Template:Infobox M*A*S*H episode V2 Ceasefire was episode 23 of the first season of the TV series M*A*S*H, also the 23rd overall episode of the series. Written by Sid Dorfman, and directed by Don Weis, it originally aired on CBS-TV on March 18, 1973.
Synopsis
Rumors of a ceasefire reach the 4077th. Everyone is jubilant and says their goodbyes, except for Trapper who is skeptical about it. Celebrations are in full swing when news arrives that the rumor is unfounded.
Full episode summary
Upon the news of a ceasefire, everyone in camp celebrates and says their good-byes, except for Trapper John, who remains skeptical. Everyone prepares for the end of the war in his own way. Klinger mounts a firesale of his Klinger Collection which is snapped up enthusiastically by the nurses. Radar collects autographs from all his friends. Margaret and Frank say tearful farewells to each other.
Meanwhile, Hawkeye has to wriggle his way out of commitments to three different nurses, so he tells each of them that he is married. One of the nurses, Barbara Bannerman, tells him to check his sleeping bag for a landmine. Another, Margie Cutler, hits him on the head with a bedpan.
The camp gathers enthusiastically in the mess tent for a ceasefire party. Hawkeye launches the festivities by announcing that he is forgiving $1,500 worth of poker debts; later, he shows several embarrassing pictures of Brigadier General Crandell Clayton, but before the celebrations go much further, Radar brings news that the ceasefire did not actually happen. To make things worse, wounded begin to arrive. Afterward, Hawkeye thinks of the gambling debts he forgave, the nurses who now hate him, and being on Clayton's hate list.
Guest stars/Recurring cast
- Jamie Farr as Klinger
- William Christopher as Father Mulcahy
- Patrick Adiarte as Ho-Jon
- Lynette Mettey as Nancy
- Marcia Strassman as Margie
- Bonnie Jones as Barbara
- Odessa Cleveland as Ginger
- Bruce Kimmel as Private Gilbert
- Herb Voland as General Clayton
Research notes/Fun facts
- Apparently, an alternative ending was written for this script in which the war actually did end. This was just in case the network decided not to renew M*A*S*H for another season, in which case the alternative ending would have been used, and "Ceasefire" would have been the last episode.[1]
- At the end of the episode, Hawkeye and Trapper are sitting in the frame of their tent; a similar scene is in "Bug Out", when Hawkeye goes back to the Swamp after it has been taken down.
- Last appearance of Nurse Margie Cutler (Marcia Strassman). Considering Hawkeye pretty much broke up with her by lying about being married, it made sense to write the character out of the series. (Ironically, a later episode has Pierce admitting to having had a common law relationship with a nurse after he graduated from Medical School "The More I See You"; however, he did lie because they broke up after about a year.)
- This episode misuses the term "ceasefire" to an egregious extent: A ceasefire is only a temporary ceasing of hostilities between two warring factions for the purpose of furthering peace negotiations. It is not meant to be an indication of the complete cessation of all conflict. (In Season 8, the ceasefire is more accurately portrayed "Dear Uncle Abdul".)