This episode legit changed my life as a young child because I stuttered. And I was bullied relentlessly for it which only made it worse and it was very shameful to me… I didn’t know ONE single other person with a stutter and felt all alone. And to see someone else suffering from a stutter, even worse than mine, and ON TV! Being told he was brilliant and intelligent and having someone important treat him respectfully AND tell him an ENTIRE LIST of important, intelligent and famous people who all stuttered as well, amazed me. I went right to the library and looked up King George stutter to see if it was true and it WAS! He was able to overcome it and give speeches to millions of people, get them to listen to him and believe in him.. it REALLY helped me. I still stutter occasionally but mostly I’ve been able to overcome it with speech therapy but I’ve never forgetteb when this moment is the moment I realized i WASNT “slow” or “stupid” just because I stuttered and that I WASNT alone, that other people, important and intelligent and kind people stuttered as well, people that were looked up too, people that others cared to listen too- not matter how long it took and seeing myself represented on a popular tv show, not as a butt of a joke but with respect, kindness and care really meant everything in the world to 9 year old me.
How great that you were able to see the value in yourself, despite the stupidity of others. MASH was great at commenting on these issues, but in the end simply made it clear that we all go through life with challenges, and judging other people doesn't help anyone.
When I think of ALL my fave MASH episodes, most of them include Winchester: the symphony players being killed, one-handed piano player, the racist commander, his snow cap from home at Christmas, & this one of the stuttering patient!! His intelligence is unequal, through it all stays true to himself, his well mannered culture, his refined nature to hold onto civility in a war zone, & treating others as God would see them with respect, dignity, & unlimited potential!!❤
I think every new character, BJ, Potter, and Charles was far better than the original, but he may have been the best and it is because of how well David played this incredibly rich character. So easy to hate, sometimes so clueless (especially when dealing with Father Mulcahey), so intelligent, and also so basically decent while trying to hide it.
This is what Frank Burns was missing in the first 5 seasons, the lack of humanization is probably why Larry Linville felt like the character had ran dry. Charles might have been a snob with an inflated ego but there were many times when he was shown to have a good heart, my personal favorite moment was when Charles was being compassionate towards Hawkeye during his fathers surgery.
If Governor Ratcliffe (Disney's Pocahontas) actually cared about his subjects. Seriously though, I love coming back to this video to see Winchester stand up to Sweeney for bullying Private Palmer about his stuttering.
I know burn Gorman from pacific rim. This is not what I expected 😂 can imagine they’re trying to figure out how to beat the kaiju only to realize its a rhythmic beat and he’s like say less and just starts beat boxing into a mic
Absolutely wonderful work by all these magnificently talented actors. The material must be on the page first, so I'd also like to credit the writers of this episode: the story was by (actor) Mike Farrell and Elias Davis & David Pollock, and the teleplay was written by Elias Davis & David Pollock. A good director is crucial, too. This episode was directed by Nell Cox; she started out as a documentary and independent filmmaker, and she was part of the "Original Six" group which advocated for directing work for women. She directed other primetime television shows, including Lou Grant, The Waltons, and L.A. Law.
I grew up watching MASH with my grandparents. I must have seen each amd every episode 20 times over, and I still love amd adore this show. The acting, writing, the humor, the humanity. Charles was and remains my favorite character. He had a way of expressing intense emotion with such grace and charm. I once read that David rode a skateboard to the set often. The imagery of Charles Winchester III rolling to set on a deck is a beautiful one in my mind. There will never be a show as genuine or well-done as MASH.
I've always hated the modern haircuts on the soldiers on this show. You MIGHT be able to get away with a little bit with the officers in a field hospital, but the regular army wounded with the long hair and blow dry? Come on! Such a wonderful show with plenty of authenticity, and yet the producers didn't insist on a soldier from 1950-52 looking like a soldier from then?
I remember this from the Nick-at-Nite re-runs. Like so many moments, this one hit me right in the guts. Even all these years later, it still makes me cry.
Good for you Major Winchester, you hit the mark! No, there is no connection between stuttering and intelligence. As a former stutterer myself, I can attest to that. Those who judge you negatively or are prejudiced against you because of your stutter are ignorant, and have no idea of what a speech impediment like stuttering is. That would especially go for little kids who used to make fun my stutter. Little kids can be so cruel....but I had to learn to toughen up, and have confidence in myself or I would have gone under a long time ago. Looking back on my life, I can say that I've come a long way since those painful childhood memories. I used to dream of what it would be like to be a fluent talker....and fortunately I was lucky enough to realize that dream of standing in front of audiences and delivering lectures and speeches, being a radio announcer, and doing character acting.
David was an excellent addition to the show. As a kid I loved to hate his elitist manner from the start but slowly he warmed in my heart. Episodes like this did that and after the show ended I enjoyed seeing David appear is other shows. A truly talented man.
