Your Hit Parade was the 141st overall episode of the CBS-TV series M*A*S*H, also the 19th episode of Season 6 of the series. Written by Ronny Graham, who also appeared in the episode as Sergeant Gribble, and directed by George Tyne, it originally aired on January 24, 1978.
Plot synopsis[]
The 4077th are overrun with casualties, so to help ease the tension, Radar runs his own "radio station" from his office.
Full episode summary[]
After days of no wounded, the 4077th is bored. Radar arranges for a batch of new records to arrive, and (borrowing Winchester's record player...generously donated by Hawkeye and B.J.) he begins to play them over the P.A.
The boredom is broken when not only do wounded arrive, but a ton of wounded arrive - so many that the Swamp, the Mess Tent, and the Officers Club are converted into Post-Ops.
Col. Potter asks Radar to keep playing the records and acting as D.J. to help "get them through" this push. Radar gets really into the role, donning hipster sunglasses and talking in an equally "hip" D.J.-style: "This one's a mover and groover, and it ain't by Herbert Hoover!"
Charles is none too happy about being evicted from the Swamp, and spends the rest of the episode looking for somewhere to spend the night - including the compound and Margaret's tent. Hawkeye and B.J. are barely able to fit into Potter's tent, and the Colonel regales them with a tale of why he loves the song "Sentimental Journey" (which is playing - AGAIN - at his request) so much. He fell in love with a "willowy blonde" in a dance hall as the band was playing the song (after he was married). He was dismayed to learn he had fallen in love with actress Doris Day. He admits he's seen all her movies - alone, as he couldn't bear to tell his wife Mildred about it.
Not only are they overloaded with patients, but one patient desperately needs AB-Negative blood, which is exceedingly rare. They make some calls, and one guy in a Bomb Disposal Unit, Sgt. Gribble, has it--but he's on R&R. The staff try to make do while Gribble is tracked down. He shows up in the middle of the night, completely trashed. But even though he's falling-off-his-feet drunk, when he sees the needle, he runs out into the compound screaming in terror.
Hawkeye and B.J. track him down hiding in Margaret's tent, and when he sees the needle again, he passes out. Klinger and Zale drag him back to the Swamp. With that small crisis over, so is the large one - all the patients have been tended to, and there are no more new wounded.
Radar's marathon D.J. sessions ends around dawn, about halfway through the 23rd playing of "Sentimental Journey", all requested by Col. Potter. The Colonel tells Radar that, after 23 consecutive plays and 12 years, he is finally "sick and tired" of Doris - and puts the record away.
In the final scene, Hawkeye and Col. Potter are in the Swamp playing a game that Hawkeye made up while B.J. watches. Gribble comes in to be officially dismissed by the Colonel, but then sits next to Hawkeye to expound on his experiences as a bomb disposal agent (which no one is interested in). In order to hasten Gribble's exit, Hawkeye claims it's "time for rounds" and produces a large needle, which causes the Sergeant to make a speedy retreat.
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- This is the only appearance of Hawkeye's board game Double Crank'O, made up of playing cards, checkers, chess pieces, and other assorted bits. The game is played while drinking and has no rules, thus making it impossible to cheat.
- Hawkeye initially expresses disdain at the idea of playing records over the P.A., claiming that the last shipment included "Andy Divine sings Cole Porter", which he found lacking. Andy Devine was an actor who performed from 1926 through the 1970s; although he did record a few albums, none were Cole Porter related.
- B.J. misidentifies a song, calling it "The Musical Clock;" the real tile of the piece is "The Syncopated Clock."
- When Charles is trying to convince Margaret to allow him to sleep in her tent, he asks her to let him be "frank." At first, she mistakes his request for her to pretend that he is Frank Burns before he corrects her. This implies that Charles knows about the affair between Frank and Margaret.
- In a later scene, Margaret can be seen re-arranging her tent when Charles comes in, looking for somewhere to sleep. No reason is given for her having to do this (no mention of the nurses having to re-locate).
Guest stars/Recurring cast[]
- Ronny Graham as Sergeant Gribble
- Johnny Haymer as Sergeant Zelmo Zale
- Ken Michelman as Harker
- Patricia Stevens as Nurse Baker
- Bill Kux as Patient (as William Kux)
Uncredited appearances:
- Roy Goldman - delivers one of Potter's requests for "Sentimental Journey" to Radar.