M*A*S*H

C*A*V*E - S7-E20

Revealing mistake: As Hawkeye says the line about don't panic, he puts his hands up on the rock faces on either side of his head. The rock under his right hand pushes in a little, showing it's foam rubber. (00:11:54)

Movie Nut

Baby, It's Cold Outside - S7-E9

Factual error: As Hawkeye performs CPR on the hypothermic soldier, he pumps his arms from his ellbows. CPR is done by keeping the arms stiff and pumping with the whole upper body. Hawkeye as a surgeon would know that. Fun Fact: You can perform CPR one-handed in a pinch, but only as long as you keep your arms stiff.

Doc

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: True, but doing CPR the real way is going to likely seriously injure the actor it is being performed upon.

LorgSkyegon

Explaining why mistakes occur does not invalidate them.

Bishop73

Chest compressions can definitely be performed by pumping from the elbow, one or two handed. The first documented use was in 1891, so Hawkeye would be aware of it. However, modern CPR standards, including straight arm procedures, were not developed until at least 1960 by the American Heart Association. Using straight arms and bending at the hips uses the larger muscle groups of the core and legs, which provides more control, as well as stamina. This is not an error for the Korean War era.

Additionally, what Lorg said - you don't want to hurt the actor, you can see his shoulders rise as his arms straighten, giving the illusion of compressions. There is another episode where Hawkeye is performing chest compressions similarly, and yells at the unconscious patient that his arms are getting tired, which is what would happen with bent elbow compressions, and one of the reasons modern technique uses straight arms.

I didn't know that, but it makes sense that CPR procedures would evolve. You should submit that as a direct correction to my mistake.

Doc

The Smell of Music - S6-E15

Audio problem: After Potter convinces Saunders he still wants to live, the hiss from the anesthesia machine fades out even while Potter and Saunders are still standing next to it. Neither Potter nor Saunders turned off the valve again.

Doc

38 Across - S5-E15

Revealing mistake: Klinger makes a big show of removing a big nut from the Jeep's leaf spring. The nut is clean and shiny whereas the rest of the undercarriage is painted and dirty. If you look closely, there are no screw threads where he takes it off either, there's another hex under it. The simple reason for this is that that nut doesn't belong there and never was affixed, Jamie Farr just pretended it was.

Doc

Heroes - S10-E18

Continuity mistake: As Potter is introducing Cavanaugh, his right hand is empty from the quarter profile view. In the frontal shot, he suddenly has his drink in his hand.

Movie Nut

Deal Me Out - S2-E13

Continuity mistake: During the poker game Frank walks in wearing a white hospital scrub, then the camera pans to Sidney and back to Frank who is now wearing a army jacket. (00:08:12)

Hawkeye Get Your Gun - S5-E10

Continuity mistake: In the beginning of the episode Colonel Potter is painting a portrait of Hawkeye with his feet up, and Klinger's picture is hanging to the right of the door. But in the previous episode 'Korean surgeon' Klinger's portrait is on the left side of the door and the one of Hawkeye's is on the right side of the door, even though that portrait wasn't painted until the following episode. (00:03:15 - 00:17:55)

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Abyssinia, Henry - S3-E24

Trivia: There were no American planes shot down over the Sea of Japan during the Korean conflict. It is rumoured that producer/director Larry Gelbart knew that, but wrote Henry Blake's death scene as he was very unhappy with the way Mclean Stevenson had left the show, and was determined to make it clear that there was no way he would be coming back.

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Dear Dad - S1-E12

Question: A number of times it is mentioned that the outfit is unarmed, yet several times, Frank has a rifle, or a pistol, and once Klinger had a grenade, and the guards and Klinger, while on sentry duty, has a rifle. Was this standard, or is this a mistake?

Answer: Even an Army field hospital would have SOME weapons for self-defense if the enemy attacked. What's meant is that it's not a combat outfit, and therefore wouldn't have enough weapons to actually attack anyone. (It's also mentioned a few times that the Officer of the Watch is supposed to carry a pistol at all times, but Hawkeye refuses to do it when he's in charge and Colonels Blake and Potter don't enforce the rule).

Captain Defenestrator

Answer: The Geneva Convention allows even doctors to carry a sidearm to be used in their self defense or the defense of their patients, however it is rare to do so.

stiiggy

Answer: As an old medical unit staffer, my experience is that med units have combat units assigned to defend them. Usually it was marines.

Answer: My old doctor (now deceased) served in Korea during the War. He was required to carry a sidearm anytime he was not in the hospital.

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