confesses her sadness to another nurse that she hadn't experienced any intimacy during her time in the unit. The nurses decide to band together and deny the men their usual sport unless one of the guys gives Edwina the experience she longs for.
The plot isn't that extraordinary. What is unusual is the behavior of the main characters, and the fact that it's presented as expected behavior for the shows protagonists. Married men are having affairs with the nurses, not even bothering to be coy about it; in fact, during a party scene Hawkeye even makes a joke about how many of them are cheating on their spouses. Officers are also seen carrying on with women who are in their chain of command, which is largely regarded as rape today even if it's consensual. When the nurses cut off the men they become enraged, as though they were being denied something that rightly belonged to them, even going so far as to storm into the C. O'.s office and demand that he order the nurses back on their backs, as it were.
One scene in particular that shocked me involved Radar, the shy young man that is presented as the shows archetypal 'nice guy', emerging from behind a tent rubbing his eye. Seems Radar was doing his usual thing of peering through a hole he made to watch the nurses bathe, but because of the embargo the girls thumped him in the eye this morning instead of, I guess, just letting some perv watch them naked. Hawkeye spots him and laughs about it, joking that he may have to settle for spying on the men showering for a while. In any show or movie made in the last decade a character spying on girls showering would usually be portrayed as the creepiest of creepy weirdos. And even in the rare situation where it's played for laughs (Rick & Morty, American Dad!) it's usually in some kind of over-the-top scenario that's meant to feel zany or silly, like they're trying to recreate a scene from an 80's movie or something. The idea that a well-liked character like Radar would do something like that and that the shows main character would find it funny instead of creepy is pretty mind blowing from a contemporary perspective.
I was too young to watch M*A*S*H on its first run, but the show was still heavily syndicated more than a decade after it ended and I watched it then, becoming a fan. But it's been over two decades since even my late arrival to the show, and re-watching it now via streaming has been pretty eye opening as to just how much our culture today differs after 50 years. So much so that I actually think younger viewers will need a historical primer to appreciate what might seem like monstrous behavior. Not all episodes are as blatant as this one, but it serves to highlight quite a few major changes to cultural norms.
McLean Stevenson hated this episode
safenoe13 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
One of my favorite M*A*S*H podcasts is MASH Matters, hosted by Jeff Maxwell (who played Igor) and Ryan Patrick. The 100th podcast, released back in April 2023, featured an interview with McLean Stevenson from awhile back (but after he had left M*A*S*H, and it was originally recorded on cassette) where he expressed his hatred for the Edwina episode. Edwina is a so-and-so episode, broadcast on Christmas eve in 1972, and one can imagine the Porky's writers getting some kind of inspiration from the plotline. Anyway, if you see Edwina once you won't regret not seeing it again, especially with McLean Stevenson having expressed his hatred for it.
The one where Hawkeye dates a klutz
jarrodmcdonald-117 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Arlene Golonka plays the title character of this episode, a nurse who is about to be discharged from the army and at age 28 hasn't found a man. It is said she hasn't even been kissed by one. This is a bit unbelievable, as she's a pretty enough gal. I should mention that Miss Golonka was almost 37 when this episode was first broadcast, and she definitely looks older than 28.
While Golonka gets to display her unique brand of physical comedy, since nurse Edwina is presented as a klutz, some of this didn't work for me. Mostly because I think a woman who's been a successful nurse for several years would at least have some dexterity and be coordinated enough to assist doctors and hold surgical instruments. She wouldn't be so klutzy.
Now if they had said she was a jinx and bad luck followed her everywhere she went, that would have been just as funny but much more believable.
Another thing that didn't work for me is that nurse Margie seems to be the one spearheading the effort to find a man for Edwina and organizing the other nurses to protest until one of the men in the camp agrees to date Edwina. Isn't Margaret supposed to be in charge of the nurses? Also, Margaret and Frank don't seem to be at odds the way the other men and women in the camp are. It's almost as if they aren't part of the plot, yet they are still present in group scenes.
When the men draw straws, Hawkeye is the one who loses and must date Edwina. This leads to a calamitous evening for him, though most of the laughs are predictable- her dropping things and knocking things over, his getting injured, etc. In one moment, she bangs her head hard against his, and he is in agony, yet she seems to be pain free? A lot of it was far-fetched.
The better part of this scenario involved Radar and Trapper helping Hawkeye get duded up for the date, while Margie and the other nurses conspired to make Edwina look glamorous. It was a ritual for them. But instead of the evening turning into something really nice, Hal Dresner's writing ensured that it remained silly.
While Golonka gets to display her unique brand of physical comedy, since nurse Edwina is presented as a klutz, some of this didn't work for me. Mostly because I think a woman who's been a successful nurse for several years would at least have some dexterity and be coordinated enough to assist doctors and hold surgical instruments. She wouldn't be so klutzy.
Now if they had said she was a jinx and bad luck followed her everywhere she went, that would have been just as funny but much more believable.
Another thing that didn't work for me is that nurse Margie seems to be the one spearheading the effort to find a man for Edwina and organizing the other nurses to protest until one of the men in the camp agrees to date Edwina. Isn't Margaret supposed to be in charge of the nurses? Also, Margaret and Frank don't seem to be at odds the way the other men and women in the camp are. It's almost as if they aren't part of the plot, yet they are still present in group scenes.
When the men draw straws, Hawkeye is the one who loses and must date Edwina. This leads to a calamitous evening for him, though most of the laughs are predictable- her dropping things and knocking things over, his getting injured, etc. In one moment, she bangs her head hard against his, and he is in agony, yet she seems to be pain free? A lot of it was far-fetched.
The better part of this scenario involved Radar and Trapper helping Hawkeye get duded up for the date, while Margie and the other nurses conspired to make Edwina look glamorous. It was a ritual for them. But instead of the evening turning into something really nice, Hal Dresner's writing ensured that it remained silly.
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