The Ultimate 'M.A.S.H' Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The Ultimate 'M.A.S.H' Quiz
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About This Quiz

"M*A*S*H" remains one of the most popular TV shows ever. Although the 1970s-era show was about the tragic Korean War, it made you laugh, cry and think. But how much do you know about this perennial favorite?

"M*A*S*H" was filmed in two locations: the former Fox Ranch at California's Malibu Creek State Park, and 20th Century Fox's Studio 9. Although most of the original characters left the show during its 11-year run, that never harmed "M*A*S*H's" popularity. After all, people serving in the military during wartime do come and go, according to the terms of their deployments. So that seemed realistic.

You may know, or at least suspect, that "M*A*S*H" and its actors won numerous awards over the years. But did you know that the Smithsonian accepted two complete show sets from 20th Century Fox? The Washington, D.C., museum normally doesn't accept complete television sets — only representative props. But it now has "M*A*S*H's" operating room and the "Swamp" in its possession, the latter being another name for the bachelor officers' quarters.

Interestingly, "M*A*S*H" didn't do so well in its inaugural year; it was actually in danger of being cancelled. Luckily for us, it was given a second chance, after which it hit the top 10 in viewer ratings. It remained popular from that second season on, until its end in 1983.

Now let's see how much you remember about this groundbreaking sitcom by taking our "M*A*S*H" quiz.

Cpl. Max Klinger, a regular for the entire show, was so desperate for a discharge that he did this most of the time -- though he stopped during the later seasons?
stole from the other residents
threatened to shoot up the place
dressed in women's clothing
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Klinger dressed in women's clothing, hoping someone would think he was crazy and send him home.

War meant a lot of rotations of personnel, so it seemed natural in the course of the show for people to come and go. When Frank leaves, who replaces him?
Dr. Sidney Freedman
Maj. Charles Emerson Winchester
Col. Flagg
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Boston blue-blood Winchester was smart and a great surgeon -- who didn't want to be in Korea. But that's where the similarities between him and his tent mates -- Hawkeye and BJ -- ended, making him an excellent foil for their antics.

Only one woman was a regular on the series. Who was she?
Loretta Swit
Bea Arthur
Carol Burnett
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Maj. Margaret Houlihan stayed for the show's 11-year run as the woman in charge of the nurses. It was actually a very sexist show, representing both the 1950s and the 1970s.

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Frank may have been a stickler for the rules, but he was breaking this biggie on a regular basis. What is it?
undermining the commands of officers Blake and Potter
stealing from the army
having an affair
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Frank, a married man, had an affair with Margaret until she became engaged to another. Frank went more than a little nuts and was sent back to the states for psychiatric evaluation. He was promoted and put in charge of a VA hospital.

Who took over as permanent commanding officer following Henry's death?
Maj. Margaret Houlihan
Maj. Frank Burns
Col. Sherman Potter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Frank Burns was acting CO at the beginning of season 3, but Potter took over and stayed for the rest of the run.

When McLean Stevenson (Henry Blake) left the show, how was he written out?
He went back home to private practice.
He was killed.
He was promoted and sent back to the States.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Henry's on his way home when his plane is shot down over the Sea of Japan. Radar tells everyone in the OR -- and they all keep operating, even as they're crying.

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When Trapper, Hawkeye's best friend, leaves, who replaces him?
Capt. Jonathan Tuttle
Capt. BJ Hunnicutt
Maj. Charles Winchester
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Wayne Rogers' departure came following the third season. Mike Farrell, who played BJ through the rest of the run, came in as new tent mate, surgeon and friend to Hawkeye.

Who was the first commanding officer?
Maj. Frank Burns
Lt. Col. Henry Blake
Col. Sherman Potter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Blake, played by McLean Stevenson, was the commanding officer in the first three seasons.

Several episodes are framed as letters that Hawkeye writes home. To whom is he writing?
his mom
his girlfriend
his dad
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

One of the more popular episodes, "Dear Dad," has Hawkeye writing to his dad about the yuletide season in an army camp -- hijinks and heart.

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Who was the original company clerk?
Cpl. Max Klinger
Cpl. Walter O'Reilly
Capt. Jonathan Tuttle
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Walter (better known as Radar) O'Reilly, played by Gary Burghoff, was the one who really ran the MASH unit. He left the show in Season 8.

What was the name of the final episode?
"Goodbye, Farewell and Amen"
"Who Knew?"
"Say No More"
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The two-and-a-half-hour, show-ending movie aired Feb. 28, 1983, and wrapped up the war with a lot of laughs and more than a few tears, as everyone prepared to go their separate ways.

Self-righteous, poor surgeon, gung-ho about the war -- these all describe which character?
Cpl. Max Klinger
Maj. Charles Winchester
Maj. Frank Burns
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hawkeye and Trapper's (and later BJ's) tent mate was everything the two of them weren't -- a stickler for rules, a bigoted snob and a terrible surgeon.

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What does the BJ stand for in Hunnicutt's name?
nothing
Bobby Joe
Billy John
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In one episode, Hawkeye searches for what the initials BJ stand for, but all the paperwork lists just BJ as his name. BJ says at the end of the episode that his parents names were Bea and Jay and that's where it came from.

What was Frank Burns nickname?
Weasel
Rat Fink
Ferret Face
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In a rare moment of drunkenness, Frank tells Hawkeye and Trapper the nickname his brother gave him. When BJ joins the show and meets Frank for the first time, it's clear he's been clued in when he says, "What say, Ferret Face?"

What does "MASH" stand for?
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Major Army Survival Hospital
Massive Army Surgical Hospital
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mobile was the key -- the hospital could move quickly as the war's front moved. In fact, "Bug Out," an episode from Season 5, features the camp moving, as the war comes closer. This MASH unit was the 4077th.

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How did Trapper leave?
He went home to be with his sick mother.
He was discharged.
He was killed by a sniper.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Trapper was discharged while Hawkeye was on leave. Hawkeye spent the episode trying to get back to the 4077th before Trapper is gone.

Radar had a borderline super power. What was it?
He could find anything that anybody lost.
He could anticipate events.
He could heal sick animals.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While he was great with animals, his super power was knowing ahead of time what his commanding officers were going to say or ask him to do. He also knew just before helicopters of wounded were going to come in.

How long did MASH run?
11 years
7 years
5 years
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While the Korean War itself only lasted three years, the show lasted 11 seasons and 256 episodes.

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Which two main characters got married (not to each other) during the show?
Trapper and Margaret
Margaret and Klinger
Frank and Klinger
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This wedding dress got around. Klinger wore it to marry his sweetheart back home via a phone ceremony. Margaret put it on when she got married in person. In the final episode, Klinger (by then divorced from his first wife) marries Soon-Lee Han, a Korean woman. She wears the wedding dress this time.

Who was Capt. Tuttle?
a nurse
an imaginary friend
a visiting dignitary
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Tuttle was Hawkeye's childhood imaginary friend. When he wants to raise money and requisition supplies for a local orphanage, he resurrects Tuttle -- which stirs up the whole camp as people start claiming they've met the invisible man.

The final episode held the record for most-watched broadcast for years. What knocked it out of position?
World Series game 7 in 1995
Super Bowl XLIV
NCAA basketball championship in 2002
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While the Super Bowl of 2010 passed the episode in total viewership, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" still stands as the most-watched television series finale.

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True or False: The show had a laugh track.
TRUE
FALSE
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Comedies had to have laugh tracks back in the day, so the network wanted one and the producers didn't. The compromise they reached was a "chuckle track," not quite as invasive, that was never played in the OR. When the show was run in the U.K., the track was turned off.

The final episode has everyone leaving when the war is over. Which character stays behind in Korea?
Father Mulcahy
Max Klinger
Margaret Houlihan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

After years of wearing dresses in an effort to get a Section 8 (insanity) discharge and go home, Klinger marries a Korean woman and stays behind to help her find her parents.

Who was the only series regular who wasn't replaced after leaving the show?
Margaret
Radar
Father Mulcahy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Klinger stepped in as company clerk after Gary Burghoff, who played Radar, left in Season 8.

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"MASH" was an ensemble show and, much like a real military conflict, characters came and went. How many stayed for the entire run?
2
4
6
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Capt. Hawkeye Pierce, Father Francis Mulcahy, Maj. Margaret Houlihan and Cpl. Max Klinger were there for the full 11 seasons.

Though it was an ensemble show, there was definitely a star. Who was it?
Loretta Swit
Alan Alda
Wayne Rogers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

By the end of the show, Alda was a household name. He was not only playing Hawkeye, who was the star of the show, but he was also writing and directing episodes.

Who were the original roommates in the swamp?
Hawkeye, Trapper and Frank
Hawkeye and BJ Hunnicutt
Hawkeye, Trapper, Frank and Spearchucker Jones
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Jones, played by Timothy Brown, left the show in the first season because there was no evidence of African-American doctors having served in Korea.

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When did "MASH" debut?
Sept. 17, 1972
Aug. 3, 1973
Sept. 3, 1970
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The TV show was based on the 1970 movie of the same name, which was in turn based on the book "MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors," by Richard Hooker.

Was "MASH" a comedy or a drama?
comedy
drama
dramedy
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Though technically a comedy, one of the ways "MASH" broke TV ground was by delving into the bleaker aspects of war, always with one eye on the laugh meter. You could call it the first dramedy, although the term became popular only after "MASH" went off the air.

Which two actors actually served in Korea?
Wayne Rogers and Alan Alda
Harry Morgan and Jamie Farr
Alan Alda and Jamie Farr
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Alda (Hawkeye) and Farr (Klinger) both served in Korea, though after the cease-fire in 1953. The dog tags Klinger wore in the show were Farr's from his time in Korea.

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