An unexploded bomb scene from an episode of MASH gets high marks for realism from an ordnance expert. Alan Alda's Hawkeye Pierce, and the rest of the gang from the 4077th, first came to prime-time TV in 1972, and immediately delivered ratings gold. MASH's memorable characters would remain fixtures on America's screens until the show's farewell episode aired in 1983, drawing a massive 105 million viewers according to Nielsen data.
Not only was MASH a classic show that brought the comedy and tragedy of war home to viewers, it was also surprisingly realistic, at least according to one expert.
MASH season 1, episode 20 "The Army-Navy Game" sees the 4077th coming together to listen to a broadcast of the annual football game between Army and Navy, but having their fun interrupted when a barrage breaks out, leaving an unexploded bomb in the middle of the camp. Hawkeye and Trapper John are enlisted to defuse the bomb (as Ly points out in his remarks, it's perhaps strange that two doctors are tasked with this dangerous duty), but the manual they're reading from is useless, and they accidentally set the device off.
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