The Light That Failed was the 129th episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H. The episode, which was the seventh episode of Season 6, was written by Burt Prelutsky and directed by Charles S. Dubin. It originally aired on October 25, 1977.
Storyline[]
Winter at camp, and the 4077th is short on supplies and patience when B.J. gets a mystery novel in the mail. Meanwhile, Charles wrangles between his conscience and his ego when a patient almost dies because of his error.
Full episode summary[]
It's winter at the 4077th, and supplies are running dangerously low, particularly medical supplies and worse, as even light bulbs are becoming a rarity. A supply truck arrives in the compound carrying salt tablets, an ice cream churn, and insect repellent, among other useless summer supplies, and so the 4077th goes on a forced fast. The only item that stirs any positive interest is a small package for B.J. in an otherwise empty mail bag; the package turns out to be a mystery novel called The Rooster Crowed at Midnight.
Since everyone is so bored, a mystery novel is almost pure gold, so B.J. crawls into his cot savoring every page of the "brain-teasing, spine-chilling whodunit from the prize-winning pen of Abigail Porterfield". When Hawkeye grows frustrated that B.J. is taking so long, he tears out the first chapter and throws it to Hawkeye just to placate him. The book then starts to make its way around the rest of the camp - first to Charles, then to Potter, Klinger, Nurse Bigelow, and so forth. The book becomes the topic of discussion in the Mess Tent, but then a major problem arises: the last page of the book, which supposedly reveals the identity of the murderer, is missing. Consequently, everyone in camp begins to give their input as to whodunit - or at least, "who-they-think-dunit".
Meanwhile, Charles, again bemoaning about the working conditions, particularly the dimly lit Post Op, accidentally administers curare instead of morphine to his patient Corporal Dobson, causing the young man to go into full paralysis. When Hawkeye examines the bottle and asks Charles if he checked it first, Charles stumbles over his words, but reasons that it could have happened to anyone. Hawkeye yells at him to think about the patient instead of himself, to which Charles replies, "You think I want this young man to die? It'd be the worst thing to happen to me!" Hawkeye and B.J. manage to pull him through, but Charles, whom Hawkeye refers to as "Major Disaster", is not at all thankful for their help, and is unwilling to even shoulder the blame for giving the patient the wrong drug. His lack of gratitude initially does not go unnoticed by B.J., who quietly confronts him, but Charles maintains that he was not at fault.
Hawkeye later checks up on Dobson, who tells him how he was injured: he had tried to follow the steps left in the snow by a previous soldier to avoid any landmines, but the tracks were erased when the snow became slush, and Dobson could only take two more steps before hitting a mine himself. As Hawkeye finishes up, Charles returns to Post Op and, while he admits that he was in the wrong, he now demands that Hawkeye concede that Charles has faced up to his error, but Hawkeye only acknowledges what he and the rest of the medical staff already know: that Charles' only concern is how his performance affects only him. Hawkeye grants that technically Charles is one of the best, but then adds that if it were him he would want either B.J. or Potter working on him because, "They'd bust a gut to save a life! You wouldn't even work up a good sweat!" Charles tries to gaslight Hawkeye into thinking he is jealous of him, but Hawkeye is only jealous of Charles' audacity and calls him a "sanctimonious back bait".
Meanwhile, an argument over the identity of the novel's murderer breaks out, after B.J. concludes his first guess was wrong ("My deduces were wild"). He makes a second guess, only to have Nurse Bigelow point out that that is also wrong. After numerous wrong guesses, they get so frustrated that B.J. places a call to the author herself, now 97 years old and living in Australia. They call her, and she tells them the real murderer. As another supply truck arrives, this time carrying everything the 4077th needs including 600 light bulbs, Potter gets on the PA and announces to everyone that even Ms. Porterfield is wrong about whodunit.
With the tension finally eased, Charles finds it in himself to apologize to Hawkeye for his behavior, promising to think more about his patients from now on.
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- Gary Burghoff receives billing, but does not appear in this episode. Oddly, Radar is not seen or mentioned, and Klinger fulfills the company clerk duties with no on-screen explanation or comment.
- The episode title "The Light That Failed" references Rudyard Kipling's 1890 novel of the same title.
- Fictional Australian mystery author Abigail Porterfield, author of The Rooster Crowed at Midnight, is perhaps meant to be reminiscent of Agatha Christie, although, as any Dame Agatha fan would tell you, Porterfield's corpse-ridden, kinky, bodice-ripping style in the passages of the book is very unlike the former's writing style.
- The missing last page plot is very similar to an episode of the British sitcom Hancock's Half Hour. In the 1960 episode "The Missing Page", Tony Hancock found the last page of the mystery novel he was reading was missing, which led to increasingly desperate attempts to solve the mystery.
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
Uncredited appearances by
- Sal Viscuso as the P.A. Announcer
- Kellye Nakahara as Kellye