"Bug Out" is a special hour-long episode of ''

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker. Th ...

'', and the premiere of the fifth season. It first aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on September 21, 1976.

Plot

Rumors begin to circulate that the 4077th will soon have to move in order to stay ahead of North Korean and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

forces.

Colonel Potter This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televisio ...

becomes increasingly exasperated after hearing these claims repeated time after time and decides to check with area headquarters. Learning that a bug-out is not imminent, he assembles the camp personnel with the intent of putting the rumors to rest - only to receive a new message ordering the move after all. The camp is hastily disassembled and loaded onto a convoy for transport, but Hawkeye cannot go as he has just begun to perform surgery on a wounded soldier's spine. He, Margaret, and

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

stay behind to watch over the patient once the operation is finished, with orders from Potter to evacuate him and themselves if the enemy forces approach. Potter and B.J. locate a suitable area for the new camp, but find that a group of prostitutes is using a building on the site as a brothel. Once they persuade

Corporal Klinger This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' and its sequels, the 1970 film adaptation of the novel, and the televisio ...

to give his collection of dresses to the women in exchange for letting the 4077th take over the building, the staff begins to set up a new camp. Meanwhile, the three at the old site become increasingly worried as the sounds of battle grow closer and the patient's condition begins to improve. Once he is stable, they send him out on a chopper and prepare to leave, but are interrupted by the return of the 4077th convoy. The Army has pushed the enemy forces back, allowing the unit to return to its original site.

Trivia

Footage from this episode of the 4077th tents being packed up was later recycled in the series finale "

Goodbye, Farewell and Amen "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" is a television film that served as the series finale of the American television series ''M*A*S*H''. Closing out the series' 11th season, the 2 1⁄2-hour episode first aired on CBS on February 28, 1983, ending the s ...

". After four years as a recurring guest star, this was

William Christopher William Christopher (October 20, 1932 December 31, 2016) was an American actor and comedian, best known for playing Private Lester Hummel on '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' from 1965 to 1968 and Father John Mulcahy on the television series '' M*A*S ...

's first episode as a series regular.

Historical References

During "Bug Out",

is offered

Rolaids Rolaids is an American brand of calcium and magnesium-based antacid produced by Chattem. It was invented by American chemist Irvine W. Grote in the late 1920s, and originated with manufacturing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, under one of Chattem's ...

by a Korean trying to sell him land for relocation. The Korean War lasted from 1950 to 1953; Rolaids was not released to the American public until 1953. Col. Potter mentions that the camp was supposed to receive a visit from the Radio City Rockettes, a real-life precision dance company founded in 1925 that has performed at Radio City Music Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

since 1932. When Klinger is packing his dresses, he's singing lyrics from "

Shuffle Off to Buffalo "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" is a song written by Al Dubin and Harry Warren and introduced in the 1933 musical film '' 42nd Street'', in which Ruby Keeler and Clarence Nordstrom sang and danced to it. Ginger Rogers, Una Merkel, and the Chorus also ...

", a song from the film 42nd Street. He also references the

Spiegel Catalog Spiegel was an American direct marketing retailer founded in 1865 by Joseph Spiegel. Spiegel published a catalog, like its competitors Sears and Montgomery Ward, which advertised various brands of apparel, accessories, and footwear, as well a ...

and the

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

catalog (he refers to it as "Monkey Ward", a popular nickname for the store). When Hawkeye sees Maj. Burns coming, he sarcastically says Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie!, the title to a 1939

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

song which was later covered by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

in 1961. He later plays on the title of

Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag "Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile" is the full name of a World War I marching song, published in 1915 in London. It was written by Welsh songwriter George Henry Powell under the pseudonym of "George Asaf", and s ...

by Felix Powell. Hawkeye refers to the camp coffee as "Vile to the last drop.", a play on the

Maxwell House Maxwell House is an American brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Heinz in North America and JDE Peet's in the rest of the world. Introduced in 1892 by wholesale grocer Joel Owsley Cheek, it was named in honor of the ...

slogan " Good to the last drop." which dates back as far as 1915. He later refers to Radar's animals as the "

Smith Brothers The Smith Brothers were makers of the first cough drops produced and advertised in the United States, becoming one of the most famous brands in the country in its day. History William Wallace Smith I (1830–1913) and Andrew Smith (1836–1895 ...

of the jellybean industry".

External links

* M*A*S*H (season 5) episodes 1976 American television episodes {{US-tv-episode-stub