A Televisual Feast

Hmm. Here’s an odd one. When Kelley has to pick between making Boyle and Bobby–I’m actually wondering if and when I’ll think of her as Helen–the protagonist of the episode (and maybe, in a “Crime Story” sort of way, the series protagonist)… he goes with Boyle. It’s an odd choice, out of place for the […]

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This episode, though nice and big–practically ever recurring character shows up for a second (except Ugly John and, of course, Spearchucker) and the close is visually memorable–is kind of empty. It’s the perfect episode for Trapper, the only one who doesn’t believe a ceasefire is on the way, except he’s basically just moping around behind […]

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Kelley brings “The Practice” back up to snuff–in fact, maybe even exceeding any previous snuff–the second episode of the second season. It’s clever and emotionally affecting. Oddly, it does so well because Bobby takes a back seat to the rest of the characters. Rebecca, Lindsay and Eugene help Jimmy out with a case only Jimmy […]

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Here’s an interesting, wikipedia-fueled tidbit… this episode is “often considered to be the worst episode” of “M*A*S*H” by cast and crew… which is rather interesting, since it’s excellent. It’s a goofy, well-paced episode, keeping the wackiness factor down for the majority (the goofy episodes have wackiness at some point, they have to) and then going […]

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Here’s another episode with way too little story. Rockford suspects–or at least wastes time telling her he suspects her–his client of murdering her husband. He also wastes time suspecting the police department, assuming they’re corrupt instead of doing any investigating. Without the wasted time, the episode would probably run thirty minutes. And maybe it should. […]

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An interesting, but somehow not compelling episode. Hawkeye worries about a patient to the point he’s moved out of the Swamp and sworn off nurses and martinis. The problem with the episode is pacing… a lot of time is spent on Hawkeye ribbing Frank (previous to the patient) and poker….
But there’s also the issue of […]

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I always talk about stories–movies usually–shortcutting at the end, getting to a level they didn’t quite build to… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a TV episode try to do it before, but Kelley tries to get away with it here and it doesn’t work. It works okay (maybe a half point), but it doesn’t […]

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Slow to get moving–and generally slow throughout–but ends wonderfully. It’s sort of a concept episode–during the Army-Navy football game, the 4077th gets shelled and an unexploded bomb ruins everyone’s game day. The episode moves from person to person as they cope with the possibility of the bomb going off. The best part besides Hawkeye and […]

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A lovely guest spot from Susan Strasberg can’t hide this episode’s severe deficiencies. The most visible problem is the confused plot–Rockford’s first helping out blackmailed Strasberg, then trying to get himself out from under a murder rap. While the two parts are naturally connected, they aren’t particularly interesting together. It’s like there wasn’t enough story […]

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Alan Alda’s first episode as writer is an odd episode. It follows the passage of Hawkeye’s longjohns from person to person, getting every cast member in while telling a very simple (no subplots here) story.
The episode’s greatest strength is in the individual vingettes. They allow for humor, but also some new situations for the characters […]

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