A Televisual Feast

I feel almost cheap saying it, but this episode, Dear Dad, is the finest “M*A*S*H” episode so far. I’m a little surprised Larry Gelbart wrote it even, because it’s such a great twenty-four minutes. Gelbart did a really good job on the pilot (and a lackluster one on his second episode), but there’s something wonderful about this episode.

The cynic in me could point out it was yet another pilot episode for the series, given the credited character shots at the end, but I’m not particularly interested in engaging that cynic.

Dear Dad is a fantastic, magical Christmas episode… it’s also a plotless “M*A*S*H” episode, since the only thing tying the character pieces together is Hawkeye’s letter home.

It’s hard to describe, but it’s the first episode of “M*A*S*H” where I’ve said wow since the opening credits ended and am still thinking it.

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