- Psychiatrist Sidney Freedman composes a letter to Sigmund Freud during a visit to the 4077, while the rest of the camp endures the hijinks of a mystery prankster.
- One of the favorite semi-regulars, healer, Dr. Sidney Freedman, (Allan Arbus) shows up to play poker and ends up staying two weeks at the 4077. Sidney is feeling blue. He writes a letter to a colleague describing his best therapy: a spa where the inmates have an interesting defense against carnage: insanity in the service of health. Sidney discusses his friends and colleagues and their quirks, seeming serenity, hang-ups, strange habits and/or libidinous behavior. During Sidney's visit, there is a secret practical joker in the 4077's midst: no one is too high or low in rank to be exempt. As psychiatrists, both Sidney and Sigmund treat unhealthy, hurt and angry minds; this is a strain on the healthiest of healers and they need an outlet. The 4077 is anger turned sideways and the place where Sidney can "take down his pants and slide down the ice." Also, Hawkeye takes a pilot 20,000 feet out of the clouds and shows him the up close and personal results of war on the ground as found in the O.R. Who is the mad practical joker and will his/her identity be discovered?—LA-Lawyer
- One of the favorite semi-regulars, healer, Dr. Sidney Freedman, (Allan Arbus) shows up to play poker and ends up staying two weeks at the 4077. Sidney is feeling blue. He writes a letter to a colleague Sigmund describing his best therapy: a spa (the 4077th MASH) where the inmates have an interesting defense against carnage: insanity in the service of health.
Sidney discusses his friends and colleagues and their quirks, seeming serenity, hang-ups, strange habits and/or libidinous behavior. During Sidney's visit, there is a secret practical joker in the 4077's midst: no one is too high or low in rank to be exempt. Hawkeye dresses up as a mad doctor (with rubber scuba gear on his feet) for his patients amusement in post-op. Klinger pretends to be hit by a chopper blade and can now only speak Arabic. But his helmet had tires tracks on it, and Potter is still not buying it. Klinger wishes that the fleas of a thousand camels nest in Potter's armpits. The mad joker gets Frank (a leg cut off the bench in the mess tent) and even Potter (black smudge around the eye holes of his binoculars). Mulcahy is a psychiatrist without a degree. He is a complete natural as a therapist. Margaret is all discipline on the outside, but all kinds of passionate on the inside. She looks after Sidney while he stays at the 4077th. She is still married to her Lt Col in Tokyo, but there are some strains in their relationship. Frank commits adultery with Margaret, but wont allow his own wife to express her own sexuality or freedom Radar is innocent and naive, yet keeps the place going single-handedly.
As psychiatrists, both Sidney and Sigmund treat unhealthy, hurt and angry minds; this is a strain on the healthiest of healers and they need an outlet. BJ and Hawkeye figure out that something is bothering Sidney, and he is escaping something as he has stayed far too long at the 4077th. Sidney was seeing too many patients during the winter (he was getting 15 cases a week of total crack ups) and lost a kid who was hearing voices in his head, telling him to kill himself. Sidney couldn't get to him fast enough and the kid shot himself. The 4077 is anger turned sideways and the place where Sidney can "take down his pants and slide down the ice." Sidney figures out that BJ, the calmest person in MASH 4077, is the practical joker of the circus. He fills water in Frank's air raid ditch. He makes Sidney yell Air Raid, which makes Frank run to his fox hole and fall into the water.
Also, Hawkeye takes a pilot (who arrived at the 4077th on a bullock cart after he crashed his aircraft) 20,000 feet out of the clouds (he had never seen the people he had been bombing) and shows him the up close and personal results of war on the ground as found in the O.R. For the pilot the war only lasted 30 mins a day after which he used to retire to his home in Tokyo and officer's club in the evening. He cries when he sees an 8 yr old fighting for her life in the OR after her village was bombed. Sidney returns cured.
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