The Army-Navy Game (M*A*S*H)

Infobox Television episode
Title = The Army-Navy Game
Series = M*A*S*H


Caption =
Season = 1
Episode = 20
Airdate = February 25, 1973
Production = J322
Writer = Sid Dorfman

McLean Stevenson
Director = Gene Reynolds
Guests =
Episode list = List of "M*A*S*H" episodes
Prev = The Longjohn Flap
Next = Sticky Wicket

"The Army-Navy Game" was episode twenty of the first season of the TV series "M*A*S*H". It originally aired on February 25, 1973; its repeat on September 9, 1973 was the last official telecast in "M*A*S*H" 's first season on CBS.

The episode opens with Radar O'Reilly walking around the camp, asking the staff if they want to participate in the football pool for the game. Radar then walks into Henry Blake's office, where Henry is trying to tune into the game. Along with him in his office are Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre. On his first attempt, Henry tunes into an anti-American propaganda station, but he quickly finds the right station. Radar comes and announces that they've raised $1,000 for the football pool. The Navy has elected to receive, when the camp comes under fire. The staff goes into post-op to make sure that all the patients are okay. Henry is brought in, having been dazed by a blast and with a cut on his forehead. A shell falls into the camp, right next to the flagpole but doesn't go off. Hawkeye gets on the phone with Regimental Headquarters, and asks for instructions. Headquarters tells him to see if the bomb is live, using a stethoscope, and then to look on the shell for any serial numbers. Hawkeye, Trapper and Frank Burns draw straws to see who gets the job. Frank draws the short one, but he faints halfway to the door. Trapper and Hawkeye play odds or evens and Hawkeye is sent out. He goes out and finds that the bomb's ticker is ticking away, loud and clear. The serial number that Henry reads off to Regimental is "AFS72485" with three small circles and a square underneath it. However, Regimental doesn't know what kind of bomb it is, so they suggest calling the Navy. Klinger goes and sees Father Mulcahy in a suit, to tell him that if he died, he didn't want to do so in a dress. Henry gets through to the Navy and explains the situation to them. The officer listens and tells Henry that they'll get back to them. While they wait for "that Navy joker" to call back, Frank and Margaret Houlihan share a drink, Henry tells Radar about a mishap he had as the manager of his college football team, and Trapper, Hawkeye and Ugly John play poker in a sandbag bunker. The Navy calls back and the bomb belongs to the CIA. Hawkeye and Trapper are sent out to defuse the bomb, while Henry is going to read them the instructions from a bunker. Due to a mix-up between Henry and Trapper, they accidentally set off the bomb. As it turns out, all it does is fire leaflets into the air. After the bomb goes off, Trapper yells "It's a propaganda bomb!". The episode ends with Father Mulcahy winning the football pool, being the only person who bet on the Navy.

"Trivia"

*This episode features an alternate, jazzier arrangement of the opening theme music.

*The play-by-play announcer heard on the radio throughout the episode is game show host Tom Kennedy, who was hosting Split Second at the time that this episode aired. Kennedy is not listed in the end credits for this episode.

*The characters spend much of the day listening, or trying to listen, to the Army-Navy Game on Armed Forces Radio. On the show, Army blows a 14-0 lead and Navy wins, 42-36. This does not match the score of any actual Army-Navy Game ever played, whether before, during, or after the war (although Navy did win the 1951 game 42-7). Had such a game actually been played, it would have been the highest-scoring Army-Navy game ever, with the two teams combining for 78 points. The highest-scoring Army-Navy Game in real life thus far was Navy's 58-12 win in 2002, with a total of just 70 points. The only Army-Navy Game in which each team scored 30 or more points was the 1998 game, a 34-30 Army win.