Rally 'Round the Flagg, Boys was the 22nd episode of Season 7 of M*A*S*H TV, also the 169th overall series episode. The episode was written by Mitch Markowitz and directed by Harry Morgan. The episode originally aired on CBS-TV on Wednesday, February 14, 1979 at 9PM. It was repeated on September 10, 1979, the last official Season 7 telecast of M*A*S*H.
Synopsis[]
Col. Flagg attempts to recruit Winchester to spy on Hawkeye whom he suspects is a spy himself.
Full episode summary[]
As Hawkeye and Potter are playing bridge with two South Korean dignitaries, wounded arrive. One of them, a North Korean, has a severe head injury, and Hawkeye, as Chief Surgeon, overrules Winchester by taking him in first. Another soldier, a Corporal Basgall, is furious as one of "them" being taken ahead of his buddy, and during OR he calls Hawkeye a commie. After some additional prodding by Winchester, Hawkeye loses his cool and walks over to the Corporal and threatens to shut his mouth for him.
Later, Col. Potter is dismayed to see Col. Flagg waiting for him in his office. Flagg heard about Hawkeye working on a North Korean ahead of an American, which is against protocol, and is here to investigate. He confronts Hawkeye, calling him a "communist dupe", among other things. Hawkeye, of course, doesn't take any of Flagg's threats seriously, and after a minute or so, he walks away.
Later, Flagg introduces himself to Winchester, and wants him to spy on Hawkeye for him. He insists to Winchester that Hawkeye's a commie spy, and that Winchester find some evidence. Winchester, of course, thinks this is all nonsense, but is willing to do Flagg's bidding when he offers Winchester a ticket home to Boston in return.
Winchester does some snooping, but of course he doesn't find anything. Hawkeye is sure that Flagg has bugged the Swamp, a lot more familiar with Flagg's methods than Winchester. Winchester finds the spying distasteful, and tries to resign. Flagg switches from bribery to threats, saying if he doesn't help out Winchester could just "disappear." Winchester relents.
Meanwhile, in the Swamp, Corporal Basgall is so worked up over Hawkeye's treating the Korean over his pal that he attacks Hawkeye in his tent with a cane. B.J. enters and furiously intervenes, threatening to break the guy's neck, until Hawkeye dissuades him.
Later, in Post Op, Flagg questions the North Korean, but that quickly devolves into cutting off the patient's IV drip. Radar sees this, and is enraged. He tells Flagg he can't do that, and Winchester steps in. He then finds a "clue" on the North Korean, which looks like a map of the 4077th, with a meeting of some sort scheduled for 10pm. Flagg camps outside the Swamp with some M.P.s, where Winchester joins them. They see two Koreans in suits enter, along with Hawkeye and Col. Potter. Thinking it's a spy ring so big it involves Potter, too, Flagg and the M.P.s charge in with guns in hand.
Turns out the two Korean gentlemen are Doo-Pak, the mayor of Ouijongbu, and his younger brother Hung-Pak, the chief of police, something Winchester knew all along. Flagg should be embarrassed, but, never one to know when to quit, he thinks it's an even bigger plot, and refuses to give an inch. For their part, the Korean officials are furious at this insult and vow to use their contacts at I Corps to make sure Flagg is punished. Hawkeye laughs that "You're going to lose your magic decoder ring for this one, Flagg!" After the M.P.s leave, Flagg suddenly dowses the light and "vanishes." Winchester sits down to play bridge with the others, and begins to regale them with the story of how he pulled one over on Flagg.
Later, Mulcahy urges B.J. to take his frustrations out on his punching bag. B.J. takes a whack at the bag - so big and hard a whack, he deflates the bag. Mulcahy then suggests B.J. try needlepoint instead.
Research notes/Fun facts[]
- This is not the first time Flagg has goofed up an intelligence assignment, hence the M.P.'s remark: "Another one of Col Flagg's red herrings."
- The parts where Winchester steals Hawkeye's letter and Flagg grinds Klinger's cigar into his palm, and Basgall talks to B.J. and threatens Hawkeye if he is not released with his friend, are usually not in the syndicated versions; however, they are seen in restored version.
- The ending credits have a small error: Margaret is seen in Post-Op. She only has two lines at the beginning of the episode and is only seen in the O.R. in that same scene.
- Final appearance of Col. Samuel Flagg in the MASH series. We never see Flagg again after this episode. It most likely that he was punished for threatening a well-respected Colonel (Potter), the Mayor of Uijeongbu (Doo Pak), and the Uijeongbu Chief of Police (Hung Pak), all of whom had connections to his superiors. He would return in the spinoff series AfterMASH in the Season 2 episode "Trials" where he would testify at Klinger's trial. Evidence he brings against Klinger proves ridiculous, and he goes on a tirade about how Klinger has them fooled.
- This is also the only episode where David Ogden Stiers and Edward Winter are seen together, as this was Winter´s only appearance after Season 5.
- Episode title is based on that of a 1958 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Max Shulman, directed by Leo McCarey, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, and released by 20th Century Fox. The title comes from a line in the song "Battle Cry of Freedom".
- Continuity error: Winchester came to MASH 4077 after Potter (who came Sept 19, 1952), yet Winchester refers in the present tense to Douglas MacArthur (who was dismissed in April 1951); by 1952, the US general in command of UN troops in Korea was Matthew Bunker Ridgeway.
- This episode was directed by cast member Harry Morgan, which would explain why Colonel Potter wasn´t seen very much in this episode.
- Hawkeye tells Charles that Flagg once told them to fix up a wounded prisoner "just so he could take him out and shoot him." This refers to Flagg's third appearance on the series, "Officer of the Day."
- When Hawkeye realizes Charles had set Flagg up to get caught, Winchester agrees and touches the tip of his nose. This hints at Margaret's concern that Charles is obsessed with his nose (which started out in "War of Nerves").
Recurring cast/Guest stars[]
- Edward Winter as Colonel Sam Flagg
- Neil Thompson as Corporal Basgall
- James Lough as M.P.
- Jerry Fujikawa as Hung Pak
- Bob Ozazaki as Doo Pak
- Roy Goldman as Private Roy Goldman