To Market, to Market (M*A*S*H)

"To Market, to Market" is the second episode of M*A*S*H. It was first aired on September 24, 1972 and repeated on April 29, 1973. Like many other M*A*S*H episodes, this one parodies army bureaucracy.

Thieves and blackmarketeers hold up a truck load of medical supplies for the 4077, thus rendering them in desperate need of Hydrocortisone. In retaliation, Hawkeye and Trapper meet with a notorious black marketer, hoping to get some replacements. When they realize they have nothing reasonable to trade with him, they go to drastic measures to get what they need.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Plot

While operating on a general, Hawkeye discovers they are out of Hydrocortisone, so he and Trapper go to angrily complain to Major Houlihan. Major Burns comes to defend her, and explains that it, along with half of the other medical supplies, was hijacked by the black market. He also explains that a new shipment is waiting outside, but when they open up the truck, they discover it's been stolen.

Angry about the theft, Hawkeye and Trapper go to tell Col. Blake about it. When they walk into his office, they find him showing off his 100-year-old desk. They inform him of the theft and suggest that he call General Hammond and demand some action, but he is too nervous, so Hawkeye calls him. When Blake asks Hammond for more Hydrocortisone, he adamantly refuses.

Radar is able to find the name of a black marketer, Charlie Lee. Hawkeye and Trapper meet him to ask about getting some Hydrocortisone. When they realize they could never afford it, they offer to trade Henry's desk. Soon afterward, Charlie Lee shows up at the 4077 dressed as a South Korean General. Burns sees Lee's jeep parked in the middle of the camp and orders him to move it, only to have the man try to sell him a stolen watch. Meanwhile, Lee agrees to the trade with Hawkeye and Trapper, but says the desk must be ready to be put on his truck at exactly 0600 the next morning or the deal is off.

Radar wakes up Pierce and McIntyre at 0500 the next morning and they sneak out of the Swamp and into Henry's office. Frank comes by to check on everything and meets up with Margaret. As they head off to the supply tent, Burns locks the door. While Radar goes out to try to convince the truck driver to wait for the desk, Pierce and McIntyre cut down a wall in Blake's office and carry out the desk. Before they can get it on the truck, Burns recognizes the driver from the previous day and orders him to leave. When Hawkeye and Trapper catch up to Radar, he tells them that the truck left, so Hawkeye tells him to get O'Brien (a helicopter pilot unseen in the episode). Henry and Frank Burns go to Henry's office and find that the desk is gone. They see it, attached to a helicopter, flying away.

Later, Charlie Lee shows up, dressed in a private's uniform, with two hundred vials of Hydrocortisone, but a suspicious Henry recognizes him as the South Korean general. When questioned, Lee merely smiles and replies, "You know how it is, Colonel. We all look alike."^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Trivia

• Assuming that this episode takes place in 1950 along with the pilot, since Hydrocortisone was not introduced until 1952, it would not have been in use at the time.
• When Hawkeye and Trapper first meet the black marketer, Charlie Lee, he refers to the two of them as the best surgeons in the Southeast Asia Theater of Operations. Korea is in Northeast Asia.
• Possibly due to early concerns about scenes with the actors behind facemasks, both Hawkeye and Trapper are seen operating on a patient without masks.

Notes

External links

• "To Market, to Market" at the Internet Movie Database