The Grim Reaper was the 134th episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H. The episode, which was the 12th episode of Season 6, was written by Burt Prelutsky and directed by George Tyne. It originally aired on November 29, 1977.
Synopsis[]
Hawkeye puts his future on the line after he shoves a colonel who gets some kind of sick pleasure out of predicting casualties. Meanwhile, Klinger is delighted to meet up with a soldier from his hometown of Toledo.
Full episode summary[]
Hawkeye and B.J. are with Colonel Potter in his office listening to a report by (the ironically named) Colonel Bloodworth, who prides himself on his accurate record of predicted casualties. Bloodworth informs them of an impending major ground assault on Hill 403, and also pedantically gives them his prediction of how many casualties they can expect - an estimated 280 to 290 wounded soldiers, and 20 more if the weather is bad.
Hawkeye quickly grows to dislike Bloodworth, particularly his callousness over how many young men will be killed just to recapture a hill simply because, as Bloodworth puts it, "The enemy owns it." There's also no love lost on Bloodworth's end, as he resents Hawkeye's sarcasm.
Later, the casualties from Hill 403 begin to arrive, and Hawkeye strikes up a conversation with one of the wounded, a Private Danker. When he mentions he is from Toledo, Hawkeye warns him that he'll soon be visited by a hairy guy in a dress - namely Klinger.
After surgery, the number of wounded turns out to be 77 short of Bloodworth's prediction. Seeing an opportunity to put Bloodworth in his place, Hawkeye tracks him down in the Officers Club and gloats over his shortfall. But things soon turn ugly when the PA announces more incoming wounded. When Bloodworth smugly guarantees that it's the other 77 soldiers, Hawkeye, calling him a "grim reaper", openly voices his disgust with Bloodworth, not only for reducing human lives to numbers and equations, but even more so that he seems to enjoy his job. Hawkeye gets so worked up, he grabs Bloodworth by his shirt and throws him against a wall. He is about to go after him again but is stopped and escorted out of the Officers Club.
Potter chews out Hawkeye in his office, telling him that Bloodworth (who claims that Hawkeye hit him) is serious about bringing court martial charges against Hawkeye, but then says he'll try and get Bloodworth to back down, saying, "Maybe I can convince him how desperately we need surgeons, even stupid ones". He meets with Bloodworth and asks him to drop the charges, but Bloodworth will have none of it, and even insults Potter for "coddling" his doctors rather than disciplining them (which Potter doesn't appreciate). As Bloodworth drives off, Potter shouts after him, "Pierce shouldn't have pushed you - he should have decked you!"
Meanwhile in Post Op, Klinger finally meets Private Danker (while wearing a dress as Hawkeye warned), and the two swap stories about Toledo and all their mutual hangouts, including Lagrange Pool Hall, the Trianon Ballroom, and Packo's Hot Dogs. Danker even gifts Klinger a book of matches from the Trianon, and Klinger's emotions force him to excuse himself.
Later that night, an ambulance bus arrives carrying more wounded, and one of the casualties is Bloodworth himself. When he sarcastically remarks that Hawkeye must be thrilled to see the "grim reaper" show up on his own list, Hawkeye quietly walks away. Bloodworth is moved into the OR and is about to be operated on by Charles, but right before he goes under (and after expressing he wants to be operated on by "anyone but Pierce"), he is able to watch Hawkeye as he removes from a patient a piece of shrapnel that turns out to have severed an artery and sprays Hawkeye with blood.
Near daybreak, Bloodworth asks to speak to Hawkeye, who has been up all night with surgery and Post Op duty. He tells Hawkeye that he has been watching him the last 48 hours, and then opens up about his own state of mind after "Hill 403 fell on me", and how he was used to hearing other people scream, but not himself. He then tells about how, during the bus ride back to the 4077th, the soldier next to him died, and how after hearing the death rattle, he thought he would be next. He admits that he will never forget those things as long as he lives. He then tells Hawkeye "A push in a barroom just doesn't stack up against all of that", and that he is going to drop the charges.
Subplot[]
(Keep in mind that, in his earliest episodes [including this one], Charles attempted to strike up a romance with Margaret, but they eventually realized they had no chemistry and decided to remain just friends.)
Charles has received a fancy picnic basket full of fine gourmet delicacies (most of them in cans), including beluga caviar, truffles, pate de foie gras, smoked oysters, canned Devonshire pheasant, and a bottle of 1947 vintage Montrechet wine. But Charles gives Hawkeye and B.J. a divided cracker with just a little bit of foie gras before he takes his feast over to Margaret's tent.
Later, during surgery, Charles and Margaret both start to feel queasy and become nauseous, and Margaret fears they are coming down with botulism, though it turned out to be food poisoning from the canned pheasant. Charles eventually passes out on his patient and has to be relieved by B.J., who then has to deal with Margaret's hiccups.
After Private Danker is sent home, he sends Klinger a huge care package full of food from Packo's, and Klinger decides to share his bounty with Hawkeye and B.J. When Charles arrives in the Swamp remarking on "that tantalizing odor", they initially refuse to share with him (as revenge for him not sharing his food with them), but eventually they let him pull up a chair and enjoy with them.
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- The Trianon Ballroom mentioned by Klinger actually existed, and in the show's timeline, and though they were not affiliated, ballrooms in five other cities (Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Seattle and Los Angeles) also held the same name. The Trianon in Toledo opened in 1925 and was demolished in 1954.[1]
- Tony Packo's Cafe, also mentioned by Klinger in other episodes, opened in 1932 and still exists. Today they have five locations in and around Toledo and also package their foods, particularly their signature hot dogs and chili, for grocery purchase in other cities.
- The Lagrange Pool Hall, however, proves harder to track down, though it most definitely existed at the time the episode took place. An obituary for a local pool player mentions a "Lagrange street pool hall" "back in the day", and Jamie Farr himself mentions it in an introduction to a book about the history of Toledo (he also mentions living on Michigan street, as he does in this episode). Sadly, there's no record of a dedicated pool hall on Lagrange Street in Toledo today.
- In a scene in his tent, Potter is reading a western book called Ride the Man Down which was written by Frederick D. Glidden (aka Luke Short). Potter claimed the book was a Zane Grey novel, which is likely an oversight by the writers (it would be established later that Zane Grey is Potter's favorite author). Ride the Man Down was first published in 1942, and the copy that Potter is holding is the 1952 re-issue.
- A film version of this book starring Brian Donlevy and Rod Cameron was released by Republic Pictures in 1952.
- The "Battle for Hill 403" is a generic name for nearly all battles fought close to the 4077th; see website Reddit.com/r/MASH comments.
- Seems odd that a strict connoisseur such as Charles went straight from the caviar to the canned pheasant, especially after going through the trouble of listing all the courses that were supposed to come before it.
- Margaret was most likely exaggerating when she said she and Charles might have contracted botulism. According to Wikipedia, "Botulism is a rare and potentially fatal illness caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The disease begins with weakness, blurred vision, feeling tired, and trouble speaking. This may then be followed by weakness of the arms, chest muscles, and legs." Since the Majors were only suffering intense digestional complications, they probably just had basic food poisoning.
- Margaret was on her way to a regular meal in the mess tent when Charles arrived with his gourmet fare. So, it seems strange that there is a table in her tent prepared with a red tablecloth for them to sit and dine together.
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Charles Aidman as Colonel Bloodworth
- Jerry Houser as Private Danker
- Uncredited appearances:
- Kellye Nakahara - post op, brief speaking part