The creators of the MASH TV Series, Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds, always objected to having a laugh track on the show. It was a show set in a warzone, about a medical unit dealing with the horrific aftermath of bloody battles, so they felt that a laugh track was inappropriate. CBS insisted on treating MASH just like any other sitcom and forced the showrunners to include canned laughter. But, the producers won an early victory when they got CBS to agree that there would be no laugh track during operating room scenes. Even though there was some humor during the MASH O.R. scenes, it was not the place for “audience” laughter. However, a laugh track was used in ONE MASH operating room scene!
Season 3, Episode 12, A Full Rich Day
In Season 3, Episode 12, titled A Full Rich Day, Hawkeye is recording a letter home to his dad using a stolen tape recorder given to him by Father Mulcahy. According to Hawkeye, the tape recorder was stolen from the Tokyo PX (Post Exchange – a store for military personnel) by a staff member of the 4077, who then gave the recorder to a nurse as a “carnal bribe.” The nurse then left the recorder with Father Mulcahy in a “gin-induced fit of remorse.” The Father then gave the recorder to Hawkeye because he “didn’t want anyone to think he was taping confessions.” In his taped message home to his dad, Hawkeye describes what he calls a “full, rich day” at the 4077.
While not important, it is interesting to note that the device that Hawkeye is using to dictate his letter home is called a tape recorder, but is much too compact to be one from that time period. Tape recorders were large, bulky, and not portable. It was, instead, an Edison Voicewriter. It recorded onto a plastic disc, somewhat like a vinyl record.
The Only Time a Laugh Track Was Used in a MASH Operating Room Scene
Among the events that occurred in this full, rich day is the arrival of a Turkish soldier. The soldier is a “sandwich case.” This means an additional canvas litter is placed atop the patient and then strapped down for his own safety. After Klinger and another man carry him out of the ambulance, Klinger tells Frank, who is in charge of triage, “Turkish soldier, Sir. I’m pretty nuts, but this guy could open a crazy school.” The Turkish soldier then begins cutting through the canvas of the top litter with his knife.
When Frank asks why the man wasn’t sedated, Klinger informs him that he was, saying, “They pumped a whole drug store into his arm!” He explains the soldier’s wounds and tells Frank that “these Turks, they won’t leave their buddies for nothing!” The man is carried away to pre-op for treatment.
The “crazy Turk” is given a full grain of morphine to sedate him while another shell-shocked lieutenant arrives and holds a gun on Frank, demanding that his sergeant be treated immediately. Frank runs into pre-op to tell Henry about him. The rest of this description will only be concerned with the use of the laugh track in an operating room scene.
As Henry is preparing to operate on the Turkish soldier and turns his back to look at an X-ray, the soldier wakes up. Henry gets him to lie back down and tells Mr. Kwang to “bomb him.” When he sees the syringe being prepared, the soldier pops back up and forces Mr. Kwang’s hand down. He gets off the table and grabs the discarded syringe, brandishing it while shouting an unknown Turkish word.
Henry tries to calm the soldier, saying, “No one wants to hurt you…just give me the needle.” Henry makes a desperate grab for the needle but brings his palm down on the working end. The sedative begins to take effect as Henry comically begins starts to count down from 100…”99, 98…” As he passes out, the laugh track kicks in.
This is the one and only time a laugh track occurred in an operating room scene. While it’s unclear why this decision was made, it may be because the scene ended with a gag that was almost completely visual, i.e., a “sight gag.” It also may have been inserted by an editor who was responding to this gag and forgot the general prohibition against using canned laughter in the O.R. scenes. In all cases, such pre-recorded laughter was added after shooting, during editing.
A highly rated episode of MASH called The Interview (Season 4, Episode 24) was designed to feel like a documentary. The entire episode consists of war Correspondent Clete Robert interviewing members of the 4077, similar in feel to Edward R. Murrow. There is no laugh track in this episode, which is appropriate for the tense and dramatic nature of the episode, and the fact that there is little to no comedy.
