Sometimes You Hear the Bullet
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| M*A*S*H episode | |
|---|---|
| “Sometimes You Hear the Bullet” | |
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| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 17 |
| Guest star(s) | Ron Howard James T. Callahan |
| Writer(s) | Carl Kleinschmitt |
| Director | William Wiard |
| Production no. | J318 |
| Original airdate | January 28, 1973 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| The Ringbanger | Dear Dad...Again |
"Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" was episode seventeen of the first season of the TV series M*A*S*H. It originally aired on January 28, 1973.
This was one of the first episodes of the series that showed a member of the hospital staff truly affected by death.
Hawkeye's old friend Tommy appears at the 4077th. He is a journalist working on a book about life on the front lines called "You Never Hear the Bullet." The book is intended to show how death in battle can be sudden and not surrounded by any prior drama, as it often is in the movies. Later in the episode, Tommy himself shows up as a casualty on the operating table, having been shot by the enemy on the front lines. Just before being anesthetized, he weakly tells Hawkeye that he in fact had heard a bullet ricochet just before being hit, just like in the movies. Hawkeye, close to tears, suggests that "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" is a better title anyway. Tommy dies moments later.
Later we see Hawkeye crying and Col. Blake trying to console him.
In the same episode, a young soldier is discovered to be underage and using his brother's ID. He has come to Korea in order to impress his girlfriend. Hawkeye first gives the young soldier some sage advice about women and then essentially lets him decide for himself whether he wants to go back to the States or stay in Korea. After losing Tommy, however, Hawkeye immediately reports the young soldier to the MPs, sending him back to America and to safety.
[edit] Quotes
Hawkeye: "I've watched guys die every day. Why didn't I ever cry for them?
Col. Blake: "Because you're a doctor."
Hawkeye: "What the hell does that mean?"
Col. Blake: "...I don't know. If I had the answer I'd be at the Mayo Clinic. Does this look like the Mayo Clinic? Look, all I know is what they told me at command school. There are certain rules about a war. And rule number one is 'Young men die.' And rule number two is ...'Doctors can't change rule number one.'"
Walter/Wendell: "I'm never gonna forgive you for this, not for the rest of my life!"
Hawkeye: "Let's hope it's a long and healthy hate."
[edit] Trivia
- Ron Howard, then between his roles on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, played the young soldier. Ironically, Howard was 18 years old. {And old enough for the draft!} This is the only episode where Hawkeye adheres to US Army Regulations.
- In this episode Hawkeye and his friend have been friends for 15 years since the 4th Grade. {1951-15=1935/6} At age 10 or 11 in 1935/6 Hawkeye would have been born 1924-1926 and old enough to have been in World War II-however throughout the series Hawkeye acts like a just drafted adult in his twenties who was too young to have been in World War II !!
| Preceded by: "The Ringbanger" |
M*A*S*H episodes | Followed by: "Dear Dad...Again" |
| 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 | 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 |
