Henry, Please Come Home

Frank is actually the star here, in a very negative way. When Henry is sent to Tokyo to assist General Hammond, the people who got him there, his amazing surgeons, are left with Frank Burns as their commanding officer. Of course, he goes for the kill. Reveille, calisthenics, no still, and so on. Larry Linville plays the obnoxious Major with great aplomb, sounding like an utter tyrant. It's time to act and the guys cook up a scheme to bring him back. This is an average episode which still makes it better than a lot of television. McLean Stevenson did a nice job of using that delicate balance between beloved boss and bumbling buffoon (for you alliteration fans).

Captains Pierce and McIntyre had just finished ten hours of surgery at the start of this episode titled -- "Henry, Please Come Home." Corporal O'Reilly was about to speak directly at Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake about something important. Obviously, Henry Blake told Walter O'Reilly not to interrupt his conversation while speaking to the surgeons unless he obtained a letter from General Hammond.

Henry Blake received a letter from General Hammond. The M*A*S*H 4077th received a ninety-seven percent efficiency rating for work done in surgery to mend the wounded soldiers in the Korean War. General Hammond had a special citation -- a fourth class medal -- pinned on Henry Blake's surgical gown. Little did they know Major Burns would take over the unit; Henry Blake was reassigned to Tokyo as instructed under General Hammond's orders.

Major Burns immediately laid down the law at the M*A*S*H 4077th. He told Corporal O'Reilly to straighten up the office in one hundred percent ship shape. Everyone was forced to participate in activities like morning exercise, inspections, bed checks, and latrine digging duties while he ran the unit. Eventually, Captains Pierce and McIntyre sneak in to Tokyo to see Henry Blake. Corporal O'Reilly was faking a four o'clock barfing ... all in order to have Henry Blake home. Major Burns's demeanor turned into disgust when he would not become the Commanding Officer ... that was after Henry Blake found out the emergency was a ploy to get off Major Burns's back. Funny Episode!! A Solid 9!!

Like all new television shows, it took a few rounds of episodes until M*A*S*H managed to hit its stride. This episode is not quite halfway through the first season and seasoned viewers of the show will note that there are still some rough edges. Due to the high level of success of the 4077, Henry Blake is given a commendation and promoted to a position in Tokyo, leaving Frank Burns in charge. Always one to throw his weight around when he can, Frank tries to make the atmosphere more military and advances his command and control. He of course alienates the people under his command. Desperate to get out from under Frank Burns, Hawkeye and Trapper concoct a scheme to convince Henry to come back and retake command. They succeed and things quickly get back to "normal" at the 4077. One interesting feature of these early episodes was the character of Spearchucker Jones, a black doctor. The character disappeared shortly after this episode in an attempt to maintain what was thought to be the historical fact that there were no black doctors in the Korean War. That was in fact not the case, so the character was removed without justification.