Movies News Talk
Hawkeye and most of the men stationed at the 4077th blow off steam by drinking, pulling pranks or trying to seduce the nurses. Hawkeye might be deeply wounded by the war and having to save lives under hellish conditions, but Hawkeye and buddy Trapper (Wayne Rogers) weren't above treating women as objects. A case in point would be the character of Lieutenant "Dish" Schneider (Karen Philipp), who served as Hawkeye's first Love Interest before abruptly disappearing after only two episodes.
Dish plays a supporting role in the pilot, then reappears in episode 11 "Germ Warfare" and then... she's gone. This is a pity since Philipp is charming in the role and had good chemistry with Alan Alda. This would become the way with many nurse characters on Mash, where episodes would introduce new, attractive nurses who would then vanish into thin air. Dish is never mentioned again after her second and final appearance either, and showrunner Larry Gelbart later explained to fans (via Google Groups) that Dish was dropped because the show had too many regulars.
Phillip's Dish may not have lasted long, but the nurse still managed to sneak into every episode. Mash's opening credit sequence stayed largely the same for its 11-year run, though as main players like Gary Burghoff (Radar) left, it was occasionally re-edited to remove actor close-ups. For eagle-eyed viewers, Dish can be seen among the 4077th in MASH's opening when the unit is rushing to meet incoming wounded from a helicopter.
This opening also features actor George Morgan, who played Father Mulcahy in the pilot before the part was recast with William Christopher for the remainder of the series. This means both Phillip and Morgan technically appear in every episode of MASH, despite having extremely brief runs as part of the actual cast.
Some might explain away MASH's issues with female characters as an unfortunate side effect of its era, but for a show that was so forward-thinking, it's disappointing. In the first few seasons, Swit's Margaret was the only female character with real interiority, but the actress still had to fight in later seasons to develop her further. This included dropping the "Hot Lips" nickname and the character dumping the weaselly Frank Burns (Larry Linville). Over time, Margaret became a fully fleshed-out human being - but only after Swit herself pushed for change.
Gelbart dropping Dish so casually speaks to how disposable the nurse characters were seen when MASH launched. They were so interchangeable that "Lieutenant Baker" and "Nurse Able" were placeholder names given to many different actresses. In the sitcom's defense, its treatment of female characters gradually improved, with Jan Jorden becoming the official Lt. Baker from season 6 onwards. Lieutenant Kellye (Kellye Nakahara) also grew from background player to a beloved supporting character, and got her very own episode with season 11's "Hey, Look Me Over."