Kim was the sixth episode of Season 2 of the TV series M*A*S*H, and also the 30th overall episode of the series. Written by Larry Gelbart, Marc Mandel, and Laurence Marks and directed by William Wiard, it originally aired on CBS-TV on October 20, 1973.
Synopsis[]
Hawkeye treats a young Korean boy whose village has been destroyed by artillery fire. Unable to trace his family, Henry wants to send him to Sister Theresa's orphanage. Trapper hates the idea and wants to adopt him and take him home to the States.
Full summary[]
Hawkeye treats a young Korean boy whose village has been destroyed by artillery fire. Despite the resourceful Radar's best efforts, the staff is unable to trace the family of the boy. Henry wants to send him to Sister Theresa's orphanage. Trapper hates the idea and wants to adopt him and take him home to the States. So he writes to his wife asking for her support in the matter.
The boy becomes very popular. The MASH personnel take turns entertaining him. Trapper does magic tricks, and Klinger plays baseball with him. Hawkeye brings him along when he dates Nurse Mitchell during movie night. Margaret wants him to spend the night in her tent - even postponing her regular Thursday "discussions" with Frank.
Trapper's wife replies saying she and the rest of the family are enthusiastic about adopting the boy. Meanwhile, Margaret and Frank bring him along for a picnic. While they are not looking, the boy wanders into a minefield. Trapper rushes in to rescue him but Hawkeye yells to him to stop while he fetches the maps of the minefield. Henry and Radar arrive with the maps, but Henry is so muddled that he gives Trapper directions using an old map of downtown Berlin. By the time Hawkeye and Radar finally find the right map, it shows that Trapper is stuck with mines 6 inches in any direction.
O'Brien turns up with his chopper trailing a rope ladder. He picks up both Trapper and the boy and brings them to safety, to the cheers of the MASH personnel. Just then, Sister Theresa turns up in a truck with a woman who is searching for her son - it turns out to be Kim's mother, much to Trapper's disappointment.
Later in the Swamp, Radar comes by to tell Hawkeye and Trapper that Kim's doing fine and will come to visit in the future. He offers Trapper information on another Korean boy that might need adopting, and the surgeons suggest adopting Radar instead.
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- O'Brien was first mentioned in Season 1 "To Market, to Market" and was first seen in the previous episode "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde". There is no close-up scene of him in this episode.
- Col. Blake makes a mention of having two kids. Earlier this season, however, his wife gave birth to his third child (a boy, "Radar's Report").
- Anachronism: In Blake's office, there's a model of a helicopter hanging from the ceiling. The helicopter is a UH-1 Iroquois, which wasn't adopted until 1956 (after the Korean War).
- This episode features the first speaking roles - at least technically - for Kellye Nakahara, Dennis Troy, Jeff Maxwell, and Roy Goldman. All are uncredited extras in Post-Op, and all get to yell the line "Yes!" in encouraging Hawkeye to continue reading a story to Kim. Troy, Maxwell, and Goldman appear as patients in Post-Op, rather than in their usual roles of support staff at the 4077th.
- The oft-mentioned Sister Theresa returns. First seen in the episode "Tuttle" played by Mary Robin Redd, here she is played by Maggie Roswell.
- At the end of reading the letter from his wife, Trapper identifies his wife as "Louise". This is the first and only time he mentions her by name. Later, "Louise" would be come the name of Frank Burns' wife.
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Jamie Farr as Maxwell Q. Klinger
- William Christopher as Father Mulcahy
- Lesley Evans as Nurse Mitchell
- Edgar Miller as Kim
- Momo Yashima as Kim's Mother
- Maggie Roswell as Sister Theresa
- Uncredited appearances by Gwen Farrell, Kellye Nakahara, Dennis Troy, Jeff Maxwell, and Roy Goldman (the last three in unusual roles as injured patients in Post-Op)