Number 12-Dr. Sydney Freeman
Number 11- Maxwell Klinger
Number 10- Father Mulcahy
Number 9-Radar O'Reilly
So now that we have that out of the way let's get on with the list.
So, we start with Major Frank Burns. Poor Frank was a character that was designed to be hated. While he is a competent surgeon, he is not cut out for the pressure of a MASH unit. While he dreams of being a leader of men, he can't even get his bunk mates from pranking him every chance they get. Frank's main interest is trying to get people to do things his way, and "Hot Lips" Houlihan. Frank is married, but that doesn't stop him from making the most of any time the two can manage to eke out.
It's harder to come up with important moments for Mr. Burns. Because of what they were doing with the character, it's hard to come up with significant moments that don't involve him becoming an involuntary blood donor or having his latrine fall apart while he's using it. I do have a couple that will work pretty well. In the first season, Colonel Blake makes the decision to make Hawkeye the Chief Surgeon. Frank spends the whole episode throwing a fit, but at the end of the episode, Frank asks Hawkeye for help with a patient. It isn't much, but it shows he knows Hawkeye is a better doctor. The other moment comes when Frank learns about "Hot Lips" marriage while she was away on leave. He completely falls apart. It is a mixture of comedy and tragedy that really shows who his character is.
How can you go wrong with a commanding officer like Colonel Potter? He has experience from WWII and unlike Henry Blake, Colonel Potter has experience running a MASH unit. Potter understands the people around him, and even though they won't jump to attention and salute like regular army, he knows that they all have the same concerns-saving lives and getting home safely. Colonel Potter is a painter and a Calvary man at heart and Radar even manages to find him a horse in the middle of the war. Also, in an unexpected move that works out very well for both of them, Colonel Potter puts Klinger in charge of the office after Radar goes home.
One great moment for Colonel Potter comes in an episode where he was shooting from the free throw line on the camp's make shift basketball court. Someone walked by and noticed he was doing pretty well, soon the whole camp was around the court waiting to see if he could break the camp's record for consecutive baskets. On the very last shot, Colonel Potter misses and the audience disperses. Potter picks up the ball and starts again.
The best moment is of course at the end of the show as everyone is leaving Korea. Colonel Potter is trying to figure out what to do with he faithful horse, Sophie. There's no way he can bring her back to America so the Colonel follows Father Mulcahy's advice and leaves her with the local orphanage to help them work the fields.
Just when you think that all the rich and powerful families are keeping their sons and daughters out of the war, you get to meet Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. At first he's got a nice cushy position in Seoul, taking care of important military personnel. That is until he wins one to many games of cards. That's when he finds himself transferred to the 4077 and left there. Winchester isn't a terrible person. He's just used to a different way of life, and he has no means of adjusting to his new world. Winchester is also the replacement for Frank Burns and he is a far superior surgeon and has no qualms about telling the world that he's the best.
I think in this case, I'll stick with one moment from the end of the show. Near the end of the war, a group of prisoners is being held at the 4077. They are five Chinese musicians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Winchester decides to take this group and teach them to play a variation of Mozart's Quintet for Violins and Strings. He continues to help them improve their performance until they are transferred to another camp. They play the song for him as they are being driven away. A few hours later more patients arrive. Unfortunately one of the patients is one of the Chinese soldiers. They were all killed. Winchester tries to find solace in his record of the piece, but after a few measures, he takes the record and smashes it.
The last character on this part of our list is Major Margaret "Hot Lips"Houilhan. At the beginning of the show, Hot Lips is mainly used for comic relief as she chances around with Frank. Later in the show, she grows as a character. Her failed marriage to Donald Penobscot helps her to grow out of her military rigidness, and become a better member of the 4077. Margaret's responsibility is to take care of the nurses under her command. This includes protecting them from the antics of the doctors as well.
It is hard to pick out a specific moment for Margaret because her best moments are really the small times that she shows her concern for the people she comes in contact with- her nurses, her patients and her friends. There is a great episode where Hawkeye and Houlihan are trapped in a building while they are on a trip. The two end up sleeping together to ignore the shells dropping around them. However, the most notable moment happened in the movie of MASH. I won't say more since if you haven't seen the movie, it will ruin the moment for you.
That's all there is for now. I'll have the last part with the final four characters soon. I'm sure you can figure out who the four are, but you'll still have to look to find out who gets top place. Leave any comments below.
Number 8
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| Larry Linville played Major Frank Burns the perpetual target for Hawkeye, Trapper, and BJ. |
It's harder to come up with important moments for Mr. Burns. Because of what they were doing with the character, it's hard to come up with significant moments that don't involve him becoming an involuntary blood donor or having his latrine fall apart while he's using it. I do have a couple that will work pretty well. In the first season, Colonel Blake makes the decision to make Hawkeye the Chief Surgeon. Frank spends the whole episode throwing a fit, but at the end of the episode, Frank asks Hawkeye for help with a patient. It isn't much, but it shows he knows Hawkeye is a better doctor. The other moment comes when Frank learns about "Hot Lips" marriage while she was away on leave. He completely falls apart. It is a mixture of comedy and tragedy that really shows who his character is.
Number 7
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| Veteran actor, Harry Morgan, played Colonel Sherman Potter, the commander of the 4077 after Lt Colonel Blake went home. |
One great moment for Colonel Potter comes in an episode where he was shooting from the free throw line on the camp's make shift basketball court. Someone walked by and noticed he was doing pretty well, soon the whole camp was around the court waiting to see if he could break the camp's record for consecutive baskets. On the very last shot, Colonel Potter misses and the audience disperses. Potter picks up the ball and starts again.
The best moment is of course at the end of the show as everyone is leaving Korea. Colonel Potter is trying to figure out what to do with he faithful horse, Sophie. There's no way he can bring her back to America so the Colonel follows Father Mulcahy's advice and leaves her with the local orphanage to help them work the fields.
Number 6
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| David Ogden Stiers played Major Charles Emerson Winchester III. |
I think in this case, I'll stick with one moment from the end of the show. Near the end of the war, a group of prisoners is being held at the 4077. They are five Chinese musicians who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Winchester decides to take this group and teach them to play a variation of Mozart's Quintet for Violins and Strings. He continues to help them improve their performance until they are transferred to another camp. They play the song for him as they are being driven away. A few hours later more patients arrive. Unfortunately one of the patients is one of the Chinese soldiers. They were all killed. Winchester tries to find solace in his record of the piece, but after a few measures, he takes the record and smashes it.
Number 5
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| Loretta Swit played Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan. |
It is hard to pick out a specific moment for Margaret because her best moments are really the small times that she shows her concern for the people she comes in contact with- her nurses, her patients and her friends. There is a great episode where Hawkeye and Houlihan are trapped in a building while they are on a trip. The two end up sleeping together to ignore the shells dropping around them. However, the most notable moment happened in the movie of MASH. I won't say more since if you haven't seen the movie, it will ruin the moment for you.
That's all there is for now. I'll have the last part with the final four characters soon. I'm sure you can figure out who the four are, but you'll still have to look to find out who gets top place. Leave any comments below.
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