M*A*S*H (1972) - 127 mistakes in entire show

Continuity: At one time, Col. Potter talks about how his daughter is an only child. In a different episode, he mentions that his son's wife is having a baby.

Continuity: In the first season of M*A*S*H, Hawkeye mentions that his father lives in Vermont, in the later seasons his father lives in Crab Apple Cove, Maine and has never left there in 30 years.

Continuity: In an early episode Hawkeye receives a sweater knitted by his sister. Subsequently in the show he has always been an only child.

Continuity: In the first episodes, Col. Blake's wife is named Mildred, later her name is changed to Lorraine. (In case of confusion, when Col. Potter came to the 4077th, his wife was also named Mildred, but that's not relevant).

Deliberate "mistake": These errors I assume were caused by the show running 3 times longer than the real war. Col. Potter arrived at MASH in September 1952 a year before the war ended, then a few months passed by Margaret got engaged for 8 months, then Frank Burns left and Charles took his place. In this time the war would have ended. In the final episode Margaret mentions Charles has been there for 2 years. Which means he would have arrived in 1951 a year before Trapper and Henry left and Col. Potter arrived. It's a lot to take in.

Continuity: In the episode "It Happened One Night", Klinger has B Positive blood type. In the episode "C*A*V*E*", Klinger has AB Negative blood type. Blood types *never* change.

Continuity: When Hawkeye and Trapper are arrested by Hammond at the party there is a large crowd of people behind the General and Henry. When we cut to the shot of Margaret and Frank approaching, there is no-one in sight.

Continuity: In the pilot episode when Hawkeye and Trapper are going to send Ho Jon to the states to go to medical school, Hawkeye says Ho Jon can stay with his parents, but throughout the rest of the series Hawkeye's father is a widower.

Factual error: Hawkeye and Trapper are concerned about the theft of a stock of hydrocortisone, but that drug wasn't introduced by the FDA until 1952.

Continuity: The bag used by Trapper for training is marked "Property of MAJ. Frank W. Burns". However, later in the series Frank's middle name is revealed to be Marion.

Continuity: In the first shot of Trapper running behind the jeep, he has a large patch of sweat on his chest. For the rest of the scene it is dry.

Other: At the end of the show Trapper has a steak over his eye covering the black eye he received. Throughout the series the characters constantly complained about the food yet they have the audacity to waste a perfectly good steak.

Continuity: As Henry is receiving his medal, Hawkeye walks up and stands close behind a man who is standing up and two women who are sitting down. The camera angle switches to show Hawkeye talking to Trapper and now they are standing behind two standing women.

Continuity: Radar hangs the hammer on the "Out of Order" sign and it is covering the 'of'. When he and Frank walk away the hammer has moved and is covering the 't'

Continuity: When you see the shadow of the helicopter on the ground, there is no shadow of Hawkeye who is supposedly standing in the door getting ready to be lowered to the ground.

Continuity: As Hawkeye and Eddie are going to sit down for lunch, on the table is ketchup, a bowl, pepper and salt. The shot switches to them sat down and the order is now bowl, ketchup, salt and pepper.

Continuity: When Radar is slipping the glass of milk into Buzz's tent, we see the outside of the tent and there are no windows. From the inside, the milk is placed on a table that is right under a window.

Continuity: In this episode we see Radar outside Col. Brighton's tent with a glass of milk to slip into the tent. Before he does, the camera switches to inside the tent and if you look at the bottom left corner of the screen you'll see the milk is already there before Radar slips it in.

Continuity: After doing his pushups, Colonel Brighton puts on a red robe and talks with Trapper and Hawkeye. In some shots the cord from the robe's hood is hanging down and in others it is tucked in.

Continuity: When Frank is trying to examine the Colonel, in some shots Buzz's robe is open and in others it is tied at the waist.

Continuity: Hawkeye lifts Wendell's arm, takes his pulse and lays his arm down by his side again. In the next shot, Wendell's arm is across his chest.

Continuity: As Frank receives his purple heart, Henry calls him 'Franklin D. Burns' All other references to his full name in the series give his middle name as 'Marion'.

Continuity: Frank and Margaret are dancing in her tent when Frank's back seizes up; in the subsequent shots sometimes his arms are around her waist and sometimes around her shoulders.

Other: Near the end of the episode Hawkeye is finishing his letter to his father. He writes "kiss mom and sis", but later in the series we find out that his mother died when he was a kid and he doesn't have any siblings.

Continuity: In some shots, Radar's exam questions are in his hand, in others they are tucked under his arm.

Audio problem: At the end, while Radar is playing drums, he is using drumsticks but drum brushes are heard.

Revealing: When Hawkeye walks into the mess tent naked as per his bet with Trapper, in some shots, you can see that he is really still wearing shorts.

Continuity: When Frank is getting drunk he spills gin down the front of his vest. A few shots later, just before he collapses, it suddenly dries out significantly.

Continuity: After Hawkeye and Trapper cut the bomb wires, Trapper kneels down to see if it's still ticking, and his hand disappears from his helmet.

Plot hole: After the propaganda bomb goes off and they read the pamphlets, the propaganda is written in English and not Korean, even though it's supposed to be aimed at the North Koreans.

Other: During the game when the second bomb goes off. While the whole building is shaking and things are falling all around. The drinks on the table does not move at all.

Continuity: At lunch, when Frank is getting his own back against Hawkeye, in the long shots of the table the plate of bread is beside Henry and in the closeups it is in front of Trapper.

Revealing: When Frank is digging for gold, he has 2 shadows.

Continuity: When Col. Blake introduces Hawkeye at the cease-fire party, Blake raises the spoon in his hand up to chest level. In the next shot, the spoon is down near his waist.

Continuity: When Nurse Griffin talks to Hawkeye about the cease-fire, both of her arms are wrapped around Hawkeye's neck. In the next shot, her left hand is resting on his shoulder.

Continuity: When Kaplan shows Hawkeye his travel orders about going home, Hawkeye holds the paper between his index and middle fingers, but in the next shot, he's holding them between his index finger and thumb.

Continuity: Margaret is shampooing Frank's hair; she raises her foam covered hands to allow him to kiss her. The camera angle changes and her hands are nearly foam-free.

Continuity: When Hawkeye hits on the nurse after Charlie's first flyover, his beach chair instantly folds itself up.

Continuity: When Hot Lips calls General Clayton to her tent, he closes the door twice.

Revealing: When Charlie drops the bomb on the General's jeep it is obvious that the jeep is already burnt and mangled when the explosion starts.

Continuity: When Hawkeye passes by Frank on his way to Lt. Johnson's, he's holding a bottle of gin up near his waist. In the next shot, his arm is resting down by his side.

Continuity: The psychiatrist is called Milton Freedman in this episode and Sydney Freedman in all other episodes in which he appears (always being played by the same actor - it is the same psychiatrist).

Other: Radar says the weekly report is for the 17th to the 22nd inclusive. A 6 day week in the middle of a war?

Revealing: Frank is shaving; when he bends down to pick up the envelope containing shrapnel fragments, the foam on his face and ear suddenly all dries up. The shot must have needed a lot of takes.

Continuity: In the first scenes of Kim in the minefield, he is sitting on a big white rock. During the scene where he is rescued by helicopter, he is standing on flat ground and the rock is on the other side of the shot, near Trapper.

Continuity: In the scene of Klinger trying to escape from the 4077 on a hang glider, he secures himself into the control frame, but then when he takes off, he's hanging off the frame's bottom bar.

Revealing: When the sniper begins his attack, a sandlot football game is in progress in the compound. As the quarterback goes back to throw a pass, and waits just long enough for the ball to be "shot" out of his hand.

Continuity: When Margaret is drinking all of Henry's booze it is daylight outside. Radar brings news of incoming casualties so they rush outside where it is pitch dark.

Continuity: Margaret is in Henry's office drunk and she tells Henry that he looks just like her father did before he died. In Season 9. Episode 4 "Father's Day" Margaret's father, Alvin 'Howitzer' Houlihan, visits her at the 4077.

Revealing: The first scene is set in the X-Ray room. There is an X-Ray up on a lightbox in the background. Towards the end of episode 14, there is a scene in the O.R. - the exact same X-Ray is visible in the background there as well.

Visible crew/equipment: When Frank and Hot Lips are walking into the mess tent for Frank's surpise party, if you look in the window to the right of the door, you can see a person silhouetted, throwing leaves into the wind.

Revealing: When Henry is trying to convince Baker how wonderful the camp is, Henry says that they "had 'The Thing' and 'The Blob' both in one week". "The Blob" was made in 1958. This season of M*A*S*H is set in 1951 and 1952 (and the war ended in 1953).

Revealing: When Baker is talking with Father Mulcahy it is clear that Baker's nose is prosthetic. The colour doesn't match as well as it does in other scenes.

Revealing: When the mail arrives in the compound, in daylight, everyone has 3 shadows.

Continuity: Actor Lynnette Mettey was introduced in the episode "Carry On Hawkeye" (series 2) as Lt. Anderson - in the episode "The General Flipped At Dawn" her character's name changed to Nurse Baker.

Continuity: Hawkeye is in the Swamp talking with Trapper. Hawkeye leaves and walks past the tent - Trapper is not inside.

Continuity: When Radar is going to bed, he takes his shirt off and his upper body is naked. When he puts the blanket over his teddy bear you can see sleeves. Next shot, he is naked again.

Continuity: After Iron Guts Kelly dies in Margaret's tent, Frank Burns visits Margaret, suspecting something. Frank asks why there is a general's star on her cot. In the ensuing 'back and forth' dialogue, Margaret's hair goes (in close ups) from nicely combed, to frazzled, back to nicely combed again (and in a different light).

Continuity: Radar gives the location of the battle as Longitude 70, Latitude 27. This means the Korean war has spread to India.

Continuity: The length of the chewing gum hanging from Henry's hat differs between the front and rear shots.

Continuity: In the episode Iron Guts Kelly, Col. Wardman first calls Iron Gut Kelly a Lt. General, then a Maj. General then he goes back to Lt. General.

Factual error: Radar mentions to a nurse he's smitten with that the movie that night is "Firstborn of Godzilla." Godzilla (the movie, not the monster) wasn't released until 1954.

Factual error: Another premature mention of Godzilla when Col. Blake announces that night's movie, "Godzilla and the Bobby Soxer".

Continuity: During the scene which culminates in Frank declaring the camp dry the patches of water on his helmet change position.

Continuity: The mud spots on Lt.Smith's face change from scene to scene.

Other: Hawkeye, Henry and Trapper are playing scrabble. The board is in an illegal state - in the lower right corner 'it', 'jot', 'joy' 'yearn' and 'in' are not connected to the rest of the words. Since the others call Hawkeye on his non-existant word, I'm assuming they're playing properly.

Audio problem: At the end of the show, when Trapper is playing his instrument, the music does not match the movements of his hand.

Continuity: In some shots the Spam lamb has mashed potato eyes and a carrot mouth, in others it has green eyes and no obvious mouth.

Continuity: In the shot where Hawkeye presents the Spam lamb to Henry, he sets it down, and Henry asks him what it is. Behind Henry, you can see Hawkeye's shadow - and see his lips mouth the word "A Spam lamb". The camera then changes to a close-up of Hawkeye, saying "A Spam lamb".

Continuity: Just after the announcement that General MacArthur is coming, Trapper puts on his sunglasses, then the shot switches to Henry walking, and in the background Trapper is putting his glasses on again.

Continuity: When the Captain from Acc.Fin. interrupts the poker game to arrest Hawkeye he leans over, puts the file down in front of Henry and asks him to sign it. In the next shot, the Captain is standing back from the table with the file under his arm.

Continuity: When Perkins is recaptured, Henry leaves his office with his cigar in his mouth. In the next shot, of him coming through the door again from the other side, his cigar is in his hand.

Other: When reminiscing about Radar's appendectomy, Henry says it took a long time to find because it was behind his secum. The appendix is behind the secum in more than 50% of people, so this shouldn't have fooled a doctor of Henry's caliber.

Factual error: In one of the earlier episodes Henry becomes the father of a baby boy; his other two children have been established as Molly and Janey, both girls. In "Abyssinia Henry," Henry get his discharge papers and wanted to call home with the good news. He tells Radar that he will have to wait a while, as his son, Andrew, will be practising his trombone. As Henry only has one son, Andrew has to be the son who was born while Henry was in Korea. Even if Henry was in Korea from the very first days of the war, by the time he left his son can't be any older than 18 months - hardly likely to be playing a trombone.

Continuity: When Radar and Burns leave the tent for morning parade, Radar's clipboard acquires a pencil.

Continuity: In the assembly called by Major Burns at the beginning of the show, Klinger is in the front rank far left (except when the continuity error has him centre rear), but after the appearance of Hawkeye in the rickshaw Klinger isn't on parade at all.

Continuity: When Radar calls assembly, the very first shot shows some troops appearing on the parade ground. Klinger, in his straw hat, appears on parade in the front rank in the top right hand corner of the screen and stands to attention. In the next shot, however, he is seen approaching the parade ground at the double from the Post Op ward building. Next shot, he is on parade, but in the centre of the rear rank. A couple of shots later, when Major Burns addresses the troops, he is back in the front rank - screen top right. This position is confirmed later when Burns addresses him by turning his head sharp left (he is facing the parade), and Hoolihan is seen marching over to him to remove his hat.

Continuity: During the shelling on the road, BJ gets very muddy. When they get to the bar, he is much cleaner - e.g. all the mud has disappeared from his right arm.

Continuity: When Hawkeye is examining the orphan who is wiggling his tongue, there are two camera angles: one of Hawkeye from the front and one of the orphan over Hawkeye's shoulder. In the first shot, the tongue depresser that Hawkeye is holding is horizontal, in the other it is vertical. This flips back and forth a couple of times.

Continuity: When Margaret pins on Frank's purple heart, his scrubs are very damp with sweat. When he enters the swamp, they're practically dry.

Continuity: After Hawkeye and Burns drive through the puddle, the mud on the colonel's face is different in the long and closeup shots.

Factual error: After Radar asks Klinger when his home movies will be ready, Max answers, "Ready whenever you are, C.B." This is the specific punch line to a joke that relates to the actual filming of Cecil B. DeMille's movie The Ten Commandments, which wouldn't be released until 1956. It doesn't reference DeMille's other films.

Continuity: Along with Radar holding an anachronistic comic book (the Avengers), the exact issue changes between wide and close shots. One has the older Avengers logo used in the '60s and very early '70s, while the second issue Radar is holding has the newer Avengers logo that just gained currency as the episode was being filmed.

Factual error: Radar is seen sleeping holding an Avengers comic which was not published until several years after the Korean war ended.

Revealing: In several supposedly outdoors scenes in the camp, in particular, when Frank is welcoming Margaret back, there's a very obvious indoorsy echo.

Continuity: Early in the episode it is stated that Margaret's tent door is padlocked while she is in Tokyo. But when she gets back, she just walks straight in.

Factual error: Amongst Radar's comics are several not published until after the end of the Korean War, including issues of The Avengers and Spider Man.

Continuity: When Jack delivers the patient to the MASH and when he is taking photos of the operation, there is no wound on his right hand. It only appears when Col.Potter says that he treated it "months ago".

Revealing: When Col. Potter is in the helicopter looking for a new site for the camp, you can see landscape reflecting in the canopy. This never changes position although they're meant to be flying around.

Continuity: When the chopper carrying the soldier with the wounded back takes off, the sky is cloudy and, even accounting for the poor quality of the film, the weather looks very dull. The shot changes to show Radar, Hawkeye and Margaret watching the chopper leave and it is now bright sunshine.

Continuity: When Margaret arrives from Tokyo, BJ and Hawkeye's squashed orange disappears from the ground.

Factual error: When Col. Flagg makes everybody close their eyes when he leaves, you hear the sound of glass shattering, but the window was a thick sheet of plastic.

Factual error: While on the phone, Radar spells out BJ's father-in-law's last name, "H-A-Y-D-E-N" to which Hawkeye quips, "M-O-U-S-E" parodying the old line from the Mickey Mouse club. The M.M. club didn't air until 1955.

Factual error: At the end of the episode, Hawkeye asks Sidney if he's going crazy. Sidney responds, "No. A little farshimelt perhaps, but not crazy." Farshimelt in Yiddish means spoiled, moldy. Sidney probably meant farmisht - mixed up.

Factual error: In the scene where Hawkeye and BJ are actually fighting while pretending to fight; when they enter the tent, Frank is polishing his boots and whistling the theme music to The Muppet Show (1976). While The Muppet Show had already been screening for a year when this episode was first broadcast, the music was unknown in the 1950s as it was written specifically for the show by Muppets creator Jim Henson, and Sam Pottle.

Factual error: When BJ and Hawkeye go to Potter to talk about Cho Lin wanting to get married at the 4077th, Potter mentions he expects to be home in Nebraska in 16 months, three weeks and four days when they try to fool Potter about Cho Lin. Potter has always said he and his family live in Missouri, however.

Continuity: When BJ tells Hawkeye not to forget his old friends, the level of gin in BJ's glass rises.

Revealing: In the mess, you can see everyone has their food on metal trays and ceramic dishes. Sgt Zale, though, has his lemon pie in a polystyrene dish - so that it doesn't hurt Klinger when he gets it in the face.

Continuity: When Hawkeye is trying to find out whether there is anything going on between BJ and nurse Donovan, a jacket behind him disappears and the other one moves to the other side of him.

Continuity: Near the beginning, while Col. Bidwell is watching Hawkeye operate, in the closeups he is standing by the window but in the wide shots he is standing in a different part of the O.R.

Factual error: Radar impersonates John Wayne, playing a scene from McLintock - a film which was not released until 1963, which was 10 years after the end of the Korean war.

Continuity: While Klinger is mending the movie, the amount of film on the two reels changes a lot between shots.

Continuity: In the episode 'Chief Surgeon Who' (season one), near the end of the episode we see Radar in Col. Blake's office smoking a cigar with ease, but in the first episode of season six when Col. Potter offers Radar a cigar, he doesn't know how to smoke it and he throws up after he puffs it.

Continuity: When Charles first arrives at the 4077, his scarf changes from shot to shot. It is tucked in neatly, then loose, then tucked in again.

Visible crew/equipment: As Hawkeye is first approaching Danker during the triage scene, a boom mic can be seen at the top of the screen.

Continuity: When they are talking about taking Sophie for a walk, Roy is sitting on the bunk. His captain's bars & medical insignia are on the wrong sides. After he stands up, they are on the correct side.

Factual error: When Radar, Hawkeye, and BJ find the letter from cpl. Benson to I-Corp, Radar says that cpl. Benson's been here since June. Later in the episode when col. Potter, Radar, Hawkeye and BJ confront Benson, Benson says he is there on orders of a colonel who did not get treated quickly enough. Potter says he remembers this colonel was there a couple of months back. BUT, this episode of M*A*S*H takes place during Kentucky Derby Day. The Kentucky Derby has always been held the first Saturday in May. So, if Benson has only been at the 4077th for two months, and he arrived in June, then this episode should be taking place in August, not May.

Continuity: When BJ and Hawkeye are trying to find out who snitched on Potter, they search Charles' belongings back at The Swamp. BJ wraps Charles' white scarf around his neck. Once Charles returns to his tent, the scarf changes positions several times.

Revealing: When Hawkeye exits the tub, you can see his shorts as he wraps the towel around himself.

Factual error: While watching the Sonja Henie movie "Sun Valley Serenade" Colonel Potter says at one point of the movie "This is supposed to be where she does a triple axel and ends up in a split." Then he has to leave and says "Now I'll never get to see it." He wouldn't be able to see it until 1989 when Midori Ito from Japan was the first woman to complete a triple axel in competition, Tonya Harding was the 2nd woman to complete one and the only American woman. And I doubt Sonja Henie ever did anything as complicated as a triple axel even with her 3 Olympic Gold Medals.

Continuity: While Igor is serving dinner, his cap peak goes from being up in the front shot to down in the side shot, while he is talking to Col. Potter.

Continuity: Charles (in scrubs), Radar, and Father Mulchahy are all in the changing room when Radar and Mulchahy go take a phone call. When entering the comm room, Charles has appeared and is complaining about waiting for a phone call his fatigues.

Continuity: When Hawkeye and Margaret are operating on Lovett, Hawkeye hooks a clamp on to the light to adjust it, in the next shot is disappears and later it reappears.

Revealing: When Col. Flagg holds his pistol up to stop Mr. Pak Sr. from leaving, you can see there is no magazine in the pistol.

Deliberate "mistake": When Flagg turns out the light to escape. To make that effect they had to freeze a frame and then start again. If you look closely after Flagg turns out the light you can see Hawkeye and the Korean Man on the far right freeze. Then it shows Potter ordering the light back on.

Other: During the duration of the episode a wounded person is addressed as Corporal North but during the credits he is called Private North.

Revealing: Anytime Margaret and Hawkeye are drinking in the bar, there is no liquid in the bottles.

Continuity: Charles enters Col. Potter's quarters while Potter is sleeping. Potter sits up in bed while Charles whines and complains about his sister's engagement. In all the shots facing Potter, the hair at the top of his head is very messy and pointing up. In every shot facing Charles, Potter's hair is normal.

Continuity: When the Col. is explaining the circumstances, he says "1918 to be exact". When they begin to drink the cognac, he says "As I recall, it was smooth in 17".

Factual error: In this episode, the regulars receive and respond to letters from a Fourth-Grade class in Hawkeye's home town. Charles receives one from a little girl who says she's sent him a birch leaf. Unfortunately, the leaf he removes from her glassine envelope is a maple leaf. (Note: there was no indication that this was supposed to be her mistake.)

Factual error: Episode 200, Dec. 29, 1980, Winchester is listening on the radio to the 1951 Giants win the pennant. In the MASH series, Potter was supposed to have arrived 19 Sept. 1952, and Charles Winchester after Potter did. The Giants won the pennant during the previous year, not when Winchester was there.

Other: When Alan Alda and Mike Farrell are walking into frame in the scene where Hawkeye and BJ discover the huge shipment of tongue depressors, Alda's feet are visible for about two seconds and he has bright blue early '80s shoes on.

Factual error: At the end, after BJ has received his Bronze Star, Colonel Potter dismisses the formation with "At Ease. Dismissed." According to Drill and Ceremonies as I learned them, this is impossible. The only legal command from the at-ease position is "Attention."

Continuity: In the beginning scene in the mess hall, Charles' rank insignia & medical insignia are on the wrong sides of his collar, the next scene they are on the correct side.

Continuity: Early in the episode a tank is driven into the MASH compound by a wounded soldier (demolishing the latrine in the process). The tank is an M41 dating from the early 1950s - it is squat and angular in shape. Later on in the episode after the tank has been hidden under a tent, Hawkeye decides to drive the tank into the camp dump (demolishing the new latrine on the way). The tank has changed into a WW2 era Sherman - it is a lot higher and more rounded in shape.

Revealing: In "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," Col. Potter is taking Sophie to the orphanage at the end of the show. Sophie is a male horse. Look closely.

Factual error: In "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen", the shot of the helicopter pilot's hands show him wearing nomex flight gloves. These were not used until 1967 in Vietnam. Black leather flying gloves were used during the Koren war.