Bananas, Crackers and Nuts is an episode from M*A*S*H. It was the eleventh episode to be produced but was the seventh episode to be broadcast, first airing on November 5, 1972 and repeated April 22, 1973. It was written by Burt Styler and directed by Bruce Bilson.
Synopsis[]
Blake will not let Hawkeye leave for R&R, so he begins faking insanity. Psychiatrist Captain Sherman is called in to examine him by a suspicious Margaret. Sherman declares Hawkeye insane and orders him to be institutionalized. To avoid this fate, Hawkeye, Trapper, and Radar concoct a scheme that tricks Sherman into sexually assaulting Margaret and fleeing in shame.
Full episode summary[]
After an unusually long stretch in the OR, Hawkeye and Trapper have a spat over a dry still, and decide that they need some R&R. Unfortunately, Henry is departing for a few days, which leaves Frank — who is unlikely to let them have R&R for any reason — in charge.
Hawkeye decides to pretend to be insane to try to get a few days off. He disguises the camp dog as a recuperating patient, rejects a proposition from an attractive nurse, eats a plate of presumably human liver in full surgical garb, and reacts violently when Frank touches the plate. Trapper tells Frank that Hawkeye is losing it, and that he should be sent to Tokyo for R&R, with Trapper to keep an eye on him. Frank and Margaret initially seem to agree, although reluctantly.
Margaret suspects that Hawkeye's madness is an elaborate act, and calls in a psychiatrist friend, Captain Philip G. Sherman, to assess his emotional state. When Sherman arrives, it's obvious that he still holds a candle for Margaret, who has spurned his advances in the past.
In a psychiatric session in the Swamp, Hawkeye tells Sherman that he is in love with Frank, and Sherman declares him to be insane. Henry returns and learns of everything that's happened while he was gone. He argues that Hawkeye was merely trying to get free R&R in Tokyo, and regales Sherman with a few tales of Hawkeye's pranks against Frank, which only confirms Sherman's diagnosis. Margaret and Frank, seeing an opportunity to get rid of Hawkeye, agree with Sherman. Upon hearing Sherman's plan, Hawkeye also confesses to the ruse. Nevertheless, Sherman insists that Hawkeye be committed to a hospital in Tokyo for treatment.
Hawkeye pulls Radar aside and concocts a scheme to foil Sherman's plans. In the mess tent, Radar plants the idea in Sherman's mind that Margaret really does have the hots for him, in spite of spurning him in the past. Meanwhile, Trapper swaps the signs on Margaret's and Sherman's tents. Sherman returns to "his" tent and notices the lights are out. Radar promises to fix them, and Sherman settles into "his" cot for the night. Outside, Trapper switches the signs back.
When Margaret comes into her tent and starts undressing in the dark, Sherman awakes and comes to the mistaken conclusion that she is undressing in "his" tent because she's finally giving in to her desire for him. He excitedly launches himself at her and pulls her onto the cot. Margaret screams out, Radar quickly reconnects the lights, and various members of the camp rush in, making it appear that Sherman was attempting to force himself on Margaret. Sherman flees the unit immediately, and Hawkeye escapes being sent to Tokyo.
Later, Hawkeye and Trapper are packed and dressed, ready for a week of R&R, when the announcement comes over the P.A. that wounded are on the way. They reluctantly toss their bags back in their tent and head for the OR.
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- Stuart Margolin would return as Major Stanley "Stosh" Robbins in "Operation Noselift". Again, Margolin's character, this time a plastic surgeon and friend of Hawkeye's, would have designs on Margaret and would sexually assault her before being stopped by the Swampmates.
- In a scene usually cut from syndicated airings, Hawkeye (while trying to convince people he's crazy) asks Nurse Ginger to check on a patient whose breathing is irregular. She pulls the blanket back to reveal the camp dog with a breathing mask on (which the dog removes himself immediately).
- No explanation is given for why Margaret is wearing her Class A's in the Mess Tent when Radar is convincing Sherman that Margaret is looking at him.
- As Sherman is leaving Margaret's tent, Trapper says he'll pack Sherman some bananas, and Hawkeye says he'll get him some crackers and nuts, tying the title into the episode (along with the fact that all three are slang for crazy).