Margaret's Engagement
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| M*A*S*H episode | |
|---|---|
| “Margaret's Engagement” | |
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| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 3 |
| Writer(s) | Gary Markowitz |
| Director | Alan Alda |
| Production no. | 502 |
| Original airdate | September 28, 1976 |
| Episode chronology | |
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"Margaret's Engagement" is an episode from the TV series M*A*S*H. It was the second episode of the fifth season and originally aired September 28, 1976. It was written by Gary Markowitz and directed by Alan Alda.
[edit] Overview
Major Margaret Houlihan reveals when she comes back from Tokyo that she is now engaged to Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscot, a West Point graduate who has swept her off her feet. Frank Burns doesn't take the news so well, almost having a complete breakdown.
[edit] Detailed Story
While making coffee for Colonel Potter, Radar receives a phone call from Major Houlihan, who is in Tokyo to follow up on the progress of some of the 4077th's patients. Hot Lips insists on being put through to Colonel Potter immediately, and when Radar does this she tells Potter that she has "wonderful news". However, she refuses to explain over the phone, knowing that Radar is listening in.
Later in the OR, Potter and the Swampmen speculate on what Margaret's news will be. B.J. suggests that it could be news about a possible peace settlement. Frank overhears, and mentions that Hot Lips had recommended him for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, and that the news was that he was indeed being promoted. Hawkeye has meanwhile finished with his patient, and as he walks over to Frank's table he notes that Major Burns has taken a surgical shortcut that could lead to serious illness or death for the patient. Burns offers the excuse that he hasn't had any complaints yet, to which Pierce retorts that "Dead men tell no tales."
Margaret arrives, giddy, as Pierce and Hunnicutt are playing golf with an orange (which is crushed by her jeep). She jumps off the jeep and into B.J.'s arms, and as the surgeons escort her to her tent she says her news is "too good to be true", telling the Swampmen immediately that Frank was not promoted after all. She then says she has the "best of all possible news", and as she gets into her tent shows them her engagement ring. Hawkeye has trouble finding it--it's rather small--and when he does he makes some sarcastic comments about her fiancee's thrift, but Margaret defends it as a family heirloom. B.J. and Hawkeye wonder aloud what Frank's reaction would be, and Margaret insists on telling him herself, convinced that he would be "thrilled" to hear the news.
| M*A*S*H | |
|---|---|
| Film: | MASH |
| TV series: | M*A*S*H | Trapper John, M.D. | AfterMASH | W*A*L*T*E*R |
| Characters: |
Hawkeye Pierce | Trapper John McIntyre | Duke Forrest | B.J. Hunnicutt | Henry Blake | Sherman T. Potter | Frank Burns | Margaret Houlihan | Charles Winchester | Radar O'Reilly | Father Mulcahy | Maxwell Klinger | Igor Straminsky | Luther Rizzo | Sidney Freedman | Col. Flagg | Spearchucker Jones | Ugly John | Walter Koskiusko Waldowski | Ho-Jon | Nurse Bigelow | Lieutenant Dish | Donald Penobscot |
| Episodes: | Season 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Books: | M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors | M*A*S*H Goes to Maine |
| Related material: | Guest stars | Differences between book, film and TV versions of M*A*S*H | Suicide Is Painless |
