"M*A*S*H" Life Time (1979)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Alan Alda

Writers:

Alan Alda (writer)
Walter D. Dishell (co-writer)

TV Series:

"M*A*S*H" (1972)

Original Air Date:

26 November 1979 (Season 8, Episode 11)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

As marked by an on screen clock, the 4077th staff have a specific time limit to operate on a patient before he dies or is left paralyzed.

Plot Keywords:

Real Time | Pleading With God | Nurse | Colonel | Doctor

Cast

Alan Alda	...	Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce
Mike Farrell	...	Captain B.J. Hunnicut
Harry Morgan	...	Colonel Sherman T. Potter
Loretta Swit	...	Major Margaret Houlihan
David Ogden Stiers	...	Major Charles Winchester
Jamie Farr	...	Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger
William Christopher	...	Father Francis Mulcahy
Kevin Brophy	...	Roberts
Kellye Nakahara	...	Lieutenant Kellye Yamato
J.J. Johnston	...	Helicopter Pilot
Jeff Maxwell	...	Igor Straminsky
Jo Ann Thompson	...	Nurse Jo Ann (as Joann Thompson)
Roy Goldman	...	Roy Goldman

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Factual errors: Although it is theoretically ideal for an individual to receive blood that is the exact same type as his or her own, if the soldier on the table had AB- blood, he should have been able to receive any blood as long as it is RH-. The general rule of thumb is:
O+ can receive O- or O+ but not A, B, or AB.
O- can only receive O-.
A+ can receive O+/- and A+/-, but A- can only receive O- and A-.
B+ can receive O+/- and B+/-, but B- can only receive O- and B-.
AB+ can receive any blood type.
AB- can receive any blood type as long as it is Rh-.
O- is the universal donor. AB+ is the universal recipient.

Quotes:

Lt./Capt. Father Francis J. Mulcahy: Dear God, I've never asked you for this before, and I don't know what You're going to think of me for asking now. But if you're going to take him anyway, please take him quickly so we can save the other boy.

Mike Farrell's Best Performance Ever!!

The following episode from the 1979-1980 television season would be one of the top four episodes ever in that campaign. Captains Hunnicutt and Pierce were involved in the most serious episode in saving a patient who lost an aorta. Major Houlihan -- starring Loretta Swit -- played a key role in this episode -- too -- in the fight against time from death because of acute renal failure or being paralyzed in the horrific situation. The three of them told the helicopter pilot that twenty minutes stood between life and death after they approach surgery. Mike Farrell's role in removing the aorta -- for the graft -- involved conflict with another wounded patient. His partner could not understand why the patient was more important than his own well-being; moreover, an eighteen-year-old was dying from a sever head wound within ten to twenty-two minutes. Anger, conflict, spontaneity, determination, diligence, and worthiness were key elements in preventing the patient from dying after twenty minutes. The program should have rated at least a 14 out of 10; moreover, the description of fitting the graft in the surgery was a key factor in that show. Both Mike Farrell and Alan Alda did quite well in the fight against time. Way To Go!! Another must see episode!!