Requiem for a Lightweight
| "Requiem for a Lightweight" | |
|---|---|
| M*A*S*H episode | |
Trapper in the ring with manager Hawkeye.
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| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 3 (3rd overall) |
| Directed by | Hy Averback |
| Written by | Bob Klane |
| Production code | J308 |
| Original air date | October 1, 1972 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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Sorrell Booke as General Barker |
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| Episode chronology | |
Sorrell Booke as General Barker
John Orchard as Ugly John
Marcia Strassman as Margie Cutler
William Christopher as Father Mulcahy
"Requiem for a Lightweight" is the third episode of the television series M*A*S*H. It was first aired on October 1, 1972 and was repeated on December 31, 1972, the first episode of M*A*S*H to do so. In Watching M*A*S*H, Watching America, a sociological examination of M*A*S*H as an illustration of shifting American values in the 1970s and early 1980s, James H. Wittebols cites this episode as an example of the sexual humor which was common in early M*A*S*H episodes, but downplayed later in the program's history.
A new nurse named Margie Cutler arrives at the 4077. Realizing Cutler is an incredible distraction for Pierce and McIntyre, Major Houlihan has her transferred to another unit. Hawkeye and Trapper, desperate to get her back, agree to have Trapper fight in a boxing tournament. To secure victory, Ugly John has the boxing gloves coated in ether, but Burns and Houlihan, thinking it's unethical, fight with Hawkeye to keep it fair.
After meeting new nurse Margie Cutler together, Hawkeye and Trapper each are determined to become her lover. While they are all discussing surgical procedures in the mess tent Major Houlihan tells Cutler she needs to see her. After they leave, Hawkeye and Trapper both try to let on that they're going back to sleep or work. However, they both go to Cutler's tent and find her packing her things; Houlihan had her transferred to another unit because she was a distraction.
Hawkeye and Trapper go to Col. Blake's office to demand that Cutler's transfer be stopped. He tells them that Major Houlihan makes all the decisions about the nursing staff, but if one of them would box in the tournament he's having with Brigadier General Barker, he would see what he could do. After sadly watching Cutler drive off in a jeep, Trapper decides to fight.
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