What's Up, Doc? was the 142nd overall episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, also the 20th episode of Season 6 of the series. Written by Larry Balmagia and directed by Burt Metcalfe, it originally aired on January 30, 1978 and was re-telecast on September 11, 1978, the tail-end of the sixth season on CBS.
Plot synopsis[]
Margaret suspects she's pregnant, but in order to be sure, a pregnancy test must be performed. But in order for the test to be done, they need the ovaries of Radar's female rabbit Fluffy. Meanwhile, a disgruntled patient holds Charles hostage until he's allowed to be sent home to Ohio.
Full episode summary[]
During a session in O.R., everyone seems to notice how snippy Margaret seems to be. She gets frustrated at every joke Hawkeye utters and puts Nurse Bell on report for a petty mistake (even going as far as "baiting" her to do so).
After O.R., Hawkeye asks her what's the problem, and after some cajoling, she admits she's irritated because...she might be pregnant. Hawkeye is ecstatic, but Margaret is not: she and her husband Donald Penobscott are not exactly getting along, and if she is pregnant, her whole Army career is, as she puts it, "kaput." But she's not positive she's pregnant, so Hawkeye helps her go about getting a test.
Meanwhile, a patient of B.J.'s, Lt. Martinson, is furious over the idea of being sent back into battle. Because of his education, he was made an automatic Lieutenant, put in charge of other men. When some of them were killed due to his lack of experience, he flat out refuses to go back into combat. B.J. tries to console him, but Martinson will accept nothing less than being relieved of his command - and getting out of the Army.
Hawkeye and Margaret turn to Col. Potter and tell him the news, and he is as happy as Hawkeye was. They decide a pregnancy test is the next step, but Margaret doesn't want to go to Tokyo, so they turn to the owner of the nearest rabbit they can find...Radar. At first, he seems OK with the request, but when it dawns on him that his beloved rabbit Fluffy has to die during the procedure, he is horrified, refuses, and storms out.
Hawkeye catches up with Radar, who seems to have let Fluffy free from her cage. Radar asks, can't Hawkeye just remove the rabbit's ovaries (the part of the rabbit they test) without killing her? Hawkeye says it's possible, but since Fluffy is gone, what's the point? At that point, Radar produces Fluffy out of his jacket, hesitantly handing her over to Hawkeye, who promises to care for her as best he can.
While Hawkeye and Margaret perform the surgery, Lt. Martinson gets angrier and angrier at B.J. Winchester tries to relate to him, Ivy Leaguer to Ivy Leaguer, but that doesn't work, either. Martinson then pulls a gun and takes Winchester hostage, demanding a chopper home.
This stand-off crosses over into the O.R., where Hawkeye and Margaret have finished the operation on Fluffy. But Martinson demands they all leave. Klinger, upon hearing Martinson wants a flight back to Ohio, volunteers to replace Winchester as a hostage.
Instead of being scared, Klinger is downright gung-ho about their prospects, but Martinson, weak from his wound and a lack of sleep, can barely stand. In fact, he passes out just as the chopper arrives, dashing Klinger's hopes of freedom.
Later, Hawkeye and Margaret check the ovaries to determine the results of the pregnancy test, and it's negative. Margaret is relieved, and Hawkeye says he's glad it turned out the way she wanted. She says, "So am I." Then he says, "I'm also sorry." Margaret then pauses, and admits, "So am I."
In the epilogue, Radar is tending to Fluffy (wearing a white doctor's coat for the job) at his desk, when Margaret comes in and tells him she's not pregnant, "just a little gall bladder trouble." She thanks him for the use of Fluffy's ovaries for her test, and he says he knows the Major would do the same for the rabbit.
In a minor side-plot, Klinger's latest attempt at getting sent home is to try and get a hardship discharge because he must return to the states to care for his 9 children (photos provided by Radar from various personnel files). Col. Potter, of course, doesn't buy it, recognizing most of the children in the photos - including his own grandson Cory (this whole sub-plot takes place in one scene, which is usually cut from syndicated airings).
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- This is basically a repeat of "Deal Me Out" when an overwrought patient threatens Major Frank Burns with a pistol. In both episodes, the anomaly exists that patients would not have their firearms with them until they leave. On several occasions, we've seen Radar and other staff removing personal effects from patients before they enter Pre-Op. We also know that those effects are stored in the Supply Tent under Father Mulcahy's care, with firearms being kept under lock and key (the key being held by the company clerk). This is at least somewhat explained by Lt. Martinson’s stowing of the weapon in green cloth, likely hiding it on his person before he arrived at the 4077th.
- M*A*S*H enters a new and permanent timeslot on CBS with this episode: Mondays at 9:00 PM.
- When the Colonel, Margaret, and Hawkeye are asking Radar to use his rabbit for the pregnancy test, Margaret drinks several glasses of what appears to be vodka. While we know today that she shouldn't be drinking if she thinks she's pregnant, the dangers of drinking while pregnant were not widely known and accepted until the 1970s.
- Anomaly: In this episode, Margaret is terrified she might be pregnant because it could end her military career. When she first announces her engagement to Donald ("Margaret's Engagement"), however, she tells Frank that Donald can give her everything he can't - a home, children - as well as allowing her to continue her military career. (While pregnant servicewomen were at one point automatically discharged, this is no longer the case.)
- Col. Potter tells Klinger that he would have had to have fathered one of his (supposedly) illegitimate children - aged 19 - when he was 11 years old. That makes Klinger 30 years old. Actor Jamie Farr was 44 at the time this was filmed.
- It's a shame the 4077th couldn't get their hands on an African clawed frog - they could have spared Fluffy (and Radar) all that trouble. From the 1940s to the 1960s, this particular frog was the go-to animal to use for pregnancy tests. These tests were faster, more accurate - and didn't involve killing the animal.
Recurring cast/Guest stars[]
- Charles Frank as Lieutenant Martinson
- Lois Foraker as Nurse Bell
- Kurt Andon as Sergeant Whitlow
- Phyllis Katz as Nurse (see Unnamed Nurses)