The writers really couldn’t keep Hawkeye’s character straight during the first season of MASH. He is the subject of such change, it will make your head spin. So, if you’re rewatching the first season, you may wonder, Does he have a sister? Is his mother alive? Is he from Vermont? I thought he was from Crab Apple Cove, Maine, and that he was an only child. You’re not wrong!
These continuity errors were probably hardly noticeable during the original run of the series. They became more noticeable during syndication or the advent of VHS recordings. And today, when you binge the show on a streaming platform, well, the errors, or changes, are glaringly obvious. Here are some highlights:
- Season 1, Episode 12 (Dear Dad) – Hawkeye mentions his dad spending Christmas at home in Vermont, only to mention later that his father never left Crab Apple Cove, Maine, his hometown.
- Season 1, Episode 18 (Dear Dad, Again) – When writing his father, he says to “kiss mom and sis.”
- Season 2, Episode 23 (Mail Call) – He receives a knitted sweater from his sister and her “ten dancing fingers.” The sweater is oversized with super-long arms, “for the man who has everything, a sweater with a guest room.”
Hawkeye also mentions his mother and sister several other times throughout season one.
We only learn later in the series that Hawkeye is an only child (from Crab Apple Cove, Maine) whose mother died when he was very young. In episode 20 of season 10, Sons and Bowlers, he opens up to Charles about his mother’s death, saying that when he was 10, his mother was sick, but his dad never revealed how serious it was to his son because he didn’t want him to worry, even after she was hospitalized and then died. He confides all of this because he is gravely worried about losing his father, whom he knows to be in the hospital, but is unsure about what the problem is because of not being able to get through on the phone. He is afraid he will not be able to tell his father how much he loves him.
He tells Charles that he and his father are “too close to let this all suddenly end with silence twelve thousand miles apart.” Charles then opens up and tells Hawkeye that he should be grateful that only distance is keeping him and his father apart, since Charles and his father had been “twelve thousand miles apart in the same room”.
To be honest, Hawkeye’s background in the series was always a sticking point for me, principally the idea that he came from a small town in Maine. Nothing about his character in the show suggests Maine or small town. He certainly doesn’t sound like he’s from Maine. He sounds like he’s from New York, as is Alan Alda. His mannerisms suggest big city or at least big town. Although the fact that he is often self-focused, self-righteous, and sees things in black and white may suggest only child (not to insult only children). Don’t get me wrong. I find Hawkeye irritating at times, just like many fans, and some of the episodes that focus solely on him are my least favorite since I find them tedious. But I still love Hawkeye and all the characters on MASH.
Hawkeye Continuity Errors Or Changes In MASH
To sum it all up, here is a list of the major MASH continuity errors concerning Hawkeye.
- Early on, writing to his father he mentions his father being in Vermont.
- Crabapple Cove, Maine, is mentioned as the location of a summer cottage.
- Hawkeye’s hometown was changed to Crabapple Cove, Maine, a fictional town. Richard Hooker, aka H. Richard Hornberger, who modelled the character after himself in the original novel, was from Maine.
- Hawkeye originally, in letters home, referenced a sister and his mother, saying, “Kiss mom and sis.” His sister and mother are mentioned several times.
- In later seasons, he becomes an only child whose mother died when he was very young.
