SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: 25 Min.
First televised on CBS on December 8, 1973, Gene Reynolds directs this episode as the 4077th hosts a bogus ‘medical conference:’ a marathon invitation-only poker game in ‘The Swamp.’ Among its players are: Hawkeye, Trapper, Col. Blake, Klinger, Sidney Freedman, and even Col. Flagg (in one of his earliest appearances). Various camp shenanigans force cast regulars in and out of the game during a memorable all-nighter.
Capt. “Hawkeye” Pierce: Alan Alda
Capt. “Trapper John” McIntyre: Wayne Rogers
Lt. Col. Henry Blake: McLean Stevenson
Cpl. “Radar” O’Reilly: Gary Burghoff
Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan: Loretta Swit (no appearance)
Major Frank Burns: Larry Linville
(Lt.) Father Francis Mulcahy: William Christopher (no appearance)
Cpl. Maxwell Klinger: Jamie Farr
Major Sidney Freedman: Allan Arbus
Capt. Sam Pak: Pat Morita
Pvt. Carter: John Ritter
Capt. Halloran (aka Col. Flagg): Edward Winter
“Whiplash” Huang: Jerry Fujikawa
Lt. Rogers: Tom Dever
P.A. Announcer: Todd Susman
Nurse: Gwen Farrell
REVIEW:
What a delight! The regular cast is all in, as a surplus of well-played wisecracks deliver the goods. Yet, this episode’s standouts are really the guest players. Terrific straight-faced performances are pitched by Arbus, Winter, a pre-Three’s Company Ritter, and the underrated Morita.
For high-caliber MASH laughs tinged by a dramatic Ritter-centered subplot, “Deal Me Out” is holding the necessary aces to win over viewers.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 8 Stars
