One Season 8 Episode Of M*A*S*H 'Wrecked' The Entire Cast
Over 50 years ago, the war dramedy series "M*A*S*H" broke new ground by transforming Robert Altman's film of the same name into what would become one of the most important television shows in history. Given the series' wartime background, for as funny as the show was, it was also deeply emotional and tackled some seriously harrowing subject matter. But what episode impacted the cast the most? In the new TV special "M*A*S*H: The Comedy That Changed Television," actor Mike Farrell (Captain B.J. Hunnicutt) talked about filming "Old Soldiers," getting choked up thinking about the gravity of the episode's meaning.
For those who have seen the episode, it's definitely one that packs an emotional wallop. Directed by Charles S. Durbin and written by Dennis Koenig (with "M*A*S*H" film writers W.C. Heinz, Richard Hooker, and Ring Lardner, Jr. all uncredited co-writers), season 8, episode 18, "Old Soldiers," centered on Colonel Potter (the late Harry Morgan, a highly revered actor who joined the cast in later seasons) after he discovered that he was the last surviving member of his WWI veteran friend group. The five men in the group pledged that their last bottle of brandy would belong to whoever outlived the rest, the "last man standing," so to speak, to toast to their memories.
It's one of those common wartime promises right alongside "Tell my wife that I love her." These promises are so common that they've almost become a trope in films and TV shows about war, but seldom do we ever see what it looks like when those promises are fulfilled and the emotional weight of what that means. Colonel Potter is devastated to learn that he is the one who gets the bottle. After all, as positive as it is to know that he's still alive, this gift only exists because the rest of his crew had to die.
Harry Morgan could barely get through the scene
Colonel Potter first tells the story about the bottle's significance to a young Korean refugee being treated at the 4077th (a bit of safe emotional distance for him before he can tell his new friends the significance of the bottle). The TV special showed archival interview footage with Harry Morgan, where he declared the episode his favorite:
"Well the one I liked the best because I got an Emmy from it was a thing we did called 'Old Soldiers,' which was about a tontine that I think five of us had made in World War I [...] I tell you, one time I started and I couldn't even get through the scene."
Colonel Potter's big speech includes mourning his friends Ryan, Giannelli, Stein, and Gresky, but also a thank-you to the new friends he's made with the 4077th. "Forgive me, I can't talk about this and him without a struggle," said Farrell, choking back tears. "Colonel Potter was this wonderful, decent, thoughtful, talented, intelligent man who had this extraordinary career treating us like comrades, treating us like his equals. The idea was stunning to me, and I think to all of us. We were all wrecked by the end of that scene. Wrecked."
The episode's title is a reference to an old barrack ballad quoted by General Douglas MacArthur during his farewell address to Congress after being fired by President Truman for overstepping his role in the Korean War, where he stated, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." Fortunately, the "M*A*S*H" episode has yet to fade away and continues to be viewed as one of the greatest episodes in television history.