M*A*S*H

Ping Pong - S5-E16

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.

Bug Out - S5-E1

Revealing mistake: 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. (00:22:30)

jle

End Run - S5-E17

Revealing mistake: 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. (00:08:15)

jle

Hanky Panky - S5-E18

Continuity mistake: 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. (00:04:00)

jle

Dear Sigmund - S5-E7

Factual error: Klinger says he would wear Hula Hoops(R) in his ears if it would get him a discharge. For several reasons, he is using a phrase that does not yet exist: 1) Show wise, Klinger will later try to convince Charles to invest in developing a new toy, a hoola hoop like plastic tube, being inspired by Korean children playing, and 2) plastic hoops which came to be called Hula Hoops were only introduced by Whamo in 1958. Setting episode dates is always difficult for MASH, but the Mash Olympics (inspired by the 52 Helsinki games) are still to come so we can say it must be 52. 3) The Hula Hoop trademark was only registered in 1962 to Whamo. No info. as to what name the hoops were marketed under prior to 62, but Klinger is using a term at probably ten years, at least 6 years, before it came into use. (00:04:00)

Bug Out - S5-E1

Continuity mistake: 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. (00:44:20)

jle

38 Across - S5-E15

Other mistake: When Hawkeye finds the New York Times Crossword he says, "1 down, four letters..." and "1 across...four letters..." and BJ's answers are "chap" and "cast" but in the shot of the newspaper puzzle we see that both "1 down" and "1 across" are actually five letters each, not four.

Super Grover

Bug Out - S5-E1

Continuity mistake: After Radar calls assembly, Potter starts to address the personnel. Accounting for Hawkeye, BJ, and Margaret in Surgery, there are only thirty-three people there. In the episode "Dear Ma" (S4: Ep 17), Radar wrote that there were almost two hundred people there.

Movie Nut

Lt. Radar O'Reilly - S5-E4

Revealing mistake: When Radar salutes Major Burns dropping the package, you can see wet spots on his uniform where he held the package. Before the bottle inside breaks, it is supposed to be dry. The crew probably re-used a single package for several takes of the shot. (00:04:45)

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

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)

Sometimes You Hear the Bullet - S1-E17

Henry Blake: All I know is what they taught me at command school. There are certain rules about a war, and rule number one is that young men die. And rule number two is that doctors can't change rule number one.

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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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