M*A*S*H

I've decided that M*A*S*H, as a tv show, is completely and totally amazing. I wasn't feeling well today, so I watched the fifth season straight through. One episode in particular, "Hawk's Nightmare," struck me as fascinating. Dr. Hawkeye Pierce is Mr. Indomitability at the 4077th Hospital. He's always ready with a quick remark, a practical joke, and his near-miraculous medical ability. However, even Hawkeye has his vulnerable moments. In this episode, Hawkeye begins to sleepwalk and have nightmares. When he sleepwalks, he dreams that he's a child again back home in Crabapple Cove, Maine. In the nightmares, he's playing with some of his childhood friends, who suddenly face disaster. Hawkeye becomes increasingly nervous, especially after he wakes up the entire camp with his bloodcurdling screams. Dr. Potter finally decides to call in Dr. Sidney Freedman, a psychiatrist who is one of the recurring characters in the show...as well as one of my favorites. Still, before Dr. Freedman can even arrive, Colonel Potter and Radar have a touching conversation, in which Radar states that Hawkeye is losing. "He's losing the war against the war. I mean, you [Colonel Potter] have your horses and you paint. I fight with my animals. But Hawkeye...he wins against the war. He laughs at it, never lets it have an inch. Until now. He's losing." Radar's performance was perfect and absolutely gut-wrenching. Alan Alda as Hawkeye, though, stunned me yet again when he spoke to Dr. Freeman. "It's one thing to live in a shooting gallery," he says, "but now I'm being attacked from the inside. I'm afraid to lie down in my sack, I'm afraid to close my eyes. How do I defend myself from myself?" For all those people that think M*A*S*H is all about quick laughs and lightning fast wit, think again. It's a wonderful show that should get a lot more credit as a drama than it does.