The Abduction of Margaret Houlihan

I have watched the show since its inception to now, and have probably seen every episode a minimum of 5 times. Every time I see a list of episode rankings, I am AMAZED at how low this episode is rated. This episode is UNQUESTIONABLY the funniest of the whole series.

First of all, Colonel Flagg is the funniest character ever written into the show. How could anyone watch the interplay between him and the major characters and not laugh? In addition, the writing in this episode is crisp, the punchlines are fast and furious, and there are very few dead spots.

While you could argue that episodes with more drama might have been better, there were certainly no episodes in the entire run of M*A*S*H that were any funnier.

Great episode, only MASH episode that rivalled this in terms of humour IMO was Adam's Ribs .Flagg is defimitely one of those less is more characters, he made more of an impact due to his relatively few appearances on the show. Especially like the looks on Frank, BJ and Hawkeye's faces when Flagg tells them he was a showgirl at the Sands in Vegas. Pity Edward Winter went relatively young he was a great comedy actor, particularly liked his scenes with Alan Alda and Larry Linville. Season 5,IMO, was the peak of the show, but Linville, I feel, was right to quit when he did, Frank 's ineptness was starting to become annoying rather than funny

I don't get the love for Colonel Flagg's character? Just over-the-top bizarre ramblings that noboby in real life would ever make. Colonel Potter had some snappy lines.

Margaret disappears from the camp. Actually, Klinger knows where she went, but doesn't get the message out. This leads to an all-out search for her. When that fails I-corps is notified and who should be sent but Colonel Flagg. The one liners abound. I love listening to Flagg tell of his experiences. I also enjoy the constant threats he makes when people don't listen to his drivel. Frank puts his arm around him "buddy" style and he says: "My father put his arm around me like that. He spent the rest of his life wearing orthopedic shirts." It is priceless. The whole thing about being show girl in Las Vegas is matchless. Anyway, there are probably three episodes I would never miss and this is one of them.

Edward Winter's Colonel Flagg compleley blossoms in this episode. Hilarious lines, delivery and body language. Brilliance! His character got better and better in the series. I would've loved to see a spin-off series featuring Flagg.