A Televisual Feast

With the series still enjoying its sudden (and staying) excellence, this episode stands out in a few significant ways.

First, the direction. I don’t think I’ve ever been particularly impressed (or unimpressed) with an episode’s direction, but Jackie Cooper does something phenomenal here. I’m not sure if the camp exteriors (walking around the 4077th) were filmed on a set, but Cooper’s got a lot more fluid movement than any other episode so far. But it’s also the shot composition while inside the tents and buildings.

Second, the guest star. Leslie Newman does a great job in this episode. Maybe no better than some of the other really good guest stars, but it just works better. The episode’s paced beautifully and allows for lots of scenes and lots of developments to Newman’s character. It’s different from the way the series has dealt with guest stars so far–Newman’s much more a part of the episode.

The last point is little, but somehow telling. The pre-end credit scene (after the final commercial break) has very little to do with the episode’s events and more to do with the series regulars and their relationships with each other. I’m not sure if the writer couldn’t think of anything to go after he’d gotten all the episode’s strings taken care of or what, but it works beautifully.

“M*A*S*H” has definitely become “M*A*S*H” at this point.

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